An Elbridge design studio will have its fingerprints on a prominent corner in downtown Auburn — literally.
15-foot hand sculpture to be installed at downtown Auburn corner
Bangladeshi photographer wins honor for Hanoi incense village photo
A photograph that captures the image of women drying incense sticks in Hanoi’s Quang Phu Cau Village has won the Gold Award in the Travel category at the 2023 Color Photography Contest.
Taken by Bangladeshi Azim Khan Ronnie, the photo shows two women wearing conical hats surrounded by thousands of incense sticks in Quang Phu Cau, 35 km south of downtown Hanoi.
“Incense plays an important role in the spiritual lives of Vietnamese people,” he said, noting that the pink sticks are usually used in worship activities.
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Women dry incense sticks in Quang Phu Cau Village on the outskirts of Hanoi. Photo by Azim Khan Ronnie |
Quang Phu Cau has over 300 households engaged in the trade passed down through generations. In the run up to the Lunar New Year holiday, the village is at its busiest as nearly the entire population lights incense at home and pagodas.
Village products are consumed not only in Vietnam but also in India, China, Malaysia, and other countries. On average, Quang Phu Cau uses around 200 tons of materials to produce 50 tons of incense a month.
This year’s contest attracted thousands of photographers from nearly 70 countries to compete in different categories such as travel, abstract, aerial, architecture, life and fashion, with winners selected by an esteemed panel of judges from major publications and museums.
The overall winner was Belgian photojournalist Alain Schroeder for his photo showing two people resting and checking each other’s eyes after training in Kushti, a traditional form of Indian wrestling.
Launched by new photo contest platform reFocus Awards, the contest aims to honor color photography.
Art exhibit celebrates ‘The Culture’ around hip-hop
An exhibit at the Baltimore Museum of Art is exploring how hip-hop has influenced contemporary art culture.The exhibit is called “The Culture” and it’s attracting thousands of visitors interested in work centered around hip-hop.It comes as fans celebrate the 50th anniversary of the genre.When you walk inside the exhibit, you’ll hear a hip-hop soundtrack playing and you’ll see more than 100 works by majority Black artists. Some are from Baltimore, each with their own story behind their work and what “The Culture” means to them.”We are talking about trendsetters. We are talking about what it means to stand up and scream and just be mad and angry but also be positive, be happy, be joyous. That’s what hip-hop is,” said Charles Mason III.Mason grew up in Baltimore. He said everything from graffiti on buildings to people singing and dancing on the street have inspired his work. But the drawing that hangs in “The Culture” exhibit is inspired by his father.”(I’m) celebrating my father in both life and death. Like, he’s here with us, and my parents are still together, but celebrating him now and celebrating who I am and who I want to be,” he said.Just a few steps away from Mason’s drawing, you’ll find a painting by west Baltimore native Megan Lewis.”This is oil, glitter and acrylic on fabric,” Lewis said.When Lewis learned about this exhibit and heard the word hip-hop, she said an image came to mind.”I immediately thought of Black women and our contributions to hip-hop and how we don’t always necessarily get the credit that we deserve,” Lewis said. “I immediately thought of lemons, lemonade and how black women continuously turn lemons into lemonade.”Just down the hall, Baltimore-based artist Murjoni Merriweather tells a different story about Black women through braided hair.”I actually hand braid all the hair, and then I adhere them to surface sculptures that I sculpt myself. That is more so about celebrating Black hair (and) different hairstyles,” Merriweather said.But this exhibit is not just about seeing the artwork, it’s about letting people see themselves in the artwork.”I want us to be able to see ourselves in the world,” said Merriweather. “You come into this space, and you see something familiar in your own culture. Then you feel loved. You feel cared for.”You can enjoy the exhibit for free June 18. The exhibit will stick around until July 16 before it moves on to St. Louis, Cincinnati and then Toronto. You can learn more about the exhibit on the BMA website.
BALTIMORE —
An exhibit at the Baltimore Museum of Art is exploring how hip-hop has influenced contemporary art culture.
The exhibit is called “The Culture” and it’s attracting thousands of visitors interested in work centered around hip-hop.
Advertisement
It comes as fans celebrate the 50th anniversary of the genre.
When you walk inside the exhibit, you’ll hear a hip-hop soundtrack playing and you’ll see more than 100 works by majority Black artists. Some are from Baltimore, each with their own story behind their work and what “The Culture” means to them.
“We are talking about trendsetters. We are talking about what it means to stand up and scream and just be mad and angry but also be positive, be happy, be joyous. That’s what hip-hop is,” said Charles Mason III.
