Report on the First Annual “Faculty, Member, and Alumni Exhibit” at LACP
Last night was the opening of the first annual “Faculty, Member, and Alumni (FMA) Exhibit,” which will run through May 18 at the Los Angeles Center of Photography (LACP).
It was a great occasion to catch up with friends and to see some of the latest work of folks that were included (we previously published a list of participants). Julia Dean exhibited an amazing new street image, “Noirish” (2018), as shown below. Douglas Stockdale showed the image “America” from his forthcoming book, Middle Ground /En Medio Tierra. The monochrome images by Eric Joseph and Sarah Hadley also stood out. I also enjoyed the Bosch Redux series by Lori Pond. Many other images also demonstrated a substantial amount of talent and energy.
I was very pleased to see a huge number of younger folks that showed an avid interest in the work shown. I would hope that next year a more theme-oriented exhibition would be planned to represent this talented group.
Gerhard Clausing
“Noirish” (2018) by Julia Dean
Douglas Stockdale with his image “America” from his forthcoming book
Work by Eric Joseph (upper left) and Sarah Hadley (right), and others
Sarah Hadley
All images © 2018 by Gerhard Clausing
Special MOPLA Event This Week: LOST ROLLS AMERICA Featured April 12-15
A special event sponsored by the project LOST ROLLS AMERICA will be featured this week as part of the 10th Month of Photography Los Angeles, to take place at the Line Hotel, April 12-15. I spent a bit of time familiarizing myself with the project and would like to share some of my thoughts.
Ron Haviv, well-known award-winning photographer, and Lauren Walsh, Director of NYU Gallatin’s Photojournalism Lab, are the forces behind the project. The idea was to solicit undeveloped film that might be hiding in people’s drawers, almost forgotten, but perhaps worthy of seeing the light of day. The deal was, you sent them your undeveloped roll of film, they had it developed by FujiFilm, and the finished images were then returned to you, with the option of incorporating one or two into the archive, after some questions regarding time, place, subject, and photographer’s reaction and memories evoked are answered. Here is the project’s original description:
Lost Rolls America is a national photo archive created by a democratized process: Anyone can submit their lost roll of film to the project for processing (the images must be at least 3 years old), and the images are subsequently returned to the originator. These contributors, who are members of the general public, are asked to select one image, answer several questions that are provided, and return it to the project for inclusion in the archive.
This photography project is the brainchild of Ron Haviv, Project Creator and Emmy-nominated, award winning photojournalist and co-founder of the photo agency VII, and Lauren Walsh, Project Director and Director of NYU Gallatin’s Photojournalism Lab. Her work focuses on the history of photography, contemporary visual culture, war reportage and journalistic ethics. Ron’s prior book, The Lost Rolls, was the jumping off point for this project.
Meanwhile, the archive has grown into several hundred images, and these can be studied along with the fascinating answers to the questions, on the website devoted to the project.
Here is the poster for this week’s event:
Studying the pictures in the collection is a great adventure into recent popular, “vernacular,” and even some professional lost photography. Forgotten places and people take on a mysterious aura: friends, relatives, and pets in long-forgotten moments of levity or seriousness remind all of us about the fleeting nature of life. Indeed, even experiments with fine art photography may be hidden among the undeveloped rolls still hidden in your closets or other places, as the images submitted by Melanie Chapman and Chris Jurgenson demonstrate. I leave it to you to find these and other images in the archives and to read the responses of the photographers who found the films. Not every ambiguous moment can be disambiguated! And yet, memories from our past, when shared, can become a part of our universal experience and help us understand our common concerns.
Gerhard Clausing
© Walker Sayen / Courtesy Lost Rolls America
Anne Olmstead (assumed), © Jeff Olmstead / Courtesy Lost Rolls America
© Melanie Chapman / Courtesy Lost Rolls America
© Chris Jurgenson / Courtesy Lost Rolls America
LACP’s First Annual “Faculty, Member and Alumni (FMA)” Exhibition – Opening Reception April 13
“America” – © Douglas Stockdale
Among others, the image “America” from Douglas Stockdale’s forthcoming self-published book Middle Ground will be featured in LACP’s First Annual “Faculty, Member and Alumni (FMA)” Exhibition at the Los Angeles Center of Photography. You are cordially invited!
