Set-up photography, which came into vogue with the great Modernist Czech photographers inspired by avant-garde cinema of the 1920s, and has seen a revival here with Gregory Crewdson's artfully staged tableaux, has lately taken new directions beyond the world of noirish fantasy.

Several shows currently on view present work by photographers inspired by American poets and painters. Among them are Christa Parravani, who's Spoon River series sprang from the epic poem of Edgar Lee Masters, who eulogized the deceased residents of a fictional town, and Sharon Core, who sets up and photographs memento mori in the style of the early American painter Raphaelle Peale. Also currently up is the Dam Lines installation by Alina and Jeff Bliumis, and the fictional Sparrow Lane series by Holly Andres. As if by divine intervention, Cindy Sherman's work can be seen at two galleries this month and Nikki S. Lee also pays a visit. Please check websites for information.

Left: Dam Lines Installation, 2008; Right: One from the Language Barrier series, 2008. Copyright Alina and Jeff Bliumis, courtesy Andrea Meislin Gallery.

NEW YORK: CHELSEA and DOWNTOWN
Tonight: Aperture, Pratt Institute, and the Strand will host a reception with Aperture photographers at the Strand Bookstore to celebrate their work and launch Eye on the Strand, a photography contest open to professional, amateur and student photographers.
Strand Book Store
November 19, 7 pm. Free and open to the public.
Photographers scheduled to attend, sign their books, and mingle with fans include Catherine Chalmers, Michal Chelbin, Donna Ferrato, Paul Fusco, Walter Martin and Paloma Muñoz, Stephen Shames, and Hank Willis Thomas, among others.
Upcoming Aperture events include:
November 21, 8 pm, Paul Fusco: RFK, talk and book signing, at the National Arts Club
November 24, 6:30 pm, A conversation with Jonas Bendiksen and Philip Gourevitch about The Places We Live, at Aperture Gallery.
Please check the Aperture website for upcoming events with Jason Fulford, Tina Barney, and Martin Parr.

Martin Klimas: Flowers
Foley Gallery
November 20, 2008 - January 17, 2009
Opening reception: November 20, 6 - 8 pm

Funny Not Funny, curated by Becky Smith and Allison Kave
Bellwether Gallery
November 20, 2008 - January 17, 2009

Mitchell Marco: An Ordinary Childhood
Christopher Henry Gallery
November 21 - December 2`, 2008
Opening reception: November 21, 6 - 9 pm

Eugene Richards: A Procession of Them
The Plight of the World's Mentally Disabled
401 Projects
November 26, 2008 - January 18, 2009
Opening reception: November 22, 7 - 10 pm

Mark Beard: Gracious Dictators
Closing November 22, 2008
ClampArt
Mark Yankus: The Point of Secret
November 29, 2008 - January 3, 2009
Opening reception: November 29, 6 - 8 pm

Karlheinz Weinberger, Vintage Prints: Belts, Jackets, Couples, and More
Anna Kustera Gallery
November 29, 2008 - January 17, 2009
Opening reception: November 29, 6 - 8 pm

Holly Andres: Sparrow Lane
Robert Mann Gallery
Through December 6, 2008
Leo Rubenfein: Wounded Cities
December 11, 2008 - January 31, 2009
Opening reception and book signing: December 11, 6 - 8 pm

David Fenton: Eye of the Revolution
Steven Kasher Gallery
Through November 26, 2008
Venus Revisited: The Photography of Wingate Paine
December 11, 2008 - January 10, 2009

Josef Schultz: Form
Yossi Milo Gallery
December 11. 2008 - January 31, 2009
Opening reception: December 11, 6 - 8 pm

Sharon Core: Early American
Yancey Richardson Gallery
Through December 6, 2008
David Hilliard: Untitled
December 11 - January 31, 2008
Opening reception: December 11, 6 - 8 pm

Alejandra Laviada: Photo Sculptures
Danziger Projects
Through November 22, 2008

Kinsey's Women: Photographs from the Kinsey Institute Archive
Closing November 22, 2008
The Wild Project
Hannah Whitaker solo exhibition opens December 18^th.
Please check website for details.

