Wednesday Work: Jeffrey Stockbridge, "Kensington Blues"

Front Street

Jeffrey Stockbridge

Dolly

Jeffrey Stockbridge

Dennis

Jeffrey Stockbridge

I moved to Philadelphia in 2006, and before moving here took a lot of photographs of the people and places that made up my community. After relocating to the big city, I found myself unable to make the same kinds of images. I wasn't from Philadelphia, I didn't know how to approach those things I saw on the streets. Conscious of my outside perspective and my outsider status, I took my personal  work to the studio. It was a good move for me, though my interest in street photography lives on. Now, I like to see how others are able to do it. 

Since living in Philly, there have been photographers here making big headlines for the work they've completed in the neighborhood. Most notably, the work of Zoe Strauss. Strauss is born and raised Philadelphia, so the work, in a way, seems right and just. That being said, I am always left wanting more when viewing Strauss work. Asking myself who are the people in the photographs, and more, are the hard-luck portraits made of them helpful or hurtful?

I was turned onto Jeffrey Stockbridge, and his series Kensington Blues by a student of mine. Stockbridge works more like a Jim Goldberg, with his series chronicling those he comes across in the Kensington neighborhood via photographic works and interviews. Stockbridge talks to the people, he transcribes their stories, we are given more information. I enjoy the information. I enjoy hearing the individuals voice. It makes me feel less like I am taking from them as a viewing audience, makes me feel less like a voyeur. It feels more fair. 

Being a photographer myself, I know what the camera can do, the potential for it to take away from its subject. It is an argument I have with myself and photographs at large, often. Stockbridge helped me to articulate the side of the argument I am on. 

Plus, I live in a row home right down the street from many of his shots.; so there is that sensation - oh! look ma! We're on TV!. 

Check it out, here Kensington Blues. 

Shameless Self Promotion: Tamsen Wojtanowski

imprint, Lost/Found  -or- "To make a long story short, I love you."

New Works by Tamsen Wojtanowski; March 2012 @ Napoleon

Employing the photographic medium to explore an abstract narrative, I work in the studio to give my psyche form. Emotions become made of paper; dreams evolve as constructed landscapes made from found materials; disparate thoughts become one in the overlapping layers of collage. In this series "imprint, Lost/Found -or- 'To make a long story short, I love you.'", I work to find my way through a series of handmade "maps", which become cyanotype prints made from cliche verre, and document my destinations with a series of B&W photographs. 

First Friday Opening, March 2nd, 6-10pm

Gallery Hours, Saturdays & Sundays, 2-6pm

Napoleon

319 N. 11th Street, 2nd Flr.

Philadelphia, PA

www.napoleonnapoleon.com

www.tamsenwj.com

Roger Ballen: Die Antwoord

 

Roger Ballen directs Die Antwoord's "I Fink U Freeky".

Work!: Elin O'Hara Slavick

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One of the first classes I taught out of graduate school was a course called "Photo Process Workshop". In the course students learned a variety of alternative and experimental processes, including cynaotype, van dyke brown, cliche verre, modern tinype, book binding, appropriation, installation, ...the list goes on and on. Anyway, we all know what old photographic processes look like - they look old. I needed them to not look old, but new and exciting! to draw students in.

I scoured the internet and was rewarded for my time with these beauties by Elin O'Hara Slavick - not only a contemporary artist, but cyanotypes with CONTENT! It was like  dream come true. 

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Cyanoytpes are made by contacting printing either negative or object, meaning you place what it is you want to capture right on top of the sensitized material and let the sun make your exposure. What you get in return in less a photograph of the image, as we understand photographs, and more of an X-Ray of the image, in this case an image called a Photogram. A photogram simply meaning a photographic image made without a camera.

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Elin O'Hara Slavick created these cyanotypes at The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum  in 2008, using objects donated to the museum by A-Bomb survivors.

As an individual some generations removed from this event, trying to wrap my head around the reality of the atomic bombing is tough.  Rather than thinking about it as violence, carnage, heavy metal, and anger - as I tend to think about war - in the present, these cyanotypes deliver the heavier truth, war in the past tense. War as loss, as absence, as silence.

