IKG

Dark Sky

2009-11-17T17:34:00.000-08:00

Izah Gallagher, 2009
Photography
© Izah K. Gallagher

I choose to post these pictures at the end of the semester, as bookend to images form my first project this semester. A sense of completion, no?

Whitney Biennial Artists

2009-11-11T20:24:00.000-08:00

Mika Rottenberg
Cheese 2008

For more information about this artist, please see:

http://www.whitney.org/www/2008biennial/www/?section=artists&page=artist_rottenberg

M.K. Guth
Ties of Protection and Safekeeping
2008

For more information about this artist, please see:

http://mkguth.com/

Rodney McMillian
2008

For more information about this artist, please see:

http://www.whitney.org/www/2008biennial/www/?section=artists&page=artist_mcmillian

I choose these artists from the Whitney 2008 Biennial as I was interested in the depiction of space in the picture plane.

You Will Not Erase Me

2009-11-11T20:11:00.001-08:00

Izah Gallagher, 2009
Photography
You Will Not Erase Me
© Izah K. Gallagher

I choose these two images as they also investigate the idea of erasure, using human figure as symbol for same.

Julie Mehretu:Grey Area

2009-11-09T18:48:00.000-08:00

Julie Mehretu
Berliner Plaetze, 2008/09
Ink and Acrylic on Canvas, 304,8 x 426,7 cm
Commissioned Work by the Deutsche Bank in consultation with the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation for the Deutsche Guggenheim, Berlin

I was interested in Mehretu's works that deal with "erasure, decay, and liminality". As with portions of my photographs posted thi week, a portion of the image is erased -- leaving her canvases in "an indeterminate state". Interesting, no? Wish I could go? Yes.

Deutsche Guggenheim
October 28, 2009 - January 6, 2010

http://www.deutsche-guggenheim.de

Adrian Ghenie

2009-11-09T18:12:00.000-08:00

"Pie Fight Study VIII", 2009
Oil and acrylic on canvas, 38x33 cm
Courtesy Haunch of Venison, London
Adrian Ghenie

I really enjoy the interplay of textual surface and subtle color palate in Ghenie's work. Compositionally, it's terrific. And, it's a study of pie fights. What could be better? Nothing.

November 19, 2009 - February 14, 2010

Curated by: Magda Radu

The National Museum of Contemporary Art (MNAC), Bucharest
2-4 Izvor Street
050563, Bucharest (Romania)
Wednesday – Sunday, 10.00 – 18.00
Tel: +40 21 3189137
info@mnac.ro

http://www.mnac.ro

2009-11-09T17:46:00.000-08:00

Jean-Marie Straub & Danièle Huillet
Antigone, 1991
Courtesy Cineteca Bologna Of A People Who Are Missing

I was interested in two ideas explored in the work of Straub and Hulliet: a) transformation of a work from one medium to an other, such as literature, painting and music into film, as a process of re-reading, re-inventing or readjusting of meaning, and b) the fact that the artists categorically refused to offer any kind of interpretation that might ease or facilitate access to the artwork or so-called original. Interesting in light of our Artist's Statement project, no?

Exhibition and Ciné-Club
On films by Danièle Huillet &
Jean-Marie Straub
November 13 - December 20, 2009

Extra City – Kunsthal Antwerpen
Tulpstraat 79
2060 Antwerp – Belgium
info@extracity.org

http://www.extracity.org

Dead and Beautiful

2009-10-27T13:17:00.001-07:00

Izah Gallagher
Dead and Beautiful, 2009
Photography
© Izah K. Gallagher

A documentary. I choose theses images for color and texture and mood.

2009-10-27T12:46:00.000-07:00

Courbe dominante. Vassily Kandinsky
© S.R. Guggenheim Foundation. New York

Though Kandinsky is perhaps, best known for his abstractions which expressed his inner nature (which I do enjoy), I am most drawn to his use of color (especially i his early work).

Kandinsky
September 18 2009 - January 13 2010
Guggenheim Museum
New York, New York

A major retrospective of the work of one of the 20th century's key figures, Vassili Kandinsky, was assembled jointly by Centre Pompidou, the Städtische Galerie in Lenbachhaus in Munich and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum of New York, which hold the largest collections of the artist's works.

http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/exhibitions/on-view-now/kandinsky

America and the Tintype

2009-10-27T12:38:00.001-07:00

Unidentified Photographer
[Unidentified Young Man with Bandaged Head], ca. 1880

In addition to portraiture and other photographic genres, I am also interested in historical photographic practices, including the tintype. I love this example of a uniquely American medium.

