Paris Photo (and Transport Worker Strike) Countdown

I leave Monday evening for Paris Photo, and arrive Tuesday to set up the booth. Luckily, it is many hours before the expected transport worker strike that is sure to shut down the city. The VIP preview is Wednesday afternoon, and the show opens to the public Thursday. I wonder how the strike will effect attendance, and galleries' sales. I can't comment of the politics of the striking worker, but it is unquestionable where the real power lies in France.

Despite the possible problems and the exchange rate, here are some things worth looking forward to:

-The Tuileries in the morning -Vintage post cards sold along the Seine -The Month of Photography -Cheese

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnO6nDTMpqo&rel=1]

Photo Review Benefit Auction

So the Photo Review Benefit Auction is tomorrow night (Sat. Nov., 10) at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, and I have my "if-I-had-the-money with list." There isn't much I would really like to buy—mostly vintage—but just don't have the means. My ideal job would be consulting with collectors on their personal acquisitions. A few months ago, I actually told Kate Ware what to get from the Mike and Doug Starn show at the Print Center. Here is the short list from tomorrow's auction:

Vincent David Feldman: Hongkew, Shanghai, 2005/2006, carbon inkjet print, A/P, signed verso, framed, 16"x20" $350—$700

Eugène Atget: Senlis. Ruines se Saint-Frambourg, 1903, gold-toned albumen print, unmounted, 8.5"x6.875" $4,000—$8,000

Jay Dusard: Petrified Forest, Arizona, Blue Mesa, 1977, silver print, titled recto, framed, 8"x10" (courtesy of D. W. Mellor) $250—$500

Henry Horenstein: Texas Map Turtle, Graptemys, c. 2000/2007, digital chromogenic print, signed verso, 20"x16" $800—$1,600

Mark Klett: Storm Clouds over Eastern Idaho: Near Craters of the Moon, 8/18/80, 1980, silver print, signed verso, 16"x20" (courtesy of Michael Mattis and Judith Hochberg) $900—$1,800

Stuart Rome: Presence, Bali, 1993/2007, archival pigment print, A/P, signed verso, 12"x15.5" $500—$750

Josef Sudek: Trees in Flower, 1950s/1976, silver print, unmounted, 11.25"x8.25" $750—$1,500 Unknown: Tea House Nogeyma at Yokohama, Japan, c. 1880s, hand-colored albumen print, 7.750"x9.875" $200—$400 Frank Yamrus: Tree in Nickerson State Park, Eastham, MA, from the series "Bared and Bended", 2004, archival pigment print, signed verso, 6.5"x6.5" $700—$1,400

Friends of Project Basho

This is from a recent email from Tsuyoshi Ito, owner of Philadelphia's Project Basho. I am proud to have two photographs in this inaugural show in their new gallery space.

Project Basho is hosting an opening reception for its inaugural show titled "Friends of Project Basho" on Thursday November 8, 6-9 pm at Project Basho Gallery. The opening reception is open to the public as a part of 2nd Thursday Openings in the area, and will be complemented by the musical styling of DJ Einstein. The show will run from November 8th through November 30th.

"Friends of Project Basho" will feature the works of students, instructors, monitors, darkroom users, and others who have been actively engaged in photographic activities at Project Basho. The walls will represent the community and the diversity of talent at Project Basho, as well as display a vibrant segment of the current photographic scene in Philadelphia.

If you have not visited the newly-renovated gallery space yet, this is a great opportunity to see the space. With a 14ft ceiling and unique architectural details, the gallery is spacious and intimate at the same time. Project Basho will be working with other art venues in the area to bring exciting shows with visually stimulating photographs to Philadelphia.

For more information about the show and reception, please feel free to contact Project Basho.

Project Basho 215-238-0928 1305 Germantown Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19122 (Click for Google Map) info@projectbasho.org “Re-introducing Photography to Philadelphia”

Photographic Whining?

I just read this about Lewis Baltz's San Quentin Point series at anotherphotoblog:

Some more Lewis Baltz photographs from his San Quentin point project. I like these pictures, much like all the other New Topographic ones. I think a major problem with them is that they protest all this pollution and development but pose no solution to what the percived [sic] problem is. They amount to photographic whining.

Is it the role of the photographer to solve or correct the problems and injustices they document? In most, if not all cases, ecologists, sociologists, economists, etc. have already identified the problem and purposed solutions. The photographer's role then is to bring the issue to the attention to the public with hope that the images will move those in power to act.

