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Iranian galleries introduce the country’s contemporary art to new collectors at the Armory

By in Art World News

Iranian galleries introduce the country’s contemporary art to new collectors at the Armory

Two galleries from Iran are taking part in The Armory Show this year, providing a crucial international platform amid ongoing domestic unease. A protest movement set off by the death of Mahsa Amini while in the custody of Iran’s morality police nearly a year ago has been met by increasingly violent government suppression.

Sarai Gallery, established in 2018 and based in Mahshahr, is showing a solo stand dedicated to the Iranian artist Abbas Nasle Shamloo, who is known for his sombre depictions of nature and landscapes. The gallery takes part in around ten art fairs each year and is largely focused on selling internationally rather than in Iran, founder Hassan Saradipour says.

“One of our main goals is to show Iranian artists and introduce Iranian talent all over the world,” Saradipour says. In 2021, the gallery won the fair’s Presents Booth Prize for its stand featuring works by Moslem Khezri.

Saradipour says visitors are often surprised to see galleries from Iran at international fairs, particularly in the US because of sanctions placed on the country in 2019. The art market is not specifically named in the US sanctions, but they can complicate some aspects of operating a gallery, like wiring money to and from international bank accounts.

Taking part in so many art fairs over the years has helped Sarai Gallery and others raise Iranian artists’ profiles in the international art market, Saradipour says. The Armory Show in particular is “one of the best”, he says, because of its reach within the US market.

Hormoz Hematian, who founded Tehran-based gallery Dastan in 2012, agrees The Armory Show’s position in New York allows galleries access to “so many curious and interested people who come from around the world to see art”.

Dastan’s stand focuses on work by artists of Iranian heritage, including Nicky Nodjoumi (whom Hematian describes as “one of the legends of Iranian art”); Andisheh Avini, who also works as a senior director at Gagosian; and Reza Aramesh, a visual artist based in London.

“They bring attention to traces of a really ancient culture that has a wealth of history with visual arts, and their work is an extension of that lineage,” Hematian says.

Indigenous artists in the spotlight at this year’s Armory Show

By in Art World News

Indigenous artists in the spotlight at this year’s Armory Show

Discerning curatorial trends among The Armory Show’s more than 220 exhibitors can be challenging, but this year one current is especially clear: the fair, its galleries and organisers are foregrounding the work of Indigenous artists. This negotiation of Native identity in a commercial context begs some questions, including: what does it mean to decolonise an art fair, and can it realistically be done?

Candice Hopkins—a Carcross/Tagish First Nation citizen who is the director and chief curator of Forge Project in upstate New York—is curating The Armory Show’s Focus section, which this year features 31 galleries showing solo and two-artist presentations. Her vision for the section “is less about representing artists who I feel haven’t been represented on this kind of stage before, and it’s actually a deeper exploration into thinking about material inheritances”, she says. “That can be practices and tools and techniques that are passed down over generations. That can be regional or place-based, because materials and their histories tell stories.”

She highlights the work of Eric-Paul Riege—a Diné textile artist and weaver based in Gallup, New Mexico, who is showing with Minneapolis-based Bockley Gallery—as typical of her approach to the fair. “He works with many generations of weavers in his family, and he taught himself to weave based on a weaving that was made by his grandmother that’s now part of the regalia that he makes,” Hopkins says. “He makes these giant, oversized soft sculptures, many of them modelled after what you would see today as contemporary Navajo jewellery. They’ve increasingly become animated, so they make sound and he performs in relation to them.” Riege’s presentation at the fair will include performances.

Hopkins’s section spans emerging artists, like Riege, and prominent figures like Tlingit and Unangax̂ artist Nicholas Galanin (showing with New York’s Peter Blum Gallery), Seneca artist Marie Watt and Choctaw-Cherokee artist Jeffrey Gibson, who was recently selected to represent the US at the 2024 Venice Biennale. (Watt and Gibson are showing with New York gallery Marc Straus.)

A sculpture by Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun, a Cowichan/Syilx First Nations artist Courtesy of Macaulay & Co. Fine Art

Vancouver-based gallery Macaulay & Co. Fine Art is bringing a more historically tinged solo presentation of works by the Cowichan/Syilx First Nations artist Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun, including a painting featured in the National Gallery of Canada’s landmark 1992 exhibition of contemporary Indigenous art, Land Spirit Power. That was “the first time that the National Gallery of Canada had ever done an exhibition even acknowledging contemporary Native art, and it was after a lot of activism from Native artists”, Hopkins says. “It’s an opportunity to see a piece of history.”

Emphasis on history as a timely consideration is also on the minds of gallerists at the fair. “There’s been an uptick in interest in Indigenous work over the past five years,” says Dave Kimelberg, a member of the Seneca Nation and founder of K Art Gallery in Buffalo, New York, which champions works by Native American, First Nations and Indigenous artists. The gallery is showing at Armory for the second time, focusing on the work of G. Peter Jemison, a member of the Seneca Nation’s Heron clan. The stand will span works from the 1960s to today.

