Artist Entry: William Christenberry

Bibb County Glades with Little Cahaba River Below, December

Cahaba Lillies in Bloom, June

Stone Beach, Cahaba River, August

Cahaba River, August

Cahaba River, Winter Day, December

Bibb County Glades, Rainy Day, June (No.2)

I have heard of William Christenberry before, but only really knew about his rural landscapes until I went to the library and checked out the book “In Response to Place”. The book is a collection of works from various artists, including William Wegman, Annie Leibovitz, and Sally Mann. The original form of this book was an exhibition entitled “In Response to Place: Photographs from The Nature Conservancy’s Last Great Places”. I found Christenberry’s work, “Cahaba River” and “Bibb County Glades” to be of particular interest to me, as it was an investigation of one particular river. I also really liked the fact that Christenberry’s photographs were working hand-in-hand by raising awareness of The Nature Conservancy and the Cahaba River Society to reduce the farmland erosion and polluted runoff from upstream suburban sprawl.

Biography

William Christenberry was born November 5, 1936. He has been described as a photographer, painter, and sculptor who works with “personal and somewhat mythical themes growing out of his childhood experiences in Hale County, Alabama”.  After graduating from the University of Alabama he moved to New York City where he started an almost immediately rewarding artistic career. It was in NYC where he found the 1941 book, “Let Us Now Praise Famous Men” that showcased Walker Evans’ photographs of poor farming families in Hale County during the Great Depression. He then began to visit his extended family in rural Hale County, first shooting with a Kodak Brownie and eventually moving to large format.

Jobey, Liz. "William Christenberry: Working From Memory." The Guardian, November 20, 2008.

Quotes

“All of my work – whether painting, sculpture, or photography – deals with my affection for the place I am from, Alabama. More and more, I have been focusing on the open landscape, with little man-made on it. Once I heard about the Bibb County Glades, I knew I had to go there. Back home in Tuscaloosa, where I am from, we have the Black Warrior River, which is sluggish and abused though still beautiful in parts. But it is not a flat, fast-moving river like the Little Cahaba. The glades are quite special, yet people will say of such a place, “What do you see here?” But to me, it’s not so much what you see as what you feel about the place – its age, its openness, the Native Americans who once knew the place. It’s that feeling that you hope will come through the camera and through you as the photographer. Whenever someone asks why I always photograph in Alabama, I have to answer that, yes, I know there are other places, but Alabama is where my heart is. It’s what I really care about”. 

“What I feel really strongly about, and I hope reflects in all aspects of my work, is the human touch, the humanness of things, the positive and sometimes the negative and sometimes the sad”. 

"Christenberry Photos Capture the Changing South." All Things Considered. NPR: 03 Aug 2006. Radio. 24 Oct 2011. <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5613101>.

Review: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/03/books/review/Woodward.t.html

Interview:  http://www.americansuburbx.com/2010/02/theory-muse-of-place-and-time-interview.html

Gallery: http://www.ggibsongallery.com/artists/christenberry/index.html (this is one of the many galleries that represent some of Christenberry’s vast amount of photographic work)

Website: http://www.christenberryonline.com/ (it seems to be his professional website, but it hasn’t been updated since 2006. He is an older, established artist, so maybe this platform isn’t very important to him)

Visiting Artist: Zwelethu Mthethwa

2 Questions:

-I was reading an article about how you approach your subjects. It was saying that when you first started shooting your color photographs, you would circulate outside and wait for your subjects to invite you in your homes. You would give these people time to shower or clean their home. At this point, their home was basically a studio for you to work with. At the end of the shoot, you would give them a print of themselves to keep. What is the importance of giving your subjects a tangible print? Do you have any interesting stories about that?

-In your series "Common Ground", you explore the effects of both the disasters of Hurricane Katrina and the Capetown Wildfires with a more documentary approach. Could you explain to us how you approach shooting subject matter in comparison to your post-apartheid portraits?

• I found it really interesting and inspiring how Zwelethu Mthethwa chose to show us work that he considered to be "unresolved". When he opened his lecture with this, I immediately became more interested in what he had to speak about. 

