Isolation continued

I've been shooting my recent project in colour but when I go to a subject's home, I always bring a roll or two of B+W film just in case. Somehow a certain look, or background or lighting will compel me to use the latter. Not sure how these portraits will be incorporated into the final edit, if they'll be part of the project at all, but it doesn't matter right now.

New photo from Isolation/identity project

I've been continuing my project on isolation/identity. I've been thinking about the nature of isolation and how we can be considered separate or "other" based on so many random factors, such as culture, or language, or our appearance, or sexual orientation or mental illness. Is this "otherness" something tangible or obvious? Does this immediately put someone into an "us vs. them" mentality? How does the idea of separateness express itself?

Commercial Portfolio Review with ASMP

The New York chapter of the ASMP is hosting a Commercial Portfolio review on Wednesday April 30th. It's $300 for non-members but free for members and costs less to register as a one year emerging artist member at $125.

I spoke with the organizer Stephen Mallon and there are a few spots left.

Update on APE's free promo

Rob Haggart has been making some improvements to his free promo, which includes the new name foliobrowser.com, the name of the photographer and links that go directly to the photographer's site.

ASMP call for entry

Image 08 is a nationwide photo contest run by the New York chapter of the American Society of Media Photographers and open to all professional and student photographers residing in the United States. Submit one or more of your favorite images that were created on or after January 1, 2007. The deadline for entry submissions is May 14, 2008.

Promotion: Advice from an Art Buyer

Heather Morton, an Art Buyer in Toronto, has good advice about how photographers should promote themselves. She talks about emails, mailed promos, websites, meetings and what to show in your book.

Introduction to collecting photography books

Lesley Martin, publisher of Aperture’s book program, will speak tonight with Harper’s Books art book dealer Harper Levine, and Daile Kaplan, V.P., Director of Photographs, Swann Galleries Inc., and others in an Introduction to collecting photography books, a panel discussion. They will talk about what makes specific books valuable, and thoughts to consider in building a book collection. It should be a great night for photographers and collectors alike.

Introduction to Collecting Photography Books
Panel Discussion
Tuesday, April 22, 2008 | 6:30 p.m.

Aperture Gallery
547 West 27th Street, 4th Floor
New York, New York
(212) 505-5555

Zhang Peng

I found out about Zhang Peng through Zoum Zoum, a French photography blog that's part of the newspaper Liberation. In my fantasy art collection, I'd love to add the above image. I looked like that when I was about 5 years old, except without the knife.

Tracking movements on your website

Yesterday Rob Haggart wrote about how annoyed he was by a photographer who had tracked him from an email promo. He writes, "I think my enthusiasm for email promos and links to work on photographers websites was completely cut in half the day someone emailed me and said “I see you’ve been checking out my book” I actually looked for a portfolio in my office because I didn’t recognize the photographers name, “I just wanted to see if I can show you some more work or shoot an assignment for you.”

Then I realized they had tracked me from an email promo I clicked on and suddenly I felt duped. Are all the photographers secretly tracking my movements to see when I click on a link or how much time I spend on their website. Man, that sucks."

Photo Business News & Forum followed up with this post about email tracking.

Jessica Dimmock at Foley Gallery

Jessica Dimmock's The Ninth Floor opens at Foley Gallery tonight.

All the equipment this photographer uses

John Harrington writes a very informative blog called Assignment Construct where he analyzes an assignment and breaks it down into its parts. He also has a section called "What We Use" where he produced a series of videos that go from production meetings to finishing editing. What I appreciate is how detailed and specific John is about the equipment he uses and why. The list of videos can be found here.

Abortion for art's sake?

Art student Aliza Shvarts is using abortion as a medium for art and political discourse. Her art project is a documentation of a nine-month process during which she artificially inseminated herself “as often as possible” while periodically taking abortifacient drugs to induce miscarriages. The story is here as the Yale Daily News site has (understandably) crashed.

Aruha Yamaoka at Onishi Gallery

The very talented Aruha Yamaoka is having a solo show at Onishi Gallery. I was privileged to be in class with her at ICP and had the opportunity to witness the evolution of her work and ideas. I find her self-portraits haunting and lyrical.

April 17 – May 10, 2008

Opening Reception: Thursday, April 17, 6-8 p.m.

