Not in Fashion c. Mark Borthwick

There are photographers who document and photographers who create. Meaning, a photographer either chooses to make images of an event that is already happening or chooses to make images of an event that either he or someone else has created specifically for the image-making purpose. There are exceptions to every rule of course and photographer Mark Borthwick certainly qualifies as an exclusion. Mark’s work does both (documents and creates) and his subjects seem found yet casually staged through discovering and uplifting informal moments. His new book, titled “Not in Fashion,” a contradiction to the fact that he came to prominence as a fashion photographer, illustrates Mark’s insistence of working outside of fashion’s guidelines. There is nothing elaborate about Mark’s fashion work - a plain wall or a park provides the backdrop, light makeup and hairstyling or none at all and few or no clothes round out the atypical (fashion) photograph.

I first came across Mark’s work in the late 90’s when I had just become interested in fashion photography. Images of Angela Lindvall leaning over into a sink which appear in the book depicted the model wearing one of Comme des Garcons’ infamous bump dresses gave me the assurance I needed that fashion photography was not singularly about pretty models and unattainable luxury. Here was a photo of a girl sticking her head into a kitchen sink and not a designer stainless steel one either - a very ugly suburban kitchen sink. Not in fashion, certainly. Mark clearly played a role in a certain type of late 90’s conceptual fashion photography, the anti-flash, the refusal to actually photograph clothes, and the denial of celebrity and glamour in general which magazines like Purple and i-D championed.

Fast forward a few years, I had the great fortune to work briefly for Mark and enter his vastly interesting world. I was never privy to seeing him shoot, though at the time Mark was peculiarly fascinated with sidewalks and their cracks, many of which are shown in his new book. I was presented however with the task of editing his writings (Mark also writes to accompany his work occasionally). Though what Mark had intended as poetic, off-kilter ramblings with made up or strangely spelled words, the computer mistook as typos, sending angry red underlines throughout most of the pages. Again, misspelled words were certainly not in fashion, but were very integral to Mark’s work and creative process.

Mark Borthwick from Not in Fashion c. Mark Borthwick

There are people who Mark photographs regularly and counts as close friends - Kim Gordon, Chan Marshall of Cat Power, Bjork, his wife and two children and anyone who enjoys sitting out in the sun and lolling in the grass. Mark’s work has always been a celebration of the outdoors, powerfully joyful and therapeutic in their bursts of sunlight and greenery. Recently, a technique sprung up where Mark would open the back of his camera to let light in which would leave the impression that a rainbow was trying to sneak its way into the image. What Mark possesses is a true reverence for his subjects and this is obtained by photographing them over and over - trees, sidewalks, lakes, his friends and family. His moments are curiously repetitive though soothing as is the way the book is laid out. Small images float on the pages forming stories, polaroids scatter and writings are in abundance. The collection of all of these ingredients illustrates in a deeply personal way a truly singular point of view of this casually staged life.

Not in Fashion is available through Amazon

Tags: anti-fashion, Bjork, Cat Power, Chan Marshall, fashion photography, i-D, Kim Gordon, Mark Borthwick, Not in Fashion, Photography, Purple, sunlight.

Beginning today, the New York Photo Festival, which bills itself as “the future of contemporary photography,” takes over most of the DUMBO neighborhood of Brooklyn, with a variety of exhibitions, openings, lectures, and seminars. Four main exhibitions have been organized, each by a different curator, including “I don’t really know what kind of girl I am,” an exploration of photography where women are the subjects, including Edith Maybin’s lush images of a very strange sort of child - one whose head has been manipulated onto Maybin’s body, producing a very (un)natural blending of mother and child.

Photographer Edith Maybin at St. Ann's Warehouse

The Tobacco Warehouse, which has also housed Art + Commerce’s Emerging Photographer Festival in 2004 and 2005, is now home to the satellite show. Peek around and a glorious smattering of SX-70 Polaroids can be found, lovingly curated by French artist Véronique Bourgoin. Made with instant film that is no longer in production, these types of Polaroids have always transported their subjects back at least thirty years, if not passing them into a secret nether-decade between 1972-1984. Nudes tend to do especially well with this technique, of which there are quite a few here, though almost eclipsing the other subject matter.

"Magic Trick," a collection of Polaroid pictures curated by Véronique Bourgoin at the Tobacco Warehouse

Work by last year's Award Nominee Michael Corridore

Work by last year's Student Editorial Winner Tobias Kruse

The NY Photo Festival: May 13-17, 2009

Photo Awards Grand Ceremony, May 15th, 8pm. Tickets available here.

