This Thursday, May 18, the seventh annual Long Island City Arts Open presents Disruption, a photography exhibition curated by Orestes Gonzalez, featuring five photographers from Cuba, Spain, and the United States. The show addresses contemporary environmental, political, and social issues as they relate to the feeling of being an outsider. Gonzalez selected work that he describes as encouraging viewers to empathize with the experience of physical, mental, and spiritual dislocations caused by immigration from one’s homeland and the sense of personal loss. Included are hard hitting images like Griselda San Martin's photographs of families embracing on each side of the wall at the Mexican border, and 2017 Aperture Prize nominee Kris Graves' photographs on the exact spot in various locations throughout the United States where black men were murdered by police last year.

Disruption opens Thursday, May 18 @ 6:00pm at The Factory in Long Island City, NY, followed by an artist talk on Sunday, May 21 at 2:30pm. Open through May 25. More details HERE.

Disruption opens Thursday, May 18th @ 6:00pm at The Factory in Long Island City, NY, followed by an artist talk on Sunday, May 21th at 2:30pm. Open through May 25. More details HERE.

PostedMay 15, 2017

AuthorJon Feinstein

CategoriesExhibitions, Artists, Galleries

TagsOrestes Gonzalez, Griselda Dan Martin, Long Island City Arts Open, Kris Graves, Veronica Cardenas

In 1925, United States Senator and industrial scion Simon Guggenheim, along with his wife and partner Olga Guggenheim turned a profound personal tragedy into extraordinary opportunity. Two years earlier, their eldest son John died unexpectedly as he prepared to leave home for college. The couple later endowed the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to honor the promise embodied in a life cut short. In the nine decades that have since passed, the Foundation has awarded more than 15,500 fellowships in fields ranging from African Studies to Genetics to Photography.

Announced in April, the twelve photographers in the 2017 cohort join an illustrious group from the past century including Edward Weston, Imogen Cunningham, Roy DeCarava, Diane Arbus, Dawoud Bey, Rachel Sussman, Latoya Ruby-Frazier and An-My Le.

PostedMay 9, 2017

AuthorRoula Seikaly

CategoriesArtists, Portfolio

TagsGuggenheim Photography Fellows, Roula Seikaly, Marina Berio, Daniel Coburn, Ken Gonzales-Day, Michael Lundgren, Amanda Means, Shaun O’Boyle, Maggie Steber, Brad Temkin

Growing up in Long Island, photographer Chris Maggio's experience of New York City was limited to Midtown Manhattan, a tourist destination embodied by the outsider clichés one might expect. It was filled with crowds, sweat, billboards, Broadway shows, double-decker busses and more crowds. In the summer especially, the urban landscape largely untouched by actual New York City residents (except those who work in the neighborhood) resounded as a chaotic smattering of red-faced human sardines.

Settling in Brooklyn in recent years, Maggio channeled these visions into an uncomfortable, yet humorous series appropriately titled Hot As Hell in Midtown, making photographs "celebrating the end of a scorching summer in NYC" last year. Children paint their foreheads with melting ice cream cones, the sun beams down in apocalyptic crimson hues, people resemble the walking dead, their expressions falling somewhere between a vapid gaze and knowing smirk. I spoke with the Maggio to learn more about this work, and his larger commercial and personal practice.

Interview by Jon Feinstein

PostedMay 1, 2017

AuthorJon Feinstein

CategoriesPortfolio, Artists

TagsChris Maggio, NYC Photography, Hot As Hell in Midtown

Rebecca Solnit has become one of the most influential writers, historians, and activists of the past decade. Her 2014 collection of essays Men Explain Things To Me undoubtedly influenced the popular use of the term "mansplaining," and A Field Guide to Getting Lost and numerous other writings have received ongoing acclaim and feel increasingly relevant in today's tense political climate.

Beyond her literary and political influence, Solnit's writings have made a mark in the photography community, with photographers, educators, curators, and critics alike citing her influence. On the heels of Solnit's recent publication, The Mother of All Questions, we contacted some of our favorite photographers and other pillars of the photography community to learn how Solnit has impacted their work and ideas about the nature of "seeing." Many have included some of their favorite Solnit quotes as well.

PostedApril 27, 2017

AuthorJon Feinstein

CategoriesArtists

In 2008, after participating in a panel discussion for the biennial exhibition 31 Women in Art Photography at Brooklyn's now defunct 3rd Ward, photographers Amy Elkins and Cara Phillips created Women in Photography. The project aimed to provide exhibition and grant opportunities for female photographers outside of the traditional structure of the commercial, often male dominated art world. They collaborated with a range of curators and institutions including The Aperture Foundation, LACMA, MoCP, Leslie Tonkonow, Lightwork, P.P.O.W Gallery, and LTI/Lightside, and were at one point closely integrated into Humble Arts Foundation's programing. After taking a hiatus for a few years in 2013, Elkins and Phillips have returned, alongside curator Megan Charland, offering a range of new programing including a grant and mentorship opportunities for women making photography-based work. Shortly after the relaunch, which includes a stellar exhibition from Whitney Hubbs, I caught up with Elkins and Phillips over email to learn what's in store.

Interview by Jon Feinstein

PostedApril 19, 2017

AuthorJon Feinstein

CategoriesGalleries, Artists, Publications

TagsCara Phillips, Amy Elkins, Women in Photography, Brea Souders, Angela Strassheim, Whitney Hubbs, Erika Larsen, Erica Allen, Tiana Markova-Gold, Cristina De Middel, Anna Beeke, Tema Staufer

New Photography Exhibition Addresses Dislocation in The United States

The 2017 Guggenheim Photography Fellows: Continuing a Tradition of Greatness

Chris Maggio's Photographs of Midtown Manhattan are Hot as Hell

Reading Rebecca Solnit: 17 Photographers and Curators on Her Influence and Inspiration

Women In Photography Relaunches, Offering Grant, Exhibition and Mentorship Opportunities