“Peter has had an amazing and varied career, and it’s so exciting that we get to bring him to an Armory audience,” Kimelberg says. “Our agenda is to get Indigenous artists into the contemporary art market.”

Peregrine Falcon Defending Her Nest Wins Bird Photo Competition

By in Photography

Peregrine Falcon Defending Her Nest Wins Bird Photo Competition

“Grab the Bull by the Horns” by Jack Zhi, United States. Bird Photographer of the Year 2023 and Gold Award Category: Bird Behavior.
Species: Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus and Brown Pelican Pelecanus occidentalis.
Location: Southern California, United States.
“During the breeding season, a female Peregrine Falcon fiercely protects her young, attacking anything that comes near the nest. For four years, I attempted to capture these rare moments of her attacking large Brown Pelicans with incredible speed and agility. The high-speed chase made it challenging to capture a close-up shot with a long lens. The falcon’s precision was amazing as it struck at the pelican’s head.”

A striking photo of a female peregrine falcon fiercely defending her young was the top winner of the 2023 Bird Photographer of the Year contest. Selected from over 20,000 images, this bird of prey attacking a brown pelican that was too close to her nest earned American photographer Jack Zhi the title of Bird Photographer of the Year.

“For four years, I attempted to capture the rare sight of the female falcon attacking large brown pelicans with incredible speed and agility,” shares Zhi. “I love the eyes of the pelican in this image—surprised and scared. The action was fast and over in the blink of an eye. But I’ll remember that moment forever.”

Zhi’s dynamic image was one of many exceptional photographs entered into this year’s contest, which covers eight categories for adults, as well as special Video, Portfolio, and Conservation awards. Young photographers are also encouraged to enter, with 17-year-old German photographer Anton Trexler taking home the title of Young Bird Photographer of the Year.

All of the winning images are published in a hardcover coffee-table book that makes a wonderful gift for any bird lover. This year’s collection is available for purchase online. Check out some of our favorite Gold and Silver award winners of the 2023 contest and get your entries ready, as the 2024 is already taking submissions.

Here are the winners of the 2023 Bird Photographer of the Year competition.

Glistening-green Tanager Perched on a Leaf in the Ecuadorian JungleGlistening-green Tanager Perched on a Leaf in the Ecuadorian Jungle

“Glistening-Green” by Nicolas Reusens, Spain. Gold Award Category: Best Portrait.
Species: Glistening-green Tanager Chlorochrysa phoenicotis.
Location: Mashpi Amagusa Reserve, Ecuador.
“Venturing into the tropical forest, I was excited to spot the rare Glistening-green Tanager. After hours of waiting, I saw the vivid green bird on a perfect heart-shaped leaf. Its shimmering feathers reflected a dazzling array of colors. I captured every detail, grateful for this magical moment amid the lush jungle backdrop.”

Adult and juvenile King PenguinsAdult and juvenile King Penguins

“More Fish Please!” by Levi Fitze, Switzerland. Silver Award Category: Comedy Bird.
Species: King Penguin Aptenodytes patagonicus.
Location: Saunders Island, Falkland Islands (Malvinas).
“When observing King Penguins, I was struck by how their behavior sometimes resembles that of humans. This juvenile constantly begged until the annoyed adult walked away. However, the fact that the juvenile was more massive than the adult suggests good parenting overall.”

Brambling Eat a Dried SunflowerBrambling Eat a Dried Sunflower

“Sunflower Paradise” by Mateusz Piesiak, Poland. Gold Award Category: Birds in the Environment.
Species: Brambling Fringilla montifringilla.
Location: Lower Silesia, Poland.
“Flooding meant that a field of sunflowers could not be harvested, and thousands of birds, including Greenfinches (Chloris chloris), Goldfinches (Carduelis carduelis) and Bramblings, flocked to it in winter. Despite their colorful plumage making them easy targets, when foraging, their colors blend with the surroundings, making them hard for predators to spot. Using a wide-angle lens masked with snow and dried sunflowers, I photographed a flock of Bramblings from their perspective, with one perched in front of my camera.”

Silhouette of Eurasian Blackbird Against a Full MoonSilhouette of Eurasian Blackbird Against a Full Moon

“Blue Hour and Red Moon” by Anton Trexler, Germany. Young Bird Photographer of the Year and Gold Award Category: 15–17 years.
Species: Eurasian Blackbird Turdus merula.
Location: Mainz, Germany.
“Blackbird singing in the dead of night. Blue atmosphere and red moon. Getting up before sunrise allows you to experience the magical awakening of animals. The blackbird is one of the first animals to awaken.”

