Images shown above: copyright Debora Hunter and Leigh Anne Langwell, respectively

First Wednesday Photography Salon Artists Presenting: 
Leigh Anne Langwell and Debora Hunter

November 2nd, 2011: 6:30-8:30 Salon

photo-eye Gallery, 376-A Garcia Street, Santa Fe, NM 87501
Contact: Cliff Shapiro, cliff@photoeye.com, 505.988.5152 x116 or
Melanie McWhorter, melanie@photoeye.com x112

First Wednesday's October Salon will be held on November 2nd, 2011. Debora Hunter will present work from her Land Marks series photographed in Taos, NM. This series looks at the house as metaphor for the lives, values and hopes of the present and future inhabitants. Leigh Anne Langwell will be discussing her photograms, mark-making with light and smoke, and intersections between 2-D and 3-D processes.

Cover of From the Bottom of a Well -- Shawn Records

I know I’m not alone in noticing a trend in photobooks and projects depicting China. Many photographers have been drawn to the photographically seductive boom of industry and urban growth, and resulting environmental disaster, while others like Chinese born Shen Wei have looked towards the human aspect, subtly investigating the Chinese psyche. Whether in response to this attention or spurred on by it, the Chinese government appears to be making an effort to continue photographic interest in the country, though perhaps in a more controlled manner. Chinese photo festivals seem to be inviting an increasing number of American photographers and photoworld professionals to speak and show work, and government-sponsored tours have been hand-picking photographers to document the country. It’s hard to say what the end goal of all this government-sponsored photographic energy is or if it’s meeting the mark. Shawn Records was invited on one of these photographic tours, which resulted in his book From the Bottom of a Well.

Interior spread, From the Bottom of a Well

Interior spread, From the Bottom of a Well

For two weeks Records, along with five other American fine-art photographers, was packed onto buses with 100 Chinese commercial photographers to photograph, as Record states on his website “BEAUTIFUL LANDSCAPE, LANDMARK BUILDING, MAIN INDUSTRY, URBAN CONSTRUCTION, ETC.” in an effort to promote tourism. Over the course of his visit, Records recognized the futility in attempting to fully describe China. Escorted by a government employee to predetermined locations, including wetlands, oil fields and museums, these places are only partially distinguishable in the images. The title references a Chinese saying, “like looking at the sky from the bottom of a well,” which became a metaphor through which Records perceived his experience. With his limited ability to truly understand and get to know his subject, Records seems to have veered to the edges, creating a journal that is both touching in its small details and funny in its juxtapositions.

Interior spread, From the Bottom of a Well

It would seem that a fine-art photographer would naturally resist what is presented to him to photograph, and indeed, when looking at the images one could assume that Records spent a good deal of time not looking where his attention was supposed to be directed. This has served him well, resulting in a document that is idiosyncratic, yet also speaks to China’s desire to create a controlled public image. Many of the images have an eye to detail – two pairs of images featuring insects, dragonflies and moths, are striking in their subtly and scale. The environmental aspect can’t help but creep in here and there, whether it be in the heavy haze in the skies or open ended pipes spewing unappealingly colored liquid – the second image of which seems particularly funny in the book’s fine sequencing. Humor is a steady presence; a faded rainbow archway opens a path to the sea, the sky just as faded and colorless. The hyper blue sky of seemingly omnipresent posters, perhaps intended to provide a hopeful vision of tomorrow, stand instead to put the dull reality of today in stark contrast. Records seems to have also occasionally captured one of his fellow touring photographers in some of these images, focused on their designated subject. But a beautiful view of China does emerge, that sliver of sky that Records could see. -- Sarah Bradley

The book is also available in a limited edition of 50 signed copies and includes an 11’x14’ archive pigment print. Purchase book or limited edition.

Limited Edition image, From the Bottom of a Well

In the Face of Silence, Photographs by Christophe Agou. 

Published by Dewi Lewis Publishing, 2011.

In the Face of Silence

Reviewed by Adam Bell

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Christophe Agou In the Face of Silence
Photographs by Christophe Agou. Introduction by John Berger
Dewi Lewis Publishing, 2011. Hardbound. 144 pp., 77 color illustrations, 9-1/2x11-1/2".

Documenting the rural Forez region of France, Christophe Agou's touching book In The Face of Silence offers a glimpse into the lives and hardships of the several older family farmers struggling to survive off the land. At first glance, it might be easy to dismiss this work as another romantic photo-essay about rural life, but that would be a mistake. In addition to being born and raised in the region, which does not necessarily void this risk, Agou has clearly befriended his subjects and invested the time to explore and engage with them. Tender and heart-felt, Agou's photographs reveal a world of simple pleasures, but also marked isolation and adversity.

A traditional photojournalistic essay in the best sense, the work is poignant and nuanced. Agou has an excellent eye for detail and emotion, is heart-felt without being saccharine and honest without condescension. Characters like Jeannot, Babette and Raymond appear and reappear along with others throughout the book. As Agou writes, these are “modest and remarkable men and women” who live hard but rewarding lives largely cut off from the modern world. While the work illuminates his subjects and their lives, as Agou’s own statement reveals, it may more accurately reflect his own longing for escape and quietude.

In the Face of Silence, by Christophe Agou. Published by Dewi Lewis Publishing, 2011.