That was the case with Lewis Hine and child labor, Dorthea Lange and starving migrant workers, Subhanker Banerjee and ANWR.

In the case of Baltz and Adams, their photographs could not deter developers or put an end to illegal and irresponsible dumping. That is not the fault of their work, but the misplaced priorities of the general population. The photographs still serve as a document, even if they weren't able to affect change—much like Elliott Porter's photographs of Glen Canyon. It is sometimes difficult to not be a defeatist—and to simply give up while asking, "what is the point?" For me, however, it is the beauty of those documents that serves as inspiration to continue working.

Post-POST Reception

Philadelphia Open Studio Tours 2007

Project Basho Artists

Richard Boutwell & Kara LaFleur

We would like to thank everyone who made it to the studio during POST, and to extend an invitation to a post-POST event.

Please join us for a Closing Reception Friday, November 2^nd from 6-9.

Project Basho

1305 Germantown Ave

Philadelphia PA 19122

Richard Boutwell

On View:

New Large Format Work and The Lower Owens River Project: Photographs from the First Year

The Lower Owens River Project is the largest riparian habitat management and revitalization program in the country. It's goal is to undo the ecological damage caused when Los Angeles developers diverted the river's waters in the early 20th century to support the city's explosive growth. The Lower Owens River was dry for nearly a century until a court mandated it be restored to its original state. Even though the Owens Valley is located in a relatively remote part Eastern California, it sets a precedent for other water rights and environmental mitigation efforts all over the West.

www.richardboutwell.com

Kara LaFleur

On View:

Work To Ride (a work in progress)

Work To Ride is a program for at risk and urban youth located in the Belmont section of Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park. Founded in 1994 by Lezlie Hiner, WTR started as a refuge for the youth of West Philly who were willing to put in a little work. In exchange for doing barn chores and caring for the horses, they were allowed to pursue an equestrian sport of their choosing. Following Lez’s passion, many of them chose Polo; and in 1997, they had the first African American Polo Team in America, ever. Over the years the program has evolved from a mere handful to over twenty and has seen the addition of Kate Simmer, Program Director. The kids still have to work with the horses and now undergo tutoring, to keep their grades up. Today, against all odds, these kids continue to prove themselves both on the field and off.

The images contained within Work To Ride (a work in progress) seek to explore the very heart and soul of this program. After volunteering with WTR for eight months, I began to photograph informally around the barn. The somewhat unorthodox combination of Color Holga Photography captures the surreal nature and inherent beauty of the subject matter while conveying a deeply touching truth. With this long term project I hope to impart the stories of these amazing children to the outside world, by exploring their lives as they interact within this unique environment.

www.karaslafleur.wordpress.com

. . .

Pre-POST Recap

Thursday: 7PM-1AM (Friday): 3rd coat of mud in new gallery space, discover that I am not all that comfortable on a 12" beam 8' off the deck, drive home with extremely sore shoulders and neck

2PM: Cutting overmats for prints, praying that 24x52" overmat doesn't get damaged in transit.

3PM: Sanding new gallery space, feeling slightly more comfortable at previously mentioned height.

7PM: Drive home to eat and shower. Pick, mat, and frame show- a certain all-nighter follows

Satruday:

10AM: Load show into car, and drive to Philadelphia (1Redbull, 1 Pot of Coffee, and 1/2 box of Pop'ems later)

11AM: arriving to find the gallery space smelling of fresh paint, and lights being hung.

11:15 AM: begin placing and hanging show. 2- 24x28s, 1-24x52, 8-16x18s double hung. Realize the floor rises 3"

3PM: Finish hanging show, remove scaffolding, and adjust lights. Realize the space and the show look amazing. Wish that someone has a digital camera.

6PM: finally sit down, drink a beer

7PM: begin drive home

7:30 PM: stop to sleep in parking lot

Project Basho and POST= . . .

WEEKEND ONE

:

STUDIOS EAST OF BROAD STREET OCTOBER 20 - 21, 2007

CfEVA had Melissa Potter—an artist and career consultant—in this evening for a talk that was part of the Direct Dialogue™ series. Her topic, "Making the Most of Opportunities Beyond the Gallery," really drove home the importance and possible benefits of community. I feel lucky to be part of that community in Philadelphia, where things like Inliquid and POST bring artists together and help them connect with the outside world. For POST alone there are nearly 300 participating artists and studios with over 10,000 people visiting studios during the two weekends' activities. Incredible.

