A Grain of Sand

Trust your Gut

2012-01-26T09:09:00.000-05:00

2011 © Suzanne Révy

Interesting post over at Conscietious this morning called Photography and Trust. Trusting your pictures is, as he says, important, and allowing your doubts to sap that trust can lead to what he refers to overcompensation with craft, using too many photoshop filters, 19th century techniques or toy cameras, for example, can lead to making pictures that look a like gimmicks. Ouch, feeling a little pang of doubt as I read it, because I've been using toy cameras lately.

Granted, all these techniques have their own look, and are hard to make your own, but having used a toy camera for the first time this past summer, I've decided to trust it. It allowed me a freedom to shoot in places and at times that had been more difficult or simply impossible for me with more traditional camera gear. I'm going to trust the pictures I made with it, and trust that the small portfolio that I have been working on lately, and trust that the pictures aren't a gimmick, but reflect the mood I was in last summer.

Drowning in a Sea of Work Prints

2012-01-24T10:45:00.001-05:00

In the process of organizing my work space, a project that began in the last week of the last year we decided to swap and repurpose two rooms, so I traded a room with the kids. It's been a herculean task, but it's almost complete.

As I've unpacked a variety of boxes that were in my old space, I've realized just how many extra work prints I've generated over the years, and I'm never quite sure what to do with work prints. Those prints that for whatever reason, aren't quite right... or are simply the one or two extras I make in the course of a printing session in order to ensure that everything through the wash, toning, drying and flattening process goes well, but if not... well, I'll have an extra or two... generally, I won't mess up all three prints, for example. And it's good not to have to reset the darkroom to reprint, because I've mangled a print in the dry mount press. It happens...

At this point, the quantity of work prints is getting ridiculous, and I'm tempted just to chuck them all out, but then I think that would require an act of bravery far greater than I can manage, though space constraints may force it!!

Lucian Freud

2012-01-17T09:07:00.002-05:00

Reflection (Self-portrait)

by Lucian Freud, 1985

I was reading an article last night about painter Lucian Freud (1922-2011) in the February issue of Vanity Fair (on the Ipad... kinda loving magazine reading on this device), and found the life he lived, and the art he made both incredibly inspirational, and at times somewhat unnerving. Seems, despite having some fourteen children, that his sole purpose was painting. His portraits are extraordinary, and I love that he stuck with figurative work at a time when his contemporaries were immersed in abstract expressionism. Somehow, his brushwork and paint become the living flesh and skin of those he portrayed. And I'm inspired that he kept working quite feverishly until his death last year. Seems he didn't feel like he had quite finished his life... like an unfinished painting.

He wasn't the most present of fathers to his fourteen children, and honestly, I find having so many children with so many different partners a little disturbing, but despite this large unconventional family, his sole focus was his painting. Ultimately, he made portraits of most of his children, according to the article, and I suspect those sittings deepened their relationships, but would his paintings been as expressive or would he have been as prolific if he had played a more traditional role with his family? I don't know.

One thing I took away from the article... it's interesting to note that his sitters would pose for him over hundreds of hours. Among his sitters, he had lovers, friends, and his children... seems getting to know them all was part of his process, and reminiscent, I suppose, of his grandfather's work in psychoanalysis. Thinking out loud here... slowly making portraits, carefully over time, watching and knowing your subject... seeing how they speak, how they eat, how they move, and in some cases how they love... now that's making a portrait... deliberately, thoughtfully.

Around Boston This Weekend

2012-01-12T09:14:00.001-05:00

Busy few days coming up here in Boston. Tonight the Griffin Museum of Photography is having an opening reception for civil rights photographer Ernest Withers, along with Christopher Churchill's American Faith series, and Susan Berger's Martin Luther King Boulevard series at 7pm. I'm looking forward to this evening, hopefully, the snow will let up before then.

Tomorrow night, Ken Rosenthal will be signing books at the opening reception for Process and Dreams, the new show at Panopticon Gallery at 5:30pm. I've long admired his work, and am looking forward to meeting him. The show also includes the work of Jennifer Hudson, Michael Donner, my friend Tami Bone, Bryan David Griffith, Rachel Phillips, Curtis Wehrfritz, and Emanuelle Germaine.

And if that doesn't sound like enough fun, Mary Virginia Swanson will be giving her Publish or Self-Publish? lecture at the Griffin on Sunday from 10am to 1pm.

A Twin Celebration

2012-01-08T09:51:00.000-05:00

The holidays are never quite over for me until the 8th of January when I celebrate my birthday. The days always line up, Christmas the first week, followed exactly one week later by New Year's, and then one week after that, Birthday! Ordinarily, I let my birthday pass without much notice, maybe share some cake with the kids, but this year is a big one. Landing at the half century mark has me, I'll confess, a little unnerved. Happily, my twin brother and I share this day.

I've always loved the above snap my dad took of the two of us, we're probably around 3 years old, and are at my grandmother's house in the Westwood section of Los Angeles. I remember that house and pool so well, I even remember those towels... maybe it was the picture that kept them in my memory? What do we really remember, and what do we remember because we have a picture?

Photographic Resolutions

2012-01-04T08:41:00.001-05:00

With the new year, I've been giving some thought to what I'd like to work on this year photographically. Generally, there are three areas of interest for me. Less urgently, at least shooting wise, I'd like to continue to make pictures intended for my series now called Time Let Me Play. The portfolio itself feels largely resolved, but the kids are still young, and I love to watch them play. I'd like to fine tune it so that I can get it into a book form, and learn a bit about publishing. Secondly, I'd like to complete the prints for a small color portfolio I shot last summer with a Holga. Nice to take a bit of a breather gear wise, and shoot in a way that was far more loose than I had done with my older work.

Lastly, after doing a weekend workshop with 8"x10" cameras last spring, I've decided to take the plunge. A friend was interested in selling his beautiful Deardorff, so I've offered to take it off his hands, and give it a go. I expect this will be a far more deliberate process than I am used to, which has me a little nervous, but there is something seductive about looking through a ground glass, and the beautiful detail this medium renders. And I'd love to make platinum prints again...

Five Years

2011-12-28T09:06:00.000-05:00

Realized this week that I've been blogging for about five years now... time flies when you are having fun, doesn't it? My first post was on December 30th in 2006. My youngest was enjoying the "winter break" of his kindergarten year when I started, and the oldest was in 2nd grade. They are now 5th and 7th graders! Not sure what possessed me to start blogging, but it came down to wanting to articulate and organize my thoughts about photography and art, and at the time, I was reading a lot of blogs that were inspiring.

In the spring and summer of 2007, about four to six months after I began to write regularly, I had a banner year in making pictures... it all came together for me, somehow. The exercise and discipline needed to write at somewhat regular intervals fed my passion for making pictures. Making these posts public served to keep them professional and on point. It became part of my creative process, and resulted in extraordinary productivity. (It helped that I had a year to plan for a show at my local public library, too, but I'm not sure I could have pulled it off, without taking the time I did to write this blog.)

I've been reading old posts lately, and I don't regret anything I've written here. The writing has been largely focused on my own process and work, a bit on the work of others, my inspirations and influences from the photography to painting to poetry. Looking at the numbers, however, I've noticed that I've posted less frequently this past year. There are a number of reasons for this... as the kids have gotten older, the demands on my time have shifted, and I've honestly been floundering a bit with making new work... not sure where it's headed just yet, and I've been unable to articulate what I want from my pictures just now, but having reviewed a few earlier posts, I understand that I should keep up with blogging; writing and thinking regularly may bring many of my embryonic and half-formed ideas to fruition.

So, let me close this by saying thank you to those who regularly stop by, and wish you all the very best for a healthy and productive new year.

Zero for Conduct

2011-12-26T17:24:00.000-05:00

Tabard played by Gérard de Bédarieux in Jean Vigo's film of 1933, Zero for Conduct

When I finished reading The Invention of Hugo Cabret, I was reminded of a film I saw years ago called Zero for Conduct by Jean Vigo. It was made in 1933, and I believe one character in the Hugo book, the film historian René Tabard may be named for the above rebellious boy from the film whose name is Tabard. And, this is just a guess, I think Tabard in the film may be an autobiographical representation of the filmmaker Jean Vigo, himself.

Did you follow that? Anyway, I decided to watch it again, and it's a wonderful film. I love the look of it, the way it's lit, the rhythm of it. It's refreshing to watch something this good that is not filled with the spectacular and way over the top visuals of today's flicks. I will say though... we took in Martin Scorsese's Hugo today, and it's a fantastic movie. One that finally uses 3-D technology effectively, and not just as some kind of gimmick in order to charge a higher ticket price. And Scorsese appears briefly as a photographer. I love that! Didn't he make a similar appearance as a photographer in his wonderful film, The Age of Innocence, too?

If you have about 40 minutes or so, watch this Vigo film, it's a masterpiece, here. And you might also check out his other film, L'Atalante, which can be found in several parts on You Tube, here's a good place to start it.

Nothing like the last week of the year to catch up on the movies, both new and old.

Good Cheer and Thanks!

2011-12-25T17:41:00.001-05:00

Wraparound jacket

The Invention of Hugo Carbret

by Brian Selznick

Santa brought my kids a few books, and one was The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick which, as you may know, was adapted into a movie, Hugo, by Martin Scorsese. The book is the perfect blend of image and words... it's a lovely story, beautifully illustrated with dark and atmospheric black and white drawings, which marry so perfectly with the mood and feel of the words and story. I couldn't put it down today, Christmas Day, and hope to get to the movie tomorrow. So, a bear hug and thanks to Santa for leaving it under the tree!! Also, a big thanks to my mom for the Amazon gift card that I received last week, which I promptly used to buy Ken Schles' new book, Oculus, which is another example of the perfect blend of images and words, far more subtle than Hugo, but just as riveting. There's a rhythm to the pictures and to the writing that I found mesmerizing... could hear the ocean depicted in the beginning, and felt the deep sleep of children. Gorgeous book...

Also, a thanks to my sister for sending me Naomi Rosenblum's reference work, A World History of Photography, which I've long wanted for my library. There are some gems in there that were previously unknown to me; it's a book I'm looking forward to reading in greater depth than I had time for today, and one I expect to refer to often.

Lastly, I'd like add a thank you to the three guys in my life who offered a generous gift card to Nordstroms with which I've made a nice purchase of a handbag that has nothing whatever to do with photography, and nor will it send me into the nether regions of my mind as the books have done, but hey... I like to accessorize on occasion! Thanks, my loves!

Wishing you and yours a festive and warm holiday season, and hope it was fun ripping open all the presents!!

Emily Dickinson

2011-12-15T16:44:00.003-05:00

Off topic, perhaps, but I've been reading Emily Dickinson poems lately. Photography and poetry share a unique kinship, and I'm in awe of the sheer quantity of poems she wrote, and the expressive and lovely language she uses in describing seemingly straightforward ideas about nature, about life and love, and about death and our place in this world.

One in particular struck me as quite photographic in its concern. How light changes through the year, indeed, through the day. I find it important to embrace the rhythms and seasons of the year (or each day for that matter), and even when the light feels so brief, as it does here in the northern hemisphere at the moment, there are still times when it's breathtakingly beautiful. So with those few thoughts in mind, here's the poem that had me thinking about light.

812

A Light exists in Spring

Not present on the Year

At any other period-

When March is scarcely here

A Color stands abroad

On Solitary Fields

That Science cannot overtake

But Human Nature feels.

It waits upon the Lawn,

It shows the furthest tree

Upon the furthest Slope you know

It almost speaks to you.

Then as Horizons step

Or Noons report away

Without the Formula of sound

It passes and we stay-

A quality of loss

Affecting our Content

As trade had suddenly encroached

Upon a Sacrament

by Emily Dickinson

c. 1864/published 1896

Fraction Holiday Print Sale, redux

2011-12-07T09:20:00.001-05:00

T-Shirt

2009 © Suzanne Révy

As mentioned in an earlier post, here, I have made available several 8"x10" selenium toned gelatin silver prints of my image T-Shirt, and they are ready to be shipped. Buy art this holiday season for yourself!! I've sold a few prints, and bought a few prints from the sale, and I love my growing collection of unique art. A big thanks to David Bram at Fraction Magazine for organizing the sale, which you can peruse here, and a big thanks to Andy Adams for including a selection of images from the sale on Flak Photo.

Swoon

2011-12-05T08:50:00.001-05:00

Swoon

Introduction by Jeffrey Dietch

Abrams, New York 2010

Meandering thoughts for a Monday, if I may...

Very sadly an acquaintance, David Prifti, passed away just before Thanksgiving, and I attended his memorial service last week in Concord, MA. It was a lovely service, and I felt so melancholy that this beautiful and witty artist, who had touched the lives of many, died so young at the age of 50 from pancreatic cancer. I first met Prifti when he gave a talk at the DeCordova Museum about three years ago, and I was struck by a comment he made... he said, "do something for your art every day... even if it's just for fifteen minutes. You'll be amazed at your productivity once you make that commitment."

There are days when I can't, but having heard those words, and knowing how much great work he managed to make in his life, I try. Some days are diamonds, and some days are rocks, but few go by without at least a little work toward my pictures. He did also add, that giving the talk at the museum counted toward making art for that day! So, with that in mind... I count the days I visit museums and galleries as days at working on art. It may not be my art, but it is sure to influence and inspire, and open my mind to new ideas.