Opening Reception: Friday, April 13, 7-10 pm
Shown through May 18
The exhibition features a collection of photography honoring the organization’s faculty, members and student alumni. 33 artists will be exhibiting their work, with a total of roughly 60 images on display. The exhibition will show at the Los Angeles Center of Photography in Hollywood, April 13 – May 18, 2018. The FMA will be an annual exhibition in the Spring of each year.
Exhibiting Faculty:
Aline Smithson, Art Streiber, Brad Buckman, Bonny Taylor, David Zentz, Douglas Stockdale, Eric Joseph, Erin Davis, Gabriella Muttone, Gina Valona, Jennifer Emery, Julia Dean, Kat Bawden, Michael Pliskin, Rollence Patugan, Sarah Hadley and Susan Burnstine.
Exhibiting Members:
Andy House, Jenna Mulhall-Brereton, John D. Elliott, Joshua Sarinana, Kathy Curtis Cahill, Kevin Weinstein, Lori Pond, Matthew Finley and Wendi Schneider
Exhibiting Alumni:
Amanda Rose, Brian Jung, Gila Silberman, Ilis Ruiz Cano, Jamie Siragusa, Sarah Rooney and Willie Mack
For further information and free admission tickets to the April 13 opening please click this link.
Photography and Other Arts in Vienna
Vienna, as seen from the Upper Belvedere Museum
Last week was spent in Vienna (Austria), a city bursting with history and art, as well as home of culinary specialties including the infamous Wiener Schnitzel (no, it’s not a hot dog!).
The occasion was my participation in a workshop on curating, conducted by the enterprising and well-informed art historian Kristin Dittrich, who also happens to be the Founder and Director of the Shift School for Photography in Dresden, Germany. The location was the Anzenberger Gallery, a place known for its emphasis on contemporary photography as well as its special nurturing of photobooks through its affiliated store. All these subtopics would certainly merit separate articles, especially since the Shift School is the site of the complete Steidl Library with well over a thousand volumes, a unique contribution to the documentation and use of photobooks.
The workshop was a highly fascinating experience. Kristin knows how to combine theory with practice, as well as how to build in the experience of the participants at various points in the proceedings. Many hints on the process of curating exhibitions were included, as well as some practical exercises on how to sort topics, issues, styles, and images into an actual exhibit, along with a formal presentation and the fielding of audience responses. A museum visit (Kunst Haus Wien) and the Ostlicht Gallery and Library were also included. The Shift School is offering a variety of events and classes throughout the year, highly recommended!
Naturally, you can’t be in Vienna without visiting some other museums and cultural events. Highlights were Belvedere Castle with its Klimt exhibits, 18th century Messerschmidt facial selfie sculptures, and Klemens Brosch, who was a particularly gifted early 20th century creator of drawings that approximated photographic quality and moods, with a special bent for science fiction. Kafka’s Metamorphosis (Die Verwandlung) at the intimate Pygmalion Theater provided a stunning tour-de-force performance by Philipp Kaplan as the stressed outsider figure.
Lest you fear that I was lacking other sustenance, I am including a soupscape, first photographed and subsequently consumed at Anzenberger Gallery, as well as an image of a slice of walnut cake, for your vicarious pleasure. Wahnsinn!
