Grace © Toto Cullen
"'Beauty Undefined" explores the concept of womanhood and societal ideologies regarding beauty. This exhibition curated by Monica Watkins and Magda Love, of
Beauty for Freedom, features the works of 20 international artists. Images of female beauty vary greatly across cultures and time as does what qualifies as "beautiful" among everyday women. Beauty Undefined develops a stronger definition of beauty of the female form by introducing issues of culture and identity through the mediums of photography, illustrations, video installations, graffiti art, fine art and sculpture.
"'Beauty for Freedom' is an innovative, sustainable platform providing the industries of beauty and fashion with a means to raise awareness, accountability, and financial contributions for charitable foundations and non-profits who fight human trafficking globally. Spring 2016, Beauty for Freedom will be producing a series of art, music, photography and writing workshops in SE Asia (Project India) meant to promote self-esteem and self-expression for survivors of sex-trafficking.
The exhibition is on view March 2nd & 3rd, 2016, at 51 Orchard Street NY, NY with an opening reception March 2nd, 7-11pm.
Confection © Alison Brady
The White Dress © Tim Okamura
In this latest portfolio, Michael progresses from the melting ice creams of the first '
Transmogrify' series to play around with bubblegum, creating a similar look and evoking more memories of childhood.*
More hands-, or rather teeth-on, he chewed his way into visions of apparitions and organs, dusty curtains and sea creatures, using single pieces of gum after noticing how organic it looked when stretched and lit.
*(I personally no longer blow bubbles)
918 by Santolo Felaco
Do something funky with your photos! This cheered me up on a dull day. Thanks to Italian artist Santolo Felaco for making me happy. (You might want to turn the volume down a smidgen.)
"The office is the place where many people spend at least a third of their day; where human relationships are established, anxiety developed, and the need to escape created. This photographic project took place in an office and in outdoor spaces adjacent to it. What results is an apparent altered representation of reality because the images do not directly describe the environment but they use a metaphorical language to tell what else lurks in regard to this microworld.
Each quadtych is made up of a combination of minimal pictures that are almost like words, they are linked to each other to compose a message. One of the objectives was to leave the viewer a lot of freedom of interpretation. Many quadtychs are designed and combined to communicate something specific, maintaining a polysemantic feature. I often played on the indoor and outdoor relationship, of what I call "the escape instinct": often you want to escape as soon as possible from the workplace, sometimes even just for a break. The office and the outside world that immediately surrounds it bind almost to form a continuous space.
These and others are the issues dealt with, but I think I've already said too much, if I preferred words to pictures, I would have become a writer rather than a photographer."
"I was drawn to Red Hook with its edgy, worn landscapes, its ubiquitous rust, and the extraordinary quality of its light. Some years ago, while taking pictures there, I came upon an old barge moored in a small inlet in the harbor." And so begins
William King's story of a Brooklyn man and his barge.
"This photographic portfolio focuses on the maritime activities and maintenance performed by Captain David Sharps with the aid of friends and volunteers aboard the
Lehigh Valley barge. The story highlights float repair, spinning the barge, and barge assessment regarding dry-dock mandated by the US Coast Guard."
"The 101 year old Lehigh Valley barge is a historic landmark and working
museum. Due to the efforts and dedication of Captain David Sharps, with his many friends and volunteers, the Lehigh Valley is the last remaining example of the Hudson River Railroad barges."
This barge museum also holds music and other events. Check out their
schedule.
Nairobi-based photographer
Patricia Esteve sent in her powerful and empowering series of girls and young women who gain the strength to protect themselves at "
Boxgirls" in Nairobi. "This local association promotes boxing in areas where sexual abuse towards women and girls is very common."
"
Boxgirls International links innovative projects around the world using boxing as a catalyst for social change. The skills they learn in the ring, improve their strength and resilience, allow them to better negotiate the urban environment and advance further in their schooling, family and career."
Be sure to also check out Patricia's many other important projects,
over on her website. But watch this first!
Carlos Alomar, guitar with David Bowie since the 1970s © Leland Bobbé
Veteran New York photographer
Leland Bobbé is making a series of the unsung heroes of music - the back-up musicians. Portrayed in simple, frank, black and white portraits, it's a glimpse at the poor drummer who's never seen, and other hard-working jobbers you might vaguely recognize.
Let's give them some props!
Liberty Devitto, drummer with Billy Joel for 30 years
Lenny Kaye, guitar player with Patti Smith since the 1970s
Ricky Byrd, guitar with Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee
Gene Cornish, guitar and vocals from The Rascals, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee
Carmine Appice, father of heavy metal drumming with Vanilla Fudge. Played with Rod Stewart and Jeff Beck. Co-wrote the Rod Stewart hits, "Do You Think I'm Sexy?" and "Young Turks."
Be sure to also check out "
Half Drag," Leland's fabulous and well-loved series of half made-up drag queens.
Previous contributor and woman-with-sense-of-humour
Christine Anderson has put together a charming limited edition book called "
Wizard." It is somewhat an ode to her current, beloved mechanic (who presumably has never given her the sharp intake of breath and "that'll cost you darling/love/lady/ma'am").
I love this! See? You really don't need to stray too far from home to make a fabulous project happen.
"I love my car. I hate my car.
I hate my car. I love my car.
After 14 years and 78,000 miles my car - a green Volkswagen Beetle - is still cute despite worn seats and pitted exterior. I don't blame her for breaking down once in a while. Really, I don't. You see, I'm a sentimental person. We have bonded and mostly I like to think of her as vintage rather than old. It makes me feel better about our relationship."
"Over the years, many mechanics have serviced the car. Kal, our current mechanic, has a way of giving me bad news without making me feel bad. His manner and his expertise inspired me to create the pictures featured in Wizard. Kal is a lot like the Wizard from the Wizard of Oz story and I am perhaps a bit like Dorothy in the story. I bring my broken down car for repair and he fixes the car and sends us on our way. Dorothy, of course, sends herself home with the Ruby Slippers and eventually I will find my way to a new car. But for now I am thankful the Wizard is here keeping my car and me together.
Kal allowed me to photograph his shop during working hours, giving me access to premises, people, and auto parts. This book is a portrait of Kal's car repair shop loosely based on the Wizard of Oz story enhanced with my own creative inspirations."
Examples of the book's layout
Fabulously simple series with a strong impact!
Jeff Alu's been waiting patiently for this blog post.... thank you Jeff! According to his bio, he once spent a number of years working at the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, CA. As one does.
"The
Lucerne Valley in drought-stricken California is a unique desert location containing not only many abandoned buildings, but also a housing project/golf course site that was halted mid-construction due to funding problems."
"These shots were taken on a single visit, during a passing storm which allowed for varying lighting conditions."
Jeff Alu
According to
Wikipedia, Lucerne Valley is a census-designated place located in the Mojave Desert of western San Bernardino County, California. It lies east of the Victor Valley, whose population nexus includes Victorville, Apple Valley, Adelanto and Hesperia. The population was 5,811 at the 2010 census.
Just 15 minutes, to remind you of what's important.
Cara Barer dyes and crumples old books to create these wonderful sculptures which she then photographs. Now through February 27th, 2016, you can see Cara's prints in New York's DUMBO at the
Klompching Gallery.
"The artist's creative process includes the transformation of outdated, abandoned and obsolete books into coiled, crumpled and sculptural objects. Following this labor intensive reconfiguration, she photographs them and presents the final artworks as large-scale pigment prints - lush in color, highly detailed and impressive."