Alongside the standard mix of portraits, landscapes and still-lives, the book contains numerous portraits of the animals that inhabit the farms. Like their human counterparts, the animal portraits are never overly sentimental. Instead, the animals are a silent, but comforting presence. Whether they are peeking over the top of the kitchen table, licking a sore foot or lolling in the hay, the animals offer a reminder that the people, while isolated, are never truly alone.

In the Face of Silence, by Christophe Agou. Published by Dewi Lewis Publishing, 2011.

Accompanying the images is a statement by Agou about the project, and a brief prose piece by John Berger that fits the images wonderfully. In addition to these texts, the book also contains several hand-written letters to Agou by the various farmers in the book. Written in French, the texts are translated in the back of the book and not only offer a glimpse into the close bond Agou has with his subjects, but also reveal their difficulties and isolation.

In the Face of Silence, by Christophe Agou. Published by Dewi Lewis Publishing, 2011.

Overall, the design of the book is clean and understated. Aside from the occasional full-bleed image, the images rest in center of the page and run off the outer edges. The end-pages also contain a collage of old and weatherworn family photos – presumably from the families shown inside. My only two reservations would be the title, In The Face of Silence, which feels a tad overwrought, and the relatively conservative design. Given the many beautiful photographs in the book, I understand the desire to give the photographs full attention, but feel the traditional nature of the project seems to warrant a slightly non-traditional presentation. These minor reservations aside, Agou has created an evocative and heart-rending portrait of a region and lifestyle often sentimentalized, but little understood.—ADAM BELL

purchase book

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ADAM BELL is a photographer and writer based in Brooklyn, NY. He received his MFA from the School of Visual Arts, and his work has been exhibited and published internationally. He is the co-editor and co-author, with Charles H. Traub and Steve Heller, of The Education of a Photographer (Allworth Press, 2006). His writing has appeared in Foam Magazine, Lay Flat and Ahorn Magazine. He is currently on staff and faculty at the School of Visual Arts' MFA Photography, Video and Related Media Department.

In a Lonely Place, Photographs by Gregory Crewdson.
Published by Abrams, 2011.

In a Lonely Place

Reviewed by Daniel W. Coburn

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Gregory Crewdson In a Lonely Place
Photographs by Gregory Crewdson. Text by Craig Burnett
Abrams, New York, 2011. Hardbound. 160 pp., 30 color and 40 duotone illustrations, 12x8-1/4".

In a Lonely Place transports the viewer to the intersection of beauty and alienation. Themes of isolation, sadness, and desire form the connective tissue between Gregory Crewdson's seminal bodies of work. This latest monograph provides a unique opportunity to view a comprehensive set of images from Beneath the Roses, Sanctuary, and Fireflies in a single hardbound volume. The text and imagery work in communion to provide Crewdson's audience with insight into the artist's inspirations and artistic motivations.

In Beneath the Roses, Crewdson mesmerizes his audience with the beauty of cinematic artifice, while simultaneously providing an entry point into a dark implied narrative. In one photo, a late model sedan is the first to round a corner through a fresh snow pack on Main Street. The trunk lid is slightly ajar so one can barely begin to make out its contents, which are dimly illuminated by an interior light. A woman appears seated in a diner on the street corner in a composition that directly references Edward Hopper's painting, Nighthawks. Crewdson engages the viewer by presenting a mystery, a question that can never be resolved, suspending his audience in a moment between before and after. These images possess a disturbing psychological undercurrent, which subtly reveals the sinister side of small town life.

In a Lonely Place, by Gregory Crewdson. Published by Abrams, 2011.

Crewdson eventually makes a complete departure from the highly saturated color depictions of rural America. In Sanctuary, he makes a series of photographs in black and white and takes his camera abroad. As a master of the directorial approach to photography, Crewdson must have felt at home wandering the back lots and dilapidated movie sets of Rome's Cinecitta. These studios were founded by Mussolini for propaganda purposes in 1937 and were later bombed by Western Allies during World War II. The reader accompanies the artist as he navigates through a labyrinth of broken scaffolds and deteriorating facades that once convincingly mimicked neoclassical architecture. In contrast to Beneath the Roses, Sanctuary is a beautiful representation of a fallen utopia that is all but completely devoid of a human presence. The first image in the series confronts the reader with a set of weathered wooden doors swung wide open. This passageway reveals the interior of a triumphant arch basked in evening sunlight. In several instances, these post apocalyptic landscapes become a metaphor for hope.

In a Lonely Place, by Gregory Crewdson. Published by Abrams, 2011.

Years before Crewdson conceived the hauntingly enigmatic images of Beneath the Roses and Sanctuary, he photographed fireflies scribing their presence in light over a dark foreboding foreground. While some of these images seem similar or redundant, each of them is distinct as the photographer uses the camera to record the unique marks made by these creatures during their annual mating ritual. These images possess a calming simplicity that offers quiet respite after contemplating the intense story lines of the aforementioned work. These black and white photos evoke feelings of isolation, a characteristic that is present in all of Crewdson’s work. The artist uses the camera to contemplate his role as the lonely observer.

In a Lonely Place, by Gregory Crewdson. Published by Abrams, 2011.