Three words that define Mthethawa's artwork and practice:

• Post apartheid: this is an obvious selection, yet I still think it needs to be said, as all of the work he showed was documenting the effects of apartheid and the new-found freedom of the Africans. 
• Documentary: he successfully documented many different walks of life in South Africa and surrounding countries. He documented sugarcane workers, miners (gold, quartz, and coal), and brick recyclers. He approached people in the street and went into their homes to document their space. He documented the devastation of both Hurricane Katrina and the fires of Capetown. I wouldn't necessarily call his photographic approach dead-pan documentary, but it definitely is routed in the act of documenting a space, time, and person.
• Collaborative: upon walking into the lecture, I expected to see photographs. I also knew that Mthethawa studied as a painter in South Africa, so I wasn't going to be surprised if some of his paintings were shown in his presentation. I didn't know he did video work at all, especially of such different varieties. He mentioned that when he approached his subjects in this series "Interior", he was accompanied by a painter friend of his, who would also take pictures of the spaces, but for the purpose of replicating through painting. He also collaborated with a different painter to create a video in response to technology, which was a first-person view of a soccer ball being kicked around.

I thought it was interesting that he described photographing in a different city as intimidating because he doesn't fully understand the culture or history of a place. When he said that, I immediately thought of his "Common Ground" series, where he photographed both New Orleans and Capetown. He quickly explained that he has visited New Orleans prior to Hurricane Katrina, so he felt that he was able to revisit the place and accurately and confidently photograph the effects of the disaster.

One of my questions was answered during the lecture. He explained that in "Interiors" he photographed a man in his home that was recently hit by a car. Later, Mthethawa came back, returning with a print for the man. The man told him that he was glad he now has a photograph of what he looks like, so he may be able to send the photo to his family so they now may know what he looks like, after the accident.

I felt that the last series Mthethawa showed up was the most compelling. It was untitled and unfinished, but it was photographs of the electrical lines in poorer parts of South Africa. He explained that although the lines have killed many people because they are very unstable and unsafe, he finds some sort of beauty within them. I definitely think that this was his strongest work and was a bit disappointed to not see more series like this.

Another question that comes to mind is - how important is composition to Mthethawa? It seems that many of his portraits (though craft-fully made) don't seem to focus much on the actual composition of the frame. For example, many of his photos from the "Sugarcane Worker" series, simply placed the worker in the middle of the frame. The same can be said for his gold, quartz, and coal mining series.

Artist Entry: Hans-Christian Schink

 

 A 71, Brücke Schwarzbachtal, from Traffic Projects (1995-2003, a series of 43 works

 

  A 14, Saalebrücke Beesedau (3), from Traffic Projects (1995-2003, a series of 43 works

 

 Antarctica (8), from Antarctica (2010), a series of 10 works

 

Toyomi (2), from Niigata (2009), a series of 16 works

I discovered Hans-Christian Schink through reading a review of his recent photo book, entitled Hans-Christian Schink, photographs by Hans-Christian Schink. The review, found on Conscientious described Schink’s work as “you can be somewhat certain it’s not what you’d imagine, and you can be very certain that it’s going to be very interesting”. The review also discussed how he is not very well known in America, or even in Europe, but mainly in Germany. I was curious to see what the talk was all about, and I was excited to discover a photographer who pays meticulous attention to line and form. This is relevant to my work because I have recently been trying to find ways to improve my landscape photography. I have been looking at Jitka Hanzlova’s use of lighting, and I think Schink will be another helpful influence to my work. 

Biography

Hans-Christian Schink was born in 1961 in Erfurt, Germany. He received a degree in photography at the Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst (HGB) Leipzig (Academy of Visual Arts) in 1991. In 1993, he earned a master’s degree at HGB Leipzig. For nearly every year since 1997, Schink has earned an award or grant. He has been showing his work in personal exhibitions since 1991, and his work has been shown in other countries including Austria, Argentina, Spain, The Netherlands, Portugal, and The United States.

"Hans-Christian Schink." Hans-Christian Schink. Web. 10 Oct 2011. <http://www.hc-schink.de/vita/biography_e.html>.

