A selection committee formed to search for a new CEO for the International Folk Art Market will have its first meeting Wednesday.
The organization hopes to have a new leader in place by the end of the year, spokeswoman Audrey Rubinstein said.
Former CEO Melissa Mann resigned last month following this year’s market, which organizers said was its most successful to date. A news release from the organization did not give a reason for Mann’s departure four days after the 2023 event ended.
Burt Glinn. Half a Century as a Magnum Photographer celebrates the compelling, elegant, and expressive ways Burt Glinn experienced the world through photography. Highlighting his extraordinary talent for picturing iconic and everyday scenes from the second half of the 20th century, this is the first monograph covering the breadth of Glinn’s storied career.
From the Introduction by Sarah Stacke:
I remember Burt’s wit and his lopsided grin when he told stories, which was a lot. He loved fine things, especially clothes. He had big opinions, high expectations, and an incredible grasp of the narrative, technical, and administrative aspects of photography. […] For more than half a century, Burt covered it all: conflict, celebrities, wildlife, science, corporations, travel, society, culture. Yet, looking through his archive, his interests clearly emerge. The chapters in this book present five themes Burt returned to again and again.
From the text Notes from Family by Elena Prohaska Glinn:
Burt began creating annual lists of his stories in 1948 and continued for 60 years. The lists reveal how diverse his interests were throughout his life. As an example, in 1959, one of Burt’s favorite years, he photographed more than 30 stories. It began when he abruptly left a New Year’s Eve party after hearing Cuba’s president Fulgencio Batista was on his way into exile and Fidel Castro was taking control. Burt caught the last Yellowbird flight from New York to Miami, then got a $20 charter plane to Cuba, where he spent nine days on the road with Fidel and his soldiers, document- ing their triumphant procession into Havana. After some rest and assignments stateside, he covered the ultrarich and almost famous, often ridiculous, at Badrutt’s Palace Hotel St. Moritz in the haute Swiss Alps. Back in New York, he photographed Sammy Davis Jr., followed by the Beatniks.
From the interview by Sarah Stacke with Susan Meiselas:
Burt’s editorial eye is key. He really knew how to see the world by placing himself in it. He was part of the generation who were lucky to work when magazine assignments were still plentiful and long. He came out of that tradition, which meant that he went places, then stayed and documented them over time. His photographs of the Berlin Wall being built were an example of incredibly good work.
Burt Glinn (1925–2008) is known as one of the most prolific photographers of his generation. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Glinn served in the US Army and studied literature at Harvard University. In 1951, while working for LIFE magazine, he joined Magnum as an associate and became a full member in 1954, one of the first Americans at the young agency. Glinn gained recognition for his coverage of the Cuban Revolution and his in-depth color series on the South Seas, Japan, Russia, Mexico, and California, each of which was published as a complete issue of Holiday. In the 1960s, he became one of the first photographers to enter the field of annual reports and for the next four decades created a visual record of corporate America’s rapid growth. Throughout his career, he regularly covered national and international historical events, cultural icons, and political figures for leading publications. Whenever possible, Glinn made images of religious communities and leaders, as well as sacred architecture and rituals. Many of these photographs became his personal favorites.
Burt Glinn. Half a Century as a Magnum Photographer
Sarah Stacke (Ed.)
Texts by Elena Prohaska Glinn, Sam Glinn, Mark Lubell, Susan Meiselas, Martin Parr, Gilles Peress, Sarah Stacke, Larry Towell, Alex Webb, Eelco Wolf
Designed by Bonnie Briant
Hardcover, 24 x 30 cm
144 pages
100 color and b/w illustrations English
ISBN 978-3-96900-121-9
Euro 45,00 / US$ 55.00
https://www.kehrerverlag.com/en/burt-glinn-half-a-century-as-a-magnum-photographer-978-3-96900-121-9
This past week I had to rush to Kelowna for an appointment and I didn’t want to be late. As I drove I noticed that I was missing some great photographs — two coyotes hunting in an open field, a large owl on a roadside post, hawks sitting by a marsh and the sun glowing off the white cliffs along a lakes as I passed.
