‘Together Over Time’ Showcases Work That Balances Fragility + Robustness

By in Design

‘Together Over Time’ Showcases Work That Balances Fragility + Robustness

Together over time is a debut solo exhibition of works by avant-garde designer Rafael Prieto, the founder and creative director of Savvy Studio, presented at Emma Scully Gallery until June 3rd. The exhibition integrates Prieto’s distinct design aesthetic with the art of emotive observation, harmoniously bringing together elements of furniture, sculpture, and lighting design.

Prieto’s eclectic ensemble of creations serves as a testament to his unique vision and his fascination with the inherent beauty found in everyday life. His careful observation of the world around him forms the bedrock of this interconnected display. Employing an array of materials such as wood, glass, stone, and ceramic, the designer subtly articulates an inherent elegance. Each piece strikes a delicate balance between fragility and robustness, mirroring the nuanced interplay of nature’s forces. The exhibition layout inside the gallery space is meant to inspire a novel spatial understanding that encourages individual interpretations.

The placement of the works within the gallery creates a novel spatial language open to interpretation by the viewer. According to Prieto, the exhibition is akin to a concrete poem or haiku that encourages audience engagement and connection. Nine works are featured in Together over time, consisting of a coffee table, two side tables, a light, two upholstered stools and a bench, and two sculptures that anchor the exhibition.

As explained by Prieto, “I see this as a concrete poem or haiku – something for others to engage with and feel connected to, as I do.” The ceramic inlays used in the tables were made possible with the help of Atelier Lips. The creation of these three pieces was done in close collaboration with Emma Scully Gallery. The crafting process was slow and intensive, involving local craftspeople over a period of six months.

An overall view of the transformed gallery, fully encapsulating Rafael Prieto's artistic vision and design sensibilities.

An overall view of the transformed gallery, fully encapsulating Rafael Prieto's artistic vision and design sensibilities.

A bench, part of a furniture collection with Spoliâ

A tall, kite-like lamp crafted from raw, organic cotton, hanging from the ceiling, its rope anchored by a single stone, as a representation of the collaboration between Prieto and fashion designer Kritika Manchanda.

The Marrow light, a singular sculptural fixture, suspended elegantly against the stark gallery backdrop.

A close-up of a coffee table sculpted from cast glass, stone, wood, and ceramic inlay, highlighting the intricate workmanship and Prieto's unique design aesthetic. Alt-text: Two distinctive side tables, one crafted from wood, stone, and ceramic inl

Photography by Joe Kramm.

Leo Lei translates his passion for minimalism into his daily-updated blog Leibal. In addition, you can find uniquely designed minimalist objects and furniture at the Leibal Store.

The Album Art Studio That Made Pink Floyd’s Pig Fly

By in Art World News

The Album Art Studio That Made Pink Floyd’s Pig Fly

The filmmaker Anton Corbijn’s documentary “Squaring the Circle (The Story of Hipgnosis)” tells the tale of the London design company devoted to crafting the perfect LP sleeve.

In early 1980, Aubrey Powell, the then-33-year-old co-founder of the pioneering British design company Hipgnosis, flew to Hawaii to photograph the cover for the British rock band 10cc’s “Look Hear?” album.

The shoot involved a specific sheep (only one was available on Oahu, at a university farm) seated on an old-timey psychiatrist’s couch (which had to be constructed by a Honolulu props company) on the island’s North Shore. The sheep, out of its element and skittish from the crashing waves, ruined the first day of the session, so a veterinarian was called in to tranquilize the animal for day two. Success.

The final cost of the sleeve design, including airfare and a sheep wrangler, came to £5,043 — about $26,000 in today’s money and a big sum for the time. (But then again, as Powell, known as Po, said in an interview, back then the music industry “was awash with money.”) In the end, at the behest of Hipgnosis’ other co-founder, Storm Thorgerson, the U.K. version of the LP jacket was dominated by the words “Are You Normal” in large capital letters. The photo of the sheep on the chaise longue was shrunk to about the size of a postage stamp.

A scene from the documentary shows the 1980 shoot for 10cc’s “Look Hear?” album artwork, which involved a sheep.Aubrey Powell/Hipgnosis Ltd

In an interview, the 10cc singer and bassist Graham Gouldman admitted that though he’d had the album art explained to him in the past, he couldn’t recall what it meant. “But I know it’s a brilliant picture,” he said. As for all that pricey effort for such a tiny image? “It doesn’t matter, does it?” Gouldman said. “It’s art. So it’s got to be done.” He added, “And in Hipgnosis’ case, if you can get the record company to spend the money, then good for them.”