Gerhard Clausing
Anzenberger Gallery: Gilbert Garcin exhibit, “Life is a Theater” (through May 19, 2018)
Kristin Dittrich, Director of the Shift School of Photography in Dresden, teaching the curating workshops at Anzenberger Gallery in Vienna
Sketch/model for a photography exhibit on positive aspects of aging, “Hey, we are still around!” designed by Franziska Neidhart and Gerhard Clausing as part of the Shift School Curating Workshops
Kunst Haus Wien exhibit: “It’s not me, it’s a photograph” by Elina Brotherus (through August 19, 2018)
“It’s not me, it’s my shadow”: The viewer (GC) superimposed on the video projection by Elina Brotherus
An early example of selfies: one of Messerschmidt’s 60 facial grimace sculptures of himself (this one, about to sneeze), 1771-1783; Upper Belvedere Museum
Lower Belvedere Museum exhibit featuring the rediscovered Klemens Brosch (through June 3, 2018)
Klemens Brosch, “The Crocodile on the Moon Disk” – ca. 1912, property of Österreichisches Landesmuseum
Soupscape, observed and consumed at the curating workshop, taking care of the stomach
Vienna is famous for its cakes and pastries: Walnut Cake, Café L. Heiner, Vienna
All photographs © 2018 Gerhard Clausing
Jim McKinniss at SE Center for Photography
Iris, #2 copyright Jim McKinniss
The South East Center of Photography will be exhibiting their show The Still Life, which was curated by Kimberly Witham. We are excited that PhotoExchange member Jim McKinniss was juried in with two photographs, Iris #2, above, and Two Tulips, below.
I had a chance to talk to McKinniss recently about this still life series which came about when he had an opportunity to experiment in a photo studio. He brought with him some glass vases and a collection of flowers and then just played with the various combinations. What I note is that by placing the vases of flowers on a precarious edge of the support, he introduced a subtext of tension in which otherwise might appear as a tranquil subject.
The exhibition runs from April 13 thru May 19th, and the opening reception is April 13, 2018 from 6-8PM.
Juried into this exhibition and joining McKinniss are Hannah Arnette, Angie Pember Brockey, Susan Bryant, Jo Ann Chaus, Mihai Chebac, Robert Dutruch, William Earle,
Malcolm Easton, Vladimir Frumin, Daniel George, Nadide Goksun, Margaret Halaby, Jackie Heitchue, Gea Hogeveen, Susan Kott, Thomas Ladd, Carol Lawrence, Laura Malaterra, Lea Murphy, Katherine Richmond, Wilford Scott, Melissa Stewart, JP Terlizzi, Terry Towery, and Tina Weitz.
We have featured Jim McKinniss photographic work previously: represented by Collector Works
Cheers!
A Gallery of Photography — New Orleans
One of the wonders of New Orleans is a well-established gallery in the French Quarter, A Gallery For Fine Photography, which was founded in 1973 by Joshua Mann Pailet.
When first entering the establishment, you are surprised by two floors full of both iconic and new work, all at the highest level of fine art photography. How often do you see a wall featuring Maggie Taylor, Louviere+Vanessa, and Henri Cartier-Bresson right next to each other (first image below)?
This week three exhibits could be seen: Michael Kenna, Michel Varisco, and Josephine Sacabo. Michael Kenna is well known and needs no explanation. The underwater worlds presented by Michel Varisco are intriguing as well, as are some of her innovative presentation techniques, such as the image mounted in a fancy cutlery box or the hinged diptych, as shown below.
I was particularly amazed by the work of Josephine Sacabo. Not only is she able to express emotions and statements through her images, but she also combines contemporary elements, in this case graffiti, with religious icons, in large hand-tinted photogravure prints. The effects need to be seen to be appreciated!
The staff of the gallery is extremely helpful and knowledgeable. The prices of the works range from lower to very high for iconic rare work. A bookstore is also part of the gallery, featuring both signed and unsigned volumes. It is of particular use to the collector to see all that is available on their website as well, including prices. This openness should be emulated by other galleries.
A museum-quality experience, highly recommended!
Gerhard Clausing
Maggie Taylor, Louviere+Vanessa, and Henri Cartier-Bresson
Michel Varisco: Below Sea Level
Josephine Sacabo: Barking at God – Retablos Mundanos
“The Accidental Selfie”: Milton Greene’s “Marilyn Monroe, Glass Balanced On Left Knee, 1962”
All rights reserved. Reproduction not permitted without permission.
Pensacola Museum of Art — Mobile Museum of Art
Even editors go on vacation once in a while, as evidenced by my image of Pensacola Beach, Florida, above. All I can say is, marvelous white sand beaches and great seafood!
While in this area, I happened upon two interesting art museums, the Pensacola Museum of Art (constructed in a former jail!) and the Mobile Museum of Art, a magnificent structure.