As I began to write this article I was reminded of a long trip to Salt Lake City, Utah that my wife and I made some years ago. Our route was to head east to Calgary, then turn south to the boarder and follow the Missouri river as it snaked it’s way through canyons and gullies, then head west to Salt Lake City.
We left later than we should and were driving with as few stops as possible because I had promised my brother I would be at his house for a family event the next day. That was the first (and only) time I took that scenic drive. We kept realizing we should be stopping over and over again. Linda said, “We will never do that to ourselves again, we need to leave lots of time, even days, to photograph subjects when we see them.”
I think that many photographers have had the circumstance where the chance at a great photograph was missed because of the wrong lens or camera.
I remember a photograph of a moose wandering in the hazy morning fog. All I had was a cheap point and shoot camera. Sure I got the shot, but the photo was lacking because of the limitations of the small sensor and short lens. I spent time working on it with Photoshop, eventually changing it to a black and white because the image was noisy with a purplish cast and the quality of the final image was poor. Wrong camera.
The Boy Scouts say, “Be prepared,” and I think that is a good idea for photographers. When film use was common, most serious photographers had more than one camera; one loaded with black and white film, one with colour negative film, and sometimes one with colour slide film. I used to put a short zoom on one and a telephoto on the other. Since digital imaging many photographers only carry one camera, colour or black and white images can be chosen with any computer program.
Now I have my main DSLR camera, and two little mirrorless cameras; A Fuji I have mentioned in other articles and a fun little Nikon V1.
Sometimes I like the portability of a little Canon G1x digicam I also have. I don’t use it much — only if I am going to a party or walking around town. It is one of the rare digicams with the crop size sensor that’s found in many larger cameras, I mainly use it for subjects that are close to me and rarely use it for scenic photos.
Concerning roadside photo opportunities, I’ll mention my father. The chance of him taking a good picture was never very good, but he was certainly dedicated. He was a contractor that worked all over the Utah and there was usually a very dirty camera jammed under his pickup seat or sometimes stored on his excavator and he rarely missed an opportunity to photograph anything that interested him. The sheer volume of pictures he took out weighed the bad pictures. He mostly used slide film and my brothers and I looked forward to his evening slide shows. There were always lots of interesting photos and it was fun to view pictures that he hand fed in his old projector.
Like my father, we not only should be continually looking for photographic opportunities, but we should prepare for them by having some kind of camera with us. I’m not a fan of camera phones, but as they say the camera that with you is better than none.
Stay safe and be creative. These are my thoughts for this week. Contact me at www.enmanscamera.com or emcam@telus.net.
Aug. 30, 2023
Join the Honors College for an exploration into the rāgas of Carnatic music with Sri Vittal Ramamurthy–internationally-celebrated violinist–and Grammy-nominated Sri Poovalur Sriji–percussionist, composer and performer–at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 13, in Gearhart Hall 130 as part of the Honors College House Concert series.
The concert is free, open to all and will be followed by a reception. Please RSVP here and come early to reserve a seat. Parking will be available in the Harmon Avenue Parking Garage.
“Founding dean of the Honors College, Bob McMath, created the House Concert series to produce a space for community and artists to come together in celebration of the performing arts,” said Lynda Coon, dean of the Honors College. “Professor of Music Nikola Radan’s expertise in global music adds new dimensions to this storied series, delivering an exciting journey into the music of India.”
Carnatic music is a form of classical South Indian music that balances both devotion and creative self-expression by drawing inspiration from sacred texts.
