Archive for the ‘Photo Radio’ Category

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Jul
28
2011

Casual Consumption

With all of the chatter over the last few days on the benefits/detriments of viewing photographs online, I thought I would expand my comments from the original blog post that brought forth the discussion on The Ten Blog.

Jennifer Schwartz of the Jennifer Schwartz Gallery was kind enough to ask me to contribute to this post. It was difficult to invest as much time into my response as I would have liked because when I got Jennifer’s request I had literally just checked into a hotel for my last night’s stay in Seattle after spending 5 exhausting days printing with master printmaker Tyler Boley for my upcoming show at Newspace Center for Photography. I’ve written about my friendship with Tyler before on this blog. I met him 4 years ago in Vermont. He was giving a workshop in printing fine art black and white photographs using Jon Cone’s beautiful inks, a process now known as Piezography. Since that time, Tyler has been a mentor to me on the printmaking process. He has answered questions that no one else would be able to answer, he has shown me techniques in Photoshop and with my printer that quite simply, have made my ability to continue in photography possible. I firmly believe in the printmaking process. For me, the end result is the print, or rather, the full experience of viewing the print. Without it, photography holds little interest for me.

During the times when I’ve gone up to Seattle to print in Tyler’s studio, we often get into heated discussions about viewing images online, about why photographers don’t invest more time, energy, and yes, money into becoming really good printers, and about how, as artists who passionately care about the craft of printmaking, can we make both artists and non-photographers aware of the value and importance of maintaining the level of craft that the founders of this medium trustingly bequeathed to us. These conversations usually end in frustration.

I’ve spent the last two years building a new body of work titled Growth. I’ve spent the last 3 months preparing to show this work and other unpublished, unexhibited portfolios in September. For some reason, which is very unusual for me, I have held back on sharing these new images online. They’re not on my website, blog, or Facebook. In fact, I’ve hardly shown them to anyone. I don’t know why I’ve kept them to myself. But maybe it was this very idea of casual consumption that I didn’t want.

Selfishly, I don’t want to offer my work, that has taken so much from me, to be immediately devoured, digested, and discarded by this community which lately, always seems ready and eager for more.

I listened again to the interview I did with Cat Gwynn for Photo Radio about her series, Hungry – The Insatiable State of America. What Cat is showing in that body of work, is another kind of casual consumption, one that I can speculate that most of us would look upon with disdain, our consumer culture becoming ever-more demanding for anything we don’t already have, what is new. But are we just as guilty—always craving new imagery, rather than what might take time to appreciate, what is subtle, what is well-conceived, and well-crafted? Is there a place for subtle work in this online emporium we all now have frequent-viewer memberships to?

There may be ramifications for not sharing these images. I doubt that many of us would, and it is against my own advice when I talk about expanding your audience. Yesterday, in the midst of all this discussion, I got an e-mail from Andy Adams of Flak Photo, asking to see the new body of work. I told him, that in thinking about all of this, I had decided not to publish the images online, at least for a while. I didn’t hear back from him. Did I piss him off? Maybe. Did he want a first look to possibly put it on Flak Photo? Maybe. Am I missing an opportunity by not giving him what he wants? Maybe. But I want, for once, the prints to make the first impression.

My fear is that our community will become that which so many of us are disgusted by and focus our work on, ever-hungry consumption. I don’t want the same afflictions that we look down on, the devouring of our natural resources, the lack of patience for experiencing what is real and in the moment, and the focus on instant gratification to be what our legacy is to the next generation of photographers.

Hope to see you all in September.

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Posted in Education, Essays, Exhibitions, General, Inspiration, Photo Radio | 8 Comments »

Apr
15
2011

Photolucida 2011 Day 1

I just got home from the first full day of reviews and events at Photolucida 2011. The day was filled with giving reviews, networking, interviews, checking out the Indie Photobook Library, and the wonderful Portfolio Walk at the Portland Art Museum.

