Call for Entry: Issue 3, SuperMassiveBlackHole

SHOW OFF YOUR PHOTOGRAPHS/SCULPTURE/PERFORMANCE:
Submissions for the Theme section are still being accepted - for Issue#3 the theme is open so there is no specific subject.

For an idea of what they publish check out the previous two issues on the website (do not forget you can still find Issue#1 in the Archive),
and please read the Submission Guidelines before submitting.

Deadline is November 1st, 2009.

For more info, email smbhmag@gmail.com.

Ahorn Magazine Issue 4 is now out

This issue of Ahorn features two portfolios, one by one of my favorite photographers, Susan Worsham, and Shen Wei; interviews with Ron Jude, Andrew Phelps and Karin Apollonia Muller; two book reviews of Westward the Course of Empire featuring photos by Mark Ruwedel and Peter Sutherland's Muddy Treads and Simon Roberts discusses his project and book, We English.

Call for Work: World Identity Lab

WORLD IDENTITY LAB

Identity is partly defined by belonging to a particular group and by social roles, the "us". On the other hand, identity also exists, at least in our society, in the encounter with our own uniqueness, the "me", which each individual experiences in his or her own way.

Am I woman or wife, sister or colleague, freelancer or animal rights activist, single traveller or Brit? Am I man or husband, employed or Argentine, ambulance driver or social democrat, French or European? What am I? Everything at the same time.

Today identity is not confined to your profession alone. Modern identity is defined by a multitude of identifications and self-perceptions. Everybody has access to an almost indefinite spectrum of micro- and macro identities. These can be found, analysed and challenged in the world identity lab.

What is the world identity lab?

The world identity lab is a non-commercial experimental platform, created by moodley brand identity, that looks into different levels of what we call "identity" on a worldwide basis.

The main focus is identity as an overall theme, in its exuberant varieties. The wants and needs of people and the resulting patterns of behaviour within their specific social and cultural environment is the main area of interest. Micro- and macro identities, identity as a social role, identity as identification with a social group, identity as a summary of attributes that differentiate people from each other.

What does the world identity lab want?

The world identity lab wants to

- discover

- capture

- cross-link

- uncover and visualize

The platform has a seismographic function, inviting motivated people to contribute to the concept of "identity" with their opinions and observations in a visual or journalistic way.

The goal is to reach interesting personalities worldwide and engage them as contributors to the lab. The vision of the experiment "world identity lab" is to create a worldwide network for interactive information exchange.

In the future our desire is for the network to develop further, from a platform for interaction on an intellectual and emotional level to one of mutual exchange on a commercial level.

How does the world identity lab work?

Our goal is to build a worldwide network through various channels by

a) conducting an intensive search for interesting contemporaries and existing platforms on the internet and collaborating with them

b) initiating projects on an array of topics and obtaining contributions from around the world

c) publishing printed journals that manifest the subject-matter and the network. These will be posted or, as the case may be, made available to all contributors. The current progress of the publication will be available for monitoring on the website.

The entire process of the project (successes and failures) will be documented by us in the blog on the website and therefore open for comments from each and everyone for discussion.

Current project nr. 1 – identity sucks!

What is it all about? A lone wolf or a group, sex or love, a fight or a cuddle, art or commerce, revolt or bank job? What is your goal? And why? What are the concerns of identity seekers all over the world for growing (up) their identity? What conditions does our world offer to young people in their search for self-discovery?

We are looking for photographs of teenagers from around the world, their first name, age and home city. We are seeking answers to the question of what their personal life goal is and why. It will be exciting to find out what factors - age, social structure, cultural background, etc. - influence the lives of young people and what commonalities (or differences) there are between countries.

Name

Age

Place of residence

What is your life goal?

And why?

Word and Images Should Live Apart

I recently participated on a panel discussion in Santa Fe in conjunction with a lecture series for Through the Lens: Creating Santa Fe. I had prepared a few notes for this panel as I was in the company of some prominent individuals: the two curators, a gallery director, and the museum director. In response to one of the questions, referring to my notes, I responded "Photography, more than any other art form, has to do with memory. It captures a moment in time that is open to the interpretation, first by how the photographer chooses to frame the scene and later how the audience perceives the image that is presented." There are many layers of seeing and presenting an image in and out of its original context. I followed with the "fact" (as was pointed out in the panel discussion, you can give the same historical textual document to 10 different historians and come back with 10 different meanings. Never mind how punctuation can mess it up. See also Roger Casement and the comma) that the meaning of a photograph, more than any other primary resource, is malleable and unguarded against the whims of any subsequent generations. Not only is that individual photograph as a solitary object vulnerable, place it the context of an exhibition or publication and it can take on an entirely different meaning. Then add words and the whole thing can be shot to hell.

With these thoughts still in my mind, I received my copy of Lay Flat 01: Remain in Light in the mail a few days later. Founder Shane Lavalette, co-curator Karly Widenhaus and designer Katherine Hughes have conceived of a project where the images and the words are independent. With the photos as loose plates and the text include in a staple-bound book the audience has the opportunity to observe and absorb them separately. Although some curation has to taken place in conceiving of the design, the audience has not only the opportunity like in many other magazines to flip to the essay of choice, but also the freedom to shuffle the cards to create his or her own narrative. This magazine is not a revolutionized form of viewing, but it allows for an individual experience within the limits of the print publication.

