A major collection of early Greek figures and vessels takes up long-term residence in New York — a transformative event.
Old-Time Modernity: Cycladic Art at the Met
Revisiting Iconic NYC Street Photographer Arlene Gottfried
Arlene Gottfried was a striking street photographer of 1970s and 1980s New York City, when Times Square was more gritty than it was Disney, to say the least. The archive of her work amounts to hundreds of boxes of film which her family is working to preserve.
Gottfried passed away in 2017 at the age of 66 due to breast cancer, leaving her archive to her siblings Karen and Gilbert Gottfried, the late comedian and actor. The New York Times recently covered the effort to maintain both Arlene Gottfried’s physical work and her legacy, noting the photographer asked her brother and his wife, Dara Gottfried, to make sure her career is remembered. However, shortly after her death, Gilbert Gottfried himself fell ill, eventually passing away in 2022 at the age of 67.
Now, Dara Gottfried is busy taking on the task of handling Arlene’s art, digitizing it, and, in the long term, determining where it should go and how to keep the images accessible to the public.
“Arlene wanted her legacy kept alive in museums or shows or galleries,” Dara Gottfried told The Times. “Gilbert and I wanted to honor her wishes to have her work shared with the world, so it could live on forever.”
Daniel Cooney of New York City art gallery Daniel Cooney Fine Art tells PetaPixel that there have been scores of New York City street photographers. He asks, rhetorically, what is it that sets Arlene Gottfried’s work apart?
“Her work was all kind of very much about her approach,” he says. “No one else could make those pictures because they’re specific to the way she saw the world. And so, in a way, even though they’re street photographs and they’re about the streets of New York City, they’re very revealing about who she was because she put herself into it.”
Cooley began working with Arlene Gottfried over a decade ago and remains involved with her family in helping keep the photographer’s work visible. Cooney gave Arlene her first show and put on another with her work while she was still alive. Since her passing, Cooney says he’s put on three shows featuring her work.
Additionally, Arlene’s work will be featured in Paris and Germany this year before Cooley hosts another with Arlene’s image, which is likely to take place next year.
He says the plan right now is to focus on exhibiting the artist’s work while the family, with whom he works closely, eventually finds a permanent home for Arlene Gottfried’s archive. It’s an undertaking that comes with as many obstacles as reasons to get it right. For example, Cooley tells PetaPixel that taking on 10,000 to 15,000 photographs, storing and displaying them properly, cataloging, and digitizing them, takes a great deal of resources. Museum space and public library budgets are finite. And it’s possible to run into more mundane issues, for example, a curator one is working with could leave for a different post.
“It’s not that easy,” Cooley says. “It’s a very complicated process.”
Meanwhile, finding the right place is even more difficult than simply finding any place to take the massive archive. The family would prefer the collection is not taken in without keeping it accessible.
“If somebody’s writing up a dissertation on street photography, you want them to have access, and a lot of archives won’t allow access to things like that,” Cooley says. “So it has to be the right place, and there’s so many variables.”
And there is a great deal to gain from studying Arlene Gottfried’s work. Beyond the images, there’s a great deal to learn about how to approach street photography one can glean from her images.
“She had a lot of empathy and compassion because she was always photographing people that were kind of on the fringes of culture or on the fringes of society, say. And she never approached those people with anything but respect. She always approached people as equals, and it’s a robust and exciting view of the time that she lived in,” Cooley explains to PetaPixel.
He notes that the result is seen in the photographs themselves. There’s an ease and comfort in Arlene Gottfried’s subjects, which is made even more impressive when, as Cooley points out, she doesn’t stay with these subjects for long.
“For the most part, for the work that people know, she wasn’t really spending time getting to know people,” he says. “I mean, most of the people she photographed, she would meet, take a few pictures, and then move on. So it wasn’t like she had time to gain trust through conversation. It was just sort of her demeanor and her body language.”
Cooley further paints the picture: Arlene Gottfried, standing at a petite five feet, without a photographer on the streets of New York City. He notes that she had a shyness about her and wouldn’t walk into a scene and try to take over. Instead, she was driven by true curiosity, coupled with respect, and able to gain the trust of gang members and heroin addicts, as well as children and ordinary people riding the subway. Beyond her authentic interest in her subjects, Arlene Gottfried found kinship in them.
