Are we still doing these? And did we belated-April-Fools you? We're still excited about Instagram, and we're still excited about photographers using the "platform" to make meaningful work that breaks the clichés of so many best-of lists. These fourteen photographers and "photo-based-artists" have spent week-long residencies with us since the beginning of the year and continue to inspire us daily, on and off Instagram. So spend a few minutes, familiarize yourself with their work, and give them a follow. If you'd like to be considered for a Humble IG takeover, details are HERE.

PostedApril 12, 2017

AuthorJon Feinstein

CategoriesArtists, Galleries

TagsTatum Shaw, Amak Mahmoodian, Serrah Russell, Barr Faber, Chris Maggio, Henrik Hansen, Joe Lingemann, Katie Riep, Maela Ohana, Christopher Hutchinson, Pietro Cocco, Patrick Gookin

Surface Relations, a new photobook by Patrick Gookin turns Los Angeles' clichés into low-fi dreamscapes. Isolation in sunlight, failed ambitions, smoggy strip malls, commuters trapped in their cars, and billboards juxtaposed with sulking trees provide a pastiche of ongoing trepidation. Using various i-Phones, often shooting from the safety of his car, Gookin photographs anonymously as he passes through, his frame tangled, at times out of focus, nodding equally to the influence Lee Friedlander, as to the ever-present Google-cam. I've been drawn to Gookin's work since including it in Humble's 2014 online exhibition Tough Turf: New Directions in Street Photography, and have been following its evolution since. I recently spoke with Gookin about his book, LA car culture, and a hint of existential relationships. PS - for our friends in Brooklyn, NY, Gookin will be having a book signing and one-day exhibition at Sunday Takeout, this Sat, April 1st from 1-5pm.

PostedMarch 30, 2017

AuthorJon Feinstein

Tagsiphoneography, Street Photography, photobooks, Patrick Gookin, Los Angeles Photographers

We're not entirely certain whether Richard Prince's latest appropriation exercise is as radical or groundbreaking as his earlier work, or whether it's worth all the "you mad, bro?" kerfuffle as it's recently ignited among the Facebook-commenting i-literati (we prefer Sean Fader's much smarter approach late last year), though we realize he's probably having the last $100,000 laugh. But we're somewhat certain that Instagram was a one-off opportunity, and he'll quickly move on to another medium of appropriation. So these 9 photographers who generously participated in Humble's Instagram residencies over the past two months are hopefully safe. You can catch more of their inspiring work, which ranges from Shane Lavalette's use of the application as a sketchbook for future projects, to Roxana Azar and Anastasia Samoylova's experimentation with in-phone manipulation tools, by clicking thru their photos in this post.

PostedMay 26, 2015

AuthorJon Feinstein

Tagsinstagram, humble arts foundation, Richard Prince, Shane Lavalette, Michael Gaillard, Roxana Azar, Chirag Wakaskar, Ben McNutt, Cait Oppermann, Patrick Gookin, Barr Faber, Anastasia Samoylova

When Patrick Gookin moved to Los Angeles in 2010 to work as a photo editor, he faced an hour-long commute from Koreatown where he lived, to the beach neighborhood where he worked. In an effort to avoid freeway traffic and deepen his experience of LA, he began driving through city streets. As he explored this uncharted landscape he took quick iPhone photos of strangers along the way, drawn to the secrecy that shooting from his car provided, and how that seemed to clash with their presence in open, public spaces. After making and sharing these images repeatedly on Instagram for a year, Gookin started to stage the photos, working with actors and a point and shoot 35mm camera, evolving the photographs into his series LA By Car.

PostedJanuary 15, 2015

AuthorJon Feinstein

TagsStreet Photography, Los Angeles, narrative photography, Patrick Gookin, Jeff Wall, film photography

14 Photographers You Should Never Ever Follow on Instagram (Part Two)

Patrick Gookin's Low Fidelity Los Angeles

9 Photographers Richard Prince Has Not Yet Appropriated From Instagram

Patrick Gookin Photographs Los Angeles From His Car