Here’s an excerpt from a new book called “After Photography” by Fred Ritchin on the designobserver blog.

It’s looking at perceptions of truth in a digital photojournalism sphere with references to many well known images and media events. Easy to read and points to further research materials if this is an area you’re interested in…well worth a read.

Cover of After Photography by Fred Ritchin (W.W. Norton & Company), from which this essay is excerpted

“Unmasking Photo Opportunities, Cubistically

In a 1994 photograph we see U.S. soldiers invading Haiti, lying on the airport tarmac pointing their rifles at unseen enemies. The heroic image supports the claim of the U.S. government that it is invading to support democracy, liberating a neighboring country from a dictatorship.

The contradictory “double image” is cubist; reality has no single truth.” READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE ON THE DESIGN OBSERVER SITE

Reprinted from After Photography by Fred Ritchin. Copyright 2008 by Fred Ritchin. With permission of the publisher, W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Here is an interesting article from one of the judges, Diane Smythe of the Taylor Wessing photographic portrait prize, currently on show at the National Portrait Gallery in London (UK). In it, Diane discusses not only som of the complexities of judging such a prize, but what makes a good portrait (in context with the prize of course) and offers insight into the difference between personally knowing the subject of a work, and not. This is something we all have to be able to think about with our artwork,: what will it mean to someone else? (Who doesn’t know us, our process, our thoughts…)

Click the image below to link through to the finalists’ images. The image below is the Overall Winner of the Prize, 2009.

Rosie Bancroft (2008) by London photographer Paul Floyd Blake. This portrait is part of series entitled On Track for 2012, in which he photographs young athletes with the potential to compete in the 2012 Olympics.

82. French Touch - Bordeaux (2006), Ari Versluis and Ellie Uyttenbroek

Rotterdam-based photographer Ari Versluis and profiler Ellie Uyttenbroek have worked together since October 1994. Inspired by a shared interest in the striking dress codes of various social groups, they have systematically documented numerous identities over the last 14 years. Rotterdam’s heterogeneous, multicultural street scene remains a major source of inspiration for Ari Versluis and Ellie Uyttenbroek, although since 1998 they have also worked in cities abroad.

This is a great project, nothing new perhaps and in some ways a nice update on August Sander’s People of our Time, with people grouped into a much more social topography depicting our times, like an extended Thomas Ruff project… However, I really love the web interface of this project – struck by a huge sea of people, or rather groups of people where you can simply randomly click on those you want to see in more detail. Great People Watching! Be great to browse on a much bigger screen than my wee laptop…interactive exhibition display anyone?

CHECK OUT THE WEBSITE

Parrworld: Martin Parr at Baltic

Friday, October 16, 2009

Parrworld Is A Hit – Martin Parr at BALTIC

Last night, we headed up to BALTIC in Gateashead for the opening of Parrworld, and I was not disappointed. I left the show feeling inspired to get my camera out, and start taking pictures, while at the same time, I started thinking about the notion of collecting, a cultural consciousness, memories and our constantly changing times.
More from Aesthetica Magazine Blog

Canon’s flagship EOS dSLR has received a welcome upgrade, with the 1D Mark IV adding HD video capabilities, the ability to shoot at 10 frames per second and improving on the AF system which proved a problem in the Mark III. More on D-Ph0to and Photographer’s Mail Blog

Kimsooja

“A thin woman stands bolt upright with her back to us, as the city centre’s population at large pass her by. The “performance” is repeated and recorded in eight worldwide metropolitans: London, Tokyo, Shanghai, Delhi, New York, Mexico City, Cairo and Lagos.” Read more here

I got introduced to Kimsooja’s work as photography a few years ago and it has always intrigued me. I find it interesting and very relevant as an example of the convergence of media such as film, photography and performance that I find are more prevelant in contemporary art.

At the moment, this work makes me think of student Alex Lovell-Smith’s work, so this post’s for Alex. he is working on a performance, related work with another student , that looks at ‘observation’  and ’sruveillance’ (amongst other things), although he is a photography major and has another serious of photographic works that employ/require some kind of performance that needs to be ‘caught’ on camera. The result is something of alienation or suspension, as in Kimsooja’s work – although the contexts are different….

…just some thoughts!

Here’s one for the polaroid lovers out there.

The Frieze Art Fair is on in the UK. This is one of the major art events int he UK. Worth a look to see what is happening overseas…

A visitor strolls past a large-scale Gilbert and George. The fair features over 150 contemporary art galleries from 30 countries, presenting the work of over a thousand artists

Photograph: Oli Scarff/Getty Images

p.s. Click the image to see more images by my favourite: the guardian.co.uk

All in one story!

Ralph Lauren and the Photoshop Disaster:

“…the photoshop disaster that is this Ralph Lauren advertisement, in which a model’s proportions appear to have been altered to give her an impossibly skinny body (“Dude, her head’s bigger than her pelvis”).”

Copyright Infringement and Fair Use:

“Copyright law doesn’t give you the right to threaten your critics for pointing out the problems with your offerings. You should know better.”

So, read the full story here on Boing Boing and see the offending image in question!

This video was sent to me by my friend Richard Boll, who works in and out of London as a freelance photographer. It’s hilarious (although *warning* lots of bad language – not for the faint-hearted!). The graphics are very low-tech which somehow adds to the humour, and the argument, that is being discussed. But more on the site “xtra normal” and their “easy to make movies”, later.

Actually, the more I think about it, the more it needs to be in this post : so XTRA NORMAL is a site that allows ‘anyone’ to make a movie (as above) by just providing the typed dialogue (i think). Here’s the mission statement:

“Xtranormal’s mission is to bring movie-making to the people. Everyone watches movies and we believe everyone can make movies. Movie-making, short and long, online and on-screen, private and public, will be the most important communications process of the 21st century.Our revolutionary approach to movie-making builds on an almost universally held skill—typing. You type something; we turn it into a movie. On the web and on the desktop.”

How ironic, that the very argument that is being made in the video I have posted here, is the one being undermined by sites like this! Perpetuating the myth that making movies (or taking digital photographs) is as easy as a couple of button clicks!

Not that I think there is anything wrong with sites like this, and I’m not the one who’s going to lay down inthe face of advancing developing technology in an attempt to stop it…I just maintain it’s irony!