“I think that she was endlessly curious about the world, trying to make sense of it and trying to make sense of her place in the world,” Cooley says. “She wasn’t out photographing people because they were different from her. She was photographing people that were the same as her. She was photographing similarities in herself.”
He says her prime motivation was being an artist.
“And so,” he continues, “inherent in that is kind of being an outsider.”
Image credits: Photographs by Arlene Gottfried, Courtesy of Daniel Cooley
Derby photographer found liable for $32,000 after customers complain
While Payne denied intentionally violating the KCPA, she accepted a consent judgment to resolve the matter, the district attorney said Wednesday. The agreement calls for Payne to be liable for $30,000.00 in civil penalties, additional investigative expenses, and court costs while on a 48-month probationary period with the Consumer Protection Division. Payne will have to pay over $2,000.00 in restitution to two impacted consumers. The consent judgment also calls for an injunction from engaging in deceptive or unconscionable acts and cooperation with any future complaints.
Utah teenage dies after falling 1,400ft into popular canyon
- Jonathan Fielding was hiking with a group of friends on Saturday near Moonscape Overlook just outside of Hanskville when he lost his footing and fell
- The teen, who is from Blue Springs, Missouri, recently moved to Orem, Utah
- Wayne County officials ruled his death as accidental
A 19-year-old Utah teen tragically died after fallling 1,400 feet to his death at a popular canyon when he tried to to take a photograph as his devastated family pays tribute.
Jonathan Fielding was hiking with a group of friends on Saturday near Moonscape Overlook near Torrey, Utah just outside of Hanskville when he lost his footing and plummeted to his death.
The area that is often referred to as ‘Mars‘ is covered with gray mesas, steep cliffs that drop hundreds of feet to a view of a landcape that look liks the moon.
The teen, who is from Blue Springs, Missouri recently moved to Orem, Utah, his family said. Described by his loved ones as a ‘photography enthusiast,’ Fielding stopped to take photos to capture the majestic views moments before the tragedy.
Wayne County officials ruled his death as accidental.
His grieving family described him as a ‘loving and caring son, brother, grandson, uncle, nephew, and cousin.
‘While the passing of Jonathan was unexpected, we take some comfort knowing that he was doing what he loved at the time of the accident,’ they wrote. ‘ He was on a photoshoot with friends in the beautiful Utah wilderness where he loved to be.’
Fielding was described in his obituary as a ‘fun-loving, intelligent young man,’ and was called ‘Johnny’ by his friends.
‘He had big dreams and hopes focused on sales. More important than his dreams and future plans, however, Jonathan was a good person.
‘Jonathan truly cared about others. He would genuinely listen to you. He was truly a friend in every sense of the word.
‘He had many friends and was an influence for good. He was always kind to others. He would often notice those that needed help and offered them assistance and encouragement.’
He was a boy scout who worked his way up to Eagle Scout, and was also a skilled athlete who was a membe of his high school’s track and field team and pole vaulter, who went to State in DECA.
‘While Jonathan’s time in life was limited, his impact on others was not. He was loved by many. He will be missed by all that knew him.
Fielding was one of six siblings and the only boy, according to his obituary.
His sister, Rebecca Fielding drove from Missouri to the site where her brother died, she said, to get some ‘closure.’
She posted several photos of her brother on Facebook that accompanied a heartbreaking post. She also warned others of the dangers that lurk beyond the mesmerizing scenery reminding those to ‘never trust the ground on the edge of a cliff.’
‘It was a tragic accident, but Jonathan should be a cautionary tale to anyone who hikes or does photography,’ she wrote, ii npart.
‘No view is worth your life. No view is worth the suffering that your family and friends will go through. No view is worth the risk that rescuers face when trying to save people and recover bodies.
‘There was no reason for my brother to die. Please don’t make the same mistakes he did.’
Tributes poured in upon hearing the gut-wrenching news of Fielding’s untimely death as many expressed their condolences.
‘One of the kindest, most genuine, cheerful, honest and pure souls this world has had the privilege of knowing. He left every room he entered a better place. Love you Jonny,’ someone wrote.
Another mourner said, ‘So heart broken to hear this news! Michael and Tammy we are praying for your comfort and peace dear cousins! We love you all.’