America and the Tintype
The Permanent Collection at ICP
http://www.icp.org

2009-10-27T12:28:00.000-07:00

Daniel Gordon. Red Headed Woman. 2008.
Chromogenic color print, 37 5/16 x 29 7/8" (94.8 x 75.9 cm).
© 2009 Daniel Gordon

I am intersted in cutting and collage of photographs, as well as portaiture. I thought that this composition was unusally well done. It put me in mind of a classmate.

New Photography 2009
The Museum of Modern Art, New York.
September 30, 2009–January 11, 2010

www.moma.org

2009-10-21T23:16:00.000-07:00

Izah Gallagher
When I Grow Up, 2009
Photography
© Izah K. Gallagher

A documentary.

Cuba: Beauty and Decay

2009-10-21T23:04:00.000-07:00

Central Park View / Vista del Parque Central
Vivian Stephenson

Ever since visiting Havana, I'vebeen interestedin Cuba and its history. I was interested in Havana native's (Vivian Stephenson) series of photographs of the cities of Havana, Trinidad, and Sancti-Spíritus.

Cuba: Beauty and Decay
A Photographic Journey

Photographs by Vivian Stephenson
Texts by Carlota Caulfield

Mills College Art Museum
5000 MacArthur Boulevard
Oakland, CA 94613

http://www.mills.edu/museum

Every Version Belongs to the Myth

2009-10-21T22:58:00.000-07:00

Moon Golem, Amalia Pica 2009, detail of an intervention on NASA's official image of the monument on the moon

I am interested in myth and history and story, therefore, I was interested in this exhibition which deals with interpretations of myth and asks these questions: "Is there such a thing as an authentic myth? Does the truth of a myth lie in its roots and origins, or in the context of its retelling?"

Every version belongs to the myth
October 23 - December 5, 2009

Opening Thursday 22nd October, 6pm

Project Arts Centre, Dublin
39 East Essex Street
Temple Bar, Dublin 2
Ireland

http://www.projectartscentre.ie

The Other and I. The Portrait in Contemporary

2009-10-21T22:30:00.000-07:00

Untitled, 2008
Archival pigment print
36 x 24 in
Photo credit: Shivani Gupta
Costume credit: Tabasheer Zutshi
Courtesy Nikhil Chopra / Chatterjee & Lal

Ideas of identify and portraiture of both self and other interest me; therefore, I was drawn to look as this exhibit.

The Other and I. The Portrait in Contemporary
Indian Photography
Time's Revenge. The Collection IX
Gure Artea
Opening: October 23

ARTIUM, Basque Museum-Centre of
Contemporary Art
Francia 24, 01002 Vitoria

http://www.artium.org

Camp Davis

2009-10-13T23:39:00.001-07:00

Izah Gallagher
Camp Davis, 2009
Photography
© Izah K. Gallagher

I choose these images as they document the identity of Camp Davis -- the place, the time and the community.

Ed Ruscha

2009-10-13T22:57:00.000-07:00

ED RUSCHA. New York. 2003. (Phaidon Press Ltd.)
Artist Monograph
© Ed Ruscha 2009
Photo: Paul Ruscha

I love Edward Rusha's books and his takes on the contemporary cultural landscape. Inspired by his books, I'm currently working on a flip-book of 24 Lucky Star Indians (from Tootsie Pop wrappings).

Ed Ruscha: Fifty Years of Painting
14 October 2009 - 10 January 2010

Hayward Gallery
Southbank Centre
Belvedere Road
London, SE1 8XX
http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/ruscha

Live Forever: Elizabeth Peyton

2009-10-13T22:06:00.000-07:00

Eliabeth Peyton, 2001
Oil on board
25,4 x 20,3 cm

I'm interested in portraiture. I love color, as well as expressive and gestural work. And, most especially, I love tiny pieces of art. Please to wrap me up one of these little jewels and send it to me for my birthday, yes?

