12.28.2008

Ron Jude's Best Books 2008

If you read this blog, you might know that am a big fan of Ron Jude. He takes great photos and is a very nice guy. He also has pretty darn good taste in photobooks. I asked Ron to share his best books for 2008. Here is what he had to say:

I’m a big fan of photo books. In fact, I typically prefer them to exhibitions. However, as is the case with so many things in my life, I’m not very organized about how I go about collecting books. I’m not a big reader of blogs, and I don’t keep a list of things I need to get as soon as they’re released. I order books online occasionally, but I usually prefer to hold a book in my hands and get to know it in a tactile sense before I lay down $50 or $60 dollars for it. This means that by the time I end up buying a book, it’s usually already been around for a few months, sometimes a few years. This delayed and haphazard strategy means that I’ll inevitably miss out on a few things—like Paul Graham’s A Shimmer of Possibility, since there was a feeding frenzy when it was released. (I guess I’ll get the $65 SteidlMack version.) I’m usually drawn to buying books with lower profiles anyway, so I’m okay with missing out on a few blockbusters. Books that are over $80 or $90 when they’re brand new and still in print I usually won’t buy out of principal. I know high-quality photo books are expensive to produce, but the book format for me is principally about allowing a broad audience access to the work, not just the same people who are probably also buying editioned prints from the photographer’s gallery. (I have a few books in my collection for which I broke this rule, like John Gossage’s brilliant Hey Fuck Face, but not many.) So, with this disclaimer in mind, I’ve compiled my list of the “top-nine photo books of 2008”. Only five of which were actually published in 2008—three were put out in 2007, and one in 2006, but I got them in 2008. (Dumb, I know.) All but two of these books are photo books that crossover into the realm of “artist’s books,” which is the kind of book I have a particular fetish for. I think the biggest challenge in book publishing, especially with so many “indie” presses out there these days, is making quality books that rely on good simple designs and strong, yet understated concepts, without huge budgets.





1. As Far As I Could Get by John Divola. Published by Farewell Books, Gothenberg, 2007. This, to me, is damn near a perfect book. (And it cost $10!)

2. Empty Frames by John Clayman. Published by MOT International, London, 2006.
Right up my alley: utterly esoteric and mind-numbingly obtuse. What a great book! This one made me giddy when I first picked it up at Printed Matter in New York, and like any truly good book, I keep going back to it and it continues to engage me.

3. Dirt Land by Peter Sutherland. Published by Gallery White Room, Tokyo, 2007. The prolific Peter Sutherland has renewed my faith in photography. Awesome book.




4. Streets and Trails by Bernhard Fuchs. Published by Hassla Books, New York, 2008.
A quiet, beautiful book that completely refreshes the Düsseldorf aesthetic. (Bernhard tells me that Walther König is going to publish another book of this work in the spring. Get this understated version while they’re still in print!)

5. Nina Pohl by Nina Pohl. Published by Snoeck, Köln, 2007. A high-end monograph (exhibition catalog, actually), with an artist’s book sensibility. Fantastic design, beautiful reproductions, and very smart photography. (Thanks to Tricia Gabriel for putting me on to this one.)

6. The Marine Layer by Peter Holzhauer. Self-published, 2008. Peter Holzhauer is a fantastic photographer from L.A. who seamlessly blends traditional, large-format aesthetics with complex conceptual strategies. Really smart work, and a successfully nuanced sequence for the book version of this project.

7. Heart Shaped Hole by Charlotte Dumas, Galerie Paul Andriesse, Amsterdam, 2008. Charlotte Dumas has a deceptively simple program that builds on itself very effectively with each subsequent read. I recommend buying all of her publications and sitting with them for a while. Really beautiful, simply designed books, masquerading as catalogs. (The reproductions are outrageously good, too.)



8. The Chance is Higher by Ari Marcopoulos. Published by Dashwood Books, New York, 2008. I know, I know, another book by Ari Marcopoulos… This is one instance when I’m a sucker for fancy design. This is a solidly conceived of book by David Strettell at Dashwood, and designed by Gavillet & Rust in Geneva. A really beautiful object that is carefully balanced with Marcopoulos’ tough, Xerox-copied, photographs. A great book. (Coming in right at my cut-off price of $85.)

