Objects on Horizon Grid

NY Times: ICP Triennial Review

What’s Real Today (Check Again Soon): ‘A Different Kind of Order: The ICP Triennial’

NY Times Art Review

May 16, 2013

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/17/arts/design/a-different-kind-of-order-the-icp-triennial.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

The Hawaii Pictures: Ansel Adams and Georgia O'Keefe, Honolulu Museum of Art Exhibition

Excerpt from Honolulu Museum of Art webpage:
https://www.honolulumuseum.org/art/exhibitions/13245-georgia_okeeffe_and_ansel_adams_hawaii_pictures

“Both artists wanted to unmask what lay beyond the beaches of Waikiki,” says Theresa Papanikolas, the museum’s curator of European and American art, and curator of the exhibition. “O’Keeffe went beyond prevailing stereotypes and pictured Hawai‘i in terms of her own authentic and deeply personal response to its natural beauty. Meanwhile, the work that Adams did in the island reflected and augmented his broader aim to exploit the capacity of modern photography to reveal the essence of a given subject and, in doing so, make America’s celebrated spaces immediately identifiable and accessible.”

The exhibition includes a selection of painting associated with O’Keeffe’s 1939 trip to Hawai‘i to create illustrations for print advertisements for the Hawaiian Pineapple Company (now the Dole Company). During her two-month stay, O’Keeffe visited O‘ahu, Maui, Kaua‘i, and Hawai‘i Island, painting dramatic coastlines, volcanic terrain, traditional tools, and exotic flora.

Adams’s photographs of Hawai‘i were also the result of a commission. He first visited the islands in 1948 to take photographs for a series on national parks for the Department of the Interior, and returned in 1957 for a commemorative publication for Bishop National Bank of Hawai‘i (now First Hawaiian Bank).

Artist Talk: Kosta Kulundzic’s Hawaii Apocalypse, 8/1

Article in Flux Hawaii, July 25, 2013
End of the World in Paradise

Looking forward to this artist talk on August 1. Excerpt from article:

"Kosta Kulundzic’s Hawaii Apocalypse, on display at SPF Projects until August 25, puts Saint George the Dragon Slayer, the patron saint of soldiers, chivalry, and horsemen, right in the center of paradise. This medieval legend has everything you could want: a brave hero, an evil villain, and a damsel in distress. O‘ahu becomes the unexpected setting for religious violence and comic book catastrophe."

Kosta Kulundzic’s Hawaii Apocalypse, curated by Trisha Lagaso Goldberg is currently showing at SPF Projects from July 18–August 25. An artist talk will take place on August 1 at 7 p.m.

LINK for more info:
http://fluxhawaii.com/archives/end-of-the-world-in-paradise/

Article: Interview with Collector Bret Kreuk

Article: Other People & Their Ideas
Interview by Mark Rappolt
Art Review, Issue 69, Summer 2013
For full text: http://artreview.com/features/bert_kreuk_other_people_and_their_ideas_no._7/

I found this Art Review interview with collector Bret Kreuk interesting. Mark Rappolt asked "What would you like people to take away from it [your collection]?"

Bret Kreuk replied, "You know, what I’d like them to take away is that art is not only about a nice two-dimensional picture. Art is also very much about learning, and about an educational process. People should look at an artwork, not because they think it’s ugly, or it’s beautiful, because ugly is a very subjective word. Something beautiful might be very superficial – somebody came up with an idea, made it commercial so that people buy it. That’s easy. It’s always easy to buy an artist who is clever enough to present something which is attractive, but staying truthful to the concept of their own ability and their own ideas, that’s something else. Ugly is maybe even nicer. It’s about the educational process, and helping people on their way to think differently about art. That’s what I’d like people to take away from it, that they have to think for themselves."

Recent Work: Bar Graph Sky Abstractions

Sky Graph 100x16"

Sky graph stretched

Recent Work: Lost & Found

These are experiments working with previous images from last semester. I'm using the latitude and longitude coordinates of where I took the image to specify their exact location via Google Maps. Paired with my somewhat ambiguous landscapes, I find the Google Maps satellite images of the same place intriguing. I'm wondering what new dialogue is sparked when paired with my rendition of the location... information accessibility online, perception of place, ways in which photography can simultaneously share information and deceive the viewer. 

