David Schonauer
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David Schonauer Friday May 13, 2016
Concepts of beauty come and go and come around again. Currently, re-touched perfection is out: The Internet is full of art projects meant to subvert ideas of beauty traditionally proffered by
mainstream media. This sea change has presented problems for brands like Victoria's Secret, and photographers as well. Recently a number of actresses and other performers have condemned photographers
and magazines for so-called "Photoshop … Read the full Story >>
By
David Schonauer Wednesday December 18, 2024
In what way can a photography collection at one of London's most prestigious museums authentically narrate queer history? That's the question that Julia Johnson, senior lecturer in photography at
Anglia Ruskin University in the UK, asked while reading the new book "Calling the Shots: A Queer History of Photography," which draws on the photography archive of the Victoria and Albert Museum's
(V&A) photographic archive. … Read the full Story >>
By
Peggy Roalf Thursday March 13, 2025
Melanie Reim, a longtime subscriber and contributor, left her post as Associate Dean of the School of Art and Design, Professor and after 15 years as the chair of the MFA Illustration program at FIT NYC [Fashion Institute of Technology/SUNY]. Now that she has so much extra time, she offers life drawing at her mid-town NYC studio. She recently wrote and illustrated a book, Different & the Same, My Drawings … Read the full Story >>
By
David Schonauer Friday January 27, 2017
This week we looked for alternatives to alternative facts. As we noted yesterday, Donald Trump's first week as president came with an abundance of visual news: Photographs spoke truthfully about the
size of the crowd that showed up for his inauguration, though the new president and his press secretary did not. But there's more to photography than Trump: We also took note of the … Read the full Story >>
By
Peggy Roalf Friday May 15, 2020
As we hit the end of Week Nine of SIP, I’ve noticed that a
lot of people in the arts here in NYC are taking a deep breath—and a second look: At their close surroundings and companions; their objectives for getting through the hour, the day, or the week;
and what the future beyond that week might hold. By now anyone who had never … Read the full Story >>
By
David Schonauer Friday October 21, 2016
Justyna Mielnikiewicz taught herself photography by studying the legendary photo essays of W. Eugene Smith. This week we learned that the Polish photographer was awarded the W. Eugene Smith Fund's
2016 grant in humanistic photography. Mielnikiewicz was honored for her study of Russia's troubled relationships with neighboring countries. The project puts a particular focus on the human toll since
Russia's recent annexation of Crimea … Read the full Story >>
By
Peggy Roalf Wednesday July 9, 2014
The Museum of Arts and Design is shaking off a long-running identity crisis with NYC Makers: The MAD Biennial. Celebrating craftsmanship and creativity today, the exhibition
presents work by 100 artists, designers, and artisans from New York City’s five boroughs. The museum has recently focused more on art and design than hands-on craftsmanship in order to
make what was felt to be a … Read the full Story >>
By
David Schonauer Thursday February 8, 2018
A makeover is coming to copyright registration: Starting on Feb. 20, the U.S. Copyright Office will implement a new rule affecting how groups of photographs are registered. The rule aims to modernize
and streamline the registration process for group registrations of photographs, noted the Copyright Alliance. But it also implements other important changes, added PDN. "There are six changes you
need to be aware … Read the full Story >>
By
David Schonauer Friday March 10, 2023
"Of rare elegance, culture and class, he was the absolute eye of photography and the craftsman of one of the most beautiful collections of photographs in the world." So noted L'Oeil de la Photographie
of Pierre Apraxine, a self-taught connoisseur of photography who helped build the Gilman Paper Company Collection--an archive that encompassed not only the history of the medium but also the history … Read the full Story >>
By
David Schonauer Tuesday September 26, 2017
New York may be the spiritual home of street photography. But there's no doubt that photographers also love LA. For one thing, there's the light - strong, consistent, and of such a particular quality
that moviemakers flocked there to make use of it. There's also the landscape, with mountains to the north, deserts to the east, and the Pacific Ocean waiting at the end … Read the full Story >>