9. Photographs by Jason Polan and Michael Worful. Self-published, New York, 2008.
An un-ironic blend of earnest sentiment and transcendent humor. A really fantastic, staple-bound book of 18 photographs.

The Staff Show at photo-eye

Cliff Shapiro




Heather Prichard

Adam Figliola


On December 18th, photo-eye Bookstore hosted the first ever photo-eye Staff Show. I have been at photo-eye for over 10 years and I have seen many talented artists pass through including
Chris Bennett of Newspace, Darius Himes of Radius Books and many others. This show is a long time coming. The exhibition runs through January 31, 2009 at photo-eye Bookstore, 370 Garcia Street, Santa Fe. If you are in Santa Fe, stop by and see the work. You can also email melanie (at) photoeye (dot) com for inquiries.

Call for Entry: Center for Fine Art Photography's The Human Canvas

© Momento, Peter Boyadjieff


The Center for Fine Art Photography is pleased to announce our latest call for entries, The Human Canvas. Entries are being accepted now, and through January 13, 2009. They have also opened for entries The Minds Eye an open theme exhibition.

Theme: The human body is not just the vessel in which our consciousness resides, but also a canvas and a sculpting medium that is used to inspire, provoke, and sometimes offend. The Human Canvas seeks to explore the many ways in which the body can be an integral component of art. It can be as simple and elegant as the unadorned figure, or any of the almost limitless uses of the body as a canvas on which art is presented, or incorporated, from creations in fabric and textiles, body modifications, pigments, and much more.

Eligibility: The exhibition is open to all domestic and international, professional and amateur photographers working with digital or traditional photography or combinations of both. The Center for Fine Art Photography invites photographers working in all mediums, styles and schools of thought to participate in its exhibitions. Traditional, contemporary, avant-garde, creative and experimental and mixed techniques are welcome.

Juror: Suzette Troche-Stapp, a.k.a "the Glitter Guru" is one of the most sought-after photographer/digital artists today. Not only is Suzette is an award winning photographer, but also the author of the book, "The Glitter Guru on PhotoShop - From Concept to Cool", which won the Designers Bookshelf Award for "Most Exciting New PhotoShop Book of 2003". Suzette is recognized as one of the "Top 40 PhotoShop Experts" by Wacom Inc. and has been awarded the "Guru Award" for excellence in PhotoShop design by NAPP

Finally Recovering...

©Sarah Wilson


© Colleen Mullins


© Steffanie Halley


© Scott Dalton



© Nell Dickerson




This month has been crazy with
PhotoNOLA, James Enyeart and Jessica Lange signings at photo-eye, The photo-eye Staff Show and just the holidays in general.

Here are some of the images from the portfolios from PhotoNOLA to begin the decompression.

12.15.2008

Jeff Ladd and Joerg Colberg's Best Books 2008

Another list... Bibliophile's dream on 5b4 and Conscientious.

Both have a few of my potential favorites including Sent a Letter. Check out the list on Jeff Ladd and Joerg Colberg's blogs.


12.10.2008

Erik van der Weijde's Best Books 2008 (and some 2007)



Photographer Erik van der Weijde's Best Books picks for 2008 (and some 2007):

Room Service by Paul Kooiker (Van Zoetendaal)
Sonne, Mond und Sterne by Fischli & Weiss (JRP/Ringier)
Parallel Encyclopedia by Batia Suter (Roma Publications)
Zeitung (shown below) by Peter Piller (Keller / Ringier)

Transitoland (shown above & link to English version here) by Rob van Hoesel (Veenman Publishers)





Interview with Darius Himes

Darius Himes, for about 10 years, was my co-worker at photo-eye and editor of photo-eye Booklist. He is currently an independent curator, writer, consultant and co-founder of Radius Books. (photo shown here by Miriam Romais).

MM: How did you become interested in photography?

DH: I could hear a clicking sound while in my mama's belly and I discovered, after entering this realm of life, it was a camera that produced that sound. So, pursuing photography was just a familiar kind of thing, you know?