I had read, where was it? In the Globe?? No matter, I had read month or so ago about an installation at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston by the artist known as Swoon, (whose personality seems similar to Prifti's) and had thought, "time to get to that museum." I've admired her work since first learning of it in the documentary film, Our City Dreams that I wrote briefly about here. At any rate, the museum has been open at its current location since 2006, and the building looks so cool. What a slug that I haven't gone sooner!!

Swoon's Anthropocene Extinction did not disappoint. At times, I find it important to look at the work of artists who are not necessarily engaged in photography, and I realize that the work I respond to the most tends to be figurative and full of emotion. Swoon is a street artist making life size wood cut prints that recall the work of Schiele and Kirchner, Klimt, not to mention the poster and print activism of Daumier and Lautrec, and she wheat pastes them to the walls of decaying buildings in urban locations. They are gutsy and bold, but (and this is key) they are ephemeral... like the human body, they slowly decay, disappear, and die. Unfortunately, the only work I've seen of hers was the installation at the ICA, which feels rather more permanent than I suspect her street work must be. She's a graduate of Pratt Institute in Brooklyn... my old stomping grounds, and it sounds like she turned Myrtle Ave. into quite the art installation after organizing what she called the Toyshop Collective of artists. Wish I had seen that!!

Anyway... I bought a book (cover above) about her work at the museum, but it feels woefully inadequate, though the essays, with the exception of one dripping in a little too much art speak, were full of insights into her life, ideas and work. Something tells me her art is best experienced in person, on the street (or floating down a river as she did with a flotilla of rafts a few years ago) and not necessarily through a book, museum or even the internet. She has little presence online, a testament I'd say, to demonstrating that life and art can be made off the grid.

More meandering thoughts from the museum...

While there, I took in a Dance/Draw exhibit which is excellent, really interesting. I especially liked the work of Helena Almeida and Faith Wilding whose Womb Room was a comforting refuge from the jarring noise of too many video art installations, my one criticism of the museum... too much boring video art. Your mileage my vary of course, but video art is just yet more screens and noise I could do without. At any rate, I've always been interested in gestural drawing and it's relationship to movement is beautifully explored in this show.

Other work of note on view, Damián Ortega's Olympus, an anatomical look at the mechanics of a 35mm camera, though the wall label described the technology of the camera as obsolete, which I thought was total bullshit, and loved that the artist was interested in the physical nature of things, even at a molecular level. Lastly, I found myself interested in the work of Jessica Jackson Hutchins whose works on paper showing grammar shapes such as quotation marks, periods and exclamation points are full of gesture and expression, and moved me. Her couch, however, well, I didn't love it, but responded to her use of every day items within the bulbous figures of the sculpture as elevated the mundane to art. And her work, well... somehow through it all, felt like sex. But maybe that's just me. Here's an interview.

What a satisfying day at the ICA, I was pleasantly surprised to be confronted with so much art that was so full of human emotion, and thanks to Prifti, I'm feeling inspired. He lives on in those he touched.

Mossless Magazine

2011-12-02T09:07:00.001-05:00

Mosless Magazine featuring the work of Brea Souders, Alana Celii, and Sean Vegezzi and Bobby Doherty

Last week, in the midst of Thanksgiving hosting and cooking, I received in the mail a nice package from Romke Hoogwaerts of Mossless Magazine with a copy of the print edition. And was blown away. They are beautiful! The reproduction is stunning, and I love the layouts inside each book. There's something so powerful these days, that small independent publishers can produce a printed magazine so beautifully. This issue is made up of four magazines each featuring the work and words of one photographer.

Mossless Magazine was, until recently, an online blog that presented short interviews with a different photographer every two days. They asked four fairly straightforward questions about the work, and presented each photographers answers simply enough accompanied by one of their photographs. A little over a year ago, one of the contributors to the blog approached me about doing one such interview, and I agreed. You can read it here. It was one of the first opportunities I had to answer some questions that I found challenging, and were difficult to answer.

At any rate, seems they've stopped the every other day online interviews, selected a four photographers who had been interviewed to publish their work, conducted a Kickstarter campaign, and have now produced these lovely magazines. Would be worth getting you hands on these, and I expect you can contact them here to order them.

And I have to say, having contributed a little to several Kickstarter campaigns over the past few months, I've been reaping the benefits in the form of some great art.

Fraction Holiday Print Sale

2011-11-25T07:18:00.001-05:00

T-Shirt

2009 © Suzanne Révy

Once again, the amazing David Bram has put together his annual holiday print sale of the artists he has featured in his online venture, Fraction Magazine. I was featured early on, way back in issue 4.

So, on offer, I have ten prints currently available of my photograph, T-Shirt. It's a selenium toned gelatin silver print on 8"x10" paper, the image size is about 7"x9", and shipping is included for $100. He's made paying for your unique prints easier and more streamlined this year. What an excellent alternative shopping experience to fighting the crowds buying big stuff at the big box stores! Be yourself, buy unique art!

Sneak Peek

2011-11-21T11:23:00.001-05:00

New Work

2011 © Suzanne Révy

I spent some time a week or so ago working with Paul Sneyd and his staff at Panopticon Imaging to make color prints from film I shot last summer using a Holga. I learned to print color back in the pleistoscene era of the early 80's optically, and found it a long, tedious process with middling results. It came down to... not really liking the RC paper.

These days, of course, their are better choices for paper via inkjet printing, and I've decided to explore this world a bit. The scanner I have is adequate as my imaging needs have been for web presentation only, but in order to print in color, I expect it will require a certain investment in a scanner, printer and software, not to mention the time needed to learn it. If I'm happy with the results, then I may take the plunge, but for now, it seems a good idea to work with someone who knows there way around color printing.

I will say this... as I've worked through how I want these prints to look, it's made me think more deeply about the pictures I made, and about why I found myself using a toy camera (and color film!) for the first time without really knowing or understanding my impulse to use these materials or have any particular intention or direction to go. The resulting pictures feel more impressionistic than my other work... and the vignetting and ghosting have an ephemeral quality, and there's something about how color is rendered with plastic lenses, it all, quite simply, seems to have reflected my mood, and sense that things are fleeting.

Not sure where I'm going with this work, so I'll just keep going with it for now...

Books from Mentors

2011-11-17T12:49:00.001-05:00

I've had a number of interesting photography teachers over the years, and I'm slowly collecting books from them. One of my favorite things to give (and receive) for the holidays are photography books. I'm planning a few posts over the next few weeks to highlight a few... put them on your list to give (or receive!)

First up, I've written about him before, but Phil Perkis was the head of the photography department at Pratt when I was there in the early 80's, and I have three of his books that are all well worth it. The first is a small little treatise on teaching called, Teaching Photography, Notes Assembled, then his book published in the late 70's Warwick Mountain Series, and his opus of a few years ago, The Sadness of Men. It's funny, when I was a student of his, I just didn't get his work, but now I find it so extraordinarily moving.

His influence was important partly, I'd say, because of the professors he hired to teach there at that time. Recently, Judy Linn released a book of photographs she made with the poet and singer Patti Smith and photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, Patti Smith 1969-1976. I love how young these pictures feel. Linn, by the way, was a great instructor- she taught color printing and I always looked forward to her classes.

I probably took more classes from Bill Gedney than from any other teacher. Not only was he an excellent technician and beautiful printer, his pictures are so moving and deeply felt. I didn't realize there was a book of his work until I started researching this post, so it's on my list, though it looks to be out of print. I covet this one: What Was True: The Photographs and Notebooks of William Gedney

Paul McDonough taught some of the introductory classes, and recently had his street pictures of New York published in New York Photographs 1968 to 1978. I haven't seen this book yet, but plan to buy it this season.

Ann Mandelbaum filled in for Perkis in the spring and final semester of my time at Pratt while he took a sabbatical. I was disappointed at first to have had Perkis for only one semester, but Ann opened my eyes to editing and organizing photographs that made me see just how powerful the message can be with a careful edit. Her work then was quite different than it is now, I remember some great stuff she had done in Mexico, but I'm curious to buy some of her books with her more recent work, Ann Mandelbaum and Thin Skin.

More recently, I've participated in a number of short workshops whose teachers have all had some influence on my work. Andrea Modica's Intuitive Portraits workshop in Maine really jump started my work back in 2005, and her book Treadwell is one I refer to often. It's no longer in print, so quite expensive to purchase new, but can be found used quite reasonably. I did a weekend workshop with Debbie Fleming Caffery who has a whole slew of books, but I have The Shadows, which reminds me, I really should get her book, The Spirit and The Flesh. Lastly, Sylvia Plachy week long workshop in Santa Fe has started me down a new road with color. Interesting, she and I had some of the same teachers at Pratt though I was there, I guess, about twenty years after she was. She's another with several books under her belt, and Signs and Relics is great, and I covet her Self Portrait with Cows Going Home, especially after seeing her home made small mock up of that book!

So... happy photography book shopping! More suggestions to come!

Neglect

2011-11-12T09:01:00.001-05:00

This blog has been sadly neglected the past few weeks.

Not sure why I've not been inspired to write much of late, though a series of projects on the home front, both in terms of photography, and a long complicated home improvement job have taken up much of my energy, not to mention the day in and day out two kids have left little time to write something at length here more often. It's too bad... I rather liked the discipline of blogging, and the quick hits on Facebook or Twitter seem all too short and unsatisfying.

In fact, I've noticed, a number of interesting blogs have gone silent. I'm chalking it up to our ADD culture of the quick Twitter or Facebook update... it's spoiled my attention span.

PRC Auction

2011-10-12T10:10:00.002-05:00

Weed, 2008

2008 © Suzanne Révy

Unfortunately, due to a death in the family, I will be out of town, but I'm pleased to have donated an 11"x14" print of my picture Weed to the Photographic Resource Center's silent auction fundraiser which will be held this Saturday at the 808 Gallery near Boston University in Boston. Pictures on offer are currently on view at the gallery, and in addition to the silent auction with doors opening at 8:15pm, there will be a live auction earlier, doors open at 5:30pm. More information about the auction and an online catalog of pictures can be found here.

The PRC is a worthy organization that has played a vital role in supporting artists, students, curators working with photography in the Boston area, and hope they reach their funding goals, and have a great night doing it. I'm sorry I won't be able to attend this year, but it's important for me to be with family this weekend.

Bodie, California

2011-10-10T09:17:00.000-05:00

Something a little different for me:

Structures in Bodie, California

2011 © Suzanne Révy

We spent an afternoon last summer in the old mining ghost town of Bodie, California in the eastern Sierra Nevada. It's a striking place to visit, and though there were a lot of tourists, the town feels very authentic. It's described as being in a state of "arrested decay", meaning, I guess, that they won't let it decay any further, but neither will they renovate it... and presumably people it with actors wearing period dress like so many historic sites here in New England. It offers a glimpse into the remote and rough life of those folks looking to strike it rich in the California's gold rush of the 19th century, while leaving a lot to your imagination.

Most of the buildings are closed, and we could only peer in through the windows; I liked that, a lot:

Windows of Bodie

2011 © Suzanne Révy

It was a hot afternoon, we picnicked there, we walked, but the air and light inside the barns, and on the north side of the buildings was refreshing.

Wagon Wheel

2011 © Suzanne Révy

It was a great afternoon...

Today, of course, Bodie is something of a mecca for photographers, especially those enamored of what I think of as the "California School", gorgeous black and white landscapes, still life, abstract studies of weathered textured wood. You know... Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, Minor White. It's difficult to make a bad picture here, but it's even more difficult to make pictures that aren't clichés (see all of the above). I figure, the only way to make pictures here that really seem unique- to find your own voice in such a well and frequently photographed place would require some serious time and commitment, neither of which I have for Bodie.

There is something to be said, however, for "sketching" in such a place. I understand why this place attracts photographers. I found myself loving the textures, the light, the spaces, the windows. All things we've seen photographed over and over, but sometimes it's good to embrace it, go toward it... make a few cliché pictures for their own sake. A word of caution: don't make a habit of it, as the Online Photographer so eloquently and articulately explained yesterday, here.

Recent Scans

2011-10-05T08:30:00.000-05:00

Angler

2011 © Suzanne Révy

Fishing
2011© Suzanne Révy

Flower Garden

2011 © Suzanne Révy

Daisy and Stone
2011 © Suzanne Révy

Frog Pond

2011 © Suzanne Révy

Believing is Seeing

2011-10-03T13:37:00.002-05:00

Errol Morris' recent book, Believing is Seeing is a fascinating look at the idea of truth in photography, particularly documentary photography. He dissects Roger Fenton's photograph of the of the cannon balls strewn across a road above the "Shadow of the Valley of Death" made during the Crimean War, and analyzes the digital photographs made in the Abu Ghraib prison by U.S. soldiers, ponders the issues raised about propaganda in regard to the Farm Security Administration photographs made during the 1930's among others.

There's a passage in the chapter on the Abu Ghraib photographs that had me thinking about the nature of photography. He writes:

Photographs attract false beliefs the way flypaper attracts flies. Why my skepticism? Because vision is privileged in our society and our sensorium. We trust it; we place our confidence in it. Photography allows us to uncritically think. We imagine the photograph provide a magic path to the truth.

