There has already been a lot of discussion surrounding New York Photo Festival on the blogosphere: Andrew Hetherington’s and Michael David Murphy’s columns over on Foto8, Robert Wright’s critique of Tim Barber’s Various Photographs exhibition (which Joerg Colberg deemed “the worst photography show [he has] ever seen”) and, of course, many others. While I also have some thoughts about how particular events and exhibitions may have been improved (or how the tagline “The Future of Contemporary Photography” should have been dropped immediately), I was quite happy with the festival in general. As with any curatorial endeavor, not everything about it will appeal to everyone, but in each of the exhibitions I managed to find a number of inspiring images and ideas.

As a way to begin digesting everything that I looked at over the past week, I thought I’d begin by sharing a few of my picks from each of the four major exhibitions.

The Ubiquitous Image, Curated by Lesley A. Martin
Location: 76 Front Street Gallery

© Natalie Czech

© Penelope Umbrico

© Harrell Fletcher

© Curtis Mann

© Joachim Schmid

© Useful Photography

Chisel, Curated by Kathy Ryan
Location: St. Ann’s Warehouse

© Katherine Wolkoff

© Roger Ballen

© Lars Tunbjörk

© Andreas Gefeller

New Typologies, Curated by Martin Parr
Location: Smack Mellon & Dumbo Arts Center

© Sarah Pickering

© WassinkLundgren

© Michel Campeau

© Jeffrey Milstein

© Jan Kempenaers

Various Photographs, Curated by Tim Barber
Location: 70 Front Street Gallery

© Mark McKnight

© Dan Otranto

© Lina Scheynius

© Hannah Whitaker

© Santiago Mostyn

(As well as the work of Christian Patterson, Irina Rozovsky, Danielle Levitt, and Balarama Heller.)

Indeed, there was a lot to see. Aside from the major exhibitions and satellite shows, the festival put on artist talks, panel discussions and screenings. It has been said that Roger Ballen gave an unforgettable talk on the first day of the festival. Unfortunately I missed it (kicking myself for this) but I was able to catch a few others, of which I most enjoyed hearing Stephen Gill. When I spoke with Stephen the day before, I could already sense his genuine love for image making but the talk proved it.

As for the panel discussions, I heard good things about the conversation between Martin Parr and Erik Kessels – mostly that it was really entertaining – but was unable to attend myself. I had high hopes for the second day’s panel, “Curating 2.0” (featuring Tim Barber, Jen Bekman and Laurel Ptak), but was ultimately let down. I imagined much more critical discourse and much less individual presentation. However, “The Secret Life of Images” (featuring Lesley Martin, Joachim Schmid and Penelope Umbrico) lifted my spirits. Lesley did a really nice job moderating the discussion, posing questions to keep the dialogue interesting. I was also happy about the inclusion of the last panel, “Picturing Iraq” (featuring Vicki Goldberg, Nina Berman, Steve Mumford and Claire Beckett).

I commend the founders Frank Evers and Daniel Power for making the festival happen. All in all, it was great first run. I think everyone I’ve spoken to has taken something away from it and, if anything, it was such a treat to be in the company of so many people that share the same passion. It was good to see old friends and make a few: Greg Stimac, Christian Patterson, Michael Schmelling, Jason Lazarus, Will Steacy, Michael Bühler-Rose, Brian Sorg, Cara Phillips, Amy Elkins, Nicola Kast, Victoria Hely-Hutchinson, Joe Tripi, Amani Olu, Jon Feinstein, Coley Brown, Brad Troemel, Greg Wasserstrom, Grant Willing, Alana Celii, Grady O’Connor, Amy Stein, Alice Wells, Harlan Erskine, Patrick Romero, Jesse Chehak, Alys Kenny and Casey Kelbaugh (Slideluck Potshow), Noah Kalina, Alexandra Catiere, Richard Renaldi, Seth Boyd, Marc Yankus, Marcus Schaden and everyone at the booth, Ken Schles, Thijs groot Wassink and Ruben Lundgren (WassinkLundgren), Darius Himes, Andrew Hetherington, Joerg Coberg, Laurel Ptak, Raul Gutierrez, Michael David Murphy, Michel Mallard, Meagan Ziegler-Haynes, Christina Caputo and many other fine folks

Evers and Power have already begun planning NYPH09, which will last for 10 days instead of 4 and again be held in DUMBO. According to PDN, next year’s list of curators will include Jody Quon (photography director at New York magazine), Chris Boot (founder of book publishing company Chris Boot Ltd.), Neville Wakefield (critic and independent curator) and Bill Ewing (exhibit curator at the Musee de l’Elysee in Lausanne, Switzerland).