Earlier in the week, a GoFundMe was created to help cover the funeral costs.
Connor Parry wrote, a friend of the family who organized the fundrasier,’Jonathan is loved by many and was a great example of selfless love.’
As of Thursday morning more than $26,000 has been raised surpassing their goal of $26,000.
Derby photographer enters consent judgment following complaints, alleged violations
WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) – A Derby photographer has entered into a consent judgment after being investigated by the District Attorney’s office.
The office’s consumer protection division (CPD) investigated Caitlin Payne, doing business as CP Family Photography, after receiving several customer complaints. The DA’s office alleged Payne violated the Kansas Consumer Protection Act by deceptively advertising photography services using photographs taken by other photographers and failing to disclose to the consumers that the photographs were not her own.
As part of the investigation, the CPD received an additional complaint involving Payne sending a replacement photographer to a wedding while she was allegedly attending another event and failing to disclose the replacement lacked the skills to perform the contracted services. While Payne denied intentionally violating the KCPA, she accepted a consent judgment to resolve the matter. The agreement calls for Payne to be liable for $30,000.00 in civil penalties, additional investigative expenses, and court costs while on a 48-month probationary period with the CPD.
Payne will have to pay more than $2,000.00 in restitution to two consumers. The judgment also calls for an injunction from engaging in deceptive or unconscionable acts and cooperation with any future complaints. Payne promised not to use photographs of other photographers moving forward unless they are clearly and conspicuously disclosed as only a style of photography that she is capable of reproducing.
Copyright 2024 KWCH. All rights reserved. To report a correction or typo, please email news@kwch.com
A Small Kyiv Apartment Elevated With a Kaleidoscope of Primary Colors
In the midst of the first months of the invasion of Ukraine, where uncertainty loomed over daily life, the 2BM Apartment in Kyiv became a symbol of creativity and resilience. Led by architects Volodymyr Petrunok, Roman Savchuk, and Olexandra Alioshkina of TOP LAB Interiors, the project not only defied budget constraints but also served as a testament to the power of experimentation and trust. The apartment, spanning 560 square feet, was designed for rental purposes, necessitating a thoughtful use of resources. However, the team decided to focus on a bold experiment with color and unconventional material usage, transforming the space into a vibrant haven.
The client leaned on the team’s expertise regarding the kitchen’s color: “I don’t like this green, but I like to trust you! Therefore, I am ready to rely on you and take a risk.” This sentiment became the driving force behind the 2BM project, turning it into an exploration of diversity in color and materials.
Throughout the interior, bright primary colors take center stage, creating a lively and unconventional atmosphere. The lively green kitchen cabinets are juxtaposed with white square tiles framed in blue grout. Opposite the kitchen in the open living space, contrasting curtains in a bright blue shade, provide balance and depth to the space.
The bedroom exudes calmness with warm-toned walls and cozy textiles, while a Yves Klein blue colored shelf pops as a focal point across from the bed. Resourcefulness was showcased in the creation of a bedside table made from leftover tiles. A cherry red color is revealed when the floor-to-ceiling white curtans open to the closet.
A bold blue sliding door made of polycarbonate plastic welcomes guests at the entrance, which is complemented by a similar shade of tile grout.
Even the bathroom follows the project’s colorful concept, featuring yellow glass for the shower/tub, a red cabinet housing the sink, and the same blue grout seen throughout.
Photography by Uliana Vinichuk.
IAIA Offers Double Vision in New Exhibits
Inuk Silis Høegh, “The Green Land,” 2011, film installation, 34min.
Photograph courtesy of the artist.
Kume Assurini (Awaete), “TAYGAWAETE—CORPO DE ALMA DEVERDADE (BODY OF THE TRUE SOUL),” 2021, fabric paint on canvas.
Photograph courtesy of Anita Ekman.
Anita Ekman with Sandra Nanaya (Tariano), “Ocre—Pele e Pedra (Ochre—Skin and Rock),” 2019, digital print on amate paper (Mexican paper).
Photograph courtesy of Anita Ekman.
Kume Assurini (Awaete), “JUAKETE—Pintura Verdadeira Plana (True Flat Painting),” 2021, fabric paint on canvas.