Still works in progress... 

21° 16' 53.20" N, 157° 42' 47.72" W

21° 15' 48.96" N, 157° 49' 18.71" W

35° 18' 17.02" N, 139° 33' 3.85" W

Video: Aperture Panel Abstraction in Photography, Hammer Museum

Aperture Panel: Abstraction in Photography, Hammer Museum

I found this video available on Youtube very interesting. Going to keep my eyes open for the Rexer's book due out in September 2013.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDYBJV4ylzw

Blurb: From the beginning, abstraction has been intrinsic to photography, and its persistent popularity reveals much about the medium. Artists Susan Rankaitis and James Welling and UCLA Associate Professor of Art History George Baker debate a host of approaches to the abstract photographic experience in this panel discussion moderated by Lyle Rexer, the author of The Edge of Vision: The Rise of Abstraction in Photography.

Article: Snapshot and the Beauty of Ephemeral Photography and Fleeting Creativity

Snapshot and the Beauty of Ephemeral Photography and Fleeting Creativity
Darrell Etherington

http://techcrunch.com/2013/07/27/snapchat-and-the-beauty-of-ephemeral-photography-and-fleeting-creativity/

Lost in layers & Photoshop excess

New York: Gugghenheim, The Met, MOMA, and ICP

Oh New York, New York. Even when it is rainy, hot, and humid like the days I visited, I still love this city. As I made my way back from June's residency in Boston, I had the opportunity to soak up a few excellent exhibitions in the Big Apple. Here are some highlights:

1. Guggenheim: James Turrel's site specific installation

I was excited to experience Turrell's installation live since I’ve only read about his works. As expected, it does take time to slow down and immerse yourself in the environment. As I watched the glowing, ethereal color gradients change, I found it just as fascinating to note how other observers experienced the space. Some visitors sat quietly with their eyes closed, others laid back on the recliner benches with eyes wide open as if in awe. On my left, a couple felt inclined to kiss and directly in front of me, children shouted “Woooow!” On the upper floors, there were older works of Turrell's on view that gave context for his projects and career trajectory. Another highlight was seeing his Afrum (White) or aka White Cube in person.

"My work is about space and light that inhabits it. It is about how you confront that space and plumb it. It is about your seeing." - James Turrell

Click here for an 8 min video link on Turrell & the project:  http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/exhibitions/on-view/james-turrell

2. The Met

Everyday Epiphanies: Photographs and Daily Life Since 1969
At War with the Obvious: Photographs by William Eggleston

Punk: Chaos to Couture
Frank Lloyd Wright Room
Impressionist Wing

3. Museum of Modern Art
Painting and Sculpture floors
XL: 19 New Acquisitions in Photography

Artist highlights: Liz Deschenes, Allan Sekula, Stephen Shore, Taryn Simon, Robert Frank, Běla Kolářová, Dora Maurer, Paul Graham, Óscar Muñoz, Mariah Robertson

4. International Center of Photography:  A Different Kind of Order: The ICP Triennial
(One of my favorite museums in Manhattan, the triennial did not disappoint!)

Artist & work highlights: Trevor Paglen Untitled (Predator Drone), Wangechi Mutu, Elliot Hundley Pentheus, Mishka Henner Dutch Landscapes, Thomas Hirschhorn Touching Reality, Gideon Mendel Drowning World, Sam Falls, Sohei Nishino Diorama Maps,  Mikhael Subotzky & Patrick Waterhouse

Excerpt from press release:

"The exhibition sketches the contours of the new visual and social territory in which photography finds itself today. A number of key themes serve as guidelines that link the works in the exhibition:

• Artist as aggregator identifies one of the main aesthetic offshoots of the digital image environment: the present-day descendants of the “image scavengers” of the 1980s who are now busy plundering and reorganizing found, online photographs into highly personal, web-based archives.

• The resurgence of collage is evident in works that combine photographic fragments, digital images, paint, three-dimensional objects, and audio and video material to blast open and reconfigure the space of the photograph in unprecedented ways.