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| Sri Poovalur Sriji |
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| Vittal Ramamurthy |
While a large portion of Carnatic music is composed, Ramamurthy and Sriji will treat the audience to manodharma sangita – imaginative music, as most of their performance will be improvised on the spot. Sriji will lead vocals with solkattus, spoken rhythm, and Ramamurthy will guide the melodies by accompanying the vocals with strings.
“It’s a dialogue between the violin and the vocals,” Ramamurthy shared. “I don’t know what [Sriji] is going to sing, and he doesn’t know what I will play.”
Although the music system is universal, “the handling of Carnatic music is different,” Ramamurthy said. He encourages those interested in world music to attend and learn more about complementing traditional composition with creative latitude.
“We are honored to host two of the top Carnatic music artists: Sri Vittal on violin and Sri Poovalur on mardagam,” said Nikola Radan, director of the World Music Ensemble and music instructor. “Carnatic music is the mother and the root of all music in India. It is considered to be one of the most complex music styles in the world with compound rhythmical patterns. Thank you to the Honors College, Department of Music and the RA-VE Cultural Foundation to make this concert possible.”
ABOUT SRI VITTAL RAMAMURTHY
Ramamurthy, an internationally acclaimed violinist and top-ranking artist at All India Radio, is the torchbearer and leading disciple of the Lalgudi bani, a distinctive style of music in which the violin is “made to sing” and mimic the human voice. Ramamurthy describes himself as a “solo performer, accompanist, teacher and humble student of the arts.” He has students worldwide, many of whom are leading performers. To give back to the community he grew up in, he conducts a free summer camp in his native house Karunbithil, where he teaches more than 250 students Carnatic music in the style of Gurukulam, an education system where students live with their guru.
ABOUT SRI POOVALUR SRIJI
Sriji is a prolific composer, performer, educator and an “A Top” grade artist at All India Radio – the highest ranking given by the Indian government. His love and expertise in Indian Classical music are inspired by his father. Many of his compositions celebrate South Indian idioms, and for decades, he has performed with leading artists from across the world. He accompanied American banjo player Béla Fleck, Hindustani classical instrumentalist Vishwa Mohan Bhatt and Chinese fiddle player Jiebing Chen on their collaborative album “Tabula Rasa,” which was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1997. He is currently an adjunct instructor of percussion at the University of North Texas and director of the South Indian Cross-Cultural Ensemble.
About the Honors College: The University of Arkansas Honors College was established in 2002 and brings together high-achieving undergraduate students and the university’s top professors to share transformative learning experiences. Each year the Honors College awards up to 90 freshman fellowships that provide $80,000 over four years, and more than $1 million in undergraduate research and study abroad grants. The Honors College is nationally recognized for the high caliber of students it admits and graduates. Honors students enjoy small, in-depth classes, and programs are offered in all disciplines, tailored to students’ academic interests, with interdisciplinary collaborations encouraged. All Honors College graduates have engaged in mentored research.
About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas’ flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $2.2 billion to Arkansas’ economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the few U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research and Economic Development News.
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Many Wests: Artists Shape an American Idea
July 28, 2023–January 14, 2024
Washington, DC
Many Wests is an exhibition focused on what gets left out of stories traditionally told about the American West. Visions of Anglo-Americans bravely settling the landscape originate, as we learn from the exhibition’s didactic material, with the US government’s policy of unhalted territorial expansion beginning at the end of the seventeenth century. Organized by a team of curators—Amy Chaloupka at the Whatcom Museum, Meanie Fales at the Boise Art Museum, Anne Hyland at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Danielle Knapp at the University of Oregon’s Jordan Schniter Museum of Art, E. Carmen Ramos, currently Chief Curator at the National Gallery of Art, and Whitney Tassie at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts—Many Wests showcases forty-eight modern and contemporary (mostly Indigenous, Latinx, Black, or Asian American) artists. These diverse curatorial and artistic voices work together to show, as the Utah Museum of Fine Arts put it in the promotional materials for their version of the show earlier this year, “how the West wasn’t one.”
