Contemporary exhibits

[hatley]

Anyone up on some of the contemporary exhibits in street photography? I'm

interested to see the direction of what museums and the like are buying from

stuff shot in the last few years, whether it be dubbed "documentary" or whatever

- but street work. 9/11 pieces aside.

 

Anyone got their eye on a particular artist? I believe a couple of the folks at

http://www.in-public.com/ have been in shows.

 

Cheers.

[Spearhead]

From what I've seen, museums are mostly buying recent work that would be classified as "post-modern" and not street. Some documentary work too, but not street. There are some shows for people who have been around for a while doing street work, but not much new.<p>

 

I think there's good reason for this. Museums are interested in either war horses (old chestnuts, whatever you want to call them) or new stuff that is pushing the boundaries. Most street stuff isn't pushing the boundaries. Don't forget that when Diane Arbus was first shown in a museum, it was so radical that it got damaged by viewers.<p>

 

If I was going out to a museum, I would rather see something new like <a href="http://www.thefrasergallery.com/artists/CirenaicaMoreira-resume.html">Cirenaica Moreira</A> (nudity warning) rather than more of the same old street stuff, mine included.

[fjords]

Jeff, thanks for the link. For a treat; look at Frida Kahlo's work first, then follow it with

Cirenaica Moreira.

[bljkasfdljkasfdljskfa]

"If I was going out to a museum, I would rather see something new like Cirenaica Moreira (nudity warning) rather than more of the same old street stuff, mine included."

 

I find stuff like that rather pretentious and uninteresting, but that's just me. I'd rather see Yuichi Hibi and the like (I saw his show at the 309 Gallery in Philly). It's nothing new, but it's still very good. Anything that's not posed and real, please.

[hatley]

The Moreira is interesting to me - though I do wonder that it seems like a negative, or gloomy feel has been so strong for so long. Then in the last 30 years or so, what with Warhol thumbing his nose at society and all the rest of it - I wish for some newly positive view to turn the page a bit more. To relay a positive outlook, without smiling faces, children, blue skies, imitating either Ansel or Monet, and avoiding the cliches of the day. Tough stuff it seems like and still maintain the gravitas people expect in a museum maybe.

[beatrice_flowers]

Yet another self-obsessed Francesca Woodman all over again once more, but now with added layers of Cornell-box-type retro-kitsch. To each his own, but I'd want a ticket refund.

[bljkasfdljkasfdljskfa]

So does anyone know new street photographers that do push the boundaries?

<p>

I know some that definitely have a style of their own, but I am not sure if they are pushing boundaries. BTW, I find Gary Stochl's work quite original and striking, even though he isn't new, just recently discovered.

<p>

I like my friend's work as well, but I don't think it's anything <a href="http://pryingopen.photosight.ru/"> radical </a>

[hatley]

Well I asked this same question Dan privately to a member here who runs a gallery, and to a painter friend who shows a lot and keeps his eye on photography. All the names I got from them, none of them were street photos - in fact both gave me the name Richard Misrach (http://www.edelmangallery.com/misrach.htm) , which, to my eye is some boring stuff that tells me the critics are a step or two behind the times. Just my opinion, but it seems like fine arts photography is so tied to the hip to large/medium format photography that street stuff (with its fast nature) doesn't get much of a space.

 

Makes a person want to go try out large format photography and haul the big thing around the streets.

[bljkasfdljkasfdljskfa]

"All the names I got from them, none of them were street photos"

 

Yes, but I am interested in street, and not specifically the opinion of curators.

 

Furthermore, the format doesn't mean anything.

[Spearhead]

Misrach is a pretty odd response...

 

I think you will see more new street photography in magazines than in galleries, street photographs don't sell well except for "vintage prints" and a few big names. You might check out Hamburger Eyes for some good stuff in a magazine, and sometimes Nueva Luz runs street photos.

 

Some photographers with street connections that occasionally turn up in galleries and museums include Beat Streuli and Miguel Rio Branco. Rio Branco (a great photographer whether on the street or not) is in the Groninger Museum in Holland, but it doesn't sound like you're there.

[hatley]

"Furthermore, the format doesn't mean anything."