Two Emperor Penguins Looking Over Their YoungTwo Emperor Penguins Looking Over Their Young

“Parenting Goals” by Thomas Vijayan,
Canada. Silver Award Category: Best Portrait.
Species: Emperor Penguin Aptenodytes forsteri.
Location: Antarctica.
“Before capturing this image, I spent two days observing these penguins, lying flat on the ice to avoid scaring them. Waiting for the chick to appear, I finally got this touching shot of parental love. I trekked eight hours a day on soft snow to reach this colony and even made friends with some penguins.”

Migratory birds in Shenzhen, ChinaMigratory birds in Shenzhen, China

“Urban Paradise” by Xiaoke Wang, China. Silver Award Category: Urban Birds.
Species: Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo.
Location: Shenzhen, China.
“From October to March, Shenzhen is a wintering ground for over 100,000 migratory birds. In January 2022, tens of thousands of Great Cormorants were spotted flying over Talent Park, adding to the area’s avian diversity.”

Sword-billed HummingbirdSword-billed Hummingbird

“Flying Sword” by Rafael Armada, Spain. Gold Award Category: Birds in Flight.
Species: Sword-billed Hummingbird Ensifera ensifera.
Location: Bogotá, Colombia.
“The Sword-billed Hummingbird, common in the Andean forests, has the world’s longest bill relative to its size. This bird’s unique bill, adapted to feed on flowers with long corollas, makes it a vital pollinator, as bees and butterflies can’t reach the nectar and so don’t pollinate these plants. This image captures the bird approaching a feeder, with natural backgrounds and lighting.”

Young Musk Duck seems mesmerized by a drop of water falling from its mother’s mouthYoung Musk Duck seems mesmerized by a drop of water falling from its mother’s mouth

“Fascinating Droplet” by Jason Moore, Australia. Gold Award Category: Black and White.
Species: Musk Duck Biziura lobata.
Location: Perth, Australia.
“A young Musk Duck seems mesmerized by a drop of water falling from its mother’s mouth. Of course, it’s actually interested in the morsel of food that she has in her bill. Their coloration may be drab, but they more than make up for it with their beautiful expressions and fascinating displays.”

Purple Heron with a carp in its mouthPurple Heron with a carp in its mouth

“No Way Out” by Antonio Aguti, Italy. Gold Award Category: Comedy Bird Photo.
Species: Purple Heron Ardea purpurea.
Location: Lake Chiusi, Italy.
“The Purple Heron is a migratory bird that nests in the lake basins of the Italian Peninsula and feeds mainly on fish, although it also preys on mice, snakes, toads, and other creatures. In this shot, the heron caught a large Crucian Carp (Carassius carassius) and voraciously swallowed it after several attempts to turn the fish onto its side.”

Over 20,000 images were entered into the contest.

Turtle Dove Hunter in MaltaTurtle Dove Hunter in Malta

“Don’t Make War” by Ewan Heath-Flynn, United Kingdom. Gold Award Category: Conservation (Single
Image).
Species: European Turtle Dove Streptopelia turtur.
Location: Southern Malta.
“A Maltese hunter stands proud, having legally shot a European Turtle Dove, a prized quarry on the island. European Union legislation bans the hunting of Turtle Doves in the breeding season. Nevertheless, across the Mediterranean, an estimated 0.34–0.87 million are killed every year. Generations of Maltese have hunted this species on migration; a few continue to hunt and follow tradition. In 2017, Malta introduced a spring hunting moratorium, which left some hunters feeling their ‘traditional’ way of life had been spoilt. Unfortunately, the ban was lifted in 2022, allowing European Turtle Doves to be killed once again. The decision has the potential to dramatically impact and further damage this beautiful bird’s chances of survival and drive it further towards extinction. BirdLife International and their partner BirdLife Malta both condemn the hunting.”

Arctic and Common Tern perched together on a railingArctic and Common Tern perched together on a railing

“High-Key Terns” by Harry Sedin, Sweden. Gold Award Category: 12–14 years.
Species: Arctic Tern Sterna paradisaea and Common Tern Sterna hirundo.
Location: Örnsköldsvik, Sweden.
“In a small inlet in Örnsköldsvik, there are terns everywhere during summer. So, one afternoon on an overcast day, I headed down to the water with the goal of photographing terns in flight. Instead of that, I ended up photographing an Arctic and Common Tern perched together on a railing. By utilizing the white of their bodies, the overcast weather, and the bright reflections in the water, I captured a high-key image of the two terns.”

Verditer Flycatcher in IndiaVerditer Flycatcher in India

“Verditer Flycatcher” by Arko Saha, India. Gold Award Category: 11 and Under.
Species: Verditer Flycatcher Eumyias thalassinus.
Location: Pelling, Sikkim, India.
“Pelling is one of the most beautiful hill stations in India. I observed so many birds when I visited the area. I snapped this very colorful bird in a garden near our hotel. The extremely vibrant blue color makes this bird so beautiful.”

