Over the last few years, Edward Burtynsky has been investigating the possibilities of long-term preservation for artifacts in hopes of finding a proper home for the 10,000-year Clock (also known as the “Clock of the Long Now”) and, in turn, has rediscovered a process for producing photographic prints that could resist fading for – no joke – as long as it takes for the Clock to cycle. Burtynsky has proposed the creation of a 10,000-year Gallery to house the Clock alongside a slowly rotated selection of long-life photographs.

If you’re anything like me, you’re getting chills just imagining a gallery space with the Clock (ticking once a year, the century hand advancing once every one hundred years, the cuckoo coming out on the millennium) and photographs lining the walls.

Here’s an excerpt from the Blog of Long Now, explaining more:

Photographer Edward Burtynsky made a formal proposal for a permanent art gallery in the chamber that encloses the 10,000-year Clock in its Nevada mountain. The gallery would consist of art in materials as durable as the alloy steel and jade of the Clock itself, and it would be curated slowly over the centuries to reflect changing interests in the rolling present and the accumulating past. Photographs in particular should be in the 10,000-year Gallery, Burtynsky said, “because they tell us more than any previous medium. When we think of our own past, we tend to think in terms of family photos.”

Burtynsky went on a quest for a technical solution. He thought that automobile paint, which holds up to harsh sunlight, might work if it could be run through an inkjet printer, but that didn’t work out. Then he came across a process first discovered in 1855, called “carbon transfer print.” It uses magenta, cyan, and yellow inks made of ground stone-the magenta stone can only be found in one mine in Germany-and the black ink is carbon.

On the stage Burtynsky showed a large carbon transfer print of one of his ultra-high resolution photographs. The color and detail were perfect. Accelerated studies show that the print could hang in someone’s living room for 500 years and show no loss of quality. Kept in the Clock’s mountain in archival conditions it would remain unchanged for 10,000 years.

The popularization of such printing methods would no doubt change the face of the photography. But at present, making just one print takes five days of work, costs $2,000 and only ten artisans in the world have the knowledge and skills to do it correctly, says Burtynsky.

Read the rest of the story here. And check back here for an .mp3 of Burtynsky’s Long Now Seminar, where he discussed the 10,000-year Gallery.

Popularity: 19% [?]

Mitchell Innes & Nash, 2006 (from “Sentry”)
© Andy Freeberg

Andy Freeberg’s Sentry captures what was, for me, the very feeling I had when I first visited the galleries in Chelsea. With these photographs, he addresses the intersection of art and architecture (specifically in its relation to the human presence and communication). He writes about the project,

It was an odd moment when I walked into that first gallery in Chelsea and saw a large white desk with a head poking up from the top edge of the computer screen. I took out my camera, carefully framing and exposing the scene, and the head never moved or took notice of my gaze. As I walked around that booming Chelsea neighborhood of art galleries, I began to notice a trend: at some of the biggest galleries there are giant entry desks, where the top of the head of the desk sitter is often the only other human presence. This leads me to wonder, in this digital world of email and instant messaging that supposedly makes us more connected, are we also setting up barriers to the simple eye to eye contact that affirms our humanity?

Interestingly, this series was on display at Danziger Projects (in Chelsea) through the month of September. I wish I hadn’t missed the show – to get to see the work in context, as “site-specific,” may have been nice:

installation view of Sentry at Danziger Projects, 2007
© Andy Freeberg

Take a look at the rest of the images on Andy’s website.

Popularity: 46% [?]

Earlier today I wrote a little piece over on the jb blog which you’re welcome to read there or, for the heart of it, continue here:

Yesterday, gallerist Jen Bekman spoke with Eva Lake on her radio show about 20×200, Hey, Hot Shot!, her gallery and specifics about the current show, Personism, blogs in general, her List of Women Speakers for Your Conference, plus a whole lot more.

Download the .mp3 archive of the podcast here (0:56:55).

Popularity: 61% [?]

Meat ‘n Potatoes, July 2007
© Rotating Gallery

Rotating Gallery is a project realized by my friends and photographers Grant Willing and Alana Celii. The gallery, aiming mostly to exhibit photographs, collage items, and an array of found art objects, has operated out of Grant and Alana’s apartment in Brooklyn, New York since February 2007. Rotating Gallery has since been accessible online, where each month Grant and Alana curate a show on their 12’ x 9’ wall and document it for the web.

Past artists shown include Mike Slack, Jessica Williams, Sean Stewart, Grady O’Connor, and many more.

For the month of July, Grant and Alana have put together a show titled Meat ‘n Poatoes that features a photograph of mine.

Take a look and see if you can find it, and then make sure to look at the past exhibitions.

Popularity: 56% [?]