• At a time when all manner of power structures are being called into question, mapping has become a renewed subject of artistic inquiry—part of a wider fascination with the power of ordering systems that has emerged in response to the dematerialized disorder of the Internet’s environment.

• The Internet’s dissolution of geographic distance has spurred the development of new forms of community, allowing artists to explore new forms of connection, collaboration, and multiple authorship that do not depend on physical proximity.

• In cooperation with ICP Associate Librarian Matthew Carson, the exhibition will also include an installation of approximately 100 recent photo books, which testifies to the extraordinary boom in self-published and small-press photo books now occurring around the world."

Small video I made as the train approached Manhattan

Big Island Selection

Last week, I had the opportunity to photograph a wedding on the Kona side of Big Island. Dustin and I took advantage of the trip and extended our stay by two extra days for creative photo adventures. Big Island's surreal lava landscape, steep cliffs, and patches of green pasture were especially interesting to explore given the current direction of my work. Since we were on the Kona side, I made a point to scope out the windmill farm by Ka Lae Point. Throughout our visit, the vog was fairly thick which I tried to embrace while making pictures. I did encounter a few moments of clear air and light which I was thankful for. As I scouted for pictures, I was particularly interested in finding strange or unusual hints of human intervention on the landscape. I find myself looking for equal parts beauty and strangeness.

Honolulu Museum of Art visit

I'm looking forward to checking out this exhibition tomorrow as it may have some ties to my current research. Hawaii: The Mythic Landscape by Stephan Brigidi Here's a quote from the Honolulu Museum of Art website:

"A connection between the natural world and human history are central to the artistic intent of photographer Stephan Brigidi. This body of work was primarily created from 1980 to 1990, while the artist lived in Hawai’i exploring and discovering the uniqueness of the islands. The deep connection to place is intended to highlight the importance of environmental and cultural stewardship. By manipulating each print, often with paint, the natural and the human world can become a place of the mythic and the spiritual."

I'm also planning to stop by the exhibition Landscape in the New World which may serve as a supplement to my research on nature, the sublime, and the new American frontier.

I hope to have time to see Little Worlds: Video Sculptures by Tony Oursler as well!

In July, I'm even more excited to view an upcoming exhibition titled Georgia O'Keefe and Ansel Adams: Hawaii Pictures. Check out the link for more info, should be really fascinating to view depictions of Hawaii by O'Keefe and Adams.

New work

In the last month, I've started to shoot at an earlier period of dusk which is opening up results in my long exposure seascapes. The image below represents a recent capture. Besides basic raw processing, there is no fancy Photoshop work here. I am asked the Photoshop question frequently and although I have no issue with Photoshop (in fact I am a huge fan) I have not found it necessary with the current series. I'm more interested in creating surreal scenes within the camera not in post-processing. In the photo below, I'm interested in how the water begins to melt away and renders as a white landscape.  I also find the numerous signs, flattened by my 70-200mm lens, enhance the depiction of this other-wordly environment. Does this place really exist? Where are we? How does this photograph relate (or not) to the rest of the series taken mainly at night?

To be continued...

Peter Bialobrzeski's "The Raw and the Cooked" (2011)

Peter Bialobrzeski's "The Raw and the Cooked" (2011)

Check out this body of work here: http://www.m97gallery.com/artist/?artist=peter_bialobrzeski&series=1360121209

Quote from site:

“'The Raw and the Cooked'(2011) is Bialobrzeski’s most recent body of work and continues on the footsteps of his interest in Asian cities and their vertiginous growth. With photographs taken in fourteen countries across Asia, this newest work is a conti-nuation of his study of urbanization and globalization trends in different countries around the world. Enigmatic photographs of glowing cityscapes present an ubiquitous contrast of humble old structures standing besides the shiny high
-rises that will ultimately replace them in a frenzied rhythm of accelerated growth. With his characteristic combination of photo-journalism and artistic mastery, Bialobrzeski draws attention to the often wasteful nature of urban development and its persis-tent aim to destroy the old to give way to the new."