The Dutch filmmaker Anton Corbijn, the director of “Squaring the Circle (The Story of Hipgnosis),” a documentary on the design firm that opens in New York on June 7, had a slightly different take. “It’s just not normal to fly all the way to Hawaii to do that picture,” he said. “But it makes for a good story.”

“Squaring the Circle” is full of this and other good stories about the oft-absurd lengths the London-based Hipgnosis traveled in pursuit of the perfect LP sleeve in the era before Photoshop. Among the 415 album covers Hipgnosis made between 1968 and 1983 was Pink Floyd’s “Animals” (1977), for which a 40-foot inflatable pig was photographed floating between the chimneys of London’s Battersea Power Station. Unfortunately, the single cable affixed to the pig snapped, and up the balloon went — into the flight zone for Heathrow Airport.

“That was all very exciting, and rather alarming,” recalled the Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason, whose bandmate Roger Waters came up with the idea for the shoot, “because it was obvious that you could have a major disaster for an airline that happened to fly into the escaping pig.” No planes were harmed in the making of the LP cover, but in the end, Hipgnosis had to resort to a photo collage to achieve the desired effect.

Hipgnosis
A selection of Pink Floyd album covers designed by Hipgnosis, clockwise from top left: “Atom Heart Mother,” “Wish You Were Here,” “The Dark Side of the Moon” and “Animals.”Hipgnosis

The documentary — shot largely in high-contrast black and white by Corbijn, himself a rock photographer and video director known for his work with U2 and Depeche Mode — features new interviews with Powell, plus a number of high-profile former Hipgnosis clients, including all three surviving members of Pink Floyd (David Gilmour, Mason and Waters) and Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant and Jimmy Page. Paul McCartney, Peter Gabriel and Gouldman are also among the talking heads. Noel Gallagher, a fan, provides some modern-day context and comic relief.

Much of the film focuses on the close working relationship between Powell and Thorgerson, who came up together in the Cambridge, England, art scene of the 1960s, where they were friends with young members of Pink Floyd. (Peter Christopherson, a founding member of the British industrial band Throbbing Gristle who died in 2010, became a full partner in Hipgnosis in 1978.) The design studio would end up doing nearly all of Pink Floyd’s album covers, including “Atom Heart Mother” (1970), which was simply a photograph of a cow in a field, and, most famously, “The Dark Side of the Moon” (1973), with its iconic image of a triangular prism refracting light into a rainbow pattern. (Hipgnosis’ second-best-known cover also came out in 1973: Led Zeppelin’s “Houses of the Holy,” which features a group of naked children scaling basalt columns.)

The “Atom Heart Mother” jacket in particular represented a major departure from the style of the time, which Mason described as putting “a picture of the lovable moptops on the front.”

“We started making demands — which Pink Floyd totally backed us on — saying ‘No title, no name of the band on the cover,’” said Powell, now 76. “This was unheard-of in the world of marketing and record companies.” He described presenting the “Atom Heart Mother” artwork to the suits: “When you walked in there with long hair and earrings, showing them a picture of a cover of a cow, they would go apoplectic.”

Thorgerson and Powell took different approaches to communicating with artists and labels.Hipgnosis Ltd

It tended to be Thorgerson, by all accounts a stubborn genius, driving the record executives to apoplexy. “The greatest line about Storm was that ‘He’s a man who wouldn’t take yes for an answer,’” Mason said. “It was almost inevitable that whatever was done, particularly by the record company, would involve Storm having to shout at them.”

Thorgerson, who died in 2013, could be confrontational with the musicians as well. “He didn’t care if it was Paul McCartney or Roger Waters, he would express himself quite vehemently,” Powell said. “And often I would have to go around fighting the fires to maintain some kind of credibility. At the end of the day, it kind of worked because I managed to persuade the artists that it was the idea that was important. Forget about Storm’s personality.”

Corbijn said that, ultimately, the documentary was a “story of love and loss.” Hipgnosis came to an end at the dawn of a new era, in which music videos ruled and compact discs, with their significantly smaller artistic canvases, became the dominant mode of distribution. (Of course, today most people see album art in miniature on their phones.) Thorgerson and Powell, who were moving over to filmmaking, had a falling out over money and didn’t speak for 12 years after that. “It was like the end of a marriage,” Powell said. The two reunited after Thorgerson fell ill; he died of cancer at the age of 69.