Morning, and Melancholia #12, 1997 and Morning, and Melancholia #1, 1999
© Laura Letinsky

Yesterday, the last day before it was to come down, I stopped in to see the in(habitations) show at Judy Ann Goldman in Boston.

The exhibition, curated by Tom Morrissey, featured the work of Frank Armstrong, Stephen DiRadio, Laura Letinsky, and Alec Soth.

Wishing there was more on the website about why these artists were brought together, this is what I could gather:

Fixing their gaze on familiar and mundane spaces, the four artists of in(habitations) make us see them anew, bringing to light unexpected depths of pathos and poetry.

Though the concept for the show may be one that has potential and the artists involved may be great photographers in ther own ways, due to the small gallery space only allowing a certain number of pieces by each of the artists (and the exclusion of a few contemporary photographers that come to mind, also working around this theme), the show as a curated exhibition was not particularly “effective,” nor breaking bounds.

Chilmark, MA, July 5, 1998, Lights Out, 1998
© Stephen DiRado

In the end, however, noticing how Letinsky’s still lifes somehow play off the dinner scenes of DiRadio’s was most intriguing. I had never seen Frank Armstrong’s work before, so that was new. And, of course, Alec’s photographs were as lovely as ever.

As a side, check out this conversation with DiRadio that Alec shared on his blog back in November. Also, I just came across Frank’s blog Pitchertakin’. Hoorah for blogging!

Popularity: 50% [?]

Bonnie (with a photograph of an angel), Port Gibson, Mississippi, 2000
© Alec Soth

Question: What do Christine Collins, Jen Davis, Ben Donaldson, Amy Elkins, Peter Haakon-Thompson, Todd Hido, Alec Soth, Brian Ulrich, and Shen Wei have in common?

Answer: They will all participate in a show entitled A New American Portrait, opening on June 22 at jen bekman, with the show being co-curated by Jen and Joerg Colberg.

This, undoubtedly, will be an exciting exhibition for photography lovers in New York. And I’ll be fortunate enough to help out with the show as, just prior to the opening, I’ll begin a summer internship at jb.

So, if you’re in the city, come by to see the show and say hi, eh?

Popularity: 50% [?]

I Don’t Want to Get Over You, 2000 and Lutz & Alex Holding Cock, 1992
© Wolfgang Tillmans

Before leaving D.C., I was able to make some quick gallery/museum rounds. One of the highlights would have to be the rather large Wolfgang Tillmans exhibition at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. The exhibition includes approximately 300 photographs by Tillmans, a video, and installations of works that span his career, including the abstractions created by the direct manipulation of light on paper.

Though Tillmans’ work is hugely influential to many younger artists, and since the 1990s he has garnered international recognition as one of the most significant artists to emerge, I’ll be honest; Prior to seeing this exhibition there were only “a few” photographs that “I liked” by Wolfgang Tillmans.

While certain works are notably singular and iconic (for me the above image on the right, Lutz & Alex Holding Cock, 1992), his use of a shifting scale for his prints and an ever-changing rotation of images with each successive installation demonstrates his desire to see all of his pictures as universally significant. At the entrace to the show, the statement explains that Tillmans considers most all exhibitions to be, in a way, site specific. And at the Hirshhorn, Tillmans did indeed decide on the installation based on the space. Tillmans applies the same purpose to every picture—whether it’s a photograph of a place, person, object, situation, or an abstraction, he asks the viewer to allow themeslves the ability to look at the work without any pressing image hierarchy. In fact, many of the images are literally Scotch-taped to the wall, others clipped, and a few framed.

Installation view, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humblebaek, Denmark, 2003
© Wolfgang Tillmans

For this reason I believe the show was thoughtfully installed, the space obviously well considered by Tillmans in the presentation of the work. Thinking back on the recent exhibition that I was in, I mentioned briefly what a pleasure it was to install work in a space that wasn’t overbearingly white, removing any potential feeling that a viewer can get from these types of galleries that often make the work feel less accessible. Where I felt as if we successfully broke this tension by choosing an alternative space, Tillmans successfully subverted the white-wall space by allowing his images to hang with this air of humblness. Even his large-scale abstractions felt, to me, to just be bigger renditions of smaller experiements (as in the case of the above image on the left, I Don’t Want to Get Over You, 2000).

Again, I feel I’ve grown a new apprecaition for Tillmans after seeing this show. I’ve always known his eye to be rather democratic, but not until I experienced (in person) his full range of “uses” for the medium did I truly understand.

For more check out this phone interview with Tillmans by Hirshhorn Assistant Curator Kristen Hileman.

Popularity: 66% [?]