Live Forever: Elizabeth Peyton
18 October 2009 - 21 March 2010

Bonnefantenmuseum
Avenue Ceramique 250
NL-6221 KX Maastricht
PO Box 1735
NL-6201 BS Maastricht
T:+31 (0)43 3290190 (Tu- Fri)
F: +31 (0)43 3290199
E: info@bonnefanten.nl

http://www.bonnefanten.nl

Michael Najjar

2009-10-13T21:59:00.000-07:00

Michael Najjar. nasdaq_80-09, 2008-2009.
Hybrid photography. Lightjet-print, custom aluminum frame.
52 x 79.5" / 132 x 202 cm, Edition of 6

Berlin-based Michael Najjar artist combines two seemingly disparate ideas, the romantic sublime and the global financial system, to create virtual landscapes and thereby comments on how our world is increasingly shaped by signifiers, rather than physical or other elements.

“The current economic crisis has dramatically highlighted one thing in particular – that we now often deal not with real goods and commodities but with chains of signifiers” says Michael Najjar.

Interesting, no?

bitforms gallery nyc
529 West 20th Street
New York NY 10011
Tel. 212.366.6939
http://www.bitforms.com

Roger Hiorns: SEIZURE

2009-10-05T19:25:00.000-07:00

Phototograph by Nick Cobbing
Roger Hiorns: SEIZURE

In this installation, Roger Hiorns considers three dispertate things which interest me: physical and chemical properties, art/space/place, and the color blue. Here, Hirons pumped chemicals into the art/space/place and the left them grow into a crystal jewel box. Fantastic. If you’re in London, “Seizure” is open to the public until November 3, at Artangel gallery. Please to check it out.

22 OCTOBER - 3 NOVEMBER, 2009

http://www.artangel.org.uk

2009-10-05T18:37:00.000-07:00

Oliver Dorfer
the pulpproject / floody, 2009
Acrylic on acrylic
200 x 200 cm

Dorfer's exhibition caught my eye as he's been successful in creating his own individual visual language of unique symbols and forms and signs. I could only hope to do so in the future.

"A sign is the basic unit of language (a given language at a given time). Every language is a complete system of signs. Parole (the speech of an individual) is an external manifestation of language." F. Saussure

Oliver Dorfer – the palemoon-,
pulp-, and other projects
October, 6 - November, 11, 2009

Opening: Tuesday, 6 October 2009,
7.30 p.m.

A catalogue is being published to accompany the exhibition.

hilger contemporary
1010 Vienna, Austria
Dorotheergasse 5
T: +43-1-512 53 15
F: +43-1-512 53 15
E: ernst.hilger@hilger.at
http://www.hilger.at

2009-09-29T22:51:00.000-07:00

Izah Gallagher
Ben Eats Breakfast, 2009
Photography
© Izah K. Gallagher

A short documentary of my own. Enjoy!

Rent Collection Courtyard

2009-09-24T16:35:00.000-07:00

Rent Collection Courtyard, 1974–1978
(Original 1965)
Photo: Norbert Miguletz, 2009
Courtesy Art Museum of the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute

I was interested in this exhibit which shows, for the first time in the Western world, a collection of more than 100 life-size figures from a 1966 installation which became the model artwork for the Cultural Revolution in China. It is considered one of the most important works in modern Chinese history and can be read as both symbol and icon of Maoist China.

Art for the Millions.
100 Sculptures from the Mao Era
24 September 2009 - 3 January 2010

SCHIRN KUNSTHALLE FRANKFURT
Römerberg
60311 Frankfurt, Germany
phone: (+49) 69 29 98 82-0
fax: (+49) 69 29 98 82-240
welcome@schirn.de

http://www.schirn.de

Denise Colomb in the West Indies

2009-09-24T16:27:00.000-07:00

Denise Colomb
Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe, 1948
© Ministère de la Culture - Médiathèque du Patrimoine, Dist. RMN

The last of my three exhibitions this week, again, focuses on the documentary genre. Here is an example that again follows the conventions. Beautifully.

Denise Colomb in the West Indies
From legend to reality*, 1948-1958
September 29 - December 27, 2009

Hôtel de Sully 
62, rue Saint-Antoine
75004 Paris
France 

 http://www.jeudepaume.org

Cristian Bettini a.k.a. P.ankh: DONKIJOTE.ORG

2009-09-24T16:20:00.000-07:00

OTO: Martin Ruano Prieto
Cristian Bettini and Minuto with all the technological equipment

The DONKIJOTE.ORG caught my eye as an interesting take on both documentary an anthropology. It's a project that will gather information while the artist and donkey make their way through the region, Asturias.