Photograph courtesy of Anita Ekman.
National Portrait Gallery Presents “Star Power: Photographs From
The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery will present “Star Power: Photographs from Hollywood’s Golden Age by George Hurrell,” an exhibition exploring timeless images of film royalty from the 1930s and 1940s. George Hurrell, the acclaimed Hollywood portrait photographer, captures these stars in their most enchanting light. Among those featured are film icons, ranging from Jean Harlow and Bill “Bojangles” Robinson to Greta Garbo and James Wong Howe. Selected from the National Portrait Gallery’s collection, which includes 70 recently acquired Hurrell portraits, the exhibition is curated by senior curator of photographs Ann Shumard. It will be on view from March 1 to Jan. 5, 2025.
“Through his expertly crafted, mesmerizing portraits, George Hurrell burnished the luster Hollywood’s most memorable stars of the 1930s and ’40s,” Shumard said.
In 1930, Hurrell began his Hollywood career as a photographer for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), the studio claiming to have “more stars than there are in heaven.” Shortly after joining MGM, Hurrell became the studio’s principal portrait photographer. His keen eye for lighting, composition and artful posing glorified Hollywood’s stars and influenced popular standards of glamour. In 1933, Hurrell established his own studio on Sunset Boulevard, where he continued to photograph actors for MGM and those working for other major studios. After closing his studio in 1938, he ended the decade as the head of photography for Warner Bros.
Featuring more than 20 vintage photographs, this exhibition portrays some of Golden Age Hollywood’s most memorable stars at the height of their fame, including John Barrymore, Jimmy Durante, Rosalind Russell, Spencer Tracy, Loretta Young and many more.
National Portrait Gallery
The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery tells the multifaceted story of the United States through the individuals who have shaped American culture. Spanning the visual arts, performing arts and new media, the Portrait Gallery portrays poets and presidents, visionaries and villains, actors, and activists whose lives tell the nation’s story.
The National Portrait Gallery is located at Eighth and G streets N.W., Washington, D.C. Smithsonian Information: (202) 633-1000. Connect with the museum at npg.si.edu and on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
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SI-29-2024
Crown + Flint Analog Photography App Gets Film Storage Update
Last summer, dedicated film photographer Don Goodman-Wilson released an app he designed specifically for film photographers. In November, he set the stage for regular releases of the Flint + Crown app with a significant update. The third such update is now available, adding the option to keep track of film in storage.
Available for both Android and iOS, the Crown + Flint smartphone app allows photographers to keep track of their equipment and the photos they capture. It serves as a replacement for taking notes in a physical notebook or note app that isn’t tailored to photographers and offers light meter capabilities to assist when taking photos.
When designing the app, Goodman-Wilson set some high expectations.
“It must collect relevant metadata on shots I take: Exposure, light metering, location, time, which camera body and lens I used, what film is loaded. It must be no more cumbersome to use than a hand-held light meter. It must make it easy to correlate the collected data with the physical film itself, ideally through some combination of printable sheets to store with the negatives and/or EXIF data I can merge into film scans. And it should reflect the needs of the photographer, not just the needs of the data being collected,” he explains.
The Crown + Flint R3 (third update), which is also called “Cold Storage,” adds even more convenience. The new update overhauls the “Unused” tab in the app to make it easier to keep track of film inventory. That includes bulk rolls and boxes of sheet film.
“If you’re like me, you’ve got rolls of film in your freezer, your fridge, out on your desk, it’s everywhere. Maybe you have a plan for it, maybe you don’t. Maybe it’s fresh, maybe it’s expired. Or maybe you just have a couple of rolls you’re not ready to use yet, you’re saving them for a rainy day,” explains the release notes.
I’ve personally been guilty of loading a roll of film into my camera and taking so long to get through it that I forget what’s in it and when I even started shooting it. Keeping track of that in an app is an extremely helpful tool. Plus, having the ability to easily pair camera settings and conditions with individual film frames is a great way to improve my film photography skills.
When users go to add film to their stock list, they have the option to include plenty of details. The app suggests the manufacturer name as they type and populates the various film options from that manufacturer. Then, users can select how the film is stored, the film format, and the quantity. There are fields for purchase date and expiration date, a blank notes section, and where the film is stored (refrigerator, bag, or freezer). Once a user inputs all that information, they can sort using filters, hopefully making finding a specific roll easier.
