Holiday Gift Guide: Books, Books, Books

For the "Hey, I remember that from Critical Mass" file:

'Til the Cows Come Home by Dan Nelken

Drift by Wolfgang Zurborn

Speaking of Critical Mass, the votes are still coming in and this unsolicited comment from one of our Much-Beloved and Appreciated Reviewers just came in five minutes ago:

"I'm so happy to have been involved in this. I've really enjoyed the process (very, very well organized and easy to do as well) and have found LOTS of photographers for my files. Thank you for including me...and I'd love to do again!"

I'd say that's the note to go out on. Have a great Thanksgiving.

PHOTOLUCIDA'S HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

Let's say you're interested in the world of contemporary fine art photography. And let's say you also celebrate some sort of gift-giving holiday toward the end of the year. Well, how about we help you with your Holiday list by posting each day this week with great gift ideas that support your interests...

collectible, at wall space gallery

© Krista Steinke

© Polly Chandler

© Molly Landreth

© Angela Bacon Kidwell

collectible is a great idea brought to you by Crista Dix at wall space gallery. Bringing together 55 artists from across the country, Dix has assembled a collection of great work, with many photographers who have participated in Critical Mass and/or our in-person Reviews. And the best part (pocket-book-wise anyway), each and every image is available for less than $200.

Our First Interview: Lucas Foglia

© Lucas Foglia, Homeschooling, Tennessee 2008

I'd like to introduce you to two special people: the first is Katherine. She's a photo student at PNCA and our fantastic intern. The second is Lucas Foglia and he's a fantastic photographer. In what we hope is the first of many interviews with our participating photographers, Katherine's asked Lucas about his current work:


It seems that there are a variety of communities you have photographed in your "Re-Wilding" series, can you comment on the similarities and differences? Are some communities more extreme than others in returning to the wilderness? Do the communities in your series lean toward a specific religion?

For the past few years I have been photographing a network of people in Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky and Georgia who have responded to environmental concerns and predictions of societal collapse by adopting wilderness or homesteading lifestyles. Most of my
subjects live off-the-grid, build their homes from local materials, obtain their water from nearby streams and hunt, gather or grow their own food. Some start fires with friction, tan animal hides for clothing and collect herbs for medicine. Some of my subjects are religious and wear plain clothes, in the fashion of the Mennonites, to avoid government interference in social security, education, insurance, vaccinations etc. There are no universal beliefs or rules to the way my subjects live. This ongoing series is about the complexity of people's relationship to nature and self-sufficiency.

© Lucas Foglia, Acorn with Possum Stew, Wildroots Homestead, North Carolina 2006

Does re-wilding have both a physical component and an emotional component, and how do you think your images capture them?

According to Wikipedia, Rewilding is the process of creating a lifestyle that is independent of the domestication of civilization.

What is your personal connection to your subject matter? Do you think the fact that you grew up in an "alternative" environment has helped you feel comfortable making images in these communities?

I definitely think that my upbringing has both inspired and informed my work. I share my subjects' desire for sustainability and a connection to land… I grew up with my extended family on a farm in suburban Long Island. Influenced by the back-to-the-land movement of the 1960's, my parents maintained an agricultural lifestyle as malls and supermarkets developed around us. We heated with wood, grew and canned our food and bartered plants for everything from shoes to dentistry.

Has your work for/with Arnold Newman influenced your image-making? What other artists have influenced you?

I met Arnold Newman when I was eighteen years old and over the following years I printed for him at his studio in NYC and visited frequently to show him my photographs. Arnold, as both a boss, a mentor and later a friend, taught me to think of myself as a photographer. Moreover, he taught me to be a good person first and a good photographer second. Other artists that have influenced me: favorites include Emmet Gowin, Alessandra Sanguinetti, Paul D'Amato and Mark Steinmetz.

You donate a portion of your print sales to the subject of the photo or a related charity – by giving back to your subjects, do you feel like you are creating a cycle of sorts?

I donate a portion of the proceeds from my print sales to either the subject of the photograph or a related charity. I also give my subjects a copy of each print. I think of my photographs as
collaborations between my subjects and myself and as such I want the sale of my prints to benefit my subjects, myself and the idea that I am exploring within the series.

