Stories and interviews — Humble Arts Foundation

Photo: Isabella Stahl // @isabella.stahl

Every year around this time, Instagram is flooded with photos of spiderwebs. Why are we so compelled to photograph their uniquely intricate designs? And beyond the “oohs and ah’s,” what metaphors can we find in their meticulously abstract threads?

In true Halloween-photo-roundup form, we asked some of our favorite photographers on Instagram and beyond to share their spiderweb photos with us. We encourage you to follow them and dig deeper into their work. Oh, and follow us too, if you aren’t already.

We’ve also included a special trick/treat in the mix – an absurd vintage vernacular snapshot from the collection of Robert E. Jackson. See if you can find it.

Happy Halloween!

PostedOctober 29, 2018

AuthorEditors

CategoriesGalleries

Tagsspider webs, spider web photos, halloween photos, nature photography

In Honor of Syrian Refugees © Azin Seraj

Azin Seraj is an Iranian-Canadian artist currently based in northern California. Her research-based practice – driven by video, photography, and lush installations that combine visual and sonic elements – addresses socio-political concerns through a transnational lens.

In mid-2018, I collaborated with San Francisco-based curator and educator Dr. Kathy Zarur to include Seraj’s project Concurrency in the our exhibition Betweenscapes. Zarur and I spoke with Seraj about her work and social practice methodologies that help support communities and activist networks as they strive for concrete change.

Roula Seikaly and Dr. Kathy Zarur in conversation with Azin Seraj

PostedOctober 25, 2018

AuthorRoula Seikaly

CategoriesArtists, Galleries, Exhibitions, Portfolio

TagsJamala al-Baidhani Madeeha Al Musawi Asma Jahangir Farkhunda Malikzada Naji al Jerf Ahed Tamimi Kermanshah Earthquake Palestinian Resistance Syrian Civil War Syrian Refugees, Jamala al-Baidhani, Madeeha Al Musawi, Asma Jahangir, Farkhunda Malikzada, Naji al Jerf, Ahed Tamimi, Kermanshah Earthquake, Palestinian Resistance, Syrian Civil War, Roula Seikaly

Image Credit: Excavations. Tell Beit Mirsim, (Kirjath Sepher). Relic from Kirjath Sepher. Game pieces and dice of faience and ivory about 1600 B.C. Via Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

Numerology is a belief in the spiritual or mystical relationship between numbers and coinciding events. It’s also the study of the numerical value of letters in words, names and ideas, and can have astrological and paranormal implications.

In a culture increasingly obsessed with data and quantification, numerology takes on new meaning and possibility. For Humble’s final online exhibition of 2018, we’d love to see your photos dealing with numbers and their limitless metaphorical tangents.

Deadline: November 20, 2018
Curated by Jon Feinstein and Roula Seikaly

GUIDELINES:

PostedOctober 11, 2018

AuthorEditors

CategoriesOpen Call, Exhibitions

Tagsopen call, no fee open call, numerology, photography about numbers, Photo opportunities, Call for submissions, call for work, Jon Feinstein, Roula Seikaly

Clear Perplexities from the series “ Aqueous” © Elina Ruka

Artist’s first Philadelphia solo show examines water’s power to both attract and push away.

On October 5th, Latvian artist Elina Ruka’s solo show “Immersion” opens at Philadelphia’s Gravy Studio and Gallery, marking her first solo show in the city. The recipient of an MFA in Photography from Columbia College Chicago, Ruka uses numerous media, including photography, installation, video, and sound, to create tranquil and curious works of art. Addressing themes ranging from her impressions of the United States, her memories of Latvian life, and the never-ending mystery and mutability of water, Ruka’s art is both highly emotive beneath the smooth surface, creating an irresistible tension between what we show off and what we choose to keep hidden. Deborah Krieger speaks with the artist in advance of her opening.

Deborah Krieger in conversation with Elina Ruka

PostedOctober 5, 2018

AuthorDeborah Krieger

CategoriesExhibitions, Artists, Galleries

TagsElina Ruka, Gravy Gallery, New Photography, Photography about water, art about water, Deborah Krieger, Latvian artists, 2018 photography exhibitions

© Lauren Silberman. From the series The Opposite of Salt

Lauren Silberman has been photographing communities and subcultures in New York City, its outer boroughs, and across the United States for nearly two decades. While technically “documentary,” her work is full of narrative and metaphor, and often is more enigmatic than the straightforward reportage one might expect. I recently had the opportunity to dig into her work when selecting her as a finalist for the juried exhibition American Splendour at New York City’s Iloni Art Gallery this past summer.

Her latest series, The Opposite of Salt is Water, which opens this Friday at Calico Brooklyn in Brooklyn, NY pushes this further, with a new sense of magical ambiguity. Photographing in Amboy, an unincorporated community in San Bernardino County, in California's Mojave Desert, Silberman uses images from the region to represent symbols of ideology and mythology associated with the evolution of the American dream.

In advance of her new exhibition, I emailed Silberman to learn more about her work.

Jon Feinstein in conversation with Lauren Silberman

PostedSeptember 27, 2018

AuthorJon Feinstein

CategoriesArtists, Exhibitions, Portfolio

TagsLauren Silberman, Black Label Bicycle Club, documentary photography, New York City Photographers, afterparty photography, interviews with photographers

A Whole Bunch of Spiderweb Photos Because: Halloween.

Legal Tenders: Artist Azin Seraj Looks at the Imagery and Iconography of Bank Notes with A Critical Lens

Open Call – Group Show #59: Numerology

Elina Ruka Photographs the Mystery and Mutability of Water

Lauren Silberman Photographs Afterparties, Punk Rock Bike Clubs and the Mystery of the American Dream