Every few years the world of art photography discovers a new golden child. From 2000 to 2005 the golden child was Ryan McGinley. He was young, he was gay, he was a skateboard thrasher, and he had moderately attractive friends who got high and were … Keep readingRyan McGinley
We are accustomed to seeing–and shooting–photographs OF something. Some person, some object, some thing. In fact, for most of us the subject of the photograph is also the reason for the photograph. We shoot photographs OF a tree, OF a friend, OF a kitten or … Keep readingUta Barth
In the late 1950s when director Federico Fellini was writing the screenplay for his classic movie La Dolce Vita he needed a name for a character–a news photographer. He chose the name Paparazzo. Where did he get that name? One etymologist says Fellini claimed it … Keep readingRon Galella
I can’t recall when I first stumbled across Abelardo Morell’s photography. What I do recall, though, is the deliciously disorienting feeling I had when I saw the work. Morell was born in Havana, Cuba in 1948. His family fled the island in 1962. I’ve no … Keep readingAbelardo Morell
“Perhaps it’s good for one to suffer,” said Aldous Huxley. He asked “Can an artist do anything if he’s happy? Would he ever want to do anything? What is art, after all, but a protest against the horrible inclemency of life?“ I can’t entirely agree … Keep readingUrsula Sokolowska
Robin Rhode is a smart-ass. One of those young street-punk kids who wants to take on the Art World and kick it in the cojones. And sometimes he really does it; sometimes he seriously lays one right in the goolies (and I’ll give an example … Keep readingRobin Rhode
Sometimes the accident of birth shapes the course of one’s life. It’s true for Shomei Tomatsu. He was born and raised in the industrial city of Nagoya, Japan in 1930. The fact that Nagoya was an industrial center became important 15 years later when U.S. … Keep readingShomei Tomatsu
NUDE IMAGE NUDE IMAGE NUDE IMAGE Who can say where it all began? Perhaps with the Gibson Girl, often called the ‘ideal’ woman of the 1900s. Or maybe it was Paul Chabas’ famous 1912 painting September Morn, which was used on calendars and window displays … Keep readingBunny Yeager
Still life art has an ancient artistic tradition. Still life paintings have been found on the walls of Egyptian tombs; still life frescoes were uncovered on the walls of Roman villas in Herculaneum and Pompeii. Although the popularity of the still life has waxed and … Keep readingOlivia Parker
NUDES NUDES NUDES A week ago, on 6 May 2007, approximately eighteen thousand men and women of various ages showed up in the Zócalo, Mexico City’s principal square, just before dawn. At a signal, they took off all their clothes. Another signal, they all saluted. … Keep readingSpencer Tunick