What's more, photographs allow us to think we know more than we really do. We can imagine a context that isn't really there. In the pre-photographic era images came directly from out eyes to our brains and were part of our experience of reality. With the advent of photography, images are torn free from the world, snatched from the faric of reality, and enshrined as separate entities. They became more like dreams. If is no wonder that we really don't know what to do with them.

I'm inclined to agree with his opening sentence here, but I'm not sure the way our eyes and brains "see" is all that different than that of the camera... our eyes dart around, focus on specifics, and our brain fills for us what we expect to be there, and edits out distractions. Can the human eye and brain be a reliable witness any more than a camera? I'll grant you, unlike the human eye, the camera records everything in its field of view, but the photographer chooses that field of view, and may well miss seeing some detail until looking at the results later. That little fact, of course, is what I love about making photographs, unless of course, the missed detail is a telephone pole sprouting out of someone's head, but because the view through the lens is so narrow, it can be impossible to truly know and understand the context of when and where a photograph was made.

In addition, he writes a great deal about intent on the part of the photographer, and as viewers, he wonders, can we really and truly understand the intent of the photographer simply by looking at their pictures? At the end of the day, the answer is no. An emphatic, no, but I'd say the most interesting photographs raise a lot of interesting questions.

I could go on, but I won't... get the book, you won't be disappointed.

Essence of Carlisle

2011-10-02T06:48:00.000-05:00

T-Shirt, 2009

2009 © Suzanne Révy

Tomorrow, the Essence of Carlisle show opens at the Gleason Public Library here in Carlisle, MA. The library is showcasing the work of local artists, and planning a fundraiser in the form of a raffle to be held November 5th. I'm pleased to have one of my 20"x24" prints of the above picture included in the show, and have donated an 11"x14" to the raffle.

Back in 2008, when we lived in Groton, I was offered a show in the Groton Public Library in their gallery meeting space. I had a year to plan the show, and knowing that I had to fill that room was the incentive I needed to really pull together a strong portfolio of framed prints ready to go. I received a small stipend in return for a gallery talk and demonstration. It was then accepted to be shown down the road a bit from Groton in the Acton Public Library's gallery space, and several other venues. And is still available as a traveling show, should anyone be interested!!

The support I received from the local library proved important to my work as a photographer, and when the Gleason reached out to me, it was a no brainer to give back, and support their efforts in encouraging local artists.

Test Roll

2011-09-28T07:21:00.000-05:00

The above are some very quick low res grey scale negative scans from the first roll of film I put through the new "to me" Agfa Isolette I mentioned in the previous post. I have to say I'm pleased with the look of this camera, and I think the unpredictable focus, and sunny 16 metering for exposures may prove both frustrating and satisfying at the same time. I seem to have nailed the exposures, but clearly missed the focus with a few (#4 and #5)!

And yes... it's a bee-bee gun, not particularly "correct" as a toy, I know, but nicely demonstrates F8 and then F4.5 (6th and 7th down)! Can't wait to run some color film through it, now that I know the thing really works, and the shutter and aperture are accurate.

New To Me

2011-09-23T07:53:00.000-05:00

Camera gear is not really a focus for me, since I tend to stick with one camera and lens over a long period of time, but from time to time it's good to shake it up a bit, and switch gears. I've been shooting with a Holga lately, and have really enjoyed the freedom it allows in making pictures spontaneously. There's really no aperture or shutter to change... you just know they are roughly F8 at I guess about 1/125th of a second, unless you employ the Bulb mode. And they have a specific, kind of dreamy soft look with vignetting that is very distinctive. I love that about them... and yet, I dislike that it's very 'holganess" is so obvious. I think it's hard to find your unique voice in a camera that seems to have it's own vision. Still, the lens is such crap, you can shoot in broad ugly daylight, and things never look to have too much contrast!

One thing I have particularly liked about it, though, is the square format. It's a format I've struggled to use in the past, but I find I quite like it just now. And I've been putting color film through it, somehow, beginning to see more color in my world! All that said, There were a few pictures I made in shade or late in the day that were hopelessly underexposed, and I realized, that I want to keep shooting with a small, unobtrusive square format camera, that has a bit more control with exposure, but perhaps less precise with focus, similar to the Holga, and I thought an old folder would fit the bill.

So, I hit e-bay last week, found a seller who fixes them up so they are in good working order, it arrived yesterday, I've put one roll of b/w film through that I'll soup this weekend, and we'll see... would love to know what sort of pictures this folder made in its past, but I'm more interested in what it can make in its future.

Critical Mass

2011-09-13T09:30:00.000-05:00

I was pleased to learn that my work was accepted as a finalist for this year's Critical Mass online portfolio review organized by Photolucida. It's a good way to get work in front of a lot of juror's, ultimately costing a bit more than a buck a review. I had participated in Critical Mass in 2008, became a finalist, but the work I submitted was ongoing. I've submitted the same body of work this year, but it's a far more complete portfolio. I was on the fence about submitting, and had, in fact, decided not to, but changed my mind shortly before the deadline, figuring, if I wait another year, it might feel "too late" to show it then.

I've been thinking a lot, lately, about the timing on presenting work. Having first shown work in reviews in 2008, I received excellent feedback, and opportunities to show the work. I decided to not go to any more reviews until the work felt more complete and resolved, which I feel now, three years later it is.

The whole thing has me thinking about timing. Is it best to complete a portfolio, and then show it at reviews or participate in Critical Mass or is it a good idea to show work that may be in mid-stream, reasonably worked out, but not quite complete?

Nine Eleven

2011-09-11T08:58:00.000-05:00

I first saw the towers in 1973 (or was it '74?) when I was eleven or twelve during a visit to see cousins who were living in New Jersey at the time.

I saw them again in 1975 when we moved to Switzerland. We flew to New York, visited those same cousins for a few days, then embarked from New York Harbor on a transatlantic crossing to Europe.

When I moved to New York City for college in 1980, I had a view of them from my freshmen dorm. I made small paintings of our view during the year, with the towers, studying the light and the color of the skyline and how it varied at different times of the day and year. I went to the top of them one day during college, looking down was dizzying, and honestly spooked me. I never went back to the top, but got to know what lurked under when I worked for a summer in the South Street Seaport, staying with those same cousins in New Jersey, commuting on the PATH trains into the World Trade center. I'd make my way through the warren of tunnels, up the massive bank of escalators to the plaza below the skyscrapers, and down the street to my job.

By 2001 we were living in a small New England town, and I was a new mother with a toddler and a baby. It was a gorgeous day ten years ago, and I was looking forward to our morning at the playground. My older son watched cartoons on PBS while the baby napped, and I took a shower. Around 10am we left the house, and I heard on the radio that the south tower of the World Trade Center was falling as I listened, and I thought... what is going on? Fortunately, PBS did not interrupt its children's programming, (not sure how that imagery would have impacted a two year old) so we were blissfully unaware of the destruction that was happening at this familiar place until I was listening to the car radio.

There are a number of powerful photographs from that day, but for some reason, the snapshot above, made by a WTC office worker as he headed down while firefighters headed up was the one picture from that day that stayed with me. I had several nightmares about the firefighters in the months following the attack, fueled partly by this picture, and partly by personal encounters with several firefighters in the year before 9/11. I never knew this fireman's fate until recently (he survived and this widely published picture made it all the harder for him to be a survivor in the aftermath), but this one picture somehow distilled the surreal events of that day for me... people seemingly calmly making their way down (and up) the stairs of the towers, the smoke and debris, the falling and the fallen, the building disappearing, dust covered figures emerging out of the ashes, and the clear blue cloudless sky of a magnificently beautiful September morning.

Transitions

2011-09-08T14:16:00.000-05:00

Untitled

2011 © Suzanne Révy

The kids returned to school this week, and with that, we return to our early morning sprint: get up, get dressed, get breakfast, make lunches, get packed, and get off to school. I've always had mixed feelings about this time of year. It's been a fun summer for us, and it's sad to see it end, but I am relieved that I can turn my attention to looking at all the pictures I made during vacation, and get a break from the inevitable: we're bored, what are we going to do today?

And the new pictures were made with a Holga, and some lovely Kodak Portra 400 and 800 film. I've been making low res scans today just to see what I have among the work, and I feel like it's back to school for me, too because there's clearly a lot to learn about color and printing it that is vastly different from when first learned it years ago.

Oh, and a quick P.S... I'm loving the square!

Summer's End

2011-08-29T07:12:00.004-05:00

I-phone Photo of the June 2011 Tornado in Worcester
Found in Wikipedia by Matt Putzel

This past summer, here in Massachusetts, we've had a tornado, felt the distant east coast earthquake, and yesterday we were hit with a wicked big storm.

Between all this, we took two long trips, and countless day trips. I've been shooting color film through it all, and can't wait to think about how I'd like to print it all up. So, basically, I've been largely offline, and not blogging much this summer, which has focused my mind on making pictures, and making them differently than I have in the past.

I hope to get back into a regular routine of writing again (it really clears my head), when the kids get back to school next week. In the meantime, we're going enjoy this last bit of summer, yesterday's hurricane (well, tropical storm) took all the bad weather with it, making this fair weather photographer excited about one last week of photographic possibilities for summer color.

Restless Summer

2011-08-13T07:32:00.000-05:00

I've been restless, and a little nervous.

So, we've traveled a bit this summer. We spent a week in the DC area, and part of that time at the waterfront home of friends on the Potomac River about twenty miles in from the Chesapeake, where the water is warm, the fishing is good, and fossilized shark teeth wash up along the shore of Shark Tooth Island... well, it's more of a sand bar, but whatever.

Then we planned a trip across the country. We flew to Chicago, where we discovered far more things to see and do than we had time for, and where my inner street photographer was begging to return. Light reflecting from buildings onto the sidewalk had me swooning, people walking, children playing in the fountain at Millenium Park. What a fabulous city. Might be worth a trip on my own to rejuvenate those street instincts that served me so well when I was in college in NYC. Someday, maybe.

Then we traveled on an overnight train through the plains to Denver, and spent a week with my brother's family. The train was a great way for the kids to see the country, to understand its size, to dine as we crossed the Mississippi at dusk... man, what a site! And spending time with cousins in Denver, exploring some of the tourist areas, Garden of the Gods and the Cave of Wind in Colorado Springs, and up to Boulder. We even took in a Colorado Rockie's game.

Our intent, then, had been to take an overnight train from Denver to Reno, but alas, Amtrak is not the most reliable of transportation services, and our train was cancelled, so we had to scramble to book a flight to Reno instead. Then we continued as planned by car into the eastern Sierra Nevada to see my sister and her family in Mammoth Lakes. I hadn't been to Mammoth since high school, and oddly enough... it's changed a lot! All kidding aside, it was beautiful, and in the end, I was glad to have arrived a day early, having skipped the 24 hour train ride.

We took in the ghost town of Bodie, California, and wandered down to the shore of Mono Lake. Mono Lake is about as stunning a spot that can be found on this earth. We rode the gondola to just over 11,000 feet atop Mammoth, then spent an afternoon floating on a pontoon boat in Convict Lake, so named for the escaped convicts that found themselves with no way out of the box canyon that surrounds the lake. After all our touring and family visiting, we spent our last night in one of those giant Reno hotel and casino resorts that my kids decided was the bee's knees before flying home earlier this week.

So... why have I been restless and nervous? And did the trip alleviate it? To some degree. I planned the trip in part, because I've been feeling blocked photographically, and thought a change of scene might be what I need. I had envisioned making some kind of road trip photographs, and indeed, I made some, but I'm not sure they will come together as a cohesive portfolio. Oddly enough, shortly before we left, I came across a simple, close to home pleasure that I started to photograph, and went looking for that same pleasure on my travels. It wasn't what I had envisioned photographing when I planned these trips, but it came to me intuitively despite my grand travel plans.

Summer Hiatus (Explained)

2011-08-11T09:26:00.003-05:00

Untitled, Plum Island
2011 © Suzanne Révy

We've traveled to the local pool, to the local beach, to the nation's Capitol and points south from there, and then across the country by plane, train, and automobile all in search of summer light, and I need more film.

The Social Benefits

2011-07-22T07:23:00.004-05:00

Though I shot film yesterday, and won't get it processed until later in the summer, so no photos to share just yet, but I wanted to mention that I had the distinct pleasure of meeting two online friends out on Plum Island. Heather McKay Bowes is a terrific portrait photographer based in Utah, as is Rebecca Weiner who recently moved to Massachusetts from the Washington, DC area.

At times, all the photography forums, the facebooking, the tweeting, and now, google plussing seems like a giant time suck. But it has introduced me to the work of some great photographers, and meeting them in person makes the effort at keeping in touch with the world of photographers via social networking worth it.

So, a big thank you to Heather for inviting us to crash for an afternoon at their family's summer rental, we had a great time, despite the dreaded green head flies, and hope to see you again sometime!! And for sure, Rebecca and I will have to get together more often, now that she's moved about a forty minutes west of us!!