Of most interest was the fact that the "donkey will operate as a living interface equipped with digital hardware such as a GPS, a mobile Internet connection, a computer, a camera and a video camera with which it will create a memory of Asturias, producing and collecting information, re-mapping the territory and geo-categorising knowledge."

By having the journey and series of images determined -- in part -- by the donkey, it imbues the project with an objective (or, at least, non-subjective) point-of-view. Intended or not, this convention seems to add a layer of credibility to the project's point of view. Interesting, in light of previous post....

Cristian Bettini a.k.a. P.ankh: DONKIJOTE.ORG
Once upon this time there was a clever donkey with its digital armour and its errant knights...
24.09.2009 - 11.01.2010
CURATORS: Roberta Bosco and Stefano Caldana
VENUE: Platform 1 of LABoral and various locations throughout Asturias and http://www.donkijote.org
PRODUCED BY: LABoral's Projects Office

2009-09-24T16:00:00.000-07:00

1180 Raymond, from New Work, 2009
Image courtesy of and © Bongiorno Productions Inc.

I was interested in this photograph in light of our recnt discssuon regarding the primary conventions that mark the genre of documentary photography: a series of gorgeous black and white images which seem to provide an in-depth examination into a subject, with the intention of suggesting emotion or social change. Here, these conventions work well to reinforce the credibility of the photographer with the viewer and the objective presentation of the subject, thus ensuring the viewer's attention is properly focused on the appropriate social issue and correct emotions regarding it.

Here, the subject is Newark's urban landscape. The work is a six minute film loop, which is an homage to Newark (and, as stated onthe website, the "1920 film, Manhatta, by Paul Strand and Charles Sheeler"). It's true. Newark does look gorgeous. And, worthy of homage. Or, am I merely being manipulated? Who knows?

New Work: Newark in 3D, A Centennial Film Commission by Marylou Tibaldo-Bongiorno and Jerome Bongiorno
Sept 23, 2009 - Jan 10, 2010

Newark Museum
49 Washington Street
Newark, NJ 07102
973.596.6550
http://newarkmuseum.org

Riverside

2009-09-22T22:45:00.000-07:00

Izah Gallagher
Riverside, 2009
Photography
© Izah K. Gallagher

I chose these three images because they investigate ideas and images of public art and public space, while incorporating non-traditional color and use of blur.

I'm very excited and honored to be participating in "Spirits of Riverside", a show to support The Friends of Historic Riverside Cemetery. It features "artwork inspired by the landscape at Riverside" and will be presented on the second floor of Denver’s oldest brewpub, The Wynkoop Brewing Company, from October 10th through November 15th, 2009.

I'd love it if you all could join us for a reception on October 31st (Halloween) from 5-7pm. The reception is free and open to the public.

http://friendsofriversidecemetery.org/2009/09/18/spirits-of-riverside-at-the-wynkoop-brewing-company/

2009-09-20T14:04:00.000-07:00

Nan Goldin
Picnic on the Esplanade,1973

FAMILIAR FEELINGS
ON THE BOSTON GROUP
24 September - 13 December

Curator: Manuel Segade

CGAC
Valle Inclán s/n
15704 Santiago de Compostela
Telephone: 981 546619
Fax: 981 546625
Ground and first floors

http://www.cgac.org

Utopia and Monument I

2009-09-20T14:01:00.000-07:00

Dolores Zinny/Juan Maidagan
Curtain Call for Graz, 2009

I'm interested in the ideas raised regarding the role of art, especially in the public sphere. I've always been fascinated in the role of the Public Monument and what it represents.

Now, in the light of the recent announcement by The National Endowment for the Arts ("NEA") to recruit "artists, producers, promoters, organizers, influencers (sic), marketers, taste-makers, leaders or just plain cool people to join together and work together to promote a more civically (sic) engaged America and celebrate how the arts can be used for a positive change!” this discussion seems especially relevant to me.

Note: As you may be aware, the NEA is our nation's largest provider of funds for the arts and is supported wholly by taxpayer dollars.

Interesting times, no?

