June Book Bag: from a book of night photography to the latest instalment of the Andy Warhol catalogue raisonné

June Book Bag: from a book of night photography to the latest instalment of the Andy Warhol catalogue raisonné

Night Fever: Film and Photography After Dark, Shanay Jhaveri (editor), Cornerhouse, 424pp, £39 (pb)

More than 40 scholars, artists and curators go under cover of darkness for this analysis, exploring how artists, film-makers and photographers tackle nighttime as a subject. Jhaveri, the book’s editor and head of visual arts at the Barbican in London, says that the publication reflects “how the experience of the night can be represented and communicated and translated”. Tenebrous images by the Indian photographer Dhruv Malhotra show people bedding down after the sun sets in Noida, a New Delhi district, while the US artist Ming Smith captures the pop star Grace Jones performing at New York’s Studio 54 club in 1978. Other artists featured include David Goldblatt, Dayanita Singh, Gaspar Noé, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Derek Jarman, Kenneth Anger and Chantal Akerman.

The Andy Warhol Catalogue Raisonné: Paintings and Sculptures mid-1977–1980 (Volume 6), Neil Printz (ed), The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc./Phaidon, 804pp, £500 (hb)

The Andy Warhol art machine rolls on with the publication of the latest volume of the Pop artist’s catalogue raisonné, the last of four volumes dedicated to Warhol’s works of the 1970s (the tome is the third to document the paintings that Warhol produced at 860 Broadway, the studio he ran until 1983). The volume includes 741 paintings and sculptures, including Shadows (1978-79)—one of Warhol’s most celebrated abstract works—and the Retrospective series (1978), which includes the famous Electric Chair screenprint. Other key works featured include Warhol’s headline-hitting BMW Art Car (BMW M1, 1979) and his famous, epoch-defining portraits of celebrities such as Liza Minnelli (1978).

Queer Art: From Canvas to Club, and the Spaces Between, Gemma Rolls-Bentley, Frances Lincoln, 240pp, £25 (hb)

Queer theory is currently a publishing trend, covering areas such as trans history, queer photography culture and the places that shaped LGBTQ+ pioneers. In this overview, Gemma Rolls-Bentley “mixes the high-brow with the low, blue-chip artists with Instagram creatives, and the racy with the fabulous”, according to a publisher’s statement. Artists featured include Nina Chanel Abney, Leilah Babirye, Elmgreen & Dragset, Amy Sherald and Paul Mpagi Sepuya. Rolls-Bentley adds: “Two years in the making, my book investigates the role of queer art today and acknowledges the history-defining impact of our communities in the cultural landscape.”

Vilhelm Hammershøi: Silence, Felix Krämer and Florian Illies (contributors), Hauser & Wirth publishers, 106pp, £25 (pb)

Hauser & Wirth inaugurates its new gallery in Basel this month with an unusual choice of artist— Vilhelm Hammershøi, the 19th-century Danish painter who was heavily influenced by the Old Masters. The exhibition and accompanying catalogue focus on 18 works made between 1883 and 1914, including Landscape, Gentofte (1903). The German art historian Florian Illies writes in the catalogue: “[Hammershøi] anticipated the atmosphere of René Magritte’s mysterious interiors as well as Oscar Schlemmer’s chiselled back views. The magic of the forlornness in pictures by Andrew Wyeth or Edward Hopper, too, seems to derive from Hammershøi’s works, even if these artists can hardly have known him.”

A New Book Chronicles Shigeru Ban’s Distinctive and Innovative Architecture Over Four Decades

A New Book Chronicles Shigeru Ban’s Distinctive and Innovative Architecture Over Four Decades

Mount Fuji World Heritage Center (2017), Fujinomiya, Shizuoka, Japan. Photo by Hiroyuki Hirai. All images courtesy of TASCHEN, shared with permission

A list of today’s most influential architects wouldn’t be complete without Shigeru Ban, whose exceptional projects range from religious centers and corporate campuses to museums and disaster-relief shelters around the globe. The designer’s oeuvre is unmistakably modern while drawing on timeless Japanese framing traditions. His innovative use of timber and paper results in technologically advanced forms, elaborate yet elegant latticework, harmonious curves, and a perceptive use of light.

Next month, TASCHEN is set to release Shigeru Ban. Complete Works 1985–Todaya monograph that traces the designer’s most influential works throughout the past four decades. In the publisher’s “XXL” format, experience Ban’s sweeping Japan Pavilion at Expo 2000 in Hanover, Germany, a colorful, translucent public restroom in Tokyo that turns opaque when in use, and a vaulted cathedral ceiling made of cardboard in New Zealand, among myriad other projects.

Shigeru Ban is written by by Philip Jodidio, who has authored more than 150 books about architecture the world over. A series of 200 limited-edition copies come with a three-dimensional, laser-cut wooden cover and include a signed print of a sketch by Ban. Preorder on TASCHEN’s website.