Yesterday I mentioned just one reason for continuing to commute into the city to print at Project Basho, but it is really the sense of community that the place instills that keeps me coming back. The way Tsuyoshi has created a place that brings photographers together—despite differences in experience or personal vision—and the supportive, positive environment for his new students is truly amazing.

Please stop by on your studio tour this weekend, October 20 and 21 to experience this special place first hand. In addition to all the great work on display, there will be a tintype portrait session where, for a small fee, you can have your portrait made with one of the most beautiful photographic processes. Project Basho is convienently located just a few minutes from the Girard El stop, and there is ample FREE Parking for those who drive. There will be shuttles making the tour and leaving Johnny Brenda’s every half hour. The tour is sponsored by New Kensington CDC, the Center for Emerging Visual Artists, and Philly Car Share. This shuttle will take you to all the artists studios in the area.

– Re-introducing Photography to Philadelphia – 1305 Germantown Ave. (click for Google Map) Philadelphia, PA 19122 www.projectbasho.org/

215-238-0928

POST POST POST POST POST

The reason behind this severe lack of new blog posts is due to the enormous amount of work I've been doing to prepare for this weekend's Philadelphia Open Studio Tours. Between moving from Philadelphia to Bucks County, getting my new work printed, and helping with some work on Project Basho's new exhibition space, there has been little time for extra curricular activities and the blog has suffered immensely. There will be new regular blog posts post POST, so sit tight. I am excited to have the opportunity to show many more photographs than I can usually carry when I visit people, and have the wall space to show some of my newest work—20x24-inch enlargements from my 8x10-inch negatives. The first time anyone has seen this work was last week at POST's Preview Invitational at Freeman's auction house, and there was an incredibly good reaction to the print I had there on display. Until recently, I had not considered making prints larger than a contact print, but the information in the 8x10 negative and the increasing complexity of my work lends itself well to the process. One reason I will continue to drive to Philadelphia to print at Project Basho is because it allows me the capability of making enlargements from my negatives without having to construct a special darkroom or hire out the work. I look forward to when Tsuyoshi completes construction in his new building and has the facilities of making much larger mural-sized prints. Until then, 8x10 and 20x24 will have to do.

POST: From the Studio IV

I have a couple of pictures in a show curated by Shelly Spector opening October 4 at the Center for Emerging Visual Artists. Also in the show are photographs by Talia Greene (courtesy of Philagrafika), Kara LaFleur, Eugene Martin, Paul Rider, Wendy Wolf, John Woodin, and Rick Wright.

A Sign of the Times

Last week a former Kodak engineer sent this picture of the recent destruction of Kodak's black and white paper coating facilities. We all knew that day would come, but we never imagined it would be so soon I have a small stash of Azo—enough to keep me working for a short while. Thankfully there are several smaller companies committed to continuing producing these materials. I even switched to Ilford films to insure that they would continue being made, and that I could trust their excellent quality control. Here is the email and picture as it arrived last week. It is somewhat ironic that this picture was made with technologies that helped Kodak justify putting an end to their production of B&W paper.

Sending you a panorama of Kodak Bld 50 that was imploded at 7 AM this morning.  End of an era.  This building is where B&W papers were made.  The building to the right of this building is bld 57, currently under demolition, where B&W paper was sensitized.  To the left of bld 50 was where paper roll storage Bld 16 used to be.  Behind Bld 50 in this picture is where Bld 9 used to be, Paper Finishing, Bld 10 where I started at KP and Bld 36.  Looks like a war zone up close.  I photographed this about 3 hours after the destruction.  Many old Paper Manufacturing alumni were coming by and we talked.   Everyone had a glum face as they saw  where they spent much of their lives... gone...

SAD!

© 2007 Dave Valvo     www.Davevalvo.com

technical photo items:

Camera Canon 5D, 13MP digital SLR with Canon 24-105mm image stabilized L lens set at 50mm. A Jasper scanning head was used on a tripod Vertical images were collected Exposure was kept constant at 1/100 sec f/4.5 for all 7 images Panorama was stitched using Adobe Photoshop CS3 Original image is 90 MP.  reduced to less than 1MP for easy emailing.

