Photographer uses light as medium, moments as canvas
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Jerry Rice named to Pro Football Hall of Fame – Mangin Photography
Dartmouth Islamic student organization ice sculpture vandalized
Dartmouth College is investigating vandalism on its campus after this weekend’s winter carnival.
Al-Nur ice sculpture vandalized and destroyed during Winter Carnival
According to an email sent from Dean of the College Scott Brown, the College is currently investigating the incident.
Ian Mwesiga’s Imagined Figures Hover on the Threshold of an Uncanny World
“Tales of the Moonlight Boy” (2022), oil on canvas, 59 x 51 1/8 inches
In his metaphysical novel Kafka on the Shore, Haruki Murakami offers a particularly heady description: “Beyond the edge of the world there’s a space where emptiness and substance neatly overlap, where past and future form a continuous, endless loop. And hovering about there are signs no one has ever read, chords no one has ever heard.”
This unknown realm is where Ian Mwesiga sets his paintings. For his first institutional exhibition in the United States titled Beyond the Edge of the World, the Ugandan artist translates Murakami’s quiet uncanniness onto the canvas, envisioning subtly strange scenarios in which figures partake in curious acts. Mwesiga’s settings seem to hover on the thresholds between interior and exterior, ephemeral and non-, as autumn leaves, reflective pools of water, and cracked branches jagged at a break interrupt nature’s rhythms.
In “Tales of the Moonlight Boy,” a man sits on a bubblegum pink sheet draped over a balustrade with a body of water and forest bathed in blue visible the opening behind him. “Man with apple standing in a pool” is similarly surreal as the subject stands thigh-deep in water, a window on the building in front of him peering through to an unknown landscape. A Pepsi advertisement hangs overhead, evoking, like Murakami, consumerist culture and making the ubiquitous appear unusual. Mwesiga shares about his influences and visual language:
First, I should say that the process of making each painting is like an evolving thread of thoughts or ideas from a repository of memory or daily experiences. It is safe to say that I see paintings in everything and everywhere, and this forms an important part of my repository from which choices of how, where, what, and when are made.
Beyond the Edge of the World is on view at The FLAG Art Foundation through May 4. Find more of Mwesiga’s works on his site and Instagram.
“Man with apple standing in a pool” (2023), oil on linen, 65 x 59 inches
“Man striding on a staircase” (2023), oil on canvas, 70 7/8 x 59 inches
“Lying on a Bed of Mist, 2021), oil on canvas, 59 1/8 x 51 1/8 inches
“Basketball Player IV” (2022), oil on canvas, 76 3/4 x 43 1/4 inches
“Lady in a blue dress at a bus stop” (2023), oil on canvas, 65 x 59 inches
“Tales of the moonlight girl” (2023), oil on canvas, 59 x 70 7/8 inches
“Man and his shadow” (2023), oil on canvas, 70 7/8 x 59 inches
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 Ian Mwesiga’s Imagined Figures Hover on the Threshold of an Uncanny World appeared first on Colossal.
Edelkrone debuts $4,550 self-levelling tripod
Edelkrone, the ‘content creation solutions’ company based in Turkey, has officially released its $4,550 tripod that is not only auto-levelling, but has the ability to make pre-planned or remote-controlled movements.
Initially announced for release in November 2023 but now confirmed for release this month, the Tripod X is primarily for indoor video use as it isn’t weather sealed, and has a ‘spreader’ (a 3-way link between the legs) that can’t be detached.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/2TftKoMz6Ks
Making it even more housebound is its hefty 9kg weight. It can hold camera rigs up to 30kg, but can only auto-level with weights up to 20kg.
Power is supplied via a 12V battery that moves the tripods motors at a rate of 2cm per second, and allows approximately 300 height adjustments per charge.
The main selling point to this rather expensive tripod is the ability to make pre-planned movements for beautiful, smooth camera movements. Programming these movements can be made on the tripod body, or remotely via a smartphone app.
The Tripod X integrates with other Edelkrone ‘motion control’ tools from their ecosystem, meaning you can use other sliders, heads and jibs to create other interesting smooth camera movements.
The tripod is now available for pre-order. You can read more about this unique piece of kit on the Edelkrone website.
Chicago’s Art Institute receives $25 million donation, its largest-ever for photography and media curation
The Art Institute of Chicago has received a monumental gift that will transform its Photography and Media Department.
The Bucksbaum family has made a $25 million donation to the department — the largest philanthropic contribution in its history — according to an announcement Tuesday.
The primary focus from the funding will be the creation of the Bucksbaum Photography Center, which will contain the Department of Photography and Media and its collections.
The grant from the Bucksbaum family members — Carolyn (“Kay”), Jacolyn, (“Jackie”) and John — is one of the largest contributions to photography and media within a museum in the country, according to the Art Institute.
“It is an honor to work with Kay Bucksbaum and her family who have the vision and foresight to invest in our city’s cultural leadership,” said James Rondeau, president and Eloise W. Martin director of the Art Institute of Chicago, in a release. “We are immensely grateful for Kay, Jackie, and John’s long-term commitment to the museum and look forward to continuing our partnership.”
Kay Bucksbaum has had a long tenure at the museum, serving on the board since 2002, and as a member of the Photography and Media Curatorial Committee since 2003. Jackie Bucksbaum has served on the Committee on Photography and Media since 2016. Also a supporter of Chicago arts and culture, John Bucksbaum serves as a trustee at the Field Museum, and on the boards of Navy Pier and the Chicago Sports Commission for Sports Tourism.