2011 New England Photography Biennial

2011-07-19T06:41:00.008-05:00

Dandelion
20o9 © Suzanne Révy

T-Shirt
2009 © Suzanne Révy

We were away last week, so internet access was intermittent, but I did receive an e-mail letting me know that two of my pictures, Dandelion and T-Shirt, will be included in the Danforth Museum's 2011 New England Photography Biennial. A big thank you to the Danforth for organizing this show every other year, and to this year's juror, George Slade, curator at the Photographic Resource Center at Boston University for including my work. If you are in the Boston area, the exhibition will be on view from September 11th through November 13th, and the opening is on September 17th.

Happy 4th of July

2011-07-04T07:13:00.004-05:00

Fourth of July
Jay, New York, 1955
From The Americans
© Robert Frank

Hands down the best 4th of July photograph ever made.

Two Kickstarter Projects

2011-07-01T07:53:00.000-05:00

Maalaxmi Darshan

©Manjari Sharma

The past two weeks, I've pledged support for two Kickstarter projects. One by Holly Lynton and the other by Manjari Sharma. I met Holly last fall, and more recently saw some of her work at the Flash Forward festival in Boston a couple of weeks ago, and I met Manjari last summer at her apartment when she photographed a mutual friend for her Shower Series portraits.

Manjari's ambitious project aims to photographically recreate the images of nine Hindu Gods and Goddesses, and attempt to showcase photography as a means to evoke a spiritual response or connection. Similarly, Holly's pictures of sheep farmers aim to depict the reverent and spiritual way that her subjects engage in their work and lives.

I feel fortunate to have met both these photographers personally, and feel that each of their projects is worthy of support, hope you'll be able to lend a hand. Holly's Kickstarter project can be found here, and Manjari's can be found here.

Super Soakers

2011-06-24T10:37:00.003-05:00

Super Soaker
Copyright 2011 Suzanne Révy

Super Soaked
Copyright 2011 Suzanne Révy

We take our super soaking very seriously around here.

Summer Color on the Summer Solstice

2011-06-21T12:45:00.007-05:00

The Pool is Open for the Season
Copyright 2011 Suzanne Révy

I've been playing around with color in a Holga lately. I'm attracted to the freedom the Holga allows, to the square format, and to the plastic optics. At the same time, I find the Holga a difficult camera to use, somehow the optics, the square, the ease of use make it hard to create images that don't seem like, well, Holga pix!! That said, it really is a great camera to take with you for an afternoon at the pool. I'm so ready for summer!!

Installation Views, Panopticon Gallery

2011-06-18T06:00:00.015-05:00

Upon entering the gallery, my print
Stretched is featured just to the right of
a series of beautiful Hiroshi Watanabe prints

Around the corner and down a bit, my prints
Evolution, Ghosts, T-Shirt, Dandelion,

Mermaid, Making S'mores and Waves.

Work by various artists including
Ernest Withers, Shelby Lee Adams, Wynn Bullock,

Aaron Siskind and Abe Morrell.

Harold Feinstein

Aline Smithson

Amy Stein's Halloween in Harlem series

Hiroshi Watanabe

Me and my son at the opening.

I'm pleased and honored to have my pictures included in the current show, Kids Are People Too on view until July 12th at the Panopticon Gallery in Boston, and finally had a chance to make a few installation snaps. Though you can't see it in the second snapshot above, there is a nice little red dot next to my T-Shirt picture, which was a pleasant surprise for the opening reception.

Gallery owner Jason Landry has been organizing and producing shows around a number of interesting themes, and pairing nicely the work of established photographers with that of emerging artists, and pairing a variety of photographic mediums with, in this show, a good mix of classically made black and white prints with a number of gorgeous color pictures. It's been exciting to see the exhibitions at this unusual gallery space in a hotel lobby, and I'm grateful to be part of it, and am looking forward to the next show with a baseball theme featuring the work, among others, of David Levinthal.

Self Portrait

2011-06-13T07:56:00.001-05:00

Self Portraits
Copyright 2005 Suzanne Révy

One of the most illuminating aspects of seeing the film The Woodmans was the glimpses offered by the videos that Francesca Woodman had made of herself as she worked at making pictures. She was so elated at the shape of her body that was left, like a ghost, on the floor that she had covered in flour. Or watching her write her name, then slowly cut away at paper that was somehow "floating" in front of her nude figure, then she busts through. There seems something so freeing about working in such an intuitive way both in front of and behind the camera.

It had me thinking about a series of self-portraits I made six years ago at a workshop given by Andrea Modica in Maine. Each day, I set about making portraits of myself, generally in the small space of the motel room I stayed in. Some were straight forward enough, some were a complete blur, some made with a longer shutter speed, some were late at night, early in the morning... outside, inside, of my back, my front, my hands and feet... my dreaded muffin top, even my clothes and shoes. I've often thought of that series as a sketch pad from which I really launched the work I've since made photographing my kids.

After that workshop, I put those negatives in a box, and haven't looked at them until this past weekend, having been inspired by Francesca Woodman's work to go back to the proverbial drawing board, if you will, and think about those pictures. Somehow, they made me understand within myself what I wanted for my work, and I've come to the conclusion that all our pictures can be seen as self portraits.

The Woodmans

2011-06-11T05:57:00.004-05:00

Francesca Woodman

Providence, Rhode Island

The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston has been screening a documentary film called The Woodmans this week. (It will be shown two more times, today at 2pm, and again on the 15th at 4pm.). It's a very well made film... a portrait of a family of artists, George and Betty Woodman, and their two children, Charlie and Francesca. Francesca, of course, has become the most famous, her work and suicide seem inextricably tied together, and yet, listening to her pleasure at making images struck me as at odds with the tragedy of her early death.

Elizabeth Gumport wrote about the film in the New York Review of books, here, and this book of her work is excellent (I have it), and looks like a new book is on its way.

Two Recents

2011-06-08T09:34:00.002-05:00

Ningin

Broom
Copyright 2011 Suzanne Révy

I did a quick couple of set up shots with the boys including a few items they've each constructed recently, and man... the humidity got the better of us when we first stepped out into the yard. It's been hot and humid lately, we're still two weeks from summer? Oy... anticipating a whole raft of blurry humidity pix this year!!

Nido

2011-06-06T08:30:00.004-05:00

Had a picture, Stretched, published in the June 2011 issue of a German parenting and family lifestyle magazine called Nido. Of course, the headline reads "Big Mouth", and goes on to say that Germans are leading on climate change, but only in theory, many believe they are doing a lot for the environment, but, in fact, they fall behind India, Brazil, and China in that regard due to wasteful daily consumption and a lack of willingness to learn about the environment.

Not sure why my picture was selected for that particular bit, but I'm happy to see it in print, and this copy won't be heading into the landfill!!!

Cindy Sherman

2011-05-28T06:07:00.006-05:00

Recently found and bought a copy of the MOMA published The Complete Untitled Film Stills by Cindy Sherman. Her work has been much on my mind lately, partly because one of her prints from her color work now holds the record for the highest amount paid for a photographic print at just under $4 million. That's a lot of film.

That aside, I'm surprised at how much I've grown to like the black and white film stills series she made in the late '70's; I wasn't that keen on the pictures when I first saw them back in the early 80's. My own particular taste in photography tends to lean toward the more documentary, and I've never found the photographs made (and often set up) by artists using photography to be very interesting, except, it seems Sherman's work. I think it's because they are so ambiguous in their meaning, all untitled, all mysterious, offering no explanation.

I've heard criticism leveled at her work, that it is narcissistic, and I just don't see it. She's like a great actress who disappears into her role. Is it really narcissistic to use one's own face and body in making art? Sherman does, and yet, her hand in the making of the art feels so slight. (Unlike, say, Diane Arbus who always feels like a huge presence in her pictures of others, doesn't she?)

Well, I don't have the answer, but bravo to Cindy on the huge price tag, nice to see it go to a woman... hope she benefited from some of it. (I doubt it, and that's an issue for another post, I suppose.)

The Cruel Radiance

2011-05-25T10:13:00.001-05:00

Night table reading the past week or so has been a book called The Cruel Radiance by Susie Linfield. This is a book of very thoughtful criticism about film, video and especially still photographs depicting political violence. The author first touches on the history of photography criticism, then she tackles the subject of Holocaust photographs, photos from the Cultural Revolution in China, to the more nihilistic self-destructive violence seen in parts of Africa, and photographs made in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. The last few chapters of the book look at the work of well known war photographers, Robert Capa, James Nachtway, and Gilles Peres.

This is a great book. If you are interested in photography, and understanding the ramifications of looking at (or turning away from) photographs of violence, it is a must read. If you are interested in 20th century history, this is a must read. If you don't embrace dogmatic ideologies, this this book is really a must read. If you are a human being, prone to all the good and bad impulses we have, this is a must read.

I don't intend to review the book here, clearly, I heartily recommend you read it, but I will say, that it has articulated for me the uncomfortable truth that a real part of us, each person, is capable of unspeakable violence no matter when we live in the history of our species. And yet, despite that, we are capable of extraordinary compassion, and that photographs sometimes reveal these truths about human nature in ways that language cannot.

It's important to look; it's important to make ourselves aware of the world, and important to understand how wars and violence happen in a particular place and time. Ultimately, however, they happen for any number of reasons, but really, at the end of the day in all cases, it comes down to us: flawed and fallible beings are the cause of such conflicts, but we can be the cure, too, by looking, and understanding the nature of our humanness.

Kids are People Too

2011-05-24T08:16:00.000-05:00

I'm honored to have work included in Panopticon Gallery's upcoming show, Kids are People Too which will be featuring the work of a number of established artists along with several emerging photographers who have all focused their lenses at one time or another on children. The opening will be June 8th from 5:30 to 7:30pm inside the Hotel Commonwealth in Kenmore Square, Boston. If you are able to be there, be sure to say hello.

And, as an aside, tonight, the 24th, Panopticon is hosting a salon in which several gallery artist's whose work is on view in the current show, Discoveries, will be displaying their work in person from 6 to 9pm. I plan to be there, so if you are in Boston tonight, this should be the place to go. And lastly, a big thanks to Jason Landry for his enthusiastic support for artists and for his stewardship of Panopticon Gallery over this past year.

Money, Money, Money

2011-05-23T08:26:00.003-05:00

It costs money to make art.

Aline Smithson's thoughtful post and many comments about the cost of success over on Lenscratch has had me thinking about fundraising. There seems to be no way around the barrier of paying a lot of money to make, market and show your work. On the other hand, I was honored to be part of and astonished at the extraordinary success of Crista Dix's efforts at raising funds for aid to earthquake ravaged Japan, and had me thinking about how a community might come together to raise their own funds. So, what follows are a few ideas.

A few years ago I participated in a regional art group's fundraiser called The Artist Valentine. The idea, donate 8 to 12 small handmade valentine's cards that are sold through a sale at a local gallery for $12 to $300. The donated cards can relate to your work or not, they can be signed or not, then hire a juror, and anyone who donated cards is welcome to submit their work to be juried and grants given from the funds raised by the sale of the valentines. Though I did not receive a grant, I did receive a juror's commendation the year I participated which was the first such positive feedback from a juried submission that I had participated in. It was a baby step, but I felt encouraged and more confident in the work to carry on, and continue to submit to juried shows.

The second idea is the notion of "crowd funding" through platforms like IndieGoGo or Kickstarter, which I think is a very promising idea, and I've supported a few projects through Kickstarter.

A third idea I came across this morning in the Boston Globe is raising funds via a Community Supported Arts program that is based on the Community Supported Agriculture model, where one buys shares in a farm in the spring, and then receives a box of fresh produce during the growing season. A patron can buy a "share" in the art, and then receive pieces the artist chooses depending on the size of the share, and the artists receive funds up front. It sounds promising, though the amounts raised that were mentioned in the article were not particularly large.

The next big hurdle, then, is to find a broader audience to introduce these platforms to... people who might give a small amount here and there to support an artist or photographer. Just a few Monday morning ramblings...

Large Format

2011-05-09T08:12:00.005-05:00

Generally, gear isn't the point of this blog, however, this past weekend, I gave large format in the form of an 8"x10" camera a go during a three day workshop that included shooting, souping, and proof printing.

It was taught by Bruce Barlow and Richard Ritter of Fine Focus Workshops: they provided all the gear needed, some great locations, film, paper, and chemistry, and the use of the darkroom at the Vermont Center for Photography in Brattleboro. Dubbed the "tire kicker" workshop, it was a perfect way to dip my toes in the waters of large format, and to reacquaint myself with working this way . I can't say I came away with any masterpieces in such a short time, and I have to confess, such large cameras are cumbersome to use, and will take a lot of practice to master. But, man, the negatives are seductive, the extraordinary detail, the beauty of a contact print. I love, for example, how Richard's hands are rendered in the picture above... so elegant.

As seductive as they are, I'm not sure I want to dive into 8"x10" just yet, but I think my lonely 4"x5" camera will be coming out of hibernation soon. Perhaps I'll commit to making at least a few exposures every day over the next few months to see what I get, and perhaps, I'll take the plunge and go for one of Richard's marvelous custom built (only 6 pounds!) 8"x10"s

Ten Years

2011-04-30T10:07:00.005-05:00

The above photograph was made ten years ago today shortly after my younger son was born. Isn't it interesting that one of the the first things we do after counting their fingers and toes when a baby is born is make a photograph? What a milestone: your youngest reaches double digits in years. It went incredibly fast... I shudder to think how quickly the next ten may go! Happy Birthday my child!!

