Liquor guns. Happy Birthday America!

Found in Greenpoint, Brooklyn

PHOTOGRAPHS NOT TAKEN - Book Signing at ICP, March 23, 2012

Here's part of the gang that made it out for the book signing and that were still around for a photo. 

(From left: Thomas Bangsted, Lisa Kereszi, Michael Mazzeo, Lyle Rexer, Will Steacy, myself, Doug DuBois, Peter Van Agtmael, Juliana Beasley)

Apparently the first printing is already sold out and a second printing is already in the works with twice as many. ICP, Daylight, and a few other spots may still have some...get them or pre-order now.

Will Steacy being interviewed by a blogger.

Great to reconnect with people and see younger photographers so engaged with the essays.

Exchanging signatures and talking with Stefan Ruiz and Thomas Bangsted.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PHOTOGRAPHS NOT TAKEN is a collection of essays by photographers about moments that never became a picture. Conceived and edited by Will Steacy, each photographer was asked to abandon the camera and, instead, use words to recreate the image that never made it through their lens.

Featuring contributions from over sixty photographers: Dave Anderson, Timothy Archibald, Roger Ballen, Thomas Bangsted, Juliana Beasley, Nina Berman, Elinor Carucci, Kelli Connell, Paul D'Amato, Tim Davis, KayLynn Deveney, Doug Dubois, Rian Dundon, Amy Elkins, Jim Goldberg, Emmet Gowin, Gregory Halpern, Tim Hetherington, Todd Hido, Rob Hornstra, Eirik Johnson, Chris Jordan, Nadav Kander, Ed Kashi, Misty Keasler, Lisa Kereszi, Erika Larsen, Shane Lavalette, Deana Lawson, Joshua Lutz, David Maisel, Mary Ellen Mark, Laura McPhee, Michael Meads, Andrew Moore, Richard Mosse, Zwelethu Mthethwa, Laurel Nakadate, Ed Panar, Christian Patterson, Andrew Phelps, Sylvia Plachy, Mark Power, Peter Riesett, Simon Roberts, Joseph Rodriguez, Stefan Ruiz, Matt Salacuse, Alessandra Sanguinetti, Aaron Schuman, Jamel Shabazz, Alec Soth, Amy Stein, Mark Steinmetz, Joni Sternbach, Hank Willis Thomas, Brian Ulrich, Peter Van Agtmael, Massimo Vitali, Hiroshi Watanabe, Alex Webb, Rebecca Norris Webb
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

More info on Daylight's website...

http://www.daylightmagazine.org/store/photographs-not-taken

UPCOMING BOOK SIGNINGS AND PANELS:

April 22 - 2-4pm, MoMA PS1, Queens, NY with: Will Steacy, Nina Berman, Gregory Halpern, Amy Stein

May 11 - 7:30-9pm, Ampersand, Portland, OR
June 29 - 6:30-7:30pm, Photoville NY, Brooklyn, NY with: Will Steacy, Elinor Carucci and Ed Kashi

Additional info and links to reviews on Will Steacy's website...
http://www.thephotographsnottaken.com/

Congrats again to Will on seeing out this project from start to finish...5 years in the making! Happy Daylight took it on!

TONIGHT: "Publish Your Photography Book" and "Recollection" at the NYPL

In case you didn't know or aren't planning to attend, TONIGHT is a great night to get over to the NYPL for the "Publish Your Photography Book" event and talk with Darius Himes and Mary Virginia Swanson.  I'm really looking forward to their talk and reconnecting with them both tonight and running into others who I know are planning to be there.  They're both such great resources and passionate about what they do within the photography and publishing worlds, it's hard not to walk away without inspiration.

