STORY

The inaugural edition of STORY will be released on December 16th. The publisher, Humble Media (also the producers behind the great group-show.com) describes it this way:

"STORY presents 13 emerging photographers who reinterpret the past century's documentary precedent. From Jack Bridges' heartfealt record of the last days of Chicago's Robert Taylor Housing Projects, to Raphael Goldchain's self- portraiture- as- family- history, these 13 photographers offer present tense perspectives that build upon the traditions of the past. "

The book launch/ exhibition/ party that I will not be able to attend, will be held at the gallery at 3rd Ward in Brooklyn. (I have got to move to Brooklyn). If you would like to get your mitts (or flippers) on a copy, it can be purchased on the STORY site. It is a steal at $25. Hurry, though. The edition is limited to 200 copies. Flak Photo will showcase a photo per day through Friday. Stop by now and then to take a peak.

There are some amazing photographers included in this thing. All are listed below. Most have links (I was unable to dig some of them up. If you know where to find them, please send them my way) . Now, go look at pictures...

Mikael Kennedy
Rafael Goldchain
Mandy Larson
Joshua Kristal
Davi Russo
Stephen Miller
Andrew Hillard
Jack Bridges
Alan Duke
Michael Itkoff
Alison Grippo
Kate Philbrick

Grandma

Winter Reading

I stumbled across a converstaion with Geoff Dyer on KCRW's "Bookworm" while looking for a different conversation with Zadie Smith. What a happy accident it turned out to be. I have added "The Ongoing Moment" to my winter reading list. How could I not? Any book about photography that uses pictures of hats as one of its organizing principle deserves at least a second look, don't you think? But what really got my attention during the conversation was the discussion of rivalry between photographers (Strand v. Weston, and Weston v. Evans). It was in the context of 'tagging' subjects and effectively claiming them as their own. Not an intentional thing so much as a defacto thing. In any case, the sharp end of 'photographic territory' crops up all of the time. How many times in the last year, six months, two weeks, whatever, have you seen someone else working with a similar subject and you muttered a silent little internal "F***"? So, I added "The Ongoing Moment" to my list. The same list that only gets longer, never shorter.

By the way, the conversation with Zadie Smith is KILLER.

Conversation'd

Joerg Colberg asked if I would be interested in being part of the 'Conversations' series on his blog. Since it would be insane to say no, and since the conversations are one of the things I love about his impossibly active blog, I agreed. (I am pretty sure that I agreed before I finished reading the invitation.)

The 'Conversations' series is a great read and an insightful complement to his regular postings. It includes interviews with Juliana Beasley, Amy Elkins, Chris Jordan, Bill Sullivan, Michael Wolf, Alec Soth, Shen Wei, Roger Richards, Brian Ulrich, and Jay Parkinson. Stop by and scroll your way through, if you haven't already. It is well worth the visit.

Holiday Resistance

Simon

I recently had to scramble to find some pictures from Related Ideas. More accurately, I had to find some image FILES from the project. The negatives are still around, of course, but the timeline and the the thought of rescanning everything gave me the willies. That and seeing my scanner under a not-so-thin blanket of dust made the search extra urgent. In the process I found boxes of prints I forgot I had made. Among them was this picture of Heidi and her Viewmaster. In the words of Obi-Wan (sort of): "Not as clumsy or as random as a playstation, but elegant entertainment for a more civilized age."

Group- Show'ed

Simon has been Group- Show'ed. This was the last time he wore those pajamas. They were the back-up set at the bottom of the drawer. Must have been behind on laundry that day.

Old School

Daniel Meadows' Photographic Omnibus

Daniel Meadows makes me want to be a better storyteller. Visit the Photographic Omnibus. It's a treasure. While you are there watch'For Stanley' and 'Stanley Replies'. You might also pop over to ZoneZero to watch Pedro Meyer's 'I Photograph to Remember'. Carve out some time, though. You'll get sucked in and it runs about 35 minutes.

GTA

© Todd Deutsch

McKnight Fellows Talk on 10/03

Richard Copley and I will be talking about our work as part the McKnight Fellowship exhibition currently on view at the Nash Gallery. Dick will probably present pictures made on the streets of NY. I will probably talk about the wild and wooly world of first- person shooters. Stop by if you are in the neighborhood. We start at 7:00 sharp.

McKnight Fellows Talk II
IN- FLUX space next to the Nash Gallery
405 21st Avenue S, Minneapolis
Tuesday, Ocotber 3rd. 7:00- 8:30

From the List: Jon Gitelson

© Jon gitelson

Last night the Twins clinched a playoff spot. They knocked the White Sox out of contention for good. No October baseball for Chicago. Sorry, Jon. I can't help but feel partly responsible. The image above is from Jon's book I Wave in Front of Every Apartment That I've Ever Lived in Except for One. Find more of his work at thegit.net. Check out the blogs. If you only look at one entry while there, make it The Big Fake Out.

Desperation

When I find myself in the weeds with my own pictures I get the urge to watch other photographers work. It doesn't help. Apparently there is no secret code to be cracked. Bummer. So far I have watched William Eggleston in the Real World, Nachtwey in War Photographer, Winogrand and Gowin in an episode of Creativity with Bill Moyers, a short video of Alec Soth at work, a clip of Jeff Mermelstein, and one of Joel Meyerowitz. All very entertaining. There is a moment in Creativity when Edith Gowin yells to the kids upstairs to stop jumping around so that Emmet can make a long exposure without the camera bouncing all over the place. It is nice to think of a masterpiece being made right on the livingroom floor. The most helpful of all? Pecker.