In 2017, Brad Feuehelm spent three days wandering around Berlin. He photographed various scattered symbols of capitalist modernity – billboards, television stations, satellite dishes, and contemporary office buildings – with no specific beginning or end in sight. And then he stopped.

Rather than painting a linear narrative of the city, its people or cultures, Feuerhelm cropped, collated and reorganized these often blurry, grainy black and white photographs into Dein Kampf, his disorienting 2019 photobook published by MACK that emphasizes the equally disorienting, blurry and anxious ways we navigate history and political ideology.

For Feurhelm, whether it's on the left or right, nothing is clear, everything is broken and whichever direction we turn, we confront a mess of cacophonous gray. I spoke with Feuerhelm to learn more.

Jon Feinstein in conversation with Brad Feuerhelm

PostedJanuary 3, 2020

AuthorJon Feinstein

CategoriesPhotobooks, Artists, Portfolio

Tagsphotobooks, Brad Feuerhelm, Dein Kampf, Mack Books, black and white photography, new photography, conceptual photography

Christmas Polaroid snapshots courtesy of Robert E. Jackson

If you’ve been reading Humble’s blog for the past few years, you’ll recognize our penchant for Robert E. Jackson’s curious collection of American snapshots. With more than ten thousand vernacular photographs in his collection, it’s a constant trove for the peculiar, hilarious, and unintentionally artful. Christmas-themed images have a special place in Jackson’s archives – a few years ago, we featured outer-space themed Christmas cards, and this year, we’re following the tradition with some Polaroids.

Not all of these images are “loud” in their strangeness – many are even boring at first glance. But they each offer a glimpse into the sometimes earnest, occasionally off-moments, personal documentation and celebration of the holiday before the digital age.

PostedDecember 23, 2019

AuthorJon Feinstein

CategoriesVernacular Photography

TagsRobert E. Jackson, american snapshots, vernacular photographs, Polaroid Photography, Christmas snapshots, Christmas Vernacular

Yes, this is a digital rendering of photobooks, courtesy of some stock image library.

There are a lot of photobook lists to pique your 2019 year-end enthusiasm – here are some standouts.

For the past few years, it’s been a tradition for us, like nearly every other photoblog, photography platform or major magazine, to create a totally subjective list of books that wow’d us. These often start popping up right around Thanksgiving, before all the black Friday sales. This year, to be painfully honest, we just missed the boat.

But it also looks quite a few others missed it too — New York Times, TIME Magazine? What happened? (Editors 12/22 update: Time recently published their list HERE and it’s pretty stellar. Our apologies for jumping the gun) Maybe it’s coming soon or maybe it's becoming a trend for the bigger folks to shy away from these, but anyway….what’s our point exactly? There’s still a lot to navigate.

We’ve been awed and enamored by the following lists published by those who could get their ducks together in time. If we’re missing any that truly inspired you (or you feel like we just missed your totally awe-inspiring list), feel free to email us and maybe we’ll add it (consider this a “living" document.”)

To see a few photobooks that have moved us in the past twelve months (or we’re excited to see come out in 2020) click HERE.

PostedDecember 19, 2019

AuthorEditors

CategoriesPhotobooks

Tagsphotobooks, best photobooks of 2019

Rafael Soldi’s new monograph, Imagined Futures, published by Candor Arts, uses the photobooth as a sacred space for healing amidst cultural and political turmoil.

Seattle based photographer, curator, and activist Rafael Soldi’s latest series and limited edition photobook lowers the volume on the heated dialogues in which nationality, gender, sexual orientation and their role in identity continue to inflame and divide.

Using quiet self-portraits made in traditional photo booths around the world, Soldi invites us to witness his reckoning with adolescent traumas shaped by socio-religious discrimination and ill-fitting masculine tropes. With closed eyes, he mutes extraneous noise to hear his inner monologue and find empowerment and solace within himself.

I chatted with Soldi about photo booths as interlocutors in the self-portrait process and healing wounds through ritual and performance.

Roula Seikaly in conversation with Rafael Soldi

PostedDecember 11, 2019

AuthorRoula Seikaly

CategoriesArtists, Photobooks, Portfolio

Tagsphotobooth, photobooks, Rafael Soldi, Candor Arts, Roula Seikaly, self portraiture

“Girl at Sunset, Hands Symbolize the Bird” © AdobeStock

Humble Arts Foundation curators want to see your photographic clichés – reimagined!

Photographers, photo editors and curators LOVE talking, complaining and laughing about photographic clichés. Ask any Facebook photo group (we know you’re thinking “ok boomer, Facebook’s for old people”… we get it, bear with us) or random gathering of photographers and you’ll get a fire of responses like:

PostedDecember 3, 2019

AuthorEditors

CategoriesOpen Call, Exhibitions

Tagsphotographic clichés, open call, photo opportunity, Humble Arts Foundation, Roula Seikaly, Jon Feinstein, tropes, clichés, art clichés, photographic tropes, tropes gone wild, online exhibitions

Brad Feuerhelm's New Photobook Navigates the Anxieties of History and Ideology

Weird Christmas Polaroid Snapshots

The Best "Best Photobooks of 2019" lists of 2019

Rafael Soldi Transforms a Photobooth into a Sanctuary

Open Call: Group Show 64 – Tropes Gone Wild