New Online Magazine: Ahorn Magazine

I just got an email from Daniel Augschoell and Anya Jasbar, the two founders of a new online magazine called Ahorn. The first issue includes: interviews with Eric Weeks and Glen Erler; solo shows by David Schoerner and Urszula Wolek (on dresses); an essay by Liz Kuball on Tierney Gearon and book reviews by Andrew Phelps and Daniel Shea. They are also taking submissions.

Water Issues: Next Level and Shots

Erika Diettes in Next Level Magazine Water issue.

Shots Magazine next call for work is for the Spring 2009 issue with the theme of Water.

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.

Purpose Magazine

© Robin Schwartz

© Thekla Ehling

© Joakim Eskildsen

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

Nueva Luz new issue

© Ian Ramirez

The new issue of Nueva Luz is curated by Darius Himes on the topic of race. I am most excited about the inclusion Santa Fe photographer, Ian Ramirez. More info about the issue can be found on Darius's blog. Ian also had a show at Verve Fine Arts in Santa Fe earlier this year and many of his photos can be seen there.

This issue of Neuva Luz also features Hank Willis Thomas (the cover artist), Nontsikelelo Veleko, and Sanaz Mazinani -- as well as a lengthy essay by Darius Himes entitled, “Here Am I.”

Tar Magazine

I just received a press release for a new magazine called tar magazine. According to the information included, tar magazine is a new bi-annual title from BlackBook magazine founder Evanly Schindler dealing with “Art, fashion, culture & social consciousness.”

Contributors include Naomi Wolf, Christiane Amanpour, Matthew Barney, Terry Richardson, Juergen Teller and Ryan McGinley. Plus, the first issue features photos of Benicio del Toro photographed by Julian Schnabel. All this info is from the press release. The website is under construction, but they have contact info listed there.

new PDN on books

Since I am in the book world, I would pick up a copy of the new PDN titled The Book Issue from the newsstand. But since I was one of the 30 asked for my opinion, I have to also post it here (and mail one to my parents). You have to be a subscriber to read most of the articles, but the one titles Marketing Moves That Sell Books is available at pdnonline.com. Conor Risch at PDN granted permission for me to post the interview questions with my responses, some of which were used for the final article. Here is the interview with Conor and myself.

CR: Which person or publishing company has brought out the most compelling photography books over the last one to two years?
MM: There is really no single answer for that, although I will say that some of my favorite for this year are KesselsKramer, Snoeck, Fotohof, Chris Boot, Journal, Nazraeli, Little More, Foil, and Nobody Books.

CR: What did you like about the books?
MM: I think any good book ties directly in to the publisher’s mission and focus.
KesselsKramer is playful and explores vernacular and found imagery. Snoeck, Fotohof, and Journal work with many European photographers that you might not find in the US. Foil and Little More are Japanese publishers who have produced many Rinko Kawauchi books and work with other artists that take lovely and quiet color images. Chris Boot and Nobody are both UK based. Nobody books, Stephen Gill’s imprint, currently publishes all of his own books. Each is an artist book (although mass produced) with printed cloth, designed endpapers and richly printed photos. Almost everything that Nazraeli produces is gold.

CR: in book publishing would you consider a tastemaker and/or aesthetic forerunner?
MM: J&L books, a not-for-profit based in Atlanta, and The Ice Plant, a very small publishing house out of LA, are mainstream, but underground art book publishers. There is a relationship between the two as they have published work by some of the same photographers (Jason Fulford and Mike Slack), and both also extend their catalogue to art forms other than photography. J&L published a book by Michael Northrup called Beautiful Ecstasy, it is brilliantly designed by Paul Sahre with most of the images covering both pages of the spread in full-page bleeds. Each reproduction is bisected by the gutter adding to the already rude imagery, which I would define as a sort of redneck snapshot aesthetic. These two publishers expand on the concept of photographing what you know and making quotidian and almost banal aspects of life acceptable. Mike Slack photographs the wastebasket; Edward Weston photographed the toilet, right?

CR: Which person in book publishing takes the most risks with unknown photographers?
MM: Is seems less and less likely that most publishers will take the risk. Some will only take the chance with a personal financial investment from the photographer. It seems that almost all publishers know their audience and usually play it safe when it comes to choosing titles, even not-for-profits like Aperture and J&L.

Many photographers are venturing out on their own these days. Farewell Books out of Sweden, Hassla Books in NYC and Decode Books are just a few examples of companies started by photographers to publish their own work, who have picked up other projects of interest as well.

CR: Which publishing company's sales and marketing department stands out?
MM: Steidl. They have caught on to the fact that they are producing beautiful books that often go up in value. I love almost every Steidl book we carry. I get emails frequently from them and they are very good about keeping us abreast of their new publications, of course they have the benefit of doing their own image scanning and printing at their headquarters in Göttengen, Germany.