 

a vertical image of the interior of a sunlit architectural space with white floors and walls and intricate wooden latticework on the ceiling that blends into a series of support columns

Haesley Hamlet (2020), Gyeonggi, South Korea. Photo by texture on texture

the interior of the Japan Pavilion at Expo 2000 in Hanover, showing a long, arched interior with white floors and a ceiling of latticework

Japan Pavilion (2000), Expo 2000, Hanover, Germany. Photo by Hiroyuki Hirai

a striking building with a kind of three-dimensional checkerboard effect on a long pier

Nomadic Museum, Pier 54, New York, United States (2005); Santa Monica, California, United States (2006); Tokyo, Japan (2007). Photo by Michael Moran

a series of floating, colorfully illuminated glass architectural structures floating on water in Japan

Simose (2023), Otake, Hiroshima, Japan. Photo © TASCHEN

a striking, undulating building viewed from outside at night, with light coming through latticework in the ceiling

Centre Pompidou-Metz (2010), Metz, France. Photo by Didier Boy de la Tour

a church in New Zealand with a vaulted ceiling made of cardboard tubes and a large, triangular stained glass window made of numerous other small triangles of color

Cardboard Cathedral (2013), Christchurch, New Zealand. Photo by Steven Goodenough

the interior of a large bathroom with a pool and a series of showers, bright white on the floor and walls with wooden latticework on the ceiling

Kur Park Nagayu (2019), Oita, Japan. Photo by Hiroyuki Hirai

a large, architectural feature with intricate latticework curving over a road, photographed at night to show its illuminated underside

Swatch/Omega Campus (2019), Biel/Bienne, Switzerland. Photo courtesy of Swatch

La Seine Musicale (2017), Île Seguin, Boulogne-Billancourt, France. Photo by Didier Boy de la Tour

the cover of the book 'Shigeru Ban. Complete Works 1985-Today'

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article A New Book Chronicles Shigeru Ban’s Distinctive and Innovative Architecture Over Four Decades appeared first on Colossal.

Shoreview native finds mindfulness in photography

Shoreview native finds mindfulness in photography

After her youngest entered elementary school, Mary Jo Hoffman had a few extra hours each day and wanted to fill that time with some kind of creative work. Hoffman gave herself a one-year, photo-a-day challenge, and called it “STILL.” Twelve and a half years later, she hasn’t missed a day. 

Before the first year was over, the project had received national attention. The blog “STILL” features almost 4,000 of Hoffman’s photos of found nature on a plain white background. 

Jim Dugan’s nautical photography sails into Rockport library

Jim Dugan’s nautical photography sails into Rockport library

ROCKPORT — From June 1 through June 27, the Rockport Public Library will host a show of photography by local photographer Jim Dugan entitled “Rowing in Eden.” The exhibit will feature images of fourteen watercraft on Penobscot Bay, “striking seascapes which capture the indelible magic of sailing along the Midcoast in the summer,” said the Library, in a news release.

The public is invited to meet Dugan at his artist’s reception on Saturday, June 22, from 3 to 5 p.m., in the lower level of the Rockport Public Library.

“My nautical photographs celebrate the timeless nature of the vessels and the hard work, dedication, and passion of the crews and owners,” says Dugan, in the RPL news release.

Dugan knows a thing or two about crews, having worked aboard schooners in various capacities for the past twenty-five years.

Jim Dugan came to Maine in 1989 to study photography at the Maine Photographic Workshops (now the Maine Media Workshops). He stuck around, working first as a photographer’s assistant, then as a print and website designer. Design work for the schooner Mary Day led to trips aboard and a few stints filling in as deck crew and galley hand. Dugan now teaches photography for a week every summer aboard the schooner Mary Day, where he has also served as relief crew and sails a few times every summer. Learn more about Dugan’s photography at JimDugan.com.

Behind The Scenes Of Poor Things

Behind The Scenes Of Poor Things

Dear God, the Parthenon Is Still Broken è il photo book di Yorgos Lanthimos che svela i retroscena di Povere creature!

5 mins ago

Giorgia Massari

If Kind of Kindness, the latest film by Yorgos Lanthimos to be released June 6 in all theaters, is still shrouded in a dense aura of mystery, Poor Things – starring a fantastic Emma Stone – is now well and truly eviscerated. Both on the web, where it has been widely discussed, and by the director himself, who just a few days ago released Dear God, the Parthenon Is Still Broken. We are talking about the new photo book that reveals some of the background of Poor Things through Yorgos Lanthimos’ own eyes. Some of the beautiful shots in the book can be seen on the website of Void, the Athenian publishing house that produced it. It is on sale here in three versions, the standard one for a small fee while the two limited editions are available for $382 and $1,580, respectively. The latter with only 30 copies signed by the director.