Onishi Gallery

521 W 26^th Street (bet. 10^th and 11^th Aves.)

New York, NY 10001

T. 212.695.8035

F. 212.695.8036

www.onishigallery.com

Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 11:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.

A photo editor comments on the APE promo

Over at WhatsTheJackanory, Andrew has an interview with Brenda Mills, photo editor at Men's Health magazine, for her take on the APE promo slideshow.

Some excerpts:
"WTJ: What do you think about the APE promo slideshow / idea ?

BM: I think that it is a great resource for photo editors, yeah... as Rob says, it is a nice SUPPLEMENT to the other ways we PE's find photographers--nice way to find more people and remind ourselves who we've always liked.

As for slideshow itself-there's one big weakness (besides tiny thumbnails which I mention later): The photogs who are deep in the slideshow are at a definite disadvantage because those who will get the most exposure/seen the most are the ones with images towards the beginning. I'm sure it's something Rob has thought of and will rectify/fix in slideshows to come.

*I'd very much like to know how Rob decided to put these images in order because there are some very established photog's right up front-not having had time to look at all 297 images yet, I wonder if that continues throughout ?...don't recall seeing that info in his text/blog. random ? by preference ??

*I really like that Rob doesn't list the names of photogs upfront (at first I thought that would be dreadful, but I was soon won over!)---makes you actually look at the darn image without reading the name and therefore reading your own preconceived notions about the photographer into what you are seeing--good move, Mr. Haggart."

"WTJ: So you didn't look at all 297 photographers images ?

BM: Not yet and THAT is exactly the problem. While I PLAN to go back and look lots more, with the way a photo editor's day works---lots and lots of crises and interruptions of all sorts throughout--once you stop looking, you don't know when or even if you'll have time/focus to go back. I DO PLAN to go back.

I think I got through 35 or 40--it takes quite a bit of time, actually, because I am seeing lots of pictures I like and then I check the name and then I go to the individual website if I don't know the photog. and then I take time on their website.

So ultimately it will be a very time-consuming yet extremely valuable tool.

WTJ: Were you surprised to see some big names in the mix ?

BM: A bit, yes. But I reckon that's a tribute to APE's appeal / influence / reach in photo community"

Made the cut

Rob Haggart's free promo slideshow is now posted. You can view the full-screen version at ILikeThesePhotos. I'm very excited to be included among such talented photographers and frankly, rather surprised. My understanding was that Rob would choose more "commercial" images, whatever that means, but I decided to take a risk and send him photos from a personal project art project about female nudes in domestic interiors. Who knew? My thanks to Rob for his continued dedication to photographers.

Want a fake baby?

Maclean's recently posted a story about reborn dolls; life-like baby dolls that women collect.

"It's not a doll. It's a baby.

You don't 'buy' a reborn. You adopt one.

ALEXANDRA SHIMO | March 26, 2008 |

Three-month-old Victoria has grey-blue eyes and auburn hair, just like her mother. She weighs five pounds and zero ounces, and is 18.5 inches long, the same as when she was first adopted. This morning, 26-year-old Mary Shallcross is dressing her.

"Do you want to get changed?" Mary asks in a quiet, soothing voice as she pulls out a pair of baby-pink dungarees with fuchsia-pink flowers. The question is rhetorical. Victoria will be dressed regardless of what she wants, and in any event her wishes would be extremely difficult to determine, since the lifelike creature lying in a wicker basket and being dressed is not a baby at all, but a special type of doll.

To understand why Shallcross, a Winnipegger and a history buff, is addressing a vinyl doll as if it were her child requires entering the growing world of reborning. Reborn dolls look, feel and smell just like real babies. They look so realistic, in fact, that they are often mistaken for the real thing. Every aspect of their anatomy has been carefully constructed to imitate the experience of looking at and holding a baby. The dolls are painted with the same slightly blotchy colouring noticeable on a very young infant. Their bodies are stuffed with sand or silicone so that their legs, fingers, head and hands have the same floppy weight as that of a small newborn baby. They even have the same neck-support issues, so that anyone picking one up will instinctively support the head.