Utopia and Monument I
On the validity of art between privatisation and the public sphere
Exhibition for the public space
25/09 - 18/10/2009

Opening: 25/09, 6 pm, exhibition pavilion at Platz der Freiwilligen Schützen, Graz
Curated by Sabine Breitwieser

http://www.steirischerherbst.at

BERLINER LISTE 09: Fred Bred Mixed Media

2009-09-20T13:55:00.000-07:00

Fred Bred
Speed Racer (2009)
Mixed media on canvas
130x130 cm
© Fred Bred
Courtesy the artist and Zimmermann & Heitmann

Please to enjoy Fred Bred's fresh take on Speed Racer. Who doesn't appreciate a pop of color? A pop of humor? A pop of truth? Bred has re-imagined an icon of animation in a time that exists both in the past (as indicated by the nostalgic look/feel/color/composition/ text) yet completely in the present (as indicated by the sponsorship/use/appropriation of icon for capital gain). Speed Racer may just represent the ultimate productization of a mass media hero, yes?

BERLINER LISTE 09
Fair for contemporary art
and photography
September 24 - 27, 2009

Palais am Tiergarten,
86 Reichpietschufer, Berlin

http://www.berliner-liste.org

2009-09-13T23:15:00.000-07:00

Izah Gallagher
Something Whispered, 2009
Digital Photography
© Izah K. Gallagher

I choose to post these three images; they whispered my name.

Cristof Yvoré:New Paintings

2009-09-13T22:41:00.001-07:00

Cristof Yvoré
Untitled, 2008
Oil on canvas
42 ¾ X 54 ½ inches, (108.5 X 138 cm)

I was drawn, once again, to the surface texture, the raw physical property of the medium, in this work. I do not consider this unusual as the physical nature of the work will often call my name. Please to visit this exhibit, if you find yourself in the City of Angels, yes?

Cristof Yvoré
New Paintings
September 12 - October 24, 2009

Artist Reception: September 12th, 6-8pm

Michael Kohn Gallery
8071 Beverly Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048

http://www.kohngallery.com

Fernell Franco: Amarrados [Bound]

2009-09-13T21:27:00.001-07:00

I have just discovered a new body of black and white work that I am really excited about. For those of you who know my work, I am interested in wrapping and bindings and black and white and historical photography. For those of you don't know me but live in NYC, I hope you'll stop by the gallery and partake.

Fernell Franco: Amarrados [Bound]
September 17 - December 12, 2009

Americas Society
680 Park Avenue, New York, NY

http://www.americas-society.org

Candice Breitz: Same, Same

2009-09-13T20:18:00.000-07:00

Candice Breitz
Still from Factum Kang, 2009
Featuring Hanna Kang and Laurie Kang
Courtesy the artist

Given my background in film and interest in the creation of identity via visual language (individually and collectively), I've found Candice Breitz' work to be of special interest. And, as it happens, I had the lucky opportunity to see/hear/feel/almost taste Breitz' Legend (A Portrait of Bob Marley) installation at the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver in late 2007, whilst I was a docent-ing away the hours and hours. Loved it!

Given Brietz' investigation of these issues via recontextualization, I imagined her work would be of general interest to our Foto4 Group, as this is a topic of much discussion.

Candice Breitz: Same Same
19 September - 15 November 2009

The Power Plant
231 Queens Quay West
Toronto ON Canada M5J 2G8

www.thepowerplant.org

2009-09-08T21:12:00.000-07:00

Izah Gallagher
End of Summer, 2009
Digital Photography
© Izah K. Gallagher

It's my birthday -- enjoying the Indian summer on the patios at Indulge and Casa Jones with MB, Kat, Jessica, Chris and the Wills, i.e., Big Will and Lil' Will. Enjoy, Izah

Foto4 Group: Since we're discussing lighting, I choose to post these images as they capture the look/feel/light of the last night of summer. Lighting notes: out of doors, late summer; quality/color = soft and cool; direction/source = sun low on the horizon, with some candles and outdoor halogen lights.

Guy Tillim

2009-09-05T23:09:00.001-07:00

Guy Tillim
Grande Hotel, Beira, Mozambique, 2008
(Courtesy of Michael Stevenson, Cape Town)

Given my interest in historical, architectural, ethnographic, and anthropological photography, I was curious to explore this collaborative exhibition between Guy Tillim and Extra City. I find myself drawn to stories of colonization and its intended and unintended after effects, perhaps because I spent my most formative years in Africa? Or, perhaps, because members of my family spent formative years 'settling' in the Texas, New Mexico, Colorado?

