It starts with Sir Elton himself: The first thing you see when you enter "The Radical Eye," a new exhibition at London's Tate Modern, is a 1997 portrait of Elton John by Irving Penn. That's only appropriate, since the exhibition features a selection of works from the Sir Elton John Collection, one of the world's greatest private collections of photography. The photo of the … Read the full Story >>
This week we featured a number of intriguing projects dealing, in one way or another, with the future. They include "I Used to Be You," a new book (now being Kickstarted) from 42-year-old photographer Kyoko Hamada, who spent two years pretending to be a frail old woman in order to glimpse the life of the elderly ... and her own future. We also spotlighted … Read the full Story >>
If you've ever tried to organize a diverse group of talented and independent-minded photographers, you'll understand why George Steinmetz compares the process to "herding cats." A veteran National Geographic photographer, Steinmetz is also the president of The Photo Society, a new affiliation of photographers who have shot for the magazine. TPS, as it is known, gives its members a unified voice and marketing clout. … Read the full Story >>
COMICS RARELY GO LIVE, and this fall seems to be the magical moment for New York aficionados to appreciate the real thing. The Fantagraphics 30-year retrospective exhibition at the Society of Illustrators runs through October 21st. It features over 100 original pieces by dozens of artists published by Fantagraphics over the last three decades. The exquisite beauty of these drawings gave me goose bumps … Read the full Story >>
A decade ago a new fashion economy emerged. Powered by social media, high-end influencers and street-style photographers came to stand toe-to-toe with the traditional fashion elite, like magazine editors and photographers and stylists. Like so many in the fashion world, their livelihoods were derailed when the pandemic hit in 2020. But unlike other corners of the fashion industry still struggling to recover, some operators … Read the full Story >>
Julia Fullerton-Batten's life has changed. "During the days prior to the pandemic I was ultra-busy planning a photographic shoot with a large team of people, assistants, stylists, hair and makeup team, prop stylists, set designers etc. and was in line for a couple of jobs, suddenly everything stopped," notes the acclaimed London-based fine-art and commercial photographer, adding, "I felt numb but I knew that … Read the full Story >>
Sports Illustrated calls Chordale Booker "Mr. Get It Done," because that's what he does in the ring: "Part the ropes, point him to an opponent, and Booker will knock down that obstacle," notes SI. That's also what the fighter has done outside the ring. Booker, who is from Stamford, Connecticut, came to boxing after being arrested in 2009 for narcotics possession, marijuana possession and … Read the full Story >>
Q: When is a social satirist also a children’s book author, a Pulitzer prize-winning cartoonist, a playwright, a novelist, an Oscar-winning animated filmmaker, and a screenwriter? A: When his name is Jules Feiffer. New York’s fall cultural landscape seems to belong to this consummate New Yorker. In conjunction with the release of The Long Chalkboard and Other Stories (Pantheon), a book by his … Read the full Story >>
Peggy Roalf: Which came first, the pen or the brush? Chemin Hsiao: The brush. In Taiwan, where I grew up, it was customary for children to learn how to use the brush to write calligraphy in elementary school. It was considered an honor back then if you could write beautiful characters. I was among the kids who had to practice diligently and followed the … Read the full Story >>
The Eighties—the decade that celebrated punk culture as an antidote to Reganism in the US, and Thatcherism in the UK—provides the imagery for three new books being released this spring. And it’s nice that the photographers have clearly embraced their youthful endeavors with a clear eye disdainful of nostalgia. Charles H. Traub, Chair of the MFA Photography, Video and Related Media department … Read the full Story >>
To have something that’s beautiful somehow gives me a feeling that approaches immortality. It’s very similar to the act of creating. So Robert Mapplethorpe (1946-1989) is quoted saying for a magazine article in 1978. By that time, the artist had established himself as a photographer, having had his first solo show, at New York’s Light Gallery in 1973. His work was shown at Documenta 6/Kassel in … Read the full Story >>
You weren't able to make it to Park City, Utah? This year 69 short films were selected for the Sundance Film Festival -- providing a glimpse of the emerging filmmakers who will be defining the state of the art in years to come. Most of these films are still unavailable online, but recently Short of the Week featured a number that are. We've cherry … Read the full Story >>
California artist Wayne Thiebaud has eluded categorization throughout his nearly 60-year career, which he came to comparatively late in life. Lumped together with Pop Art stars in the 1960s because of his subject matter—ordinary objects like lavishly frosted cakes, and hot dogs—his ceaseless inquiry into what is art reveals a deeply philosophical base grounded by keenly observed still lives, landscapes, and portraits. Nine … Read the full Story >>
Gustavo Cherro likes to put the history in natural history. The Buenos Aires-based photographer has recently been working in Argentina's Esteros del Ibera, a protected wetland area in the northeastern province of Corrientes. "This wonderful place would not have reached us if the Parana River did not decide to change its course towards the north thousands of years ago, leaving a depression that became … Read the full Story >>
Q: Originally from [where?] what are some of your favorite things about living and working in [your current locale]? A: I grew up in New Jersey. My parents did the very common Brooklyn to Staten Island to New Jersey migration. They had one kid in each place, and I was born when we lived in Staten Island. It all feels like one continuous outer-borough/suburban … Read the full Story >>
Chinese artist Cao Fei has won the 2021 Deutsche Borse Photography Foundation Prize for her 2020 exhibition "Blueprints," her first solo exhibition in the UK. The GBP30,00 (about $41,500) prize "recognizes artists and projects deemed to have made the most significant contribution to photography over the previous 12 months." Can Fei's work "offers a uniquely poetic dystopia that echoes the human condition today," said … Read the full Story >>
In 1939, the model Lisa Fonssagrives famously appeared on the cover of French Vogue magazine, draped in a gown by designer Lucien Lelong and perched dangerously high atop the Eiffel Tower. She would later say she wasn't a bit scared as she posed for photographer Erwin Blumenfeld. "I was too young and too strong. I was a dancer and a skier and very athletic. … Read the full Story >>
In one of her most memorable quips, Dolly Parton once noted, "I'm not offended by the dumb blonde jokes, because I know I'm not dumb -- and I'm not blonde either." Growing up as a blonde, London-based photographer Alice Hawkins endured more than one painful encounter with the limiting belief of other people who should've known better. Hawkins has had a long and deep … Read the full Story >>
When "Mad Men" debuted on television in 2007, Bert Stern was given his lasting identity. The famed photographer, who died in 2013 at age 83, was a creative powerhouse during the so-called Golden Age of advertising in the 1950s and 1960s. Later his high-flying career came crashing down, but he bounced back with his book "The Last Sitting," featuring iconic images of Marilyn Monroe … Read the full Story >>
Supermodels are back: Recently we looked at Herb Ritts's photographs of supermodels from the 1980s and 1990s. Today we spotlight another photographer closely associated with the supermodel era, Peter Lindbergh, whose indelible work has been on view this fall at the Kunsthal Rotterdam in the exhibition "Peter Lindbergh: A Different Vision on Fashion Photography." The exhibition runs through February 12, 2017 and is accompanied … Read the full Story >>
