Dress Show: Todd Stewart

© Todd Stewart
Todd Stewart's Lily’s Play Dress, 2006 from the portfolio The Garden.

Zine Fever

Superficial Snapshots © Allison V. Smith

University of New Mexico Graduate Catalogue

© Robert Rainey and Joseph Mougel

The Uncommon Vantage Point © Jennifer Boomer This one is almost out of print.

For clarity, I have consulted Wikipedia (the modern OED) for the definition of a zine:

A zine (an abbreviation of the word fanzine, or magazine; pronounced [ziːn], "zeen") is most commonly a small circulation, non-commercial publication of original or appropriated texts and images. More broadly, the term encompasses any self-published work of minority interest usually reproduced via photocopier on a variety of colored paper stock.

Everyone who is someone has published his or her own zine. Not a new phenomenon of the photobook world but the trend is expanding since some publishers are not willing to foot the bill and take the risk of publishing just any work. Most of the zines are cheaper and nicer than the print on demand books I have seen. In addition to the examples show above, check out Hassla books, Farewell Books, Seems Books, Serps Press, Nieves, 12th Press and the links on all these sites. You can get lost in little book world.

And finally, Peggy Lee.

Julie Blackmon Domestic Vacations opens at photo-eye

Julie with Walter Sondheim

Julie with Heather Prichard

Julie Blackmon's exhibition Domestic Vacations opened at

photo-eye Gallery on Friday night, June 27th.

Center for Fine Art Photography Call for Entry

The Center for Fine Art Photography's next call for entry is for the 2008 International Exhibition of Fine Art Photography. The deadline is July 15, 2008.

Shots Magazine Issue 101: Dreams Call for Entry

Shots Magazine's next deadline for Issue 101 on Dreams is August 4, 2008.

Thank you notes are cool

David Godine once told me that his mother used to make him write his thank you notes every evening. Such is the life of the child of a Bostonian mother. I, on the other hand, was not raised that way. My grandma always wrote hers, but did not force me to do so. Although Southern and slightly gentile (or sometimes slightly redneck depending on the day), I always say please, thank you and yes, mam/sir, but can be quiet ungrateful when it comes to handwriting notes. This is not the case with many of the review Santa Fe participants. Please find below the list of names and some scans of lovely gifts of appreciation I received for my time and words. Thanks to you for being thankful!

The back of the card from Keliy Anderson-Staley. ©Keliy Anderson-Staley

A photogravure from Angela Franks Wells. © Angela Franks Wells

A little book on Hurricane Katrina by Andrew Kaufman. ©Andrew Kaufman

Sent a Letter

So I found a book of poetry in my local used bookstore. Normally, I am not the poetry kinda gal, but this one was a beautiful object.

It is the twenty-fifth printing of a book titled Fireflies by a man named Rabindranath Tagore, a Nobel Prize winning author who I had never heard of. The book set in Linotype by Brown Brothers Linotypers with floral illustrations adorning each page. I have started to mark some of the page of the passages as they strike me. Two pages in particular, shown here with the illustrations, read:

Memory, the priestess,

kills the present and offers its heart to the shrine of the dead

past.

From the solemn gloom of the temple

children run out to sit in the dust,

God watches them play

and forgets the priest.

© Dayanita Singh

The afore mentioned book's presence in my life just so happens to coincide with my discovery of a lovely book of photographs by Indian photographer Dayanita Singh titled Sent a Letter. This little jewel is in seven small books with a wrap around slipcase. Many of the bound accordion-fold books, based on Singh's own diaries, contain her photos from around her home country of India: Allahabad, Padmanabhapuram, Varanasi, Devigarh, Bombay, and Calcutta (Tagore's birthplace). The final book in the series is titled Nony Singh with photos of Dayanita growing up.

I am usually have an aversion to forcing meaning with words, particularly poetry, on photographs, but not always using photographs to illustrate words. Maybe these ideas are the same, but I can pick out a passage from Tagore's book and easily find the small quiet photo to illuminate the words.

Photography Book Now Call for Entry

I have a request from my friend Darius Himes to post the info about the Photography Book Now call for entry. Well, I do not think he wanted me to post it because he never reads the blog. He just wanted to use my expansive email list, but I am posting nevertheless. Here is the info he emailed me:

A couple weeks ago, a photography book competition called Photography.Book.Now was launched, sponsored by Blurb.com and various other partners. The grand prize is $25,000 (!!!) for the winner to complete any photography project they want, anywhere in the world. Simply entering the competition gives entries a chance to be reviewed by a distinguished group of panelists including:

Darius Himes, co-founder of Radius Books
Jen Bekman, Jen Bekman Gallery
Elisabeth Biondi, The New Yorker
Frish Brandt, Fraenkel Gallery
Charlotte Cotton, Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Stephen Gill, Photographer
Lesley A. Martin, Aperture Books
Alan Rapp, Chronicle Books
Kathy Ryan, The New York Times
Brian Ulrich, photographer
Denise Wolff, Phaidon Press

The deadline for submission is July 14th, rapidly approaching! Get your work organized and submitted soon, and invite any other colleagues or former students.