In more recent years, Powell said, he’s been heartened to see that Hipgnosis’ album covers have broken “that barrier to be taken seriously as fine art.” He added, “A lot of thought went into those pictures. We didn’t take photographs of the band and slap it on the front with their names big and the title in big white letters. This was work that was taken extremely seriously. And I hope that comes over in the film.”

Powell pointed to Hipgnosis’ cover of Led Zeppelin’s final studio album, “In Through the Out Door” from 1979, which involved lovingly recreating an actual New Orleans juke joint in a studio in London. He indicated that making the album’s visuals (which, after all that work, came wrapped in a brown paper bag) likely cost more than it did for the band to record the music itself.

“You know,” Powell said with a laugh, “that sums up the period of time.”

A Sunny Parisian Cafe Inside a 19th-Century Artist’s Studio

By in Native

A Sunny Parisian Cafe Inside a 19th-Century Artist’s Studio

Plus: coffee-inspired jewelry, an exhibit of natural ceramics and more recommendations from T Magazine.

Eat Here

Le Rhodia, a new cafe-restaurant in Paris’s Bourdelle Museum, features family-style tables with ceramic bases by the Brittany-based artist Cyril Dennery and handmade rice paper lighting fixtures by the designer Céline Wright.
Le Rhodia, a new cafe-restaurant in Paris’s Bourdelle Museum, features family-style tables with ceramic bases by the Brittany-based artist Cyril Dennery and handmade rice paper lighting fixtures by the designer Céline Wright.Marielle Gaudry

This spring, the recently renovated Bourdelle Museum in Paris’s Montparnasse district opened a luminous new cafe-restaurant, Le Rhodia, named after the French sculptor Antoine Bourdelle’s daughter. The spare, daffodil yellow dining room occupies the second story of a 19th-century artist’s studio where Rhodia Bourdelle and her husband, the Art Deco interior designer Michel Dufet, once lived. “We wanted it to feel like entering someone’s apartment,” says Marc-Antoine Servella, the co-founder of the Parisian architecture studio SAME, who oversaw the cafe’s design. He furnished Le Rhodia with a mix of midcentury flea market finds and custom pieces commissioned from French artisans in materials ranging from travertine to oak, while preserving a few original details like a wood-burning stove and a large oculus window (designed by Dufet in the spirit of the ocean liner cabin décor for which he was best known). Museumgoers can also dine outside on the mezzanine terrace next to a colonnade of watchful bronze busts. The menu offers refreshing fare, with culinary references to Bourdelle’s hometown in the southwest of France and a Latin American influence — a homage, says the French chef Jean-René Chassignol, to the dozens of students from Peru, Chile and Argentina who apprenticed with Bourdelle in these ateliers. Dishes, which skew on the lighter side, include a black-bean purée with pickled beets and corn nuts, and seasonal vegetable empanadas. Pastries, like the Rhodia brioche with orange-blossom cream or the honey-and-thyme-infused Madeleine d’Antoine, are served all day. instagram.com/lerhodia_bourdelle/.

See This

Juan Pablo Echeverri’s “Identidad Payasa: D Charles Morrison” (2017).Courtesy of the Estate of Juan Pablo Echeverri and James Fuentes

When the artist Juan Pablo Echeverri died at the age of 43 last year, he left behind more than 8,000 self-portraits taken in passport photo booths around the world. What had started as a diary of hair styles and piercings grew into a conceptual art project as Echeverri evolved as an artist. This summer, a grid assembled from about 400 of those photos will hang at James Fuentes Gallery in Manhattan; another has been on view at Between Bridges, the nonprofit in Berlin run by Echeverri’s former employer, the photographer Wolfgang Tillmans, who helped curate both shows.

Echeverri’s sudden death from malaria came just as his career was zooming up, with a show in León, Mexico, and work in the collection of the former president of his native Colombia. But it would be a mistake to see the portraits as a somber memento mori. “I don’t want to overburden the work,” says Tillmans, who prefers to see it as Echeverri was: sly, cerebral and self-deprecating. The title of the passport series, “Miss Fotojapón,” yokes together a joke about Colombia’s past failure to win the Miss Universe pageant with the name of a photo processing chain. The exhibit in New York also includes “Identidad Payasa” (2017), a series of double portraits where the artist shared the lens with street clowns in Mexico City. First, Echeverri would take their photos in full costume, then ask the clowns to recreate the look on him, a way of embodying their position. Tillmans says the photos show how much Echeverri empathized with the clowns — they were both artists, putting on a visual performance and wearing masks. “Are they to be taken seriously? Obviously, they’re being laughed at. It’s deep, but he played it light,” he says. “Identidad Perdida” is on view from June 7 to July 29, jamesfuentes.com.