I’m looking forward to it. Though next year I will have to bring a pair of black-framed glasses along…

Christian Patterson, Shane Lavalette, Will Steacy, Michael Bühler-Rose, Joerg Colberg
© Unknown NYPH photographer

Popularity: 29% [?]

Thanks to Adam B. Bell, I discovered the work of Leigh Ledare, a recent graduate of Columbia’s MFA program. Ledare’s project Pretend You’re Actually Alive is an intimate portrait of his mother, a once-promising prodigy ballerina, and an exploration of his relationship with her.

Currently, Pretend You’re Actually Alive is on view at Andrew Roth in New York, up until June 14th. As the press release states,

Pretend You’re Actually Alive can be viewed as an archive of a mother and son’s shared, private moments amidst the desperate attempts to renew her identity as a dancer – this ­time working as a stripper in a club beside her parents’ apartment. Pretend You’re Actually Alive is also a mapping of Ledare’s mother’s efforts to commodify herself – initially through her precocious childhood talent, later through her overt sexuality, and eventually through the portrayal of herself as an archetypal victim – in efforts to find companionship, attention, financial security, and a benefactor before her youthful, marketable currencies expire.

Ledare’s photographs and videos bring to mind the work of Larry Clark, Nan Goldin and Richard Billingham. The work is both haunting and beautiful.

Mother in New Home, 2006
© Leigh Ledare

Mother As Baby Jane, 2004
© Leigh Ledare

Pink Stain, 2007
© Leigh Ledare

Black Wig (Mom in New Home), 2006
© Leigh Ledare

The book of Pretend You’re Actually Alive, which is now available signed through Dashwood, comes in a slipcased edition of 1,000. If I had the money, I’d buy one.

See more of Ledare’s work here, here or here.

Popularity: 43% [?]

Life in the Big City, 2008
© Jessica Iannuzzi

It’s nice to see that students are putting on interesting photo shows. photoFEAST, a student-run photography organization at Parsons, is presenting their most recent Spring undergraduate exhibition. This time, they call it Idlewild.

Idlewild highlights works stemming from many veins in contemporary photography. As a whole, these photographs, while not all figure studies, challenge the general characteristics of what makes a portrait. Each photograph works as an introspective gaze into something that is unfamiliar or insignificant; they are portraits of time, space, and occasions. The images represent singular moments that have been removed from their context to comment on an overall reflection of cultural phenomena. Idlewild’s intention is to seamlessly intertwine a whimsical aspect found in some of the imagery and a more serious, critical approach found in others. By curating these two ideas together, the images create a hyperrealism that comments on the everyday.

This year’s show is curated by Chris Burick, Allie Cossack, Juliana Gamino, Piotr Kuczynski, and Grady O’Connor and features work from Parsons students Ida C. Benedetto, Erica Campbell, Alana Celii, Lorena Costa, Jena Gagliano, Julia Gartland, Hanifa Haris, Jessica Iannuzzi, Hyesung Kim, Soorin Kim, Hannah Kuo, Peggy McDonnell, Soojin Park, Brandon Pavan, Bailey Roberts, Diwa Tamrong, Grant Willing, and Stephanie Wowk.

If you’re in New York on April 18th (now that I think of it, I will be), the opening reception will be held from 6 to 8pm. The exhibition will remain up until May 1st.

3 Gallery
Parsons the New School for Design
66 5th Avenue, 3rd Floor
New York, NY

Popularity: 34% [?]

My good friend Christian Patterson has a book coming out of photographs from his Sound Affects project, the release coinciding with his upcoming exhibition at Kaune, Sudendorf in Cologne, Germany. The gallery is publishing the first edition of 700 copies of the book.

Over the last few months, I’ve been fortunate enough to have peeks at the tentative layout/sequence and give Christian my thoughts on the accompanying text. I’m very happy for him that it has all come together and am looking forward to seeing the final version whenever he sends me a copy (wink).

The introduction, titled “Fuck You Memphis!” by Robert Gordon, couldn’t be more appropriate. There is also a nice essay, contextualizing Christian’s work titled “A Concrete Kind of Fiction” by Susanna Ott. As for the specs, the book will be hardcover, 9×12 in., 110 pages with 47 color plates. There will be a special edition limited to 60 copies: white book with blue slipcase, numbered and signed along with a signed 8×10 in. print.

If you’re traveling through or living in Germany, know that Sound Affects will be on display at Kaune, Sudendorf from April 19th to May 25th, 2008. The opening reception and book release will be held on April 18th.

Popularity: 26% [?]

