It's possible you may have noticed this blog has been pretty quiet of late. There are lots of reasons for that, most of which I won't bother boring you with.
However, one piece of news that will definitely have a bearing on the time I spend on this endeavour is the fact that as of tomorrow, I'll be leaving the U.S. where I have lived for the past 5 years to relocate to Singapore. Things for me will (hopefully) be pretty busy so I doubt this blog will get noisier anytime soon. It's a shame, as I've enjoyed trawling through the world of photography and spouting my opinions on things. But there are people who do that more frequently and much better than me. I may occasionally use this as a forum to post something I wish to say or share, and maybe one day I'll get round to writing those long rambling posts that I keep meaning to write, but probably not anytime soon. I hope you've enjoyed the blog and the archive is of course always there (until I delete it or we advance over to holographic computing and all Google's server's get junked). But for now, it stays. There may be something worth looking at in there, you never know!
Anyway, until the next post. Farewell.
Tom.
Fwd: Tonight's show moved indoors to the Walter Reade Theater
Venue change - not on Highline anymore. Sad. But I'm still gonna go.
--
(323) 445 - 0780
www.deidreschoo.com
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Rooftop Films <info@rooftopfilms.com>
Date: Tue, Sep 20, 2011 at 2:26 PM
Subject: Tonight's show moved indoors to the Walter Reade Theater
To: deidreschoo@gmail.com
From: Rooftop Films <info@rooftopfilms.com>
Date: Tue, Sep 20, 2011 at 2:26 PM
Subject: Tonight's show moved indoors to the Walter Reade Theater
To: deidreschoo@gmail.com
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(323) 445 - 0780
www.deidreschoo.com
Abbas at the National Museum of Singapore
The other day I visited the Abbas exhibition at the National Museum of Singapore, which runs through the 18th September. This is a fairly large show covers the 45 year span of the Iranian photographer's career. It includes his earliest photographs from various warzones and area of unrest in the late 1960's and early 1970's, of which this remarkable photograph from Northern Ireland forms a part. My wife, looking at this photo remarked how lucky Abbas was to get this shot. “Well, that's a big part of it,” I admitted, “being in the wrong place at the right time.”
A wall crumbles, after a presumed act of arson by the Irish Republican Army. Belfast, United Kingdom, 1972.
Peppered throughout the exhibition were a few audio slideshows taken from Magnum in Motion, the most successful of which was the piece on Muhammed Ali and George Foreman's Rumble in the Jungle boxing match.
The majority of the exhibit, however, is given over to his work from around the globe focusing on various different expressions of religious practices, which are shown here in great variety. In fact, I was impressed at how wide ranging the scenes depicted were given the incredibly broad overarching themes. Couple this with his newsworthy photographs from the Iranian revolution of the late 1970's (which are juxtaposed here with more his recent images from Iran), a behind the scenes look at western high fashion and some personal shots of his family and you get taken on a a surprisingly coherent and revealing journey.
Cricket in a Buddhist monastery, Dodanduwa, Sri Lanka, 2009.
I am familiar with some of Abbas' more famous shots, but aside from his work on the Muslim faith I had not realised he had explored religion so extensively. One thing that struck me was how personal it all felt. The different expressions of faith here all seemed connected to each other, to make sense, as if they are all different facets of the same thing (which of course they are).
I got the sense that Abbas photographs because he is curious, because he wants to learn and explore and in presenting the work together in this exhibit he is asking us to just look, be open minded and curious ourselves. After all, it is these traits that lead to our systems of belief in the first place. That much at least we have in common.
The Belfast Photography Festival
Amira Al-Sharif in Yemen
Amira Al-Sharif, a Yemeni photographer whom it was my great pleasure to have as a student last year has sent me a few photographs and some words from the past week. She has just embarked on a project that will take her all around Yemen during this important time in the country's history. I confess I know very little of Yemen, but through my friendship with Amira I am learning. As a student she was extremely dedicated, intelligent, talented and polite. Now it is I who am the student, and she is teaching me.