The New Color Photography

© William Eggleston

The New New Color Photography has progressed little since 1981, when Sally Eauclaire wrote The New Color Photography. The banality that was beautified by Eggelston has now returned to being banal. Stephen Shore, even then, was pushing the limits of formalism, and realizing that, has now begun to re-explore his older photographs by cropping, cutting them into grids of every sort, and breaking down single pictures and published them as entire books. The ironies Joel Sternfeld began documenting continue to be documented by countless photographers, but the results seem to have lost their humor and charm. The deadpan of Struth that was once a refreshing look at the world is now simply dead.

          West Market St. & N. Eugene St., Greensboro, NC, January 23, 1976 © Stephen Shore

If there is a next step in the progression and complexity of color work, I think it will take some time, and much experimenting to discover what that is.

Of course there are exceptions, and I think the Starn brothers have proven that, but in general . . .

Mike and Doug Starn at the Print Center

The Print Center's opening of Mike and Doug Starn's Black Pulse series of prints on of dried leaves was such a success that it was almost difficult to properly appreciate the work. As one person said, “There were so many people you couldn't stir them with a stick.” It was good to see some friend there that I missed at the garden party, and some I hadn't seen since March.

I found myself responding to the inkjet prints on gampi with albumen and encaustic much more than I did to the extremely-large digital c-prints. That was mostly due to media being more suitable for the nature of the subject—the fragility of the dried leaves, of life. In part though, and maybe most importantly, it was the sheer beauty of the pieces on gampi that made them stand out against the larger, cleaner, almost-cold c-prints.

The video instillation, a computer generated piece on the decomposition of leaves, was incredibly beautiful, and evoked some of the same feelings and internal imagery as Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude.

On Rexer on Szarkowski

In the September/October issue of Art On Paper, Lyle Rexer begins his column that focuses on the late John Szarkowski with, “Why is it that photographers are writers at heart, that they need to supplement their image making with words?” While I agree that many of the formidable photographers throughout this medium's relatively short history have also written about the medium, I will disagree that it is because there is some inherent "incompleteness" on the part of the photograph itself. It possible that they felt compelled to write about this new medium because it was exactly that, new. There is undoubtedly more written about painting than there is photography, but is that any indication of painting's incompleteness? In actuality, all mediums are incomplete. But, in their unique ways, these mediums when used in art, all point to that one inexplicable quality in life—be it beauty or truth or god.

The further the column (re)progresses, it makes me think Rexer had some kind of bone to pick with the former MoMA curator. He accuses Szarkowski of, “Using language (and the MoMA pulpit) to justify photography as ‘art.’” and his “tricky evasions and slights of hand, reverting to anecdote, biography, description, [etc.] . . . but rarely confronting the paradox of photography's artlessness.” Firstly, I am not sure what the argument actually is here; why would a curator of photography at an art museum not lobby for that medium's acceptance as an equally valid means of expression? Secondly, specifically to Rexer's reference to The Work of Atget, Szarkowski is using valid critical methods for examining the artist and their work, drawing his own conclusions about what he has found. I agree that even though not all photography can—or should—be considered art, reevaluating photographs in a critical way can reveal a photographer's deep connection to the world, and how that connection influenced their creations, regardless of their original intentions.

Rexer then evaluates Szarkowski as a photographer, and claims he, “trains his lens on that which can not really be shown but that can only be captured in words.” He also says of Szarkowski's last photographs of apple trees that, “They are delicate, but incomplete meditations on mortality that beg for a writers voice.” and says they, “could have been illustrations for Frost's ‘After Apple Picking.’” These two statements exemplify what I believe is Rexer's possible misunderstanding—and certainly his differing view—of how artists touch or point to the sublime in life—something I believe is the actual purpose of art, and why it can not be “captured in words,” (or pictures), but only alluded to. In the capturing and dissecting, which I think happens when art is looked at through purely intellectual eyes, one inevitably kills the life the art is trying to touch.

As a photographer, I am more inclined to first read or place more value on the writings of an artist—whatever the medium—ahead of the writings of someone who is purely a theoretician. Based on the work, I can more-easily know the artist's capacity to feel, and know how what the feel will affect how they think. Rather than blindly trusting the theorist, who may simply know how to think.