Great Grey Owl on Angel StatueGreat Grey Owl on Angel Statue

“A Moment of Prayer” by Arto Leppänen, Finland. Gold Award Category: Urban Birds.
Species: Great Grey Owl Strix nebulosa.
Location: Helsinki, Finland.
“During winter migration, owls from northern Finland often head to the south where they can find more food due to less snow. This Great Grey Owl chose a cemetery with abundant voles as its hunting ground. While hunting, the owl would often stop on tombstones or other structures to observe the area. Keeping a safe distance, I followed the owl and managed to capture a fleeting moment when it landed briefly on a beautiful angel statue.”

“The Dance of the Shadows” by Clément
Cornec, France. Gold Award Category: Birds in the Environment.
Species: Emperor Penguin Aptenodytes forsteri.
Location: Adélie Land, Antarctica.
“The Emperor Penguin breeds during winter in Antarctica, the coldest environment on Earth. It endures temperatures as low as -40°C during the long polar nights and 250km/h blizzards. Adaptations allow it to maintain body temperature and conserve energy.”

Flock of Lesser Flamingos in FlightFlock of Lesser Flamingos in Flight

“Green Planet Flamingos” by Paul
Mckenzie, Ireland. Silver Award Category: Birds in Flight.
Species: Lesser Flamingo Phoeniconaias minor.
Location: Lake Bogoria, Kenya.
“This aerial photograph captures a flock of Lesser Flamingos in flight over a vast and concentrated bloom of cyanobacteria (sometimes called blue-green algae), their staple food source. The photo was taken from the open doors of a light aircraft.”

Blue-footed Booby in the middle of a sardine shoalBlue-footed Booby in the middle of a sardine shoal

“Blue-Footed Fishing Dive” by Henley Spiers, United Kingdom. Silver Award Category: Bird Behavior.
Species: Blue-footed Booby Sula nebouxii.
Location: Los Islotes, Baja California Sur, Mexico.
“In early autumn, a sardine shoal at Los Islotes attracted seabird predators. Amid the shoal, I waited patiently for
the elusive shot of a Blue-footed Booby rising with a sardine in its beak. Finally, a crash came down close to me, and I instinctively captured the moment.”

Veterinarian Examining an Owl's EyeVeterinarian Examining an Owl's Eye

“Seeing Eye to Eye” by Michael Eastwell, United Kingdom. Silver Award Category: Conservation (Single Image).
Species: Southern Boobook Ninox boobook.
Location: Bonorong Wildlife Hospital,
Brighton, Tasmania, Australia.
“Southern Boobooks, the smallest Australian owl species, are often brought to veterinary hospitals after car accidents. Their large, outward-projecting eyes adapted for low-light hunting make them vulnerable to injury. In this image, Dr. Luke Gregory is examining an owl named ‘Rocket,’ focusing on the posterior eye, where injuries can be less visible.”

Black-headed Heron in a Palm Tree in KenyaBlack-headed Heron in a Palm Tree in Kenya

“The Heron in the Palms” by Yaron Schmid, Israel. Silver Award Category: Black and White.
Species: Black-headed Heron Ardea melanocephala.
Location: Samburu National Reserve,
Kenya.
“Among Samburu’s most distinctive features are its Doum Palms (Hyphaene thebaica). While moving away from the river, I noticed a Black-headed Heron perched on one of the palm tree branches. I asked the guide to stop and captured a minimalistic image using a smaller lens.”

Bird Photographer of the Year: Website | Facebook | Instagram

My Modern  Met granted permission to feature photos by BPOTY.

Related Articles:

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Winners of the 2023 Audubon Photography Awards Celebrate the Beauty of Birds

Incredible Winning Photos From the 2021 Bird Photographer of the Year Contest

Winners of the 2023 BigPicture Natural World Photography Competition Embrace Our World’s Biodiversity

Letter: Saturday Art Market increases attendance by 2,000 people

By in Art World News

Letter: Saturday Art Market increases attendance by 2,000 people

To the editor:

Saturday Art Market is a wrap — for our third and most successful summer. This has truly become a destination and we are grateful for each and every one of you who stopped by. Although our “unofficial clicker count” is not totaled, we are confident that our numbers will be close to 13,000 people who strolled through our space this summer, an increase in attendance of around 2,000 people.

This endeavor would not be possible without the combined efforts of many people including Carlson Music who provides our liability insurance, the local businesses who donate to help cover the cost of our advertising and musical groups, Explore Alexandria who financially supported us this year, also. Without the partnership of the City of Alexandria and the crew of the Alex Park Department, we would not exist. We are grateful, also, to the Echo Press for your weekly coverage of our musical groups.