MM: You received your undergraduate degree in Photography from ASU where you studied with Bill Jay and Mark Klett. Why did you chose to attend ASU for your undergraduate degree? What do you feel is the most important lesson each taught?

DH: I grew up in a village in Iowa. When I was 18, I simply wanted to get as far away from small-town Iowa as I could. So I applied to ASU (which was a world away from Iowa). Bill Jay taught me how exciting history can be, and to always be diligent and full of humor. Mark Klett didn't teach me anything, because I actually didn't have him for any classes. But Margaret Moore taught me how to make it through Photo 101, Mary Anne Redding and James Hajicek taught me how to run a gallery and handle 19th century photographs, Eric Kronengold taught me how to use bleach and toner and a view camera, and William Jenkins taught me how to think more critically than my farmboy brain had ever thought possible.


MM: Why did you move to Santa Fe?

DH: I came to Santa Fe in 1998 to work with you at photo-eye, Mellie. Duh. No, seriously, I came out to Santa Fe primarily to attend the Graduate Institute at St. John's College, (the best liberal arts college in America). But Santa Fe was a beacon of cool art and photography and I wanted to be in that environment as well, so I stayed after graduation. I was already working for photo-eye part time and was offered a chance to work full-time.


MM: Do you feel conflicted about being a photographer and pursuing other avenues in the photo world? Does your ability and desire to produce images help your understanding and empathy regarding photographers in the projects you choose to promote?

DH: No conflict at all. I feel that because I'm a practitioner, I have a deeper understanding of not only what it takes to make an image but the creative, internal processes that are involved in making work. I still consider myself, first, an artist and photographer, and second, a writer and editor and publisher.





MM:
Radius was founded as a not-for-profit organization. Why did your chose to establish the imprint in this way and what is the mission of the organization?

DH: "RADIUS BOOKS encourages, promotes, and publishes books of artistic and cultural value for a wide audience. Our projects are distinguished in both form and substance: beautiful objects by important artists of all ranks." We are non-profit because of our vision that the role of the arts can play in society, which means that we see education and distribution of books to libraries as key to our mission, and those things require funding. Being non-profit allows us to fund-raise to support that mission.


MM: How did Mark Klett's book Saguaros develop as a concept and why did you produce the book with exposed boards and loose binding?

DH: Mark's Saguaros project was something that all of us at Radius had known about for many years. In fact Mark has sent it to me when I was at photo-eye, asking for publisher recommendations. When we were at the design stage, we talked about it needing to be rather large (it's 12x15 inches) but also rather non-traditional. David Chickey suggested the binding, which allows the book to lay very flat and also has a very rigid feel. That rigidity mimics the very rigid, linear profile of the saguaro cacti. The exposed edges of the board also calls to mind the spines and ribs of the cactus plants. It all seemed to come together for that book.

We really try to have the design and the materials complement the subject matter in a conscious, appropriate manner. For example, with Michael Lundgren's new book, Transfigurations, the photographs are very experiential and are all made in the desert. So we used an uncoated paper for the cover, which gives it a very textural, dusty-type feel. We then debossed the word Transfigurations on the cover, in a small font-size, and used a black foil, so that when you look at the title it sort-of shimmers and recedes from your eyes amidst the grays and lights of the desert landscape. It's gorgeous.





MM: Who designs the Radius books? Where are the books printed?

DH: In many ways, the books are created through collaborative processes involving the Radius team (of David Chickey and David Skolkin and Joanna Hurley and myself) as well as the artist. We often start with a concept and then discuss it amongst ourselves, bringing different books to the table as examples of things we're thinking about. The editorial content, such as the overall book concept, editing and sequencing of images, as well as what text to include, and by what writer, is approached in much the same way. But David and David oversee the production of the books. As far as printing is concerned, we have printed books in Italy, Germany, China, Singapore and the U.S.


MM: How do you select your photo projects for Radius? Do you accept submissions?


DH: We accept blind submissions, although this is not a very effective method for finding projects, as most publishers will attest. Generally, the four Radius Books member are all very aware of what's happening in the art world. We read a lot of magazines, travel to art fairs, participate in review events, and just generally try to stay informed. There are, of course, any number of great artists out there that we would love to work with, and some of them we have approached, while others have approached us.

