Leigh Ledare's Oedipal Complex

Every photographer has his or her obsession and for Leigh Ledare it's his mum. "The photographer recently released a book of images, Pretend You’re Actually Alive, which features his mother, a 59-year-old ballerina-turned stripper, in various stages of undress. Some of the pictures include lingerie and boyfriends; many feature a come-hither gaze that wouldn’t be so jarring if the photographer weren’t her son. Ledare, 32, says the project began about eight years ago, when he paid his mother a visit in Seattle. “Basically,” he says, “I arrived home one Christmas, and I hadn’t seen her in a year, and she came to the door completely naked.”"

The rest of the article can be found here.

Hipsterdom

Adbusters has an article about hipsterdom where "We’ve reached a point in our civilization where counterculture has mutated into a self-obsessed aesthetic vacuum. So while hipsterdom is the end product of all prior countercultures, it’s been stripped of its subversion and originality."

"With nothing to defend, uphold or even embrace, the idea of “hipsterdom” is left wide open for attack. And yet, it is this ironic lack of authenticity that has allowed hipsterdom to grow into a global phenomenon that is set to consume the very core of Western counterculture. Most critics make a point of attacking the hipster’s lack of individuality, but it is this stubborn obfuscation that distinguishes them from their predecessors, while allowing hipsterdom to easily blend in and mutate other social movements, sub-cultures and lifestyles."

"Punks wear their tattered threads and studded leather jackets with honor, priding themselves on their innovative and cheap methods of self-expression and rebellion. B-boys and b-girls announce themselves to anyone within earshot with baggy gear and boomboxes. But it is rare, if not impossible, to find an individual who will proclaim themself a proud hipster. It’s an odd dance of self-identity – adamantly denying your existence while wearing clearly defined symbols that proclaims it."

"Hipsterdom is the first “counterculture” to be born under the advertising industry’s microscope, leaving it open to constant manipulation but also forcing its participants to continually shift their interests and affiliations. Less a subculture, the hipster is a consumer group – using their capital to purchase empty authenticity and rebellion. But the moment a trend, band, sound, style or feeling gains too much exposure, it is suddenly looked upon with disdain. Hipsters cannot afford to maintain any cultural loyalties or affiliations for fear they will lose relevance.

An amalgamation of its own history, the youth of the West are left with consuming cool rather that creating it. The cultural zeitgeists of the past have always been sparked by furious indignation and are reactionary movements. But the hipster’s self-involved and isolated maintenance does nothing to feed cultural evolution. Western civilization’s well has run dry. The only way to avoid hitting the colossus of societal failure that looms over the horizon is for the kids to abandon this vain existence and start over."

NYPD's finest

Since I've rediscovered the joy of cycling I became interested in participating in New York's Critical Mass. While Critical Mass is viewed as a monthly political protest-rides, I couldn't imagine the situation would escalate to this.

The NY Times has an article about the incident. Bike Snob has a interesting take on the situation, "And one of the most important truths I’ve learned is that where there are crowds there is stupidity. When large numbers of people get together, stupid things happen, and you’re almost always better off simply getting as far away from the crowd as possible."

Young Women of the F.L.D.S.

Last night I finished reading Escape by Carolyn Jessop, one of the most bizarre memoirs I've come across. A recent review notes, "Seventeen years after being forced into a polygamous marriage, Jessop escaped from the cultlike Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints with her eight children. She recounts the horrid events that led her to break free from the oppressive world she knew and how she has managed to survive since escaping, despite threats and legal battles with her husband and the Church. Though sometimes her retelling overflows with colorful foreshadowing and commentary on how exceptional she is, the everyday details she reveals about this polygamous society are devastating and tragic."

The latest issue of The New York Times Magazine has an article about The Children of God, discusses the world of the F.L.D.S., a radical sect of the Mormons.

Stephanie Sinclair of the VI Network took the pictures and I posted some of my favourites. You can also see them all in this slide show.

The Girl Effect

The powerful social and economic change brought about when girls have the opportunity to participate in their society. Girl + education/opportunity/a fighting chance = change the world.

The Last Lecture

Randy Pausch, 47, the terminally ill professor who inspired many with his 'last lecture', died yesterday. His speech at Carnegie Mellon University after a pancreatic cancer diagnosis became an Internet phenomenon and bestselling book.

There's an abridged version from his appearance on Oprah.

Slideluck Potshow deadline

Don't forget to submit to Slideluck Potshow XII, the deadline is Thursday, July 24th. The theme is change but they also accept unthemed submissions.