Explore No More...

2011-04-25T08:46:00.003-05:00

Magnified

I've decided to declare a moratorium on using either the word "explore" or "exploration" when writing an artist statement. The English language is rich with words, and there are plenty of other expressive and descriptive alternatives.

Are we agreed, then?

A Festival of Links

2011-04-22T06:19:00.007-05:00

I've been wanting to write a blatantly name dropping post about some of the photographers I met and hung out with at Photolucida. Part of the benefit of attending these reviews is, of course, getting to know photographers and their work. It's good to put faces to work.

Some of my favorite work is, not surprisingly, that made with film, and presented as gelatin silver prints. That work rocked... especially loved Chris Churchill's American Faith series. Though I didn't get a chance to talk to him too much, I was drooling over his 20"x24" prints made from 8"x10" negatives at the Portfolio Walk. Stopped me dead in my tracks!! I've long been a big fan of Jon Edwards work for many years, and it was so great to finally meet him, and see so many of his prints in person. His quiet look at the people living on many of the islands of Maine are very moving. Fritz Liedtke's portraits of freckled face people presented as photogravure were simply stunning. The prints glowed under the artist's skilled hand.

Several women from the south were there, and it was good getting to know them. Lori Vrba's Piano Farm series, Tami Bone's Mythos series, and Ann George's work all share a kind of gothic romantic quality that southern artists seem drawn to. (I fear if i were to attempt such dramatic imagery, it would look silly and forced, but they each embrace it so beautifully and pull it off with such ease.) It was lovely to meet you ladies!

A group of Californians were great to see again, and meet! Noelle Swan Gilbert was someone I came across online a couple of years ago, then we discovered that we went to high school together, but did not know each other. Go figure? Ain't the internet grand? Anyway, her series chronicling the lives of her young nephews who lost their mother to murder is a moving tribute to her sister, and extraordinary that she is able to make this work in the face of such an enormous tragedy. It was a pleasure to see Aline Smithson, and her impressive output of images is both thoughtful and humorous. Having liked Michael Kirchoff's work online, it was excellent to see his prints made from polaroids from his series, Enduring Grace, looking at the cultural landscape of Russia. His show at the Wildfire Gallery in Los Angeles is up until April 30th, by the way. I loved Robbie Kaye's Beauty and Wisdom series, and of course, the marvelous, Cat Gwynn who has a way with words and was excellent company!

There was a sizable Boston contingent there. Stella Johnson, whose work I've long admired since I first saw it in Yankee magazine, Fran Forman is a bundle of marvelous energy, and her painterly pictures are so witty... seems a shame I didn't get to know her until we met 3,000 miles away in Portland! Though I didn't get a chance to see Nadine Boughton's portfolio, it was good to finally meet her, too. I've loved her collages, but looking at her website, I realize that her photographs have a great sense of space. Meg Birnbaum's new color work, Person/Persona is really intriguing, and though she had to leave early, it was good to get reacquainted with Andrea Rosenthal, and see her Stations of the Scale series, and to once again see Susan Bank's beautiful prints, and of course, Rania Matar's Girl and Her Room series.

A few other photographers whose work I saw and admired include, Marina Font, Rachel Barrett, Mary Ellen Bartley, Susan Berger, Ivana George, Toni Greaves, Jim Leisy, Nancy Newberry, Louis Palu, Eleanora Ronconi, Wendy Sacks, the amazing Gordon Stettinius, and Jamey Stillings.

With so many photographers in attendance, it's impossible to see everyone's work over the four days, but the participant list is available as a book through Blurb. Phew... have fun exploring the work of these many great people!

Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros

2011-04-21T07:00:00.004-05:00

A favorite spread from Infidel

It felt like being sucker punched yesterday when I learned of the deaths of Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros in Misurata, Libya. I did not know either photographer personally, but know their work, especially Hetherington's in the form of his book, Infidel, which has been on my desk since I bought it a month or so ago, and have leafed through it almost daily. His work, I think, stood out for me because he spent so much time with the stories he covered. Having spent close to a year photographing and filming a group of soldiers in the Konegal Valley in Afghanistan is rare... taking that kind of time to build a body of work.

I have enormous respect for both men, and for all those willing to cover the most dangerous areas of the world so that we can understand it all better. My deepest condolences to their families, friends and colleagues.

PhotoLucida 2011

2011-04-19T07:50:00.005-05:00

The last magnificent view of Oregon I had was that of the full moon setting over slight pink clouds in a pale blue morning sky as the sun rose over the lovely city of Portland, while my flight made its ascent to carry me home after four days of photography reviews at PhotoLucida. I had some excellent and insightful reviews, and best of all, connected with a lot of photographers whose work I knew, but had not yet met in person. This event brings together a great community of people doing a lot of great work, and I was grateful that I was able to attend.

First, I'd like to publicly thank Laura Moya and everyone involved with PhotoLucida for all their work in organizing such a complex event. Secondly, I'd like to thank the reviewers who took such time and care in looking at, and responding to my work, and the work of all the other photographers there. Specifically, I'd like to thank, Wally Mason of the Haggerty Art Museum, Clint Willour of the Galeveston Art Center, Allison Nordström of the George Eastman House, Ellen Fleurov of the Silver Eye Center for Photography, Debra Klomp Ching of the KlompChing Gallery, Katherine Ware of the New Mexico Museum of Art, Rebecca Senf of the Center for Creative Photography, independent curator Kirsten Rian of the Backlight.org, Michael Itkoff of Daylight Magazine, book and publishing consultant, Robert Morton, consultant Stella Kramer, artistic director of FotoFest, Wendy Watriss, Blue Mitchell of Diffusion Magazine and Plates to Pixels, Joanna Hurley of Hurley Media, Jason Houston of Orion Magazine, Bernard and Judi Gerson of the Gallerie BMG, Jim Casper of Lens Culture, collector Bill Hunt, Diana Millar and Quinton Gordon of the Lúz Gallery, Chris Bennett of the Newspace Center for Photography, and roving reviewer Scott Jones of Camerawork Gallery.

Once again, a big thank you to all of the above!! More on the rest of the weekend when I've recovered from jet lag!

Greetings from Portland, Oregon

2011-04-13T16:32:00.000-05:00

Having a great time, wish you were here!! xxoo

I've left the hubby and kids on their own for a few days while I travel to Portland, Oregon to attend PhotoLucida's every other year portfolio review event. I made the rounds at several portfolio review events, one in Boston, one in New Orleans, and the last one here in Portland at this same event back in 2009. It can feel like a carousel, and I was relieved to step off for two years to allow the feedback I received to sink in, and simply concentrate on making work as opposed to presenting it.

Getting back on the Merry-Go-Round has me a little nervous, but I have a box of prints prepared with the pictures that I have added to my portfolio, a book dummy that needs feedback, and the need to reconnect in a meaningful way with other photographers. Should be a great weekend! If you are there, be sure to say hello.

Poetry

2011-04-10T09:10:00.006-05:00

Dylan Thomas

1914-1953

It's been my long held belief that the relationship between poetry and photography is special. William Carlos Williams' red wheelbarrow, his winter trees, the lament of the widow, and the Queen Anne's lace are visual and meaningful, like so many photographs. And William Blake's Auguries of Innocence, which I have quoted to title this blog, is such a visual feast of words, and describes, without his meaning to perhaps, the strength (to me) of the medium photography, and poetry for that matter, to show us the world, indeed our humanity through small intimate details.

So, when my friend Ellen brought to my attention the poem Fern Hill by Dylan Thomas, I realized that what he wrote so beautifully in words is just what I'm hoping to articulate in pictures. The fleeting nature of our childhood, the stories and games we create, the natural world as a canvas for the make believe, how small details feed us, the sadness and longing for it when we are older, the hope to return.

It's perfect, and I've used a line from it to rename my series previously called Small Wonders, to Time Let Me Play.

The Time it Takes

2011-04-07T14:41:00.007-05:00

36 Frames
Copyright 2011 Paul F. Gero

A few weeks ago there was a post over at Conscientious about the time it takes to complete a project that had me thinking about the years I've given to the series of pictures I've made with my kids. I began simply enough, snapping the kids daily in 2002, and then quickly realized that I wanted to take it up a notch, so I built the darkroom in 2003, and became quite serious about the work in 2005 when it seemed to form into a cohesive portfolio. Not quite ten years of shooting under my belt, but I've been at this for a while.

And it's been satisfying to work this way, but I've been thinking about working on some shorter term projects. Then, yesterday, I came across a series of pictures that Paul Gero, a former freelancer who worked for us on occasion at U.S.News and now a southern California wedding photographer extroardinaire, made during the course of one day in the life of his daughter. Here is what he had to say about it:

I wanted to share this little project I worked on last week, documenting a day in the life of our 5 year old Kate, called 36 Frames.

I used one roll of Tri-X, 800 ISO and these are the exact 36 frames that I exposed on that roll of film on that day...let me tell you, trying to only make 3 images during about 2 1/2 hours of her morning at school was HARD!

But boy, what a kick and I can't wait to print this for the wall...My wife Nicki and I have been talking about doing this for quite a while -- since we got back from S. Africa last year. I tried something similar last spring with portraits, but that wasn't as satisfying to me..I wanted to take moment photographs and to make it challenging wanted to do it over a longer period of time.

In order to do this, Nicki came up with the initial images we wanted to do so we had a clear understanding of what images we were going for. I opted to go horizontals all the way. Of course, the best laid plans...had to make a few changes along the way, but kept a sheet of the 36 images on the day to really keep track of it.

All of these were made with a Canon 1v and primarily a 50mm Zeiss lens (the only other lens I had was a 35mm and used it for just a couple of these (jumping on the bed, and tub). I carefully metered every scene because there was was no room for exposure error or bracketing. So the trusty Sekonic came with me all day.

Film processed at the great Richard Photo Lab and this contact sheet was made from the scans that they produced.

This was a real technical challenge and pushed me well out of my comfort zone. But boy, am I sure glad I did it.

Paul

Bravo to Paul for making such meaningful pictures within such confines. If he keeps it up every year, it'll make for a great book!

Ephemeral Books

2011-04-01T14:30:00.006-05:00

Capitolio

by Christopher Anderson

Blogging has taken a back seat to Blurbing of late, so apologies for the lack of posts this week. I've been trying to wrestle my work into a book, and have been using Blurb's software to make what is, essentially, a dummy. I've been thinking a lot about the look and feel of books, and the way we read these days, and how to present pictures and words. There are so many ways to convey content that it can get overwhelming, but, then again, it feels like an exciting time for bookmaking.

Recently, I was reading the New York Times on an Ipad, and realized the pictures accompanying the article looked great; it is easy and intuitive to scroll through the pictures, then go back to the written story, and I thought.... hmmm, maybe you can do a photography book for the Ipad. And sure enough, Magnum photographer Christopher Anderson has come up with one, here.

It seemed such a foreign concept to me... a photography book on a screen? And in fact, I wouldn't much like it on my desktop computer, but on the Ipad, and for the $5.00, it seems a good way to get your book out there Of course, I think offering it in the real world is important, too, and, indeed, Anderson's book is available as a hardback. And for that matter... a hand bound artist book can offer the most in tactile experience in presenting photographs, and I love pouring over such gems.

As a reader, it's attractive to get several books that may be of interest via the Ipad, saving your money for those books that you might want to experience as objects. After all, it will be such a shame when a book vanishes into the ether of wherever when your Ipad inevitable bites the dust.

Pictures of You

2011-03-23T09:29:00.006-05:00

About a week and a half ago, I was meeting two friends for lunch in Concord. After several morning errands, I got into Concord with about fifteen minutes to kill before we had planned to meet, so I dropped into the Concord Book Shop. I picked up this novel, Pictures of You by Caroline Leavitt largely because it had a camera on the cover, and read the first chapter. I was hooked, so I bought the book.

It's an interesting story about the aftermath of a fatal car accident involving two women, April and Isabelle. April is killed in the accident on a foggy day, and Isabelle, who survives, finds love with the husband and son April left behind. In it, Isabelle is a photographer, working for one of those baby picture mills, but wants more form her pictures, and in the process teaches April's son how to make photographs.

What interested me, and had me thinking as I read the story was the pictures he was making. Roads with cars driving past... he was looking for his mother. She encourages him to look deeper. The story never says if he had any pictures of her, but he wanted to reach her. He thought Isabelle was an angel, and would take him to see his mother. There is something so potent about photographs of those who have passed, and if there are no photographs of someone, it's like they've died twice.

The story has other broader themes about family, marriage, love, and grief; it addresses human issues about who we love, how we see and know them, and what we know of ourselves. The characters were so well written, (really... this book has all the stuff I love in a good yarn!), but the bonus for me... her lovely use of photography weaved into the story.

The Three Photographers

2011-03-18T07:14:00.000-05:00

The Three Photographers
Copyright 2011 Suzanne Révy

Maybe that should read... the three stooges?? Can you figure out which one of those shadows belongs to me? (Not really that hard, I'd reckon.) Of course, two other photographers made virtually the same picture, and was a fun moment from my time in Santa Fe last month. Have a great weekend!

Complete?