FREE - Doors open at 5:30pm - Starts at 6pm

Margaret Liebman Berger Forum

Room 227 (2nd Floor)

NYPL - Stephen A. Schwarzman Building

476 Fifth Avenue (5th Avenue and 42nd Street)

From the NYPL:

“Industry insiders Darius D. Himes and Mary Virginia Swanson demystify the process of producing and publishing a book of photographs. They will survey the current landscape of photography book publishing and point out the many avenues to pursue and pitfalls to avoid. Himes and Swanson will provide an overview of the publishing industry; an intimate look at the process of making a book; a close review of how to market a photo book; a section on case studies, built around discussions and interviews with published photographers; and a final section presenting a wealth of resources and information to aid in the understanding of the publishing world.

ABOUT THE PRESENTERS:

Darius D. Himes was a founding editor of photo-eye Booklist and is a cofounder of Radius Books, a nonprofit company publishing books on the visual arts.  Himes is also a lecturer, consultant and writer who has contributed to numerous publications.

Mary Virginia Swanson is a consultant in the area of licensing and marketing fine-art photography. Swanson frequently lectures and conducts workshops and educational programs for photographers and students. Respected judge of competitions and awards as well as portfolio reviewer, she is widely recognized for her blog Marketing Photos, a valued resource for photographers.

ABOUT THE NYPL LECTURE SERIES:

Initiated and organized by Arezoo Moseni, Artist Career Development Series have addressed the growing needs and concerns of independent creative workforce in New York City since 2006.”

ALSO, DON'T FORGET TO SEE:

Recollection: Thirty Years of Photography at The New York Public Library

If you haven’t had a chance to get over to see the current photography exhibition, which celebrates the 30th anniversary of the Photography Collection at the NYPL, I highly recommend taking some time to stop in and see it (before it closes on Jan. 2).  Curated by Stephen C. Pinson, the exhibition includes photographs by over 90 arists, including Berenice Abbott, Vito Acconci, Amy Arbus, Eugène Atget, Richard Avedon, Margaret Bourke-White, Brassaï, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robin Bowman, Walker Evans, Robert Frank, Lewis Wickes Hine, André Kertész, William Klein, Joel Meyerowitz, Lisette Model, Irving Penn, August Sander, Cindy Sherman, Stephen Shore, and William Wegman.

I had the chance to see all of these beautiful vintage and contemporary prints before we digitized them and before they all went off to be framed for the exhibition.  Needless to say, it's moments like these where I'm extremely thankful to have the opportunity (as Head Photographer here at the NYPL) to experience these images in such an up close and personal way!

(Images above by: Russell Lee, Hans Namuth, and Eugène Atget)

Take a look at the short promo film below...

Many familiar photographers and their images where chosen to represent the “Recollection: Thirty Years of Photography at The New York Public Library”.  During a recent interview at the exhibition, with Amy Arbus and her former subject, Ann Magnuson, Arbus points out her observation that “…the amazing thing about Stephen Pinson, who curated the show, is that he picks iconic pictures from some people and then completely like an image that you’ve never seen from other people”.

Read more about the exhibition here and read about “A Brief History of the Collection” (which today currently consists of approximately 500,000 photographs by 6,000 photographers!) here.

In Stephen C. Pinson’s, “A Note from the Curator”, he describes how the exhibition drew from the 1981 exhibition, which celebrated the debut of the NYPL’s new photography division, and continues on about how photography, as a respected art form, was beginning to come into its own at this time.

“Recollection, then, is not only an attempt to show another, perhaps less well-known side of the Photography Collection, but is meant also as an homage to the first crucial recollection, as it were, of photographs at the Library thirty years ago. I have gathered together these photographs under the broad subject of portraiture in order to celebrate their diverse origins, as well as their shared destiny. This destiny has more to do with photography itself than with how, or where, such images are cataloged or described, which is increasingly true in the age of digital access. I think Cartier-Bresson had something close to this shared destiny in mind when he described portraits as “visual reverberations.” Photographs remind us and make us remember. Photographs recall things, and recall one another. Photographs are collected, scattered, and recollected again.”