The number of vendors rose this year to an all-time high of 35-40 who signed up to participate — giving rise to the fact that we always had a great variety of art available. Thank you, Alex Artists Guild for your support. Deja Bleu coffee and treats, Half Pint Ice cream, Doug Hasz and his popcorn all contributed to create a great festival atmosphere. Our musical groups were OUTSTANDING.
Thank you to Ron Branch and all the great people at the Farmer’s Market for sharing your space with us.

The arts are alive and well in Alexandria. Please continue to support all forms of Art throughout the coming year. We look forward to seeing you all again in 2024!

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Mimi Seykora, Bill Glade, Sandy Susag
Organizers of Saturday Art Market
Alexandria, MN

Bring on the art: September brings fresh exhibits to the Valley as colleges reopen

By in Native

Bring on the art: September brings fresh exhibits to the Valley as colleges reopen

Bring on the art: September brings fresh exhibits to the Valley as colleges reopen

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    This still is from “Strangeness,” a video installation opening Sept. 22 at the University Museum of Contemporary Art at UMass Amherst. Image from UMCA website

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    “We Remember,” 2020 work by Javiera Benavente of watercolor, ink, and found images on paper. It’s part of a new exhibit opening Sept. 22. Image from UMCA website

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    This 1887 work is part of “Boundless,” an exhibit at Mead Art Museum at Amherst College of work by Indigenous artists stretching back three centuries. Image courtesy Amherst College

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    Traditional artwork by Indigenous artist Elizabeth James-Perry is part of a second exhibit at the Mead Art Museum at Amherst College. Image courtesy Amherst College

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    A mask fashioned from an empty gasoline container and other discarded materials, by Beninese artist Romuald Hazoumè, is on view at the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum. Image from Mount Holyoke College Art Museum

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    “Bird,” oil on canvas by Max Ernst, circa 1928, part of a new exhibit at the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum. Photo by Petergorsky/Gipe/fromMHCAM

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    “Rapunzel’s Diary (Revised),” mixed media by Marianne Connolly, at Gallery A3 in Amherst Image courtesy Gallery A3

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    “Spoke at Length,” painting and fiber art by Rochelle Shicoff, at Gallery A3 in Amherst. Image courtesy Gallery A3

Staff Writer

Published: 9/7/2023 2:19:28 PM

September brings hordes of college students back to the Valley — as well as new art exhibits. Here’s a selected look at what’s on tap at several local campuses, as well as some area galleries.

University Museum of Contemporary Art, University of Massachusetts Amherst — The UMCA, the largest gallery at UMass, is featuring work by Palestinian-Israeli artist, actor and filmmaker Raida Adon, titled “Strangeness,” in its main exhibit space.

“Strangeness” is an immersive video in which Adon explores themes of displacement and multiple identities, evoking refugee crises past and present in the Mideast and Europe, as well as her own background: She was born to a Jewish father and Muslim mother and has some Christian family members.

Scenes in the video draw from a variety of sources, from Catholic rituals and imagery to Shakespeare to Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” as well as other classic characters from Western literature who don’t quite fit in.

Literally, in some cases: In one sequence, Adon is crammed in a Victorian-era room with tiny furnishings, a modern-day Alice who’s crawled inside a large dollhouse.

Other images depict Adon outside a crumbling railroad station with worn suitcases and furniture piled nearby, including a large, freestanding mirror. Adon, wearing a long, blue dress, seems to symbolize the endless waiting and sorrow of people forced to flee their homes.

As one reviewer writes, “Strangeness unveils harsh truths about our broken world through the prism of Raida Adon’s unique, unbridled imagination.”

“Strangeness” opens Sept. 22 and runs through Dec. 10 at UMCA alongside two smaller exhibits.

In one, drawings by Westhampton artist Susan Yard are juxtaposed against work by Mexican-born artist Edda Renouf in UMCA’s longstanding “Dialogue with a Collection” program. And “Artists, Born Elsewhere” showcases work from UMCA’s collection by artists who immigrated to the U.S. and have had a lasting impact on American culture.

Mead Art Museum, Amherst College — “Boundless,” which recently opened at the Mead, features work from 150 Indigenous artists — sculpture, photographs, quillwork, music scores, writing and more — that’s designed to celebrate Indigenous creativity, resistance and persistence.

The exhibit includes items from the Amherst College Collection of Native American Literature and the Mead’s collection, along with key loans from the Northeast and beyond. All told, the work extends back more than three centuries.

In a statement, the show’s curator, the North Dakota-based writer Heid E. Erdrich (Ojibwe), said she felt “ripples of connection” between all the objects, books, and individual artists whose work is featured in the exhibit, connections that “sprang from place, kinship, culture and the living world.”

Work by contemporary Indigenous artists including Andrea Carlson (Anishinaabe) and Sierra Henries (Nipmuc) is featured alongside objects such as pages from the Mamusse Wunneetupanatamwe Up-Biblum God, a 1663 Algonquin-language Bible created by a team that included three Indigenous translators and a Nipmuc printer.