"I started my first photography trip to Al-Hoedidah to Bait Al-Fageh, Al-Abasi village where they grew Arabian Jasmine and it has the largest market for exporting the Arabian Jasmine all around Yemen as well as to Sudia Arabia. The way to Al-Abasi village take about 7 hours, but it takes us 12 hours because of the heavy transportation and there were tracks accident that blocked the road, so we left the bus and we kept walking under the hot sun for two hours till we pass the place of the tracks accidents, but still the way is blocked as the accident was two days ago and we still waiting for four hours till the road get opened, roads in Yemen are not that organized and there is no rules for driving, luckily we get in one of the tracks to continue our trip. We left home by 6 A.M. to arrive to the village by 6 P.M. after long day of transferring from one car to another as gas is so expensive nowadays because of the revolution and expenses are so high.
Situation in Yemen getting worst and worst, poverty, sickness, pollution, people just angry, sad. Fighting all along on houses, streets, buses, and all over places between those who like the president or the other part who dislike him. Those people who is with the president their justifications that the time the president they were not feeling afraid as now because of feeling unsave and expecting war every moment and wasn’t able to sleep of being afraid.
All restrictions of preventing photography I decided to do my photography inside houses where I can be with people who trust me and I will not be forced to stop my career and will not put my self in danger, so I am more concern to document lives inside houses and will be outside the time it is safe and will keep recording every thing I see and hear.
Right now I will be working for my contract with the Ministry of Tourism to bring beautiful photos about Yemen, sadly the situation doesn’t show any tourism photos with all the latest changes and deteriorating economics, and I just realized how it is hard to search the beautiful view within all this new situation.
Sadly just the day before we arrived to the village my friend’s Mahmoud grandmother died, so I wake up in the morning by 3 o’clock to photograph women making bread to take it to the graveyard, and the way to the yard they are going to give every person they meet some bread and dates. There is the marching with the light in the girls hands. Then we arrived to the graveyard and I photographed them reading Wholy Quran and spreading some water in the graveyards by 5 A.M.
I stayed in the village for 4 days just to keep listening to NO NO every time I start shooting even if it is nothing, the situation it is only because there is no photography education. "
Sacrificing the population
This photograph by John Kolesidis/Reuters of a Greek Protestor being detained by a policeman in riot gear adorned the front page of NY Times today. It may have been my slightly sleepy perception as I retrieved the paper from the driveway but the notion flashed through my mind that it was a severed head the policeman was holding. This in turn triggered thoughts of the way cultures such as the Aztecs performed human sacrifice to appease the gods in times of trouble. Well, I thought, it perhaps could be said that our politicians and powerful financial managers are today sacrificing the population in a time of trouble that they for the most part caused.
Nature Within Closing Reception - June 25th 2pm
Nature Within @ Front Space
June 3 - July 1, 2011
Closing Reception: Saturday, June 25th, 2-5pm
Address: 555 Broadway, New York, NY (between Prince & Spring St.)
Gallery Hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 11AM-6PM
Nature Within
Curated by Minny Lee
June 03, 2011 - July 01, 2011
Artists:Vicky Amian Azcoitia, Alejandra Ugarte Bedwell, Sieglinde Cassel, Tara Cronin, Christian Erroi, Rachel Gardam, Sarah Girner, Sheila Griffin, Becky Holladay, Daniel Kukla, Minny Lee, Ruben E. Reyes, Liz Sales, Erica Silberstein, Yasmine Soiffer, Brendon Stuart, Hiroshi Sumiyama, Alessandro Vecchi, Tom White, and Ann Woo
ISE Cultural Foundation is pleased to present "Nature Within" at Front Space, curated by Minny Lee.
Nature Within features the recent works of twenty photographers from diverse backgrounds comprising ten different countries. Their photographic genre ranges from documentary and photojournalism to conceptual and all have had their prior works featured in galleries throughout the world.
In a world and society faced with monumental environmental issues and crises, our concern for nature grows by the day. This concern and cognizance of the gravity of the problem are at odds with society's needs to keep up with our increasing population and big businesses' desire to increase the bottom line. Nature Within is an exhibition that attempts to rethink our relationship and existence within nature. The exhibition takes us to a personal space and place embedded within our experience with it.
Many of the photographs in the exhibition do not have an overt human presence. In the subject matter, however, there are trace elements of society. Some photographs were taken on a familiar American city street or Local Park, while others were taken in places as geographically distant as Bolivia, Israel and South Korea. Whether the photographers produced work locally or while traveling abroad, nature is omnipresent in the photographs, and the images unveil how we live within it and in respond to its power.
Capture and Release: The ICP 2010–2011 Full-Time Student Exhibition
Tonight I'll be attending the exhibition opening of the full time students at the ICP. Having had the pleasure of teaching on the photojournalism course, I look forward to the celebration of the culmination of their studies. Well done guys. Now the really hard work starts...!