I thoroughly enjoyed the images in this 160 page volume and I found the texts to be relevant and informative. Crewdson goes into great detail about his inspirations drawn from artists such as Edward Hopper, Diane Arbus, Philip-Lorca diCorcia and many others. Craig Burnett contributed the essay A Flaneur Among the Ruins, in which he elaborates on Crewdson's use of light as a "symbol of desire." This book will undoubtedly be a valuable and important addition to the Crewdson library.—DANIEL W. COBURN

purchase book

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DANIEL W. COBURN is a contemporary photographer whose visually arresting images have garnered national and international praise. Selections from his body of work have been featured in prestigious exhibitions at the Los Angeles Center for Digital Art and the Chelsea Museum of Art in New York. In 2007, Coburn was a recipient of the Artist-In-Residence award at Rocky Mountain National Park. He published a photographic essay entitled Rediscovering Paradise which focused on the impact of an overwhelming human presence in the National Park. He was a recipient of the 2008 Kansas Mid-Career Artist Fellowship Award presented by the Kansas Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts. Coburn's prints are held in many public and private collections including The Mulvane Museum of Art, The Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art, The Mariana Kistler-Beach Museum of Art and the Moraine Park Museum. Daniel is co-author of a book entitled "Between Earth and Sky" which showcases his collection of photographs from the Midwest. His writings and photographs appear regularly in regional and national publications including Fraction Magazine and photo-eye Magazine. Coburn recieved his BFA with an emphasis in photography from Washburn University where he was the recipient of numerous honors including the prestigious Charles and Margaret Pollak Award. He is currently an instructor and graduate student studying photography at the University of New Mexico.

Mammatus: Texline, Texas -- Mitch Dobrowner

photo-eye Gallery artist Mitch Dobrowner has recently had two prints added to the photography collections of two prominent West Coast art museums -- the Portland Art Museum and the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. Earlier this month Dobrowner released 11 new images, a continuation of his on-going Storms series. "Venturing even closer to storms than we have seen in his previous work, Dobrowner's photographs feature the awesome power of twisters in moments of furious beauty, capturing the force itself rather than the devastation they leave behind. Dobrowner’s photographs illustrate the unique and constant beauty nature provides should we take a moment to look above our own heads." -- from Cliff Shapiro's blog post on Mitch Dobrowner. See the rest of the post here. See Dobrowner's work here.

Faces #21, 2006 -- Dick Sanders

Photographer's Showcase photographer Dick Sanders recently had an image from his Faces on the Street series included in the exhibit Persona at the Darkroom Gallery in Essex Junction, VT. The images in this series were taken in downtown areas of Los Angeles and San Diego between 2006 and 2008. Of his process, Sanders says: "My method is to set up on a busy sidewalk and then ask passersby if they will stand for a portrait. Very few agree to participate. Those who do usually allow me just a minute or two. And there's the challenge. What can I draw out? What will they reveal? Always I am looking for emotional complexity and the suggestion of time beyond this one moment." See Dick Sanders' work on the Photographer's Showcase here.

Untitled -- Susan Bank

Susan Bank from the Photographer's Showcase is currently showing in three interesting exhibits. Women Photographers, part of Lehigh University's 40 Years of Women celebration, is open through December 16th at the Dubois Gallery, Bethlehem PA. Bank's work can also be seen in the New England Photography Biennial 2011 at the Danforth Museum of Art in Framingham, MA, juried by photo-eye Magazine reviewer George Slade and is on view until November 13th. Finally, Bank's images are also included in 31 Contemporary Photographers at Galeries Speos in Paris, France, the final stop of the LensCulture International Exposure Awards exhibit. See Susan Bank's work on the Photographer's Showcase here.

Cover of Photographs 2001-2009 by Ken Rosenthal

Photographer's Showcase artist Ken Rosenthal has just released a monograph on the occasion of his first retrospective at Wall Space Gallery in Seattle. "Tightly edited from Rosenthal's 2001 series Seen and Not Seen through the 2009 series Days Between, this book contains a selection of 14 images that exemplify the artist's unique vision. Rosenthal's eerie and surreal images capture quiet reflections of memories that often merge the autobiographical with the universal. While dark in tone, the stunning photographs in this book capture a narrative of a haunting personal journey filled with subtle glimpses of hope and beauty." -- photo-eye New Arrivals Newsletter, 10/15/2011. See Rosenthal's book Photographs 2001-2009 here. See his portfolios on the Photographer's Showcase here.

For information and inquiries on prints, please contact Anne Kelly, photo-eye Gallery Associate Director at anne@photoeye.com or by phone at (505) 988-5152 x202.

More information on the Photographer's Showcase is available here.

Abendsonne, Photographs by Misha de Ridder.
Published by Schaden.com, 2011.

Abendsonne
Reviewed by Adam Bell
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Misha de Ridder Abendsonne
Photographs by Misha de Ridder
Schaden.com, 2011. Hardbound. 14 pp., 8 color illustrations, 11-3/4x14-1/4".