"My daughter, who is a neonatal nurse, finds them eerie, scary because they are too lifelike," says Martha Englishman, who is retired and has five reborns, partly because she has always collected dolls, but also to compensate for not having any grandchildren. "It sounds crazy, but I love them. They are the next best thing to having a baby." Click here to continue the article.

Listen, it's one thing for little girls (or boys) to play with dolls. It's another for grown women to not only collect dolls (for the majority of collectors are women), but also cuddle them, sing to them and change their nappies. Perhaps these dolls tap into these women's desire to nurture and well, mother. This reminds me of a BBC documentary about men who purchased life-size ultra-realistic dolls for sex. Many of these men dressed their dolls, put make-up on them and considered them their soul mate. I wonder if both these types of dolls are an antidote to loneliness and fulfill the need for companionship and connection (even if your companion is inert and made of silicone).

I've been working on a portrait series about isolation and identity so I've been thinking about the nature and forms of loneliness. I just realized these women who collect "babies" are related to that.

There's a clip from a Channel 4 documentary here. These dolls are becoming more and more life-like; this one breathes.

The Business of Art Photography

This Thursday, on April 17, ASMP will host a seminar on The Business of Fine Art Photography presented by New York gallery owner and art professor Thomas Werner.

"This seminar will explain how to edit and market your photographs for the Fine Art market — how to present your work, how to build a relationship with a gallery, what to expect of an exhibition, and so on.

The world of Fine Art Photography is changing as rapidly as the commercial market place. During this time of change, it is important to develop multiple revenue streams to support your business. It is also important to keep your vision fresh and alive. In this seminar, Thomas Werner explains how creating and properly marketing a body of fine art work will help you achieve these goals."

Pulitzer Prize Winners announced

For Feature Photography to Preston Gannaway of the Concord Monitor for her intimate chronicle of a family coping with a parent's terminal illness. See the multimedia presentation here. Chapter 3 especially contains disturbing images.

Inspired and challenged

Over at Chase Jarvis, there's a post commenting on the lack of discussion about artistic inspiration and the challenges we face in a profession that depends on it.

He writes, "The relative lack of such discussion in the photo blogosphere should be of no surprise, really. It's clearly the toughest part of the art equation to describe and discuss, as so adroitly illustrated here by my choppy, fragmented introduction. All the more reason to continue with the mission.

That said--and armed only with my own ignorance and a willingness to go somewhat naked--I'm going to embark on a personal challenge to begin sharing the roots of my own experiences and challenges in a constant search for inspiration. I'll call this forthcoming series, for lack of a better idea, Inspired By_Challenged By. In truth, I wanted to call it something even more corny like Inspired Confessions, but I realized that was just a defense mechanism trying to get me to downplay the reality of what I'm trying to get at. Earlier tonight in the drafting process, I even had the horrible working title of something all-inclusive like What Makes Us Tick. I quickly realized that such a title was kind of bullshit and/or presumptive. How could I claim any knowledge of YOUR inspirations, motivations, or challenges?

In the end I've decided on calling the series simply Inspired By_Challenged By out of go ol' plain honesty. It is what it is. Over the next short days/weeks/months, I'll aim to occasionally share things that, for one reason or another, get my brain bubbling or, conversely, get my panties in a knot. Whether it's a photo, a moment, a realization, a book, a song, a magazine, an artist; or something more chewy like a personal struggle, a stumble, or some downright strife. Anything will be fair game, especially thoughts or ruminations thereof."

It's something I think about all the time. Where do our ideas come from? How can we continue to be inspired? Is there such a thing as a Muse? A few months ago I was in the very middle of an artistic dry spell and it was a dreadful place to be. It seems no matter how many "dry spells" I experience, there's always this fear that all my "best" ideas are gone, that I won't be able to truly create again. I often wonder if this is some sort of neurotic mind game I play with myself or whether all creatives experience this underlying fear. It's as though I forget that everything I want or need to express, all those emotions, ideas and experiences are already within me. Julia Cameron's Morning Pages reiterate this. The pages she encourages us to write every morning can be thought of as meditation, where "we acquire and eventually acknowledge our connection to an inner power source that has the ability to transform our outer world."