Visitors to Many Wests are greeted by a monumental detail of Apsálooke/Crow artist Wendy Red Star’s photographic series “Four Seasons: Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer”(2006). Red Star is one of a number of artists in the exhibition who dissect and examine distorted narratives about Native Americans. Seated in ceremonial dress among plastic flowers and inflatable animals and set against panoramic photographs of Western landscapes, Red Star conjures the deadpan satire of Cindy Sherman’s “Film Stills” to skewer treatment of Indigenous peoples in ethnographic displays. Nuyorican artist Raphael Montañez Ortiz, meanwhile, takes on Hollywood’s stereotyping of Native Americans in Cowboy and “Indian” Film (1957–58). Ortiz chopped up copies of Anthony Mann’s Western Winchester ’73 (1950) with a tomahawk (a tribute to his Yaqui heritage) and ritualistically jumbled and reassembled them, mounting a literal attack on the genre. The violence with which Ortiz meets Mann’s film feels both just and hopeless—the film may be destroyed, but the damage is already done.
The exhibition awards considerable space to Latinx experiences. Among the most compelling works is photographer Christina Fernández’s María’s Great Expedition (1995–96), in which Fernández embodies the character of her grandmother in order to narrate Chicanx stories through photographs and explanatory text. Ken Gonzales-Day’s devastating Erased Lynchings (2006), part of a larger series the artist developed between 2002 and 2017, features a grid of fifteen appropriated souvenir cards from extrajudicial murders in California between 1850 and 1935, the brutalized bodies of the victims removed from the images. Gonzalez-Day’s series focuses on violence perpetrated against Latinx, Native American, and Asian American individuals through a mode of racial terrorism most Americans associate only with African American targets. Asian American trauma receives direct attention in the works of Japanese American artists Wendy Maruyama and Roger Shimomura, who both pay homage to the 13,000 people unjustly interned at Minidoka Relocation Center between 1942 and 1945. Maruyama’s work functions as a kind of anti-monument, fashioned from the reconstructed identification tags of incarcerated people, while Shimomura contributes a painting of the camp in the style of a fourteenth- or fifteenth-century Japanese byobu screen. These works bear haunting witness to lives previously rendered forgettable.
The vast majority of the artworks in Many Wests are readily identified with ethno-racial categories: Native American, Latinx, African American, Japanese American—notable exceptions include Angela Ellsworth’s breathtaking Seer Bonnet XI and XII. These crafted caps were painstakingly constructed by the self-identified Mormon artist out of pearls and needles in tribute to prophet Joseph Smith’s thirty-five wives. The curators’ apparent discomfort with the show’s readymade classifications is indicated by the fact that they demarcate the works not by ethnicity or culture, but rather through the categories of “Caretakers,” “Memory Makers,” and “Boundary Breakers”—labels so abstract as to be ornamental. The problem of organization raises a more fundamental question about exhibitions in 2023: namely, is “all-but-white-artists on x topic” a sustainable model for an exhibition theme? Certainly, opportunities to show complex, interesting works by Indigenous, Latinx, Asian American, and African American artists are both exciting and long overdue. Yet to place such works in one bucket, simply distinguished from those of Anglo artists, also holds the danger of homogenizing and devaluing unique experiences. Many Wests is strongest when focused specifically on the question of narrative—which stories are being told, how, and for what purpose? The exhibition’s arguments might even be strengthened by the inclusion of an artist such as (the white, straight, male) Richard Prince, for example, whose works dismembering the figure of the American cowboy have much to discuss with those of artists such as Ortiz, Red Star, and Fernández. As museums rightly expand and diversify their holdings and exhibitions, they should be mindful not to let this task overshadow their primary responsibility: to offer visually stunning, intellectually rigorous exhibitions that inspire visitors of all backgrounds.