The horizon [is] a kind of temporal hinge between immediate apprehension and a constant postponement of closure...The very fact of the horizon is what is immutable; it is an infinite dividing line between infinite entities, a place toward which the mind journeys and yet a place that appears as a continuous, productive, deferral of place.
-Susan Stewart, "What Thought Is Like" from The Open Studio Essays on Art and Aesthetics

Rooted in 19th century Romantic notions of the sublime, Misha De Ridder's images are subtle and beautiful, but also utterly contemporary. Abendsonne is a narrowly focused book that contains a mere eight large images (seven inside and one on the cover) printed on a heavy card stock, but is full of nuance and visual sophistication. The title, translated from German, means "setting sun" or "evening sun," but more specifically refers to a phenomenon in northern Europe during late autumn and early spring where the sun barely rises in the sky. In the mountainous Swiss towns where these images were made, the sun hovers briefly above the peaks before sinking back and shrouding the landscape in darkness - the cool otherworldly light, temporally transforming the landscape and shifting our perception.

Abendsonne, by Misha de Ridder. Published by Schaden.com, 2011.

 Looking at De Ridder's book, I was reminded of a tiny show I saw more than ten years ago entitled The Sea & The Sky at the Beaver College Art Gallery in Pennsylvania. Containing works by Vija Celmins, Elger Esser, Linda Conner and various other artists and photographers, the show explored contemporary representations of the sky and sea. Accompanying that exhibition was a pamphlet with the absolutely brilliant essay "What Thought Is Like" by Susan Stewart. In that essay, Stewart traces notions of the sublime from Immanuel Kant to Henry David Thoreau and his contemporaries to the artists exhibited in the show. She also grapples with an issue that is central to De Ridder's work - the paradox of visually expressing a phenomenon that can only be experienced.

Abendsonne, by Misha de Ridder. Published by Schaden.com, 2011.

 All the images in Abendsonne contain a similar view of a mountainous landscape mirrored by a lake. In each image, the light has a hazy openness that flattens and abstracts the landscape. Cutting through the center of the frame, the horizon creates a doubling effect that is simultaneously disorienting and hypnotic. Although writing about other work, Stewart's words offer great insight. As she writes, these images "draw us into the act of looking, even as they draw us to the limits of our looking." Stewart continues to talk about how images of the sea and sky often leave us with a "vertiginous loss of position or location." This same phenomenological effect is present in De Ridder's work. As viewers, we hover disoriented above the glass-like surface of a lake - ground and sky seemingly transposed, shimmering out of reach, like a mirage.

As an artist, De Ridder makes images that could easily become saccharine calendar art or empty exercises in sublime kitsch. Arctic sunsets, verdant dunes and dense forests have all been De Ridder's subjects, but he has always succeeded in pushing them to a new level and forced us to look again - either through inventive design in the case of Wilderness or editorial restraint and focus, as in the case of Dune. In some ways, De Ridder's works are so forcefully anachronistic that they are contemporary. It takes a brave and talented soul to tackle the sublime landscape and succeed like De Ridder.

Abendsonne, by Misha de Ridder. Published by Schaden.com, 2011.

 In the 19th century, writers such as Edmund Burke and James Addison wrote extensively about the sublime and puzzled over the problem of representing vast and spectacular natural phenomenon such as the sea and sky. They also wrote about the feelings of terror and grandeur that accompany ones experience of the sublime. It is easy to forget, or ignore, the mysteries of the natural world. We live in a modern world largely divorced from, and oblivious to, the kinds of natural phenomenon that Burke, Addison and others wrote about so long ago, and De Ridder explores. Separated from the natural beauty of the world, it is always good to look again -- even if it is in awe and confusion -- with fresh eyes.

Please note: All quotes from Susan Stewart, "What Is Thought: The Sea and The Sky," originally printed as a pamphlet to accompany the exhibition The Sea & The Sky, Beaver College Art Gallery, 2000; reprinted in Susan Stewart, The Open Studio: Essays on Art and Aesthetics (University of Chicago Press, 2005) p. 99-110.—Adam Bell

purchase book

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Adam Bell is a photographer and writer based in Brooklyn, NY. He received his MFA from the School of Visual Arts, and his work has been exhibited and published internationally. He is the co-editor and co-author, with Charles H. Traub and Steve Heller, of The Education of a Photographer (Allworth Press, 2006). His writing has appeared in Foam Magazine, Lay Flat and Ahorn Magazine. He is currently on staff and faculty at the School of Visual Arts' MFA Photography, Video and Related Media Department.

Tethered Aviator / Aviador atado -- Tom Chambers

On the day that the Tom Chambers Dreaming in Reverse / Soñando Hacia Atrás exhibition opened in photo-eye Gallery, a review of the exhibit by Casey Sanchez came out in Pasa Tiempo. In the first sentence of the article Sanchez addresses Tom Chambers’ process -- photomontage. He makes the point that many people have the wrong idea about montage as in the digital age a lot of what we see is poorly done either in skill or aesthetics (or both) or is montage that attempts to tell a lie by doctoring photographic. All of this has given photomontage a dubious reputation, but it is like anything else -- anything can be done poorly or for dishonest reasons. The way that I see it, Photoshop is a tool with many uses. For Chambers, this tool is used to combine images in order to transfer an idea from his imagination to something physical, a paper and ink print — much like painting, sculpture or music – and share it with the world.

Spring Covers the River, Vietnam, 1971 -- Don Hong-Oai

Photomontage predates the digital era and has been practiced for more than 130 years. Also on display in the gallery is work by Don Hong-Oai (1929-2004). The photographs of Don Hong-Oai are made in a unique style of photography often referred to as Asian Pictorialism. With the delicate beauty and traditional motifs of Chinese painting (birds, boats, mountains, etc.) in mind, photographers of this school used more than one negative to create a beautiful picture, often referencing visual allegories. In these pre-digital composite photographs, realism was not the goal.