Tags: Brooklyn, DUMBO, Edith Maybin, festivals, Michael Corridore, New York, photo festival, Photography, Polaroids, SX-70, The NY Photo Festival, Tobias Kruse.

Alexander Calder in his Paris studio, 1931. Photograph by Marc Vaux / Necklace (Silver wire, string, ribbon), c. 1943. Images courtesy of Calder Foundation.

Along with iconic modernist mobiles and outdoor sculptures, the American artist Alexander Calder also translated his aesthetic into jewelry, producing over 1,800 pieces in his lifetime. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is currently featuring a broad selection, ranging from necklaces, brooches, and bracelets to tiaras and hair combs. Calder’s jewelry-making, like many of his contemporaries, including Man Ray and Picasso, was another natural extension of his wide artistic oeuvre.

The jewelry was created mainly for family and friends including Peggy Guggenheim and Georgia O’Keefe, though some pieces were sold for extra cash during the war. A section of the exhibit features pieces he made on birthdays and anniversaries for his wife Louisa James Calder. One such piece is a brass bracelet that reads in looped script “Medusa,” a nickname Calder gave his wife because of her long ringlets. A similar brooch reads “Dolores,” made for Dolores Miró, painter Joan Miró’s daughter. The playfulness is felt not only in these pieces but from the entire exhibition and one can get a sense that Calder was always playing as he created.

Calder’s more noted works of art are heavily felt in these wondrous pieces - his skeletal mobiles have been scaled down here in various ways. A brooch entitled, “V for Victory” was made in commemoration of the end of World War II and has the similar curved metal and geometric shapes his mobiles feature. The hammered dots and larger oblong oval cleverly symbolize morse code: dot, dot, dot, dash stands for the letter “V.”

V for Victory Brooch (silver and steel wire), c. 1944. Image courtesy of Calder Foundation.

Left: Earring (silver and steel wire), c. 1942. Image courtesy Calder Foundation. / Other mobile-like earrings

Calder’s influences ranged from African tribal art, scuplting “bones” from wood or metal, to Celtic symbols as seen in his repetitious use of tight coils which represent the ancient spirals of the Celts.

Though most of the jewelry in the exhibition was made between the 1930s and ’40s, the pieces felt immediately contemporary and timeless, even seventy odd years later. His use of text is still heavily practiced today in jewelry-making, as is the delicate hammering technique he applied to his pieces. Although Calder disliked using gold, and preferred more working class metals such as silver and brass, along with simple materials such as raffia and string, he ultimately turned those lesser metals into these stunning works of wearable art.

Until March 1, 2009.

Tags: Alexander Calder, Celtic art, jewelry, Joan Miro, Man Ray, Metropolitan Museum of Art, mobiles, Peggy Guggenheim, Picasso, scuplture, tribal art, World War II.

The Rubell Collection in Miami is the private museum of the Rubell family (couple Don and Mera Rubell along with their children Jennifer and Jason collect all of the art). The collection is housed in a large two-story building that surely rivals any institution’s museum collection. When walking through the galleries, one can’t help but think, “One family owns all of this?” And they do. The Rubells only show art they own and therefore it is quite a feat to put together a cohesive exhibit such as 30 Americans. The show is a collection of 31 African-American artists (the Rubells collect until the show’s opening which explains the extra artist) and has an important job of answering the question: Is all African-American art about racial issues? And of course it isn’t. However, racial identity is a strong pulsing theme on these walls.

The African-American artists of the establishment are represented here (Kara Walker, Carrie Mae Weems, Jean-Michel Basquiat) alongside those of newer artists (Kalup Linzy, Kehinde Wiley). Glenn Ligon’s backlit neon signs (”Negro Sunshine”, “America”) and his stenciled paintings carefully select words which have an ironic bent.

Glenn Ligon, Gold Nobody Knew Me #1, 2007, Acrylic and oil stick on canvas

Gary Simmons, Duck, Duck Noose, 1992. Wood, cloth, metal, and hemp.

Upstairs Gary Simmons‘ “Duck, Duck, Noose” has a circle of stools crowned with stiff white peaks on each seat, surrounding a noose hanging from the ceiling in a mock lynching. It is at once immediately alarming yet somehow simultaneously a quiet scene depicting the most frightening of stories of Southern history.

Moving into the contemporary world of advertising (and contemporary art’s culture of commenting on advertising), Hank Willis Thomas‘ “ads” are real advertisements which span 30 years with only the logos removed. A comment on marketing to certain groups and perceptions of race, the ads sell everything from cigarettes to hair products to cars to an African-American audience.