I’d be lost without my computer, my iPhone and my digital camera when on assignment. But sometimes I’d much prefer to just wander the woods alone, with film, foregoing the near-perfect efficiency that digital technology provides. And though I started my journalism career using an analog camera, I switched to digital for both personal and professional use when the time and price was right.
There’s no question it was a boon, making quick work of any sort of editing that would have formerly required a redo. But I missed the surprises—the places where art resides and where flashes of the unexpected are nothing short of dazzling. Apparently I’m not alone. Leica, for example, maintains an analog presence in its product portfolio to demonstrate its commitment to the full spectrum of photography and all that implies.
Mike Giannattasio, U.S. president of Leica
© Sean Black 2023
“Analog cameras immerse the photographer in a tactile journey, beginning from loading the film to deliberating over each shot due to the finite nature of film. This process prompts a mindful approach to composition, rendering photography a deeply personal practice,” says Mike Giannattasio, U.S. president of Leica.
Which begs the question: Are we selling a piece of our collective soul at the expense of a richness that only time and imperfections can serve up?
Not nostalgia
I came of age on LP records, when the size of one’s collection was as much a badge of honor as the length of one’s hair. When CDs came along, I was quick to embrace them, appreciating their clarity without the disruption of the familiar crackle of a turntable needle. I subsequently found renewed fulfillment in not only the ritual of vinyl, but also the warmer, fuller sound that digital can’t touch.
Interestingly, writing instruments, as in pens designed for re-use, are continuing to rise in popularity, though email is no doubt the most efficient mode of communication. A pen, like a record, engages the senses, requiring interaction that a computer does not. Traditional books, too, are holding space against digital equivalents with some studies showing greater recall and generally increased enjoyment from print.
David Sax explains this and more in the Revenge of the Analog, “Surrounded by digital, we now crave experiences that are more tactile and human-centric. We want to interact with goods and services with all our senses, and many of us are willing to pay a premium to do so, even if it is more cumbersome and costly than its digital equivalent.”
But what are we really “craving” as we delve into our imperfect analog pasts?
“Digital technology has undoubtedly revolutionized the photographic process, but the speed and ease it offers sometimes come at the expense of the craft’s mechanical essence,” explains Giannattasio. “Using an analog camera is an engaging experience; it demands patience, purposefulness, and creativity—factors less prominent in the digital space. The conversation creates space for cohabitation of analog and digital, embracing the diversity of experiences crafted by the creative act of making a photograph.
“What we define as a revival underscores that there is a place for the craft of analog in our digitalized world, highlighting a desire amongst photographers to engage with the world in a deliberate way,” Giannattasio continues. “This return to analog opens the door to a new generation of photographers looking to explore the medium’s experiential side, even as it allows seasoned photographers to reconnect with their roots.”
But it’s not all black and white.
Sax remarks, “The choice we face isn’t between digital and analog. That simplistic duality is actually the language that digital has conditioned us to: a false binary choice between 1 and 0, black and white. Samsung and Apple. The real world isn’t black or white. It is not even gray. Reality is multicolored, infinitely textured, and emotionally layered.”
And that makes us sublimely human.
The first step in all photography is deciding what kind of image you want to capture. This will determine your location, which camera and lens to use, and which settings.
If you want a landscape image with the moon taking up a smaller portion of the image, you’ll want to use a wide-angle lens, but if you want a large image of the moon, it’s best to use a telephoto lens.
From here you can determine the best location to shoot, which will be key in the outcome of your image, especially for shooting a subject like the blue supermoon.
For a wide angle shot, you want to find a nice location without too much light pollution to let the moon light up your landscape. Some of my favourite spots are Burleigh Heads or the Byron Bay Lighthouse.
If you’re using a telephoto lens, then using an app like The Photographers Ephemeris is great.
This will not only give you the time of the moon rise but also a lot of information as to where the moon will rise and be in the sky at night.
The specifics on how to shoot the moon will depend on if you are using a wide-angle lens or a telephoto lens, but these basics apply across all lenses.
