© Serrah Russell, 2009
"I made this piece in 2009 and a friend of mine told me to hang onto it, that it would mean something in the future. I guess he was right as it sure means something to me right now."
- Serrah Russell
© Serrah Russell, 2009
"I made this piece in 2009 and a friend of mine told me to hang onto it, that it would mean something in the future. I guess he was right as it sure means something to me right now."
- Serrah Russell
King Cheeto. The Giant Orange Crayon. F-kface Von Clownstick. Angry Creamsicle. A racist clementine. The list of absurdly accurate nicknames for Donald Trump goes on, as the 2016 election has become more of a circus than ever before. A man who many thought would have no chance of making it beyond the initial republican debates has somehow garnered support from masses of Americans.
Responding to Trump's frightening buffoonery, New York City-based photographer William Miller made a series of photographs that appear to be disintegrating before our eyes. "Making fun of Donald Trump," says Miller, "is like trying to put clown makeup on the face of a clown already in full clown makeup."
To make these pictures, Miller prints a found photograph of Trump onto a sheet of clear plastic or acetate. Since the plastic can't fully absorb the ink, the colored liquid gathers and drips, distorting image, which Miller then scans with a flatbed scanner for the final print. "He's almost impossible to parody or imitate because he's an atrocity against the norms of civil behavior," adds Miller. "He lives inside the joke so his reflection could never be more absurd than its referent." To see more of Miller's work, visit his website, follow him on Instagram, or check out our recent group show: 'Roid Rage.
© Jenia Fridlyand
In 2010, the Hartford Art School launched a unique MFA program in photography, distinguished from the traditions of Yale, Columbia, SVA and Cal Arts and other photography MFA canons. It stands apart through its limited-residency structure: summer-long intensive on-campus sessions, combined with travel components in the spring and fall in cities like Berlin and New York City. Students have access to a wide range of critics and lecturers throughout the year, including Alec Soth and Lisa Kereszi.
I emailed with founder Robert Lyons, and faculty members Jörg Colberg and Michael Vahrenwald to learn more about their philosophies on photography education, and what's moving them right now. We've also included some of our favorite photographs from the 2016 graduating class.
Moola © Kevin Horan
Last week we learned the sad news that Behold, Slate's photography blog, and one of our all time favorites had posted its last piece. If the buzzword "influencer" could be used sincerely to describe a photography blog writer, it couldn't more accurately epitomize David Rosenberg, the mind behind Behold's editorial direction. We've spoken to countless photographers whose work exploded after being featured on Behold by Rosenberg and staff writers Alyssa Coppelman and Jordan Teicher, and I can personally attest to seeing my own work take off after Rosenberg wrote about it. I'll never forget the knee-shaking feeling of receiving a call from Fox News asking to interview me after reading his piece. So I reached out to David to learn more about what drives his love for photography, and a bit about what's in store for the future. We've also included some of our favorite photographs from past Slate features, like Kevin Horan's series ChattelI above, and Corinne Botz' project Bedside Manner below.
This weekend marks Printed Matter's annual New York Art Book Fair: a glorious, highly curated, jam packed, sweaty gathering of some of best mainstream and independent art book publishers. Hosted at New York City's MoMa PS1 in Long Island City, it's filled with frequent book signings, people watching and an opportunity to spend a downpayment on way too many photobooks (which you should.) We hope the renegade book appropriating bootleggers Flat Fix are back for an attack. Oh, and there's also the Independent Art Book Fair happening close by in Greenpoint, which is worth a walk over the Pulaski Bridge. Below are some of our anticipated favorites, in no particular order.