Candice Breitz at SF MoMA

I suppose the irony is that after touring many fine famous museums in New York, and seeing many fine noteworthy things, I have not been shocked or awed until seeing a video that I stumbled upon without any expectations (this often being the way).

The stunner: a Candice Breitz video installation at SF MoMA entitled "Working Class Hero", in which John Lennon fans individually sing along with John's first solo album. Each separate video is then synched with 24 others to form a chorus of sorts, while each person maintains the sense of intimacy with the music that is so hard to convey in public. I loved this piece - go see it while you can - till dec. 20th.

http://www.candicebreitz.net/

http://www.sfmoma.org/exhibitions/395

intermission

"The larger struggle we are witnessing today . . . [is] an ecological drama where the outcome rests not only on our realization that the natural physical environment is one and the same as our bodies, but that nature itself is a form of Mind."
—Bill Viola

Yes Men create a fake/true NY Post

I had the fine luck of talking with andy brickelbaum one day and

I am a great fan of the yes men.

this morning they were up to more of their no good

And all I can say is YES

"SPECIAL EDITION" NEW YORK POST from The Yes Men on Vimeo.

New Sugimoto!

Hiroshi Sugimoto has long been one of my favorite photographers, so I'm always curious to see what he'll be up to next. The man is ingenious for his genuine consideration for the medium of photography. He experiments with how photography interacts with other elements in the world - the show at Fraenkel Gallery looks to be another advancement into this realm. To create the photos, Sugimoto sent electrical currents through sheets of film. What we see is a documentation: visual evidence of that electricity. The photos have the same timeless beauty & search for truth that I find in the Seascapes, while including a scientific curiosity of light and time that is more present in the Theater work. I'm in love.

More teaching fun

I've been teaching and teaching. Above you can see my digital two Friday night class. I suppose I should've known that anyone interested in photography enough to give up their Friday nights would be pretty great to work with. Indeed, we had a dedicated crew that was motivated, kind and interesting. In fact, all of the RayKo students have been really great. Thanks all of you - now go take more photos!

MacGyver & the Ring Light

I read about this on the Photojojo web site, which is full of slightly unique DIY photo-tips, some of which are pretty great. This has to be one of my favorites, as it's fairly simple and straightforward. In fact, I'm thinking some duct tape (folded over the bottom 1/2 of the lights, NOT touching the lens) might do the trick if the suggested velcro is just too fancy for you... Add a duct tape closure that is replaced periodically and you're done. I haven't tried this at home myself yet, but other folks have, and they all seem to be really happy with the results. If you go ahead and try it- make sure to let me know how it goes!

Goats in O

Novella Carpenter is my new hero. Her first book Farm City has recently been published - it's all about the adventures she's had while setting up an urban farm on squatted land in West Oakland. At the moment, I'm not sure what could be cooler.

I'm loving the new (non-violent) attention that Oakland is getting from this book, and I also love her stories of the wildly colorful neighborhood I once lived in. Her book is well-written and funny. She has a blog and an open-farm day next weekend on the 29th. Now I wonder why I never thought of this... well, at least someone did.

Denis Darzacq

In looking for new and interesting photos that make the basics of photography more enticing, I've stumbled upon work by french photographer Denis Darzacq. Shutter Speed has never looked sexier. Muybridge would be proud, I'm sure.

a link to some photos here

& the video, in which you can watch him creating some of these works, below.

McEvoy, Installed!

I had a wonderful weekend that included a ferry ride to the SF MOMA. My new favorite hobby is pretending to be a tourist - you should try it, it's great fun.

This tourism came to a momentary lapse when we sought out the McEvoy store at the Ferry Building. Low-and-behold, they have used some photos that I took as part of their permanent display in the store. See the olive-tree tops above the shelving? Taken by none other.

Creating files large enough was interesting - I photo-stitched 10-12 digital files to create a solid 200 ppi file. Was a fun project, great to see installed and looking so lovely. The ranch at which they grow all of their olives is tremendously gorgeous, and their olive oil is super-yummy too.

Magnum Photography Web Site

(photo: Brian Ulrich, Magnum)
It is not possible to consider the history of photography without mentioning the Magnum group of photographers, a cooperative of many of the most successful documentary photographers in the world. Established in 1947 and still going very strong today, you can meander through an amazing array of images if you've got the time:
Magnum Photography Web Site

A nice aspect to the site is a listing of updated photography contests and awards that you can apply for. A good way to stay motivated and to get your work out there. This is a big one, due Sept 30th (perfect timing!)
Magnum Expression (Documentary Photography) Award

Eggleston Movie

This very cool documentary on William Eggleston is now free to watch online!
Very exciting, this is the real deal- it's over an hour long, so grab a seat & some popcorn and get to know Eggleston more personally.

Bright lights

Here's to another wonderful evening at Yerba Buena! Colder than it looked, but beautiful none the less. Students took great shots and some even got in trouble with the security at the Jewish Museum!

