We speak with photographer, curator, publisher and now NFT leader Kris Graves about how his new platform Quantum Art is helping artists make a living.

While many naysayers (including Wikipedia!) are convinced that the NFT market is a form of “the emperor’s new clothes,” for many artists, it’s creating new revenue streams that were previously unheard of.

At the forefront of NFT photo sales is Quantum Art, a platform led by Kris Graves, Jonas Lamis, and founder Justin Aversano (with curatorial leadership from Humble’s Roula Seikaly) who are on a mission to put money in the hands of artists who have too often seen their work used for "exposure" rather than money in their pockets.

All of Quantum's “Season 1 and 2” artist drops have sold out in twenty minutes or less, earning the artists five-figure incomes (or more!) that are deposited immediately to their virtual wallets.

I spoke with Kris Graves over Zoom to learn more about Quantum Art, the mystery behind NFTs, and how to harness this new product to help artists everywhere.

Jon Feinstein in conversation with Kris Graves

PostedJanuary 20, 2022

AuthorJon Feinstein

Categoriesinterviews, Artists, Art News

TagsNFTs, NFT, art and commerce, Quantum Art, Kris Graves, art photography, how to make a living as an artist, how to make a living as a photographer

Silver Eye launches its second annual list of remarkable photographers.

In 2021, Silver Eye Center for Photography launched a new initiative in collaboration with The Black List and Carnegie Mellon University to showcase a diverse and highly curated snapshot of photography in the eyes of 125 of today’s most esteemed nonprofit photography curators, scholars, publishers and critics.

Innovating on the traditional format and methodology of “best of” lists, the organizers asked a wide swath of the photography community to share up to ten photographers who showed wow or promise over the past year – photographers who are not only creating inspiring or of-the-moment work, but truly believe have career longevity. The final list of 47 "shows the thoughts of a professional community who cares deeply about contemporary photography."

Upon the announcement of the 2022 edition, I spoke with Oresick to learn more about the Silver List, its mission, and this year's selected photographers.

Jon Feinstein in conversation with Silver Eye’s David Oresick

PostedJanuary 6, 2022

AuthorJon Feinstein

CategoriesArt News, interviews

TagsSilver Eye Center For Photography, Silver List, photographers to watch, best photographers of 2021, contemporary photography, David Oresick, The Black List, new photography

Localhost promises a new strategy to the often out-of-reach artist residency

The concept of the artist residency is nothing new – an opportunity to focus one’s time on making work, trying new ideas, and often connecting with other artists. While not necessarily closing off from the rest of the world, it can be a time to free one’s self of other obligations and focus on craft, ideas, and creative breath.

But many residencies are highly competitive, have lengthy (and costly) submission details, require travel and life pauses that not everyone has the luxury of making. And the pandemic can feel like an obstacle for many artists to engage in the traditional sense. Enter Localhost - a new way of thinking about the artist residency – one that has more inclusive possibilities, and, in founder Drew Nikonowicz’ words, “comes to you….”

There’s no submission fee, no travel requirement, and each artist is paid a $125 stipend to participate.

Less than two weeks shy of the open call deadline, I spoke with Nikonowicz to learn more about the ideas behind it, some exciting work that came from the 2021 cohort, and why now, more than ever before, is the time to apply. We’ve also included some highlights from the 2021 cohort to give you a sense of the creative possibilities.

Get on it and submit today, folks!

Jon Feinstein in conversation with Drew Nikonowicz

PostedDecember 21, 2021

AuthorJon Feinstein

CategoriesOpen Call, interviews

Tagsartist residencies, artist opportunities, deadlines approaching, Localhost, Drew Nikonowicz, no-fee open calls

Out on the Range, January © Michael Young. From his series *Hidden Glances*.

Michael Young disassembles gay calendars as a metaphor for his closeted years.

Michael Young’s “Hidden Glances” is a series of handmade cutouts from erotic gay calendars spanning the time he hit puberty until the day he came out, collaged and reimagined. Young overlays images to compress time and space – years he sees as a void of hiding in plain sight.

The resulting images (even those rendered in black and white) are bright and colorful, contrastingly balancing joy, fear, and a memorial to time lost. They swell and sweat eroticism and desire, hanging with regret for the time he could not publicly acknowledge his true self.

“When I wanted to look at guys,” Young writes, “I could only risk taking quick glimpses because I was afraid that my gaze would linger too long and expose my homosexuality.”

We're proud to include Young among 10 artists Humble is spotlighting as jurors for Photolucida's 2021 Critical Mass. Roula Seikaly and I selected work we find truly remarkable in vision and concept, and Young is a shining star among many talented artists. For a limited time, Klompching Gallery is offering a super affordable edition of Young's work HERE. Get one before Gagosian snaps him up!

I spoke with Young to learn more about his work, his evolution as an artist, and his use of “reverse collage” as a powerful metaphor.

Jon Feinstein in conversation with Michael Young

PostedDecember 14, 2021

AuthorJon Feinstein

CategoriesGalleries, Artists, interviews

Tags"reverse collage", new photography, photography is magic, post-photography, Michael Young, reverse glances, photography about coming out, art about coming out, process-based photography, Photolucida 2021, photolucida top 50, photolucida critical mass, best photography of 2021, photolucida2021HAFtop10

Ross Mantle's Cryptic New Photobook Keeps Us Looking

There are often photos that elicit creative envy. The kind of photo with the punch and punctum to pull you in at first tug, but with enough grace to keep you looking and looking again. And to wish you’d taken it yourself. This photo above, with its gaping mix of absence and resolution resonates this way for me. It's one small piece of Misplaced Fortunes, Ross Mantle’s new book of photographs that feel like a magically convoluted puzzle.

Published by Sleeper Studio, Mantle’s first monograph is a meandering collection of visual clues with no clear solution. A found sculpture of a golden ear. Various references to holes - both literal and metaphoric. Anonymous gravestones leaning and waiting for repair. Bodies emerging from the woods. Faces obscured by sweatshirts or wisps of hair. Hints to treasures never to be found – riddles we might never decode.

I corresponded with Mantle to learn more about his mysterious new book.

Jon Feinstein in conversation with Ross Mantle

PostedDecember 2, 2021

AuthorJon Feinstein

Categoriesinterviews, Photobooks, Portfolio

TagsRoss Mantle, Sleeper Studio, new photography, contemporary photography, 2021 photobooks, best photobooks of 2021

WTF, NFT? How The Business Model People Love to Hate is Putting More Money in Photographers Pockets Than Ever Imagined

The Silver List: An Annual Photographic Survey Gives a New Take on "Photographers To Watch"

An Experimental Residency Every Artist Should Apply For Before The Year Ends...

A Photographer Finds His Voice Through Bold "Reverse-Collages" About Coming Out

A Photographic Treasure Hunt With No End In Sight