MM: How would you recommend that photographers get funding for book projects? Do limited editions help?

DH: The question of funding/financing projects is a complex one. The quickest answer is to say that putting out an "illustrated book" such as what we're doing requires a team of people that generally can include galleries, museum curators, collectors, and local arts organizations that like to sponsor great projects.

MM: You recently finished coordinating the judges and symposium for the Photography Book Now competition, sponsored Blurb.com, the premier print-on-demand company based in San Francisco. How do you feel that the POD industry has affected the current publishing industry and do you feel that this will have a positive or negative affect on the future of publishing?

DH: I love it. I wouldn't have gotten involved with the folks at Blurb if I didn't think it was a good thing. POD is a fascinating phenomenon and opportunity for photographers and writers. It's the equivalent of how blogging changed the face—and is still changing—the face of journalism. The Photography Book Now contest proved to everyone that the book is a central form of expression within contemporary photography, and the symposium was an indication that lots of folks are interested in hearing about the book industry overall. It was a lot of fun and it's going to happen again in 2009!

MM: You curated the new issue of Nueva Luz magazine. How did you choose the photographers and the theme of this issue?

DH: This project was actually very dear to me. I was given the chance to curate a group of photographers for Nueva Luz, a magazine that has historically championed underrepresented and minority artists. I proposed writing an essay that addressed the concept of "race" as an identifying concept, and chose four artists that I think are also working in a similar vein (though I wasn't looking for direct corollaries). What emerged was an essay that I'm very proud of and which essentially asks people to consider the thesis, which I'm not pretending to have made up, by any means, that there is one human race made up of people of many colors (and cultures). There is an essential unity that underlies our vast and valuable diversity, and that the unity of humanity is often lost in the mix of discussions about race. You'll have to buy the issue to read the essay and see the work! The photographers included were Sanaz Mazinani, Nontsikelelo Veleko, Hank Willis-Thomas and Ian Ramirez.


MM: What blogs do you read? What magazines?

DH: I read your blog, Mellie, first thing every morning. (I like to look at your profile pic with my coffee.) Just teasing. I have subscriptions to Squash Gardening at Home, This Old Cabin, and Damengambit Quarterly.




MM:
Which photographer has had the most impact on your life?

DH: That's impossible for me to answer! Personally, there are numerous photographers and artists that have created shifts in how I understand the visual medium, and those shifts happened at different points in my life. So, in the past decade, spending a great deal of time with the work of Lee Friedlander, Hiroshi Sugimoto, and Martin Parr has dramatically shifted the way I think about the medium. Masao Yamamoto, Stephen Shore and Daido Moriyama have had a definite impact, as has the work of Roger Ballen. And to be honest, the work of Michael Lundgren, whose work we have just released in a new monograph called Transfigurations, is still penetrating into my consciousness. Mike just gave a talk in Tempe at ASU and I was blown away (even though we'd already published the work!). He is thinking about—and photographing—landscape, particularly the desert landscape, in a radically new way. That'll require a separate blog post to discuss.


MM: You have an extensive photo (and non-photo) library. What is your favorite photo book? What is your favorite non-photo book?

DH: Another impossible-to-answer question! I don't have one favorite photobook. I want to be buried with ALL of them. Haha! There are so many gems out there. One overlooked gem of a photobook, which is mostly writing based on photography, is Crime Album Stories by Eugenia Parry. Parry is one of photography's preeminent (and overlooked) writers; this volume was a quasi-fictional book based on groups of police-record photographs found in a 19th century album. I devoured the book when it first came out. As far as authors and literature, I would list the following: Titus Burckhardt, Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, Shoghi Effendi, Aquinas, Plato, and David Sedaris.


MM: Aside from Radius, of course, who are some of your favorite publishers?

DH: Without hesitation I would say, as far as small presses go, that Nazraeli Press, Twin Palms Publishers, Chris Boot, and J&L Books rank as some of the best. On a larger scale, what Lesley Martin has done with Aperture in recent years is nothing short of brilliant, Phaidon books continues to rock the casbah with gorgeous, hard-hitting, well-conceived titles, and who can ignore Steidl? Rathole books is now putting out some seriously interesting titles. And the most underrated publishing program in America is, in my opinion, that of Fraenkel Gallery. I wish I owned everything they've published to date.

