Moissej Nappelbaum: Portraits of Soviet Intellectual Life

Moissej Nappelbaum: Portraits of Soviet Intellectual Life at Galerie Berinson. "...Nappelbaum’s career began with a craft apprenticeship in Minsk, after which he travelled throughout Russia and the United States. En route, he garnered impressions of photographic modes and methods then, after a visit to the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, claimed Rembrandt as his true master. Nappelbaum first settled down as a photographer in Minsk, before moving with his family in 1910 to Saint Petersburg, where he opened his studio on Nevsky Prospect. In 1918 Nappelbaum took the first official portrait of Lenin – an image distributed by the million – then exhibited his work at the Anichkov Palace in Moscow: two steps that sealed his reputation. His portrait studio quickly became the venue of choice, not only for his usual clientele but also for politicians, scientists, painters, sculptors, poets, composers and actors, all avid to be immortalized."

Mark Ruwedel: Records

Mark Ruwedel: Records at Yossi Milo Gallery. "...The series Desert Houses shows houses in various states of abandonment and decay, suggesting both violence and tragedy. The diptychs in Neighbors, a subset of Desert Houses, pair houses that are seemingly identical but were photographed in different locations. In Splitting, which references Gordon Matta-Clark’s iconic work, Ruwedel’s diptych is of two abandoned, sliced open homes found in different, remote locations in California. Dusk was photographed after the sun disappeared over the horizon, creating subtle, dark tones that parallel the houses’ social and geographical isolation."

Man Made Color

David Graham... Elvis Rehearsing, 1991. From the exhibition Man Made Color at Laurence Miller Gallery. "...Without a doubt the world looks different to us today than it did to every previous generation. Our world is saturated in color, but not too long ago it was depicted in black and white, leaving the truth of its appearance to our imagination. This exhibition features 15 photographers who have recorded the man made or altered world since the 1950’s. Each has transformed how we see the world around us while revealing how much of the world’s color is man made."

Masako Miyazaki: The Other Side

Japan Exposures... Masako Miyazaki: The Other Side. "...Miyazaki’s photographs represent just some of the things that Japanese Photography are for me; a quiet yet strong undercurrent of expression that does not present itself to the viewer too easily and besides sensitivity requires patience. At the same time there is an element of child-like honesty and innocence that make the images more than simple documents of localities; we are being offered access to someone else’s inner self as a companion or visitor, just close enough to share some personal time together and not too close to offend or invade the privacy of our host."

Die Dreigroschenoper

Seeräuberjenny (The Pirate Jenny .mp3 audio 3:13). From Kurt Weill's Die Dreigroschenoper (The Threepenny Opera / Berlin 1930) at UbuWeb Sound.

Jim Marshall: The Rolling Stones and Beyond

Jim Marshall... Johnny Cash in the Bus, Folsom Prison, California (January 13, 1968, Gelatin silver, Estate stamped limited edition print, edition 6/25). From the exhibition Jim Marshall: The Rolling Stones and Beyond at Steven Kasher Gallery. "...over 60 photographs and over one hundred vintage record covers mapping Jim Marshall’s entire career and introducing never-before-seen images he captured during the Rolling Stones’ 1972 U.S. tour. The exhibition marks the 50th anniversary of the band, and the 40th anniversary of that legendary tour."

[Hyphen]-Americans: Tintype Portraits

[Hyphen]-Americans: Tintype Portraits by Keliy Anderson-Staley at Catherine Edelman Gallery in Chicago, IL. "...a series of tintype portraits made with chemistry mixed according to nineteenth-century recipes, period brass lenses and wooden view cameras. Composed of thousands of portraits, the project is a broadly diverse collection of American faces. Each individual - identified only by a first name - defiantly asserts his or her selfhood, resisting any imposed or external categorizing system we might bring to these images. At once contemporary and timeless, these portraits raise questions about our place as individuals in history, and the role that photographic technologies and the history of photography have played in defining identity." More... Works by Keliy Anderson-Staley at her personal site.