© Evi Lemberger
© Yuki Shingai
2010 - 2011 Full Time Student Exhibition
General Studies in Photography
Documentary Photography & Photohournalism
opening reception
Friday, June 24, 6 to 9pm
exhibition
June 25 - August 14, 2011
curated by
Alison Morley and Marina Berio
After a year of intense work, sweat and happiness, we are proud to invite you to our exhibition.
General Studies
Sofie Barfoed
Amanda Bauer
Ana Baumann
Catherine Moore Bettis
Sabrina Blaichman
Diederick Bulstra
Jared Buschang
Morena Buser
Ininaa Camp
Ana Jacinto Carranca
Christina Cuccurullo
Jessica Dean
Vanessa Deflache
Kristen Dorata
Isabel Figueroa
Eleonora Flammini
April Genet
Federico Grandicelli
León Grauer
Tyler Guthrie
Abby Harrison
Damien Hickel
Katie Hosmer
Yarimar Jiménez
DoYeon Kim
Daniel Krost
Daniel Lacin
Tom La Sala
Alexandra Lethbridge
Giuliana Mackler
Laura Macrini
Graciela Mazon
Flávia Palladino
Laís Pontes
Julie Quon
Vanessa Rojo de la Vega
Sarah Rossi
Justin F. Rouse
Alexandre Sanchez
Koki Sato
Yuki Shingai
Weng San Sit
Verena Smit
Lauren Swartzbaugh
Natalya Tolstukhina
Noit Zakay
Documentary and Photojournalism
Amira Al-Sharif
Giulia Bianchi
Millinee Chaisrihar
Fernanda Claro
Jackson Couse
Mason Dent
Jessica Earnshaw
Mike Fernandez
Ryan Field
Kirsty Griffin
Romina Hendlin
Mads Holm
Monica Kapoor
Orly Kaufman
Nicole Kenney
Marily Konstantinopoulou
Evi Lemberger
Guy Merin
Steven G. Mora
Alakananda Nag
Sofie Olsen
Asmita Parelkar
Brian Sunghun Park
Carolina Patlis
Allison Payne
Benjamin Petit
Pete Pin
Pepe Rubio Larrauri
Javier Sirvent
Shingo Urier
Sofia Verzbolovskis
The Contemporary Slavery Symposium at Ext Art NYC.
If you're in NYC tonight, Friday 3rd of June, don't miss the opening reception of Nature Within from 5:30 to 7:30pm. After that, head down to Exit Art for the Contemporary Slavery Symposium, also opening tonight from 7:00pm.
The participating artists are:
Ian Berry
Anindya Chakraborty
Kay Chernush
Jodi Cobb
Ricardo Funari
John Hulme
Stefan Irvine
Bruce Jackson
Naser Khan
Jennifer MacFarlane
Tiana Markova-Gold
Robert Miller
Jesse Pesta
Antonio Rosa
Ian Berry
Anindya Chakraborty
Kay Chernush
Jodi Cobb
Ricardo Funari
John Hulme
Stefan Irvine
Bruce Jackson
Naser Khan
Jennifer MacFarlane
Tiana Markova-Gold
Robert Miller
Jesse Pesta
Antonio Rosa
The symposium itself is on June 11th. More info here. There is also a series of public events, check the website here for details.
Check it out.
Nature Within at the ISE Cultural Foundation, NYC
Nature Within
Curated by Minny Lee
Curated by Minny Lee
June 03, 2011 - July 01, 2011
Artists:
Vicky Amian Azcoitia, Alejandra Ugarte Bedwell, Sieglinde Cassel, Tara Cronin, Christian Erroi, Rachel Gardam, Sarah Girner, Sheila Griffin, Becky Holladay, Daniel Kukla, Minny Lee, Ruben E. Reyes, Liz Sales, Erica Silberstein, Yasmine Soiffer, Brendon Stuart, Hiroshi Sumiyama, Alessandro Vecchi, Tom White, and Ann Woo
Vicky Amian Azcoitia, Alejandra Ugarte Bedwell, Sieglinde Cassel, Tara Cronin, Christian Erroi, Rachel Gardam, Sarah Girner, Sheila Griffin, Becky Holladay, Daniel Kukla, Minny Lee, Ruben E. Reyes, Liz Sales, Erica Silberstein, Yasmine Soiffer, Brendon Stuart, Hiroshi Sumiyama, Alessandro Vecchi, Tom White, and Ann Woo
Opening Reception: Friday, June 3, 5:30-7:30pm
ISE Cultural Foundation is pleased to present "Nature Within" at Front Space, curated by Minny Lee.
