Photo/artsMagazine

2009-11-15T21:29:00.002-05:00

black friday. 2008

Calls for Work: Picture Black Friday

Every year, Black Friday rings in the yearly holiday shopping season, with hundreds of thousands of people getting up before sunrise to queue for bargains and deals; when the doors are unlocked, the stores being besieged by their own customers. During Black Friday last year, security guard Jdimytai Damour, was trampled to death by crazed shoppers as he tried to hold back bargain seekers at a Walmart in Long Island . Unfortunately, the uproar in the media was mostly over by the end of the weekend.
Picture Black Friday is a photojournalism project that aims to revisit and analyze a combination of forces- a worsening economy, financial desperation, excitement, fear, and a distinctly American cultural tradition- that culminate the morning after Thanksgiving.
More specifically, Picture Black Friday is an open call for photographers throughout the U.S. to go out and produce images that document Black Friday- how you see it, on your terms

Picture Black Friday details

2009-11-13T20:01:00.001-05:00

vintage thrift willow grove, pa. 2009

2009-11-11T21:02:00.002-05:00

goodwill. 2009

The Huffington Post is featuring this photo as the cover for the current Capture The Recession slideshow.

Goodwill for All

2009-11-10T20:52:00.004-05:00

Pretzel Boutique. 2009

I can't pass by one of these Pretzel Stores without thinking about the classic Saturday Night Live skit from the late 70's, The Scotch Boutique. Here in the Philadelphia area, pretzel franchises are literally popping up all over the place and yet everyone I talk to about this phenomenon just shrugs their shoulders and says "I don't get it either!". How do you explain a store the size of an average 7-11 that sells only one product? Yeah yeah, I know... they sell soda and cheese dip too, but seriously... just pretzels?? I drive by this particular store almost every day. It's been open about a month now. I never see any cars in the parking lot. It's directly across the street from a Wawa, and if you are from the Philly area you know that there is never an empty space in a Wawa parking lot at any time of day. And yes, Wawa sells soft pretzels in addition to a thousand other items.

So if you can't remember the SNL Scotch Boutique skit, here is the transcript. It's from October 14th, 1978. Fred Willard is Walker, and Gilda Radner is Jenny.

Walker: I knew it. You don't believe in this place, do ya? You don't believe in me.

Jenny: [tries to be reassuring] Honey, honey, I do. I do. It's just that it's been two months.

Walker: [deeply serious] Listen, a business takes time to build. It isn't done overnight. Nobody makes money their first couple of months. I thought you understood all of that.

Jenny: [horribly conflicted] I do, I do, I do. I - I - I - I - I don't know. [Two men have entered and stand in the doorway - Jenny sees them and becomes instantly cheerful] Oh, welcome to Scotch Boutique!

1st Man: [to Jenny] Um, do you sell any recording tape here?

Jenny: [cheerfully] No, just the sticky kind.

2nd Man: [to the first man] See? I told ya.

[The 2nd Man turns away to keep from laughing out loud. The 1st Man, stunned, smiles broadly and looks around at the store in amazement. The two men exit.]

Walker: [calls after the men, cheerfully] Next time you need the sticky kind, you'll know where to come! [instantly serious, to Jenny] I mean, I thought you understood that this was my dream. You said it was a good idea. Do you think in a million years, I'd draw out every last red cent of our - our savings account and invest it in this business if I thought you didn't think it was a good idea?

[A woman enters but, by now, Jenny is too distracted to greet her.]

2nd Woman: Uh, do you have any recording tape?

Walker: [pleasantly] No, just cellophane. The sticky kind. If you need any of the sticky kind, you know where to come!

2nd Woman: Okay, thanks.

Jenny: [weakly] Come again.

[The woman exits. Jenny, on the verge of tears, can't look Walker in the eye.]

Walker: Well, I guess that does it. I - I - I can't go on surrounded by quitters and - and doubters. Calls for a team effort. ... I'll never forget a story my uncle once told me. My uncle owned a little restaurant in Pennsylvania. It was real famous for a long time for its chicken salad. [Jenny and Kevin, who sits on his stool with comic book in hand, listen with interest] Well, one day, they couldn't get any chicken to put in the salad. So my uncle, what he did, he called together the employees. ... [Walker pauses to light his pipe] And he said, "Look, why don't we put turkey in that salad instead of chicken?" Well, of course, everyone was real nervous at first because they didn't know what was gonna happen. But you want to know something? Not one person even noticed that it was turkey instead of chicken. Now, that's what I call teamwork.