 

Is that true? I mean, I'm just not sure that digital is going to be on level with chemical in the next 20 years in some minds. Maybe its the stuff I'm seeing and my city is behind the times, but I just don't see it commanding the respect in practice that chemical does. And for the wall, medium and large format sure makes better enlargements than 35mm no?

 

I just think curators respect medium and large format chemical process more, maybe I'm totally off base.

[bljkasfdljkasfdljskfa]

I doubt competent curators really care about the format. What gallery owners and curators care about is photographs (or the money to be made with them). The format of the negative or technology choice, really only matters to photographers, not the people that buy prints.

[bljkasfdljkasfdljskfa]

Welp, I guess we can't expect to make sales with street unless we've become known and vintage. Look forward! Which was true back in the day as well, it's just that it really takes more than either Stochl's or Winogrand's or Arbus's energy or mental disease, and if you are lucky you can support the fun by sales. It's not about money.

[hatley]

<i>"The format of the negative or technology choice, really only matters to photographers, <b>not the people that buy prints</b>."</i>

 

I agree with that - but I think it makes a difference to the people who <i>exhibit</i> prints. I base this off the caption and accompanying information I've seen at exhibits, but I'm sure I don't get the 10,000 foot view as I don't travel as much as I'd like.

 

And my point really is, if thats the case - then it would stand to reason that as the majority of street photography is done with 35mm and digital cameras, that thats why you see the genre mainly online and in esoteric magazines aimed at the same folks making the art. So the bourgeois art purchasers see more landscapes and surreal studio stuff (and I'm talking about art in the say 2 thousand dollar range and up), as its much more condusive to the larger formats - but its only a hypothesis, definitely not an assertion.

 

Cheers.

[Spearhead]

People buy "landscapes and surreal studio stuff" because it's soothing and matches the furniture or the view. They buy vintage photography because it's familiar or prestigious. They buy abstract stuff because it goes with anything. They buy studio nudes because it gives an air of sex and sophistication. They don't buy street stuff because it doesn't fit the normal decorating considerations.

 

This is all a bit generalized, but it's pretty much the way it is. A great documentary photographer with several books, one published by Aperture, told me he was lucky to sell three prints a year. And he has had exhibitions, is in museums, etc.

[john sypal]

Tokyo is where it is at-

You probably could not get to all the photo exhibitions that are on at any one time in one

day. The galleries are small but the work is usually pretty interesting, most of which

would be considered "street" or documentary at least. The Nikon gallery hosts free

portfolio reviews with well known photographers and sometimes there is some really great

work laid out on the tables there.

Bookstores carry photo books galore, and there are 3 major camera/photo magazines

(Asahi Camera, Nippon Camera, Photo Contest) that are over 400 pages apiece, not

counting all the magazines aimed at the young 16-30 japanese girl market (Phat Photo,

Life with Camera, etc)- but none of that would mean anything if you did not see people

out actually taking pictures- which, you do all the time in Tokyo. It is a rare Saturday when

I don't see at least 2 leicas being shot on the street, and I have never had a day where I did

not see any less than a dozen D70s on people's shoulders. The Harajuku area is full of

people with cameras (all taking the same 80mm f1.4 goth kid head shot) but you can find

lots of people working the streets in Shinjuku or anywhere else.

 

On photo.net it seems that the only Japanese photographer anyone knows is Moriyama

(who has a huge following here in Japan- and more copycats than are needed. They are

even called "Moriyama's Children"). There are lots of great Japanese street photographers

that are terribly underrated in the western world: Hiromi Tsuchida (His book "ZOKUSHIN"

Blew me away), Kimura Ihee (The GOD of Japanese street photo), Seiji Kurata and

Kanemura Osamu (from the same "school" as Moriyama), Suda Issei, Onishi Mitsugu... the

list goes on.

 

If you get a chance, a trip to Tokyo might do wonders for opening up your photographic

vision.

[bljkasfdljkasfdljskfa]

Wow, thanks a lot for that info Jonh. Just shows just how isolated this country is I guess.