Quotes:

As mentioned above, Schink is more well known in Germany than anywhere else in the world. Because of that, the vast majority of his interviews or press written about him is in German. I wish I could have gotten my hands on better quotes.

“On the one hand, he went to the desolate city limits at high noon and made views that were almost linded by the light – blown-out pictures he took with a large-format camera. On the other, he photographed the heart of the city in the dead of night with a hand camera. These images were panoramic despite their tiny negastives. When he printed them, he enlarged the film and then enlarged the enlargement until he was working with only one-centimeter square of the original negatives. The example above is so grainy that you can hardly discern the back of a car at a traffic light. L.A. is like that, Schink feels: “The harder you stare at it, the more it dissolves before your eyes”.

Westerbeck, Colin. “LA Night #1”. Web. 10 Oct 2011. <http://www.hc-schink.de/presse/2006_02_19_LAT_Magazine.pdf>.

“MF: The relationship to reality is a very interesting component of these photographs. Although the landscapes are real, the black trace of the sun makes us question the reality of these images. In general, it seems that photography’s link to reality has become more and more hazy with technological developments in recent years. Do you think that people would still be as attached to photography if it were no longer perceived as a document of reality?

H-CS: I don’t think of photographs as documents of reality. Even if they are taken from reality, to me photographs are beyond reality, in either a positive or negative sense. Looking at hundreds of holiday snapshots taken with enthusiasm during a trip to an exotic location, you will most likely realize that these images do not translate the atmosphere of that place at all. Your own experience of reality is far from what’s depicted in a photograph. On the other hand, in a photograph as a work of art you will always find more than you can actually see in the picture. It will create it’s own kind of reality.”

Schink, Hans-Christian. "Christian Schink, A different kind of discovery." EYECURIOUS. Interview by Marc Fuestel. 03 Mar 2011. Web. <http://www.eyecurious.com/interview-christian-schink-a-different-kind-of-discovery/>.

Review: http://jmcolberg.com/weblog/2011/10/review_hans-christian_schink/

 

Interview: http://www.eyecurious.com/interview-christian-schink-a-different-kind-of-discovery/

Gallery: http://www.dezaal.nl/

Artist’s Website: http://www.hc-schink.de/index_e.html

Idea Entry: Nature Printing

Quotes:

“Very few books were actually printed by this method during the nineteenth century, with Henry Bradbury continuing to be the leading proponent. The Ferns of Great Britain and Ireland, published in 1857 and The Nature-printed British Sea-weeds, published 1859-60 are the primary examples of the process. Both books are scientific in approach and include engraved diagrams in addition to the nature printing. The process was ideal for showing the thin two-dimensional fronds of ferns and seaweed, but less successful with more fleshy plants. Bradbury's death in 1860, at the age of twenty-nine, seeded to end major interest in the process. 

Also referred to as "nature printing" was a different process used specifically for making impressions of butterfly wings. In 1731, The Art of Drawing described a process for sandwiching butterfly wings between two pieces of paper and, by exerting pressure through a press, producing the colored image of the wings. Similar methods were employed at the end of the nineteenth century. The most successful was As Nature Shows Them: Moths and Butterflies of the United States, published in Boston in 1900 by Sherman F. Denton..”

"Color Printing: Nature Printing." University of Delaware, 21 Dec 2010. Web. 5 Oct 2011. <http://www.lib.udel.edu/ud/spec/exhibits/color/natures.htm>.

“The origins of nature printing are lost in time. The earliest prints – faded impressions and silhouettes of hands associated with prehistoric cave paintings – stand in silent testimony to the dawn of man’s creative drives. A variety of techniques have evolved independently in many parts of the world. All are variations of two basic methods. In the indirect method pigment is dabbed or rubbed onto a piece of wet paper or cloth that has been molded over the surface of the object to be printed. In the direct method ink is brushed or rolled directly onto the surface of the subject. A print is obtained by placing a piece of paper or cloth over the subject and rubbing to transfer the images.”

Huffman, Sharron. "Capsule History of Nature Printing." Nature Printing Society. Nature Printing Society. Web. 5 Oct 2011. <http://www.natureprintingsociety.info/nprint.htm>.