According to exhibit notes, “Boundless” also “incorporates objects by non-Native creators to further its inquiries.”

A second exhibit, “Seeping In,” features work by Elizabeth James-Perry (Aquinnah Wampanoag) and opens Sept. 14. James-Perry, a fiber artist who uses traditional materials and practices of her people, is a former artist-in-residence at Amherst; at that time she created the mounded Sea Turtle garden at the college’s Book & Plow Farm.

Both Mead exhibits will run through Jan. 7.

Mount Holyoke College Art Museum — New installations are also on display at MHCAM, including work by a multidisciplinary African contemporary artist, Romuald Hazoumè, a member of the Yoruba people from the Republic of Benin.

Hazoumè’s installation, “I will spatter the sky utterly,” features a specific example of his work: distinctive masks that memorialize people, places and moments.

His masks, made of plastic gasoline containers and discarded materials, reference traditional masks used for African ceremonies while also addressing environmental and energy issues.

According to exhibit notes, the masks also “speak to the fraught life of the Beninese men and women who have to navigate porous Benin-Nigeria borders as part of the illicit fuel trade in order to survive.”

On view as well at MHCAM is “Art of the 20th and 21st centuries Reimagined,” an installation drawn from the museum’s permanent collection and focused on American, European, and international art.

The exhibit takes a close look at modern-era developments and movements such as photography, Surrealism, and abstraction, as well as how contemporary artists “deploy mass-produced and found objects to craft novel responses to living in the 21st century.”

The installations run to late May, 2024.

Gallery A3, Amherst — Two artists who have been shared space before in A3, Marianne Connolly and Rochelle Shicoff, are paired this month in “Piecing, Connecting, and Re-calling.”

Connolly, a photographer, mixed-media artist and writer, explores storytelling, narrative, and the connections between language and image in her mixed-media work and collage.

One example in the new show is “Rapunzel’s Diary (Revised),” in which Connolly pairs an old Olivetti Valentine typewriter, mounted on the wall, with a 20-foot scroll of typed narrative flowing beneath it — the better to imitate the long hair of the fairytale character trapped in a tower.

Shicoff, a painter and mixed-media artist, combines fiber art with painting in her new work; the painted images in pieces such as “Spoke at Length” are enclosed by embroidery hoops and surrounded by pieced fabrics.

Shicoff, who oversaw the community mural painted in Florence this summer along the bike path, says this work connects to her maternal grandparents, who were tailors, and with her late mother, a master knitter and painter.

The exhibit runs through Sept. 30. An art forum takes place online Sept. 21 at 7 p.m.; you can register by visiting gallerya3.com and following the links for the exhibit.

Oxbow Gallery, Easthampton — This month’s featured artist is Cummington painter Chris Bagg, who studied with Robert Sweeney at Amherst College and with Lennart Anderson, among others, in New York City.

Bagg offers a mix of landscapes, small town scenes, and portraits that recall the work of Andrew Wyeth and Edward Hopper, artists he admires for what he calls their ability to “create an illusion” of light and space on a flat surface.

As he noted in an interview with the Gazette a few years ago, Bagg likes to paint outdoors whenever possible because “painting directly from nature was really the best way to learn about this kind of illusion making.”

The Oxbow’s smaller space this month features work by Margaret Humbert-Droz. An artists’ reception for both exhibits takes place Sept. 8 from 5 to 7 p.m.

Steve Pfarrer can be reached at spfarrer@gazettenet.com.

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Current Task Light Takes Charge of Recharging All of Your Devices

By in Design

Current Task Light Takes Charge of Recharging All of Your Devices

If one was to characterize UK-based Jones & Partners’ portfolio of industrial designs, “unfussy yet functional” comes to mind. It would also be obvious to spotlight the studio’s affinity for integrating multitasking and adaptable elements into a modern vernacular comfortably applicable to both commercial and residential environments, something fully on display with their award winning task lighting + charging concept, Current.

Born out of internal research identifying a lack of thoughtfully designed solutions for coworkers to plug into while working communally from one another across a large table or desk, Jones & Partners tapped into their experience in the contract furniture market and the electronic design realm. The result is an elegantly realized modular task lamp offering illumination, storage for stationery, wireless and USB port charging, and the option to add additional outlets in a single form factor sans any iota of clutter.

Presented in two version, the first is a minimalist task lamp equipped with a seamlessly integrated wireless charging surface situated on the left side of the lamp’s base near the task lamp’s on/off switch.

Current LED desk lamp set on light blue surface with two small storage cups filled with pens and pencils. The left side of lamp base includes a USB A and USB C ports, and a European compatible power outlet near the lamp's on/off switch.

