“If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him. We must never forget that art is not a form of propaganda; it is a form of truth.” / john f kennedy Today, Bill talked about their recent trip to New Orleans and Southern Louisiana. He talked about the post Katrina reconstruction, rehabilitation and gentrification of the city...and the loss of the urban wall art space. Despite the loss, he was able to find his next series for "Art of the City Wall" entitled New Orleans... "Art is Work." He reviewed the set from his website. http://www.paracosmphotography.com Comments about the website were great and included the need for context and narrative for the series; the boundaries between new "art" and appropriation...in the context of the recent Prince use (or appropriated use) of Instagram pictures. Below is a reminder of the general statement regarding Urban Wall Art… has its roots in Dadaism, abstract realism, pop and artistic disenfranchisement engages viewers in public discourse without need for museums or galleries mixes reality with visual fiction in uncensored visual candor represents one freedom of expression within society mimics abstract art in line and form and color serves as “proof of life” within the community enhances an otherwise sterile and barren environment will disappear with time, human intervention and the natural elements has overlapping meanings and discourses within urban cultures represents the “Beauty of the Random” Steve Lewis showed some pictures with an architectural bent from his recent involvement in the Metro Extension and the opening of a new maintenance facility.
And finally... We all welcomed back Chris Kleine after his sojourn into the world of medical treatment. We all agreed he looked great and we're excited to see him grace the chairs of our meeting once again. Now we want to see some new inspired work in the future.
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“I like to make people a little uncomfortable. It encourages them to examine who they are and why they think the way they do.” Sally Mann Today's discussion centered around Sally Mann and was led brilliantly by Jim Staub. Starting with her early life and her relationship with her eccentric father who, by the way, photographed her naked as a child. A picture of the young Sally Mann (not naked) is below: Her education focused at first on writing then ultimately on photography. She moved to the family farm after her son was involved in a non-fatal accident. Here was able to ensure her privacy. During the summer months, her child frequently were allowed to wander without clothes and she began to photograph them and develop her artistic aesthetic...which, by the way, was not just limited to her children but the physical environment of the rolling hillsides. Her books, At Twelve (1988) and Immediate Family (1992), created a storm of contraversy and discussion surrounding the use of the children and posing them without clothes. Despite this, her work continued to win her acclaim in the photography world. Her other subjects included...her southern roots (Deep South, 2005) and her husband who was diagnosed with Adult Muscular Dystrophy...below is a interpretive picture of her husband: She has also looked photographically at decaying corpses at the FBI center for forensic research, leading to her photographic essay, What Remains 2003. More recently an article in the New York Times Magazine (April 15, 2015) prompted more discussion regarding her artistic intent and its place in the art and cultural world and prompted rather personal assaults on her personally and a flashpoint in the cultural wars of art. Worth the read...here is link: http://nyti.ms/1OGx8VP The open discussion at the meeting on Mann's work lead us in several directions including the genre of photographing young children in various stages of undress...eg Jock Sturges; the relationship of subject to photographer; the ability to show such work in the public domain; the effect and influence of cultural mores; the staging of her work esp with using a view camera; her technical skills as a fine art printer; and the influence of her children's choices as they got older. The discussion also focused on the distinction between pictures that are just sensuous vs salacious vs frank pornography...and would we display her work at Jones considering the public nature of its business. And finally, should we as artists (photographers) produce work based on our artistic vision and integrity or should we pander to public opinion. I think the consensus was to produce from your artistic view...and the public can decide visual and artistic value. We ran out of time and would have liked to show the Sally Mann -Charlie Rose interview...here is link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQShT_eToY0 and finally...her new book just released We were joined by a guest today who will be showing his work at a future meeting: Karchi Pearlman.
"The camera is an eye capable of looking forward and backward at the same time. Forwards, it does in fact, shoot a picture, backwards, it records a vague shadow looking straight back through the eye...to the photographer's mind and soul." Wim Wenders...Photographer, Director ("Salt of the Earth") What an exceptional meeting and discussion of one of the foremost photographers of our generation: Sebastiao Salgado I can't even begin to create a summary of all the comments on his life and work...but before I try, let me tell you several "factoids" we did NOT discuss: First, Salgado was present at the attempted assignation of Ronald Reagan: Second, Salgado visually studied coffee workers around the world (2002-2014) traveling to Brazil, India, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Colombia, China, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Tanzania. The series was called "Scent of a Dream" http://www.illy.com/wps/wcm/connect/en/art/sebastiao-salgado We started off our exploration of Salgado's life and work by viewing aTED talk he gave in 2013...here is the link: https://www.ted.com/speakers/sebastiao_salgado You can review his biography on many different websites and books. It suffices to say his wife, Lelia, was also his artistic partner at home through his career. She planned his long excursions and curated his work. She also gave Salgado his first camera (Leica) launching his remarkable career. Since you asked, he shoots with Leica and Canon cameras. We approached our discussion today by posing a series of questions about his work. (Note: did the best I could in translation...but you really needed to be there...sorry) Q: What is the role of a photojournalist in social change in general? Charles: "photojournalists need to be the eyes of others; responsibility to inform" Q: Why was Salgado uniquely qualified to foster social change? unique background...farming in Brazil and training/working as economist Q: How does his visual aesthetic enhance his narrative? Gareth: "power of art to inform" "provides more credibility as both spectator and activist" Salgado clear on bias and passion Carel: "shows contrast between "misery" and "aesthetics" Q: Does the quality of “the print” matter in his work? yes, larger prints while not as clear may provoke a larger emotional response Howard: may allow both art and subject to be seen more readily interesting to see his "contact sheets" for his work Q: How is photography influencing public thought and action? yes, especially now with social and political citizen activism in streets and countries Q: What is the role of social media in Salgado’s work? spreads message he wants increases our ability to believe the message Q: Does Salgado’s environmental actions further and add credibility to his message? yes...especially his re-foresting his farmland in Brazil Q: How does his humanity fit into his ecosystem of photography? very necessary for photographing his subjects and conveying message Q: Is Salgado an artist..an activist…or a social scientist? Kathy: "people who make significant impact start with small changes" All of above... The last thing we discussed was the recently released documentary on Salgado directed by Wim Wenders in collaboration with Salgado's son Juliano.... "Salt of the Earth" Salt of the Earth shows an in depth continuation of Salgado's TED talk in 2013. It portrays the humanity and social activism and gives insight into his career changes from economist to agency photographer (Magnum) to independent social photographer and finally to an environmental activist. Salt of the Earth was nominated for the Oscar for best documentary film, won a prize at the Cannes Film Festival last spring and was also awarded a César, the French equivalent of an Academy Award. Wim Wenders is a well known director of such movies as "Paris, Texas,""The Buena Vista Social Club,"and was responsible with Ry Cooder in getting the Social Club into the US from Cuba. Last comment about Wenders...he himself is a photographer. Bill brought in one of his publications "Once" ...a combination of his writing and photography. Well worth the time reading, looking and the price at Vroman's Almost done with Salgado... Gareth noted a film done in 2002 about Salgado...see below Final Doo Dah for the day...
Paris Photo not a great show; Photo Independent much better Met our f8 Pasadena "doppelgänger" in Chicago... a group of women photographers who formed "f8 Collective" 4 months ago |
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