© Akihiho Miyoshi at Out of Site — © Akihiho Miyoshi at Out of Site

Seattle isn't commonly perceived as the epicenter for cutting edge or blue chip art. Its more frequent associations (re: clichés) hang in generalizations about foggy weather (btw, it's beautiful and sunny AF right now, thanks), the growing tech boom and overzealous Seahawks fans. So last year when the Seattle Art Fair, and Out Of Sight came on the scene, not many knew what to expect -- it had been long since anyone could remember the presence of art fairs on the level of the New York City and Miami "elite." Eagerly embracing their return this weekend, we spent some time at both fairs, grabbing highlights (and bios) of our favorite photography-based work from each. Out Of Site will be up through the end of the month, and The Seattle Art Fair will be on view through Sunday, August 7th -- if you're in town, find a way to get a VIP pass and check them out.

PostedAugust 5, 2016

AuthorJon Feinstein

CategoriesGalleries, Artists

TagsSeattle Art Fair, Out Of Site Seattle, Eirik Johnson, Barbara Kasten, Joe Rudko, Max Cleary, Doug Newman, Kenyatta Hinkle, PDX Contemporary, Gallery Luisotti, New Art Photography, Contemporary Photography, art fairs, Akihiho Miosh, Ron Jude

Watermarked Painting #436544659 (Shutterstock meta), 2016 © Paul Stephenson. Originally painted by Thomas Bond Walker, 1901 (Oil on Canvas)

While print is far from dead, most notably through the recent renaissance of photobooks in the past five to ten years, it’s a safe and obvious assumption that most of our interaction with images today occurs on screens. This pixel-heavy experience is at the heart of artist Paul Stephenson’s latest exhibition Forced Collaboration which includes three recent bodies of work: Watermark Paintings, Internet Paintings, and Reflection Paintings opening August 5th at London’s StolenSpace Gallery. For each of these series, Stephenson transforms nineteenth century paintings, purchased at various auction houses, into his own by graffiti’ing them with facial recognition outlines, watermarks from tech companies like Google and Shutterstock, and other symbols of digital interference.

PostedAugust 3, 2016

AuthorJon Feinstein

TagsPaul Stephenson, Watermark, Art HIstory, appropriation, StolenSpace Gallery, new media, Pictures Generation

Rachel Sussman speaking at TED 2010. Image credit: James Duncan Davidson / TED - courtesy of Rachel Sussman

While TED is largely known for their inspiring talks on science and technology, they're also the purveyor of some of the most impactful talks on photography today. They've compiled more than 80 of these online, ranging from oohs-and-ah's inducing National Geographic work, to necessary explorations of race and inequality in America, as well as discussions of how technology impacts the way we visually process the world. We narrowed down 11 of our favorites (plus two TEDx talks) from photographers we've been following over the past few years. If you haven't seen these already, watch them below, and dive into their full list here.

PostedJuly 29, 2016

AuthorJon Feinstein

CategoriesArtists

TagsLatoya Ruby Frazier, Tanja Hollander, Eric Pickersgill, Chris Jordan, Ziyah Gafic, Aaron Huey, Fei-Fei Li, Boniface Mwangi, Rachel Sussman, Alec Soth, Angelica Dass, Taryn Simon, Stacey Baker, IO Tillett Wright, TED Talks on Photography, TED Photography Talks, Best TED Talks, New Photography

In the introductory essay to Charlotte Cotton’s 2015 anthology Photography is Magic, she argues that photography’s current “moment” has broken free from analog nostalgia in a move to use photographic tools – digital or otherwise – with a newfound sense of freedom. This “freedom,” embraced by photographers who came up under the spectre of digital-ness often rests on open and continuous experimentation. San Antonio-based photographer Charlie Kitchen’s – Standard View (2015) and Recent Work (2016) builds on this idea through a series of in-camera collages that weigh trial, errors, and tactility over highfalutin conceptualism. “After shooting my thesis with a 4x5 camera,” says Kitchen, “photography began to unravel itself and I began to dig deeper into the medium, rather than contemplating what I could shoot to convey any sort of feeling or concept.” While skeptics might see this as avoiding conceptual responsibility, it’s a practice that has allowed Kitchen, like many photographers today, to unearth photography’s many tools for expanding visual possibility.

PostedJuly 27, 2016

AuthorJon Feinstein

CategoriesArtists, Portfolio

TagsCharlie Kitchen, New Photography, Charlotte Cotton, Hannah Whitaker, Large Format Photography, In-camera collage, Dan Boardman

Photographing the everyday can be as trite as saying "A photograph is worth 1,000 words." In its worst form, the claim to "see" what others don't," or "elevate the ordinary," amounts to little more than plain, boring pictures. But when it works, it can be transcendent. Ben Alper has a unique way of transforming the banal into funny, poetic and utterly unsettling pictures. Whether it's digitally disassembling found photos or wandering through condemned houses and uncharted landscapes armed with only a really bright flash, Alper helps viewers see the world as a fragmented, noir-ish crime scene waiting to happen. His recent photobook (which you, dear readers, should buy, especially, this limited edition), A Series of Occurrences, published by his imprint Flat Space Books, follows this sense of discomfort, subjecting the landscape to intense visual scrutiny while pairing and ultimately forcing relationships between seemingly unrelated images. Think Larry Sultan and Mike Mandel's 1970's Evidence collection, but shot by a single photographer. We spoke with Ben to learn more.

PostedJuly 19, 2016

AuthorJon Feinstein

TagsBen Alper, Noir, New Photography, Photobooks, 2016 photobooks, black and white photography, Evidence, Flat Space Books

Out of Sight: Photography Highlights from Seattle's Only Legit Art Fairs

Watermarking a Masterpiece: New Paintings by Paul Stephenson

11 TED Talks (plus 2 TEDx Talks) about Photography To Watch This Weekend

Charlie Kitchen and the Magic of Experimentation

Ben Alper: Landscape as Crime Scene