Lynn Goldsmith: Rock and Roll
Jenkins Johnson Gallery
Through November 25, 2008

Nina Berman: Homeland
Jen Bekman Gallery
Extended through November 29, 2008

Lise Safarti: The Russians
Yossi Milo Gallery
Through December 6, 2008

Christa Parravani: Spoon River
Sara Tecchia Roma New York
Through December 11, 2008

Chris McCaw: New Photographs from the Sunburn Series
Michael Mazzeo Gallery
Through November 22, 2008
Bare, featuring work by Rachael Dunville, Amy Elkins, Ethan Aaro Jones, Richard Learoyd,Jennifer Loeber, Hellen van Meene, Josh Quigley, Richard Renaldi,
Jessica Roberts, Alec Soth, Shen Wei, Carmen Winant, curated by Jorg M. Colberg.
December 11, 2008 - January 24, 2009
Opening reception: December 11, 6 - 8 pm

Julian Faulhaber: Lowdensitypolyethylene
Hasted Hunt Gallery
Through December 13, 2008 2008
Artist's reception: November 20, 6 - 8 pm

Ann Lislegard
Murray Guy
Through December 13, 2008

The Masters Series: April Greiman
Visual Arts Museum
Through December 13, 2008

Alina & Jeff Bliumis: Dam Lines
Andrea Meislin Gallery
Through December 20, 2008

Thomas Michael Allemand: Sunshine and Noir
Robin Rice Gallery
Through December 21, 2008

Mickey Smith: You People
Invisible Exports
Through December 21, 2008

Cindy Sherman
Metro Pictures
Through December 23, 2008

Susan Paulson: New Color
Deborah Bell Photographs
Through December 24, 2008

Bill Jacobson: Some Planes
Julie Saul Gallery
Through December 24, 2008

Lynn Butler: True Fiction, a retrospective
Leica Gallery, 212-777-3051 for information
Through January 10, 2009

Melissa Catanese: Fieldwork
Sasha Wolf Gallery
Through January 10, 2009

Luigi Ghirri: It's Beautiful Here, Isn't It?
Aperture Gallery
Through January 29, 2009

Nikki S. Lee
Sikkema Jenkins & Co.
November 19. 2008 - January 10. 2009
Opening reception: November 19, 6 - 8pm

Zoe Strauss: We Love Having You Here
Silverstein Photography
November 18, 2008 - January 10, 2009

Harry Benson
Staley-Wise Gallery
Through January 3, 2009

NEW YORK: MIDTOWN and UPTOWN
A Passion for Fashion: Vintage Photographs by Louise Dahl-Wolfe & George Hoyningen-Huene
Keith de Lellis Gallery
November 20, 2008 - January 10, 2009

Jaimie Warren: Don't You Feel Better
Higher Pictures
November 20, 2008 - January 10, 2009
Opening reception: November 20, 6 - 8 pm

John Baldessari: Raised Eyebrows/Furrowed Foreheads
Marian Goodman Gallery
November 25, 2008 - January 10, 2009
Opening reception: November 25, 6 - 8 pm
Tonight at 7 pm: John Baldessari in conversation with Adam Weinberg at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Remaining tickets available only at museum admission desk .

Jessica Lange: Fifty Pictres
Howard Greenberg Gallery
November 26, 2008 - January 17, 2009
Opening reception: December 10, 6 - 8 pm

Ralston Crawford: Prints, paintings and photographs
Zabriskie Gallery
Through November 26, 2008

Richard Benson: Found Views and ChosenColors
Pace/MacGill Gallery
Through November 29, 2008
Duane Michals:  Photographs from the Floating World
December 4, 2008 - January 10, 2009

Lynn Davis: Recent Work
Edwynn Houk Gallery
Through December 6, 2008

Nicolás Guagnini: Power Structure featuring Work By Luis Camnitzer, Alejandro Cesarco, Juan Downey, Dan Graham, Sam Lewitt, John Miller, Karin Schneider, and Reena Spaulings
Andrew Roth Gallery
Through December 13, 2008

Olivier Meriel: Secrets and Shadows
Candace Dwan Gallery
Through December 17, 2008

Cindy Sherman: History Portraits
Skarstedt Gallery
Through December 20, 2008

Peter Bialobrzeski: Lost in Transition
Lawrence Miller Gallery
Through December 24, 2008

Taiji Matsue: Nest
Cohen Amador Gallery
Through December 31, 2008

Flor Garduno: Mujeres Fantasticas
Throckmorton Fine Art
Through January 9, 2009

Susan Meiselas: In History
Cornell Capa: Concerned Photographer
Living With the Dead: W. Eugene Smith and  WWII
America and the Tintype
International Center of Photography
Through January 4, 2009

Catherine Opie: American Photographer
Guggenheim Museum
Through January 7, 2009

Abelardo Morell: Pictures in Pictures
Bonnie Benrubi Gallery
Through December 6, 2008
Louis Stettner
December 11, 2008 - February 1, 2009
Opening reception: December 1, 6 - 8 pm