2011-03-17T09:39:00.007-05:00

In preparation for the PhotoLucida portfolio reviews next month, I've been massaging my work into a book, and rethinking the title. I've called the series Small Wonders for a couple of years, but as the work has evolved, the title feels, well... a little small, and not quite right for a number of the pictures. Thinking about a new title, and sequencing the pictures (once again) reminded me of an entry I found a few months ago on American Suburb X that shows the hand written journal entry of William Gedney quoting Alfred Steiglitz.

In it is the following statement:

There are two ways of looking at a thing.

Either you feel that a thing must be perfect before you present it to the public, or you are willing to let it go out even knowing that it is not perfect, because you are striving for something even beyond what you have achieved, but in struggling too hard for perfection you know that you may lose the very glimmer of life, the very spirit of the thing that you also know exists at a particular point in what you have done; and that to interfere with it would be to destroy that very living quality.

So, the work has been put out there; it is known as the series called, Small Wonders, but it wasn't perfect or by any means complete when I first shared it. It has a changed and evolved as I've added pictures to it... it's like a living being itself that I'm not quite in control of. It began intuitively, and it's completion is undefined at the moment, though my thinking about it is fluid: there's a bit more to add, and there are threads from this work that have led me to ideas for new work. Perhaps the new work I'm planning for this spring and summer will define when my current work is truly and fully finished?

Jennifer Schwartz Gallery Silent Auction

2011-03-16T07:18:00.005-05:00

Just a quick note to say that the donations given to the Jennifer Schwartz Gallery's silent auction in conjunction with Life Support Japan to be held this Saturday to benefit aid to Japan are stunning. (If I do say so, myself!) Wish I could be in Atlanta to see all the prints in person. I've shipped a print to them, and I feel honored to be in such a great company of photographers.

As soon as I hear about how they will do the absentee bids, I'll add that information to this post. In the meantime, take a look at all the beautiful work here.

Ok... I am editing this post to add that you can place a absentee bids on Saturday the 19th from 11am until 5pm by sending an e-mail to auction@jenniferschwartzgallery.com.

Bid early, bid often, and good luck!

Life Support Japan

2011-03-13T06:42:00.006-05:00

Weed
Copyright 2008 Suzanne Révy

As a native of California, I can attest to the frightening power of a strong earthquake, and have been upset to see the level of destruction in Japan after Friday's powerful quake, and ensuing tsunami. Though I can't help in person, I can help by giving some money to, say, the Red Cross and other such relief organizations. And as a photographer I can also help in this way:

It has been with amazing speed that Crista Dix of the Wall Space Gallery has pulled together an extraordinary auction called Life Support Japan to benefit Habitat for Humanity to help their efforts in rebuilding the region in Japan affected by the earthquake, and to Direct Relief International for medical supplies and support to Japan. She has asked photographers to generate a special edition of ten prints no larger than 8.5"x11" which can be purchased for $50 for each print toward the online auction. I've donated, and will be making in the next week or so, ten 8"x10" selenium toned gelatin silver prints of my picture, Weed to this effort. (Shh... it's a bargain, I mean... fifty bucks for a fiber print?!?) There are a lot of artists donating to this auction, and there will be more prints available this week, so keep checking the site.

Along with the online auction, she has asked other galleries to participate by holding "in gallery" events, and the first such event will be at the Jennifer Schwartz Gallery in Atlanta. They are planning a silent auction on Saturday, March 19th. I've donated an 11"x14" selenium toned gelatin silver print of my picture Waves to this silent auction. It's matted, and the mat was kindly donated by Kelli Costa and Nick Johnson of Gallery Seven in Maynard, MA, so a big thank you to both of them!

I hope some you, dear readers, will consider purchasing one of my prints, and contributing to the relief efforts in Japan, and a big thank you to Crista Dix for her tireless effort in organizing this, to Aline Smithson of Lenscratch who has been helping Crista with this huge undertaking, to Jennifer Schwartz and Ryan Nabulsi of the Schwartz Gallery.

Waves
Copyright 2010 Suzanne Révy

The Train Wreck

2011-03-10T07:40:00.000-05:00

My snap does no justice to this wonderful and wiggly moving sculpture my older son made depicting a train wreck, alien abduction, malfunctioning nuclear warhead explosion, and roller coaster ride. He'll be turning twelve this weekend, and I fear by next year he'll be taller than me!! It's been a blessing to have him in my life these past twelve years, and I love him and the sculptures he builds.

Winter's Color

2011-03-09T09:10:00.005-05:00

All photographs Copyright 2011 Suzanne Révy

I loved the soft winter light in New Mexico when I was there a few weeks ago for a workshop. Just wanted to share a few pictures I made there, this time with the beast, RZ67 with some expired Kodak Portra NC 400.

Sylvia Plachy

2011-03-07T07:18:00.003-05:00

Just a few words about the work of Sylvia Plachy who led the recent workshop I took out in Santa Fe. She is a photographer, pure and simple.

She makes pictures that are beautiful and expressive. They are emotional, intelligent, tell stories about the world at large, and her world in particular. She loves animals and thinks herself a horse... going so far as saying that one of her horse pictures is a self-portrait. (I love that!) She has an extraordinary pair of eyes. And she can sequence pictures like no one else I've seen!!!

All of her books are visually compelling, and are worth buying, but I'm particularly enamored of Signs and Relics.

It was a treat for me to spend that week watching her edit and sequence pictures. It has clarified my thinking on my current work, and (more importantly) future work. I'm looking forward to this summer when I can start to commit to film a few of the ideas I've formed with her guidance. And I'd like to offer a huge thank you to her for sharing her unique voice and vision, not just with our workshop, but with the world.

If interested, there's an audio lecture posted on the LensCulture site.

Together, at last!

2011-02-28T07:05:00.004-05:00

Installation Views at the Concord Art Association
Members Juried II Show

Ellen Rennard and I met, I believe, in late 2005 or possibly early 2006. We were at that time living in the same New England town, and we knew of each other and our interest in photography for about a year prior to meeting. It was at a lecture given by Andrea Modica in Boston that we both attended did we actually finally meet, and that following week we began what became our ritual Sunday morning coffees.

We'd share new work with each other, old work, prints, books, gear, and most importantly, we began to push the other to make better pictures. Since that first year of coffees, and schedules being what they are, it's a little harder for us to meet weekly, but we still make a serious effort.

At some point, though, we each became more confident in our work, and started to submit to various juried shows. We were met with a few rejections early on, but then things began to change, and we found our work finding acceptance at various venues. Oddly enough, though, it would often happen that if we submitted to the same show, one of us might have work accepted, and the other be rejected. It became clear that our work resonated differently with viewers and jurors, which, in a weird way, deepened my own understanding of my work, and of hers.

Well, at last, however, finding our prints displayed next to each other in a marvelous art show at the Concord Art Association is particularly satisfying. I wasn't able to get to the opening a week or so ago, but finally stopped in to see the show this past weekend, and was really pleased (and quite moved) to see our four pictures so beautifully presented. And to top it off, Ellen received a juror award, so a big thank you, and congrats, Ellen! The show, by the way, is on view until March 13th.

A Day at the Museum

2011-02-25T12:04:00.003-05:00

There is perhaps nothing more torturously boring for two boys than being dragged to the Metropolitan Museum of Art during the February vacation week.

It was a bit more fun for me, though I think I only managed a brief glance at a Steiglitz print of Georgia O'Keefe's hands for a moment. With any luck, I'll get back to New York on my own later in the spring to properly see the Steiglitz, Steichen and Strand show that is on view until April 10th. I realize, I've seen a lot of Steiglitz and Strand prints, but not so many by Steichen, so I'm anxious for a closer look.

Clearly, wandering the halls of a great art museum is more my thing than theirs, but I believe strongly in the power of the art, and that it will sink into their minds despite their resistance to it, and they may appreciate it more deeply as adults because they've been exposed to some great paintings, sculpture and photographs as children. Either that or they'll just run in the other direction whenever someone suggests a visit to such an institution.

Holga's

2011-02-22T07:32:00.005-05:00

Feet
Copyright 2011 Suzanne Révy

Store Window
Copyright 2011 Suzanne Révy

Origami
Copyright 2011 Suzanne Révy

Stencil
Copyright 2011 Suzanne Révy

I used a Holga last week at the workshop I attended in Santa Fe. Partly so that I wouldn't have to carry around my big gear as I wandered around the city, and partly to see how I would see with it. I found myself looking for portraits among the objects I was photographing. I'm not a big fan of the Holga, it's one of those cameras that I find hard to "make my own." They start to look a little the same. Of course, that can be a problem with a lot of cameras, I suppose.

Mind you, there are a few Holga shooters whose work is quite distinct, but many more whose work looks like "a Holga" pic.

It was good to break out, and use such a simple camera, however, and perhaps, I'll find my voice in it, if I give it a go more often. I've been thinking a lot about future shoots and projects, and have a few forming in my mind. They may or may not involve the Holga, but I think I'll keep it in the camera bag as an option. Along with color film... it was great to think in color for awhile (though technically, I still saw things in b&w, for some reason.)

The Return

2011-02-20T12:53:00.004-05:00

Self Portrait with Rental Car
Copyright 2011 Suzanne Révy

I'm enduring a post trip and travel day hangover, which means I'm having a PJ day! Last week's trip to New Mexico was excellent. Made a few pictures with color film,and used a Holga in addition to the beast (RZ67), neither of which is really my thing, but it's good to loosen up at a workshop, and give a few new ways to work a go. And with Sylvia Plachy's help, I made some serious progress on organizing, editing, and sequencing my older work. It was pleasure to watch her sequence pictures... what an eye! My own eyes feel revitalized.

And on top of it all, the dry high desert air made for a great hair week!! All curls, no frizz.

More about it all later...

Postcard from New Mexico

2011-02-14T08:49:00.002-05:00

The things we regret, are the things we did NOT do.

I regret not pursuing an MFA earlier in life, but then again, was immersed in work at a news magazine, and wasn't pursuing my own pictures with any real commitment. Going back to school (even part time) wouldn't have been a good fit for my own directionless pictures, and it didn't interest me then, either.

Now that I have found some direction and voice for my photography, an MFA would benefit it, but it's hard to see how to work it out, given the pledge I've made to myself to be there for my kids who are approaching their adolescence. Clearly, some sort of low residency program might work, but I haven't found the best fit just yet, and more importantly, I'm not quite ready to take the plunge.

Mulling it all over though, it's clear that one option requires far less money and time: the occasional workshop. So, I decided to take off to New Mexico yesterday, and am attending Sylvia Plachy's Point of View week long class at the Santa Fe workshops. I love the intuitive rambling nature of her work, and hope her example and teaching propels me and my work forward.

It's been since 2005 that I did a week long workshop (in Maine with Andrea Modica) which provided extraordinary momentum. Hope to feel as energized by the end of this week as I did at the end of that workshop.

And with that thought, here are the sentiments for the back of the postcard, "Having a great time, and wish you were here!! xxoo"

Concord Art Association

2011-02-12T18:26:00.005-05:00

T-Shirt
Copyright 2009 Suzanne Révy

I was pleased to see that both pictures I submitted, Weed, and T-Shirt were accepted into the Concord Art Association's Members II exhibition. The juror was Karen Haas, Curator of the Lane Collection, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

The opening will be on February 17th at the Concord Art Association in Concord, MA from 6 to 8pm. Sadly, I'll miss the opening, but look forward to seeing the show, which will be on view through March 13th.

Overlooked at First

2011-02-10T16:02:00.003-05:00

Curtains
Copyright 2007 Suzanne Révy

Kicking myself for having overlooked the above portrait of my younger son that I made back at the beginning of the summer in '07. Can't wait to make a print.

I've been making a concerted effort to really comb through all the negatives I've made since about 2004, and then printing them up as small 4x5 proofs... not every negative, but images that interest me for whatever reason. It's a tedious process, though I dare say, a rather less tedious than scanning, which bores me to tears. Largely because I can't dance and scan as easily as I can making these easy and quick little proof prints in the dark!!

Streaming Documentaries

2011-02-08T07:54:00.002-05:00

Love Netflix, don't you? I signed back up after a hiatus to watch movies streaming onto the Ipad that was a gift from my husband and boys for my birthday last month. So, I've had a run of watching documentaries of late, and it's great to finally catch up on some of these.

Last night, Our City Dreams, directed by Chiara Clemente follows five women artists over the course of a couple of years, each living and working in New York. Each from a different generation, and the film starts with the youngest, Swoon, then follows Ghada Amer, Kiki Smith, Marina Abramovic, and finally Nancy Spero. It is described as a invitation to view the creative spaces of five women artists.

What struck me most is the interest in figurative work for each of these artists, and though the film doesn't specifically explore how the work of each artist relates to the others, but I have to ask... is the figure, figurative painting, sculpture, printmaking... even performance art a particularly feminine interest? I don't know the answer to that question, but perhaps each of these artists simply works with the figure in ways that I respond to.

It's in stark contrast to another documentary I watched last week, The Cool School. It's about the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles back in the late 50's and into the early to mid 60's showing such artists as Ed Ruscha, Ed Kienholz, Robert Irwin, Allen Lynch among others, and even gave Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein early shows. All men... none of whom are big on figurative painting, either as an artist or a viewer. And a lot of the work of these artists don't resonate for me so much, but as a native of Los Angeles, it's interesting to see what a thriving art scene took shape when I was quite young, in a place many consider to be some kind of outpost. Would have been fun to see the Ferus Gallery in its day, even if the work isn't always my favorite.