Read the rest of “A Note from the Curator” here 

HeART for HAITI

We're all aware of the devastation from the earthquake that hit Haiti's capital in January.  Many countries and organizations have responded with heartfelt humanitarian aid, pledging funds and doing whatever they can to assist in the aide and re-building of Haiti's capital.  The people of Port au Prince have lost so much and still need help, so here's what you can do...buy art.

Through the direction of Heart Art Productions, along with Sascha + Stephen MALLON, run red creative and agmac - many renowned photographers and artist's have donated works - for an auction to benefit the Haiti relief efforts.  All proceeds go to Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières.

Visit the HeART for HAITI website to browse and bid on the works.  Over 150 works by artists, such as: Stephen Mallon, Brian Finke, Hans Neleman, Martin Schoeller, Philip Toledano, Carey Kirkella, Greg Miller, Rodney White, Elizabeth Fleming, Jon Feinstein, Andrew Hetherington, and Paul Strand...to name a few.  A photograph, from my series 'Migration', is included in the lot as well. (Lot# 015)

If you're in the NYC area this Wednesday, June 16th, you can head over to the Aperture Foundation's gallery to view the work and join the benefit party.

Click here for more information

HeART for Haiti Benefit and Auction

Wednesday, June 16th, 2010 6:00 - 10:00 PM

$20 Suggested donation

Aperture Gallery

547 West 27th Street 4th floor

New York, NY

Don't miss the opportunity to add a piece of artwork to your collection and support this great cause!  Please help spread the word.

SLIDELUCK POTSHOW | Baltimore

On May 22nd I was back in my hometown of Baltimore, for the first Slideluck Potshow event there.  Happy to have had my work included and it felt good being back in 'Charm City' and around my undergrad stomping grounds of MICA (Maryland Institute College of Art).  The event was selected by B-more's City Paper as "Critic's Pick" for the night and was hosted at Gallery Four - voted "Best Art Gallery" by City Paper, 2009.

There was a strong mix of fresh & local artist works and some familiar photographers in bunch as well.  Some of the notable Baltimore based artist's included: Jonathan Hanson, Shane Carpenter, Dennis Drenner, and Jacqueline Schlossman.  Some familiar favorite's were: Andrew Hetherington, Mia Berg, Andreas Gefeller, Lisa Wiseman, Brad Farwell and of course Carey Kirkella.

Click above or here to view all of the slideshow's from the night. 

Some photo's from the night...

 

 

More photo's taken by Casey Kelbaugh - Slideluck Potshow's founder and director - here

Also, check out Slideluck's recent feature on PopPhoto.com here and the recently launched version 2.0 of Slideluck Potshow's website.  It's an amazing resource of work by photographers and artists around the world!

On the Road: Signs of the Times

On the way back to NYC from Promised Land, PA....

... a closed down business on U.S. 206 in NJ left its mark.

John McGarity: Tent 197

Great to recently see, close friend and artist, John McGarity’s Tent 197 installation piece in its video form.  John and I went to grad school at Pratt Institute together, where he concentrated on painting, and we’ve known each others’ work since 1999.  Very often, John works in elements of his own photography into the layers of his canvas’, works on paper or book projects.  He weaves in that imagery along with deep-rooted personal and/or family history, psychological tension and mystery through juxtapositions of codes and texts.  As with most of John’s work, it needs no explanation or statement as a back-story.

In his mixed media installation piece, Tent 197, he’s combined seven pulsing lightboxes, drawings, and an original sound score.

Below is a piece of John's, which is now part of my collection - from a trade we made, which incorporates that same pulsing element.  "Departure is a series of mixed media lightboxes.  Each lightbox has an internal controller that creates a slow "fade on , fade off" pulsing of the light."  This piece is titled "Pig-Iron Prophet", 2007.

Spend the time to take in the multitude of layers and chew on what he’s serving up through his work!  It's tasty!