Heyday: Frederick W. Glasier's American Circus, 1890 - 1925
The UBS Art Gallery
Through January 23, 2009

William Eggleston: Democratic Camera, Photographs and Video, 1958-2008
Whitney Museum of American Art
Through January 25, 2009

Stephen Dupont: Afghanistan, or The Perils of Freedom
New York Public Library, 5^th Avenue and 42^nd Street
Through January 25, 2009

Eudora Welty In New York: Photographs of the Early 1030s
Museum of the City of New York
Through February 16, 2008

NEW YORK: BROOKLYN, BRONX and STATEN ISLAND
Michael Crouser: Los Toros, a 15 year exploration of bullfighting.
Farmani Gallery
Through January 10, 2009.

Renate Aller: Seascapes, One Location
Klompching Gallery
Through December 20, 2008
Opening reception: September 10, 6:00 - 8:30 pm

Upcoming book events at
powerHouse Arena
But That's Another Story by Milton Green
November 19, 2008 - January 4, 2009
Opening reception and book launch: November 19, 6 - 9 pm
Child Soldiers, edited by Leora Kahn
November 21, 7 - 9 pm. RSVP
Jessica Lange: 50 Pictures
November 22, 4 - 5:30 pm: Slide show and book signing with Jessica Lange.
Free and open to the public but RSVP is required.

Gail Thacker: The Last Polaroids
Safe-T Gallery
Through December 13, 2008

The Black List Project: Timothy Greenfield-Sanders and Elvis Mitchell
The Brooklyn Museum
November 21, 2008 - March 29, 2009

1968: Magnum in New York
Alice Austin House Museum
Through December 31, 2008

BEACON, NY
Behind Bars: Photographs by Andrew Lichtenstein
Fovea Exhibitions Beacon Gallery
Through January 4, 2009
December 12: Fovea's first benefit auction, indoor projections and party.

WOODSTOCK, NY
Douglas Ethridge: Oasis
Galerie BMG
December 5, 2008 - January 12, 2009
Opening reception: December 5, 5 - 7 pm

Toni Pepe: Angel of Repose
Center for Photography at Woodstock
Through January 11, 2009

BOSTON, MA
Herb Ritts & Horst P. Horst
Robert Klein Gallery
November 21 - December 19, 2008
Opening reception: November 21, 6 - 8 pm

Robert Knight: My Boat Is So Small
Bruce Myren: The View From Home
Gallery Kayafas
Through November 22, 2008

Embodiment: An Installation by Lalla Essaydi
Howard Yezerski Gallery
Through December 16, 2008

Keeping Time: Cycle and Duration in Contemporary Photographer
Photographic Resource Center
Through January 25, 2009

WINCHESTER, MA
Humankind: Images by VII Photographers
Griffin Museum of Photography
Through January 11, 2009

WILLIAMSTOWN, MA
Liu Zheng: The Chinese
Williams College Museum of Art
Through April 26, 2009

PHILADELPHIA, PA
The Print Center
September 10 - November 26, 2008
Opening Reception: September 10, 5:30 - 7:30pm

Richard Kagan: Iron Portraits
Sookang Kim: Stone and Vessels
Gallery 339
Through January 17, 2009

WASHINGTON, DC
Randall Scott Gallery
September 13 - October 18, 2008
Opening reception: September 13, 6 - 9 pm

Kendall Messick: The Projectionist
Hiroshi Sugimoto: Drive-Ins and Portraits
Hemphill Fine Art
Through December 20, 2008
Lucien Perkins: They Came From the Beltway
Carroll Square Gallery
Through November 21, 2008

Uncommon Beauty featuring work by Kay Chernush, Mary Coble, Frank Hallam Day, Jason Horowitz, Lucian Perkins and Athena Tacha
Ellipse Art Center
Through December13, 2008

ATLANTA, GA
Great Women of Photography
Lumiere Gallery
Through January 23, 2008

CHICAGO, IL
Julie Blackmon: Domestic Vacations
Catherine Edelman Gallery
Through January 3, 2009

Wayne F. Miller: Photographs 1942-1958
Stephen Daiter Contemporary
Through January 3, 209

Artist's reception and book signing: November 21, 5 - 8 pm
Jowhara AlSaud & Preston Wadley
Schneider Gallery
Through December 13, 2008

Doug & Mike Starn: alleverythingthatisyou
David Weinberg Gallery
Through January 3, 2009

Of National Interest: Photographs from the collection
Art Institute of Chicago
Through January 11, 2009

Michael Wolf: The Transparent City
Museum of Contemporary Photography
Through January 31. 2009