[An aside: The Cator brothers started ranching on the Palo Duro in 1878. They built a house and started a store they called the Zulu Stockade, because they considered their territory as wild as the Zululand in Africa. Interesting.]

Guy Tillim: Avenue Patrice Lumumba
06/09 - 25/10/2009

Extra City – Kunsthal Antwerpen
Tulpstraat 79 –
2060 Antwerp – Belgium
info@extracity.org

"Extra City presents the project Avenue Patrice Lumumba by Guy Tillim in collaboration with the Flemish-Dutch House deBuren a few months before the 50th anniversary of Congolese independence from Belgium.

Avenue Patrice Lumumba is an examination of modern history in Africa against the backdrop of its colonial and post-colonial architectural heritage. It travels through numerous African countries, including Mozambique, Angola and The Democratic Republic of Congo.

In this project, the South African photographer Guy Tillim (1962, Johannesburg) departs from the late-modernist architectural structures that shaped the colonial landscape of conflicts in recent decades. However, the transitional and hybrid sceneries and spaces he depicts do not merely testify to conflict and an oppressive past, decay and violently contested ideologies. They speak equally of the aspirations for liberation and progress in the post-colonial era."

p.s. p.s. Lighting notes: indoors; quality/color = perhaps, existing natural light plus additional source; source/direction = appears to be front lit, eliminating shadows.

CCTV:The Get Out Clause and Father Guido Sarducci

2009-09-05T22:29:00.000-07:00

I thought the famous CCTV music video from The Get Out Clause seemed especially relevant for our Foto4 Group given recent discussions regarding re-contextualization. By way of background, the band set up their music equipment, from microphones to drum kit, in eighty different locations, including buses and what appear to be taxi cabs, and then requested all of the footage using the Data Protection Act. Interesting and scary.

Also, as a Labor Day weekend bonus, please to enjoy Father Guido Sarducci on art school and the the advantages of being an artist. (And, The truth about IKG and the great career change of '07 is revealed.) The short clip was produced by George Manupelli and William Farley in 1982 at San Francisco Art Institute and it won a 198 Clio award.

Source for both clips: www.youtube.com.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2iuZMEEs_A

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MK0ITXBWpHE

p.s. I'd argue that both clips are ongoing, international exhibitions.

p.s. Lighting notes:

CCTV -- various existing internal and external lighting; quality/color = everything from fluorescent indoors to natural out of doors lightening combine to create low quality, low contrast, fuzzy images.

Father Sarducci -- indoors; quality/color = relatively low key lighting creating strong contrast and sharper shadows, i.e., chiaroscuro ; source/direction = appears to be lit with multiple lights, perhaps classic Hollywood three point lighting, i.e., back, fill, key.

Taroop et Glabel

2009-09-04T23:18:00.000-07:00

Taroop et Glabel
Les belles images de T & G, 2009
Photography, 47 x 57 cm
Courtesy Semiose galerie

More on recontextualization of photographs.

p.s. Lighting notes: quality/direction/source = copy stand, with multiple lights given no shadow or glare.

p.s. I'm not sure why this image isn't showing up. Please see website below until link is fixed!

Taroop & Glabel
Les belles images de T & G
4 September - 3 October, 2009
Opening 4 september 6 : 00 p.m
Semiose galerie
3 rue des Montibœufs
75020 Paris
France

http://www.semiose.com
http://www.facebook.com/event

2009-09-01T12:13:00.000-07:00

Izah Gallagher
Opening, 2009
Digital Photography
© Izah K. Gallagher

I linked these images together in an attempt to create a sense of movement and narrative and time. If these images inspire, please to write a lovely poem or caption, perhaps even in Spanish.

Andreas Bunte

2009-09-01T11:58:00.000-07:00

ANDREAS BUNTE
La Fée Electricité, 2007
16mm fi lm, black and white, silent
12’ - Courtesy the artist and Galerie Ben Kaufmann, Berlin
Stills: Hans Moser, Thomas Rosier

I tend to be drawn to images that reference film and history and beauty. Andreas Bunte's image above is featured at Contour 2009 -- in fact it is the campaign image for the Biennial. Contour "takes place every two years, and runs for two months, from August to October.... [It] has presented itself as ‘the first comprehensive exhibition in Flanders entirely dedicated to art made in moving image." Stunning beautiful.