I have a slightly different take on this event compared to the one in 2009. In 2009, I was here as a reviewee, it was my first review event. I felt much more relaxed here as a member of the Board, and as an interviewer for Photo Radio. I’ve completed 6 of the 10 interviews I scheduled for Photo Radio. So far, I’ve talked with Melanie McWhorter of photo-eye, David Bram of Fraction Magazine, Susan Spiritus of the Susan Spiritus Gallery, Aline Smithson, a photographer and of Lenscratch fame, Cat Gwynn, a photographer from Los Angeles, and Kirk Crippens, another photographer from the San Francisco area. Tomorrow, I’m scheduled to talk to Chris Churchill, who has a wonderful series American Faith and Kevin Miller, the Curator for the Southeast Museum of Photography.

I’m exhausted.

And I still have to go over my notes for my talk on Saturday which I’m a little afraid of.

I have to say I think the quality of the work I’ve seen has been very high and while I wish I was participating in the actual reviews like my fellow artists, I feel like it was a wise decision to sit this one out. I’ve just started on a new long term project that has me very excited and I can see the value in waiting until a body of work is much more developed before showing it to this crowd.

I’ve had some wonderful conversations with photographers and reviewers here so far… I met Tami Bone, who immediately told me how much she loves my blog (which rarely happens, most of the time I wonder if anyone is reading this); I spent a long time talking with Elisabeth Sunday, whose work I have admired for some time ever since I saw her beautiful prints in Gallery 291 in San Francisco a year ago; I spent a long time talking with my good friend Kirk Crippens who, like me, struggles with the balance of making a living and making art; Jon Edwards whose beautiful prints of Maine have haunted me; and Brooks Jensen of LensWork, who shared some nice thoughts and encouragement on bookmaking (and selling).

Tomorrow will be spent talking with more photographers, doing interviews, and a lunchtime chat with Julie Blackmon. The day will end with a lecture from Todd Hido whom I met tonight, he was very friendly and seemed really excited to be a part of Photolucida. I still need to meet up with Jeri Eisenberg (I met Jeri here in 2009), I’d like to get to know Rachel Barrett and get a better look at Louie Palu’s prints.

Oh, and it’s HIGH-DOE, not HEE-DOE.

more later…

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Posted in Artist Talks/Lectures, General, Photo Radio | 4 Comments »

Jan
16
2011

What’s ahead for 2011…

Well, I came through 6 hours of surgery in good shape and I’m so happy to have that behind me. So happy am I, that I am now focused on what’s ahead for 2011 and thought I’d share some, not all (don’t be greedy) of what I’m thinking.

Silence is an Orchard
I am getting ready to release my second artist book, titled Silence is an Orchard. The book should be completed in about three weeks and as soon as it is, I will post detailed images of the book which is the result of contributions from five Northwest women artists. I’m so thrilled about this being done. You never know, especially when working with so many people on a handmade object, that what you originally imagined will actually be completed true to the initial vision. I can say that this surpassed my expectations—it is a lovely journal of meditation and peace in the fields of Maine.

Codex International Book Fair
Thrilled cannot begin to describe my excitement to be participating in the third biennial Codex book fair that will take place from 2/6 – 2/9 on the campus of the University of California in Berkeley. This fair attracts an international audience interested in learning about as well as purchasing fine press and artist books. This will be my first opportunity to really immerse myself in the book arts community. I can only imagine the what I will learn from other book artists and get a sense of how many photographers are representing their work in this kind of venue. I will be sharing a table with Sarah Horowitz, the artist who created the original etching for Silence is an Orchard. I believe our work is very complementary, and that anyone interested in my work will love hers and vice versa. I hope those of you in the Bay area will make use of how wonderful it is to have an event like this in the area and come by for a chat. To find me, look at the directory of exhibitors for ‘Vela Noche Press.’