Stay Here

The Texas-based hospitality group Bunkhouse collaborated with the Mexico City architecture firm Reurbano to renovate the 1940s apartment building that’s now Hotel San Fernando.Chad Wadsworth

The Texas-based hotel group Bunkhouse — known for its intimate, community-oriented properties like Hotel Saint Cecilia and Hotel San José in Austin — has lately expanded with openings in Salado, Texas; Louisville, Kentucky, and, most recently, Mexico City. Hotel San Fernando is in Condesa, the neighborhood known for its Art Deco architecture and sprawling, jacaranda-lined parks. Nineteen guest rooms now occupy the Edificio San Fernando, a 1940s apartment building whose jade-hued ceramic-tile floors and stained-glass windows were retained in a renovation by Bunkhouse and the Mexico City architecture firm Reurbano. Plum-colored archways border a sage green lobby, from which guests ascend a spiral stairwell to reach the rooms. The furnishings were mostly made in Mexico, including plywood furniture from the design studio La Metropolitana, red lamps with handblown, opaque glass shades by the Oaxaca studio Oaxifornia and works by local artists such as Pedro Friedeberg and Ricardo Guevara. Guests can enjoy meals on the rooftop, with pastries like vanilla conchas for breakfast and small plates including tostadas and aguachile from midday on. Hotel San Fernando opens June 1; rooms from $215, bunkhousehotels.com.

Covet This

An 18-karat gold-and-diamond ring and necklace from Cartier’s Grain de Café collection, inspired by the coffee bean.Courtesy of Cartier

Cartier’s designers have a habit of creating precious jewelry based on everyday objects. The Juste Un Clou collection transforms a construction nail into diamond-crusted cuffs and collars, while the Cactus de Cartier, a set of spiky domes, imagines the desert plant as a cocktail ring. The Grain de Café collection continues this trend, using coffee beans as inspiration for bracelets, earrings, rings, necklaces and brooches. Originated by the house’s longtime director Jeanne Toussaint, the java-themed charms first appeared in the house’s designs in 1938. Prince Rainier III gifted Grace Kelly a cafe set for their 1956 wedding, and her necklace, studded with small gold bean pendants, served as one reference for the new designs. This June, the company introduces six new pieces to the collection, from a rope-style chain strung with five clustered beans to a two-toned ring set with dangling diamond-dotted beans. They’re all designed to move slightly, emitting an energizing jingle. From $7,250, cartier.com.

View This

A selection of works from Ludmilla Balkis’s forthcoming exhibition at Roman and Williams’s Guild Gallery in New York City that marks the ceramist’s U.S. solo show debut.Colin King

The French ceramist Ludmilla Balkis first began shaping clay into thrown pots, bottles and bowls as a way to let go of her former life in fashion — inspired by the delicate work of the British sculptor Lucie Rie, she wanted to find a natural creative rhythm free from the directive to produce on a fixed schedule. Balkis had trained as a fashion designer and worked under Phoebe Philo at Celine in London; she began making ceramics in 2015. Her paper-thin structures, sculpted from the reddish-brown clay she collects from the French seaside and mixes with sand to achieve a rougher texture, challenge gravity’s pull, threatening to collapse. Items she finds on long walks through nature in France’s Basque Country, where she keeps a studio, are often incorporated into the pieces. In her latest exhibition, “Stasis,” on view beginning next week at Roman and Williams’s Guild Gallery in New York, one white sanded stoneware basin is imprinted with twigs, while a trio of lanternlike vessels have raw edges flecked with dry wood ash. “In a way, the movements and techniques [between ceramics and fashion] are similar,” Balkis says. “Draping fabric around a mannequin consists of pulling and pinning material to create a three-dimensional design. In ceramics, I intuitively repeat that process — I’m creating around empty space, but I work on it like it’s an imaginary body.” “Stasis” will be on view from June 9 through July 15, rwguildgalleryny.com.

