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Is the work that was once considered to be revolutionary now banal and overrated? What is happening photography-wise in the city? A lot seems to be recycled, old and nostalgic photography that the public will appreciate. Don’t get me wrong, they are still powerful and important pieces, but they belong to a different era. So, on a quest to novelty, we found some photography that is nothing but right now. The “Perspectives 2012” show at the International Center of Photography is mind-blowing. Anna Shteynshleyger’s, Greg Girard’s and Chien-Chi Chang’s photographs are not only honest, but also quench our thirst for aesthetics. |
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“So what exactly does fresh photography look like? We don’t have it quite figured out yet. But we definitely know what it feels like.”
Anna Shteynshleyger, Covered, 2008. Courtesy of the ICP.
Week In Review: Photography and Its Discontents
By Dounia Lomri
Before Warhol’s Campbell soup cans and bananas became kitsch, they were avant-garde. Art lovers of the 60’s would be appalled to see the Marilyn print on 10-dollar bags in the middle of Chinatown. The exhibit at the Danziger Gallery featuring less-known Warhol portraits however makes up for the butchering of Warhol’s work. These portraits give us the permission to dive into Warhol’s intimacy, in a certain way, as we vicariously meet the people he met, and took the time to photograph. This exhibit, paying tribute to “Drella’s” greatness, made me think about contemporary photography and its currency in New York. Is the work that was once considered to be revolutionary now banal and overrated? What is happening photography-wise in the city? A lot seems to be recycled, old and nostalgic photography that the public will appreciate. Don’t get me wrong, they are still powerful and important pieces, but they belong to a different era. So, on a quest to novelty, we found some photography that is nothing but right now.
The “Perspectives 2012” show at the International Center of Photography is mind-blowing. Anna Shteynshleyger’s, Greg Girard’s and Chien-Chi Chang’s photographs are not only honest, but also quench our thirst for aesthetics. Even the landscapes feel like portraits, as they are staring right at us, demanding our undivided attention. At Hasted Kraeutler, Nick Brandt’s powerful safari shots are moving, as he finds an intersection between the animal world and the human world, and makes both collide quite brutally. Finally, Neil Goldberg takes away the comfort of “wholeness” in his photos, and creates an interesting balance between the blurry and the focused with his urban pieces. So what exactly does fresh photography look like? We don’t have it quite figured out yet. But we definitely know what it feels like.
Here’s some photography you can indulge in this week:
-“Andy Warhol: Photographer” at Danziger Gallery, 527 W 23rd Street, New York, NY 10011. Ends April 21
-“A Journey Through A Nordic Fairytale” by Astrid Kruse Jensen, at Guided by Invoices Gallery, 558 W 21rst Street, New York, NY, 10011. Ends April 8.
Astrid Kruse Jensen’s photography creates a peaceful juxtaposition between ephemeral and eternal states.
-“Nothing new” by Oded Hirsch at Thierry Goldberg, 103 Norfolk Street, New York, NY 10002. Ends April 15. The title brings delicious irony to Hirsch’s work, as his pieces are original and intriguing. “Nothing New #1” embraces the fragile connection men, industry and nature have.
-“The Wild & The Innocent” at Clic Bookstore & Gallery, 255 Centre Street, New York, NY 10013. Ends April 16. Artists: Bree Apperley, Brendan Baker, Alexander Binder, Siobhan Bohnacker, Coley Brown, Patrick Buckley, Ana Cabaleiro, Samantha Casolari, Cody Chandler,Daniel Evans, Todd Fisher, Hannah Godley, Alexis Gross, Todd Jordan,Kohey Kanno, Mikael Kennedy, Collin LaFleche, Nicole Lesser, Jeff Luker,Jennilee Marigomen, Brian Merriam, Aaron McElroy, Skye Parrott, Emma Phillips, Henry Roy, Bryan Schutmaat, Brea Souders, Jordan Sullivan, Agnes Thor, Logan White.
-“Photographs 2001-2009” by Ken Rosenthal at Klompching Gallery, 111 Front St, Suite 206, Brooklyn, NY 11201. Ends April 20. Rosenthal’s photographs are almost like his materializations of his memories. Blurry and weak in color, they are slowly fading away.
-“Released with Conviction by the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO)” at Brooklyn Public Library, 10 Grand Army Plz , Brooklyn, NY 11238. Ends April 28. Artists: Jeyhoun Allebaugh, Michael Scott Berman and Bryan Tarnowski. These three artists followed and photographed nine released inmates as they reintegrated society.
Kirosuke Kitamura, Cama y mesa, 2011. Courtesy of 1500 Gallery.
-“Hidra” by Kirosuke Kitamura at 1500 Gallery, 511 W 25th Street, #607, New York, NY 10001. Ends April 28. Kitamura makes sure his photography is personal, as he explores the depths of the mysterious, yet dark Brazilian brothels.
-“Perspectives 2012” at International Center of Photography, 1133 6th Ave, New York, NY 10036.
Artists: Anna Shteynshleyger’s, Greg Girard’s and Chien-Chi Chang.
-“Lost in Art” by Liu Bolin at Eli Kleine Fine Art, 462 W Broadway, New York, NY 10012. Ends May 11. Bolin literally explores the relationship between man and the city, man and nature and more generally, man and his environment.
Liu Bolin, Hiding in the City No. 97- The Yellow River, 2011. Courtesy of the artist.
-“On this Earth, A Shadow Falls” by Nick Brandt at Hasted Kraeutler, 537 W 24th Street, New York, NY, 10011. Ends May 19. Brandt honors the majestic and grandiose nature of animals by taking breath-taking portraits of them. And the introduction of human beings in a few of his photographs, make his vision even stronger.
-“Stories the City Tells Itself: The Video Art and Photography of Neil Goldberg” by Neil Goldberg at The Museum of The City of New York, 1220 5th Ave, New York, NY 10029. Ends May 28.