Mason grew up in Baltimore. He said everything from graffiti on buildings to people singing and dancing on the street have inspired his work. But the drawing that hangs in “The Culture” exhibit is inspired by his father.
“(I’m) celebrating my father in both life and death. Like, he’s here with us, and my parents are still together, but celebrating him now and celebrating who I am and who I want to be,” he said.
Just a few steps away from Mason’s drawing, you’ll find a painting by west Baltimore native Megan Lewis.
“This is oil, glitter and acrylic on fabric,” Lewis said.
When Lewis learned about this exhibit and heard the word hip-hop, she said an image came to mind.
“I immediately thought of Black women and our contributions to hip-hop and how we don’t always necessarily get the credit that we deserve,” Lewis said. “I immediately thought of lemons, lemonade and how black women continuously turn lemons into lemonade.”
Just down the hall, Baltimore-based artist Murjoni Merriweather tells a different story about Black women through braided hair.
“I actually hand braid all the hair, and then I adhere them to surface sculptures that I sculpt myself. That is more so about celebrating Black hair (and) different hairstyles,” Merriweather said.
But this exhibit is not just about seeing the artwork, it’s about letting people see themselves in the artwork.
“I want us to be able to see ourselves in the world,” said Merriweather. “You come into this space, and you see something familiar in your own culture. Then you feel loved. You feel cared for.”
You can enjoy the exhibit for free June 18. The exhibit will stick around until July 16 before it moves on to St. Louis, Cincinnati and then Toronto.
You can learn more about the exhibit on the BMA website.
Fertile ground? Owner puts Braddock plant up for sale seven months after vertical farm closed
Spotlight: Italian Artist Giovanni Tresso Synthesizes Painting and Photography to Create a Revealing New Form of Portraiture
Every month, hundreds of galleries add newly available works by thousands of artists to the Artnet Gallery Network—and every week, we shine a spotlight on one artist or exhibition you should know. Check out what we have in store, and inquire for more with one simple click.
What You Need to Know: Agora Gallery, New York, will present a recent series of portrait paintings by Italian painter Giovanni B. Tresso in the solo exhibition “Mirrors, The Story of 7 Portraits.” These recent portraits are drawn from extensive photo sessions Tresso conducted with each sitter, which he then uses as source material—but not in the traditional sense. Surveying the range of expressions and “micro-expressions” across the images taken, Tresso locates the irreducible and unaffected facets of the individual’s visage and translates those elements into paint. Using a painting technique that employs both brushes and palette knives, the pigments extend into the third dimension and feature a relief-like texture. The exhibition with Agora Gallery will include seven recent portraits each completed with a bicolor palette and offer viewers a new way of experiencing and considering the tradition of portraiture.
Why We Like It: Tresso’s distinctive portraits offer both a heightened tactile and psychological viewing experience through execution and composition. Conventional portraiture generally forefronts a specific mood or expression, but in Tresso’s practice, he seeks to locate an inalienable authenticity, found through careful study and comparison. Using photography and an extended period spent with the sitter, the artist is able to sift through passing emotions and expressions to get to the heart of the subject. Interpreted through a unique process of stippling and building paint on the canvas, the depth of view is both optical and literal. Contributing to the sense of existential truth is Tresso’s faithful use of two complementary tints within the same hue of each portrait; the face of the subject appears carved from the more saturated color, a type of visual metaphor for the internal life of the sitter. Together, the works in the show are a testament to Tresso’s nuanced and researched practice.
According to the Gallery: “Italian artist Giovanni Tresso offers a glimpse into the portals of the human soul. Each portrait is the result of an intimate interlude between the commissioner and the artist that fuses painting and photography. Tresso meets the subject in person and builds his paintings on a collection of impromptu snapshots that reveal micro-expressions and movements indicative of their personality. The key is to catch the sitter off guard, so that they abandon their defensive social barriers and expose their authentic essence. Echoing his background in design and advertising, Tresso’s works possess a distinctive graphic aesthetic. The facial traits are carved out using negative space and a highly contrasting dichromatic palette of white and either blue, red, green, or black. This, combined with the imposing scale of the pieces, garners a powerful magnetic quality that keeps the viewer glued to the canvas. ‘My portraits are timeless stories,’ Tresso says. ‘They will go beyond the earthly life of the person they represent and become immortal.’”
See the portraits below.
Giovanni B. Tresso, Zamu (2023). Courtesy of Agora Gallery, New York.