Wear This

Clockwise from left: Danielle Frankel’s Chrysanthemum earring; Japanese mum earrings; and ocher rose brooch.Courtesy of Danielle Frankel

The bridal designer Danielle Frankel Hirsch has previously designed collections of pearl jewelry to accompany the silk halter-neck tops and tulle gowns she creates for her label, Danielle Frankel. But as part of her mission to shift wedding traditions in new directions, Frankel Hirsch chose a less expected medium for her latest accessories. “I began with the question ‘If we could cast flowers [in clay], what would that look like?’” she says. She began searching for references and found images of wilting flowers that were originally printed on cigarette cards and had been digitized as part of the George Arents Collection at the New York Public Library. Then she discovered an artisan based in Ukraine whose specialty is creating realistic floral sculpture, using clay molded over a wire frame. Frankel Hirsch is now selling an array of blooms, including lavender anemone and pink magnolia earrings, and lily and rose brooches. She expects brides will appreciate that every design is slightly different from the others and, unlike a bouquet, they can be kept forever. From $1,250, daniellefrankelstudio.com.

From T’s Instagram

Capturing Beauty and Empowering Women: The Visionary Photography of Maya David

By in Photography

Capturing Beauty and Empowering Women: The Visionary Photography of Maya David

Imagine a world where every woman feels beautiful, confident, and empowered in her own skin.

Thanks to the extraordinary talent and passion of English/Irish photographer Maya David, that world is becoming a reality. With her artistic eye and unwavering commitment to celebrating diversity and body positivity, Maya has become a force to be reckoned with in the photography industry.

Maya David 2023

Maya’s journey began years ago, when she discovered her love for capturing the essence of femininity through her camera lens. Drawing inspiration from her travels and the vibrant cultures she encountered, Maya decided to make Bali and Ibiza her creative hubs. These stunning locations serve as the backdrop for her awe-inspiring work, adding an extra touch of magic to each frame.

At the core of Maya’s photography lies a powerful message: every woman deserves to feel comfortable and proud of her natural form. Maya’s determination to challenge societal norms and redefine beauty led her to launch the groundbreaking project, ‘What Makes You Feel Feminine?’ in 2019. This project not only sparked meaningful conversations about femininity but also served as a catalyst for women around the world to embrace their unique bodies.

Maya’s work quickly caught the attention of the fashion world, earning her a well-deserved spot in prestigious publications like Vogue Greece and Vogue Spain. Her images graced the pages of Vogue Greece in 2021, showcasing her ability to capture the strength and beauty of women from all walks of life. The following year, Vogue Spain recognized Maya’s groundbreaking contributions, cementing her status as a trailblazer in the industry.

What sets Maya apart from other photographers is her ability to effortlessly blend artistry with authenticity. Each photograph is a testament to her exceptional skill in capturing the raw emotions and inner beauty of her subjects. Whether she is photographing a free-spirited bohemian bride, a confident businesswoman, or a radiant expectant mother, Maya’s images radiate a sense of joy, liberation, and self-acceptance.

Through her lens, Maya shows us that beauty knows no boundaries and that every body is worthy of celebration. She invites women to let go of societal expectations, embrace their flaws, and recognize the power they hold within themselves. Maya’s photographs are a powerful reminder that true beauty lies not in conformity, but in embracing one’s individuality.

Maya David’s work serves as a beacon of hope and inspiration in a world that often imposes narrow definitions of beauty. With her unwavering dedication to diversity and body positivity, she has become a catalyst for change. Through her lens, she empowers women to love themselves, to embrace their uniqueness, and to stand tall with confidence.

As we continue to navigate the ever-evolving landscape of beauty standards, Maya David remains at the forefront, challenging norms and capturing the true essence of femininity. Her photographs have the power to transform hearts, shift perspectives, and ignite a movement towards self-love and acceptance.

So, the next time you find yourself questioning your own beauty or struggling to fit into a mold, remember Maya’s work and the message she sends: you are perfect just the way you are.

Robert Capa and Gerda Taro’s 20th Century War Photography

By in Photography

Robert Capa and Gerda Taro’s 20th Century War Photography
robert capa and gerda taro war photography

 

Robert Capa was born in Hungary in 1913, while Gerda Taro was born in Germany in 1910. Both immigrated to Paris during the 1930s where they started working together. They frequently worked in dangerous and explosive environments. They dedicated their lives to capturing the impact of violence on society. They were known for war photography which documented armed wars, military activities, and the effects of war on individuals and societies.

What is War Photography?