VOID – Dear God, the Parthenon Is Still Broken | Photograph by Yorgos Lanthimos

Shots developed in an improvised darkroom on set

Bound in a cloth hardcover, Dear God, the Parthenon Is Still Broken features large-format images captured and developed on set through the collaboration between Lanthimos and his lead actress, Emma Stone. After long days of shooting, the two met in a makeshift darkroom to develop the negatives. The images reveal intricate sets that, although set in 19th-century Europe, were shot entirely in a Budapest studio. Lanthimos widens the frame to reveal the meticulous craftsmanship behind the scenes, including the Lisbon set that took more than 20 weeks to build.

Dear God, the Parthenon Is Still Broken | Photograph by Yorgos Lanthimos

A work of art in its own right

Costume designer Holly Waddington‘s work gives the book a look reminiscent of an avant-garde fashion book, with striking images such as Mark Ruffalo in a bouffant suit and wistful shots of the urban landscape. Also beautiful are the shots of Emma Stone during filming, making her look like a woman from another era. Dear God, the Parthenon Is Still Broken somehow quenches fans’ thirst by subtly and delicately deflecting all the driving emotions of Poor Things: longing, arrogance, humor and anger. At the same time, the photo book presents itself as a separate creature from the film, emphasizing how the arts can travel in parallel, on completely different paths, but still holding hands.

Credits and courtesy: Dear God, the Parthenon Is Still Broken | Photograph by Yorgos Lanthimos
Dear God, the Parthenon Is Still Broken | Photograph by Yorgos Lanthimos
From “Dear God, the Parthenon Is Still Broken” | Photograph by Yorgos Lanthimos
Poor Things: Dear God, the Parthenon Is Still Broken | Photograph by Yorgos Lanthimos
VOID, Dear God, the Parthenon Is Still Broken | Photograph by Yorgos Lanthimos

Capture Perfect Moments: Essential Tips for Smartphone Photographers

Capture Perfect Moments: Essential Tips for Smartphone Photographers
image

Understanding and mastering fundamental photography techniques such as composition, lighting, and exposure is key to achieving professional-looking phone photos. To capture sharp, clear images on your smartphone, focus on the subject, utilize gridlines to compose your shots, and ensure proper lighting conditions to avoid blurry or grainy photos.

A well-composed photograph captures attention by following principles like the rule of thirds, leading lines, symmetry, and framing. Lighting sets the mood, highlights the subject, and creates depth and dimension. Explore your smartphone camera’s settings and features, experiment with different shooting modes, and use third-party camera apps for added control and creativity. Consider investing in external lenses or accessories to enhance your photography experience.

Simple adjustments like exposure, white balance, and contrast, as well as using editing tools for cropping and filters, can greatly enhance the visual impact of your photos, turning ordinary snapshots into visually striking images. With advancements in smartphone camera technology and a good understanding of photography principles, capturing professional-quality photos with your smartphone is entirely possible. Master the basics, pay attention to details, and continuously practice and refine your skills.

Stunning smartphone photos on social media often involve creativity, attention to detail, and post-processing techniques. By carefully composing shots, using natural light, editing for impact, and experimenting with different perspectives, you can elevate your smartphone photography and captivate your audience on social media platforms.

Understanding Your Phone’s Camera Settings

Exploring Manual Settings: Adjust exposure, ISO, and focus to significantly enhance photo quality, allowing for more creative control and expression.

The Importance of Resolution and Aspect Ratio: Select the appropriate settings for different platforms and purposes to ensure your photos look their best when shared or printed.

Composition Techniques

Rule of Thirds: Master the fundamental principle of dividing your frame to create visually appealing compositions that draw the viewer in.

Leading Lines and Symmetry: Use leading lines and symmetry to guide the viewer’s eye through your photos, adding depth and interest.

Lighting and Time of Day

Golden Hour Magic: The golden hour, just after sunrise and before sunset, provides soft, warm light for stunning photography.

Using Natural Light to Your Advantage: Manage harsh sunlight and leverage shadows creatively to capture compelling images.

Advanced Smartphone Camera Features

HDR Mode: Understand when and how to use High Dynamic Range to capture intricate details in both bright and dark areas of your composition.

Portrait Mode and Depth Control: Achieve a pleasingly blurred background and emphasize your subject with precision using portrait mode and depth control.

Editing Apps and Tools

Basic Adjustments: Enhance your photos with essential adjustments such as cropping, exposure correction, and color enhancements.

Creative Editing: Use filters and presets responsibly to elevate your images without overshadowing their original quality.

Keeping Your Lens Clean and Your Phone Steady

Regular Maintenance Tips: Keep your lens spotless to ensure crystal-clear pictures.

Stabilization Techniques: Prevent blurry images using tripods, monopods, or other stabilizers, ensuring sharp, professional results.

Practice Makes Perfect

Experimenting with Different Subjects and Settings: Explore various subjects and settings to hone your skills with each shot.

Reviewing and Learning from Your Photos: Critically evaluate your images to identify areas for improvement, transforming each critique into a step toward mastery.