Both films are worth a look, and are streaming on Netflix.

Winter's Grip

2011-02-07T09:33:00.001-05:00

Seems to have eased up a bit with mild temperatures yesterday, and the pattern that produced the parade of snow storms over New England in the past five to six weeks looks to, thankfully, be shifting.

With this run of severe weather, I've had to step back, slow down, put off numerous chores. It's been easy to curl up in bed with the kids (on their several snow days) with a book or movie, and just allow that the pace of life, will of necessity slow down when the weather forces us inside. Despite the growing mistaken sense that I haven't been able to get much done, I realize that this forcibly slowing down... somehow doing less, allowing myself to put off some of the "busy"ness of day to day life has proven to be fruitful.

Darkroom days have felt somewhat limited with the kids home as often as they were, but when I was in there, I was focused and productive. As it is, I make pictures slowly, so perhaps the weather merely helped me find the perfect rhythm in my work.

And since we've had so much time at home, we've been cooking... something akin to the darkroom, right? The kids have helped, and we've mastered a few new recipes, played around with baking and stewing, and roasting and sautéing and ultimately noshing on our tasty threats.

What satisfaction: savoring a home made French onion soup with new prints on the walls.

Exit Through the Gift Shop

2011-02-02T07:56:00.004-05:00

Watched Exit Through the Gift Shop last night. It's an interesting documentary about street art. Seems it's surrounded with controversy, as some folks suspect it's a hoax perpetrated by the street artist, Banksy who is portrayed in it, and I suppose it could be, but maybe that's beside the point.

There's something thrilling about watching these artists scale buildings and bridges to make their very ephemeral and barely legal art. I have this romantic notion that those engaged in graffiti, some would say vandalism, are folks who would shun the limelight. Clearly, I need to adjust my rose tinted glasses. The second half of the film, however, follows Mr. Brainwash as he goes from the person filming the graffiti being made, to making his own graffiti art, and becoming the talk of the L.A. art scene, and raking in a million dollars on it all, and clearly, many of these street artists have become well known names in certain circles. Celebrities, even!

The movie addresses a lot of issues about the nature of art, the nature of celebrity, the nature of money, and the nature of the audience. It's provocative, and worth a look (streaming on Netflix), but still... I'm uneasy. I can't help, but feel that these two people calling themselves, Brainwash and Banksy, are laughing all the way to the bank, and the joke is at my expense.

Collecting

2011-01-24T08:11:00.004-05:00

Cézanne Card Players, 1890-1892
Barnes Foundation, Merion, PA

The Art of the Steal is a fascinating documentary about the political and "charitable" maneuvering to uproot the Barnes Foundation collection from its current suburban Philadelphia location into the enter city, just a stone's throw from the Philadelphia Museum of Art. All in a flagrant (well, criminal, really) violation of the last will and trust indenture of the founder of the collection, Dr. Albert Barnes.

Now, I don't have a dog in that fight, and when the Barnes Foundation paintings made their tour in the mid-90's, I was grateful for the opportunity to see the pictures. And seeing their Card Players by Cézanne (he made several versions) is something to see. Just wish I could remember in which museum I saw that show.

There is an art to collecting, it seems to me, and clearly Barnes possessed a kind of eye for pictures that was strong, but he also understood that art presented quietly and intimately without huge a crowd around it was a gift to the viewer. I wish I had seen the collection in the building designed for it, and not in whatever large institution that I did. And it seems an extraordinary shame that it's becoming a giant tourist stop in Philly, instead of the out of the way gem and educational institution Barnes intended. Indeed, something to be said for those out of the way smaller museums that require some effort to get to. Makes seeing the art quite satisfying.

Where I part company with the agenda of the film, and it's something not really addressed, is in the life of the art itself. Our views of art change over time, our ideas about artists change with history. Art is a living, breathing organism, and to control it from beyond the grave, as Barnes clearly wanted to do, can stifle that life. And perhaps seeing the Barnes Foundation collection in its current digs (it won't be moving to Philadelphia until 2012, so I suppose I should try and make a visit sometime) will, in fact, be similar to visiting the Gardner Museum in Boston. It was founded in a similar way by Isabella Stewart Gardner: that nothing should be moved, sold or loaned. Period. Don't get me wrong, I love many of the paintings there, but it feels a little like a tomb.

The Art of the Steal is streaming on Netflix.

A History of Women Photographers

2011-01-22T07:14:00.006-05:00

This past week saw a huge amount of snow, and very little time for the blog. The kids had school only two days between the MLK holiday, and two snow days! But I did find a few moments to take a deeper look at a book that I treated myself to over the holidays, Naomi Rosenblum's A History of Women Photographers, which has been updated to a third edition and includes a good number of young photographers, as well as those women working at the start of it all.

It casts a wider net than a deeper one, but there are detailed biographies of each photographer who is included, and will be, I think, a great resource when I find my interests turning to the history of the medium.

Rosenblum makes a clear case for writing a book about women, as so many have been ignored for a variety of reasons by museums, galleries, and historians. And indeed, sometimes women don't value their own work, and let it disappear into attics. As attitudes among women change, though, it's easier to see just how valuable our contributions to photography (and art, for that matter) are. Whether you are a passionately pursuing photography quietly as am amateur, or making strides as a professional.

One thing that strikes me about this book... the sheer quantity of portraits and people pictures compared to, say landscape. Interesting, she points out, that so few women were part of the New Topographics movement in the late 70's, which seems a distinctly male point of view. That is not to say it's bad or uninteresting work (though not as interesting to me personally), but a different sensibility to the way a lot of women choose to photograph, whose work (I'll confess) is infinitely more interesting to me, and were I a curator, I'd likely have a bias toward the work of women, and show them more frequently.

As an aside, Rosenblum has also written a World History of Photography, which is on my wish list.

Tiger Mothers

2011-01-18T14:55:00.008-05:00

Mothering seems to be a hot topic around the internet these past couple of days. First, I came across this article by Judith Warner with an accompanying photo illustration by Julie Blackmon in the New York Times Magazine about a book by Amy Chua called Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. Then David Brooks gave his rebuttal in the Times, here.

Frankly, I have no idea which is the best form of parenting. I lean somewhat free-range myself, though I do tend to hover (like the proverbial helicopter mom) with a camera whenever possible. I figure, parenting is so damn hard, none of us ever really get it right.

Fushigi & Glider

2011-01-12T08:44:00.004-05:00

Fushigi Ball
Copyright 2010 Suzanne Révy

Glider
Copyright 2010 Suzanne Révy

Apparently, I have nothing to offer in the written word for the blog this week, so let's just settle on recent negative scans.

Sand and Snow

2011-01-05T07:56:00.000-05:00

A couple of pictures from last summer...

Waves

Sea Foam

And a couple of pictures from last week...

Igloo

Snow Day
All photographs copyright 2010 Suzanne Révy

A Birthday Greeting and One Last Lament for Kodachrome

2011-01-04T07:36:00.005-05:00

I've always loved this picture of my mom. I think my dad took it about forty years ago on Kodachrome no less; it must be the summer of '71 or 72? Maybe '73?? Hasn't faded a bit. She looked fabulous in her Jackie O. sunglasses and yellow swimsuit. Oh, and the color of that film! (Why, oh why did Kodak make it so difficult to use by closing the labs, and then declare there was no demand for it? I mean, duh!)

Well, today is my mom's birthday, and it's a big one!! Happy Birthday, Mom. Make it a good one, and wish I could be there to celebrate it with you!!

The New Year

2011-01-01T08:18:00.002-05:00

Yesterday in the Snow (One of the last pictures of 2010)
Copyright 2010 Suzanne Révy

For a variety of reasons, 2010 proved to be a personally difficult and painful year.

On the other hand, I finished building a great darkroom, shot a lot of pictures for my continuing series with the kids, and shot a few for some different projects that will either find their way out of embryonic phase or be given up on!!

And to that end... my only resolution for the year. Quite simply, get my work space organized, and enjoy the ride... you just never know what's in store.

All my best wishes to you, dear readers, for a very good and productive 2011 (oh... and don't forget to update your copyright notices on your websites and blogs!!), and hope you'll continue to stop in, and leave the occasional comment!

Cheers!!

End of a Great Run

2010-12-30T08:55:00.009-05:00

Me and a favorite toy

All dressed up

My brother, me and sister with Granny

As many have noted, Kodachrome ends its glorious run, today. It was a favorite film of my dad's and a lot of National Geographic photographers. I wrote about it earlier here and here with a few more snaps. Shame, really, to see it go. Its color was simply the best!!

After the Blizzard in an Instax

2010-12-30T07:21:00.002-05:00

Falling Snow Angel

Snow Shadows

Snow Foot Path
All Photographs Copyright 2010 Suzanne Révy

Family

2010-12-29T07:19:00.003-05:00

I was pleased to learn a month or so ago that I received an honorable mention in the "Family Theme" Santa Fe Workshops first photography competition, and was flattered to be among the work. Until yesterday, I had only seen it online, but I received a book of the winners and honorable mentions from the Santa Fe Photographic Workshops in the mail, and I like the selection even better. Something about looking through the book, seeing the pictures on the page... there are, quite simply, excellent images in here. (And I don't just mean mine, alone.) The book is lovely. If you are inclined, you can purchase it through Blurb, here.

Now... I won't say that I'm not envious for the winner, I am. After all they get the workshop of their choice. Let me tell you... I would have SO signed up for this. Maybe I will, anyway...

A big thank you to the jurors, and to the Santa Fe workshops for the book, and the series of DVD's they also sent along!!

The Oxford Project

2010-12-27T09:08:00.009-05:00

The post Christmas blizzard has given me some quiet reading time, and I've spent it with The Oxford Project, a gift from my sister this year. I came across it at a bookstore earlier this month, but had other priorities. Still, I was intrigued, so I added it to my Amazon wish list in the hope that some kind person would send it my way! And a big thanks to Andrea for doing just that!

The first clear impression of the book is the influence of the work of Disfarmer, which is a good thing. The book is made up of a series of portraits taken in 1984 of all (or nearly all) the residents of the small town of Oxford, Iowa. The photographer, Peter Feldstein made those pictures, then put them away until 2004, when he returned to the body of work and decided to photograph many of the same people. It's interesting to see how some of his sitters barely changed in their look and manner over the years. Writer Stephen Bloom accompanied Feldstein and interviewed the people being photographed in 2004. He allows their words and voices to come through.

Each person is just as important as the next, and the words deepen our understanding of the lives that are being lived, their regrets, their fears, hopes, families, and the fool proof pie crust recipe many of them share. There's no judging these people in the words or photographs by either the photographer or writer, which leaves the viewer to form their own opinions about these individuals, and is the strength of the book. And each life lived has significance.

As for the pictures, the earlier ones from 1984 are a bit clumsy in their execution... the light and shadow he uses don't quite work, but the more recent portraits show a polish and restraint that is quite beautiful and subtle, just as Disfarmer did. And all in all, despite my quibble about the light, both the earlier portraits, and the more recent ones complement the other so well, and are presented together with a great deal of thought.

Worth buying, it's available in paperback (linked above) or hardcover.

Merry Christmas

2010-12-25T10:17:00.009-05:00

Ornaments
Copyright 2010 Suzanne Révy

I'm dragging a little this morning, because my youngest son was up at 2:30am, and simply couldn't settle down. It was a lovely Christmas Eve with a feast of roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, sauted Brussels sprouts with pine nuts, and let's be clear... there a few vehicles better than those sprouts for conveying butter into your mouth, salad, and a lovely creme brulée for dessert, which kind of did me in. And no... I didn't make it, simply defrosted it, thank you, Trader Joes!!

Fortunately, we had the presence of mind to make sure all the gifts were wrapped ahead of time, because after such a big dinner, I could only waddle around, and would have lost all patience for wrapping presents.

Both kids had questions for Santa, the oldest put them in a power point presentation, and the younger asked my husband to type his up. We left some very tasty (very tasty) home made sugar cookies for Santa, and some carrots for the reindeer.

After opening presents this morning, (more on the very interesting photography book I got later) we had the overnight baked French Toast for breakfast, and several cups of coffee. And I think I still might need more.

So, a very Merry Christmas to you and yours, and be sure to get out for a walk or something to burn off the extra calories of the last two days!! I doubt I'm the only one who ate a little too much for Christmas!!

The Brussel Sprouts with Pine Nuts

The Yorkshire Pudding

Messages and Questions for the Big Guy

Snacks and Goodies for Santa and the Reindeer

The Blog Roll

2010-12-23T19:19:00.003-05:00

Just a quick note to say that I have updated the "Blogs I Read" list in the right hand column. I realized there are I several blogs I've been reading, but had neglected to add them to the blog roll, and several blogs that I listed that have gone quiet over the past year, and unless I thought their content was a good resource, I deleted one or two of them.

Even though much or our online time is taken up in quick snippets of facebook status updates and tweets, I still find the blog format an excellent way to explore the medium of photography. I respect those who take some time to share their thoughts in writing, post their recent pictures and spread their news via a frequently updated blog.