12.03.2008

Going to New Orleans

Now in its third year, PhotoNOLA is a city wide celebration of Photography in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. I will be reviewing portfolios along with fellow New Mexican David Bram and many other reviewers. I hope to see the Sally Mann and Deborah Luster, and Guns 'n Us exhibitions to name a few. Check out all the exhibitions, workshops and events on PhotoNOLA.org.

12.02.2008

Santa Fe Arts Publication THE Magazine's Best Books 2008





THE Magazine, Santa Fe art publication just release their selection for the Best Books of 2008. I wrote a review for Towell's The World from My Front Porch. Check out the illustration for the front of the magazine for all the book covers.

11.29.2008

Double Think Magazine


© Lara Shipley



My friend Lara Shipley emailed me that her photo was on the cover of Double Think magazine. I love the photo and it was great to be exposed to the magazine. Much of their content is available online including an article of particular interest to me by Helen Rittelmeyer titled Jezebels With A Cause. Rittelmeyer discusses date rape and promiscuity as it relates to the philosophies of the (Fourth Wave Feminist?) movement Jezebelism.

11.23.2008

Purpose Magazine

© Robin Schwartz



© Thekla Ehling




© Joakim Eskildsen


Purpose Magazine no. 8
- automne / autumn 2008 enfance / childhood

exposure: the annual PRC juried Exhibition

Each year, the PRC is pleased to host a juried exhibition with a nationally-renowned juror. This prestigious competition is a great opportunity to view a slice of current work as well as see topics in which contemporary minds are engaged. With only about a dozen artists selected from over 300 entries, the PRC Juried Exhibition is a highly competitive and revered program. All winners each exhibit several images in the PRC gallery and are highlighted in the PRC's publication, in the loupe, which is distributed nationally.

This year's juror is Russell Hart. Deadline is Monday, February 2, 2009. Click here for the entry form.

Courtesy: Red Dog Journal.

Juried Exhibition of Self-Published On-Demand Photography Books


Photographers have been witness to a dizzying array of groundbreaking innovations in recent years. One of those exciting innovations is the emergence of "self-published, on demand" book printing services. You know.... Blurb, Lulu, iPhoto, MyPublisher and all those other proliferating providers as well. These books allow photographers to present their photographs in a high-quality, low-cost and professional-looking book. With the excellent quality of on-demand printers in the marketplace today, you can publish one copy just for you or publish lots of copies and market them under your own imprint. They also make great book dummies to show to the real publishers.

ELIGIBILITY: Photo+Book is open to photographers both in the United States and abroad who have made a photography book via any on-demand printing service. Entrants may submit up to three different titles of any size, format, or style. Hard cover, soft cover, case-wraps, landscape, portrait, square, color, black and white. There is a $25 entry fee and entries are due at the gallery by January 24, 2008. This exhibition will be juried by Christopher Rauschenberg, whose work is in hundreds of museums, private and corporate collections and he is the co-founder of Blue Sky Gallery and Photolucida.

Learn more about his work at
www.christopherrauschenberg.com. Co-juried by Laura Russell, owner of 23 Sandy Gallery.

Courtesy:
Red Dog Journal.

11.20.2008

Interview with Gavin Rooke




Gavin Rooke is an designer, artist, gallerist and publisher in Johannesburg, South Africa. His namesake gallery (show top), Rooke Gallery, represents the work of Liam Lynch, Zander Blom, Olaf Bisscoff and the exposed members of Society of Photographers. The two books Ten and 6x6 include works by Society of Photography members and The Drain of Progress is the Catalogue Raisonné of mixed media artist Zander Blom.


Stephen Shore with Frank Arisman and reviewing work for Liam Lynch

MM: What is Society of Photographers, when, and by whom was it founded?