[john sypal]

Of course the other thing is that Tokyo is so dense, and Japan is so Tokyo-centric in terms

of culture- I think the greater metro area is something like 12 million people? That is like

combining all of New York City and LA. If you did that, like Tokyo you would have many

small independent galleries in which to see current photographic work. (for fun imagine

NY(541sq miles) and LA (393sq miles) together crammed into 239 square miles- about the

size of Detroit!)

 

So it is easy for folks with like-minded interests to feed off of each other the way they do

here because people run into each other (sometimes literally- one of the guys in my

Camera Club when I was at a University in Japan honestly hit Araki while he was on his

bike. Araki was taking a picture when my friend came around the corner...).

One other thing though about galleries- the artist has to rent the space to show their

work. This plain sucks. Except for the camera maker galleries (Nikon, Pentax, Epson(!) and

so on) you can expect to have to pay a lot. I know a place near shinjuku, Gallery Roonee,

that is something like 1000 dollars a week to rent. The supply (gallery space) can't

handle the demand (all the photographers who want to show their work), But if I wanted to

show my pictures in Lincoln Nebraska in a coffee shop or gallery, that would be a lot easier

(and free) to get set up.

 

Isolationism is an interesting point. My photographic education focused on European and

American photograpy, but Japan has all these really great photographers from way back-

as I am sure that many other countries do too. How many Greek photographers do you

know? Peruvian? African? The internet helps but for the most part the work that you can

see is filtered by the know-how of people who make the effort to put their work online.

There are no doubt many more people out there making interesting photographs who just

don't have the access to (or want to) put them on the web.

[bljkasfdljkasfdljskfa]

<i>"Isolationism is an interesting point. My photographic education focused on European and American photograpy, but Japan has all these really great photographers from way back- as I am sure that many other countries do too."</i>

<p>

I know some Russians. Some are very good photographers. They're on <a href="http://www.photosight.ru">photosight</a>

[hatley]

<i>"Of course the other thing is that Tokyo is so dense, and Japan is so Tokyo-centric in terms of culture- I think the greater metro area is something like 12 million people? That is like combining all of New York City and LA. If you did that, like Tokyo you would have many small independent galleries in which to see current photographic work. (for fun imagine NY(541sq miles) and LA (393sq miles) together crammed into 239 square miles- about the size of Detroit!)"</i>

<br><br>

Its just boggling. In Houston, our population is around 2million. In 600 sq miles. Its frightening almost how crowded Tokyo has to be. Definitely a must experience, its been on my todo list far too long.

<br><br>

<i>"There are no doubt many more people out there making interesting photographs who just don't have the access to (or want to) put them on the web.</i>

<br><br>

Seriously. I tried finding some of the folks on your list that were new to me and my google skills either left something to be desired or a bunch of them are very Japan oriented so far. I wonder what all the billions of folks in China are up to, India - etc.

 

<br><br>

http://www.skjstudio.com/russian/

<br>A few Russian photographers... Khaldei and Zelma probably recognizable.<br><br>

[hatley]

<i>I know some Russians.</i>

<br><br>

 

Jinx! hehe

[Uhooru]

I found the images interesting Jeff. I liked the remarkl about Frida. I find it very surreal,

and set piece, not dissimilar to Witken, though nothing digs as deep as that at least for

me.

 

Someone asked about street photographer pushing limits? There's this fellow calls himself

Edmo...and of course Grant. UNfortunately some of the others I would consider part of

that "group" I havn't seen as much as their work though Balaji has been showing here, but

what about Takkaki etc. Dan, I think some of your stuff is pushing too. Some may think

its derivitive of Moriyama etc. (not yours I mean, bad sentence construction) but the

general look and exploration of darkness as well as light and a certain attitude and

ambience, but I sense true exploration of the edges and direction and that makes it good

in the hood for me. For me, I guess that's one think I look for in work, and often don't see

it mine, enogh, that is I luv it when you see someone get ahold of something and work it

and see where it takes them, generally, those trips are the most fertile.

[stephen_mclaren1]

To counteract any feelings of depresion and negativitiy in this thread please check out the following. Street photography is alove and well and currently thriving in Europe.

 

http://www.davidsolomons.co.uk/

http://www.pbase.com/maciekda/cardiff

http://www.waysofwalking.com/

 

 

And in-public have just re-built their website with even more quality images.