Photography shown in Pensacola included Richard McCabe’s recent Polaroid explorations of the rural and small-town South, in order “to capture the vanishing vernacular signage and architecture of the region.” Also interesting were his color experiments with instax exposures, shown along with projected student work.
Of course we also are inspired by mixed media and other arts. The work by Katrina Andry was particularly amazing. Her series of anthropomorphic figures in vulnerable positions cast the viewer in the role of voyeur and hunter. Her series “The Promise of the Rainbow Never Came” depicts the strife of forced transports of Africans on the Atlantic, a stark reminder of contemporary connections to history gone by, but not forgotten.
In Mobile, Alabama, the highlights were an exhibit of photographs sharing motifs with Havana, Cuba, the sister city. Further features were photographs and paintings documenting Southern subjects, as well as an extensive exhibit of geometric designs of all kinds, with delightful symmetry works that pleased me in particular.
A visit to New Orleans will be the subject of another article.
Gerhard Clausing
Pensacola Museum of Art
The work of Katrina Andry
The work of Richard McCabe
Mobile Museum of Art: View of the Park
Common Ground: Mobile – Havana / Chip Cooper and Julio Larramendi
Richard Frank Jr. – “If You Want Home Cooking…Stay Home” (1985)
All images Copyright 2018 by Gerhard Clausing
The Extraordinary Art of Tami Bahat
Tami Bahat’s vision transcends time and space. When I met her for the first time some years ago, I was fully convinced that she was some sort of ethereal spirit that had been placed in my path as a reality check to reevaluate our contemporary upheaval through renaissance eyes. Not only does she have a gentle, forthcoming way of interacting with everyone, she is also a most insightful and creative artist whose work is both abstract and natural, both modern and history-laden, all wrapped up into each individual image, delightful to contemplate and appreciate. Incredible! As Will Geer once said, “it needs to come from the heart,” and Tami Bahat’s creative inventiveness is certainly full of heart and intellect as well.
Let me take you on a small preview of her current solo exhibition, “Revisiting Humanity: Secrets and Lifetimes,” shown at the Building Bridges Art Exchange gallery at Bergamot Station Art Center in Santa Monica, only through February 17, with a special closing reception from 6 to 9 that evening. Don’t miss this exhibit! There is no substitute for seeing the actual work and its gallery presentation, the superb prints as presented by Tami in gorgeous frames.
Marisa Caichiolo has curated Tami’s work into outstanding settings, generously presented, on a level of quality that art museums would be proud of. The subdued lighting is perfect for the mysterious work that looks as if it might have been created in a different time, yet, on closer examination, is so modern. We are confronted with a variety of figures that seem to serve in important roles in their own space and time, both of which remain mainly undefined, for the viewer to puzzle over. The figures are shown in a very theatrical manner against dark backgrounds, lit interestingly to give a pleasant, yet somewhat Kafkaesque effect; at the same time we feel an urge to place them somewhere in time, perhaps some centuries ago. And yet we can’t quite pinpoint where they belong or what they might be feeling, as their expressions are fairly neutral. This is where the viewers are enticed to do their part and to project themselves into what appears like a stylized historical tableau with contemporary psychology thrown in to startle us a bit. Some of the figures are shown together with other creatures or in the process of engaging in activities, with a clear mantle of other centuries and an unseen director (a puppet master, or possibly the Establishment) hovering over the whole enterprise. The shadows know … there can be danger in some of what’s in you or around you, or it can be lovable, or anything in between. There is an astonishing obliviousness that we observe. We want to caution the characters … watch out – some of the creatures present may not be as complacent as the momentary stillness might imply! Look at the images below and judge for yourself. Better yet, go see the exhibit and immerse yourself in Tami’s world of art.
Other series that Tami previously created also show her skills in translating emotions into images. Shades of Man Ray, Ralph Eugene Meatyard and William Mortensen, but with a very unique contemporary twist: the series “Reflection,” “Subsurface,” and “Wildlife,” exhibiting varying levels of abstraction and exquisite compositional arrangements, challenge the viewer to question form and purpose of life itself – implicit in her images displaying ambiguous beauty and tension. One example from each of these three other series is shown below. I invite you to view more of Tami’s work on her website.