Question Mark, 2007-08
© Ryan McGinley

Ryan McGinley’s latest work, from a series titled I Know Where the Summer Goes (after a Belle & Sebastian b-side), proves to be be another set of pretty, youthful images for fans to enjoy. The new work will be on display from April 3rd to May 3rd at Team Gallery in New York. From the press release:

Ryan McGinley’s “snapshots” have been evolving steadily since his guerilla show at 420 West Broadway in 2000. In the intervening eight years he has moved away from an artistic practice that was the soul of casual and towards an elaborated production schedule that raises the ante on “being there.” McGinley has gone from being perceived as the hottest young photographer in town to being considered a serious artist with a rare gift for creating enduring color photographs — photographs that show us the best of youth.

The inspirational images for the project were culled from the kinds of amateur photography that appeared in nudist magazines during the 60s and early 70s. McGinley would sit with his models and look through all of the ephemera of the period that he had collected, discussing with them the mood that he was hoping to capture that day. McGinley had chosen a very specific itinerary that would bring his troop through the incredible range of landscapes that are available across the US and carefully planned a battery of activities, sometimes orchestrating the use of special effects. He has always been quite fond of fireworks and fog machines and in this new work they play a major role.

Those of you following this blog know that I’m a bit torn about his photographs in general, but I’ve always loved what particular images seem to suggest about the body and its relationship to nature.

Fireworks Hysteric, 2007-08
© Ryan McGinley

Running Field, 2007
© Ryan McGinley

Dusk Flip Smoke Strip, 2007
© Ryan McGinley

If you’re in New York, you may want to drop by for the opening at Team, tomorrow night at 6pm.

See more here from I Know Where the Summer Goes here.

Popularity: 24% [?]

When I was in New York last week, I visited Aperture with Michael. The Matthew Sleeth show that was up was pretty interesting in itself but I think both Michael and I were drawn to the Erik Kessels exhibit entitled In Almost Every Picture.

In Almost Every Picture is an idiosyncratic collection of found images from three volumes in the cult classic book series of the same title. The Spanish Woman features photographs taken by a husband of his wife during the years 1956–1968; Twins features pictures of two sisters, who always appear dressed in identical outfits, taken in Europe during the 1940s; in Dalmatian, a beloved dog and her owner grow old together while walking through various European locations; and Taxi is comprised of photographs taken by a taxi driver of his car and passenger at different “holiday spot” locations.

The collections that Kessels brings together all contain an intriguing back story. And the motivation is very specific, often obsessive on part of the photographer.

(from “In Almost Every Picture”)
© Erik Kessels

(from “In Almost Every Picture”)
© Erik Kessels

(from “In Almost Every Picture”)
© Erik Kessels

(from “In Almost Every Picture”)
© Erik Kessels

Kessels, the Dutch art director behind KesselsKramer, has been producing In Almost Every Picture as individual books for some time, all of which are sold out now. Fortunately, Aperture just released a limited edition box set of these books: In Almost Every Picture: Volumes One to Five.

Find out more here and here.

Popularity: 22% [?]

Flak Photo has teamed up with Humble Arts Foundation to highlight a selection of 20 photographs from the 31 Under 31: Young Women in Art Photography exhibition curated by Lumi Tan and Jon Feinstein, on display until March 28th at 3rd Ward in Brooklyn.

Take a look if you’re not able to see the show in the gallery space before it comes down. Thanks, guys.

Popularity: 20% [?]

Brad has put together quite an excellent show this time around for his Chicago house-gallery, Satin Satan. The exhibition, entitled “Lions Never Sleep, Champions Never Cry,” brings together images that address ideas of masculinity with a variety of photographic approaches and interpretations.

Photographers on display include Peter Sutherland, Michael Schmelling, Brian Sorg, Shane Lavalette, Andrew Laumann, Dru Donovan, Andrew McComb, Alana Celii, Daniel Shea, Corey Arnold, Jason Frank Rothenberg, Thatcher Keats, Nicholas Haggard, Robert Tepiak, Ian Haig, Boru Obrien, Chandler Easley, Alexander Martinez, Asha Schechter, Scott Cowan, Peter Beste, Willa Nasatir, Stephen K. Schuster, Drury Brennan, Mary Amor, Bea Fremderman, Paul Herbst and David Robert Elliott.

I’m happy to take part in this exhibition, and to show with some friends that I’ve never shown with before. For those of you in Chicago, the opening will be held on Saturday, March 29th at 7pm. Be there!

Satin Satan is located at 1918 N. Wood, Chicago, IL.

Popularity: 30% [?]

© Gil Blank

If you’re in Boston tonight, you must stop by for the opening reception (6-8pm) of Gil Blank’s show at LaMontagne Gallery. If you miss the opening, the show remains up until March 29th.

