A quick look back at ACP 11 in October, 2009!

Great to see this new, interactive portfolio of Civil Rights icons (including photos made in Atlanta) by Platon for the New Yorker. The selection includes historical photographs, as well. See “The Promise“.

Big photography news last night with the announcement that Magnum Photos has sold its print archive to Michael Dell. Magnum Director Marc Lubell discusses the archive. Here’s the NYT’s story:

“You could see the handwriting on the wall,” said Mr. Lubell, who took over as director six years ago, “and the handwriting was shrinking and shrinking.” With the proceeds from the sale the agency — which represents the work of 13 estates and 51 current members, including well-known photographers like Bruce Davidson, Eve Arnold, Susan Meiselas, Martin Parr and Alec Soth — will try to recreate itself as a media entity on the Web, relying less on publications and more on its ability to tell its own stories of world events and trends.

© Magnum Photos

© Tari Beroszi

“Tari Beroszi’s large-scale abstract photography panels will open Thursday, February 4 from 6-9pm at Snapdragon Photography/Jennifer Schwartz Gallery in TULA Arts Center. Beroszi’s work, “Seeing Sound”, is an exploration of music and image. She uses photography as a tool to translate the language of music into abstract images, resulting in a poetic and conceptual representation of a non-visual language. Her photographs are the abstract equivalents of what she feels and what she sees from within when listening to music.

Dawoud Bey: Class Pictures
Emory Visual Arts Gallery
February 4-March 4, 2010

Opening reception: Thursday, February 4, 5-8 pm
Featuring…
~Food and Libations
~At 5:30 pm, a special presentation by the Transforming Community Project introducing Dawoud Bey’s Spring 2010 Artist Residency at Emory University*
~At 7:00 pm, an artist’s talk by Dawoud Bey

In images made in public and private high schools across the United States, renowned portraitist Dawoud Bey offers a cross section of a generation, which is also a microcosm of the American experience as it finds expression in and as adolescent preoccupations, dreams and intensities. Accompanying each photograph is a statement by its subject, interrogating, challenging and elaborating the image—effectively performing the first in a chain of readings (including our own) that catalyze the portrait’s meanings. The subjects’ receptivity to themselves—following Bey’s own sympathetic receptivity to them—solicits, directs and finally compels our own humanistic response.

*Class Pictures is presented in conjunction with a month-long residency by Dawoud Bey, during which he will work with the Transforming Community Project (TCP) to photograph students, faculty and staff, gather their written and oral testimonies, and conduct workshops that explore the racial history and diversity of Emory University. This residency celebrates TCP’s extraordinary five-year service to the Emory community (2005-2010) and seeks to contribute to their enduring legacy on campus.

Class Pictures and Dawoud Bey’s residency are sponsored by Emory University’s Transforming Community Project, the Hightower Fund, and the Emory College Center for Creativity & Arts.

© Paul Fusco

Great news from the High Museum:

The photography department has acquired twenty photographs by photographer Paul Fusco from The Robert F. Kennedy Funeral Train (1968). On June 8, 1968, Robert Kennedy’s body was transported by train to Washington, D.C., for burial at Arlington Cemetery. On board the train was Paul Fusco, a photojournalist on assignment for LOOK Magazine. As the train made its way down the Eastern Seaboard, thousands of mourners came out to line the railway tracks and pay their final respects. Fusco documented the mourners, taking approximately 2,000 pictures during the eight-hour train journey. Fusco’s photographs simultaneously tell individual stories while capturing the collective emotion of the American public. Unfortunately, Fusco’s photographs were never published by LOOK, and the magazine folded three years later. Fusco was able to retain 200 of the pictures, but the rest were donated to the Library of Congress along with LOOK’s photographic archives. The portfolio remained unpublished until 1998, when it was featured in GEORGE magazine to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Kennedy’s death. The images have since been published in two separate books and have been exhibited internationally. This portfolio of 20 cibachrome prints is part of a limited edition of 15 sets that have been made expressly for museums. It is the first work by Paul Fusco to enter the High’s collection, and it will complement the Museum’s prominent archive of more than 300 photographs that document pivotal events of the civil rights era.