The dates of the show are:
Sunday, Feb. 6 12:00 – 4:00
Monday, Feb. 7 12:30 – 6:30
Tuesday, Feb. 8 12:30 – 6:30
Wednesday, Feb. 9 12:30 – 4:30

I hope to see you there…

Photo Radio
I am about to post the recent interview I did with Todd Tubutis, the Executive Director of Blue Sky Gallery. In 2011 I will be interviewing many types of professionals in the visual arts with more frequency. I will be, in a sense, ‘covering’ the upcoming photolucida portfolio reviews here in Portland. My goal is to conduct between 6-10 interviews of both reviewers and photographers. I will be promoting this jointly with photolucida and hope it will give people around the world a sense of what this specific event, as well as portfolio reviews in general, are all about. My hope is to provide audio coverage like this for other events. If you have suggestions on how I might be able to do that, or on photographers who might be interested in being interviewed, please post a comment. I would appreciate your thoughts. To visit Photo Radio, go to www.photoradioblog.com.

Workshops
I have two upcoming workshops that might interest you or other photographers. They are both in March, the first on the 12th which I will be teaching with fellow artists Ray Bidegain and Fritz Liedtke, and then on the 26th in Victoria, British Columbia at Lúz Gallery. Details about both are below.

The Artist’s Job: Making a Life and a Living as an Artist
Date/Time: March 12/10am – 5pm
Place: My studio on N Mississippi in Portland, OR
Cost: $180
Description: Why do most art school graduates fail to become active, successful artists? How does one balance work and art and all the other responsibilities of life? Portland artists Ray Bidegain, Fritz Liedtke, and I are offering a one-day workshop on how to create a life that makes time and money for your artistic passions to flourish.

My part in this workshop will focus on “Getting Exposure: Marketing that Works”. I will be presenting tools and specific marketing methods you can use to boost your exposure and sales of individual artworks. Topics will include: defining your goals, identifying a target audience, creating the optimal marketing piece, knowing when to scrap the trends and think creatively to get your work out, traditional methods of marketing (juried shows, portfolio reviews, web sites, etc.), and expanded methods (blogs, social media, multimedia, etc.)

I’m really excited about this workshop. We’ll cover many issues that artists face on a daily basis, but are rarely able to get practical help with.

For more information on this workshop click here.
To register, click here.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Marketing for Fine Art Photographers
Date/Time: March 26/10am – 5pm
Place: Lúz Gallery in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Description: I will be returning to Lúz to teach another one-day workshop on how to better market your work to the fine art photography community. Topics covered include the following:
What is marketing?

Before you start…
1. Setting short term goals
2. Figuring out long term goals
3. Materials to gather to start

Getting started with traditional methods…
1. Email campaigns
2. Portfolio reviews
3. Juried shows
4. Publication submissions
5. Gallery submissions

Moving forward with expanded methods…
1. Setting yourself apart
2. Social media
3. Submitting to blogs
4. Self publishing
5. Blogging
6. Going beyond the photography world

Pushing ahead

Questions

Thank you so much to Lúz for inviting me back, I’m very excited to see my new friends in Victoria again!

For more information or to register for this workshop click here.

Featured Publications
My work will be published in three wonderful publications in the next few months. Displaced: Part I will be included in the third issue of Landscape Stories which should be released in March. I am very excited to be a part of this online magazine dedicated to visual storytelling which focuses on the land.

In April, I will have a feature in Diffusion Magazine. Displaced: Part II will be featured, but even more exciting (for you anyway) will be a big, big, comprehensive article I wrote titled Adventures in Publishing. I am so proud of this piece for a few reasons. The first is that I have never published an article before and I’m pretty damn excited about that! I’ve been doing more and more writing (in part because I’ve gotten used to it doing these blog posts) and I hope to write for more publications. Second, most of the articles I’ve read recently barely scratch the surface of the topic presented. I’ve tried to go beyond that and believe I’ve succeeded. I hope you will support the magazine and let me know what you think of the piece. You can preview the next issue and subscribe at their website, www.diffusionmag.com.