The image above was shot at 1/2 sec. at f4, iso 400. The amazingly portable "elbows-planted" stabilization system as well as an IS lens for sharpness. All on my new & amazing 5dmark2. Below you will see the amazing part - even this detail is shown slightly below 100% of resolution. Keep those Mega-pixels coming! never enough as far as I'm concerned....

Frank!

I am lucky enough to have had the opportunity to both learn and mull over the story that is photo history. An image's relevance modifies with time - some work that once appeared remarkable now seems dated or overly-stylized. Other work that once seemed remote and irrelevant now appears intuitive, personal, and delightful. All things change when looked at through the lens of time.

Throughout my years of enjoying and considering photos, Robert Frank has been remarkable from beginning to end. His imagery is beautiful yet cutting, composed while remaining emotionally involved. He poured his intensity and his questions into his images. I can feel this while looking at a reproduction, to the point of them being too much too see at times. They are raw and open, and for this I love them. Above is one of my favorites photos ever. 

The good news is that SFMoMA must agree with me, as they have begun a Frank retrospective! This includes the many (hard to find) movies that Frank made as well as original prints from the Americas. Go Go Go! I will be there too.

Went to alabama and got me some mojo dust

Nobody kicks ass like nina simone. 

This clip is short, & sweet. 

Larry Fink is coming to town

My professor from Bard will be here this weekend and will be lecturing as well as teaching via the graduate school of journalism at UC Berkeley. This is pretty exciting news as Larry must be one of the most completely unique, shockingly fun and yet somehow still professional people i've yet gotten to know. And now you can meet him yourself-- he's lecturing this friday night and then teaching a seminar all weekend. Both events are guaranteed to be wonderful, you should go. Click here for more details. 

Pride Parade

 

One of the weekend intensive classes managed to align itself perfectly with the pride parade. It was a perfect opportunity to get outside and take some pictures. This one I was particularly proud of. 

Monster Drawing Rally & Me

I will be drawing for the first time this year in the Monster Drawing Rally at Southern Exposure. 

Will I make some freeway drawings or something else? Honestly, I'm not quite sure... but come on down to stand and watch as many talented artist draw and draw-

This Friday, Feb 27th. 6-9 (I'll be on from 7-8pm) @ the Verdi Club 2424 Mariposa Street, SF. $5/donation.

See you then!

Inauguration

I was not one of the many, many fine folk who dropped everything to get to DC for this fine occasion. But I will say that Zaya's school really did a wonderful job of making the day an exciting one. What could be better? I got to watch this fine moment actually happen (shock & awe) with my daughter's class of 3rd graders here in Oakland. All were encouraged to wear special obama-gear (that is, if you were in the mood). You know I was. 

Mundane question of my reality: Recycling

I was at some friends house last night for a nice dinner and good times and all is relatively well in my small world, which is something of a treat. 

This, however, is not the subject of said writing.

 While at the friends home, the mundane but relatively important subject of what exactly one can or cannot recycle came up. This dinner was in Berkeley & all these kind folks were really going the extra mile to have almost nothing end up in the garbage, which is great, although perhaps a slightly myopic remedy to a larger problem. Still, I'm curious about the facts and what goes on beyond the amazing big trucks with their bionic arms that come to our house once a week- so this morning I set out to do some basic research on my big question: are those tetra-pak things really recyclable and/or compostable? 

Back when I worked on a farm one of the things we did with the kids was to slowly disassemble a juice box - basically they are made from thin layers of paper, plastic, and aluminum... and basically this is why they are trouble for both recycling and composting.

So for those of you who also are also curious about this kind of stuff, I found a well-written & Oakland-oriented blog article which answered pretty much all my questions. As well as a plethora of other blogs focused on such issues. Unfortunately, despite the ten years that have gone by, the tetra-pak things are still trouble. (refer to #10 on her list for more details...) And of course, the UK is a few steps ahead of us on this one.

Here's a happy image of the japanese recycling chain just to brighten your day...

That time of year

For those of you who don't know, once a year the wonderful Blankspace Gallery puts on a gift / art show. 

Not only are there a bunch of cool handmade unique gifts for sale at the show just in time for this holiday gift-giving season (including some made by yours truly), but in addition it is just a generally great place to see. 

The gallery is open F, S, S, from 12-7 up till christmas. And in case you missed the first one, there is another fun party coming up on sunday the 14th- So all should proceed at full speed. If you are really lucky, you may even be able to have your picture taken with a bearded hot-dog or two.

Hot Damn! Things really are looking up

Well it turns out this truly is a most terribly fabulous world after all.

I'm still trying to get used to the fact that our country actually voted in a seemingly dreamy president that I personally am in total awe of. Despite this craze in the economy, things are looking bright. A brilliant & well balanced man is about to be officially inauguratedto run this gigantic country of ours and here I stand in a state of wonder and excitement and plain old this-must-be-too-good-to-be-true disbelief.  

But thats not all!  There is word from up high that things have suddenly gotten much, much, much better. According to the NYT (always my favorite reference point) it appears that we've suddenly had even more wonderful news. Overnight (literally) we've managed to end the Iraq War, indict Bush for high treason, repeal the Patriot Act, pass a national health insurance act, expand the NY city bike path system, pass a maximum wage law, while the United Nations passed a weapons ban and nationalized oil has decided to fund climate change efforts. 