Interview with Antonin Kratochvil

I remember, when I first started my year at ICP, I attended a VII Photo Agency seminar during orientation week. The day started with a slideshow of all the participating photographers. The images were so arresting, their effect augmented by a haunting soundtrack. I was moved, overwhelmed; I could not imagine being a photojournalist, of being part of this incredible tradition of advocacy through photography. Antonin Kratochvil was scheduled to speak but he was on assignment overseas so I didn't have a chance to meet him. Shoot! The Blog has an interview with him.

Women in the history of photographers

Cara Phillips posts a list of women in the history of photography and her desire for female mentorship. Her list includes some great photographers.

"The blogosphere is full of ‘best of’ lists and rankings. The blog is a perfect venue for this type of information. So I thought it would be nice to create a women in the history of photography list. I rarely read an interview where a photographer, male or female, cites a woman as an influence. The exceptions is perhaps Diane Arbus. And I have always found the sources on this subject rather limited. I like the idea of being able to see the range, and ability of female photographers from the advent of the art form.It is not in chronological order or by ranking per say, it is meant as a general source list. I discovered quite a lot of great work while putting it together."

Gallerinas, ongoing discussion

There's been an ongoing discussion in the photoblog world following this NY Times article about female gallery assistants in Chelsea and their frosty demeanor. Joerg, over at Conscientious, had this to say about it and linked to Cara Phillips' long discussion here. Liz Kuball adds her inspiring post here.

Update: Amy Elkins has started a blog called Women in Photography and is asking for submissions: "A recent burst of discussions and shows related to the idea of women in the photo world has lead me to start a very simple blog, showcasing the work of women. Photographers, Cara Phillips, Liz Kuball and others have greatly contributed to this topic.

I'm not quite sure where the blog will lead, but it's a starting point. There are an abundance of talented, intelligent and creative women that I have come to know in the past few years. I'm excited to see their work showcased in one place. Cheers, Amy"

Update: Via Conscientious, there's a link to Nymphoto which is "a collective of women photographers dedicated to creating a community of and for female artists, in order to span the gender divide that pervades throughout the art world today. Our primary concern is to increase the exposure of our photographers and the work they create. The collective is a fusion of industries: the scholastic, the representative and the museum."

APA discussion on websites

Rob Haggart sat on a panel discussion on websites for the APA San Francisco and posted his observations here.

Brand Gap Slide Show

Ed McCulloch posts the Brand Gap Slide Show.

Opening

Gregory Crewdson opens tonight at Luhring Augustine.

Online museums

Coudal Partners has the Museum of Online Museums, which lists exceptional exhibits from each quarter. I could spend hours surfing there.

The Future of Marketing

Leslie Burns links to a brilliant and funny slideshow about the future of marketing and advertising.

Zing magazine: info on openings

I just signed up for Zing Magazine which emails you lists of events during the week, such as openings at galleries.

Todd Hido at Aperture

Todd Hido will be speaking at Aperture tonight. There's also a video of his work here.

Science, genetics and destiny

Tonight is Jessica Queller's book launch "Pretty is What Changes", a story of a woman who takes destiny into her hands by undergoing a prophylactic mastectomy.

"Eleven months after her mother succumbs to cancer, Jessica Queller has herself tested for the BRCA “breast cancer” gene mutation. The results come back positive, putting her at a terrifyingly elevated risk of developing breast cancer before the age of fifty and ovarian cancer in her lifetime. Thirty-four, unattached, and yearning for marriage and a family of her own, Queller faces an agonizing choice: a lifetime of vigilant screenings and a commitment to fight the disease when caught, or its radical alternative—a prophylactic double mastectomy that would effectively restore life to her, even as it would challenge her most closely held beliefs about body image, identity, and sexuality.

Superbly informed and armed with surprising wit and style, Queller takes us on an odyssey from the frontiers of science to the private interiors of a woman’s life. Pretty Is What Changes is an absorbing account of how she reaches her courageous decision and its physical, emotional, and philosophical consequences. It is also an incredibly moving story of what we inherit from our parents and how we fashion it into the stuff of our own lives, of mothers and daughters and sisters, and of the sisterhood that forms when women are united in battle against a common enemy.

Without flinching, Jessica Queller answers a question we may one day face for ourselves: If genes can map our fates and their dark knowledge is offered to us, will we willingly trade innocence for the information that could save our lives?"

New York Magazine also has an article about her.