Finally, in the fall of 2011, the Fine Press Book Association’s beautiful journal called Parenthesis will review Displaced. Photographer David Evans will be writing the review. Parenthesis presents reviews, essays, commentary, news, how-to articles, and profiles of fine and private press printing as well as bookbinding, typography, collecting, publishing and related areas. It is published twice a year and alternates between North America and Europe. If you are interested in what is happening in the fine press book community, it is a thoroughly enjoyable way to learn.

Upcoming Shows

From January 27 – March 12 Displaced will be showing in an international exhibition of artist books incorporating photography as a primary element which debuted at Abecedarian Gallery in Denver in November and will move on the 27th to 23 Sandy Gallery in Portland. The show, titled Photo Book Works was juried by Mia Semingson, a photographer, book binder and educator. For this exhibition, Semingson selected the work of 31 artists from the United States, Great Britain, Switzerland and Australia. The opening for the show will be on February 4, 2010 from 6–8 p.m. Unfortunately, I will not be able to be there as I will be en route to the Codex fair, but please take a look at the great books showing. For more information, click here.

I will also have a solo show most likely in November of 2011 at Newspace Center for Photography. The content for the show will be determined later, but I believe, right now, that it will mostly present Present Tense, Past Lives. I have to figure out what that will mean, as I’m envisioning something radically different than what I’ve done in the past. I am uncertain if I will finish that body in time for November, but I will most likely present that as well as my Urban Growth portfolio which I am actively working on.

Thank you all, so very much, for your support. Working through the many issues that arise in creating art, books and marketing, along with a consistent dose of rejection makes your optimism all the more valuable. I hope you will continue on this journey with me into 2011…

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Posted in Artist Books, Displaced, Education, Exhibitions, General, Marketing, Photo Radio, Silence is an Orchard, Workshops | 3 Comments »

Nov
09
2010

photo radio: nw territory – women in photography

I was extremely honored to participate this past Saturday in a panel discussion with eight other women that was moderated by Julia Dolan, Curator of Photography for the Portland Art Museum. The discussion was part of the Society for Photographic Education NW Conference, a few days packed with interesting and informative talks held at Newspace Center for Photography in Portland, Oregon. Being relatively new to Portland, it was a wonderful opportunity to meet these talented artists and to also understand their perspectives on the Northwest and what their experiences have been as photographers working here.

Thank you so much to Newspace Center for Photography for hosting this event, to Julia Dolan, for moderating and providing such interesting topics of discussion, and Photolucida for sponsoring.

You can listen to the audio by going to my Photo Radio blog (www.photoradioblog.com).

I will be posting more on the conference shortly…

Enjoy.

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Oct
29
2010

photo radio: joni kabana

To listen to the interview, please go to www.photoradioblog.com.

I have been hearing about Joni Kabana through mutual friends for about the past 6 months. We finally had a chance to meet over breakfast about 6 weeks ago. We ended up talking for nearly 2 hours and I left feeling so inspired and impressed with who she is and the work she does.

A large part of the interview is focused on an upcoming trip she is making to Ethiopia to work on a project called Footsteps to Healing: A Global Commitment To Improving Women’s Health in Rural Ethiopia. I was particularly intrigued at how Joni collaborated to create a wonderful video on this project as a way to introduce the topic and project as well as raise funds for her upcoming trip in January.

I am continually fascinated by how photographers are using multimedia to add to the layers of their storytelling… and this is a perfect example. The bonus audio includes Joni’s partner on the project, Jay Wright, as they talk in more detail about their collaboration.

To view Joni’s work, please visit her website at www.jonikabana.com.
To follow the project, please visit Joni’s blog at www.jonikabana.com/blog.
To contact Joni about equipment or services donations, please e-mail her at joni@jonikabana.com.
To view the Footsteps to Healing video, please click here.
To download or purchase the Footsteps to Healing book, please click here.
To donate (either equipment, services or cash) to this worthwhile cause, please go to http://www.globalsoulinternational.org and click on “Projects”. Designate the MOTA PROJECT on your donation.

Enjoy.

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