Robert Capa

2009-08-28T21:49:00.000-07:00

Photo: Tony Cenicola/The New York Times

After (quickly) reading/discussing a recent NYT Robert Capa article in class, I remembered another NYT article and slide show regarding The Mexican Suitcase from a Hugh Graham posting.

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/04/29/arts/20090429_SUITCASE_SLIDESHOW_index.html

I need to review both -- and more -- again.

p.s. Articles re: above ....

Article regarding slide show is at : http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/30/arts/design/30capa.html

Foto4 Group discussion article : http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/30/arts/design/30capa.html

p.s. The International Center of Photography is "now planning a major exhibition of much of the work from the Mexican suitcase for sometime in 2010, Mr. Wallis said, adding: 'We consider this one of the most important discoveries of photographic work of the 20th century.'"

p.s. Robert Capa created the The International Center of Photography, yes?

Luc Tuymans

2009-08-28T19:54:00.000-07:00

Luc Tuymans
Orchid, 1998
Oil on canvas
39 1/4 x 30 1/4 in. (99.7 x 76.8 cm)
Private collection, courtesy David Zwirner, New York
© Luc Tuymans Photo: Felix Tirry, courtesy David Zwirner, New York

Initially, I was drawn to expressive lighting and nuanced surfaces of Luc Tuyman's paintings, which I discovered via the Wexner Center for the Arts posting on E-FLUX. Once on the Wexner site, I found additional information (excerpted, in part, below) which further heightened my interest. I discovered that this artist and I have similar interests in a number of areas, viz. a) conceptual issues concerning memory, identity and history, and b) the relationship of photography to other forms of fine art. Interesting, no?

Excerpts from www.wexarts.org:

"Luc Tuymans (b. 1958) is considered one of the most significant European painters of his generation, and has been an enduring influence on younger and emerging artists. Born and raised in Antwerp, where he lives and works, Tuymans is an inheritor to the vast tradition of Northern European painting. At the same time, as a child of the 1950s, his relationship to the medium is understandably influenced by photography, television, and cinema.

Interested in the lingering effects of World War II on the lives of Europeans, Tuymans explores issues of history and memory, as well as the relationship between photography and painting, using a muted palette to create canvases that are simultaneously withholding and disarmingly stark. Drawing on imagery from photography, television, and film, his distinctive compositions make ingenious use of cropping, close-ups, framing, and sequencing, offering fresh perspectives on the medium of painting, as well as larger cultural issues. Tuymans’s paintings might initially suggest relatively innocuous depictions of everyday life—whether interiors, landscapes, or figural representations—but there is almost always another meaning lurking beneath the surface."

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WHAT THEY’RE SAYING ABOUT LUC TUYMANS (THE EXHIBITION) AND LUC TUYMANS (THE ARTIST)

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“The contemporary art market may be in freefall, but Belgian painter Luc Tuymans, long regarded as one of the art world's brightest stars, is having a banner year….Mr. Tuymans combines a keen knowledge of the Flemish old masters with an instinctively cinematic approach to painting. Though he may apply his paint like an old master, he uses close-ups and framing devices with the skill of a great 20th-century film director.”—The Wall Street Journal (July 3, 2009)

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“With his subdued colors; use of imagery from television, photography, and films; and subtle invocations of history and politics, Tuymans has reinvigorated representational painting.”—ELLE Décor (September 2009)

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“Tuymans’s paintings are figurative, cool, drawn from an international collective memory, his palette broken, extracted from the media, film, TV, and Polaroids rather than nature.”—Vanity Fair (October 2006)

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“I want to make people think. I want them to be confused and unnerved.”—Luc Tuymans (quoted in Art + Auction, September 2004)

“None of my art is truly abstract, everything is derived from reality….no imagination could overrule reality.”—Luc Tuymans (quoted in Art World magazine, April/May 2009)

“I try to create a feeling of distrust of the image—of every type of imagery, basically—because an image can always be manipulated.”—Luc Tuymans, in The Wall Street Journal (July 3, 2009)

2009-08-28T19:16:00.000-07:00

New Blog.

I hope you will enjoy blogging entries as they are posted.

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Xo,Izah.