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Republican Soldiers, La Granjuela, Córdoba front, Spain by Gerda Taro, 1937 via Magnum Photos

By representing war, artists want to bring attention and awareness to social and political issues. War photography, also known as art depicting scenes from wars, can be considered activist art. It covers armed conflicts, military operations, and devastation. The practice played a particularly significant role in the 20th century. The expansion of mass media and the development of new technologies made it possible for photographers to document and share images of war more widely and quickly than ever before.

Depicting War

goya third may 1808 paintinggoya third may 1808 painting
The Third of May, 1808 by Francisco Goya, 1814, via Wikimedia

Art and war have had a complex and often intertwined relationship throughout history. Some artists use their art to document and bring attention to the realities of war and how it affects different people. It has also played a role in shaping public perceptions and attitudes about conflict.

In Western art history, Francisco Goya is famous for his series The Disasters of War (1810-1820) which contains 82 visual depictions of the French occupation of Spain that was led by Napoleon Bonaparte. Goya made the etchings to protest against the French occupation and their aggression in Spain. He depicted the aftermath of war and the struggles of dealing with what was left, both physically and emotionally. The Third of May, 1808, is one of Goya’s most famous paintings depicting the execution of a Spanish peasant by the French troops. Another renowned painting depicting war is Guernica by Pablo Picasso.

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Photojournalism

capa taro photographcapa taro photograph
Robert Capa and Gerda Taro, via Museum of Jewish Heritage, New York

The 20th century found Europe in turmoil over social and political issues. Photography and magazines broadened the scope of visual information. That’s when photojournalism arose as a new profession to fill the need for visual information and documentation of triumphs and atrocities of wartime.

One of the best-known war photographers of the 20th century was Robert Capa. He covered conflicts around the world, including the Spanish Civil War, World War II, and the Vietnam War. His photographs were known for their emotional impact and ability to convey the human cost of wars. Moreover, Picture Post published The Greatest War Photographer in the World: Robert Capa on December 3, 1938, featuring a range of 26 images taken during the Spanish Civil War.

However, Robert Capa was actually a pseudonym for two photographers, Endre Erno Friedmann and Gerta Pohorylle. They were partners both personally and professionally. They met in Paris in the 1930s and began working together as photographers, covering conflicts and wars worldwide. Eventually, the two separated and Friedmann continued using the name Robert Capa, while Pohorylle took the name Gerda Taro. She became the first woman photographer that depicted wars.

Who Was Robert Capa?

taro capa war photographytaro capa war photography
Photographer Robert Capa during the Spanish civil war by Gerda Taro, 1937 via Wikimedia

Robert Capa was a Hungarian-born photographer best known for covering conflicts and wars. Capa began his career as a photojournalist in the 1930s and became one of the best-known war photographers of the 20th century. In 1933, he moved to Paris because of his Jewish identity. He fled the nation due to the danger of the Nazi administration in Hungary. Capa covered conflicts in many parts of the world, including World War II, the Vietnam War, and the Spanish Civil War, which he documented alongside his partner Gerda Taro. He worked for major publications such as Life magazine and Magnum Photos.

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Death of a Spanish loyalist militiaman. Córdoba, Spain, by Robert Capa, via Magnum Photos

Robert Capa’s most famous photograph is The Falling Soldier. It was captured in 1936 at the start of the Spanish Civil War. The photograph shows a Republican soldier being shot and falling to the ground. Capa took this photograph during the Battle of Cerro Muriano, a conflict between the Nationalist and Republican forces in Spain. The photograph became a symbol of the Spanish Civil War and it contributed to Capa’s fame as a war photographer. It was first featured in French and British periodicals and later reproduced in several books and exhibitions.

His other famous photographs include The Kiss of Life which shows a utility worker being rescued from an electrical wire by a colleague after a workplace accident in New York City and the D-Day landings which show Allied soldiers landing on Omaha Beach during the Normandy invasion on D-Day in World War II. Capa often worked in dangerous and volatile environments since he was committed to documenting the direct impact of a conflict. Capa’s photographs continue to be highly regarded and widely exhibited and he is considered one of the pioneers of war photography.

Who Was Gerda Taro?

taro republican training war photographytaro republican training war photography
Republican militiawoman, training on the beach outside of Barcelona by Gerda Taro, 1936 via Magnum Photos

Gerta Pohorylle, known as Gerda Taro, was an artist best known for her work as a war photographer during the Spanish Civil War. Taro was born in 1910 in Stuttgart, Germany. She became interested in photography as a teenager. As Germany sank into economic, social, and political instability, anti-Semitism grew stronger. Taro became interested in left-wing politics after becoming acutely aware of the emergence of the far-right movement. She was detained after spreading anti-Nazi flyers throughout Leipzig in March 1933. Taro went to France soon after, urged by her parents.