By
David Schonauer Friday May 19, 2017
Thinking about a future partnership with an non-profit? Don't count on it. This week we took note of a new survey of nonprofit organizations by Blue Earth Alliance showing that many of them hire
professional photographers infrequently. Instead, they rely mostly on images made by staff and volunteers, or on images donated by professional photographers. The survey, spotlighted by PDN, was
released recently in … Read the full Story >>
By
David Schonauer Friday August 28, 2020
Dan Budnik captured history. Budnick, who documented artists at work during the 1950s, key events of the civil rights movement, Native Americans in the Southwest and more, died on August 14 at an
assisted living residence in Tucson, Arizona. He was 87. Budnik shot for Life, Look and other magazines, and his work was collected in several books, including "Marching to the Freedom Dream," … Read the full Story >>
By
Peggy Roalf Thursday September 24, 2009
My copy of the hotly anticipated The BLDGBLOG Book by Geoff Manaugh, formerly senior editor of Dwell magazine, arrived recently
along with an announcement that the official book launch will take place this weekend at The Storefront for Art and Architecture. Starting at 3:00 pm on Saturday, September
26, the author and many of the book's contributors will discuss the future of … Read the full Story >>
By
David Schonauer Friday October 25, 2024
The imagery tempting consumers of the future may be created by AI: This week we noted that Meta is testing new AI video editing capabilities that will allow advertisers to animate still images.
Advertisers simply upload a static image and then use Meta's tool to "generate" a video--for instance, making strawberries slowly float around a jar of jam. The new tools can also make … Read the full Story >>
By
David Schonauer Tuesday May 22, 2012
One year ago, on May 22, 2011, a tornado formed over eastern Kansas and then blasted its way into the southwest corner of Joplin, Missouri. In its wake it left a shattered city and 161 dead.
Wichita-based "severe-weather photographer" Jim Reed arrived in Joplin days later and will never forget what he saw there: "So much debris, it was like a blender blade that … Read the full Story >>
By
David Schonauer Monday March 12, 2018
Pigeons are in vogue. Visually, at least. A new book called "The New York Pigeon," from photographer Andrew Garn, views the birds in a glamorous light with studio-style portraiture worthy of a fashion
magazine and high-speed strobe images that capture them in flight. Rather than seeing the pigeon as an urban pest, Garn, a native New Yorker, finds common creatures that are gritty, resilient, … Read the full Story >>
By
David Schonauer Friday June 23, 2023
The art market, we noted this week, can be weird: After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in May that the use of one of Andy Warhol's paintings of Prince in a magazine article violated photographer Lynn
Goldsmith's copyright, the value of the paintings seem to be vaulting upwards. The Wall Street Journal reported that a painting from the Warhol series, which had been selling … Read the full Story >>
By
Robert Newman Thursday December 3, 2015
Karen Caldicott is an illustrator and artist who is known in large part for her delightful portraits of a seemingly never-ending series of celebrities, created and sculpted with Plasticine animator's
clay. Her busts of notable characters from the worlds of entertainment, business, and politics have appeared in countless major magazines, including The New Yorker, Entertainment Weekly, and Rolling
Stone. Caldicott gained much acclaim for … Read the full Story >>
By
David Schonauer Friday April 23, 2021
The ability to report news is guaranteed by the First Amendment. It's also required by a functional democracy. So noted the National Press Photographers Association, which this week joined with other
media representatives in speaking out about the recent targeting of journalists in Brooklyn Center and Minneapolis, Minnesota, during protests that followed the fatal police shooting of Daunte
Wright. Journalists covering the protests were … Read the full Story >>
By
Peggy Roalf Thursday January 24, 2019
Talks / Screenings / Book Events / and Beyond This week, three New York art institutions are expanding the scope of modern
Italian art in a way never before realized. With style, grace, and a clarity that borders on perfection, the work of the Argentine-Italian artist Lucio Fontana comes into view for the first time in
more than four decades. Opening last night at … Read the full Story >>