& just in time for the holidays.

For validation of these amazing facts, check out this fine web site here. This web site is thorough and wonderful and worth checking out for the adds alone- so go! 

Brought to you, it is believed, by my very favorite pranksters The Yes Men.

And if you haven't yet, you should most definitely watch the movie.

Palin's impressive generosity

Below is a e-mail I received yesterday inside of which there is another e-mail. I attach all this as it is funny and worth reading and in my opinion, a truly brilliant idea.

****

Did you see this Daily show bit on "another word for
decision.. Help me here... It rhymes with voice."
http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=184097&title=Bristol-Palin's-Choice
Love, Sarah

***
Dear Friends:
We may have thought we wanted a woman on a national political
ticket, but the joke has really been on us, hasn't it?
Since Palin gave her speech accepting the Republican nomination for
the Vice Presidency, Barack Obama's campaign has raised over $10
million dollars. Some of you may already be supporting the Obama
campaign financially; others of you may still be recovering from
the primaries. None of you, however, can be happy with Palin's
selection, especially on her positions on women's issues. So, if
you'd like to make your opinion known, may I suggest the following
fiendishly brilliant idea?
** Make a $5 minimum donation to Planned Parenthood. In Sarah Palin's name! **
A Planned Parenthood donation is tax deductible.
And here's the good part: when you make a donation to PP in her
name, they'll send her a card telling her that the donation has been
made in her honor.
Here's the link to the Planned Parenthood
website: https://secure.ga0.org/02/pp10000_inhonor
You'll need to fill in the address to let PP know where to send
the 'in Sarah Palin's honor' card.
Use the address for the McCain campaign headquarters:

McCain for President/Sarah Palin
1235 S. Clark Street
1st Floor
Arlington, VA 22202

Feel free to send this along to all your women friends
as well as your men friends and urge them to do the same.
Thanks.
. . . . . . . . . .
Rebecca S. Neimark
rebecca@twentysixletters.com
**
One more thing to add in case you haven't seen this yet:
http://womenagainstsarahpalin.blogspot.com/

Charlies Angels but with cameras

This past weekend I taught an "intensive" version of the digital photo 2 over at Rayko. Sure enough, it was one of the most knowledgeable and silly groups I've ever worked with...
(& they took good photos, too)

Some writing

I've always loved the photos of Henri Cartier-Bresson. What's not to like, they have an amazing ease and sense of balance. Did he create or discover his decisive moments? Like all masters, he makes the nearly impossible look easy.
Still, I was happily surprised by this short introduction he wrote in his own book: The Mind's Eye (Aperture). Without further ado...

Photography has not changed in it's origin except in its technical aspects, which for me are not a major concern.
Photography appears to be an easy activity; in fact it is a varied and ambiguous process in which the only common denominator among its practitioners is their instrument. What emerges from this recording machine does not escape the economic constraints of a world of waste, of tensions that become increasingly intense, and of insane ecological consequences.
"Manufactured" or staged photography does not concern me. And if I make a judgement it can only be on a psychological or sociological level. There are those who take photographs arranged beforehand and those who go out to discover the image and seize it. For me the camera is a sketch book, an instrument of intuition and spontaneity, the master of the instant which, in visual terms, questions and decides simultaneously. In order to "give a meaning" to the world, one has to feel oneself involved in what one frames through the viewfinder. This attitude requires concentration, a discipline of mind, sensitivity, and a sense of geometry - it is by great economy of means that one arrives at simplicity of expression. One must always take photographs with the greatest respect for the subject and for oneself.

To take photographs is to hold one's breath when all facilities converge in the face of fleeting reality. It is at that moment that mastering an image becomes a great physical and intellectual joy.
To take photographs means to recognize - simultaneously and within a fraction of a second - both the fact itself and the rigorous organization of visually perceived forms that give it meaning. It is putting one's head, one's eye, and one's heart on the same axis.
As far as I am concerned, taking photographs is a means of understanding which cannot be separated from other means of visual expression. It is a way of shouting, of freeing oneself, not of proving or asserting one's originality. It is a way of life.
Anarchy is an ethic.
Buddhism is neither a religion nor a philosophy, but a medium that consists in controlling the spirit in order to attain harmony and, through compassion, to offer it to others.
- Henri Cartier-Bresson, 1976

Ice Cream Truck Movie?

So we are house sitting at this wonderful home on the Mills campus. We are lucky there are many great movies here to watch, and crazy good music to listen to, and some good foreign liquor to try... But somehow this has all gotten me thinking about a movie that I saw long long ago. In it there was an ice cream truck- kindof a crazy one that was following around this guy or something... and I'd really like to see this movie again. I just looked it's not by wim wenders but, well, it is strange. It's not was probably made in the 80's. Anyone? I will say thank you.
There is also another movie- same era- A guy who is a mechanic and is released from jail- they end out talking while lying on the kitchen floor. Perfect dialogue.
Let the internet give me knowledge. & thanks.