CR: Can you think of recent examples of books that were particularly well marketed?
MM: It seemed like everywhere I looked for the past year, I saw something about An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar by Taryn Simon. The book was a staff favorite at photo-eye and has won numerous book awards including the ICP Infinity award for Publication. Simon was featured on Charlie Rose and I recently saw an article on this project in the June issue of Time. It is a perfect example of a well-produced Steidl publication with an introduction by Salman Rushdie and I am sure the exhibition at the Whitney Museum didn’t hurt.

CR: What other bookstores do you like?
MM: My favorite bookstore is a second hand bookshop called Big Star right here in Santa Fe. Other art bookstore where I spent hours are Spoonbill and Sugartown in NYC, Dashwood Books in NYC, The New Museum Store in NYC, Tattered Cover in Denver, Powell’s in Portland and Stephen Daiter’s Gallery in Chicago. Stephen has such a small book selection for sell, yet shares so much of his out-of-print collection and his love of books that I could not neglect to mention him.

CR: Who are the publicists that you think do the best job of generating book sales?
MM: Chronicle’s PR department including Patti Quill and soon to be leaving editor extraordinaire Alan Rapp were always on the ball with contacting us about their new books, even sending information on titles they think will interest us before the catalogue is published. Alan has been bringing in some outstanding photographers and pushing beyond the coffee table books of the past. Sadly, he is moving on to grad school, but the Fall season with books by David Maisel, Jo Whaley, Linda Connor and Stuart Klipper should prove to be a strong finish.


CR: Do you think photographers do enough to promote their books?
MM: Promotion and marketing can be very difficult. I get an average of five solicitations a week from photographers working on projects soon to be or already, a book. Some of the solicitations are right for us and others are not. Photographers need to do their research and find out who is the right match for them and their work, but it is also good to take some chances. It takes time and effort to write personal emails or letters and costs money to mail out the PR and review copies and then to follow up on those contacts. The expense can pay off. For example, Martine Fougeron followed up with an email and phone call about her catalogue Tête à tête. It was a perfect fit for us and we sold many copies.

Ultimately, I want to have a review copy in hand and see if I like/love the book and/or it will appeal to the photo-eye clientele.


CR: What has been your favorite photography book of the last few years?
MM: This is a tough one. In the last few years I would have to narrow it to: Bodywork by Liz Cohen (Onestar/Galerie Laurent Godin, 2007), The Memory of Pablo Escobar with text by James Mollison (Chris Boot, 2007), Bright, bright day (Photographs and essay by Andrey Tarkovsky (White Space Gallery, 2007), 3 Poems by Jim Dine and Diana Michener (Steidl/Bose Pace Gallery, 2006), Local Studies by Joel Tettamanti, (Etc, 2006), and Carla Van De Puttelaar (Basalt Publishers &van Zoetendaal Collections, 2004).

13 Santa Fe Photographers

The curator and owner of the Santa Fe arts monthly, THE magazine, asked me to assist him in selecting 13 images from 13 photographers in Santa Fe including myself. The condition being that they worked in the photo industry and did not have gallery representation. Here is the page layout courtesy of THE. It includes the work of Jason Poole, Melanie McWhorter, Jonathan Hollingsworth, Steven Walenta, Ben Lerman, Barbara Diener, Ryan Heffernan, Anne Kelly, Inga Hendrickson, Nathan Addison, Daniel Espeset, Amber Terranova, and Eric Cousineau.

New Journal Archivo

Paul Kooiker's books, Hunting and Fishing, Showground, and Seminar

Photographer Paul Kookier and publisher Willem van Zoetendaal are co-curating a new bi-monthly journal called Archivo. Now in its third issue, the journal is dedicated to the personal archives of photographers with each issue showcasing two artists. It is designed to be read like a newspaper which annoyed me at first. When this last issue arrived, I found that the size and paper complimented the themes of the common, everyday and ordinary in Kooiker and Qui Yang's work . It is also works well with both photographers in the previous issue especially the documentary project by Daya Cahen on Putin's summer youth camps . It is designed for casual viewing not to be considered a precious object. The work of Daya Cahen and Paul Kooiker are show in the videos below and the covers of Kooiker's books, Hunting and Fishing, Showground, and Seminar are shown above.

Guide to Unique Photography

I work next door to a great coffee shop and magazine stand called Downtown Subscription. Occasionally I will find a new magazine that I have not previously heard of. This month's discovery is a little perfect-bound item called Guide to Unique Photography. It has this usual fare of articles, portfolios and book reviews. This issue concentrates on Dutch photography with the subtitle of "The Amsterdam Issue" and as an American mom, a slightly controversial image on the cover by Krijn van Noordwijk (Shown here which I have to hide it from the non-artist friends). This issue showcases a book titled A'DAM DOC.k by Henk Wildschut and Raimond Wouda. The work was commissioned by the Amsterdam Municipal Archives to "record Amsterdam's harbour area'. It is a wonderful mix of portraits industrial interiors and landscapes.