© Lucas Foglia, Rita & Cora Aiming, Tennessee 2007

Content-wise, your work kind of falls between documentary and anthropological portraiture. How do you see your place in the contemporary art world?

I think of my photographs as collaborations; as fictions that are accurate to the spaces in which the photographs were made.

How do you see the role of the creator vs. the role of the editor and how does it apply to your work?

I think this series walks a fine line between the appearance of fact and fantasy. I shoot a lot and editing is probably my biggest challenge. A photograph puts a frame around a portion of the world and pulls it out of context. The edit determines the meaning of the series.

© Lucas Foglia, Wildroots Homestead, North Carolina 2008

We hear that as a result of Critical Mass, your work was published in a feature in D Magazine, La Repubblica, in Italy?

The work that was published in D Magazine was from my previous series, titled "The Garden." From 2004 to 2005 I photographed in a community garden in Providence, Rhode Island. The garden became a window into the lives and diverse cultures of the people who grew food there.

Do you think the re-wilding movement is primarily happening in the US, or does it exist in Europe to some extent as well?

I know of a handful of people and communities in Europe, but there is less available land there. The United States is one of the few developed countries in which there is still a wilderness left to
return to.

What do you want viewers to take away from your work?

Art provokes thought and emotion while propaganda asks viewers only to remember. I think my best images are simultaneously intimate and ambiguous.

© Lucas Foglia, Portrait, Tennessee 2008

SHOW & TELL: REAL WORLD STYLE:

HEY, LOOK AT THIS RIGHT NOW!

One of our favorite magazines is in need of photographs to run in an upcoming issue. They're looking for three specific images:

- A woman’s slippers, ideally colorful slippers at the foot of a bed or in a bedroom.
- A park bench, either empty or with an unidentifiable man or a woman sitting on it
- A plate of covered food, or a single place setting at a table

Have anything? If you don't, get off your butt and shoot it now! In either case, send them to me before 9:00am Eastern time tomorrow and put "URGENT IMAGE" in the subject line. I'll post them here with your name and forward them on to our editor friend. If your photo is chosen, you'll be paid the standard rate for publication.

shawn@photolucida.org

GO GET 'EM, TEAM!

UPDATE: I decided that we shouldn't post the photos that come in, but I did forward everything that came in to the editor. Thanks to those of you who sent something in. And the rest of you, keep watching. Perhaps this kind of opportunity will come along again soon. But when it does, it's fleeting...

Today's the Day! CM Update...

Alright gang, here they are, well some anyway. The cd's for all participants are now labeled, stamped, and ready to go. In fact, I'm on my way to go mail 'em out right now so they'll be in your hands soon. The Jurors have until Dec 1st to finish their viewing and voting on the work of the Finalists. Many are done, but the results shift wildly over the course of the day and are downright meaningless until all the votes are in. Everyone's got a different opinion, don't they? But while they may have differing opinions on the work itself, the feedback we get on the process is pretty unified. A few unsolicited comments from Reviewers that I've received in the past few days:

"This has been a blast! Thanks for making it all happen."

"I just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate this process, and the fact that you’ve made it so easy to look at the material."

"I’m having fun... FYI, based on what I’ve seen so far I will be giving a shout out on my blog to ______________"

"It was a lot of fun judging."

"I'm 1/2 way through reviews and think that it's an overall great selection this year."

"Get a Good Pair of Walking Shoes... and Fall in Love:" Lessons from Magnum

© Alec Soth, Nicholas, 2005

Sorry for the quiet blog lately, but I had the good fortune to geek out in the real world with loads of other photographers attending SPE and Fotovision events in San Francisco this past weekend. Anyone who's ever attended a portfolio review or a similar conference can tell you how much fun it can be when all of a sudden you find yourself hanging out with people whose work you know and admire from afar.

One of the highlights of the weekend was the keynote speech for the SPE conference, given by Alec Soth. One of the reasons it was so refreshing was that Soth, in talking about his evolution as a photographer, showed earlier photographs and humbly talked about what he learned from them. Ultimately, that's how it works, right? You make pictures, you screw them up, and you keep working and working until you figure out what it is you're doing. Soth's talk was inspirational in that it highlighted his love for the process, as much as the product. In many ways, it was a pep talk. It sure was for me anyway.