Jenny: [completely won over] I'm sorry, honey. I'll give it another chance. I believe in you.

Walker: [takes her hand] Thank you, honey.

And just to clarify, this is the only acceptable way to sell pretzels in Philly!

2009-11-09T18:10:00.002-05:00

movie theatre. Neshaminy, Pa. 2009

2009-11-08T14:18:00.003-05:00

whee ! (work in progress) 2009

Folk sculpture assembled from scavenged objects. The little pebble with the face on it and the driftwood body were found on the beach in October. I knew immediately that they belonged together as a flying man, but it took several weeks to visualize the hoop, and my initial feeling was of a flaming hoop. I'm still working on how to represent the flames in the context of rustic folk art. I would like to replace the shop rag cape with an old piece of American flag or similarly interesting old fabric, and I am searching for the perfect little hat for the top of his head!

2009-11-07T11:02:00.003-05:00

In These Hard Times

Employment Situation

State by State

2009-11-03T10:51:00.003-05:00

from Sequence 17. by Minor White

A sequence of photographs, then,
functions as a little drama
of dreams with a memory

Minor White
Rites & Passages

appalachian trail rock. C H Paquette 2009

2009-11-02T10:40:00.002-05:00

Gil Scott-Heron by Alix Dejean 1975

Gil Scott-Heron
November 4th 8PM
B B King Blues Club
237 West 42 Street
New York, NY

From the B B King Blues Club web site...

Poet, musician, activist, author, bluesologist. These are all terms that have been used to describe the great Gil Scott-Heron, who more humbly refers to himself simply as a "piano player from Tennessee". Most famous for his era-defining 1970's poem, "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised," Gil Scott-Heron’s politically charged material made him a stalwart figure in the 1970’s civil rights movement. His lyrical content covered topics like the superficiality of television and mass consumerism, the hypocrisy of some would-be Black revolutionaries, white middle-class ignorance of the difficulties faced by inner-city residents, and fear of homosexuals.

Not only a pioneer of blues, jazz and funk, his honesty, matter-of-fact delivery and fearlessness to address important social issues in the face of media criticism made him one of the foremost progenitors of contemporary hip-hop and spoken word.

Among countless other allusions and references, Public Enemy used the phrase “the revolution will not be televised” to open its classic 1987 album It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back and Kanye West sampled Gil’s timeless “Home is Where the Hatred Is” on the Common-supported “On My Way” from 2005’s Late Registration.

In the current global climate of social and political upheaval, Gil Scott-Heron has picked the perfect time to resurface and offer his catalogue up for consumption again, along with some new material. Gil is currently close to completion on his latest book, The Last Holiday, which tells the story of Stevie Wonder's 1980 campaign to make Martin Luther King Jr. Day a national holiday.

He will release his first new studio album since 1994 next year. Snippets from four of the album's songs, 'A.M.', 'I'm New Here', 'Me And The Devil' and 'I'll Take Care Of You', can be heard now at the official website for the album, Imnewhere.net.

Unpredictable throughout his career, Gil Scott-Heron remains somewhat of a mystery to the public; fans will have to show up to his live performances to see what songs he’ll perform and what iconic musicians will show up to join him.

Gil Scott-Heron just performed two sold-out concerts @ the Blue Note, NYC, and various venues on the East Coast. Next is a European Tour, to promote his new CD.

I'm new here

2009-11-01T13:15:00.002-05:00

wrestlers. Digital Triptych (2008/2009)

Gearing up for the start of another wrestling season, one of my photo documentary projects for the past five years. I have scaled back on the number of matches I attend now that my son's are no longer in high school, but I will continue to document this team for several more years at least.

I submitted these three images to the Arcadia University Works on Paper juried competition. Today is the last day to get your work submitted for this show.

2009-10-31T09:16:00.005-04:00

A tiny patch of forest near my house with gorgeous old oak trees that produce some of the prettiest and subtle fall colors I know of...