The second Current edition is akin to an iceberg, with a portion of the lamp base hidden beneath the tabletop. The surface mounted design conceals a larger plug-in unit, allowing for two interchangeable charging modules to be added/switched out as desired.

Long workspace communal desk with five chairs on rolling legs and three Current task lamps across top. One laptop is set near the middle of the desk with Jones & Partners logo on the screen.

Installed in multiples, Current illuminates with an intimacy reminiscent of academic library lamps, albeit realized in a more contemporary form.

Current task lamp base photographed from side-top angle showing the slim footprint upon the table and small indent where the two storage cups rest.

Close up detail of the two clear green storage cups filled with pens and pencils in a workspace setting.

Detailed cropped shot of three paperclips set across the wireless charging base of the Current task lamp with the on/off switch in the center of the photo.

Current on light wood desk with light tan task chair in the background; iPhone shown wirelessly charging on its base, with its two storage cups filled with pens and pencils.

The slender “I-shaped” base and LED shade require only a minimal amount of space, both across surfaces and also visually as the antidote for workspace clutter.

Current LED task lamp staged in darker room with Apple AirPods earbuds nearby with smartphone charging on the left side of the lamp base and two small empty storage cups on the right. Lamp is on and illuminating surface immediately underneath with dark shadowed background.

The configurable task light currently remains a concept design, with eventual availability made more likely noting Jones & Partners earned a Red Dot Award 2023 for their creative efforts.

Gregory Han is a Senior Editor at Design Milk. A Los Angeles native with a profound love and curiosity for design, hiking, tide pools, and road trips, a selection of his adventures and musings can be found at gregoryhan.com.

Polaroid I-2: the high-end camera for instant photography mastery

By in Photography

Polaroid I-2: the high-end camera for instant photography mastery

AMSTERDAM, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — The new Polaroid I-2 combines traditional analog experience with modern camera technology to establish a new benchmark in instant photography. 

Armed with the sharpest-ever Polaroid lens and built-in manual controls, the I-2 produces exceptional image quality and empowers photographers with the tools to master their craft. 


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Coco Capitan x Polaroid I-2
Coco Capitan x Polaroid I-2

“For a long time, it was our dream to make a high-end Polaroid camera and give people more choice in the world of analog photography – a choice that many passionate photographers told us they were craving,” said Polaroid CEO Oskar Smolokowski. “To develop the I-2, we expanded our engineering team and spent more than four years designing and finessing every element. It is the most capable camera we’ve ever made and a true milestone in our journey.”

At the heart of the I-2 is the continuous autofocus three-lens system capable of making the sharpest shots of any Polaroid instant camera for integral film, while a wide aperture delivers a gorgeous depth of field. The lens has been designed in partnership with Japanese optical engineers with decades of experience developing marquee analog products.

The autofocus takes full advantage of the lens with a LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) sensor, which precisely detects the distance to the subject and auto-adjusts the lens, ensuring accurate focus. LiDAR enables longer focusing distance and is reliable even in difficult scenes with high or low light conditions.

The I-2 is the first Polaroid camera for integral film with built-in manual controls allowing more creative freedom. A large, bright viewfinder offers a traditional optical experience and communicates camera settings via an integrated display. Shutter speed, aperture size and six different shooting modes are directly selectable on the camera.

Further extending creative choices for photographers, the Polaroid I-2 is the first instant camera compatible with i-Type, 600 and SX-70 film and has a built-in lens thread mount compatible with 49mm filters.

The design of the I-2 is a celebration of its functionality. The exterior is built around the lens and the camera’s manual controls. It is made with high-quality materials and has a modern look while remaining uniquely and unmistakably Polaroid. 

Made for the digital age, Polaroid I-2 features Bluetooth connectivity, and the accompanying app allows firmware upgrades over the air as well as complete remote control of the camera.

Coco Capitán, Kotori Kawashima, and Max Siedentopf became the first artists to try the new I-2 camera. Polaroid commissioned their work for the “Imperfectionists” campaign designed to mark the launch and celebrate instant photography as a creative medium that is beautifully unpredictable and imperfect.

“I am not interested in perfection. Chaos. Spontaneity. Randomness. That’s where reality exists,” remarks Coco Capitán, the celebrated Spanish artist. “Working with the I-2 and the Polaroid film is remarkable. As a creative tool, it has a lot of capabilities, while you cannot always predict what the photo will look like. Every shot is unique, and the process is as meaningful as the result.” 