“I have an abiding passion and appreciation for the power of photography and media,” Kay said in the release. “This gift from our family is an investment in the future of the department at the museum and the curators who are moving this field forward.”
Bucksbaum’s donation is a significant part of the Art Institute’s multi-year plan to “enhance the visitor experience,” according to the release. It will promote the visibility of the Photography and Media Department by supporting its collections, exhibitions, staff and facilities.
Who stole Jackie Robinson’s statue? Wichita felon arrested in connection with theft of MLB legend’s $75,000 sculpture
It’s been a difficult three weeks for a Wichita community after a Jackie Robinson statue was stolen from a youth baseball park.
Best work of graduating students from Aus and NZ recognised
The Ballarat International Foto Biennale has announced the winners of GradFoto 2023, celebrating the best work of graduating students from selected Australian and New Zealand institutions whose artistic practice uses photography as its primary medium.
International judge Virginia Woods-Jack, curator of Women in Photography NZ & AU, selected 21 finalists, with Zina Sofer from RMIT University announced as the overall winner for their series Out of the Shadows, 2023.
The image explores the history of the War Widows’ Guild of Australia and its founder and president Mrs. Jessie Mary Vasey O.B.E and C.B.E. At its height, the Guild was involved in advocacy, education, support, counselling, and housing for widows.
Today, part of its legacy is a large housing estate in Elsternwick that is now facing demolition to make room for luxury units. The estate was built in 1950s specifically for the war widows and their families by the Guild.
Speaking about the image, Woods-Jack described the image as captivating and beautifully executed.
“It pays tribute to this impactful organisation [War Widows’ Guild of Australia], the individual women, and the skills they employed to secure better futures for themselves and their families outside of the patriarchy in post-war Australia,” she said.
For many women involved with the Guild, weaving was a lifeline, as it supplemented widows’ unlivable pension, and it played one of the major roles in establishing weaving as an industry in Australia.
Zina Sofer wins $1,000, with their image exhibited as part of the GradFoto 2023 exhibition. You can see the images here.
Another finalist will be awarded one cash prize of $500 for the People’s Choice Award, as voted by the public throughout the GradFoto 2023 exhibition. Voting closes 4 March 2024.
Humans and Animals Commune with Nature and the Cosmos in the Multidisciplinary Work of Kiki Smith
“Evening Star” (2023), aqueous archival inkjet, acrylic archival inkjet, white gold leaf on Hahnemüle rag paper, 60 × 43 inches. Edition 1 of 18, edition of 18 + 7 AP + 2 PP + 1 BAT. All images © the artist, courtesy of Pace Gallery, shared with permission
If you’ve traveled via the Long Island Rail Road service in Manhattan and traversed the MTA’s brand new Grand Central Madison station, you may have noticed a slice of nature indoors in a monumental, wall-spanning mosaic of a woodland deer. Acclaimed artist Kiki Smith completed the piece in 2022, and it’s one of the most recent works in which she honors the natural world and humanity’s role within it.
Smith began examining themes relating to the body in the 1980s, spurred by the death of her father, who was also an artist, and the loss of her sister to AIDS. Her early drawings and sculptures literally turned the figure inside out, often depicting organs, body parts, and bodily fluids, which related closely to the root concern in the AIDS epidemic as well as the visceral experience of the menstrual cycle.
In the 1990s, Smith began to portray the human figure as a whole, and her practice evolved into an interdisciplinary exploration of a variety of mediums, from photography to printmaking to textiles. Embodiment remained a continuous focus, and over time, the artist increasingly considered our connection to nature and the cosmos, often portraying women with symbolically powerful and enigmatic animal counterparts.
In works like “Dreaming with Birds” or “Lounging with Wolf,” her subjects appear both physically and metaphysically connected. In other pieces like “Evening Star” or “Wolf with Birds IV,” creatures commune with one another or soar through dreamy landscapes.
Smith’s works subtly imply a tension between the knowable and unknowable and the potency of consciousness. Her subjects often tap into historic narratives, classical mythology, and folk tales, vacillating between stark, abject aspects of human physicality and a sense of comfort and oneness with one’s surroundings. Celestial bodies and astronomical phenomena often appear in the form of comets or a swirling night sky dotted with geometric stars, reflecting a timeless fascination with the infinity of the universe and our timeless drive to understand it.
See more of Smith’s work at Pace Gallery.
“Dark Water” (2023), bronze, 72 × 65 × 28 inches
“Dreaming with Birds” (2004), bronze, 47 3/4 x 73 1/2 x 2 inches. Cast 1 of 3, edition of 3 + 1 AP
“not yet titled (comet)” (2019) bronze, 93 × 40 × 2 3/4 inches. Edition 1 of 3, edition of 3 + 1 AP
“Lounging with Wolf” (2005), ink and collage on Nepalese paper, 71 x 84 inches
“Wolf with Birds IV” (2010), bronze, 43 1/4 x 54 x 4 inches
Detail of “Rise” (2018), bronze, 11 3/4 × 23 × 8 inches overall. Edition 1 of 13, edition of 13
“Among the Flowers” (2023), bronze with gold and Japanese silver leaf, dimensions variable, 89 elements
Detail of “Respite” (2017), bronze,17 × 14 × 11 inches. Edition 1 of 3, edition of 3 + 1 AP
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 Humans and Animals Commune with Nature and the Cosmos in the Multidisciplinary Work of Kiki Smith appeared first on Colossal.