House Hunting or Why I Can't Stand Living in the City

There are some people who love living in the city, and there are some who, as much as they love all the city has to offer, can't. I am of the latter. Even though the city's diversity of people and culture is much more accessible than it is out in the country, the city is dirty, smelly, and unceasingly noisy. There are the small slivers and glimpses of beauty, but those are not enough to off-set what I feel is the inescapable chaos that greets me every waking moment. So, after weighing all the benefits of living in the city over the country, I decided my mental well-being is more important than having the Turkish place right around the corner, or the option of seeing a show any night of the week (and honestly, as an artist, I am usually working when everyone else is going out anyway). The train into the city is only 20 minutes away and it is only an hour's drive. Plus, going into the city with a purpose will make any visit worth while, rather than daunting feeling I currently have living there.

So, long-story-short, I spent the entire day looking at new places to live out Bucks County. I made a few digi-pics to show my future house-mate, which reminded me of the Real Estate Photographs of Henry Wessel. Here is a nice little NY Times article about him from last year.

Back from the West

Just back from ten days on the West Coast, and already hitting the ground running. First, saying goodbye to Summer, and a big hello to a busy Autumn is the Photo Review Garden Party—being held this year in Downingtown, PA. Next weekend is the Mike and Doug Starn opening at the Print Center in Philadelphia, Amy Stevens opening at CfEVA, and later are all the Fall submission deadlines, PhotoPlus Expo, POST, Paris Photo, another trip out West to continue photographing the Lower Owens River Project, and AIPAD Miami in December.

Come Fly Away

I saw the Edward Weston: Enduring Vision show at the Getty Center today before heading back to the East Coast tonight. The show was good, with a few pictures that I don't believe I have seen before. More about that later.

Postcard: Yosemite, or Why I am Scared of Bears—

The first time I drove into Yosemite, they handed me a flier about a not leaving food in your car while in the Park. Bears will smell it, and proceed to tear the doors off your car trying to get to the food. So, you could imagine my fear as I sit with my arms stuck in a film changing tent with a stack of 10 holders to change, and thinking about the remnants of a burrito on the front seat. I am not sure if I could effectively scare away a black bear by waving around a funny looking tent. Fortunately, there were no bears, and I continued photographing until the lightning started. For some reason, I am also scared to be photographing with a big metal camera in a lighting storm . . .

Postcard: Barstow, or Why I Love Truck Stops

While waiting to have dinner with some relatives before heading up to the Owens Valley to continue photographing the Lower Owens River Project, I made a few snaps with a digi, which might actually turn into something more substantial.

It has been a few years since I have driven clear across the county, but there have been several shorter trips over the last few years. On one such trip to Erie last year I had the idea of photographing truck stops—Pilots, Loves, Flying Js, and all the small little stops that seem to have so much character, like Mrs. B's in Barstow, California.

Knowing that everything consumed in this country travels, at some point, by truck, I want to look at the people and the way of live of the people are a major, and a much under-recognized, part of the way of life in this country.

Postcard: California, or Postcard: Global Warming

Part of the reason for the lack of posts over the last week was this trip to California. There are always ten million things to do before a trip, and it always seems like the amount of work is multiplied when traveling by air.

I got into the desert late Monday night—just in time to watch a full lunar eclipse. I was thinking, "this either means it is going to be one great trip, or a terrible one."

Before I could do any photographing, I needed to climb on the roof to fix my parents air conditioner to make sure there was a comfortable place to hide out during the worst of the heat. I am not one to complain about the heat—I even enjoy it to a point. Given enough water and burritos, I can work all day in the 90s, but anything over 100 is just swimming weather. I do remember September in the desert being hot, but not unbearably so. According to a highway sign, it was 105 today.

It seems ridiculous to not acknowledge that climate change is real. Just look at the drought in Florida in the Spring, the current heat wave and drought in the Southeast, drought in Australia, Northern Brazil, and, maybe the most extreme example at the moment, Greece. I think, for the most part, we have all agreed that climate change is real, but few people know what the global affects will be, how to reverse, or even stop our course.

Calisphere

I found this photograph from this website some time ago when I was doing research for my Lower Owens River project. In addition to having an incredible archive of photographs, one could also do a great deal of research on so many issues that have created California as we know it today.

It is interesting to see the difference in attitudes toward the environment, and how they have changed over the last century—although most of those changes have probably been in the last 15-25 years.