Where to Go and What to See

This week, gallery-goers should head out to Rochester, NY for a recreation of the significant 1975 exhibition, New Topographics: Photographs of a Man-Altered Landscape. Showing once again at the George Eastman House, the selection includes more than 100 photographs from the original show from photographers such as Robert Adams, Bernd and Hilla Becher, Frank Gohlke, Henry Wessel Jr., and John Schott (who took the above picture). New Topographics was revolutionary because it demonstrated a new way of photographing landscapes, marrying documentation with fine art aesthetics, and its influence is still felt today. The exhibit opens on June 13 and runs through September 27, after which it will tour the US and Europe.

Follow the link below for details about this and more photography events.

Polaroid Lovers, Hold Onto Hope! Euros Try to Make Instant Film

he New York Times reports today that a group of European scientists and salesmen are trying to revive instant film in an old Dutch factory that once produced Polaroid material. They think there is a market for people who love analog photography and value the retro art look of Polaroid, which discontinued manufacturing of its film stock last year. Let's wish them luck! There really is something kinda wonderful about the tones and emotional impact of Polaroid imagery. The problem is that Polaroid made its own chemicals, and these new guys in the Netherlands can only try to duplicate the brew. At least they have some of the original equipment in the old factory, which was saved only by accident. In 2005 an American entrepreneur, Tom Petters, bought Polaroid's name and assets, but he was later indicted for running a Ponzi scheme, which seems to be what everyone private equity firm was doing for the past few years. Because of his current troubles, Polaroid was eager to sell its Dutch factory.--David Schonauer

Where to Go and What to See

It's a good week for gallery events outside of New York, and one of my favorites takes place in Boston. On May 30, the Museum of Fine Arts will exhibit a collection of Edward Weston's photos from Mexico, taken during the mid-1920s. This focused selection of images—titled, Viva Mexico!—highlights the legendary photographer's transition from soft pictorialism to a sharper aesthetic. Above are two portraits from the exhibition, which runs through November 2.

Follow the link below for details about this and more photography events.

Counterpoint: Why The Abu Ghraib Photos Should Not Be Released

In yesterday's New York Times, author Philip Gourevitch puts forward the case for keeping the never-seen images of prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib prison locked up. The points are well taken, and echo the arguments that President Obama made during his national security speech last week: 1) the images will not tell us anything we don't already know; and 2) they will enflame America's enemies and put American troops in danger.
     Gourevitch knows the subject: he authored a book with filmmaker Errol Morris called The Ballad of Abu Ghraib, telling the story of the soldiers who took the images that helped turned public opinion against the conflict in Iraq. As he says, he "spent more than a year living with the photographs from Abu Ghraib...." Like the president, he does not specify exactly how the images would endanger troops;  no one has yet presented evidence that the photographs would cause immediate and certain harm; the threat is vague and generalized. His argument that the pictures would not add to the public knowledge or debate is also one-sided, since the images remain classified. Who is to say what information they may provide and what effect they would have on the debate regarding the use of torture? (President Obama countered that the debate is effectively over, because he has outlawed the use of torture.)
     More complex, and winning, is Gourevitch's argument about the nature of photographs, and how they can mislead while providing vital information. The photos from Abu Ghraib were made by soldiers put in a situation they were not trained for, who documented acts by comrades who, in many cases, were following orders from higher-ranking officials.
    "Crime-scene photographs, for all their power to reveal, can also serve as a destraction, even a deterrent, from precise understanding of the events they depict. Photographs cannot show us a chain of command, or Washington decision making. Photographs cannot tell stories. They can only provide evidence of stories, and evidence is mute; it demands interpretation and explanation."
     The images from Abu Ghraid, he says, do not show "that the real bad apples were at the top of the civilian chain of command in Washington." Perhaps seeing the unreleased images would motivate us to learn that story, and not simply forget what happened at Abu Ghraib. Forgetting would be the ultimate failure.--David Schonauer

Missing Link Photo: The Truth Is Out There

Speaking of nature photography, have you seen the image of the new "missing link" fossil now on view at the American Museum of Natural History in New York? This fossil, which is 47 million years old, is said by scientists to the earliest human ancestor--a link between the animals that became homo sapien and other mammals. It's a controversial theory, but very exciting, and the announcement is being pumped up with considerable marketing muscle. The fossil is called Ida ("eeda"), and when you gaze at the images of it, you understand the primordial fear evoked by the creature in the Alien films.--David Schonauer

