MUSÉE 29 – EVOLUTION
Evolution explores the concepts of progress, transformation, growth, and advancement in an age when images are taking a dramatic shift in the role they play in our lives.
Why is every woman, young or old, saying that’s my story? Why are a select number of major publications diminishing this piece’s literary notoriety, calling it an essay, and not a solid work of fiction? Why are people getting hung up on one man’s experience of being “ghosted” after a one-night stand. More succinctly, why are men and their egos missing the whole point?
We see the world in color. The color in the spaces I was photographing is part of the story and the color becomes just as important as the content It helps differentiate the salons and creates a mood and personality to the images I wanted the images to pop I wanted them to be vibrant saturated and bright color plays a huge role in the story telling aspect of these images If I had shot this project in black and white I would’ve missed the color in the hair skin clothing and the interiors of the salons
It is true that I have found myself in conflict zones with a camera, but this is not what my work is all about. I can say that, in the past, one of the things that pushed me to document conflicts was the exploration of human nature in situations that really push human boundaries. In times of extreme emotions, all the masks that we build for ourselves are gone.
Fadi Thabet is a Palestinian photographer in Gaza. He has dedicated over a decade to photographing Palestinian children throughout the Gaza Strip. Thabet considers himself a human photographer, as his focus is on relaying truth through the eyes of children of the Beit Lahia area of the northern Gaza Strip, a marginalized border that has survived several bombings. Thabet edges away from photographing political and bloody events, but after President Trump publicly recognized the holy city of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, Thabet couldn’t turn his lens away from the rage of his people.
Situated just shy of Rodin and Michelangelo, the David Hockney exhibition radiates new life, color, and some California sunshine (much needed on the east coast) into the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This exhibit marks the artist’s 80th birthday, celebrating his six-decade career with some of his most iconic work.
Jesse Rieser is a bi-coastal photographer, splitting his time between Phoenix and New York. Rieser considers himself a student of subtleties, exploring the intricacies of the quotidian through photography. This week I had the pleasure of chatting with Jesse about his 7 years of documenting Americans celebrating Christmas. In a hilarious show of excess, Rieser reminds us how endearing it is to flash that outward sign of inward cheer. Put your Santa hats on as Rieser reignites the thrill of joy in his series entitled Christmas in America: Happy Birthday Jesus.
Bassman’s debut as a photographer came at the close of Junior Bazaar in 1948, wedding images for a spread titled Happily Ever After. This whimsical portfolio was followed by securing an account with a lingerie company that proved fertile grounds as she honed her nascent, trademark niche. Bassman harnessed this opportunity and sparked a revolution within the market’s conventional approach to advertising women’s undergarments.
At first, when I began this series it was an investigation into how my mother raised me and my identity within femininity and how she contributed to that identitiy. As I kept working with her, the series began focusing on our relationship and the history we have within our family between her and I, and her and her mother as well. She is generally apprehensive when I make portraits of her, but the more time I spend with this work the more collaborative it has become.
It really depends. Some shoots are commissioned, some are assignments, some are fine art ideas, some are a combination of all of these routes to a completed image. Permission is needed for many of my shoots that aren't in public areas and that can require a bit of groundwork beforehand. Those images tend to be conceived ahead of time with a clear approach to making them. Other times, I find myself like a street photographer on the prowl for something interesting.
The portraits of the “Silence Breakers” in TIME were done by photography duo Billy & Hells, who were commissioned by the magazine for the resonant power of their portraiture. While the portraits themselves, which feature the subjects in sharp contrast against soft pastel backgrounds staring into or away from the camera, are pretty standard as far as the portraits that TIME has featured in past “Person of the Year” issues.
While not physically present in the room, Freud’s thoughts and theories remained a guiding voice through-out the panel discussion. Freud famously postulated: we cannot imagine our own death. Stern’s work would suggest otherwise, as the panelist conjecture, the capturing of skulls act as an artistic reflection of Stern’s own grappling with the subject of death and her own mortality. The photographer confesses her own shortcomings as she was not cognizant of any deep psychological seedlings that might have dictated her photographs.
I realize I am interested in an ability to see these inaccessible objects. It goes back to death. I have this fantasy that when I die, and my soul is floating out there, I’ll get to see the Earth. I’ll get to see the Moon, the stars. Then, I said why the fuck wait? I’ll do it myself. I want to make the stuff I can’t see.
For the past several years, I have been thinking about how, as artists, we are blind. We can’t see how other people see our work.
I travel because I often feel called to go somewhere. There’s this overwhelming urgency that comes over me to see a place, and until I can travel there I’m completely obsessed with it. I need to go experience it to get it out of my system (although, even after the experience the obsession will linger, so I make plans to return). I started See America First! about 5 years ago because I felt called to retrace the road trips from my childhood.
I was saved by photography. I was a young, intelligent, desperate woman. My encounter with photography allowed me to express my thoughts, my rebellion, my social and political commitment. People both young and old who visit the center will experience beauty, based, very simply, on commitment and knowledge. I already know that the people of Palermo are anxiously waiting for the International Center of Photography to get started.
If you're in a situation - for example, the work I'm doing now. I'm working in abandoned buildings throughout the West where people write stuff on the walls, and a bunch of those places were like Nazi hangouts, like neo nazi hangouts. And in those buildings I go and I don't even bother taking my bigger camera. I go with my iPhone because I can get in and out really quickly. And if I'm uncomfortable I can move quickly and if I'm not I can then go get my big camera, go back, and take my time.
One of our interns Anthony Huang sat down with photographer Michael Marcelle, to talk about his inspirations from 1960s-80s International Horror Films as well as Kenneth Anger's experimental works. If you are a fan of Stranger things, you should check out his recommendations!