Beyond film storage, the R3 release also offers new support for cameras with interchangeable backs and film holders. Plus, the team improved the archive export for exiftool.
Crown + Flint already released what’s coming next back in November, and they appear to be sticking to that. R4 is dubbed “Homecoming” and will provide home screen and lock screen functionality, making it faster to pull up the app. R5, or “Filtered Reality” will add support for filters, taking the mental math of figuring out exposure out of the equation.
Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.
Brazil Will Turn the Spotlight on Indigenous Artists at the Venice Biennale
At this year’s Venice Biennale, Brazil’s representatives will shine a light on their home country’s indigenous peoples, once brought to the brink of extinction by colonial rule and now fighting to reclaim what was taken from them.
The mission starts with the name of the exhibition site, which has been rebranded from the Brazilian Pavilion to the Hãhãwpuá Pavilion—a reference to the Pataxó people’s word for the territory before it was colonized by the Portuguese. Artist and activist Glicéria Tupinambá has been tapped to take it over, but hers isn’t the only work that will be on view. Artists Olinda Tupinambá and Ziel Karapotó also have contributions planned.
For Denilson Baniwa, Arissana Pataxó, and Gustavo Caboco Wapichana—the three curators behind the Hãhãwpuá Pavilion—a communal approach was central to the message.
“The show brings together the Tupinambá Community and artists coming from the coastal peoples—the first to be transformed into foreigners in their own Hãhãw (ancestral territory)—in order to express a different perspective on the vast territory where more than 300 indigenous peoples live (Hãhãwpuá),” the curators said in a joint written statement.
For them, the Hãhãwpuá Pavilion “tells a story of indigenous resistance in Brazil, the strength of the body present in the retaking of territory and adaptation to climatic emergencies.”
Curators Denilson Baniwa, Arissana Pataxo, and Gustavo Caboco Wapichana. Photo: Cabrel. Courtesy of the São Paulo Biennial Foundation.
“Ka’a Pûera: we are walking birds” is the name of the show planned for the pavilion—and it too says a lot about how the curators are thinking of their Venice project. The key phrase, Ka’a Pûera, is a portmanteau that suggests dual allusions: first, to a type of cropland that, after being harvested, yields a wave of low-lying vegetation; and second, to a small bird that expertly camouflages itself in dense forests.
Both images reflect the Tupinambá, who were considered extinct until 2002, when they were finally recognized by the Brazilian State. In this sense, the Tupinambá are both birds and resurgent croplands: nearly erased but never gone, powerful in their ability to blend in, more powerful when they demand not to.
Artist Glicéria Tupinambá. Courtesy of the São Paulo Biennial Foundation.
A series of mantles—feathered capes made by the Tupinambás—are included in a pavilion installation planned by Glicéria Tupinambá, who has pushed to have the few remaining examples from the 17th-century repatriated to Brazil. One of just 11 known mantles from this period was recently returned from the National Museum of Denmark, where it had lived since 1689. The other 10 remain in European collections.
“The garment spans time and brings the issues of colonization into the present day, while the Tupinambá and other peoples continue their anti-colonial struggles in their territories—like the Ka’a Pûera, birds that walk over resurgent forests,” the Hãhãwpuá Pavilion said.
Glicéria Tupinambá, Manto tupinambá (Tupinambá Mantle) (2023). Courtesy of the artist.
“We are living in a moment of convergence between the past, the present, and the future, in order to find a path towards sustainable ways of life and a rethinking of human relations,” said Andrea Pinheiro, president of the Fundação Bienal de São Paulo. “The questions raised by the work of the curators and artists point to relevant paths for the arduous process ahead of us.”
The concerns of the Hãhãwpuá Pavilion mirror those of the main exhibition at this year’s 60th Venice Biennale, organized by another Brazilian curator, Adriano Pedrosa. A sprawling presentation of 332 artists titled “Foreigners Everywhere,” his planned show is all about outsiders. The exhibition includes numerous indigenous artists—including the Brazilian collective Movimento dos Artistas Huni Kuin—who are, according to Pedrosa’s curatorial statement, “frequently treated as [foreigners in their] own land.”
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