Deardoff is back

ATTN LF and oldschool photographers: Deardoff is back! thought you might get a kick out of this. After 20 years of no production, Barry Cochran (who apparently worked for a Japanese reincarnation of Deardoff and specializes in selling DD parts) and his wife bought the rights, blueprints and name of Deardoff & Sons and are making new cameras. now thats interesting.

i don't actually shoot large format, but i know Deardoffs are regarded as the Leica of LF photography by many, and i know quite a few people who might get a kick out of this.

Deardoff Cameras

Vernacular Art, Photography and Documentation

I was reading through the No Caption Needed Blog (written by the authors of the book No Caption Needed, U of Chicago Press), and i stumbled across an interesting show going on at Duke University. Flesh & Metal, Bodies & Buildings: Works from Jonathan Hyman's Archive of Vernacular Memorials can be viewed through the online galleries, with accompanying text.

The show is actually a lot more complex than it appears, though i don't think this was intentional. Hyman has an MFA in Painting from Duke U, with "photographic training." the vagueness of the attempted justification was the first eyebrow raiser. Why does it need justification as a photographic show? The statement gives an immediate air of self-realized photographic amateur-ness, and i'll admit that i'm always a bit weary of painters-turned-photographers, who seem to say "well yeah...but now all i have to do is push a button." However, one of my favorite photo series, Rays A Laugh, is by Richard Billingham, a painter-turned-photographer.

As you begin to flip through the show, you start to realize that the camera is not (primarily) being used as an artistic device, but rather almost purely as a documentation device. the "artistic" content lies in the dialog between the symbols in the photos, how theyre being used and what they represent. But that's exactly what got me thinking. That dialog IS the language of photography, however, i think that dialog is missing one more element: the photographer (or in other terms, the composition.)

If a photo inherently speaks of it's symbols, what theyre representing, and how they fit in a social context, then the way the photographer represents these elements is what separates the photos from the art of photography and the art of documentation. In the case of Hyman's show, the photographs begin to get repetitive, photos of tattoos on people's backs, photos of wall graffiti, patriotic graffiti, etc. The thing that troubled me is it became obvious that Hyman was trying to fight the repetition by shooting the walls or what-have-you from varying and, most importantly, arbitrary angles. Obviously, one way to avoid repetition is to vary the perspective, but when the perspective adds no more comment or meaning to the photograph than the same object shot at a different angle, thats when the power of documentation can be harmed by the attempt to seem artful. compare these three photos:






now look at this one:


the deadpan manner of this last photograph better showcases the element of the graffiti art, its message, and how it relates to its temporal context. It does this all without a distracting arbitrary attempt at artful composition, which makes the composition more interesting. I'm not saying that all documentary photography should be deadpan. If your primary focus is the art of photography, and you know how to make a interesting and loaded composition, please do! Brian Ulrich is a contemporary master of documentary-style and deadpan photography, while still loading his compositions with thoughtful, subtle and powerful elements.


Of course, i'm not dissing the document in anyway. Post-modernism brought the deadpan archival elements of photography to the forefront. To strip away the photographer's voice, and use the photograph as a frozen moment in time, and see how it speaks purely as a social element is an interesting and powerful element of photography, if thats what the photograph is being used for. And i think thats what this show was attempting, overall, or should have been.

in the end, one of my favorite "art of photography" photos of the series was the last image


Formally: The red of the car mimics the red of the "God Bless America," while the arch of the woman's back mimics the stretching of the towers in the graffiti. Socially: the woman appears islamic, in front of a 9/11 memorial. I'll leave it to you as to who's eyes and opinions you'll view that statement, i'm just pointing out that it has a significant amount of social weight. What id like to point out here is that anyone who studies photography can easily pick apart the elements of this photo and how they relate well within the composition and perspective, in more than a "documentary" sense. What annoys me is that Hyman realizes this dialog and goes on to describe it, flat out. I'm not sure if this is a "Hey look, i got a good one!" statement, or a statement to make clear the photographic language, because the audience wasnt intended to be a photographic one. Weariness of painters-turned-photographers ensues.

overall i enjoyed the show, actually. the kitschy artwork and propaganda is amusing (though i dont believe it was documented to be so, which is more amusing, if not frustrating). However, if the photos are to serve as purely documentary, and the objects in the photos are the artwork, i think Hyman should have approached them in a much more deadpan manner. I'm all for the archive fever, but attempting to arbitrarily artfully compose the photos took away from the message of the objects within and became distracting.