Chambers’ images have been described as probable, but improbable – viewers question if what they are looking at is real (what is real... now that’s a whole other subject!). The images are so masterfully construed that they appear to be real — did the woman in Tethered Aviator actually tie a string to the bird in the window? We don’t know, but like the work on Don Hong-Oai, realism is not the goal.

But what is real in these images is a constant question from viewers. I have been asked dozes of times during the course of this exhibition – “Is this real?” “Is this Photoshop?” “Are these images digital enhanced?” and so on. So I have asked Tom Chambers to tell us a little more about photomontage and how he arrive at using it as vehicle to share the images in his imagination with the rest of us. --Anne Kelly

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Anne Kelly:   How were you first exposed to art making?

Tom Chambers:   I grew up on my grandparent’s farm in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. We lived in the tenant house across the farm lane from my grandparents who bought the farm in the late 1930s, where they worked as both farmers and artists. Not only was I lucky enough to have an idyllic childhood romping in the farm fields, but I also was fortunate to have been influenced by the artistic talents of my grandparents. Both my grandparents were classically trained artists from Philadelphia who continued their passions for painting throughout their lives.

My grandfather, Wilson Chambers, made his living illustrating books and magazines, as well as creating oil paintings. I have fond childhood memories of smelling turpentine and watching him work in his studio. The illustrative nature of my photomontages clearly was shaped by my grandfather’s artwork. In turn, my grandfather was heavily influenced by N.C. Wyeth, who lived nearby. The emotionality of son Andrew Wyeth's landscapes, in particular, has influenced my photography. My grandmother, a watercolorist, also painted emotionally, but because of the times was not as highly recognized as my grandfather.

Sketch for and final print of The Goatherd by Tom Chambers

AK:   Tell us about your photographic process.

TC:   I like to say that instead of taking a photo, I am making a photo. My imagery is referred to as "photomontage" which combines two or more photos to create one image. To construct a photomontage I might initially sketch a concept or idea that I have for an image. Many of my inspirations for my montage photography come from musings or dreams, which I refer to as improbable dreams. These are "visualizations" that rattle through my head when I'm in a relaxed state of mind. Other times I will have an interesting background or element for the composition and will use it as a starting point. Then, I photograph each element of the photomontage using a Nikon D700. The greatest challenge is in making sure the light intensity and direction are similar in each of these shots.

The process of creating a photomontage may take a month or more, depending upon how quickly I am able to get all the shots and sort through them, selecting the ones that work best together. Elements of the final image may include the landscape or background, often shot in sections, as well as the sky, a human figure, an animal, or another object. Then, I use Photoshop software with a Macintosh computer to combine each "piece," constructing the final image. Lastly, the photomontage is printed with archival pigment inks onto cotton rag paper.

AK:   How were you first exposed to photomontage?

TC:   In addition to my work as a fine arts photographer, I work as a graphic designer in creating printed material and packaging. The work of graphic design has allowed me to learn about different software and various printing processes, as well as to understand issues of color and design. When Adobe Photoshop was released about twenty years ago, I began exploring the possibilities of combining images, first with shots from family vacations. With time I honed my Photoshop skills, and I recognized the possibilities of expressing some of my artistic ideas and inspirations through photomontages.

Sketch for and final print of Meant for Love by Tom Chambers

AK:   Who are your influences?

TC:   Having grown up on a Pennsylvania farm, I have always been very inspired by Andrew Wyeth’s rural landscapes and love affairs with the nature. Like Wyeth, I feel a strong emotional connection with the image that I am creating. In addition, iconic Mexican religious art, various Hispanic photographers such as Graciela Iturbide, and authors such as Gabriel García Márquez, and a range of contemporary music have inspired both creative and critical thinking. Opportunities to travel and experience different cultures have encouraged my appreciation of multiple artistic perspectives and spark ideas for my artwork.

AK:   Why do you use photomontage instead of staging your scenes?

TC:   In the spirit of magic realism, I typically am modifying one or two elements in an image in order to elicit an emotional response from a viewer. You could say I stage each element in the image separately. I enjoy adding or subtracting elements in an image or moving them around to satisfy my sense of composition. Photomontage seems to allow me greater control and flexibility to create the mood that I am seeking.

Sketches for and final print of Camouflage by Tom Chambers

AK:   You have shot both film and digital, which do you prefer and why?

TC:   I initially began my photomontage work shooting with film and scanning the transparencies. Four years ago I switched to using a digital camera since film had become too time consuming as I tried to get just the right shot. The lower cost of shooting digitally takes my mind off conserving expensive film. Because I'm shooting more there is more opportunity for unintended surprises that sometimes takes the photomontage in a unique direction.

AK:   Most of the scenes in your images are possible and so masterfully constructed that they appear real, but have a quality that causes the viewer to question the reality. How do you achieve this?

TC:   Thank you for the compliment. My photomontages follow in the tradition of magic realism. Magic realism is a term used in art and literature referring to a situation or setting in which all seems true and believable, except for one or more elements which lend an air of improbability. Because I am adjusting one or two elements, the resultant photomontage is intended to appear almost real. In addition, creating a photomontage involves a tremendous amount of post-production. I have to be very thoughtful about honoring my idea for the final image. I want to avoid over-manipulation of the pieces that are included in the final image and ensure that the final gestalt feels authentic, yet a bit disturbing, and not too forced.