John's website: www.johnmcgarity.com

Be sure to also check out the beautiful collaborative work of John and his wife Tiffany, who've been working together on a photographic level since 2002.  They were among the talent selected and featured in the 2008 PDN 30.

Their website: www.wallingmcgarity.com

The Original...Mikes - Since 1941

I remember hearing stories from my grandparents and my father of the days down in the area of Baltimore, know as Pig Town – when men and women would bring their goods and services to the streets and to your door by the ringing of bells. By foot or carriage, they’d offer much needed things such as socks, produce, and knife sharpening...

Sure enough, some of those same traditions are happening here in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn in 2009 too! 

Solo Show: Peter Riesett

I'm happy to announce that my 'Solo Show' has officially launched on the Humble Arts Foundation's new website. The online exhibition features a selection of work from my series 'Testament', which was curated by Grant Willing and also includes a conversation with Julie Fishkin. Grant did an excellent job selecting and sequencing the twenty images. Julie provided thoughtful questions which lead to an engaging conversation about the work and my process.

View 'Solo Show' here

Read interview and conversation with Julie Fishkin here

Many thanks to Amani Olu, Jon Feinstein and the rest of the Humble crew for their continued support of my work, and to Grant Willing and Julie Fishkin as well.

Irving Penn, dies at 92

As Irving Penn once poignantly said - 

"A good photograph is one that communicates a fact, touches the heart, leaves the viewer a changed person for having seen it.  It is, in a word, effective." 

Andy Grundberg wrote about Irving Penn's clarity of vision and prolific career in his obituary for the New York Times here. 

View a selection of Penn's photographs from Lens Blog - NYTimes.

May one of the most influential photographers R.I.P.!  Thanks for sharing your vision!

Inaugural PRC Juried Publication

I'm happy to announce that work from my series Testament has been chosen to be included in the inaugural PRC Juried Publication, juried by Dana Faconti [Publisher/Editor, Blindspot Magazine].  The Juried Publication is included in Photographic Resource Center's quarterly newsletter in the loupe.

Many strong images in the publication, by the following photographers:

Ri Anderson, Clint Baclawski, Gideon Barnett, Chris Bentley, Deborah Bright, Christopher Churchill, Annie Claflin, Maureen Drennan, Jess T. Dugan, Matthew Gamber, Gigi Gatewood, Erik Gould, Phil Jung, Susan Lakin, Shane Lavalette, Rania Matar, Brad Moore, Blake D. Ogden, Lydia Panas, Jeremias Paul, Peter Riesett, Christopher Sims, Mickey Smith, Laura Swanson, Millee Tibbs, Phil Underdown and Johanna Warwick

 

 

 

Check out PRC's website for more info about the PRC Juried Publication or about their various exhibitions and resources here.

Melanie Flood Projects presents: MARCH MADNESS

Please join us for a one night sale extravaganza!


Limited Edition drawings, prints, magazines, photographs & more all priced at $100 or less, including a limited edition of photo magnets from my series Gatherings.


Anna & Tess Knoebel
Breanne Trammell & Peter Segerstrom
Carey Kirkella
Clayton Cotterell
Elizabeth Fleming
Erin Jane Nelson
Gerald Edwards III
Grace Kim
Greg Wasserstrom
Humble Arts Foundation
Jane Gang
Jason Polan
Jimmy Limit
Juliana Beasley
Lay Flat
Noah Kalina/Kalina Magazine
Peter Riesett
Rachel Sussman
Stephen Wong-WONG WONG
Umelec Magazine


Because Melanie Flood Projects is located in a private residence, the Guest List will be strictly enforced. Please send RSVP to: mfloodprojects@gmail.com


Melanie Flood Projects
186 Washington Avenue Brooklyn, NY
Wednesday, March 18, 2009 - 7:00pm - 10:00pm
www.melaniefloodprojects.com


View MAP & LOCATION here...