Bibliography:

"Color Printing: Nature Printing." University of Delaware, 21 Dec 2010. Web. 5 Oct 2011. <http://www.lib.udel.edu/ud/spec/exhibits/color/natures.htm>.

In 1853, Alois Auer designed the process now known as “nature printing”. Using wood softened by steam and various types of metal, he successfully made a mold from a plant. Since dried plant material was too fragile to withstand the printing process, it was important to create an alternative method. His process involved “passing the object to be reproduced between a steel plate and a lead plate, through two rollers closely screwed together. The high pressure imbed the object – for example a leaf – into the lead plate” (Color 1). If colored ink is used with this plate, a copy can be easily produced. Henry Bradbury discovered this method of preservation of plant material and brought the process to England. He is known in particular for his nature printing books titled “The Ferns of Great Britain” and “The Nature-printed British Seaweeds”. This art form has been extended to butterfly wings and insect preservation. Sherman Foote Denton engraved and colored bodies of insects by hand, but the wings in each image are the actual insect’s wings pressed to paper.

Summary:

When I was looking through the blog “i heart photograph”, I found an excerpt from Henry Bradbury’s “The Nature-printed British Seaweeds” and found its antiquated, scientific look interesting. From time to time, I have preserved plants that I have found through a drying process. I usually put them between two thin pieces of tissue paper and place them in the middle of a heavy book. The result is a fragile, discolored version of the original. When I was looking through images of nature printing, I was surprised by the vivid color palette. I think that this method could be the most genuine way of preserving plants. Often I find myself wanting to take a souvenir from a nature trip that photography doesn’t seem to completely satisfy. I’m curious to see what role nature printing could play in my recent photography of the James. It may be able to provide a more tangible/3D/real(?) facet of my trip.  

Photographs:

 

*all images from Henry Bradbury’s “The Nature-printed British Seaweeds”*

 

Artist Entry: Alex Fradkin

I found a link to Alex Fradkin’s work on the photographic blog, Conscientious. His “Bunker Project” images were of particular interest to me because I am preparing to shoot imagery of the James River, particularly abandoned and sunk barges. When I first when out on the James in a boat, I was astonished by the landscape. The James, like many other rivers, I suppose, was another traffic medium. Boats used the water just as cars utilize roads. There were many “sights” alongside this road. Collectively, we came across about five abandoned barges that have sunk years ago. Vegetation grew in and out of them, water flowed freely. I’d really like to explore these structures, as well as other aspects of our trips, such as islands only accessible by boat. It was so interesting to me how these gigantic manmade structures were now being taken over by nature, just as Fradkin’s bunkers are depicted. 

Biography

Fradkin originally studied architecture but abandoned his life passion of 25 years to pursue photography in 1996. He graduated with an MFA in photography from Columbia College Chicago in 2000, where he later taught for some time. Currently, Fradkin resides in New York City and is finishing his twelve year project, “Bunkers: Ruins of War in a New American Landscape”. In 2010, he was awarded the Aaron Siskind Foundation Award for the Bunker Project. In 2011, Fradkin’s book, “The Left Coast: California on the Edge” was published by the University of California Press. Fradkin’s photographs have been exhibited internationally in galleries and museums in both solo and group shows. The Art Insititute of Chicago, Museum of Contemporary Photography-Chicago, Portland Art Museum, Comer Foundation, and the Park Hyatt Corporation all collect his work. Fradkin now teaches photography at the International Center for Photography in Manhattan. 

"Bio - CV." Alex Fradkin. Web. 2 Oct 2011. <http://alexfradkinprojects.com/

Quotes

"Initially, it was their strange alien appearance in this particular landscape. These structures are extremely brutal and cold in appearance and their purpose, so completely at odds with the peacefulness and tranquility of the coastal landscape," says Fradkin, who first noticed the bunkers while visiting his parents in the Bay Area.

LaSala, Anthony. "A Bunker Mentality." Alex Fradkin. 02 July 2008. Web. 2 Oct. 2011. <http://alexfradkinphotography.blogspot.com/>.

