The Girl in the Window

Via Women Photojournalists of Washington I came across the affecting reportage about Dani Lierow, titled The Girl in The Window, by photographer Melissa Lyttle and writer Lane DeGregory. Find out more at www.zreportage.com.

Eminent Domain

There is one week (closes August 29) left to see the New York Public Library's Eminent Domain show curated by Stephen C. Pinson. The artists participating in the show are Thomas Holton, Bettina Johae, Reiner Leist, Zoe Leonard, Ethan Levitas, and Glenn Ligon. I thought it was a well curated show and well worth the time.

Eminent Domain
New York Public Library
42nd Street and Fifth Avenue

A Conversation with Jessica Ingram

In the past many photographers worked abroad. Jessica Ingram is part of a new generation of artists that work at home and who again tell American stories. Her work is deeply motivated by her interest in people.



GrandmaRose & Untitled from the series Hilltop High © Jess Ingram


NP: Tell us a little about yourself.

JI: I was born in Nashville, Tennessee and raised between Nashville and Knoxville. I received degrees in Photography and Political Science from NYU, and my MFA from California College of Arts and Crafts. I now live in New York, but spend much of the year in the Southeastern United States, making work and spending time with my family.

Dinner, Mamma's Glo © Jess Ingram

NP: How did you discover photography and what inspires you?

JI:I can't remember when I first started photographing, but I was young. My mom got me a Kodak 110 camera, and I was constantly taking photographs of my family, where I lived, places I visited. I remember thinking of photography as a way to remember things that were important to me, whether that was my sister, my dog, or my 6th grade trip to Washington, D.C., for example. I am a people person, and inspired by peoples' stories. I do not remember who wrote it, but I once read "Who will tell the lives of ordinary people," and it has always stuck with me. I am interested in stories, choices people make, and a person's or a community's day to day life.

NP: You earned degrees in photography and political science. Where does your interest in social science stem from?

JI: Specifically, I don't know. Both of my parents were social workers and my father became a journalist. I was encouraged to be part of community. Through these influences, and through teaching, I am interested in using photography to answer questions and get to know and understand people, whether it's people in my family, or strangers. I'm also interested in history, and thinking about the stories and history in landscapes, most recently, in the American South.

Atop Stone Mountain & Medgar Evans' Backyard, Jackson Mississppi, 2005 © Jess Ingram

NP: You were born in the South and continue to spend time there with family. Your series “A Civil Rights Memorial” confronts the history of South. What has the reception been of this project, particularly in the South?

JI: Overall, the reception has been wonderful. I am learning more and more about the history every time I talk to people. There's always another site and another story. I want there to be conversation about the sites, or people's experiences during the Civil Rights Movement to present day. The interactions with people have been one of the most interesting, exciting, and difficult parts of this project. At times, people have been angry, or have not wanted to talk to me, or have me photograph. I have always tried to have conversation with them, and in most cases, they were frustrated by the media's representation of the American South, especially during the Civil Rights Movement. For the most part, once I explain why I am interested, they are extremely helpful about directing me to the specific places I am looking for. It's a sensitive issue. Many feel defensive, many feel exploited, and almost all feel that there is still a lot of work to be done in communities around issues of race and class, and how they are manifested in daily life, through housing, education, jobs, etc.

The Southern Poverty Law Center has been amazing to repeatedly welcome me to their offices in Montgomery and grant access to their resources there. Their hospitality has been invaluable to this project.

Untitled from the series Hilltop High © Jess Ingram

NP: Where can we see the video interviews you conducted for Hilltop High?

JI: The video interviews are in process. Raised as a photographer, my video skills are coming along. It is a very different way of working as well, which is exciting, but taking me a minute to get comfortable with. I work on all of my projects for a very long time, probably too long. I keep learning new things about people or places I'm photographing, and as long as the material is developing and engaging, I keep working. It's important to me to feel that I know what story I'm telling before I put it out to the public.

Love is the Greatest © Jess Ingram

NP: What’s next?

JI: The idea of next is exciting. Next involves wrapping up Hilltop High and A Civil Rights Memorial. I feel that both projects are meant to be books, so I am working on book dummies now. (Though I just discovered some more Civil Rights sites through research, which I want to visit and hopefully add to the project...) I have some new ideas that are primarily based in East Tennessee and other parts of the South, and have started shooting there. I keep a book of ideas, and I keep going.

NP: Thank you so much!

To See more of Jessica's work visit her website www.jessingram.com and also take a look at the site of ©ause Collective -- www.causecollective.com -- a collaboration between different artists that Jessica is a contributing to.

