Friday Morning Showcase with Harold Feinstein

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Interpreting a photograph | Stella Johnson in Greece

You can learn a lot from the way a man holds his cigarette.  Stella Johnson's photograph, Cigarette, Mytilene, Greece, 2011 is like a secret - it's a quiet image with a lot of detail and information.

Stella Johnson, Cigarette, Mytilene, Greece, 2011

On the cobblestone streets of Mytilene, Greece, Stella walks around, observing and framing up the next image that she wants to take.  She is cognizant of her surroundings - it's a place she has visited often.  The content in almost every one of her images are set up into layers - there is always something going on in the foreground, middle and in the background.  Short little vignettes play out for the viewer - all of which is captured in a split second.  In my opinion, all great photographs lead the viewer through the image.  Just for starters, check out how photographers like Henri Cartier-Bresson or O. Winston Link framed their images.

A man in a grey suit sits within the foreground, cigarette in his aged right hand, a gold ring on his middle finger, a pinstriped cuff.  In this particular image, it's not so much what's going on 'in' the image, but on the outer edge of the frame.  

You continue the story.  I wonder how you would interpret it.

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Atlanta Celebrates Photography this October

I have been invited to Atlanta this October as a portfolio reviewer during their Atlanta Celebrates Photography festivities.

Each October, Atlanta is transformed by over 150 photo-related exhibitions and events, including a core of ACP programs hosted by a diverse network of venues across the Atlanta metro area. The events held during our 2012 Festival will be listed in our Festival Guide the first week of September. The best way to get involved is to participate by enjoying as many events as you can, and by listing your event in the Festival Guide. (text description from http://acpinfo.org/)

For those of you looking to find new venues for your work, or valuable feedback, these types of events and portfolio reviews can help you.

I believe this event is already full, but if you Google 'photography portfolio review events', you will find others.  I'll make it easier for you: Here are some noted portfolio review events for photographers that I have participated in, or will be in the future.

LensCulture FotoFest Paris
photolucida
FotoFest Houston
Atlanta Celebrates Photography
PhotoNOLA
New England Portfolio Reviews

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Top 10 Books on Collecting Photography

Continuing my quest to educate the masses about Collecting Photography, I put together this list of my Top 10 favorite photography books on Collecting Photography and Photography Collections.

As someone who collects photography, besides understanding and learning about it, I am always intrigued by how and what other people collect.  If there are other books that I should know about, let me know.

The Unseen Eye, W.M. Hunt

The Unseen Eye.  W.M. Hunt

Chorus of Light: Photographs from the Sir Elton John Collection

(NOTE:  This book is out of print.  Find a used copy....it's fantastic!)

Speaking with Hands: Photographs from The Buhl Collection

(NOTE:  This book is out of print.)

 

The Gernsheim Collection:  Harry Ransom Center

The Collectible Moment: Catalogue of Photographs in the Norton Simon Museum

Short Stories on Photography: The Joseph and Elaine Monsen Collection at the Henry ArtGallery

(NOTE:  This book is out of print.)

 

Looking at Photographs: 100 Pictures from the Collection ofThe Museum of Modern Art.  John Szarkowski

Collect Contemporary Photography.  Jocelyn Phillips

The Art of Collecting Photography.  Laura Noble

Collecting Photography.  Gerry Badger

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The Symptoms of Collecting | Lee Witkin

Besides being a gallery owner, my wife and I are also serious photography collectors.  I decided to start adding more content around the topic of collection to our gallery blog.  Here's a great quote by former gallery owner Lee Witkin who talks about the symptoms of collecting: 

Collecting (an every collector knows the symptoms) means seeking, desiring, wanting, yearning for, coveting, having to have…and  - as soon as possible –acquiring, possessing, hugging to the bosom, and savoring with all the joys and prides of ownership.

I'm not sure I've ever hugged a photograph that I have collected, but I've stared at some of them for quite a while....like this one by Erin Frost.

Erin Frost, Alteration #12
courtesy DeVito-Landry Collection

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Lens Culture in Paris | 2 Exciting Opportunities

I'd like to keep you posted about two amazing things happening from my friends at Lens Culture in Paris.

Lens Culture International Exposure Awards discover, reward, and promote talented, new, emerging and established photographers and multimedia creators from around the world.

They are looking for exciting work from every continent, and from diverse points of view: documentary, fine art, nature, photojournalism, activism, street photography, sports, fashion, poetic, personal, abstract and human.

Deadline for Submissions: September 16, 2012


AND.....My personal favorite!

International Portfolio Review and Meeting Place^® for Photographers

Lens Culture FotoFest Paris brings together serious photographers and international photography experts for 3 full days of productive, stimulating portfolio reviews and one-to-one meetings. In 2011, more than 200 photographers and reviewers came from 36 countries to participate. It was a great success!

Register today for Nov 12-14, 2012!  This will be my third year reviewing portfolios at this event!

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Goldmine at Panopticon Gallery | Elin Spring

http://elinspringphotography.com/blog/2012/07/goldmine-at-panopticon-2/

Elin Spring came to the opening of the Panopticon Gallery Summer Group Exhibition Extravaganza and wrote this great review (link under photo).