Fradkin also gathered together a group of supporters—from fellow photographers to writers to gallery owners—to help him complete the project. One of those supporters was fellow Berkeley neighbor and photographer Richard Misrach, whom Fradkin had met at a lecture. Fradkin met with Misrach a number of times for advice and support at Misrach's studio. "Richard's generosity of time, warmth and enthusiasm was greatly appreciated and an early affirmation that I might have something worth pursuing," says Fradkin. "Showing Richard the work as it developed most definitely helped to keep my spirits up when I would inevitably start questioning my strange obsession with bunkers."

LaSala, Anthony. "A Bunker Mentality." Alex Fradkin. 02 July 2008. Web. 2 Oct. 2011. <http://alexfradkinphotography.blogspot.com/>.

Review: http://www.boomcalifornia.com/2011/06/concrete-in-paradise/

Gallery: Alex Fradkin is not currently represented by a specific gallery, however, his work has been shown in the Art Institute of Chicago, Museum of Contemporary Photography, Portland Art Museum, the Comer Foundation at the University of Illinois, and the Princeton Art Museum in Princeton, NJ. 

Artist Website: http://alexfradkin.com/

 Since I was unable to retrieve much information at all about Fradkin's images (such as name, dimensions, and print media), I e-mailed Fradkin himself. Here's a screen shot of the e-mail... I look forward to hearing from him soon!

EDIT: here is my response from Alex Furdkin:

"Hello Hillary

Thank you for your interest.  You may enjoy the new website which I have not officially l launched yet, but is viewable at www.alexfradkinprojects.com.  It features the Bunker Project and many new images which I made this summer.  Along with the "Wallscapes series".

Images are generally sized at 30x40", some larger, some a little smaller.  They are printed as archival pigmented ink jet prints and are limited to an edition of ten prints.

Hope this helps!"

Tony Matelli: Lecture Question/Response

Q: Some of your best known work (“Old Enemy; New Victim”, “Josh”, and “Sleepwalker”, for example) share elements of hyper-realism. Do you think these pieces would have been as successful if you approached them in a less representational manner, as you did in work like “Double Meat Head” and “Double Veg. Man”?

Q: Can you explain how you handle creating conceptual pieces like “Fuck It, Free Yourself!” and “The Idiot”? It seems like you must approach them with a completely different studio practice. 

• Matelli was a really interesting speaker. He opened up his lecture with some thoughts on sculpture. He explained that sculpture “takes our place”. It holds a presence unlike any other art form because it shares the same plane as us. After thinking about what he said, I definitely think it holds true, and it may even explain why I have always been a bit averted by the medium.

Three words that define Matelli’s practice and artwork:

• Opposite: as seen in “Couple”. The idea of romantic love is juxtaposed with a starving couple.

• Empty: Matelli explores the idea of emptiness through “The Idiot” (exploring the idea of how alcohol is a way to temporarily empty your mind) and “Josh”

• Vulnerability: as seen in “Stray Dog”. Matelli states that it was “not like any other public art work” because the subject was lost, vulnerable, weak. “Sleepwalk” conveys the same message.

Later in the lecture, Matelli was telling a story about a colleague of his in undergrad. One day his friend came up to him and said, “Tony, you know, you’re such an interesting guy, but your work, it’s just… so… dry. So dull”. Matelli admitted that after this was revealed to him, he completely switched gears and experimented with different subject matter until he found something that was right for him. It was pretty inspirational to hear a world renowned artist admit that at one point, he was less than mediocre. It was a relief to hear that at any point, you can change the direction of your work. It is evident that Matelli still takes what his friend said to heart. Towards the end of his lecture, he told us that he is interested in his work “losing its focus”. 

I don’t believe that “Ideal Woman” is Matelli’s most compelling piece, however, after hearing him talk about it, my opinion changed greatly. I had somewhat of an idea about what the piece was communicating. The Hustler “blow job machine” can be seen easily. It was really interesting to hear the conceptualization behind it. “Exploring the elasticity of a relationship” didn’t cross my mind until he revealed the meaning during the lecture. It seems like modeling the sculpture after his girlfriend would inherently test such elasticity.