Darwin, without the car…
May 31, 2009
“Frame for a Tract House, Colorado Springs, Colorado”
1969 - © Robert Adams
“Something had to change,” he added. “You just can’t keep going with that many cars.” – source…
Same might be said for houses (sprawl)…
Instead of feeling deprived of having a new car every other year (the marketing of personal identity wrapped up in the car one owns – needs a new twist – like the obnoxious “I own the road” Tahoe driver… we all hate them really don’t we?) – one might feel freedom… The car as a form of personal transportation is both a blessing and a curse – - obviously, now we must find alternatives that have less impact…
I wonder what (or if) Robert Adams would have found “The New West” – without the car. Would Robert Frank have been able to make “the Americans” ?
Memorial to the days of 48 Stars…
May 24, 2009
Parade—Hoboken, New Jersey, 1955 – Robert Frank
Photograph © Robert Frank, from The Americans
(Robert Frank, American, b. 1924 in Switzerland)
Flag. 1954–55 - Jasper Johns (b. 1930)
Encaustic, oil, and collage on fabric mounted on plywood (three panels)
42 1/4 x 60 5/8″ (107.3 x 154 cm)
As I notice the appearance of the United States flag on Memorial Day these two works always come to mind.
Michael Marten – Sea Change
May 22, 2009
Grain, Kent – Michael Marten
Sea Change – by Michael Marten – on view at Blue Sky Gallery here in Portland -
I think because I grew up in the cornfields of the Midwest – the views offered by Marten of seaside edges at various tides – low and high in close comparison - are for me quite interesting and somewhat foreign. Of course I’ve visited various shorelines along the way, but there is something important about spending enough time in one place in order to see the influences of the natural environment (or manmade for that matter) on the shape of the landscape. Perhaps it is an issue of slowing down enough to internalize it in a way – to come back time and again is the key. One can do this in any number of places of course at different time scales, but the regular contrast and steady rhythm of high/low tides is a wonderful opportunity to do so in a predictable way.
From Marten’s statement:
“… Natural processes have lit, watered and shaped the world since time immemorial. Paying attention to their rhythms and effects may help us to reconnect to the fundamentals of the planet, which we ignore at our peril…”
Indeed. All it takes is to be reminded in a serious way – how quickly you can be come isolated – at the mercy of nature’s way. Perhaps that is the element missing for me in these pictures which are striking on their own terms – but for me an element of risk would be an interesting additional dimension in the series…. I like the series though – it is a good start on any number of possible ways to look at our world around us.
Where you allow your attention to go…
May 20, 2009
This seems relevant and worthy of my time – from an article titled In defense of distraction, by Sam Anderson in NYT Mag – quote attributed to Merlin Mann….. Seems perhaps related to this blog post which in turn refers to a post by Meg Pickard on a little fun nugget describing the “irrelevance hump” on a perhaps not so fictitious(?) graph suggesting a trending analysis of topics of interest on twitter – hunch worthy or not – is totally up to you…. the quote below I think is insightful…. consider this in your work / life ….
- “Where you allow your attention to go ultimately says more about you as a human being than anything that you put in your mission statement,” he continues. “It’s an indisputable receipt for your existence. And if you allow that to be squandered by other people who are as bored as you are, it’s gonna say a lot about who you are as a person.” – source
Jurgen Bergbauer – Houses and other objects…
April 28, 2009
untitled (Häuser no. 5) – Jurgen Bergbauer
60 cm x 155 cm (24” x 60”) lambdaprint on aluminium / diasec face matt , 2003
42 Studien (Print Detail) – Jurgen Bergbauer
Installation virtual 2008
Natur IV – Jurgen Bergbauer
180 cm x 240cm (71” x 95”) lambdaprint on aluminium / diasec face matt, 2008
Natur – Jurgen Bergbauer
Installation virtual 2008 -
Quite nice work by Jurgen Bergbauer (artist website here) – found via post by 5B4 Photography and Books (written up nicely as well….) - here’s some more hinting at the “construction” of the book by Jurgen Bergbauer.