While researching contemporary artists working with the cyanotype process, I also came across the work of Robin Hill, she says something very insightful about the process, saying "cyanotypes show the potential of an object." Right - so instead of seeing an object in a photograph in the same way we see an object in life, the light bouncing off of the objects surface, in the use of the cyanotype process, the contact print/photogram, we see the light that passes through the object. ...We see not what is, we see more, we see - the potential.

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I got interested in the Photographic Process, beyond photography itself, when I got interested in experimental and alternative ways of making photographic images. Thinking about what went into the process, what you could change in the process, what that shift would create - - - - how much more (or less) artistic control you may (or may not) have - - - fascinating.

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While in Japan, Slavick experimented with other alternative photographic processes as well. Below are examples of frottages (rubbings), Slavick made of different elements in the museum. Thinking again how to capture the reality of the A-Bomb, Slavick made rubbings of a bank floor (above) and a fir tree (below), then used the rubbings like cliche verre (handmade negatives) to make contact prints onto B&W silver gelatin paper. ...

Okay, I am geeking out.

I love photo!

GO PHOTO!

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See more of Elin O'Hara Slavick's work, here, and here.

And work of the Atomic Photographers Guild, here.

Work!: Anthea Hamilton

 

The Piano Lesson.

I don't have a lot of words. But I am seeing a lot of great images.  Here, Anthea Hamilton - Enjoy!

Dance.

Gate.

Work!: John Jerome O'Connor

 

 Apophis

I wrote myself a note last year - (hehe, I love the calendar change...) okay, it was really only a few months ago- to make sure to share the work of this artist, John Jerome O'Connor.   And here it is!

The artist writes about this piece above: " Conceptually, this work is my attempt to visualize a prediction, by NASA scientists, that an asteroid called Apophis will strike the Earth in 2036. (more) ...."

....YesssssssssssSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSssssssssssssssssssssss!

1 Spin.

 

And there's more, see O'Connor's website, here.

A Good Idea.

A far-out way to start the New Year right.

What are your plans for the next rotation?

John Jerome O'Connor

Decorate the bus!: Italy's Amalfi Coast

 Amalfi Coast, Italy

Bravo's floor tile took me to letterpress journals, to floating scarves, to books of frabric samples, takes me back to - floor tiles.

I was lucky enough a few years back to study philosophy in Italy for a few weeks (what up Lacan!), even luckier was when it was all over I still had parts of my brain intact and a couple of extra weeks to do all those things of the body that philosophy seems to discredit (or at the very least ignore). Eating and sleeping my way across the Italian countryside, I got off a regional train on the side of the road outside of the coastal town of Amalfi, walked down seven hundred and fifty steep concrete steps, and when i finally reached the street below - looked up to see the biggest display of decorative tile I could ever imagine.

If you love The Real housewives of New Jersey as much as I do, this might not seem too out of place, but believe me - this was something special. While I waited patiently at the bus stop to take me to the sea side (the other side) of the mountain, I thought to myself - back splash- geometric design or landscaoe?

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That musing on tile patterns didn't last long, as it turned out, while laying in the Mediterranean sun,  I got pretty home sick. I didn't want any more caprese salads, and opted instead for a good ol'back home cheeseburger and chocolate milkshake. The only problem being that the only milkshake I could find was on the alcoholic drink menu, and I had to explain to a very confused waiter that I wanted it without the shot of Kaluha and no rum either. The cheeseburger was square instead of a circle and I could taste a hint of alcohol in the milkshake, both taking me away from the childhood memories I was trying to rest in. The saving grace of that meal: A man at a nearby table asks the waiter where his heart is. The waiter does not hesitate and places a hand on his chest, "here."

JFK might not have been so glad to see me, filthy from an all night plane ride, but I couldn't wait to use the bathroom there and get back on good ol'back home Interstate - 95.

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For my next feet of Auto-blog-ism  - - expect pigment and journeys even further into the psyche. 

Mathematics and Birthdays

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The inspiration for this post came from a few different directions. Last week The Sea celebrated a birthday. Let's just say I "put off" (read: kind of forgot) birthday shopping until way way late. Luckily beautiful girls make it easy to buy them beautiful things. The Sea loves the aesthetic of life. If The Sea could have one of everything in a simple repeating pattern and a vintage inspired modern color - I bet she would trade her pitbull's first born for the chance.