Nature Within features the recent works of twenty photographers from diverse backgrounds comprising ten different countries. Their photographic genre ranges from documentary and photojournalism to conceptual and all have had their prior works featured in galleries throughout the world.
In a world and society faced with monumental environmental issues and crises, our concern for nature grows by the day. This concern and cognizance of the gravity of the problem are at odds with society's needs to keep up with our increasing population and big businesses' desire to increase the bottom line. Nature Within is an exhibition that attempts to rethink our relationship and existence within nature. The exhibition takes us to a personal space and place embedded within our experience with it.
Many of the photographs in the exhibition do not have an overt human presence. In the subject matter, however, there are trace elements of society. Some photographs were taken on a familiar American city street or Local Park, while others were taken in places as geographically distant as Bolivia, Israel and South Korea. Whether the photographers produced work locally or while traveling abroad, nature is omnipresent in the photographs, and the images unveil how we live within it and in respond to its power.
www.naturewithinexhibit.com
Nature Within features the recent works of twenty photographers from diverse backgrounds comprising ten different countries. Their photographic genre ranges from documentary and photojournalism to conceptual and all have had their prior works featured in galleries throughout the world.
In a world and society faced with monumental environmental issues and crises, our concern for nature grows by the day. This concern and cognizance of the gravity of the problem are at odds with society's needs to keep up with our increasing population and big businesses' desire to increase the bottom line. Nature Within is an exhibition that attempts to rethink our relationship and existence within nature. The exhibition takes us to a personal space and place embedded within our experience with it.
Many of the photographs in the exhibition do not have an overt human presence. In the subject matter, however, there are trace elements of society. Some photographs were taken on a familiar American city street or Local Park, while others were taken in places as geographically distant as Bolivia, Israel and South Korea. Whether the photographers produced work locally or while traveling abroad, nature is omnipresent in the photographs, and the images unveil how we live within it and in respond to its power.
www.naturewithinexhibit.com
The Refugee Hotel
Congratulations to my good friend Gabriele on reaching the $6000 goal to finish his project on refugees in the U.S. alongside writer Juliet Linderman. I've followed this work since he started it almost 5 years ago. It's good stuff. There's still a few days left if you want to pledge some money and pre-order your copy of the book that will result. I'm hoping to sit down and have a chat with him about it for this blog, if we can ever both find the time at the same time, if you know what I mean...
Kiel Johnson's Cardboard Twin Lens Reflex Camera Time Lapse
In case you need an antidote to the news, maybe this will inspire you to get creative.
Kiel Johnson's Cardboard Twin Lens Reflex Camera Time Lapse from Theo Jemison on Vimeo.
REVOLUCION(ES)
Tonight in NYC is the opening of REVOLUCION(ES) - an exhibition of photographs from the Uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East put together by Cesuralab and MJR and held at the Instituto Cervantes. There are some fantastic photographers contributing. It runs till May 7th so if you're in the area please go check it out. I could go on at great length about what's going on in this part of the world, but I won't. For that you'll have to catch me down a pub after a couple of pints. Suffice it to say I am following closely from a distance. Respect to those reporting on the issue, and to those whose lives are directly engaged, stay safe and good luck.
I didn't think newspapers were about imagination
The other day I got sent a reminder from one of my employers about their ethical guidelines. Not me personally mind, but as a general blast to all their freelancers. Thinking about that, I sat down with the kids to watch a bit of TV.
Now I'm a big fan of the Wind In the Willows story, with it's straight moral compass, it's yearning for a simpler time and it's obvious love for the British class system. No, seriously, all that aside, I do love it. Watching the old TV episodes with my kids I came across one where Toad sets up his own newspaper, and I just had to share this little clip. This is one for all you journalists out there.
和 Photography Auction
This Thursday, April 21st will see an auction event in NYC that I'm pleased to be a part of. The auction will raise funds for Architecture for Humanity's efforts in the rebuilding of Japanese communities affected by the Tsunami.