Baederwood. 2009

Baederwood. digital triptych. 2009

Baederwood. polaroid panarama 2007

2009-10-30T09:44:00.004-04:00

Goodwill, Warminster, Pa. 2009

Five images from my Hard Times series will be on display at the Painted Bride Art Center, beginning November 4th, as part of the First Person Festival. The photographs will be on display through the end of December.

First Person Festival Details

These Hard Times (photo series)

2009-10-29T10:10:00.003-04:00

pink spring. May 2009

orange fall. October 2009

One of my favorite concepts is returning to the same places at specific intervals in time. These images were taken almost exactly six months apart, representing the seasonal debris from the same tree. Pink flower petals in May, and Orange leaves in October.

2009-10-28T09:57:00.000-04:00

Go, Whiz Kids, Go!!!

2009-10-27T09:51:00.003-04:00

Untitled, by pearlyblue

This one goes into my file labeled "Photos to use if I ever give a slideshow lecture called What Makes a Great Picture".

This image has nothing to do with technical skills or image quality and everything to do with gut feeling and emotion. I'm certain this was taken with a relatively ordinary point and shoot digital camera, and this is a pure spur of the moment snapshot. There are things in it that slightly bother me compositionally, such as the white paper obstruction in the lower right corner, but this is an amazing photograph never the less.

What makes it great? This is one of those images you could look at on the wall for an hour studying all of it's nuances and meanings. It's a photograph that immediately triggers questions. What is going on here?

On first glance I assumed the child in red was a boy, and it took me quite a while to realize by her hair that she was in fact a girl. In contrast, the other child has her back to the camera and yet is without question a girl. The child in red has most likely just turned around and diverted her eyes in a moment of camera-shyness, but it comes off as an expression of sadness or shame. She is tied up...hands behind her back...her gold crown, the Wild Things.

More questions... more implied meaning... we keep staring and wondering.

2009-10-26T10:11:00.002-04:00

Mattis by babydult. 2009

A truly remarkable collection of baby portraits...

babydult

2009-10-25T12:10:00.002-04:00

Picturing the Depression

New York Times book review of

DOROTHEA LANGE
A Life Beyond Limits
By Linda Gordon

2009-10-24T19:09:00.000-04:00

Autumn Horizon, October 2009

2009-10-23T10:31:00.003-04:00

Obama Family, by Annie Leibovitz 2009

President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, and their daughters, Sasha and Malia, sit for a family portrait in the Green Room of the White House, Sept. 1, 2009. (Official White House Photo)

Photo by Annie Leibovitz/Released by White House Photo Office

With the release today of this official White House portrait of the Obamas, I thought it would be appropriate to re-post something from last year that I posted during the height of the election. I have no idea if any of these were made as the official family portraits, but it's a nice grouping.

2009-10-22T20:04:00.000-04:00

Looking West, Suburban Philadelphia. 2009

2009-10-20T09:41:00.002-04:00

Calls for work... Philadelphia area photographers.

Here are four high quality juried events for local photographers, in order of submission deadlines.

Works On Paper: Arcadia University
This exhibition is open to all artists residing within a 40-mile radius of the University. All techniques executed on paper may be submitted, included drawing, painting, printmaking, collage, photographic and digital techniques, handmade paper, three-dimensional and non-traditional formats. Each artist may submit up to three works.
Deadline: October 29th
Entry Form

ONWARD '10 : Project Basho
Project Basho is pleased to announce ONWARD ‘10, an annual juried photography competition exclusively featuring the work of new and emerging photographers with unique vision and talent. The theme for ONWARD is open, and any photographic medium from historical processes, traditional silver prints, chromogenic prints to digital prints can be submitted for consideration. Debbie Fleming Caffery, noted documentary photographer and Guggenheim Fellow, will judge this year’s competition
Deadline: November 13th
Onward Details

In Depth: Mainline Art Center
As part of Philagrafika 2010, an international festival to be held in the region, this exhibition presents thought-provoking and excellent examples of contemporary hand-pulled prints, photography and digital images by professional artists. Main Line Art Center has invited three notable jurors, Cindi Ettinger, Master Printmaker, Toni Rosati, artist and teacher and Peter Barberie, Curator of Photographs, Alfred Stieglitz Center, Philadelphia Museum of Art, to select artists from the region who are pushing the boundaries of printmaking and photography.
Deadline: November 21st
In Depth Details