She would've loved a set of these letterpress journals from Pistachio Press pictured above, unlucky for her my only shopping options were by foot and Etsy ordering (and waiting for delivery) was out of the question.

So that was the first inspiration for today's post - the second:

I have been armpit and over head deep in the studio these days, contemplating my navel, your navel, the way I see things, the way you see things, and how these things might all be connected. 

Thinking about Automatism, I thought about auto-blog-ism.  By following the thin thread in my head, over the next week of posts, I will display this feat of human intellect and inqury, here, now, at The Mountain and The Sea. (Or perhaps it will be just another display of the new and the dazzling internet-inpsired ADD.) Either way, I think it will be fun.

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Notice the floor tile in Manuel Alvarez Bravo's photograph "Fallen Sheet", in our last post, beautiful repetitive geometric design - brings me to  thinking about the addition of texture to pattern when skimming the notebook selection of Pistachio Press, takes me to the weight of these scarves, both physical and visual.

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Taken by Stop-Look-Repeat these images are ghost-y surrealist screen-shots of Epice's winter collection. In their nearly see through abstraction, these scarves become animals, they become harbinger's of the forest-past.

Leads me to think more about fabric, and what I might trade a day-old baby pitbull for.

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Viola! Norwich Textile's webpage on "Understanding Pattern Books".

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These books like whole-grain coffee cake, healthy and delicious.

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Which leads us next to the land of espresso and ceramic tiles. (You'll just have to come back and see...)

In the meantime, I encourage you all out there to Auto-ism with me. Can you make it around the world in 4 disparate thoughts? Through time and back again? Notice this week how your inspiration moves through and in turn moves you.

Manuel Alvarez Bravo

Manuel Alvarez Bravo - Fallen Sheet- 1940s

Manuel Alvarez Bravo - Somewhat Gay and Graceful - 1942

Manuel Alvarez Bravo- Laughing Mannequins - 1930s

I can't find my mind, can you? After a particularly busy start to Fall (... a particularly long break in blog posting...) and a particularly long night - nothing makes me feel better on this lovely lost Sunday afternoon then to look at the surrealist photographs of Manuel Alvarez Bravo.

What to say? Born in 1902 in Mexico City with the last name BRAVO - there is nothing more that needs to be said. (Read more about all those details, here.)

First Friday! @ Napoleon!

(Dana McElroy)

So you may or may not have put it together yet - but here I'll give it to you straight - I am involved in a new project! An artist-run exhibition space located right here in Philadelphia. We call ourselves Napoleon, and hope to bring the city of brotherly l0ve a whole cornucopia full of delicious little tid-bits for mind, body and soul, over the months to come!

This month we are proud to present Commonplacing - a group exhibition curated by the members of Napoleon. Artists exhibited include: Loo Bain, Joe Boruchow, Shelby Donnelly, Hannah Rose Dumes, Nelson Figueroa, Anna Gray + Ryan Wilson Paulsen, Dana McElroy, Ryan Parker, Max Seckel, and Edward Marshall Shenk.

The Opening Reception will take place tomorrow night! First Friday, September 2nd from 6pm-10pm, at Napleon's place located on the 2nd flr. of 319 N. 11th Street.( Vox Building.)

Get the whole scoop and links to the artists individual websites by going to Napoleon's blog, here.

I'll tell you what - tomorrow night is going to be a blast. The art looks good, all we're missing is your beautiful face.

See you all tomorrow!

Wednesday Work: Iain McKell

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Iain McKell - The New Gypsies

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Simply gorgeous.

Makes me hungry.

You?

See it at Clic Gallery, NYC. Opening August 29th through October 2nd.

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Wednesday Work: The Collective Unconscious

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Last Wednesday's post on Jon Rafman got me thinking. Rafman, to remind you, collects images taken by the Google Street View team and re purposes them as his own through the action of editing. His message is made his by those images which he chooses to include, and those images which he chooses to exclude. In this way you could consider images part of a universal visual language, ie. the same ways in which we choose existing words from the communal dictionary to create a thought that is uniquely ours - we choose images from a world of communal sight, to create a thought that is uniquely ours....right?

As a photographer, I make images. As a photographer, I take images.