There was some talk during planning of donating the funds to something other than just the relief efforts in Japan, but eventually we settled on Japan and specifically Architecture For Humanity as the original suggestion came from New York based Japanese photographer Shiori Kawasaki and we wanted to do something that would directly benefit these communities in a unique way.
It is true that Japan is regarded as a rich country, and that there are many other desperate people in need of help, but for me it's not about this. This was about a friend of mine wanting to help her home country in the wake of a natural disaster, and enlisting her community to help her achieve that. It's about bringing together people and organisations to do some good. When you have lost your home, your livelihood, maybe even friends and family, it matters not to me what your situation was before. You need help. For me this is an opportunity to help rebuild and improve. That is why the choice of AFH as the target of the fundraising effort is fitting. Their work is not just about buildings, it is about making improvements to the quality of people's lives through better design. That is something I am happy to support.
So, enough of the preamble and justification - here is the information.
WA PROJECT PRESENTS:
A Photography Auction benefiting Architecture for Humanity
Japan Tsunami Relief
April 21, 2011 6-9pm
25CPW, 25 Central Park West, NYC
Advance tickets $20 - http://tiny.cc/waauction
Wa Project is pleased to announce a photographic exhibition and auction benefiting Architecture for Humanity’s rebuilding efforts following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
The auction will be held at the 25CPW gallery in New York City on April 21 2011.
Japan Tsunami Relief
April 21, 2011 6-9pm
25CPW, 25 Central Park West, NYC
Advance tickets $20 - http://tiny.cc/waauction
Wa Project is pleased to announce a photographic exhibition and auction benefiting Architecture for Humanity’s rebuilding efforts following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
The auction will be held at the 25CPW gallery in New York City on April 21 2011.
100% of the funds raised will be donated to Architecture for Humanity's work in rebuilding devastated communities in the affected area. Partnering with Nuru Project, 25CPW and Sombra Projects, with contributions from the Magnum Foundation and Friends Without Borders, this auction event has already gathered support from the Japanese and photographic communities in New York and beyond. The night will be a celebration with a display of photographic art, music from Koto player Yumi Kurosawa, American folk band Thomas Wesley Stern and Japanese cuisine from Blue Ribbon as well as Soba-ya and Robata-ya of the T.I.C. group with liquid refreshment from Sapporo and Ito En. In addition, all ticket holders will be entered into a raffle.
Architecture for Humanity is a non-profit design services firm founded in 1999 working to build a more sustainable future through the power of professional design. By channeling the resources of the global funding community to meaningful projects that make a difference locally, each year 10,000 people directly benefit from structures designed by Architecture for Humanity. Advocacy, training and outreach programs impact an additional 50,000 people annually. From conception to completion, all aspects of the design and construction process are carefully managed. Clients include community groups, aid organizations, housing developers, government agencies, corporate divisions, and foundations.
The donated auction prints follow the theme of 和 (Wa). This ancient name for Japan also describes a cultural concept which underpins much of Japanese society. It has no direct translation in English, though the closest term that could be applied would be the idea of 'Harmony'. We are pleased to feature prints from a diverse range of photographers who have interpreted this theme in a variety of ways and provided us with a unique collection.
Sombra Projects
Last year Lucy Helton, Tiana Markova-Gold, and myself set up Sombra Projects as a platform for documentary photography and socially conscious art. This in itself was born out of numerous collaborative projects with our immediate community and was our attempt to create a formal organisation for these efforts. While we three are the current administrators, our inaugural exhibition at the New York Photo Festival involved the hard work of many people, and this is the spirit in which we aim to continue. Our goal is to facilitate projects that are not just showcases, but collaborations where the viewer, the subject and the photographer/artist/journalist are all part of a community and involved in the discussion. Recently we have started producing a series of projects updated monthly and available as pdf downloads from our website.
Our latest pdf is of Tiana’s recent work with The Fondation des Jeunes Haitiennes Optimistes in Haiti, a country she has a long standing relationship with both photographically and personally. The FJHO was founded in September 2009 by Jocelyne Firmin to help Haitian girls develop leadership skills, build self-esteem and reinforce their human dignity.
Direct link to the PDF download:
http://sombraprojects.com/wp-content/uploads/PDF/Sombra_Projects_002_jeunes_haitiennes.pdf
With an eye to the future, we are always keen to link up with people for possible collaborations – you can contact us at info@sombraprojects.com. You can also sign up to our mailing list – subscribe@sombraprojects.com – to receive updates and regular downloads of our featured projects.
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