Taro began her career as a photojournalist in the 1930s. She also became known for her coverage of the Spanish Civil War. Taro and Capa worked together for major publications such as Life magazine, covering the conflict between the Republican and Nationalist sides. She was known for her bravery and fierce commitment to her work. Some of Taro’s best-known photographs include Refugees from the Spanish Civil War which shows a group of refugees fleeing the conflict in Spain, The Funeral of a Republican Soldier which shows the funeral of a soldier killed during the Spanish Civil War, and The Republican Army on the March that shows Republican soldiers marching through a Spanish town during the conflict.

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Spectators at the funeral parade of General Lukacs by Gerda Taro, 1937, via Magnum Photos

Taro’s photographs capture the human toll of the conflict and the devastating impact it had on civilians. Her pieces are poignant and powerful images that convey the suffering and desperation of the refugees as they seek safety and security amid conflict. Like Capa, Taro is considered one of the pioneers of war photography.

Gerda Taro died in 1937 while covering the Spanish Civil War. Taro was hit by a tank during the Battle of Brunete and died from injuries a few days later. Robert Capa died in 1954 while covering the First Indochina War in Vietnam. Capa was traveling with a group of French soldiers when he stepped on a landmine and died. Both photographers died on battlefields while trying to capture soldiers fighting.

Taro and Capa’s War Photography in Popular Culture

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The Mexican suitcase movie poster from 2011, via Artium Museoa

Taro and Capa’s work has been widely exhibited and featured in books and publications. Their lives and careers have been the subject of multiple films, documentaries, and other popular culture works. For example, there is a song called Taro by the British indie rock band Alt-J. The lyrics of Taro reference Gerda Taro’s life and work as a photographer, with lines like Taro took pictures/Of the world’s disasters and Taro took pictures/Of the factory girls. The song also references Taro’s death at 26 while covering the Spanish Civil War.

Gerda Taro: Inventing Robert Capa is a documentary film about Taro and her work as a war photographer. The film explores Taro’s life and career, including her relationship with Capa. It examines the impact of her work on documentary photography. Gerda Taro: On the Front Line is a book about Taro’s life and career as a war photographer. The book explores Taro’s work in the Spanish Civil War and her role as a documentary photography pioneer.

There is also a film on Robert Capa called Robert Capa: In Love and War. The film explores Capa’s work covering conflicts around the world, including the Spanish Civil War and World War II. Trisha Ziff directed the 2011 documentary film The Mexican Suitcase which depicts the narrative of about 4000 film negatives created by photographers David Seymour, Gerda Taro, and Robert Capa during the Spanish Civil War. The film traces the images’ history from their disappearance at the start of World War II through their rediscovery in 2007.

Haaretz photographer attacked by policeman during protest against Israeli gov’t minister

By in Photography

Haaretz photographer attacked by policeman during protest against Israeli gov’t minister

An Israeli police officer attacked a Haaretz photographer who was documenting a protest against Environment Minister Idit Silman on Thursday. The incident occurred outside a conference at Haifa University where the minister spoke.

In the footage of the attack, the riot police unit officer is seen forcefully pushing Haaretz photographer Rami Shllush without any provocation on his part. Shllush then fell on the ground, causing damage to his camera. Shllush said the policeman apologized afterward.

“While Silman was leaving the hall, I went towards the exit to photograph her and the protesters,” Shllush said. “One of the police officers told me to move. I replied that I’m a journalist, and then I moved to the area in front of the exit,” he added.

“A security guard from the [minister’s personal security] told me to move away, and I also told him I was a journalist – then he pushed me. Suddenly a riot police unit officer came from the side, threw me to the ground. The lens of my camera was damaged as a result.”

Protesters against Environment Minister Idit Silman in Haifa, on Thursday.Credit: Rami Shllush

Following the incident, protesters started shouting “shame” at Silman.

Despite the policeman’s apology, Shllush said that he “expects the police to deal with journalists in an appropriate and non-violent manner.” He added that “Police spokesman Eli Levy also called me and said that he apologizes on behalf of the police, while adding that he discussed the case with the police commissioner to ensure that violence against journalists and citizens will not return.”

Alon Mashali, a witness of the attack, said that police officers also attacked protesters. “I saw the police violently pushing protesters – and the Haaretz photographer was also there,” he said. “No one approached the minister threateningly, and we made sure to keep a distance from her.”