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photo-eye Gallery's Tom Chambers exhibit Dreaming in Reverse / Soñando Hacia Atrás will be up in the gallery for about another week. Please stop by if you're in town. Chambers' work can also be viewed at online here.

For more information on Chambers' work, please contact Anne Kelly, photo-eye Gallery Associate Director at anne@photoeye.com or by phone at (505) 988-5152 x202.

Cover of The Unseen Eye by W.M. Hunt

The Unseen Eye by W.M. Hunt is perhaps the most compelling anthology of photographs I have encountered. Comprised of 370 images from Hunt’s largest collection of photographs, Collection Dancing Bear, it is a unique assortment of images, ranging from vernacular photographs from the 19th and 20th centuries, to iconic reportage images, to photographs from the giants of the photographic art world. A collection of such breadth could potentially be unwieldy when presented in this way, but these images have two very important things in common. As stated by Hunt in his short preface:

This is a book of photographs, a selection from a large collection gathered over many years, comprised of what I describe as magical, heart-stopping images of people in which the eyes are somehow obscured, veiled, hidden, blocked, averted or closed.

The second is that all of these images have resonated with Hunt -- enough to purchase them and make them part of his collection. As Hunt reveals throughout his commentary in the book, collecting is a deeply personal act: He sees each image as a representation of himself.

from The Unseen Eye by W.M. Hunt

Stated simply, a collection of images in which the subject’s eyes cannot be seen could easily be dismissed as gimmicky premise for a book, but Hunt has hit on something with surprising resonance. As one leafs through the book, the lack of eye contact with the image subjects becomes striking. No exchange of gaze occurs, and suddenly the viewer is confronted with their own voyeurism. It is at once uncomfortable and liberating, ultimately drawing the viewer inward, towards a meditative self-focus. This in itself allows the images to simultaneously maintain metaphorical autonomy while also becoming perfect analogues for our own emotions. It is an experience best suited to multiple viewings.

from The Unseen Eye by W.M. Hunt

One of the book’s major accomplishments is its impeccable sequencing. The sizable volume of images are not arranged by date or theme, but flow wonderfully into each other in natural transitions and thoughtful juxtapositions. Hunt’s engaging text, which never overwhelms the images in either volume or content, enhances this effect, taking the reader on a guided tour a bit like a slide lecture. After being alluded to several times, a photograph of Ku Klux Klan members seems all the more powerful, as shocking as it is unsettlingly fascinating. Image pairings draw out new meanings, while others are presented singly, reenforcing an image's power that may have been lost in a clutter of cultural associations.

from The Unseen Eye by W.M. Hunt

But Hunt’s text is as much on the nature of collecting as it is on the images in his collection and his personal journey -- though Hunt clearly draws little distinction between these things. Nestled in the texts are descriptions of his own reasons for purchasing an image – typically a visceral reaction – but also a few questions the collector should ask himself: "Will it sustain viewing after viewing? Will it reveal itself differently over time? Will he want to look at it over and over?"

from The Unseen Eye by W.M. Hunt

It's possible that Hunt is subtly angling for converts to his personal method of collection – as he should. Particularly after hearing stories of frazzled assistants calling galleries to confirm that their employer did indeed own a specific piece, and of an astonishing collection of art lingering wrapped and ready to go in a high-end frame shop, forgotten by the owners, I imagine the world could do well to have a few more collectors like Hunt. For Hunt, collecting is a highly personal process, enriching, and full of self-discovery. He is what he eats, specifically, what art he consumes, and each piece tells him a little more about himself. The book stands as beautiful testimony of personal growth through the consumption of art. Reading through Hunt’s text, I couldn’t help but draw parallels between his passionate need to collect and an artist’s need to create – surely these are symbiotic creatures. -- Sarah Bradley

Purchase a copy of The Unseen Eye

Los Jardines de México, Photographs by Janelle Lynch. 

Published by Radius Books, 2011.

Los Jardines de México

Reviewed by Faye Robson

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Janelle Lynch Los Jardines de México
Photographs by Janelle Lynch. Texts by José Antonio Aldrete-Haas and Mario Bellatín
Radius Books, Santa Fe, 2011. Hardbound. 80 pp., 41 color illustrations, 11x14".

Los Jardines de México is a meticulously crafted book, with every aspect of its production – from the choice of paper stock through to the finishing on the page and the choice of image printed on its endpapers – calculated to facilitate and enhance your experience of the work contained within. This care over the details of the bookmaking is particularly fitting, as Janelle Lynch uses photography to conjure up a very particular and rarefied world – she cultivates an atmosphere that you can’t help but think would suffer in less sympathetic conditions.