Giovanni B. Tresso, Zambo (2023). Courtesy of Agora Gallery, New York.
Giovanni B. Tresso, Matteo (2023). Courtesy of Agora Gallery, New York.
Giovanni B. Tresso, Masok (2023). Courtesy of Agora Gallery, New York.
Giovanni B. Tresso, Lele (2023). Courtesy of Agora Gallery, New York.
Giovanni B. Tresso, Bortcho (2023). Courtesy of Agora Gallery, New York.
Giovanni B. Tresso, Boke (2023). Courtesy of Agora Gallery, New York.
“Giovanni B. Tresso: Mirrors, the story of 7 portraits” opens at Agora Gallery, New York, July 1, 2023.
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New Boulder exhibit illustrates the consequences of the climate crisis on Indigenous communities
BOULDER, Colo. (KRDO) – The Indigenous photography exhibition Preserving Our Place: Knowledge is Power is opening to the public at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Mesa Lab in Boulder.
The exhibition will be open to the public Thursday, June 1, and run through Sunday, August 20, at the NCAR Mesa Lab located at 1850 Table Mesa Drive in Boulder, Colorado.
Organizers of the exhibit said it features the importance of culture and lifeways as well as the consequences of the climate crisis.
The exhibition comes in conjunction with the Rising Voices Center of Indigenous Earth Scienes’s annual workshop.
The workshop will bring together a multi-generational network of community leaders and experts from around the world to address and understand extreme weather events and climate change.
The collaborative exhibition will celebrate the work of two indigenous artists who illustrate the devastating effects of climate change on their native, coastal homes.
Those artists are Chantel Comardelle, Tribal Executive Secretary of the Jean Charles Choctaw Nation Louisiana, and Dennis Davis, community artist of the Native Inupiat Village, Shishmaref, Alaska.
For more information about seeing the exhibit at the NCAR Mesa Lab, visit the website by clicking here or call (303)-497-4000.
Gaby Wood · Diary: Lucian Freud’s Printmaking · LRB 1 June 2023
Lucian Freud’s etched portraits look at first like mangled bits of realism but are in fact stealthy works of cubism:…
RIP Photographers? All The Wild Things People Are Doing With Photoshop’s New Generative Fill Tool
Since Adobe Photoshop launched its new artificial intelligence (AI) Generative Fill tool last week, the “photoverse” has been awash with its awesome power. PetaPixel has rounded up some of the most remarkable examples so far.
Many social media posts have been accompanied by comments like “RIP Photographers” and “Photographers just lost their jobs.” While that remains to be seen, the versatility of Photoshop’s new tool is certainly breathtaking and makes what used to be very difficult and time-consuming now fairly easy and fast.
Explanding Album Covers
It was perhaps obvious that creative types would seek to expand iconic album covers such as Nirvana’s Nevermind and The Beatles’ Abbey Road.
Expanding famous album covers using AI. 🪄
(Photoshop generative fill)
h/t to @dobrokotov for this amazing idea!
1. Michael Jackson – Thriller: pic.twitter.com/cgZC1cu5Ed
— Lorenzo Green 〰️ (@mrgreen) May 29, 2023
Having Fun
Generative Fill is so creative that it allows people just to have fun with images. For example, the viral pope in a puffer jacket image was expanded giving His Holiness legs and luggage.
The new ‘Generative Fill’ AI in Photoshop is mind-blowing.
Finally, an AI feature for practical use,
Priority #1, let’s fix the Pope’s photo: pic.twitter.com/HcDFjcli3r
— Lorenzo Green 〰️ (@mrgreen) May 25, 2023
Another creative decided to take a photo of the Smoky Mountains and add a bear and a Tyrannosaurus rex having a picnic.
Photoshop generative fill is a ton of fun 🪄
Meme potential is very high 📈😁 https://t.co/7qCM8IXPfp pic.twitter.com/F36UvlZUPu
— Bilawal Sidhu (@bilawalsidhu) May 27, 2023
Removing Getty Watermark
Users have also been employing Photoshop’s generative AI fill tool to remove the Getty Images watermark from photographs. In a video, which racked up over 500,000 views, TikTok user @drivenbyboredom revealed how they were able to get rid of Getty’s watermark in under 26 seconds.