The Police spokesperson said that “during the visit of the Environment Minister in University of Haifa police had to make way for her as she exited the hall due to the gathering of protesters. During the operation, one of the police officers pushed away a man who turned out to be a journalist who did not carry any means of identification.”

“The Police Station Commander and the officer met with the photographer and explained what happened. The case was also transferred to the competent authorities for a further review,” the statement read.

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Blackburn’s Tinky Winky moment

By in Art World News

Blackburn’s Tinky Winky moment

Sometimes radical right culture wars, all on their own, just slip from absurd outrage to self-parody. Perhaps the most famous moment was in 1999 when Moral Majority Founder Jerry Falwell proclaimed the purple preschool Teletubby, Tinky Winky, was gay.

Tennessee’s U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn in mid-May had her own Tinky Winky moment when she teamed with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz—rarely a good idea on any matter. The pair of Republican Senators wrote to Brendan Whitworth, Chief Executive Officer of Anheuser-Busch and chair of the Beer Institute, about Bud Light’s dealings with transgender actress and social media personality Dylan Mulvaney.

Blackburn and Cruz declared that Mulvaney’s online content “clearly presents a faux, pre-pubescent girl persona that is created and presented to specifically appeal to young viewers.”  This, they claim, conflicts with beer industry self-regulation against marketing to underage persons. 

One has to marvel at all the staff work that must have gone into the five-page, single-spaced letter, notably its deep dive into Mulvaney’s online works, social media audience demographics and beer marketing guidelines. The letter’s opening vaguely warns of congressional oversight, and ends with a laundry list of documents, some real and some perhaps imagined, that Blackburn and Cruz demanded to be provided to them.

The letter went so far as to compare the Mulvaney endorsement arrangement to the “Joe Camel” cigarette advertisements. Among the many differences, of course, is that Dylan Mulvaney is a real person—an actress, comedian, and social media personality, one known for detailing, starting in early 2022, her male-to-female gender transition. The letter, just for bad measure, five times uses “he” or “him” in reference to Mulvaney.

If U.S. Sens. Marsha Blackburn truly wants to look at the marketing of dangerous products to children, perhaps she could join President Joe Biden’s call upon the Federal Trade Commission to examine gun manufacturer marketing to children, including the use of social media influencers.

Any casual reader of this letter, however, might wonder how this endorsement arrangement is any different from any beer-endorsing cis-gendered athlete whose social media footprint, activities, promotions, and video game presence all have significant crossover appeal to underage persons. There isn’t any difference.

Blackburn and Cruz appear just to be extending the shelf life of the trans-slamming foolishness that started with Nashville musician and operator of an eponymous honky tonk, Kid Rock, shooting at cans of Bud Light but ends with more nonsense on congressional letterhead.

The letter closes with Cruz and Blackburn signatures, over the identification of him as ranking member of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation; and for her as the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security. They likely will stay as the ranking minority members of these committees if they persist in this thinly-veiled prejudice and hate.

If Blackburn and Cruz truly want to look at the marketing of dangerous products to children, perhaps they could join President Joe Biden’s call upon the Federal Trade Commission to examine gun manufacturer marketing to children, including the use of social media influencers. Their work could start with the JR-15, a recently introduced kids’ version of the AR-15 rifle.

Instead, as gun violence rages and Congress careens toward a self-inflicted and economy-wrecking default, Tennessee’s senior U.S. Senator has wasted our time with culture war trash. Blackburn and Cruz give us a contrived “clutch the pearls, think of the children” charade.  Fortunately, we have available to us the current Children’s Defense Fund Action Council legislator ratings, tracking more than 900 congressional bills.

Blackburn and Tennessee’s other Republican U. S. Senator, Bill Hagerty, both got a grade of D (as did Ted Cruz, by the way.) Tennessee’s sole Democratic congressman, U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen from Memphis, received an A. Tennessee Reps. John Rose, Andy Ogles, and Mark Green received a grade of C, often with little legislative action helping or harming children.  Reps. Tim Burchett, Chuck Fleischmann, and David Kustoff apparently have done more harm than good, scoring a D. The records of Reps. Diana Harshbarger and Scott DesJarlais were so distressing regarding children that each received a failing grade.

Children face real threats such as underfunded schools, gun violence in schools, excess reliance on standard testing, food insecurity, and inadequate social mobility resources.  They do not need to be props or excuses in Marsha Blackburn legislative performance art.

Blackburn Cruz

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