Djimon with Octopus, Hollywood, 1989 and Mask, Hollywood, 1989
© Herb Ritts

It was almost 10 years ago that the landmark exhibition of photographs by Herb Ritts titled Work came to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Featuring 182 pieces by Ritts, the show was the first exhibition by a single photographer in the history of the MFA. By the time the show came down, a quarter of a million people had come to see it—popularizing the work of Ritts as well as elevating the reputation of the Museum.

David Schonauer at State of the Art reports that just a little over four years after the death of Herb Ritts, the Museum of Fine Arts will be opening a gallery in his name. The gallery will also be the MFA’s first photography-dedicated gallery.

The Herb Ritts Gallery is scheduled to open sometime in 2010. And in addition, the Herb Ritts Foundation will giving 250 Ritts prints to the MFA’s permanent collection, making the museum the world’s larger holder of Ritt’s work.

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Despite a few techincal difficulties at the start of her seminar this evening Jen Bekman (a.k.a. Personism, a.k.a. Hey, Hot Shot!) put together a rather educational slide presentation about “Breaking into the Gallery World and Marketing Yourself”—gearing this, for the most part, towards emerging photographers. Jen’s seminar was put together thanks to the help of the Photographic Resource Center here in Boston. She spoke to a “sold out” crowd, a small room packed so tight that people were forced to stand along the outer edges. Speaking mostly from her own experiences in conducting relationships with artists, she layed some ground rules for approaching gallerists, stressed the importance of a strong portfolio, and set the stage for some questions from the audience for a large portion at the end.

I recieved a few e-mails asking me to share some notes from the seminar here on the blog, so for those of you who asked (and those of you who are just reading along) here is a quick list of some of the topics covered:

Set Goals and Get Feedback: Competitions, portfolio reviews, critiques, grants, etc. Apply yourself and stay involved by visiting exhibitions, reading the news, magazines, blogs, and interacting with online communities. Jen provided a hand-out at the seminar with a nice list of blogs to visit (one of which was Marketing Photos with Mary Virgina Swanson, which some of these self-marketing tips were taken from). Jen, thanks again for linking me on that list, too!

Tightly Edit: You should be able to stand behind your portfolio of work. Each image should hold up well on its own as well as work with the other photographs in the series.

Have a Web Presence: Now, more than ever, this is super important. GET A WEBSITE! With the web portfolio, less is more; make it easy for visitors to view your photographs online. If you can’t design a website yourself, there are alternatives such as a free homepages, blogs, or joining photo-sharing sites such as Flickr.

Online Isn’t Everything: Have a business card, a physical portfolio, and be social. Introduce yourself! Be genuinely interested in people, don’t fake schmooze—it’s not nice.

Your Portfolio: This should be what your most excited about, not necessarily what will please the gallerist or reviewer based on their taste. Edited, cohestive, strong—all words that keep coming up. The physical portfolio should be printed at a size that is easy to handle, for example 8” x 10” or 11” x 14”—not too large, not too small.

Portfolio Reviews: Know what you want out of the review, have a cohesive body of work, practice your presentation, take notes. Also, keep in touch with the reviewers—consider your experience the chance to begin relationships with professionals who respond positively to your work.

Everyone is Different: All galleries, competitions, portfolio reviews, museums, etc. all have different requirements and expectations. Some places ask for slides, some for CDs, and some for online-only submissions. Respect these requests as they are usually implimented for a reason—don’t start a letter out with “I know you don’t normally accept submissions like this…” or try to share your portfolio with a gallerists during an opening, without appointment, or any other inappropriate time. Research these policies prior to submitting or approaching someone in person and things will go much better for everyone involved.

Be Realistic: Photography is expensive as an emerging artist. Don’t take on a marketing campaign that you can’t sustain.

Figure Out Where Your Work Fits In: Get exposure in that arena. There’s often no sense in approaching a gallerist who shows only large-scale plexi-mounted color landscapes with your traditional darkroom-printed black and white macro photographs of flowers.

Know Your Strengths: Too many photographers try to be all things to all people. Find what you are good at and passionate about and go with it.

UPDATE: Edward Winkleman gives another perspective on approaching galleries/gallerists on his blog.

Popularity: 48% [?]

www.humbleartsfoundation.org
© Humble Arts Foundation

I’ve mentioned Humble Arts Foundation (formerly known as Humble Media and Group Show) before on this blog. It seems like there’s always something new going on over there. This month, they took on a new name, a new website, and announced a new project which is a compliment to Group Show—appropriately called Solo Show. The first Solo Show includes the work of Rachel Mozman. Though her work may easily be compared to Loretta Lux on aesthetic grounds along, her pictures aim to examine “the lives of young childen living in isolated ‘exurban’ development communities in New Jersey and Panama.”

Along with Solo Show, Humble also announced their first physical exhibition to be held at New Century Artists in Chelsea from March 13 – 24.

I suggest joining the mailing list to stay up to date with these guys!

Popularity: 47% [?]