Kinetic Sculpture

One highlight from the BMW Welt in Munich is a mechatronic installation by ART+COM, the Berlin-based interactive media company. The project uses 714 metal balls that are individually suspended on barely visible strings, creating an seemingly weightless, amorphous mass. Each ball lowers and retracts independently, which allows them to approximate almost any form.

The installation moves through a cycle of classic and contemporary BMW car shapes from throughout the company's 90-year history. In between cars, it goes through some impressive routines, showing the creation's versatility. Take a look at one visitor's video below.

People who live in glass houses...

In this video RISD president John Maeda narrates a visit to Philip Johnson's Glass House in New Canaan, CT. Maeda shares his impressions and talks about how it relates to his thoughts on simplicity.

Mini Rolleiflex

From Shoot! TheBlog, Urban Outfitters (since when do they sell anything other than overpriced pseudo-Bohemian frocks from India?) is now offering a Rolleiflex Mini Digital camera.

5 Mega Pixel camera with autofocus technology, the Rollei Mini allows you to shoot from a distance of 4 inches to infinity, saving each image to a Mini SD Card. Still the undisputed choice for portraits, the camera features an up-facing 1.1" square display for waist level shooting, which encourages your subjects to go on looking and acting naturally instead of posing for the camera. Crank lever 'film advance"; JPEG image format; 4.9mm F2.8 Lens; 1/15-1/2500s Shutter Speed; Automatic While Balance and Exposure Control; Auto power-off. Imported. Wipe clean.

Unbelievable. It's so tiny and lovely.

NYC Gathering schedule

Photoshelter has posted the schedule for the NYC Gathering on Sunday, July 20th. There's a panel on editorial photo editors moderated by none other than Rob Haggart of APE. I'm really looking forward to hearing him speak, he strikes me as a relentless advocate for photographers.

ASMP New York event

ASMPNY is pleased to announce the opening of the image 08 winners show tomorrow on Thursday July 17th at Fast back creative! Open and free to all, refreshments and drinks will be served.

Ira Glass

There's a great series on YouTube about storytelling. Even though Ira Glass is speaking about broadcasting and television, the advice he gives on doing creative work is apt.

Bad contracts

At one of my group meetings, a fellow photographer asked me about a contract he had been asked to sign. He was concerned about some sections of the document, two in particular, where one referred to copyright and the other to damages to a third party. In my opinion it was a bad contract (i.e. highly disadvantageous to the photographer) but unfortunately in these cases of an adhesion contract (a contract that does not allow for negotiation) the only choice we have as a freelancer is to say "no" to such contracts.

Leslie, at Burns Auto Parts, has a related post.

The Awareness Test

I've recently started cycling and have been reading many bicycling blogs. I came across this video which is a great example of being aware/paying attention.

The story of stuff

Very interesting presentation on consumption here.

"From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever."

5 heads are better than 1

I think the first group meeting went very well. The first thing I noticed that was common to us all as we tried to formulate individual goals, was how challenging it was to edit it down to only one manageable objective. We all had so many ideas and ambitions, especially as creatives where the lines between personal and professional goals blurred very easily.

My hope is that this sense of community and accountability will encourage us all to overcome those common creative fears and inertia and push forward. My recent posts make me sound like a cross between a career self-help book and motivational speaker. Ha.

First group meeting

Tonight is the first meeting of my Photography Business Support Group (the capitals make it sound more official, don't they?) and I'm very excited about it. Basically, the group will meet once a week, for the next ten weeks, to work towards their individual main goal. Each week each person will present the challenges they faced and receive suggestions and advice from the group.

ETA: So far the biggest challenge will be time and how much of it people have to dedicate to something that is purely voluntary with optimistic but uncertain results. I'm getting discouraged as already people are unable to attend. It's difficult to organize people who, in general, do not think or act in a linear and analytical fashion. One friend reminded me that even if only a few people show up, I can still gain a lot from the process. Either way I've made the commitment to myself to focus on my short-terms goals once a week.

Lesson learned

Time is valuable. It's something we all know to be true and yet this lesson was reinforced recently. I had been in contact with someone trying to set up an appointment and, for various reasons, I delayed on two separate occasions. These delays obviously frustrated the other individual to the point that they are now ready to forget the whole endeavour. I had inadvertently sent them the message that I didn't value their time and that was disrespectful. Thus I apologized and took this to be a good reminder that people's time is valuable. When we're late or when we don't return a phone call or email, we are not respecting the relationship we have with that person. Thankfully this will be an isolated incident as my father trained me to be chronically early.