Conservation Photography Conclave Planned for November

Does nature photography help save the environment. I want to think so, and I also happen to think so. As the Sierra Club discovered many years ago, an image of a wild, beautiful place can raise awareness of threats to the environment and be a powerful motivator for preserving fragile places. Images can also be used for scientific studies of endangered eco-systems and as evidence to influence policy makers. Only recently photographer James Balog presented his images of melting glaciers--part of his Extreme Ice Survey--to members of Congress.
     Balog is one of the founding members of the International League of Conservation Photographers, a group of landscape and wildlife photographers who have redefined their work, merging the ideas of art and activism. In November the ILCP is sponsoring a symposium during the 9th World Wilderness Conference, which will take place in Merida, Yucatan (Mexico). Cristina Mittermeier, the executive director of the ILCP, wants to make sure that photographers around the world are aware of the event--if you would like to attend, you get more information at the ILCP website, including how to register. Even if  you can't attend, you might want to look for news coming out of the symposium, which will feature panels on journalism, effective communications, and scientific ideas. If my schedule permits, I will certainly be there.--David Schonauer

Where to Go and What to See

This week, take the time to view some black-and-white portraits by famed LIFE photographer Gordon Parks, on display at The Gallery at Hermes (691 Madison Avenue, 4th Floor). The exhibit debuts on May 20 and features intimate photographs of Americans — both famous and everyday — from the past 30 years. Himself embodying the American Dream, Gordon Parks worked his way out of his impoverished Kansas hometown to become one of the most respected photographers of the 20th century. Above is Parks's iconic image of Muhammad Ali.

Follow the link below for details about this and more photography events.

Dumb and Dumbo: A Brief Review of the New York Photo Festival

You think the New York Photo Festival in Dumbo was bad last year: Be reassured, it was even worse this year. Last year was the premier for the festival, so we could understand that it was somewhat disorganized. But there can't be an excuse for the  amateurism and incompetence on display this year. On the opening night,last Wednesday, four exhibitions were closed, and one had still the prints on the floor. Most offensive were the portfolio reviews: If you were a starving artist or student, you had to pay $500 to have your portfolio looked at—far too much in the current economy. In France we describe this kind of proposal by saying, Do not shoot on the ambulance. The organizers may well be unable to find any wounded suckers next year.--Jean Jacques Naudet  

New Photo Blog from the New York Times

The New York Times has launched its new photography showcase on its website. It's calls Lens,and it features portfolios and behind-the-scenes videos from a host of the newspaper's photographers. As regular readers of State of the Art will have noticed by now, I'm a big fan of the photography from the Times, so I'm pretty happy to see this new blog. You really have to check out Stephen Crowley's video piece on Oval Office photo ops. It's a sobering looks at how political photojournalism is manufactured. Hurray for Lens.--David Schonauer

The Lasting Impact of Bob Marley

Sometimes photographers have to work long hours for days on end just to get a handful of interesting images. And sometimes all it takes is a little quality time with a generous subject.
     In 1976, Time magazine sent photojournalist David Burnett to Jamaica to work on a story about reggae music, which was becoming a popular addition to radio play lists in the U.S. Burnett started his work by shooting a number of musicians around Ocho Rios, on the island’s north coast. “They all told me that if I wanted to get the story right, I had to go see Bob Marley,” says Burnett. Traveling with a writer, Burnett ended up spending a single afternoon with Marley at his home in Kingston.
     Thirty-three years later, the images he shot that day, combined with a number of photographs he took while following Marley’s Exodus tour in Europe in 1977, have been collected in a book, Soul Rebel: An Intimate Portrait of Bob Marley (Insight Editions, $39.95). The work was also featured earlier this year in an exhibition at the Govinda Gallery in Washington, D.C.

Explaining Why the Abu Ghraib Images Should be Released

As I've noted previously, I believe it is wrong for the Obama administration to restrict the release of a another batch of images of prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib prison. Court rulings have cleared the way for the released of the images, which were collected during the military's investigation of the Abu Ghraib scandal. But President Obama has refused to have the images released, saying they might inflame enemies and thus put Americans at risk. The New York Times weighs in today with an article that looks back to when the Nixon administration tried to stop the release of the Pentagon Papers because of potential harm that might happen to Americans. A secret history of the Vietnam War, the Pentagon Papers contained images of U.S. atrocities, and the Nixon administration argued that their release might inflame enemies and caused added danger to American troops. The Supreme Court ultimately ruled that such danger was a vague potential, not immediate and concrete  The documents were released. The comparisons to the current controversy about the Abu Ghraib images is fascinating.--David Schonauer

Hugh Van Es, Who Covered Fall of Saigon, Dies at Age 67

Photographer Hugh Van Es, who covered the war in Vietnam and made an indelible image of the fall of Saigon in 1975, died Friday morning in Hong Kong. He was 67.
   Van Es covered the war for both the Associated Press and United Press International. Among his best known images was a shot of a wounded soldier  taken during the battle of Hamburger Hill.
   But he will be remembered primarily for him photo of Vietnamese civilians clamoring up a ladder to board an American helicopter as North Vietnamese troops closed in on Saigon on April 29, 1975. While many civilians stormed the U.S. embassy to escape, others chose to climb a ladder on an apartment building that housed CIA and other officials. Standing on the roof of the UPI building in Saigon, a few blocks away, Van Es recorded the desperate moment. The image became a metaphor for the ignoble end of the American experience in Vietnam.--David Schonauer