The particular quality of Lynch's work can be felt most intensely in the fourth and final series presented in this book: La Fosa Común. Here, 11 full-page images are arranged, one per spread, on large, glossy leaves of paper, beginning with Untitled 8 – a photograph of one, spreading, moss-encrusted tree, whose branches reach round and through each other and out of the frame into the surrounding foliage. Like all of the images in this series, the photograph is visually complex, the frame crammed with textural information, and, as with all of the works in the series, the subject is plant life, to the exclusion of all else - no animals, humans or signs of human civilization intrude upon the tangle of bushes, grasses and trees. The effect is claustrophobic and not a little repetitive, but also decidedly, intensely, eerie and otherworldly. The combination of abundant foliage with a lack of any other visual reference – even the sky is obscured – and Lynch's frequent use of soft, misty lighting conditions gives you the impression of stepping into a science fiction novel in which humans have receded and plants reclaimed the surface of the earth.

Los Jardines de México, by Janelle Lynch. Published by Radius Books, 2011.

This sense of animism and almost threatening fecundity is picked up by author and architect José Antonio Aldrete Haas in his essay for Los Jardines. He argues that Lynch's photography is informed by the notion that life and death are not separate but continuous and 'of the same reality,' and points to another series – there are four presented in this book, made by Lynch between 2002 and 2007 – to illustrate his point. Akna (translated by Aldrete-Haas from the Mayan as 'mother') is a series of portraits of individual tree stumps. These remains – dead or decaying matter appears throughout the book - are in fact now burgeoning with life, each of them sustaining communities of smaller plants and grasses. They are even given names by the photographer, 'Vladimir' and 'Albertina,' to go with the focused, individualizing portrait style of her photography in the work.

Los Jardines de México, by Janelle Lynch. Published by Radius Books, 2011.

Loss, through violence or through simple neglect and decay, is another theme of the book, drawn out by author Mario Bellatín in the fictional element he contributes. The fact that Bellatín's short story deals with the death of a child gives Lynch's work in the series El Jardín de Juegos added resonance, as it is the abandoned pieces of playground furniture in the overgrown parks photographed here that give them their special sense of stillness and absence. Again, this lack of human presence is made conspicuous by the way Lynch arranges her photographs, emphasizing the anthropomorphic qualities of slides, climbing frames and basketball hoops to somehow evoke the playfulness and liveliness that is now only present in this space as a kind of haunting.

Los Jardines de México, by Janelle Lynch. Published by Radius Books, 2011.

All of the above-mentioned elements are bound together in this book in a tightly-structured narrative, so that one has the impression of wandering from series to series like the last human survivor exploring a post-apocalyptic world. This idea is even made explicit through the foot's-eye view of photos in the Donde Andaba set, which show fragments of green foliage as they appear through the cracks in buildings and sidewalks in an urban setting. These images even seem to have been treated differently in production, so that they have a grainy, gritty texture subtly evocative of the dusty streets they depict. The overall effect is of moving through a world carefully constructed by the photographer, as if it were a stage-set.

It can sometimes feel, moving through Lynch's world, like a too seamless experience. The claustrophobia I mentioned earlier slips into tedium occasionally, and the book itself could feel a little overcooked for some readers. Why is it necessary for the cover of this book to be a close-up of the grass shown in countless photos within? Why use the same image again as a graphic theme within – monochrome and negativised, so that the washed-out feel of neglected spaces is stated yet again? These details can feel a little forced rather than poignant, as is perhaps intended. However, this is not to detract from the work within, which is a rigorous, yet affecting, statement on the natural world and its ambivalent beauty.—FAYE ROBSON


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FAYE ROBSON is an editor of illustrated books, currently based in London, UK. She has worked on photobooks for publishers including Aperture Foundation, New York and Phaidon Press, London.

The Mercy Project -- Edited by James Whitlow Delano

I run an online Magazine with a few friends and each month we select a theme for the issue with some broad topic as Faith, The Environment, or Politics. The contributor is open to interpret the theme and word however they choose. Often the piece fits easily into the theme and mission of the magazine, but occasionally it tests the limits of that word’s meaning. Although words can clearly have a defined meaning as found in a dictionary, an individual’s reading is influenced by their life experiences. Thus is the case with the theme of James Whitlow Delano’s curated book The Mercy Project. This book contains a collection of photographs from 118 photographers who Delano asked to contribute one piece that made them think of “mercy.” The images range from Stuart Islett’s photograph of a Cambodian woman begging against the deportation of her son from the US (plate 033), to Don Bartletti’s image of migrant workers reaching through the opening of a train heading north from Veracruz, Mexico to grasp the offering of oranges from strangers (plate 032), to Simon Norfolk’s image of a young Liberian girl suffering from AIDS (plate 110), all contributing an image representing their subjective and personal concept of mercy.

from The Mercy Project

This word had deep-rooted meaning for Delano. When he first conceived of the book project, he had recently endured the loss of his sister Jeanne to a form of incurable cancer. Delano witnessed his sister’s care in hospice in San Diego, CA and was struck by how she was able to painlessly transition into her passing with the support of her extended family through palliative and hospice care. Delano’s book project is a vehicle to bring awareness to the important role of hospice for families and patients in need and to help raise funds in support of two organizations whose mission it is to provide such care.

from The Mercy Project

Although often a difficult task to design an anthology of this sort, the design firm de.Mo was able to create a elegant layout displaying large single images or 2 to 4 images per page spread. Whether the image is printed alone or in the company of similar photos, the text does not distract as the photographer’s name and plate number rests near the outer edge or gutter very much akin to magazine citations. The numbered plates also relate to the captions and artist’s bios, which accompany the hardcover book in a staple-bound leaflet inserted into the back flap. The plate listing tells the story of each image from the 118 contributors including Delano, Sara Terry, Jacob Aue Sobol, Michael Kenna, Ed Kashi, Nina Berman, Eikoh Hosoe, Mark Peterson, Daniel Traub, and Martin Parr, among many others. All texts are in English and Japanese, including writing by Delano, Melanie Light, and Eleanor Clift.

from The Mercy Project

In the postscript, Eleanor Clift speaks about the death of her husband with the assistance of this invaluable transitional care. She writes that he was able to pass “with the assurance that his pain would be controlled and that his dying would be treated with reverence and dignity through the gift of hospice.” The proceeds from this book and its moving images and words benefit San Diego Hospice and Institute for Palliative Care and Japan Hospice Palliative Care Foundation.