The exhibtion statement concludes: “As the show evolved, we decided to call it “30 Americans.” “Americans,” rather than “African Americans” or “Black Americans” because nationality is a statement of fact, while racial identity is a question each artist answers in his or her own way, or not at all.”

Kama Mama, Kama Binti (Like Mother, Like Daughter) 1971/2008, 2008 Digital C-print

30 Americans

Art Review’s coverage of 30 Americans

Tags: 30 Americans, Carrie Mae Weems, Gary Simmons, Glenn Ligon, Hank Willis Thomas, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Kalup Linzy, Kara Walker, Kehinde Wiley, Miami, Rubell Collection.

One of the many satellite fairs of Art Basel Miami, Art Miami has proven that the main show isn’t the only thing worth seeing in town. Located in the Wynwood Arts District, Art Miami has a much more relaxed vibe than the main Art Basel Miami show. Comprised mostly of smaller galleries from around the world, this fair however has no less super art stars hanging in the wings (however, most are deceased). Also complete with its own Art Video and New Media Lounge, the dedicated space showcased videos from six major art institutions from Beijing to Tel Aviv.

The shaky economy has not deterred collectors who were out in full force, overheard asking “How much is this?,” as if discussing a supermarket special and a few pieces were even sold many times over. The price point that people were willing to fork over (unless you’re Ed Ruscha) seemed much lower than previous years. This included one David Drebin panoramic digital C-print of a Paris streetscape at a collectable $4950.

The print, although stunning to look at seems to lack a story behind its facades. Photographed in such a way that begs the viewer to peek into its apartment windows in hopes of a domestic scene or perhaps an engagement on its streets, the downfall of this piece is that there are none of these special moments (which are often times pre-planned by the photographer) to speak of. The streets are almost empty and there is no one visible in any of the windows. However, this was obviously not a concern for the many buyers who flocked to this piece (eight at the time of our visit). It is surely a comment on the type of pieces which are selling in this economy: the ones which are content to look beautiful on a wall.

www.Art-Miami.com

Tags: Art Basel Miami, Art Miami, David Drebin, economy, Miami, Paris, Photography, satellite art fair, Wynwood.

Our first stop in Miami: to see the Olaf Breuning sand sculpture on the beach for ourselves. Part sphinx, part Picasso, the reclining nude is massive and lovely to behold. A lone seagull perched atop her head completing the temporary art piece. As we left, high-heeled art collectors were making their way, albeit slowly onto the sand to view the beauty. Flip flops optional.

Tags: Art Basel Miami, beach, Miami, nude, Olaf Breuning, Picasso, sand sculpture, sphinx.

Art Basel Miami started today and boy do we wish we could be there. Wait, we will be there! Give us a couple days and The Totam will be at the Art Basel Miami festivities and shows Friday through Sunday with the rest of them.

What we are missing:

Highlights of today’s opening include Olaf Breuning’s sand sculpture of a reclining woman at the Sagamore Hotel.

What we won’t be missing:

The Asprey London launch party of KiptonART Rising featuring artists Jade Doskow, Sabina Forbes II, Eric Klemm, Naho Kubota, Joyce Lee & Serge Strosberg.

Stay tuned for more from Miami..

Tags: Art Basel Miami, Asprey London, Eric Klemm, Jade Doskow, Joyce Lee, KiptonART, Miami, Naho Kubota, Olaf Breuning, Sabina Forbes II, Sagamore Hotel, Serge Strosberg.

photograph by Peter Lindbergh, copyright Peter Lindbergh

Hearst, the publisher of Harper’s Bazaar and Esquire is holding a competition for new and emerging photographers, entitled The 8×10 Photography Biennial. Eight winners will be chosen by ten judges (hence, 8×10, a clever play on words). Judges include Peter Lindbergh, Donna Karan, Timothy Greenfield-Sanders and Mary Ellen Mark. All genres of photography are welcome. The chosen work will be shown at the Alexey Brodovitch Gallery and the Hearst Gallery at Hearst Tower in New York City and will be published in an accompanying catalog.

Deadline for entry is Jan. 1st, 2009.

www.hearst8×10.com

Tags: competition, Donna Karan, Esquire, Harper's Bazaar, Hearst, Mary Ellen Mark, New York City, Peter Lindbergh, Photography, Timothy Greenfield-Sanders.

Yesterday was the last day to see Tom Sachs‘ Hello Kitty and co. at the Place du Trocadero, a stone’s throw from the Eiffel Tower. The giant Hello Kitty, Miffy, and My Melody fountains created by Sachs shed their “tears” as the saddest trio of Sanrio characters Paris has seen.

Tags: Art, Eiffel Tower, Hello Kitty, Paris, Sanrio, Tom Sachs.