Polaroid I-2 key features:

  • Lens: 3-element lens with continuous autofocus system. Capable of ƒ/8 aperture across 0.4m (1.3′) – ∞ range controlled via a stepper motor. Material: optical grade polycarbonate and acrylic with anti-reflective coating.
  • LiDAR: high-accuracy ranging system
  • Built-in manual controls: camera modes, flash mode, distance to the object, shutter speed, aperture, and light meter indicator value are selectable on the camera and communicated through an integrated viewfinder display and external OLED display.
  • Camera modes: auto, aperture priority, shutter priority, manual, self-timer, multi-exposure
  • Flash: vacuum discharge tube strobe, 2.5m (8′) range. Accurate, human-friendly flash system
  • Design: modern design that echoes past iconic Polaroid machines. The technical requirements and the lens dictate the camera’s shape. The exterior is made of high-quality ABS and PMMA plastic that is more impact-resistant and finished with a special coating giving it a premium look and feel.
  • UX design: working with I-2 is engaging, I-2 technical performance is on the surface – complexity is highly accessible
  • Premium materials: ABS, PC, PMMA, Aluminum Alloy
  • Internal rechargeable lithium-ion battery, rechargeable via USB-C – 15-pack battery life
  • Compatible with Polaroid i-Type, 600, and SX-70 film
  • App-enabled: download iOS or Android Polaroid App to enable full remote control and firmware updates via OTA Bluetooth
  • Tripod mount: standard 1/4-20 UNC thread
  • Built-in lens filter thread mount: Compatible with 49mm filters
  • Compatible with external flashes: 2.5mm audio mono-jack flash sync interface

The Polaroid I-2 instant camera is available for purchase on polaroid.com and through select retailers worldwide from September 7.

@Polaroid #PolaroidI2
Polaroid I-2 Camera MSRP: $599.99, £599,99, €699,99

For more information, please contact:
[email protected]

SOURCE Polaroid

Photographer at This Year’s Burning Man Captures Rain, Mud, and Love

By in Photography

Photographer at This Year’s Burning Man Captures Rain, Mud, and Love

Burning Man 2023 Photos

A photographer who attended this year’s Burning Man says that despite the rain and the mud having a huge effect on the festival, it was still “amazing” and he came back with a unique set of images.

Perry Julien has been going to Burning Man for eight years, but this year the site in the Nevada desert got three months’ worth of rain last Friday, turning it into impassable sludge which made for an altogether different experience — and different photos.

“Once it started raining on Friday you couldn’t move about,” Julien tells PetaPixel. “After two steps, your shoes gain 10 pounds, walking was difficult — driving was impossible.”

Burning Man 2023 Photos

Burning Man 2023 Photos

Despite the muddy conditions, it gave Julien the chance to capture a set of photos different from the usual Burning Man imagery. But, he had to stay close to the camp as moving around was very difficult.

“Given that our camp is ‘beachfront property’ looking out to the playa, I was able to capture wide images and photos of people walking past our camp,” he says.

“It would have been nice to get out and explore a little and capture more photos around the city but that would have placed more stress on the infrastructure so I kept primarily to our camp.”

Burning Man 2023 Photos

Burning Man 2023 Photos
A boot recently abandoned by its owner after it slipped off their foot.

Most of the photos he took were all taken within a few feet of where he was staying. But, Julien was able to get some amusing photos, such as a boot stuck in the mud that had been abandoned by its owner.

“This person was walking and the boot slipped out. They looked at the boot, they looked at their foot, and they said ‘It’s not worth it.’ It wasn’t a posed shot,” he says.

“There weren’t many people sliding in the mud because it isn’t proper mud. We were on the outskirts of the city in the ‘beachfront property’ so for the most part it was just people slogging through. Someone described [the mud] as like ceramics on the wheel.”

Burning Man 2023 Photos
Before the rain came, earlier in the week.

Burning Man 2023 Photos

Burning Man is on a lake bed so when it rains, the ground becomes mucky and muddy. Julien tells Fox 5 Atlanta that every year he and his wife go to the festival they pack a raincoat and boots but hoped never to use them.

Festival organizers asked attendees to conserve water and food while also closing the gates so no other people could arrive as the people there struggled to leave.

Burning Man 2023 Photos
A wedding in Black Rock City. Lucky for the bride and groom it was before the rain.

Burning Man 2023 Photos

However, despite the bad conditions, Julien says that he was heartened to see people working together and helping each other out.

“It was truly inspiring to see how well most people adapted to the circumstances and made the very best of what was an insane circumstance,” he says.

“You know, there were stories of people digging out other people’s cars with their hands. Or bringing people out, or going out of their way to help people who had to get out. It is a great testament to human-kind of what can really happen in these bad situations.”

More of Julien’s work can be found on his Instagram, Facebook, and website.

Image credits: All photos by Perry Julien.

Learn photography at the library

By in Photography

Learn photography at the library

SHELL LAKE — The Shell Lake Public Library presents an Adult Photography Workshop with Larry Samson on Saturday, Sept. 9, at 9 a.m.

Photographer Samson worked for the Washburn County Register for 16 years, taught Shell Lake School District Summer School classes for 25 years and also taught community education classes. With 53 years of experience, we all know and enjoy his photographs. Join the library to learn how to take more dynamic and memorable photos.

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