I Am Logan Square: Visual Arts at MAAF

I finally wrote my first blog post for I Am Logan Square. check it out and make sure to check out the Milwaukee Ave. Arts Festival at the end of july!

I Am Logan Square: Visual Arts at MAAF: "So you may have heard of this little thing called the Milwaukee Avenue Arts Festival . No? yes! no? well if not, we should all seriously pon..."

Hang In There!

oops! got a little behind! but, Hang In There! no, literally. tonight was the opening for "Hang In There!" a show at the Co-properity Sphere, curated by Jason Lazarus. yes yes, San Fracisco may be badass, New York may be cool, but chicago has shows curated by Jason Lazarus, with rock climbing walls and Joan of Arc (apparently him and Tim K are friends? CHICAGO SUPER GROUP!).


this one reminds me of a less subtle/nice version of J Laz's "Try Harder" piece









so the Co-Prosperity Sphere is a pretty legit space. HUGE studio, a basement for bands....well tonight was just weird remix-onica stuff...and dazzling pretty pretty lights. but the art! did i mention there was a rock climbing wall?

over all the show left me feeling...well, like it was a show curated by Jason Lazarus. Video, Performance, Scultpure, Photo, but the common theme to them all seemed to be the shared experience. Hell, even the bands playing became more of a performance than a music show in the setting, which is what music shows really are, when you stop taking them for granted.

if you havent checked out the show, you definitely should. as with a lot of shows - but especially one with such an emphasis on community experience - if you missed the opening, it wont be quite the same; but its still a pretty great collection of works.
http://hangintherejune17.wordpress.com/
A group show curated by Jason Lazarus.
Open June 17 – July 02, 2011
Co-Prosperity Sphere
3219-21 South Morgan Street, Chicago, IL


also, did i mention i finally got my Fuji x100? no?

;DSFAJDF. what an elegant piece of machinery. Its a great blend of manual camera and digital technology. not for the auto-settings-using faint of heart! i did some tests between my D3100 and the x100. can you say SHARP!?

TONIGHT!!

don't forget, if you live in the chicago area, or are going to be in town, the opening reception for An Excerpt of Various Photographs Strewn About the Room is TONIGHT!

here are the deets:
Friday, June !0th, 6pm-?
Caffe Baci
225 W. Wacker Dr.
Chicago, IL 60606

come out and have a drink and a good time! hope to see you there!

Chicago Summers!

Chicago says "Summer Fun" a little differently. out here, we say it "Beach+Booze+Street Fests." look it up, you wont find it. unless you're looking it up on here...

check it out!

WeeGee's Lounge

So Thursday was WeeGee's Lounge's 5 year anniversary party....well it isnt OWNED by Arthur Fellig, but it's Arthur Fellig themed. not ringing a bell?



how about now? Well then....you must not be a photographer. but thats ok! you can still enjoy the great beer selection, along with posters and reproductions of WeeGee photos (with permission from ICP New York, ive heard), a shuffleboard and an oldschool photobooth.
and anyway, how badass is a WeeGee themed bar? i love this city.
(ps - ok ok, i'll fill you in. Arthur Fellig, aka WeeGee, was a NYC street photographer in the 30s and 40's. He captured a lot of crime and murder shots that he sold to the newspapers, shots that would later become "the film noir of life-and death- in New York.")

oh! how about that dude with an Arthur Fellig looking Polaroid Camera snapping pics of you and your friends? Yeah? Good, because they had him there for the event.

I think they're related.

Weegee's was started 5 years ago by Alex Huebner, an SAIC photog(obviously) grad...or was it Columbia. no, no, it was SAIC. Sorry, there were a lot of drinks had with their $20 bottomless pints anniversary special. did i mention that? no? oh, well $20 would get you unlimited pints of whatever beer you'd like. and my limit is fairly close to unlimited. And the best part (yes, it gets better) is those 20 dollars went to benefit Ames Middle School. Isnt that swell? Weegee's must be the only place that prefers to give gifts on their birthday.

Here's a photo of Alex looking at Weegee's cousin's polaroids:



and a couple more parting shots:






so next time you feel like having a drink, but really want to see a great street photo show, don't worry about hiding that flask in your blazer pocket; head over to Weegee's Lounge and get the best of both worlds!

Weegee's Lounge
3659 W. Armitage Ave. (3700W, 2000N)
Chicago, IL 60647
(773) 384-0707

oh and one more thing, thanks to Alex for teaching me how to play Shuffleboard last month. I might feel a new obsession coming on.