GR:
The Society of Photographers is a collection of photographers based across the globe. Access to the Society is by invitation only, but the invitation can be made by any existing member of the Society. Work is shared and judged anonymously by members of the Society in the online environment and only the best work is exposed to the public. Only at this time is the identity of photographer revealed. I founded the Society in late 2005. At the time I noticed that there were certain inefficiencies in the contemporary photography market, specifically around how contemporary talent is identified and then represented in galleries. I wanted to create a platform where talent would be identified by a broader pool of qualified individuals (including the photographers themselves) and allow for work to be judged anonymously. Great work speaks for itself, and should not rely on the author’s credentials to be judged as such (and vice versa).



MM: What is the mission of this organization? Who are the members and how do you become a member?

GR: The organisation’s mission is to identify great talent. I can’t reveal the list of members, other than those that have been published as a result of their work as being chosen as the best. This list includes the likes of Sasha Rudensky, Erika Larsen, Avant Car Guard, Shawn Records, David La Spina, Nivag Aekoor, Paula McCartney, Michael MacGarry. Many of these artists have become significantly more established than when I first saw their work via the Society. The member base initially started with 5 photographers in South Africa and the US, but has since grown across the United Kingdom and Eastern Europe to just over 150. Growth is not an objective.


MM: What are some of the projects/exhibitions that the SOP has produced? What are the future projects?

GR: A key component to the Society is the fact that the projects move from the online world into the physical world. There are a plethora of online “communities” revolving around photography. They vary significantly in calibre. My view is that the work generated in such forums must ultimately appear in a physical form – on a wall, in a book, formally editioned and printed by master printers. Some would disagree – but I sense a return to the physical and these forums are not taken seriously until they appear in these forms.

Our first physical project was in 2006, and was called “TEN”. Members were invited to submit ten images along with an artists’ statement. The concept was one of context. TEN Images tell a story (individually and as a set). A mini “novella”. The chosen works were then editioned on single sheets (up to 5m long) and the book allowed the reader to view all ten images at once. Hence the continuous gate-fold layout. The exhibition was hosted in Johannesburg and the books were distributed globally.

The next project was 6x6. A similar brief to TEN, but limited to six images . The chosen works were printed as individual books. I quite liked the thought of a book comprising only six images – as it allows the work to get the focus in deserves. The six books were then bound together into a limited edition slipcase. The exhibition was held in Johannesburg in January 2008. Frank Arisman of the ICP in NY and Roger Ballen hosted the opening address. The work then travelled to the Joburg ArtFair and was then due to travel to NY by mid-year. I was let down by the NY gallery at the last moment, and have since been reviewing alternative venues to travel the show. The book continue to sell locally and abroad.

The Society will be invited to partake in a major group show that relates to TYPE (type that features in art) planned for end-2009. The show is medium agnostic but already includes David Goldblatt, Stefan Sagmeister, Jonathan Barnbrook, Roger Ballen. The show will grow to approximately 25 artists once we announce it to the public and there will be a call for entries that will include the Society. A book will be published and the show will travel. This serves as the next model I plan to follow where major established artists are mixed with unknown, fresh talent. The Society has always included established artists and guest judges (Stephen Shore, Jason Fulford etc) - but I believe that the next step is to bring the young guns in alongside the “masters”.


MM: You are also co-owner of Rooke Gallery which was established picking four artists as your stable. Why did you elect to find the artist first and then establish the gallery?

GR: My approach is one of pure focus. I only work with a limited number of artists as I believe that an artist will only succeed in the long term if they are correctly marketed and given the means to focus on their work. I run three to four shows a year only and they run for at least 10 weeks. Its true that I found my first artist before establishing the gallery. Zander Blom’s talent requires a gallery all on its own...


Liam Lynch: The Bassline. Johannesburg, South Africa. 26 April 2006


MM: How did you find these artists and why did you pick them?

GR: I use the Society to assist me in finding talent – and then I invest heavily in that talent. I have also use art awards as a platform to identify talent. I personally entered a work into a major corporate art award to be able to review the other artists work before it was judged. I place little value of corporate art awards themselves, but they are able to attract fresh talent,. This is how I found my latest addition (who happens to be an oil painter who projects the likes of photographs onto his works).


MM: Is this model working?

GR: Certainly. The only way to run a gallery is with the view that each decision you take must add to the long term value and sustainability of your artists. I initially gave myself four years to critically review whether the model is working. We’re under 2 years old the gallery is profitable and well positioned in the market with each artist leading their respective field.