1000 Words Photography

(via Liz Kuball's blog) Check out this brand new online photography magazine edited by Tim Clark: www.1000wordsmag.com and its blog: www.1000wordsphotographymagazine.blogspot.com -- on the blog you can find a post showing great new work by New York Photo Festival winner Alana Celii, from a series titled Odd Symphaty.

Aerial View

Helicopter #4 © Emily Shur

Check out some Cali aerial photographs by Emily Shur on her blog My Four Eyed Fantasy.

Emily Shur: All Four Corners

Emily Shur muses about composition: emilyshur.blogspot.com

Amy Stein News

This is shaping up to be a busy and outstanding year for Amy Stein.
If you haven't had chance to see her work yet, two more opportunities coming up:
Amy Stein @ Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Photography
and later this summer: Amy Stein @ Robert Koch Gallery
Congrats!

It's Not Going Away: The Orphan Works Bill

Find out the latest about this important issue:
www.asmp.org/news/spec2008/model_letter_S2913.php
www.photoattorney.com/2008/05/asmp-requests-call-for-action-now.html
www.aphotoeditor.com/2008/05/19/orphan-works-asmp-update

Emily Shur New Work

Emily Shur muses about inspiration on her blog while showcasing some recent work. Take a look here.


Amanda Seyfried for Elle © Emily Shur

Stars

Take a look at Jane Tam's recent show via her blog: janetam.com/blog

Sheila Metzner

A Photo Editor blogs about Sheila Metzner's new website.

Audrey Corregan & Amira Fritz

(via Conscientious) Dutch artist Audrey Corregan is the winner of the 2008 Hyeres Photography Festival. Second prize went to German photographer Amira Fritz and her painterly landscapes.

Zoe Strauss - New and Selected Work

Photographs New and Selected Work on Exhibition and For Sale by Zoe Strauss

Sunday May 4, 2008 1 pm to 4 pm
Front St. and Mifflin St.
Under 1-95
Philadelphia , PA

Rain or Shine

www.zoestrauss.blogspot.com

Annie Griffiths Belt: A Camera, Two Kids and A Camel

If you are in Minneapolis on May 8, 2008 or in Seattle May 11 & 12, 2008 you can attend a National Geographic Live Event and see the work and hear about the life experiences of photographer and mother of two, Annie Griffits Belt.

From the National Geographic website:

One of the first female staff photographers hired at National Geographic, Annie Griffiths Belt’s assignments have included stories about Jerusalem, the spectacular ancient ruins of Petra in Jordan, England’s Lake District, Lawrence of Arabia, and the Badlands region of South Dakota. When her children (daughter Lily and son Charlie) were born, she took them right along on her assignments, turning what some might see as an obstacle into an opportunity. “In some of these cultures, I’m a bizarre character—a woman from another world, traveling without a chaperone,” she explains. “The fact that I’m a mother provides common ground.” In a presentation based on her new National Geographic book, A Camera, Two Kids, and a Camel, Belt shares the secrets of her peripatetic life, and relates intimate moments and touching stories, along with her portfolio of emotionally rich photographs.

Hear Annie Griffiths Belt narrate a slide show of her work.

Buy tickets here: www.nationalgeographic.com/nglive/ticketinfo/

Cara Phillips on Women Photographers - Part One

Cara Phillips blogged back in February about her desire for more female mentorship & inspiration, and she compiled a list of relevant women photographers. It's well worth a look because somehow a lot of these artists are indeed often overlooked.
Looking forward to Part Two!

Victoria Samburis - Yet All Remains

Opening April 3 6-8
April 3 - May 17, 2008
Gallery Hours: Tuesday thru Saturday 10 - 6
Yancey Richardson Gallery
535 West 22nd Street 3rd floor
New York NY 10011

Justine Kurland @ Danzinger Projects

Work from Justine Kurland's excursions to the Pacific Northwest with her signature group scenes are currently on view at Danzinger Project in New York through April 5th, 2008. Reminiscent of Gauguin but with a very distinct feminine & contemporary approach, Kurland again shows herself to be a major voice in contemporary photography.

Lisa M. Robinson @ Klompching Tonight

Lisa M. Robinson is speaking and signing books tonight at Klompching Gallery in Brooklyn at 6:30 PM.

Maria Passarotti in American Photography

This years American Photography (23) features two of Nymphoto's Maria Passarotti's Urban Landscape Photographs.


Day & Night on the Upper West Side © Maria Passarotti

Maria's work always searches for beauty and often she locates that beauty in seemingly mundane environments, subtly guiding the viewer to reconsider the everyday landscape, and thus ultimately calling on her audience to reconsider their perspective on life.

To discover more about/of Maria's work visit her website at: www.mariamotorina.com or inquire with Susan Eley Fine Art.