If you haven't seen the exhibition, or havn't read the review, please do both!  The exhibition is on display through September 11th.

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LECTURE | William Wegman

William Wegman will be giving a lecture at:

Northeastern University in Boston on Wednesday, Sept. 12th at 6pm.

(NEW LOCATION)  200 Richards Hall, 360 Huntington Ave

RSVP at art.design@neu.edu

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Harold Feinstein | NEW Website

Harold Feinstein launched a new website just in time for his exhibition at Panopticon Gallery opening Friday, September 14th and the release of Harold Feinstein | A Retrospective through Nazraeli Press.

Check out the website at:  www.haroldfeinstein.com

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Heidi Kirkpatrick | Photographic Souvenirs

Heidi Kirkpatrick’s photographs reveal the delicacies of the female figure. The images depict familial stories and concerns of today’s women.

“My images have confronted many subjects that plague modern women,” says Heidi Kirkpatrick, “family, memory, doubt of self-image, breast cancer, objectification, pain, and addiction.”

Heidi Kirkpatrick, With One Arm Behind Her Back II, 2012

Having been surrounded by strong women throughout her life has helped the artist create her unique style. Working with the allures of the feminine form seems like an instinctive approach for her images that convey the universalities that some women experience.

Her Souvenirs series deals with the expectations of contemporaries – women restrained in confined places. This is the first project that integrated book pages with imagery.

Kirkpatrick uses found objects to exhibit her photographs instead of traditional frames: children’s blocks with worn corners, tattered tins, pocket-sized books with fragile pages, and old ashtrays. She infuses a new energy into these discarded items.

Heidi Kirkpatrick, Presse, 2012

“My intent is to make works that are approachable in form and content, and are interactive, yet fragile,” says Kirkpatrick, who finds beauty in antiquities.

The artist devotes a lot of time to searching for trinkets at second-hand stores, yard sales, and antique shops. Family and friends even give her objects they think can be used for her creations.

Oftentimes, the knick-knacks pair themselves naturally with her photographs; Kirkpatrick immediately knows which to couple. “But other times,” says the artist, “I need to live with the pieces for a while for the marriage to happen.”

“I sit at my table and work my puzzle, combining image with object,” says Kirkpatrick. “My studio is filled with objects of inspiration.”

Heidi Kirkpatrick, Hinds', Never Closed, 2009

Kirkpatrick’s pieces are warm and familiar. I imagine her ashtray, Hinds', Never Closed (2009), placed on a cherry wood side table in a cigar parlor; a relaxed gentleman holds an Arturo Fuente in the room blanched with smoke. Or perhaps, her cased images (Specimens), Branch (2011), could possibly hold a heart locket, a great-grandmother’s heirloom.

Heidi Kirkpatrick, Branch, 2011

Her most recent work incorporates wood, children’s toys, wine boxes and books. Kirkpatrick has also been applying photographs to ceramics. Kirkpatrick’s newest pieces on round, ceramic orbs, copper plates, and books, can be seen at Panopticon Gallery.

Story by Panopticon Gallery intern Marianne Salza.
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The Diaries of Neal Rantoul

July 26, 2012

I am stuck in Phoenix, Arizona on an agonizing layover to Spokane, Washington. I've been questioning the bewilderment of flying a great distance south to ultimately arrive someplace north – Nelson, British Columbia to be exact.

Peaking at a blazing 100 degrees, I'm relieved to have a short stay. But for tonight, I'm bunking in a motel.

Tomorrow I'll be visiting with friends in a town where I last photographed on a 1993 road trip. Back then, I was shooting in black and white with my 8x10 view camera and my trusty Hasselblad Superwide. This is where I discovered the rhythmic, northwestern hills of The Palouse. 

July 27, 2012

I am traveling back to the northwestern U.S. for the 16th consecutive time to photograph wheat fields in Palouse. It is the main agricultural region in the southeast corner of Washington State. 

I rent a car and drive to Colville, Washington en route to Nelson, B.C.  After making a small series in ’93, I'm eager to see the town again. I have a fondness for re-photographing places, including the Shaker Village in Canterbury, N.H., and Peddocks Island in Boston Harbor.

July 28, 2012

Today, on my way to Nelson, I came across Metaline Falls, a mining town that prospered in the 1800s.  After cruising through the area and mulling over whether I should stop to photograph this unique place, I concluded that I absolutely must take up the opportunity.

I parked, checked my lens, pondered over the settings, and then began photographing on this mid-morning, desolate weekday.

July 30, 2012

I left Nelson, the place where Roxanne was filmed in the ‘80s (starring Darryl Hannah and Steve Martin), and am heading to Pullman, Washington and then to Moscow, Idaho to photograph more wheat fields.

The pastures have been cut and are close to harvesting. By late summer, the weather is hot and dry, and some of the stocks are so tall and heavy that they can’t support their own weight.

Tomorrow morning at 7:30 am, I am excited to be taking my first, private flight of the trip. I will be using the Kenyon Gyro Stabilizer to brace my Nikon D800e.


-Notes by Neal Rantoul.  Transcribed by Marianne Salza, Panopticon Gallery Intern