@drivenbyboredom It took me 26 seconds to remove the Getty Images watermark using Adobe Photoshop’s new generative fill tool. #ai #artificialintelligence #photoshop #photography #gettyimages #generativefill ♬ Aesthetic – Tollan Kim
Viewers were shocked at the ease of removing a watermark from an image with Photoshop’s new generative fill tool and pointed out that it spelled bad news for photographers everywhere — not just Getty. A TikTok user writes: “This is a problem for small photographers and businesses whose clients refuse to pay for unwatermarked images.”
Adding a Lake With a Reflection
In an impressive video, with over 4.6 million views, an online Photoshop expert used the generative fill tool to extend a portrait of a man sitting by a fire and add a lake to the image. The TikToker expanded the photograph and simply typed “Fill white with water like river or lake.”
Photoshop’s generative fill tool perfectly added a river to the image — complete with a reflection of the man and the fire in the water.
@interestingasfckai Looking for an incredible way to pimp up you pictures? I got you 🙌 #ai #photography #photoshop #aigenerated #fyp ♬ Baianá (Sped Up Version) – Bakermat
Perfecting Wedding Photographs
Utah-based photographer Dani Sork used Photoshop’s generative AI tool to fine-tune wedding photographs and make them picture-perfect for the couple.
@danisorkphoto we’re living in the future, its fine 🤯 #adobegenerativefill #ai #photoshopai ♬ original sound – Dani Sork Photo
While wedding photographers would usually spend hours editing images, Sork swiftly removes unwanted people from the background of a photo and removes a yellow curb in a portrait within a matter of seconds. “We’re living in the future,” Sork says of Photoshop’s new tool.
@danisorkphoto Replying to @Gina Batista can confirm- there’s nothing it cant do 😧 #photoshopbeta #adobegenerativefill #photoshopai #aiediting ♬ original sound – Dani Sork Photo
Giving The Mona Lisa Legs
TikToker @pixelate used Photoshop’s generative AI tool to extend the iconic Mona Lisa beyond its frame and give her legs.
The TikTok user did not stop there and added a figure taking a photo of Leonardo da Vinci’s reimagined painting on their smartphone.
@pictelate Trying Photoshop’s new generative fill AI tool on the Mona Lisa #photoshop #photoshopai #generativefill ♬ original sound – Pictelate
Meanwhile, in another clip, graphic designer Henrich Henkel used the new Photoshop fill tool to masterfully extend da Vinci’s The Last Supper painting.
@henkel777 Replying to @habichantiktok Here you go, Adobe generative fill on Da Vinci’s Last supper 🙂 #generativeai #photoshop #generativefill #AI #adobefirefly #adobephotoshop #adobe #fypシ ♬ Aquarium – Kevin MacLeod
‘All Product Photographers Lost Their Jobs Today’
In an astonishing video, filmmaker Simon Mayer revealed how he was able to change the background on a product photograph with one simple click. In a mere 10 seconds, he replaced the wooden table backdrop for a bottle in a photograph with a picturesque sunny landscape.
@simon_meyer Photoshop just became what our parents always thought photoshop is … why did i studied ? 🥹 #adobephotoshop #photography #productphotoshoot ♬ Little Things – Adrian Berenguer
With the launch of Photoshop’s new AI generative fill tool, Mayer declared that: “all product photographers lost their job today.”
It is similar to Google’s recently launched Product Studio that can create “custom product scenes” easily changing the background and removing the need for “expensive” photographers.
Image credits: Header image courtesy of Alexander Dobrokotov and Henrich.
Share favorite shots of Maple Grove in city photography contest
The annual Maple Grove Moments Photography Contest opens June 1.
Now through Friday, June 30, Maple Grove residents are invited to share the beauty of the community and submit their photos online through the city website at maplegrovemn.gov.
A Guide to Woodland Photography
Woodland photography can be tremendously rewarding, but it can also be a particularly challenging sub-genre of landscape photography. If you are interested in improving your forestry photos, check out this fantastic video tutorial that features an experienced landscape photographer sharing some of his best advice.
Coming to you from Nigel Danson, this excellent video tutorial discusses how to creating compelling woodland images. One of the challenges of landscape photography is that you do not get control over the placement of any of the elements in the frame, and this challenge is doubled when you head into the forest, where the irregularity and density of the elements can make it especially difficult to find a clean composition that is free of distractions. On the other hand, the nice part about the forest is that there are many more potential shots in closer proximity. Whereas you might have to hike quite a distance between different locations, the density of the woods allows you to simply turn around or walk a few steps and find an entirely new composition. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Danson.
And if you really want to dive into landscape photography, check out “Photographing The World 1: Landscape Photography and Post-Processing with Elia Locardi.”