MM: You run a advertising agency in South Africa. Did this help to fund some of your projects initially?

GR: No – I keep my advertising business totally separate from my art endeavours. A business needs to be profitable from the outset. The business rules simply need to be put in place upfront.


MM: How did your background in the marketing and design industry influence what you produced and select to market?

GR: Marketing taught me to be critical. There simply are better ways of doing things in the art world. It comes down to delivery. It must be great. I have a number of criteria when selecting my artists. One is that I will not work with an artist that has been represented elsewhere. It takes too long to “unlearn” the market. I prefer working from the ground up so that I can position them for what they really are. Bluntly put, an artist is a brand. They need to be nurtured, managed and strategically positioned over their entire lifespan.

MM: Does this influence how you have marketed the gallery?

GR: Certainly. I focus on building large scale audiences who I can communicate with directly. I understand my market and I position my artists to them accordingly. This may seem blindly obvious, but its surprising how few marketing skills galleries have. Technology is also something that needs to be harnessed. Podcasts, Videocast, blogs, Social media – all of these mediums are shifting the balance of power toward the market and away from the small set of “taste-makers” that include journalists, critics and curators. You can no longer keep a few people happy and attempt to influence the market through them. There’s nowhere to hide, so make sure you do right.


MM: Do you think of art as a commodity?

GR: Something that is bought and sold and has a perceived value or use is a commodity. Whilst art has these qualities, it is not a commodity. You can’t form a relationship with iron ore. You do however form a relationships with your art. If you don’t – you bought the wrong art.

Zander Blom: Untitled, Bedroom 1, Corner 3, 8.07 p.m., Thursday, 29 March 2007


MM: Are you trying to brand the gallery, artists and/or by extension your presence in the art market in South Africa? How so?

GR: The gallery is branded and purposefully positioned around its small, focused stable of artists. There is no other gallery in South Africa that works according to the same model. The artists are brands in their own right. Their work is what positions them, whilst my role is to assist in getting their work seen for what it is. What else is the role of a gallerist? The South African art market is however relatively small, so global reach, partnerships and positioning is critical. This is the focus for 2009.


MM: You are an accomplished photographer as well, what and who have influenced your photography?

GR: I grew up in a darkroom and have an immense appreciation for the craft aspects of photography. My work life has given me an appreciation for focus and conceptual value. When a strong concept overlaps with great craft – you have the makings of art. My influences are varied but include Ruscha, Gursky, Shore and the Bechers. The obvious suspects I guess – but what they did, they did first. The Avant Garde is something not to be undermined. I see so much photography imitating other photography. Its sad.


MM: Who is your favorite photographer or one who has impacted your life and work?

GR: Ed Ruscha (and he doesn’t even call himself a photographer). His work is profound – and yet was created to be the opposite. When photographers search for profundity, it starts to erode their work. I wish more photographers would read “Ed Ruscha - Photographer”.


MM: What blogs do you read? Magazines?

GR: I must admit that I don’t read as much as I would like to. Importantly, I believe in the value of Naivety. What you don’t know isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I tend to avoid artists blogs as they become emotional and lost in their ways. I enjoy Blind Spot Magazine and the broader art publications like Art review etc.


MM: What is your favorite book, photo or otherwise?

GR: Book – Zander Blom : The Drain of Progress.
Photo - Jason Fulford : I own the cover image from his book “Crushed”


MM: Do you have an odd or funny photography related story to share?

GR: I recall receiving a call on my mobile on a Sunday in 2007. A bloke with a heavy NY accent was enquiring about the gallery. I assumed he wanted to sell me space at an art fair or the like, and I kept rejecting his calls. He finally got through and wanted to see our opening exhibition (Liam Lynch). I still had doubts and put him off. We eventually ended up at the gallery and he turned out to be a trustee of the ICP (Frank Arisman). We laughed about the fact that I almost turned him away thinking he was a salesman... He acquired a significant number of works and we ended up 3 weeks later presenting them to Stephen Shore in his home in upstate New York. We’ve become great friends in the interim.