Abington Art Center: Annual Juried Show
Abington Art Center celebrates the talent of our neighbors and friends with an Annual Juried Show in December and January. Over 50 works of art by local and regional artists are featured. A number of awards provide recognition to the artists for Best in Show, Ceramics, Jewelry, Works on Paper and more. Each year the show is juried by a different art professional — a gallery owner, curator, art writer, etc..
Deadline: December 4th
AJS Prospectus 09

2009-10-19T21:49:00.000-04:00

right in the middle of autumn

2009-10-18T10:27:00.002-04:00

from Plastic Life by Vincent Bousserez

I follow lot's of highly creative blogs, and my favorites are linked on the right hand column of this page under Mandatory Reading, but the one that I rush to every day is John Foster's Accidental Mysteries. This online arts magazine is, as described by Foster...

"A BLOG ABOUT PHOTOGRAPHY, DESIGN, ART, ARCHITECTURE, EPHEMERA, FOUND OBJECTS, POP CULTURE, ANONYMOUS, OUTSIDER ART, FOLK ART, SELF-TAUGHT ART, ILLUSTRATION, BEAUTY, ESOTERICA, AUCTIONS, DISCOVERY, ART ENVIRONMENTS, MYSTERY, VINTAGE STUFF AND THE MAGIC THAT CAN BE FOUND IN EVERYDAY THINGS"

...and that pretty much describes it, it's about everything and anything that Foster finds interesting, and John Foster has a magic touch for finding things of interest.

Today's post about photographer Vincent Bousserez's amazing macro work with little plastic people includes this wonderful commentary about growing up "Artistic".

When I was kid in grade school, I would often be singled out for day dreaming, when all I was doing was thinking about, say, the pencil trough on my desk as... a long trench for an imaginary army. “Wha-a-a-at? Oh-h yes, Miss Ammons, oh... I’m sorry, read the next paragraph? O.K. Let’s seee-e?” I was clueless, and busted. It happened all the time. Am I going to blame it on ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder)? Nope. I blame it on the fact that I was born, like many others, with a different way of seeing the world.

Doctor: “Mrs. Foster, we’ve completed the tests on your son. Why don’t you have a seat.”

Mom: “Well-ll, is he O.K? Why the look? Wha-a-at?”

Doctor: “I’m so sorry, Mrs. Foster. Johnny was born............ artistic.”

Mom: “Oh-h my Gawrd! Can he be cured?”

Doctor: “Well, Mrs. Foster— though rare, a few of these children often grow out of this affliction and lead successful but frustrated lives. We think the best course of action is simply to leave Johnny in the public school system. There, some of these kids like your son—we call them “artistic children”— will learn to conform, to understand math, and eventually perhaps— find a job in industry, or sales. Now, I have to be honest and tell you that some never do come out of this. Our research has shown that a large percentage of these children actually enjoy being artistic—they enjoy being different! I know, I know, don’t cry... there, there Mrs. Foster. We could try electric shock!”

accidental mysteries by John Foster

plastic life by Vincent Bousserez

2009-10-17T10:44:00.004-04:00

The First Person Festival of Memoir and Documentary Art is the biggest event of the year, and the only festival in the world dedicated to memoir and documentary art! They promise to feed your soul and your stomach, entertain and engage your spirit, and take you beyond the borders of your own life experience - with artists as your guide.

For the past two years I have attended at least one of the events during this festival, and I always ended up wishing I could attend everything on the schedule. This is without question the best arts event in Philadelphia.

This year's festival includes a preview dinner with Ruth Reichl,and a folk music concert, Songs for any Depression with Sarah Lee Guthrie, (granddaughter of Woody Guthrie and daughter of Arlo Guthrie) along with Philly based folk duo Kim and Reggie Harris, presenting songs that inspired and empowered common folk through the hardest of times.

Other festival highlights include Salon du Festival, the exhibit Shelter, workshops, book signings, and several Films, including the Philly premiere of William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe

First Person Festival details

Buy tickets!

2009-10-16T11:01:00.003-04:00

skids by Brian Ulrich 2009

Check out Brian Ulrich's excellent Dark Stores series