Also, on March 1st at 4pm, Blank will be in conversation with Caroline A. Jones (director of the History, Theory and Criticism Program and Professor of Art History at MIT) about “the viability of image making practices in contemporary culture.” Mark your calendars.

LaMontagne Gallery
555 East 2nd Street
South Boston, MA

Popularity: 38% [?]

Covington, Kentuccky, 1982
© Nicholas Nixon

If you’re in the Boston area you must make it out to the DeCordova Museum in Lincoln, MA to see the group show of photography they have up at the moment, Presumed Innocence: Photographic Perspectives of Children.

Presumed Innocence: Photographic Perspectives of Children features images of children in vintage and contemporary photographs that range in date from the early twentieth century to the present day. These photographic works of art were selected from the private collection of Anthony and Beth Terrana, whose vision relies on direct emotional response to the dramatic and timeless quality of each image, rather than on any attempt at encyclopedic or systematic collecting.

The 113 photographs and single video in Presumed Innocence were made by photographers who characteristically focus on children, and also by those who occasionally photograph children. The international collection is rich in traditional documentary and socially concerned photography, and also includes images created with newer digital technologies that enable the photographer to create partially or wholly fictitious images. The selected images fall loosely into the following thematic and often overlapping categories: the child alone, family relationships, children and animals, the child observed, the child at play, the child at risk, rites of passage, and constructed narratives.

The children in these photographs are sweet and tough, innocent and wise, cherished and victimized, joyous and sorrowful, carefree and desperate. Although all of these pictures have been taken in a particular place at a specific time, they are timeless because they speak to conditions that children experienced universally. The photographs also raise many challenging questions: Can a photograph of a child ever be entirely innocent? What are the aesthetic and personal implications of a parent as photographer? How have images of children changed over time? What’s more important, the artist’s intention or the viewer’s perception? How much do our personal, religious, and political beliefs affect our reading of the photograph?

The featured photographers are: Ansel Adams, Shelby Lee Adams, Catherine Angel, Diane Arbus, Ilse Bing, Julie Blackmon, Manuel Alvarez Bravo, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Mike Brodie, Leslee Broersma, Debbie Fleming Caffery, Chan Chao, Michal Chelbin, Clark + Pougnaud (Christophe Clark and Virginie Pougnaud), Mark Cohen, Paul D’Amato, Bruce Davidson, Rineke Dijkstra, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Martin Elkort, Elliot Erwitt, Lalla Essaydi, Larry Fink, Martine Franck, Andrea Frank, Robert Frank, Tierney Gearon, Margi Geerlinks, Gour (Kids with Cameras), Emmet Gowin, Robin Graubard, Anne Hall, David Hilliard, Lewis Hine, Julie Holcombe, Pieter Hugo, Simen Johan, Kenneth Josephson, Anastasia Khoroshilova, William Klein, Ingar Krauss, Heinrich K ü hn, Dorothea Lange, Gillian Laub, Jocelyn Lee, Arthur Leipzig, Leon Levinstein, Helen Levitt, Elmar Ludwig, Loretta Lux, Robert Lyons, Sally Mann, Constantine Manos, Mary Ellen Mark, McDermott and McGough, Laura McPhee, Ralph Eugene Meatyard, Andrea Modica, Tina Modotti, Abelardo Morell, Rachelle Mozman, Bob Natkin, Jehad Nga, Nicholas Nixon, Luis Gonz á lez Palma, Polixeni Papapetrou, Martin Parr, Gösta Peterson, Melissa Ann Pinney, Nicholas Prior, Sebastião Salgado, Frederick Sommer, Erika Stone, Angela Strassheim, Helen M. Stummer, Jock Sturges, Antanas Sutkus, Joseph Szabo, Guy Tillim, Katherine Turczan, Doris Ulmann, Brian Ulrich, Roman Vishniac, Alex Webb, Weegee, and Liu Zheng.

Quite a collection, no?

Also, Laura McPhee will be lecturing in the Third Floor Lobby, Saturday, March 1 at 3pm. And there are a few films being screened on selected Saturdays at 3pm as well:

March 8 – Tierney Gearon: The Mother Project by Jack Youngelson and Peter Sutherland (2006) 70 minutes
April 5 – Mary Ellen Mark: Twins by Martin Bell (2002) 15 minutes
April 5 – The Amazing Plastic Lady by Martin Bell (1993) 29 minutes
April 12 – Sally Mann: What Remains by Steven Cantor (2005) 80 minutes

Mark your calendars, Boston-area friends and go see see this exhibition while it’s still up, sometime before April 27, 2008.

Popularity: 31% [?]