Irving Penn whose idealized perfect images brought photography to a new level died this week at age 92. He was a
lucky man -- his first photo landed him on the cover of Vogue. He began his photography career in the l940's just as advertising was really hitting its stride. He had a lifelong career at Vogue, revolutionizing the shooting of fashion. He also traveled and put together museum shows. He constantly explored the boundaries of photography as evident in his stunning imagery. "Thirteen of Mr. Penn's photographs are being auctioned Thursday at Christie's, including "Guedras in the Wind," a 1971 image of two Moroccan women, with an estimated pre-sale price of $40,000 to $60,000. One of Mr. Penn's photo, "Cuzco Children," sold for $529,000 last year, including an auction house premium of 20%. Mr. Penn further developed his austere style that placed models and fashion accessories against clean backdrops. It was a radical departure at a time when most fashion photographers posed their subjects with props and in busy settings that tended to draw attention from the clothes themselves," says
Mary Panzer from the Wall Street Journal. Well-known for his fine black and white palladium prints he also did color work for clients such as Clinique.
"Woman with Roses on Her Arm (Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn,) 1950," by Irving Penn. Read more about Irving Penn:
www.wsj.com Why am I writing about this here? I am a great admirer of Penn's work and sometimes despair when I hear art fair photographers discuss mass producing their images and how much it costs to have this done at Costco. Photographers like Penn led the way in turning photography into art with his fine sense of illusion and careful lighting and imagination. Call me old-fashioned. I still believe in the hand made image, carefully crafted and matted and framed under glass. Do you agree?
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I thought I knew how to create a goal.I'd think it.I'd write it.I'd keep my focus on it.And then I took a teleseminar from the Goal Diva, and I learned I didn't even know what a goal was. So I wrote a blog post about what I learned and where I learned it.I'm sharing, because it's my time to pay if forward.CHECK IT OUT HEREEnjoy, Jackie
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The Relentless Eye: Global Cell Phone Photography 2009Cell phone cameras are the relentless eye of the global simulacra. Simple and everywhere, cell phone cameras have transformed how photography is practiced. Helen Day Art Center announces the first of its kind international call to cell phone artists. We seek entries that reveal the creative mind through this ubiquitous medium for a ten-week exhibition opening September 25th, 2009. Entries will be juried by the acclaimed photographer, Eirik Johnson (www.eirikjohnson.com). For detailed information and submission guidelines visit us online at www.helenday.comDeadline for submissions is August 31, 2009.
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Posted by Connie Mettler on September 11, 2009 at 11:04am
Michael Craven, a 30 years+ photography veteran, died in June after a long illness.
Michael was a great guy and his fine work was an asset to the art fair business. He really knew his way around a camera and a darkroom. He was a photojournalist and commercial photographer before he started exhibiting at art fairs. The integrity of his images made his work stand above many of his contemporaries. The work was original in concept and always great to see. No cookie cutter images here, just great conceptual pieces photographed and printed in the traditional manner.
"Leaks" by Michael Craven Here is his website:
http://brainfoodphoto.com/ and here is another site I found that has more of his imagery:
http://www.absolutearts.com/portfolios/a/artychoke/ Many thanks to photographer Robert Barab for passing on this information.
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I'd guess that at least half of the artists you see at art fairs have been working on their art since they were children. The
other half are people who have unearthed their talent later in their lives, whose life experiences have taken them a step at a time to their present situation, later discovering a passion for exploring their artistic abilities. Daryl Thetford's story is a long unwinding from mental health therapist, manager of a mental health center, which segued into book collecting, establishing one of the first online bookstores for used and rare books, until watching his wife's art career unfold gave him the taste to explore his own artistic nature. Since 2001 he has been exhibiting his photographs at art fairs. His long incubation allowed his imagery to emerge nearly full grown, as proven by his inclusion this year at almost every one of the nation's top art fairs, including Miami's Coconut Grove, Chicago's Old Town, Milwaukee's Lakefront, Des Moines Arts Festival, Denver's Cherry Creek, the St. Louis Art Fair and Houston's Bayou City. Daryl's photographs are straightforward captures of Americana, mostly from the rural South. His digital art is built on this base, layering additional photographs onto them and thereby transforming them into something complex, richly textured, and painterly. He says, "My influences include vintage matchbooks, posters, postcards, graffiti, and pop artists Rauschenberg, Johns and Warhol. My goal is not to present nostalgia, but to revisit existing artworks and then re-vision them into a wholly new and original form."
More about Daryl and his work.
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Were you planning on getting your booth and product photographed by Jerry Anthony at this season's holiday shows? Thank again. Jerry and his partner Sharon Richwine will not be there. Here is their announcement:
The winter shows are coming very quickly, & we wanted you to know that for the first time in 26 years, we will not be there.
Jerry & I have decided to stop going on location to shows and help save our bodies for work here in the studio.
SO if you are in town for a show & want work done - we will waive the rush fee & turn your work around overnight, work load allowing, but you will have to drop it off at the studio.
We hope the season will be bright for all of you. This is a critical year for all small businesses, & we look forward to a BRIGHTER 2009.
They will continue to do their work, shooting your images and handling your printing needs for brochures, business cards and postcards. Visit their website: jerryanthonyphoto.com
I've known Sharon and Jerry for years, so I pressed her a little harder on what was really happening. Here is her reply:
THANKS so much for your note. To decide to stop doing shows was the hardest decision we have ever had to make. To go to shows is what I have always done- 41 years, first with my own work & then with Jerry and the photography. We have made many good friends over that time & to know we may not see some of
you again is difficult.
We will remember every one of you and luckily we have photos of your work to keep you in our thoughts, but it is all of the wonderful conversations we have had with you that we will miss the most. We hope, though, that you will
continue to drop us a note once in a while to tell us how you are doing.
Jerry & I are both well, we just realized that if we are to continue to be well & do our photography, we needed to quit pushing ourselves physically & figure out the best way to stay in good shape for as long as we can. That
meant eliminating the exhaustive road trips.
We would love to stay in touch with all of you when you are in town & hope to see you and your work at our studio - either via mail or in person.
The very best to you. You all are remarkable, creative individuals, & we have greatly enjoyed hearing you talk about your work in person, how you created it and seeing the final product. We hope that this part will continue whenever possible.
Very Sincerely,
Sharon Richwine
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This blog is a story of Arctic Wolves fine art photography. How Ejaz Khan Captured rare Arctic wolves to show his passion and love for wildlife fine art photography
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