We expect many more great projects from Tami Bahat in the future!
Gerhard Clausing
The Dispute
The Housekeeper
The Fishmonger
The Maid
The Twins
Divergence
High and Low
Inseparable
Image No. 1 above: © Gerhard Clausing, Nos. 2-13: © Tami Bahat
John Montich at El Camino College Feb. 12 – Mar. 8; Art Palm Springs Feb. 16-19 this year
John Montich will show the largest Cibachrome print he has ever done at the Moving Line Exhibit at El Camino College Gallery in Torrance. He will also participate in an artist talk on February 22 at 1 p.m. Further details can be found here (check the current exhibition link).
The Art Palm Springs Show will take place from February 16 to 19 this year. A discussion of the work of Andy Warhol (Feb. 16) will be one of the highlights, Further details can be found here.
Report on the Classic Photographs Event at Bergamot Station Art Center in Santa Monica
On Sunday, we had the pleasure of visiting the Classic Photographs Show at Bergamot Station Art Center in Santa Monica. Several folks from the Photo Exchange could be seen in attendance, among them Doug Stockdale, Larry Pribble (with his delightful wife Michele), Scott Mathews, and Bill Edwards, in addition to myself. The galleries offered visitors the work of many of the major photographers of the past as well as significant current work. The atmosphere was more intimate than at other shows and therefore very personal, with excellent opportunities for informal conversations.
Contrary to the rumors concerning Bergamot Station Art Center that were floating about, we are pleased to note that yesterday an announcement was made that this important center will continue, in enhanced form. Cheers to the city of Santa Monica and the developers!
As I had reported previously, a number of important galleries were present, as well as some notable publishers, Nazraeli Press and Marymount Institute Press (Elias Wondimu, Publisher, and Theresia de Vroom, Editor). The latter published Judy Dater’s book, Only Human, which she signed in a session that included refreshing conversation (and shared sandwiches. Please, dear organizers, let there be a food truck when the cafeteria is closed on certain days in the future!) I will be reviewing Judy’s impressive volume in The PhotoBook Journal shortly.
For us Californians, especially noteworthy galleries (in addition to fabulous out-of-state ones noted before) were Christa Dix and her Wall Space Gallery of Santa Monica and Seattle (featuring the work of Aline Smithson et al.), Susan Spiritus Gallery in our very own Newport Beach/Irvine area (who also featured a book signing with Cat Gwynn), Michael Dawson Gallery of Los Angeles, which featured significant items for collectors, including some rare books, as did Stephen Daiter Gallery of Chicago, represented by Lucas Zenk. Rose Gallery, which also has a significant collection and resides at the Center, was also well represented.
And lo and behold, just around the corner in another building is Marisa Caichiolo’s Building Bridges Art Exchange which, though not part of this show, deserves a special mention, as they are currently featuring Tami Bahat’s solo exhibit, “Revisiting Humanity: Secrets and Lifetimes” (only through February 17, with a closing reception at 6 p.m. the last day). Her work is so fascinating that I will be devoting a special article to it shortly.
Enjoy the photos below!
Gerhard Clausing
Gerhard Clausing visiting the Wall Space Gallery: Christa Dix, Founder and Director (right), and Dani Kroll, Gallery Assistant (center)
One of the many spacious gallery areas of Bergamot Station Art Center
Michael Dawson and Gerhard Clausing considering the details of a Winogrand item
A lively conversation with Susan Spiritus: Michele and Larry Pribble and Doug Stockdale
Two Dougs and one Susan Spiritus
Cat Gwynn with her book 10-Mile Radius, a testament to the positive power of art
Douglas Stockdale and Debra Klomp Ching of the Clompching Gallery, viewing the work of Jennifer Thoreson (Hudson)
The famous picture by Judy Dater: “Imogen and Twinka at Yosemite, 1974” offered by Scott Nichols Gallery
The one and only Judy Dater and Los Angeles photographer Lisa McCord (right)
Tami Bahat’s solo exhibit at Building Bridges Art Exchange
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Photos 1, 2, 4, 7 by Douglas Stockdale © 2018; all others by Gerhard Clausing © 2018
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