Shin Yanagisawa - Andrei Molodkin

Shin Yanagisawa... Mortar House. Ginza-Yurakucho, Tokyo. Shinjuku (from the series: 'Tracks of the City', 1960s, vintage silver print). From the exhibition Shin Yanagisawa - Andrei Molodkin at Galerie Priska Pasquer in Cologne, Germany. "...In this exhibition the Japanese photographer Shin Yanagisawa (1936 – 2008) is being exhibited outside Japan for the fist time. The exhibition presents two bodies of work: cityscapes and street scenes from series 'Tracks of the City' from the 1960s and early 1970s and 'Hard Winter' with nude photographs taken during his travels to Northern Japan."

"That's the sound of Mitchum waking up."

The Criterion Collection... The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973, directed by Peter Yates). "...In one of the best performances of his legendary career, Robert Mitchum plays small-time gunrunner Eddie 'Fingers' Coyle in Peter Yates’s adaptation of George V. Higgins’s acclaimed novel The Friends of Eddie Coyle. World-weary and living hand to mouth, Coyle works on the sidelines of the seedy Boston underworld just to make ends meet. But when he finds himself facing a second stretch of hard time, he’s forced to weigh loyalty to his criminal colleagues against snitching to stay free."

History of "Showa" reflected upon Japanese Dinner Table,

History of "Showa" reflected upon Japanese Dinner Table. "...TV ads launched by Momoya Co., Ltd., well known for its product EDO-MURASAKI, can be considered as the mirror that reflects the history of Showa era and the cultural transition of Japanese people’s quotidian living, as social phenomena, fashions and manners of each times are portrayed. By the on-line exhibition of these TV ads, many people, for example a modern or contemporary historian, artist, art critic, advertising industry, businessmen and lawyers specialized in copyrights could have access to them, and the organizers hope to discuss and explore how these archived TV ads can be utilized or applied as methodology for scholarly research of historical investigation." Thank you Bem.

Judy In Disguise (With Glasses)

John Fred & His Playboy Band... Judy In Disguise (With Glasses) (1967, Paula Records – 282 .mp3 audio 02:47).

Lisa Kereszi - The Party's Over

Lisa Kereszi - The Party's Over - A poetic investigation of faded fantasy.

Zoe Strauss: 10 Years, A Slideshow

Zoe Strauss... Shot Appliances (2004, Archival pigment print). From the exhibition Zoe Strauss: 10 Years, A Slideshow at Bruce Silverstein Gallery in New York, NY. "...For a single day each May (from 2001-2010), Strauss revitalized and transformed a derelict and unused public space into a site for art, facilitating community and social interaction through her installation. At the end of the exhibit, the laminated installation photographs were free for the taking. As an artist, Strauss prioritizes accessibility and she enthusiastically promotes discourse regarding her work and artistic process via her well-known and widely followed blog. She describes her work as an effort to create an 'epic narrative that reflects the beauty and struggle of everyday life.' While her chosen subjects and scenes of the American urban landscape can seem unflattering, troubling or blighted, they reflect the artist’s interest in confronting and depicting life in America—not in a manner of pure social journalism, but as a method of exploring her interests in visual abstraction as well as the self-reflexive nature of the medium. The viewer is challenged to question his or her response to Strauss’ depiction of our cultural climate via the signs, streets, storefronts and portraits that comprise it."

Yayoi Kusama

Yayoi Kusama at the Whitney Museum of American Art. "...Well known for her use of dense patterns of polka dots and nets, as well as her intense, large-scale environments, Yayoi Kusama works in a variety of media, including painting, drawing, sculpture, film, performance, and immersive installation. Born in Japan in 1929, Kusama came to the United States in 1957 and quickly found herself at the epicenter of the New York avant-garde. After achieving fame through groundbreaking exhibitions and art 'happenings,' she returned to her native country in 1973 and is now one of Japan’s most prominent contemporary artists. This retrospective features works spanning Kusama’s career."