Carmel Art & Film Festival - Deadline!

I feel bad about not getting on top of this sooner, as proven by my own scrambling to get my own application in on time by the impending deadline (this one is by mail, folks and must be postmarked by September 5th).

The folks who run Artworks Magazine are putting on the first annual Carmel Art & Film Festival. There will be separate juried Art and Photography (sort of a funny distinction, but I guess we photogs have better chances that way) shows put on during the festival, with the photo show up from October 8-30th.

From the website:

Through a juried process, 50 artists will be selected for a month long exhibition at the Marjorie Evans Gallery at the Sunset Center in Carmel, California. Ten top winners from this group will be given a group show at the FARMANI Gallery, in New York City. One top winner will be featured in ARTWORKS Magazine.

Yes, Farmani as in the Lucie Awards and Photo LA. The jurors:

Hossein Farmani is the founder of the Lucie Foundation, and the The Lucie Awards recognizing excellence in photography. He also founded the International Photography Awards, Month of Photography L.A., and the non-profit Focus on AIDS Foundation, just to name a few. Hossein also owns one of the largest private collections of photography in the United States. His Marilyn Monroe collection has been a part of a traveling show that has toured the world.

Kim Weston is a third-generation member of one of the most important and creative families in photography. Weston has been a fine art photographer for 30 years specializing in large format photography. He learned his craft assisting his father, Cole, in the darkroom making gallery prints from his grandfather’s (Edward Weston) original negatives. Kim and his wife, Gina, often share their passion, artistry and unique photographic vision at workshops held at Edward Weston’s former home.

Bruce Haley is the recipient of the Robert Capa Gold Medal, one of the most prestigious photography awards in the world. Haley received this honor for his coverage of Burma‘s bloody ethnic civil war. He was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize by the Baltimore Sun, for helping to break the story of the famine in Somalia. His clients include Time, Life, U.S. News and World Report, The London Sunday Times Magazine, Stern, Paris Match, GEO, Aperture, Esquire.

Off topic

Really interesting series of shots of mold on bread (Yes, I thought the same thing) by Martin Scott-Jupp over at Deep Sleep Magazine. Submissions for their next issue, Dance, are due by Sept. 1st.

Random thought

Why does it seem that every Tom, Dick and Harry has photographed David Lynch? Is he the most accessible celebrity around?

Feature - Corey Seeholzer

Continuing the features of local photographers, I present the work of Corey Seeholzer. I first learned of Corey at a charity auction at Smashbox where he had the astronaut print donated. It was gorgeous.

August drought

Things are pretty quiet on the good photo event front these days. Too bad it doesn't feel like August out there. Where did summer go?

I just saw this gem is coming to the Getty in September though:

Irving Penn: Small Trades

September 9, 2009–January 10, 2010

Working in Paris, London, and New York in the early 1950s, photographer Irving Penn (American, born 1917) created masterful representations of skilled tradespeople dressed in work clothes and carrying the tools of their trade. A neutral backdrop and natural light provided a stage on which his subjects could present themselves with dignity and pride. Penn revisited his Small Trades series over many decades, producing evermore-exacting prints, including platinum enlargements. In 2008 the Getty acquired the most comprehensive group of these images, carefully selected by the photographer—155 gelatin silver prints and 97 platinum prints—which will be exhibited in their entirety for the first time.

Artist Statement - Sally Mann

Joerg posted works from Sally Mann's new series with her artist statement broken up between the images. It is one hell of an artist statement. I'm not sure whether she intended for it to be presented in this way - between the images, between those specific images, etc. (though I think so) but it really works. I've never seen the presentation of text in between photos work so well except in the case of Mr. Toledano's Days With My Father.

Opening - Katie Shapiro

Katie Shapiro, who I featured before is having an opening of her show at Azucar Gallery Saturday from 7-10pm.

Mathew Scott - Venice

I previously featured the work of Mathew Scott but wanted to showcase work from his new series, Venice, obviously shot along Venice beach. Not only is the project a lovely portrayal of Los Angeles beach culture, which hits close to home, I know how hard it is to get exposure for a project once you've done all the work and lived and breathed it.

As always, be sure to click images for larger views.

LACMA has a new Photography (etc.) Curator

Britt Salvesen has been named as Charlotte Cotton's succesor at LACMA and will start in October. She will be the new Department Head and Curator of the Wallis Annenberg Department of Photography, and the Department Head and Curator of the Prints and Drawings.

Now, what exactly Prints & Drawings has to do with Photography is a mystery to me, other than they are both on paper?

Maybe in these tough economic times we should just fire the Middle Eastern Art Curator and have the Latin American Curator handle both - you know, to save money...

Britt comes to LACMA from the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona, where she served as Director and Chief Curator.

Feature - Aaron Ruell

Originally from Fresno and now living in Los Angeles, Aaron Ruell is a man of many talents but I'll focus on those he employs as a photographer.

Quote of the Week - Mark Wrigley

“Writing about photographs is a risk. The first sign of a good photograph is that it makes you want to say something about it. The second sign is that it makes whatever you say seem inadequate. The best photographs entice commentary then demean it, stimulating reaction and then cutting it off, producing noise only to extinguish it. The image actively silences the viewer.”

—Mark Wrigley

I don't know who this Mark Wrigley fellow is but I found this over on but does it float via Rachel Hullin

Lynsey Addario is one hell of a photographer

And she's got some cojones working as a female photojournalist in Afganistan and Pakistan. She talks about what that's like on an audio slideshow over on Lens blog and also shot the cover of this week's NYT mag.

Be sure to visit her site.

Weekend Reading - Robert Adams

Copyright Robert Adams

This interview with Robert Adams posted over on PhotoEphemera is absolutely beautiful. Trust me when I say you'll be glad you read it (you'll need to scroll down a bit).

Have a great weekend!

Feature - Nicole Lloyd

I met local photographer Nicole Lloyd over the weekend while grabbing some beers with other photographers. She had her portfolio with her and I was struck by the quality of her prints (she knows what she's doing), her consistent color palette, and the fact that they were spray mounted on matte boards , which I liked more than presenting loose prints for presentation. Images are from her Places Like Home series. As usual, click each to view larger.

Quote of the week x2 - Danny Lyon

The sign at the entrance to my gym locker room says “no cell phones please, cell phones are cameras.” They are not. A camera is a Nikon or a Leica or Rollieflex and when you strike someone with one,--- that is take your camera and use it as a weapon, they know they have been hit with something substantial.

- Danny Lyon, from a piece over on American Suburb X