Purchase a copy of The Mercy Project here.

Read the other posts in this series here.

Cruising, Photographs by Chad States.
Published by powerHouse Books, 2011.

 Cruising
 Reviewed by Adam Bell
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Chad States Cruising
Photographs by Chad States
powerHouse Books, New York, 2011. Hardbound. 100 pp., 80 color illustrations, 12-1/2x11-3/4".

Move past the clearing, over the hill and enter along a faint path. Keep moving forward into woods and make a right when you see the cluster of bushes - meet me there...

Chad State's Cruising explores the secret, and not so secret, sites where gay men meet for anonymous sexual encounters. Mostly hidden in plain view, the parks and rest areas frequented by these men are on the outskirts of the everyday world, cloaked by branches and coded signals. Never sensationalistic or merely erotic, States work intimately draws the viewer into this secret world through furtive glances and secluded paths - coaxing us (willingly or unwillingly) into the act of cruising.

Cruising, by Chad States. Published by powerHouse Books, 2011.

Photography has always been a voyeuristic art. The camera gives license to stare, linger and steal the world around us. This is the reason photography is so closely linked with the erotic. While there is a lot of work that deals with voyeurism and sex, Kohei Yoshiyuki's The Park is the best precedent for States' work. Shot at night using infrared film in public parks in Japan, Yoshiyuki captures couples (both gay and straight) in sexual embrace, as well as the spectators who congregate around them, and often try and join in. Whereas Yoshiyuki's work has a sense of frenzied participation, States' work feels more restrained - the images of a voyeur rather than a participant. Photographed during the daytime, branches and foliage obscure male figures - both clothed and unclothed - hopefully waiting or locked in excited embrace.

Cruising, by Chad States. Published by powerHouse Books, 2011.

 The book begins outside the woods, but we are quickly drawn into the trees. The pictures take us along secret paths where we pass couples in embrace; single figures waiting and faint paths that diverge in the forest. Interwoven with the images are pages with subtle white text. Easy to miss at first, the texts, which are taken from online information boards about these sites, are crucial to the book. Like a whisper, the lines lure us into the woods - inviting us to move closer, stare and participate. Remarkably, Cruising is much more than a document about these sites, the people who visit them or activities that take place there. Through careful editing, thoughtful design and inventive use of text, we are drawn into this world and forced to look, stare and linger in the bushes.

Cruising, by Chad States. Published by powerHouse Books, 2011.

 Accompanying the images is a nice interview with States conducted by Alec Soth (who published an excerpt from this work in Lonely Boy Magazine #2) about the project and an essay by Gordon Brent Ingram that investigates the sociological history of these sites and the culture that surrounds them. The overall design of the book is very good - from the excellent, and erotically suggestive, cover to the careful sequencing of images. In some ways, it might be easy for some to dismiss this book based on it sexual content, but that would be a mistake. Cruising is a smart book that will challenge and engage a large audience.—Adam Bell

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Adam Bell is a photographer and writer based in Brooklyn, NY. He received his MFA from the School of Visual Arts, and his work has been exhibited and published internationally. He is the co-editor and co-author, with Charles H. Traub and Steve Heller, of The Education of a Photographer (Allworth Press, 2006). His writing has appeared in Foam Magazine, Lay Flat and Ahorn Magazine. He is currently on staff and faculty at the School of Visual Arts' MFA Photography, Video and Related Media Department.

Choprock Amphitheater -- Stu Levy

Artist Talk & Book Signing with Stu Levy
October 14th, 2011, 5:00-7:00pm
photo-eye Gallery, 376 Garcia Street, Suite A, Santa Fe, NM 87501
Contact: Melanie McWhorter 505.988.5152 x 112 or melanie@photo-eye.com

photo-eye Gallery is pleased to host a lecture and book signing with photographer Stu Levy on Friday, October 14th, 2011 from 5-7 pm at photo-eye Gallery located at 376 Garcia Street, Suite A, Santa Fe, NM. Levy will present prints and discuss his career as a photographer and his newest monograph Grid-Portraits, published by Nazraeli Press.

"In the mid-1980s, Stu Levy began making “grid-portraits” in order to overcome his his frustration with traditional portraiture’s limited point of view. These constructs of photographs, consisting of twelve to twenty-five individual images, scan the architecture and flow of time in a subject’s living or working environment. The resulting portraits, usually of artists, craftspeople and musicians, are made in the subjects’ studios or living spaces and serve as a backstage tour of the artist’s mind and creative process." -- from the publisher

Learn more about the book here

from Gird Portraits