"I think, therefore I am." To update Descartes, perhaps the statement should be, "I photograph, therefore I am."

The distinction of who is a photographer and who isn't these days seems a bit silly doesn't it?

So, I started thinking. Thinking about knowledge and the freedom of information, and the collective unconscious, an idea proposed by psychiatrist Carl Jung. In his thesis Jung states, " in addition to our immediate consciousness, which is of a thoroughly personal nature and which we believe to be the only empirical psyche, there exists a second psychic system of a collective, universal, and impersonal nature which is identical in all individuals. This collective unconscious does not develop individually but is inherited. It consists of pre-existent forms, the archetypes," Meaning, beyond those things we learn and experience, there are things that we. all. just. know. , regardless of our individual experiences.

Where am I going with this? , Here - When you are dealing with a medium as popular as photography it is hard to say what is -artist- and what is merely a function of being -human-. It is difficult to ascertain true authorship.

Which brings me, Here - back to today's Wednesday Work! There are many lovely blogs, websites, and projects out there started by individuals but whose ownership of can be claimed by many.

The first I would like to share with you today is a collection of images, constantly growing and continually curated by Philadelphia artist, Heather Veneziano. The images appear web-based and cross over large time frames, continents, and original intent.

The image above, and the the three to follow all posted on August 12, 2011, at Heather's blog: an odd kind of sympathy.

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The second project I would like to introduce today is of the same vein, but working the concept from the other side. Take Picture Don't Steal, and interactive photography project developed by UK-based art director Matt Greenwood, calls on the want of the passer-by. Greenwood places disposable cameras, affixed to street poles, with the simple instructions "Take Picture Don't Steal". Greenwood then collects the images and posts them to the TPDS website. With cameras in place in Miami, FL, NYC, Toronto, the UK, and other's popping up around Europe, a different kind of pictorial collective unconscious is growing.

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And all of this not yet to mention Facebook or the growing number flickr/picassa/tumblr accounts! Writer and critic Susan Sontag nailed it way back in 1977. In her collection of essays, On Photography, Sontag surmised "recently, photography has become almost as widely practiced amusement as sex and dancing-" and to think, Sontag was merely referring to photography since the advent of roll film and the point and shoot! Now we've gone digital...
What to do with all of these images?

The fate of the photograph - unclear - but to take one more Sontag quote out of context, another from On Photography, Sontag states "the photographer is not simply the person who records the past, but the one who invents it."

Where do you find yourselves today, dear readers? On the side of the glass-half-empty or the glass-half-full? (I know - Oh so serious...)

Well, I am feeling optimistic and at the chance of invention, I feel the exhilaration of inspiration.

Take that energy and run.

See more of an odd kind of sympathy, here.

And more of Take Picture Don't Steal, here.

Wednesday Work: Jon Rafman

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Lack of privacy never looked so good!

For this week's Wednesday Work we bring you Jon Rafman. An artist out of Montreal, Canada, Rafman uses Google Street View as his image-capturing device (his camera). A concept which begs the question: what is a photographer? What is a photograph? As photographers, are we artists, or are were curators - editing a collection of images made by the world itself? (Or in this case Google Street View.) I've seen a lot done with Google Image Search, and conversation about the future of photography and the integrity of the photographic image in light of the internet and digital photography, abounds - but I've never seen it like this!

We truly do live in a terrifically horrifying and beautiful world.

See the project "9-eyes.com", here.

See more work by Jon Rafman, here.

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Seriously - go see the whole thing! here.

Are you in Philly? Tonight: Daniel Klass Beckwith @ NAPOLEON

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An Exhibition of Sculptures
from Richmond, Virginia from Daniel Klaas Beckwith
infinite fadeaway: Invisible objects where Heisenberg's uncertainty holds; and things may not be viewed and named simultaneously. The continuation of understandings or curiosities, taken as a halo to be worn out.
murder
Knowledge is entertainment alone, and honesty is all that exists.

Opening: TONIGHT: August 5th, 2011: 6pm-10pm

@ NAPOLEON

319 N. 11th St.

Philadelphia, PA

Gallery hours: Saturdays and Sundays 2:00pm - 6:00pm

and by appointment.

Show runs through August 31st.

See more of Daniel Klaas Beckwith's work, here.