You Probably Think This Blog is About You

After our friend, R, recently asked a prominent photographer if he could commission a portrait, the photographer asked him, "What do you collect?" I (half-)joked that he should have said, "Images of myself." Vanity and narcissism have always been driving forces in the production and collection of art over the ages, so why not continue in the grand tradition? Is it really so bad to be self-centered if the universe is benefiting? Isn't that actually being kind of altuistic in a way?
Anyway, you all have the opportunity to have your portrait done by an artist that I really like, Futoshi Miyagi. Miyagi completed a project entitled, Strangers, in which he photographed himself with gay men who were strangers, posing in their homes. For his latest project, You Are There in Front of Me, he is taking portraits of people he meets in internet chat rooms via web-cams (one is shown here). This extends the concept of Strangers to people that he has never even met in person, but also plays with the ideas of anonymity on the internet and loss of privacy. I like that he is capturing an electronic image, something that is transient and mundane, and turning it into something tangible, enduring, and precious- all this from accross the globe (he lives in Japan). If you are interested in having your portrait done as part of this project, you can arrange it with Miyagi at futoshi.miyagi@gmail.com.

Jehad Nga

Another photographer under 40 to follow is Jehad Nga. The Department of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs at the MFA, Boston purchased one of his photos last year. He has done series of arresting photos of Somalia and Darfur. Originally from Kansas (!), he trained to become an EMT (emergency medical technician) while he interned for Magnum Photos. Although that may seem to be an odd combination, his medical training may have helped him gain access to some of his sites. He was also an embedded photojournalist for the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

He is represented by M+B Gallery in LA and Bonnie Benrubi Gallery in NYC.

More of his work can be seen on his webiste:

http://www.jehadnga.com/

Edward Burtynsky

(left to right: two Burtynsky's and a McLean)

A recent trip to Toronto allowed for a pleasant morning in the Mira Godard Gallery in the fashionable Yorkville district. The goal of the visit to the gallery was to view and learn more about Edward Burtynsky, a Toronto-born photographer. The Mira Godard Gallery was first to represent him in his early days, in the 1960’s. It was not clear for what reason, but apparently, Burtynsky has left the Godard Gallery, and although they seem to have swallowed that bitter pill, they still have some amazing large scale photographs for sale, for USD $19,000! Apparently, Burtynsky style is to step up to an imaginary line of life and subject matter to capture a moment in time. The photographs we saw represent and focus on the ideas of deconstruction, recycling and living life in the midst of both. For the 3 Gorges Dam piece, snapshop depicts the Chinese workers who were paid very little to disassemble their own homes, to pile the bricks neatly into organized piles, to retrieve and save the rebar metal ropes which held the structures together again for future use while at the same time people are continuing to live in the village, hanging their laundry out in the dirty air and trying to get by in the middle of this controversial and major re-location project of 1,000’s of people. For the Shipbreaking piece, Bangladesh workers were paid about $.10/day to disassemble an aging, out-of-commission ship and to recycle the metal for scrap. You see workers, obviously poor, in bare feet or flimsy sneakers, walking over the dangerous area with metal on the ground – they too, are going to melt and recycle the ship’s metal for more rebar for a future-use project. While the images are so overwhelmingly industrial and dirty they are both ‘green’ recycling projects on an awesome scale. Close inspection of both really puts you at the line of viewing life and being viewed by it.

As we were leaving, we noticed another photographer: Melville McLean, based out of Maine. His work is amazing, even a little overwhelming. Landscapes are not a favorite of ours, but the quality of the photos is extremely eye catching and almost surreal looking, as the technique he uses is the layering of transparencies over each other (each focuses on a particular aspect, element or color) to bring out the most heightened color and vividness possible for the works he makes. Stones have a luminescent tonality, not because of the light of day, but because of the technique. He also focuses on nature/nurture, for example in Rocks, Plants, Sea and Fog 2007, below, the centuries old rock formations are the life line of the very healthy and living seaweed attached and living on it. We are wondering if he will be the next Edward Burtynsky – so someone to keep an eye on, especially with his large scale works priced at a third of Burtynsky’s. A trip to Toronto to the Gallery could be a beneficial and fun excursion.
The Mira Godard Gallery is located at 22 Hazelton Avenue, Toronto. http://www.godardgallery.com/.