If I've overlooked any, I hope you'll let me know, and I'll add them to my blogroll.

An Object of Beauty

2010-12-21T16:35:00.007-05:00

Need a gift suggestion?

For the novel reader on your list, might I suggest Steve Martin's latest, An Object of Beauty? It's a fun read taking you into the world of art, well, really the world of the art market from the uptown galleries selling the work of long dead modern 20th century artists, to the auction houses selling even deader artists, and to downtown scene in Chelsea selling the lively work of contemporary pranksters, artists to the very hip and rich.

From the wild and crazy guy of Saturday Night Live to his more mainstream movie offerings, there has always been an intelligence to his wit that I admire, and I've loved that expressive face for years!!

I'll confess, I never read Shopgirl, but have read several essays over the years in the New Yorker, and figured, I'd give this book a go. Some of his insights into the workings of the business of art are brilliant, and near the end of the book, as our heroine's transgressions (not to mention the stock market meltdown of 2008) bring her gallery to the brink, Martin offers this nugget, "Art as an aesthetic principle was supported by thousands of years of discernment and psychic rewards, but art as commodity was held up by air. The loss of confidence that affected banks and financial instruments was now affecting cherubs, cupids, and flattened popes."

There are many more such interesting insights, and if you are interested in the manners and machinations of this exclusive world, then give this book a go... his view of it all is unique.

Portrait

2010-12-18T12:12:00.003-05:00

Mike
Copyright 2008 Suzanne Révy

This post by J. Wesley Brown over at the blog We Can Shoot Too had me thinking about portraits over the weekend. I had been on the fence about entering the Center for Fine Art Photography's juried show with the theme of portraits to be juried by Rodney Smith, and in the end I (think) I skipped it. I photograph people, yes, and as I reviewed a lot of my work, I realized that I was at a bit of a loss. I don't actually make a lot of portraits, as such. So, what to submit? I'm embarrassed to say, that as I started the submission process, I was puzzled about which pictures to offer, and was so undecided, I can't even remember if I ever hit the "submit" button, and if I did, which pictures I offered. Well, I'm sure I'll figure it out when I get the next credit card statement. (Note to self, don't submit too much stuff around the holidays, or, for that matter, even think about it too much!!)

Well, if did, it was only three pictures, and I'm not sure which ones, but maybe I should have gone for it hook, line, and sinker, because as Brown points out the winning image, though quite striking, can hardly be called a portrait in the strictest sense. Now, I don't think we should be bound by strict rules, and there can be a lot of interpretation, but when is a portrait, truly a portrait, truly a likeness, and when is it a picture of something else? Of something that goes beyond the person photographed, and into an area with broader meaning? And can, in fact, a portrait (in the strict sense) have qualities that move beyond the person depicted into the universal?

These are interesting questions, of course, but in the context of a juried show, it can be frustrating to simply guess which directions the interpretations might take as a juror makes their selections. Then again... thinking about what to submit, how to interpret and to reinterpret your own work within the context of a theme might prove a fruitful exercise in deepening your own understanding of your own pictures. Whether I submitted or not, contemplating this show, its theme, the work of the juror, and the selections he made, has given me an opportunity to understand my own work and the idea of a portrait more fully.

Twitter

2010-12-17T13:29:00.002-05:00

As if Facebook isn't enough of a time suck, I've added a Twitter profile to all this online fun I'm having. I expect I'll do more following than tweeting, because I can't really see how writing 140 characters throughout the day will interest anyone... even me, but it does seem a good tool to get news, information and links to photographic work that might interest me.

If you'd like to follow me, there's a link to the right just under the profile, along with a link to my Facebook page.

Ch-ch-ch-changes

2010-12-15T15:41:00.003-05:00

Bubblegum
Copyright 2010 Suzanne Révy

I grew weary of the look of this blog, so I've made a few changes. Sometimes, a change is as good as a rest.

First Book

2010-12-13T07:57:00.008-05:00

There was an interesting question put to Amy Stein over on the Little Brown Mushroom blog as follows: “What was the first photo book that you can remember buying or seeing that really had a strong affect on you?” Her choice, The Solitude of Ravens by Masahisa Fukhase is interesting given her work exploring the way animals and humans live and move in the same habitats.

It had me thinking about the first book that influenced me, and it's one that my parents gave me when I was still in high school called, Venice '79. It was published by Rizzoli, and sadly, its pages have yellowed, and the spine has pulled apart, (which seems to happen with Rizzoli books) but I still have it! It was, I believe, a catalog for several exhibitions held in Venice that year, and it covers a broad range of work. There are lesser known pictures by very well known photographers among work that is very familiar; I remember loving Marie Cosinda's picture of the Sailors in Key West, the Diane Arbus picture of the Albino Sword Swallower, but not fully understanding the Helen Levitt, and the Plastic People series by André Gelpke struck me as dumb and pretentious. I've grown to love and appreciate Helen Levitt's work, but the passage of time hasn't changed my low opinion of the Gelpke pictures.

It's not the most coherent group of photographs, and, frankly, at the time neither was my work, but it showed the myriad possibilities the medium offered, and it was a book I studied and returned to time and again, which might explain why the spine on my copy has pulled apart!! I must confess, however, as often as I've leafed through my copy, I've never read any of the essays. Not sure why, but perhaps the heavy text, small print, and the dull opening sentences didn't draw me in the way the photographs did.

A Festival of Lights

2010-12-10T12:46:00.004-05:00

Hanukkah, 2010
All images are copyright 2010 Suzanne Révy

Being an interfaith family makes December a very busy month, but I did manage a few pictures from our recent family celebration of Hanukkah. Now, onto Christmas...

Tis the Season for Charity

2010-11-30T14:29:00.006-05:00

Several months ago, the photographer, Kenro Izu asked Jason Landry at Panopticon Gallery to see if any of the gallery's artists would donate prints to a charity auction to raise funds for the Angkor Hospital for Children in Cambodia. I decided it was a worthy cause, and sent along an 11"x14" print of my picture, Swim Lesson.

The catalog for the auction arrived last week, and I'm honored to have my work among the pictures on offer. If you aren't able to attend or bid from afar, then do the next best thing, and buy the catalog. It's beautiful. And I really love that Marc Riboud picture, Three Chinese Girls, Beijing, 1957 on the cover.

The silent and live auctions will take place on Tuesday, December 7th from 6:00pm to 8:30pm at the Metropolitan Pavillion, 123 West 18th Street on the 5th floor in New York City. More information can be found here.

The Family

2010-11-25T09:33:00.005-05:00

Family Walk
Copyright 2005 Suzanne Révy

I'm pleased to have included an older picture of mine, Family Walk, for today's exhibition FAMILY Aline Smithson's wonderful blogzine, Lenscratch.

And more importantly, I'm grateful to have found a community of photographers via this blog, Facebook, and APUG to share work with. Also, very grateful to my family who have allowed me to make so many pictures over the years, especially to my two young sons who've endured the brunt of it with such grace.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Holiday Print Sale

2010-11-22T09:27:00.005-05:00

Spout
Copyright 2007 Suzanne Révy

A little something for the holidays!

I'm pleased to offer five 8"x10" (7"x9" image size) selenium toned gelatin silver prints of my picture, Spout, through the Fraction Magazine Holiday print sale. There is a lot of great work offered through this sale at discounted prices, and I, for one, covet several prints.

You can see everything that is on offer here.

And a big thanks to David Bram of Fraction Magazine for organizing this print sale, and for all his support of photography and photographers.

The Flesh and The Spirit* by Sally Mann

2010-11-19T09:49:00.002-05:00

This most recent book by Sally Mann is a look at how she has explored the body or figure through the entire arc of her career as an artist, and well worth buying, even if there are a few passages in the writing the fall into the trap of boring "artspeak" and the overuse of the word "quotidian." I can't deny that I have been influenced by her work, namely, finding and making your work close to home among the people, things, and places you love. Looking at your children and family to find and mold your artistic voice and vision. (Not to mention, making lots of pictures during the summer months!) Though my visual interests diverge from hers in a number of ways, her work remains an important inspiration.

Interestingly, the work I find that fails weren't made close to her home, but at a "body farm" where decaying dead corpses are studied, and part of her What Remains series. There are color pictures that are pretty gruesome, and quite disconcerting to look at (the black and white collodion ones are disturbing, but somehow not as gruesome to my eye), but I find this macabre and unflinching interest in dead bodies a little hard to fathom. I don't think we should sweep death under the rug and pretend it doesn't happen. but these pictures feel a little brutal to those people whose bodies, for whatever reason, ended up at this place and in her photographs.

Still, I understand the impulse for a photographer to explore death, and oddly enough, I think anyone making pictures is doing just that, but the work she has made called Proud Flesh, I find particularly moving and emotional, and I have come back to that work again and again. Something about the pictures she has made among the living, and with those who are close to her, and explore the circle of life from our young selves through our aging are so satisfying, The "mask" pictures of her children, and even her own self-portraits really strike a nerve in my gut. And the family color... one in particular showing a pair of feet climbing a tree is my kind of picture, just a beautiful poem. And I'm envious that she's made a dramatic picture of her son with a bloody nose... a picture my kids have steadfastly refused to allow me to make, and my younger son has had some whoppers!

All in all, her tenacious focus on making pictures is extraordinary, and I like that I love some of her work, and loathe some of it all at once. Perhaps that's the best measure of a great artist.

By the way, the book is a companion to an exhibition of this work that was organized by the Virgina Museum of Fine Art in Richmond, Virginia through January 23rd.

*Not to be confused with Debbie Fleming Caffery's similarly titled book, The Spirit and the Flesh. What's up with that? Maybe it's a coincidence, but Caffery's book has been out there for over a year, and I find it a little odd that Mann and company couldn't come up with something, I don't know... different?

Adox Variotone (revisted)

2010-11-16T09:11:00.005-05:00

Eric
Copyright 2005 Suzanne Révy

Adam
Copyright 2005 Suzanne Révy

It's a little boring to post the same pictures, I know, but I made some proper prints, as I said I wanted to, and decided to look at the Adox Variotone Warmtone paper again. It's engineered for toning, and though I think I allowed the selenium to go a little far (will dilute it further or pull the print sooner next time), it is really lovely paper.

I'm not a big fan of heavy handed toning... maybe my pictures are too documentary to pull it off, but I do like a slight bit of warmth that can come with a well toned print.

For those interested, these pictures were shot on Tri-x 320 (TXP) souped in x-tol (semi-stand), and printed on Adox Variotone Warmtone paper in Ethol LPD, then toned in a 1:10 dilution of Harman Selenium toner.

Kickstarter

2010-11-15T08:43:00.005-05:00

Copyright Edam Foundation
With thanks to Paul Giguere

I've recently "backed" two projects that are seeking to raise funds via Kickstarter, and have two more that I plan to back soon. One was Jess Dugan's Open View project, and the other is Renee Clement's Promising Land project.

The other two projects are Domenico Foschi's Lingering Past project, and Paul Giguere's project with the Edam Foundation, an NGO about a small island south of Haiti that he will visit in 2011 to document how they have developed schools, libraries and businesses through micro-lending initiatives.

The Kickstarter model for fundraising strikes me as a straightforward and simple way to secure the funds one might need for a project with very few strings attached for the artist raising the funds. My thanks to Paul for letting me use the above picture, and you can hear a bit more about Kickstarter and his project via his podcast on the subject at his site, Thoughts on Photography.

There are a lot of interesting projects on Kickstarter, and others might find something else to back, but each of these projects resonated in some way with me, so I've made a modest contribution. I wish each of them luck with their fundraising, and hope they meet their goals, and I look forward to seeing how each project evolves and comes to fruition as they each move forward with their work.

Paul McDonough

2010-11-12T07:24:00.004-05:00

Came across the work of Paul McDonough on today's New York Times Lens Blog, here, and have always felt a fondness for this work. I took two classes with him at Pratt back in the day, and it looks like he'll have a book out soon, here.

Something about street photography has always moved me. There's no other medium that records the human condition quite as elegantly as a well made street picture. The theater of New York's streets is evident in McDonough's work, and there's a sublime satisfaction in discovering each picture's secrets.

There's a show of his work at the Sasha Wolf Gallery in New York City through January 8th, and the book is on my wish list!

Into the Archive

2010-11-06T07:18:00.005-05:00

Eric
Copyright 2006 Suzanne Révy

Adam
Copyright 2006 Suzanne Révy

It's been quiet here on the blog. I find myself needing to take stock of all the pictures I've made in the last six years. I've been going through all my negatives, and making small 4"x5" prints of anything that interests me, so I've had some busy days in the darkroom. It's illuminating to see the arc of the work, to see the subtle shifts in the techniques and films used, and most importantly in my eye, and how I was thinking as I made the photographs.

I loved the two portraits of each of my boys (above), and I'm not sure why I didn't print them at the time. Maybe it was because they were made as part film test, when I wanted to learn how to handle Tri-X 320, and they didn't really fit into the "Small Wonders" work. I think I need two lovely 8"x10"s of them to hang over my desk!

It's a little tedious making so many small prints, but having them for reference will be well worth the effort. And I've been having a blast dancing in the darkroom during this process!