Lately, Soth's had a much heralded return to the blogosphere, now posting for Magnum. In honor of the talk to so many students and educators, he compiled a list of advice from fellow Magnum photographers, asking them two simple questions: "When did you first get excited about photography?" and "What advice would you give young photographers?" Great stuff here...

Reality, Retouching, and the 'perceived reliability of the source'

A fascinating discussion led by Errol Morris on the NY Times blog.

Touching Strangers / Other Nature / America

A few great recent interviews worth drawing attention to:

© Richard Renaldi

Richard Renaldi & Joerg Colberg regarding Renaldi's project "Touching Strangers"

© Ron Jude

Ron Jude talks with Photo Eye about publishing his new book Other Nature (I picked this up yesterday... a really quiet, smart, beautiful book.)

© Zoe Strauss

A conversation between Will Steacy (one of our CM 2008 Finalists) and Zoe Strauss about her new book, America. This conversation's one of those that, in all honesty, I have a hard time sitting through. Not because it's bad, but because it's so good. It makes me want to get up off my butt and go make a picture or too. Pure inspiration...

Odds and Ends

Rob Matthews, The Artist's Mother (Diane), 2008

One of the most important pieces of advice that we, as a non-profit supporting emerging and mid-career artists can give photographers is to know your audience. Before you waste your money attending expensive Reviews to show your work to people you don't know, research them and find out who these people are and what kind of work they're interested in. To help toward that end, I'm planning on using this blog to post not only about our photographers, but our Reviewers as well. Three significant releases just came my way within the past few days:

Daniel Cooney Fine Art is announcing an exhibition by Rob Matthews, "Kindred" at the gallery, as well as two online auctions at igavel.com. Note that one of these auctions is an upcoming "Emerging Photographer's Auction" (November 14th through December 10th). This would be a great opportunity to maybe pick up a Christmas gift or two, and also get an idea of what Daniel Cooney is interested in.

Also, if you happen to be in London this weekend, the British Journal of Photography will be hosting its annual Vision event, and featuring a talk by Magnum photographer Jacob Aue Sobol about his new Leica Publishers Award winning project, "I Tokyo."

Oh, one more great resource of interest: a few weeks ago, Aperture hosted a panel discussion about collecting that included Ruben Natal-San Miguel, Brian Ulrich, Amani Olu, and Kellie McLaughlin. And it was moderated by Laurel Ptak to boot. Through their own blog, Aperture has now made podcasts available. Lots of information there...

Oh, and as a CM Update, we've finally got our official web page updated with the finalized list of all of our CM 2008 Jurors. So many amazing people up there, including last minute additions of Gail Gibson, and Noel Rodo-Vankeulen, who's Wassenaar, is a new online publication worth paying serious attention to.

SHOW AND TELL: ELECTION!

bring 'em on...

© Aaron Hobson, Vote #271 of the day for the Village of Saranac Lake, Essex County, New York

© Ellen Kok, It's really happening! Democratic Convention, Denver, CO

SPREADING THE WEALTH / ANOTHER SHOW AND TELL

That Halloween Show and Tell was fun, wasn't it? Well, if you ask me, perhaps the most promising aspect of the blogosphere is the conversation. Joerg Colberg, the great photographer and super-blogger (and CM juror), has started a google group as a place to carry on the conversations that develop around his posts at Conscientious. The thing I love about the google group is that you have to request an invite and have a name, avoiding the snarkiness usually posted by "anonymous." Civility reigns. Note that this here blog is now set up you can post comments and/or questions. Feel free to tell us what's on your mind. Just be civil.

Actually, APE's recent post on Critical Mass produced a surplus of comments and speculation about Critical Mass and where all that money you shell out goes. Laura Moya, our Much-Beloved and Heroic Director, penned a very thoughtful response worth checking out. I love the comment afterwards about "spreading the wealth."

On a related note, I can't help but notice that WE'RE ON THE EVE OF A DOWNRIGHT HISTORICAL ELECTION! Could there be a better opportunity for another SHOW & TELL? So, this time I'm asking for:

THEME: ELECTION

size/format: 500 pixels high, jpeg

please type out Title (if any) and your name as you'd like it cut & pasted.
I'll post images sporadically through Wednesday at noon.
Email your pic to me at shawn@photolucida.org with "election" in the subject heading.