Lots of important people, but notice my name is not on the list. Well, one day...

Artkrush website

Sign up for Artkrush emails, if you want to. They have great reviews, recommendations, etc. Well, here is the tag line:

Artkrush is a bimonthly email magazine covering the key figures, exhibitions, and trends in international art and design.

Plus you can sign up for Boldtype focusing on fiction, Earplug for music, JCReport for Fashion and Activate for news.

Currently, there is a slightly descriptive review of Roger Ballen's photographs (Trent Debord's favorite photographer) and an interview with Tomoko Sawada currently on the site.

Aperture Prize deadline is July 11th

Aperture Portfolio Prize deadline July 11, 2008 Aperture Portfolio Prize is now accepting submissions through July 11, 2008. This is an online portfolio review with a $2,500 cash prize and the only way to ensure your work is seen by Aperture's book and magazine editors.

For details visit Aperture Portfolio Prize.

Review Santa Fe Reviewees

copyright, Colin Blakley
For the last two years, I have "worked" the Green Room of Review Santa Fe. This year, Center's director, Laura Wrozek invited me to be an official reviewer--much more pressure than before. These reviewees pay a lot of money to get feedback and Center emphasises the need for positive feedback. Center also sponsors, this year with the help of Zane Bennett Gallery, an open portfolio review. At this review, all of the artists get a chance to put work on the table for the reviewers who missed seeing the work and for the general public.

Without offending many of the artists I met at Review, I would like to present just a few that I found interesting.

Colin Blakley
Phillip Toledano
Meg Birnbaum
Colleen Plumb
Evan Baden
Fernando Souto
Thomas Broening
Alejandro Cartagena Gonzalez

Flicker photos from the event for the viewing.

New online Magazine: Fraction launched in May!

A new online magazine dedicated to photography, Fraction launched in May. This issue has the work of Mark Geil, David Bram, Karen Kuehn, Lawrence Getubig, and a review of Jessica Dimmock's The Ninth Floor at Foley Gallery by Mary Goodwin.
Fraction will be accepting submissions later this year so keep an eye on the site.

© David Bram

Book Expo America in LA

I just arrived back from Book Expo America. I will post some of the exciting, new photography book titles soon. For now, you can browse some of the candid photos at on Flickr.

Dress Show - Sarah Small

Ariella and Crow © Sarah Small

I have been obsessed with Sarah Small's work for years. I especially love this one because I am also obsessed with birds. I wish I had the nerve that Sarah has to present her world in such a gritty and theatrical way. You can see more at http://www.sarahsmall.com/.

Hey Hot Shot! Call for Entries

Hey Hot Shot! Call for Entries deadline is June 17th, 2008 at 8pm.

Be prepared when entering as they ask for the artist statement and bio on the first page before asking for scans. I can not find the scan specs on the first page either. The FAQ page might help a little.

© Chris Bennett

As an aside, my friend Chris Bennett of Newspace in Portland, Oregon was recently picked as a Hey Hot Shot! Contender. His image is show above.

Atlanta Celebrates Photography portfolio reviews

ACP 10 Portfolio Review deadline for submission is June 7th, 2008.

As part of ACP 10, Atlanta Celebrates Photography will offer a day of portfolio reviews with a distinguished group of reviewers on Saturday, October 11th, 2008, at Grady High School in Atlanta. Space is available for fifty-two (52) photographers, and each photographer will receive four reviews. Confirmed photographers will be able to requests reviewers in July, and the final assignments will be done through a computerized matching program. ACP makes every effort to match photographers with their first choice of reviewers.

As of June 2nd, here are our confirmed reviewers:
Sue Brisk - Editorial Director, Magnum Photos, NYC, NY
Brian Clamp - Owner, Clampart, NYC, NY
Daniel Cooney - Owner, Cooney Fine Art, NYC, NY
Julian Cox - Head Curator of Photography, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA
Natasha Egan - Assoc. Dir. Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, IL
Sylvie Fortin - Editor, Art Papers, Atlanta, GA
Brooks Jensen - Publisher, Lenswork, Anacortes, WA
Debra Klomp Ching - Co-Owner, Klompching Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
Carol McCusker - Curator, MOPA, San Diego, CA
Danielle Place - Creative Director, Photography Department, Turner Images, Atlanta, GA
Erik Schneider - Owner, Quality Pictures, Portland, OR

Anna Skillman - Owner, Jackson Fine Art, Atlanta, GA
Madeline Yale - Director of Houston Center for Photography, Houston, TX