There is a tight consistency and pattern of study or inquiry that appeals to my aesthetic sense and architectural interest which draws me to these wonderfully rich photographic images of Bergbauer’s. The exploration of natural forms and resulting patterns or “structure” resonates for me in the direction of a “quell the clutter” approach… Jurgen Bergbauer is an artist that I am to watch for upcoming work for sure….
The medium is the message…
April 21, 2009
Sometimes… the medium is the message… and it becomes quite apparent when isolated…
Photolucida – Spring Portfolio Reviews – Portland, Oregon
April 21, 2009
A quick note regarding Photolucida’s Spring Portfolio Reviews – there are events open (and free!) to the public. The Portfolio Walk will be located in the Sunken Ballroom at the Portland Art Museum on Thursday evening (April 23) from 6-9.
160 participating photographers will be showing their work in three shifts and if your interested try to make time to visit the Portland Art Museum’s open (and did I mention free!) event. It’s a great chance to see the work out there first hand and talk to the photographer’s that catch your interest.
On Saturday (April 25th) there is an open gallery walk in the Pearl District – another fine chance to see work and visit hosting galleries – more about the events here on Photolucida’s event calendar… and after that a “Potluck Slide Show” – more on that event here
modern Zeitgeist ticker … or a Wordtrain…
April 1, 2009
LED 1
© jenny holzer
Must see Jenny Holzer….
Moodtrain capturing a little of the mood of the online folk who browse the NYT… a clever little work by Gabriel Dance, Aron Pilhofer and Andrew Kueneman/The New York Times – this is the stuff of the new
Now what we need now is a phototrain… (oh.. maybe there already is of sorts…)
Difference in results of course evident when certain questions are asked and answered with words compared to certain photographs so tagged “About the Economy”…. Then again… photographs themselves don’t always tell us much to they? It takes a filter of sorts….
D.I.Y. self-publish/print on demand mags… and MagCloud
March 30, 2009
I’m wondering if anyone might have some experience with this on-demand publishing service called MagCloud by HP…? Quality?
Seems to be yet another avenue for self expression / self branding… full of potential with the right content and very little economic means.
And now with a little boost from the NYT – perhaps a wider audience, though I’m wondering about the “vanity publishing” aspect with this comment… “it’s a nifty idea for a vanity press that reminds me of the underground zines we had in the ’60s and ’70s.” ?
Surely, content trumps quality and it is likely so in this case… but perhaps there is a certain fitness to purpose, to satisfy the desire to hold print in our hands in addition to the flickering glimmer of our screens…
Gerhard Richter’s “Kugel”
March 17, 2009
Originally published: March 29, 2005
Note: This is not a photo that I took – it is a web image from the resource (collection) on Gehard Richter’s Paintings, Watercolors and
Multiples for which proper credit maybe found and attributed here:
www.sammlung-frieder-burda.de/index_e.html
My comments…..the orb is particular in capturing the moment (trace?) in this picture of the art piece. The reflection in the all seeing – the instant of recording – context, photographer and apparatus. The picture preserves a trace of the subject/viewer relationship that in “reality” is always shifting and requires that you be present in the now to participate…
I love how the photo provides another space for interpretation of the piece.
The photograph provides a separation distance between you and the orb – more precisely, the presence of an image in your likeness which can only occur obviously given the situation “in real time” between you and the orb… You see your likeness in the mirror… Here through the photograph – the separation distance is quite apparent as it offers a glimpse of the relationship to the moment when a photograph was taken….
Gerhard Richter
Kugel
1989
Diameter: 8 cm
Ball of high-grade steel
signed, dated and numbered by engraving “A.P. 5/5 Richter 1989″
UPDATE
What does this have to do with “modern photography”? … The work by Matthew Jordan comes to mind…
Untitled 2008, Matthew Jordan - From his series “half empty“… more here….