It’s important to keep in mind that the actual exposure setting will continue to change as the night gets darker, which will impact the outcome of your images. If the exposure time is too long for the lens you have selected, you will capture the movement of the moon, resulting in blurred images.
With a wide-angle lens, you have a lot of options for a longer exposure – I would normally start at 400 ISO F8 and then adjust the exposure time to suit.
With telephoto lenses I like to shoot at 1/250 second and adjust aperture and ISO to suit. If you’re looking for a silhouette, then exposing for the bright part of the moon will achieve this.
If you’re hoping to place a subject in front of the moon with a telephoto lens, then this tip is for you. You will need to get a long way away from your subject with a telephoto lens if you want to place them in the same shot as the moon – up to 1km away. I recommend you do a test shoot so you can make sure that you have the angles right for when the moon rises.
There is no right or wrong way of shooting the moon and just setting the camera to manual and experimenting with some string will not only give you a variety of results but also teach you more about your camera.
The important things to remember that will enable a great photo are the tripod, remote shutter, and making sure the exposure time is not too long for the lens you have selected.
Jacobin pigeon. All images © Brendan Burden, shared with permission
Often seen clambering for scraps on city streets, pigeons tend to be an overlooked and even despised species. The birds’ ubiquity in urban areas, and their colloquial characterization as “flying rats,” have given them a lackluster reputation that Brendan Burden upends in his ongoing series of portraits.
The Ottawa-based photographer originally encountered the crest of the Jacobin pigeon, a lavish crown of plumage that wraps around its neck like a voluminous garment. “I had no idea pigeons could look this way and started doing some research and came to find out that there is a wide variety of pigeons, wild and domestic, many of which are quite beautiful,” he says. “I wondered whether I could apply more formal portrait techniques to these birds.”
After Ottawa Magazine commissioned him to shoot some creatures for a story on the Canadian Pigeon Fancier’s Association, the Fancy Pigesons series began to take shape. “My intention was to juxtapose the lowly pigeon with formal portraiture techniques and provide a new perspective on something ubiquitous, bordering on completely invisible,” Burden shares. Set against solid, paper backdrops resting in a large, show cage, the images evoke studio shots and capture each creature’s unique features. The Kormorner tumbler, for example, appears as if it’s wearing a turtleneck of brown feathers with a puffy collar, while the Moden’s gleaming, iridescent neck contrasts the soft, black and orange plumes of its body.
Left: English long-faced tumbler. Right: Lavender racing homer pigeon
As Burden photographed the birds—all are in the care of fanciers and avian enthusiasts rather than breeders—he learned about the unique relationship they have with humans. Pigeons are likely the first species to be domesticated, a history reflected in Mesopotamian cuneiform tablets and Egyptian hieroglyphics that suggest the practice was likely happening more than 5,000 years ago. He explains:
Had you asked me prior to undertaking this project, where they came from, I would have just assumed that they were wild and had some kind of symbiotic relationship with humans, like rats or mice or any number of other creatures. But in fact, they’re feral domesticated birds, and the reason they’re everywhere is in part because humans have been breeding them, often for nothing other than their beauty, for thousands of years.
As Burden adds to the Fancy Pigeons series, he’s shifting to photographing wild species, a change that requires more travel, time, and patience. “Being that they’re birds, sometimes you just don’t get what you hoped for and have to reshoot,” he says. You can follow his progress on Instagram, and shop limited-edition prints on his site. (via PetaPixel)
Kormorner tumbler
Bald head roller
Top left: Crested pigeon. Top right: Copper black wing archangel. Bottom left: Egyptian swift. Bottom right: Crested pigeon
Domestic flight
Ring necked dove
Left: Show homer pigeon. Right: Racing pigeon
Indian fantail
Moden
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 In ‘Fancy Pigeons,’ Brendan Burden Captures the Flair of Underappreciated Birds appeared first on Colossal.
