July 2nd, 2009
Ink Line by Charles Ray from 1987 (16 Miles of String)
Don’t miss the amazing exhibition of three rarely seen sculptural installation works by Charles Ray on view now at Matthew Marks Gallery in Chelsea. It’s a mind expanding and totally tripped out experience.
The three pieces on view were conceived in the late 80’s and are all outstanding. Ink Line is the highlight but don’t underestimate the power of Moving Wire and Spinning Spot. If you only know Ray from his figurative sculptural work then you will be very surprised at how different this is and also how fresh these works feel 20 years after they were made.
Jerry Saltz wrote a great review in New York magazine a few weeks ago, it’s definitely worth a read.
Posted in Art | No Comments »
July 1st, 2009
I’m curious to see these new publications due out this fall from some very heavy hitters :
I’m happy to see that this book wasn’t printed in a megasize. It’s printed at a reasonable 11.5 x 10.5 inches.
Is this the first serious photography book made with an iPhone?
This one will probably win the award for thickest photo book of the year, it comes in at over 700 pages. I’ve seen somewhere else that it isn’t one book but actually three separate volumes. We’ll have to wait and see.
Posted in Photography | No Comments »
June 30th, 2009
To request the above photograph:
Send an email (subject: Photographic: 12-09) to horses [at] horsesthink.com with your name and mailing address.
If you are the first person to respond after the posting, you will receive the photograph in the mail.
*This photograph is no longer available.
(Thanks Peggy)
Posted in Photographic Project | 1 Comment »
June 30th, 2009
I was first introduced to the music of the Dirty Projectors a while ago but in all honesty the music didn’t really stick until I saw them perform earlier this year when they opened up for Dan Deacon at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple.
As they performed I found myself intrigued but mostly confused. This wasn’t easy music to like but at the same time there were wonderful elements to be found including complex layers of vocal sounds as well as beautiful rhythms and harmonies.
A few months ago they released a collaborative song with David Byrne called Knotty Pine which was part of the Dark Was The Night compilation. With that song I became slowly but surely obsessed with their surprising yet very engaging brand of indie and experimental rock music.
Now comes their latest effort, Bitte Orca, which is even better than I expected and is definitely a good point of entry into their varied and unique output. It’s a great album from start to finish and I also love the album art shown above, it’s very simple yet eye-catching and memorable.
I will warn you that this isn’t an easy listen, the music is challenging at many points and takes time to grow on you. Listen to the album a few times on many occasions before putting it aside and deciding that it isn’t for you.
Two of my favorite tracks on the new album are Stillness is the Move and Two Doves which comes right after. Two Doves is probably the most straightforward song on the album but also the most beautiful and haunting. It features just one female voice with a simple guitar and some mellow string arrangements. I’ve been listening to it on repeat quite a bit and haven’t tired of it yet.
To get an idea of their sound, go to the Dirty Projectors’ MySpace page which includes a few tracks from various albums as well as the David Byrne collaboration, Knotty Pine.
If you are in New York, Dirty Projectors will be playing a free show at the Williamsburg Waterfront on July 19th.
Posted in Obsessed, Sounds | 1 Comment »
June 28th, 2009
“The reason so much average or absolutely awful art gets promoted is that no one seems to understand what criticism is; if nothing is properly criticised, mediocrity triumphs. A critic is basically an arrogant bastard who says “this is good, this is bad” without necessarily being able to explain why. At least, not instantly. The truth is, we feel this stuff in our bones. And we’re innately convinced we’re right.”
-Jonathan Jones writing in the Guardian Art Blog
Posted in Art, Writing | No Comments »
June 27th, 2009
To request the above photograph:
Send an email (subject: Photographic: 11-09) to horses [at] horsesthink.com with your name and mailing address.
If you are the first person to respond after the posting, you will receive the photograph in the mail.
*This photograph is no longer available.
Posted in Photographic Project | 1 Comment »
June 26th, 2009
I have been in conflict with my family since I was 16. Even if I don’t have a scholarship nor parental assistance, I have always fended for myself.
Armin, 23, Master of Sociology.
Paris-Match awarded their annual Grand Prix du Photoreportage Etudiant this week to two French students who submitted a photographic story that apparently presented images documenting the precarious lives of students today and the things they must do to survive.
When the two winners, Guillaume Chauvin and Remi Hubert, both art students at the Ecole Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs of Strasbourg, stood up at the Sorbonne to claim their trophy and prize money, they announced the true nature of their work. The images were not photojournalism but staged images featuring many of their peers.
The winners claimed that the idea was hatched a year ago when they looked at all the work students were competing with for the 2008 prize. They realized that the “world view of this work was limited and seemed more like vacation photographs as opposed to photojournalism. The photographs depicted small children with big wet eyes in order to illustrate the misery abroad.”
Speaking to Le Figaro, Guillaume Chauvin confided that they “wanted to enter the contest in order to show the codes used too often in photojournalism and to prove that something real could be translated into something staged.”
Unfortunately, I could only find this on Le Figaro’s French website and had to use some of my own as well as some automatic translation to get the full gist of the story. If you read French, you can go to Le Figaro to read the rest.
To see the full set of staged photos, go here.
Update:
The British Journal of Photography just posted a brief write up about the story.
Posted in Photography | 17 Comments »
June 25th, 2009
Truly hard to believe and extremely heart breaking news.
(via)
Posted in Sounds | 2 Comments »
June 23rd, 2009
A woman living by herself and her pet, 1974 by Hiroh Kikai
I’m starting my own art collection, albeit a virtual one. I will virtually purchase art that I would really want to own if I had the money.
The above photograph by Hiroh Kikai is a real standout from the current exhibition he has up in New York right now and although it’s not typical of his other portrait work, I still can’t help but want to have it. In this instance I would probably splurge for one of his more traditional portraits as well.
The photograph is first and foremost a strange and somewhat mysterious portrait of woman and her pet rabbit. It’s gorgeously printed and the tonal range is just magical in the way that it gives an otherworldly feeling to the image.
Another reason I would take this photograph home is that I already have a mini collection of rabbit photographs and this would certainly make a nice addition.
Posted in Virtual Collection | 3 Comments »
June 20th, 2009
Posted in Culture | 2 Comments »