Serenbe Photography Center will have their grand-opening in a few weeks, but their calendar is chock-full of great events, classes and workshops. We’ll be sharing more info about their efforts in the weeks ahead. Here’s what’s happening on February 6th…

Capture, Tweak, & Print Workshop! – with Harris Fogel

$125 (includes lunch) – limit 16 students

9:30 am to 4:30 pm

“Digital technologies have unleashed a newfound ability to create images that embrace the passion at the core of the photographic aesthetic since its creation. Though the learning curve can be frustrating, the amount of creative control we have is staggering, as are our options and approaches!” says Harris Fogel, internationally acclaimed digital photography mastermind. He’ll discuss image capture, the role of color management and profiling from capture through development and printing, and how to best optimize work for export and printing. Using Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 for digital workflow, he’ll explain and illustrate image formats and how they impact your work, and explore the use of software and hardware to help achieve the best image quality. This is definitely a double shot of Espresso workshop! – Just bring your camera.

to register contact: serenbephotographycenter@gmail.com

office - 770-463-9098, Jenna Duffy, Asst. Director

or contact Kathryn Kolb, Director, 404-862-0118

About the Instructor:

Harris Fogel is an Associate Professor of Photography, and Director of the Sol Mednick Gallery and Gallery 1401, in the Media Arts Department at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia. The Media Arts Department offers programs in Photography, Film, Animation, and Digital Video, and houses two gallery spaces. The Sol Mednick Gallery and Gallery 1401 offer a year-round schedule of contemporary exhibitions of photography. He is reviewing work for possible exhibition at the Sol Mednick Gallery and Gallery 1401. He would prefer to view work that is fully realized and ready for exhibition. Our dogma is that we are non-dogmatic, and exhibit a wide-range of work.

Celebrating its 30th anniversary the Sol Mednick Gallery was founded in 1978 by then-Department Chair Ray Metzker, and is named after the founder of The University of the Arts Photography Program, Sol Mednick. It is the only endowed gallery for the exhibition of contemporary photography in Philadelphia. Fogel has directed the Sol Mednick Gallery since 1997 and Gallery 1401 since 1999. Gallery 1401 is now celebrating its 10th anniversary. The Media Arts Department, home to the photography, film, digital video, and animation programs at the university, operates the galleries. In 2001, the Sol Mednick Gallery received the prestigious Photo Review Award for service to photography.

Flux Projects have secured space for public art in Lenox Mall, and are looking for your proposal, due January 31st!!

“Flux Projects has secured a space at Lenox Square for two weeks, February 15 – March 2, during which we hope to present one to three public art projects. (Images of the site are attached.) Over an average weekend, Lenox attracts 105,000 people per day, so the exposure to the public is tremendous. Having a project stand out in the visual density of the mall will be challenging, and we look forward to seeing what you propose!”

Flux Projects - Call for Proposals - Lenox Square

Lenox Square - Elevated Display Area

An interview from WABE, talking about Weingarten’s new exhibition of portraiture at the High Museum, which opens to the public on Saturday.

We don’t normally post advertisements for camera gear here on ACP Now!, but there’s something about Wim Wenders’ approach that speaks more to the joy of photography as a whole, regardless of what camera you own.

A quick reminder that the annual auction to benefit Art Papers is on February 6th, and tickets are on sale now. Plenty of photographers have pieces in the auction; here’s a list of participating artists.

Corinne Adams, Lisa Alembik, Todd Alexander, Tristan al-Haddad, Sterling Allen, Alvaro Alvillar, Larry Jens Anderson, Anita Arliss, Linda Armstrong, Meg Aubrey, Philip Auslander, Mali Azima, Peter Bahouth, Beverly Baker, Nancy Baker, Conrad Bakker, Corey Barksdale, Michael Barringer, Balam Bartolomé, Avantika Bawa, Anne Beidler, Laura Bell, Robin Bernat, Daniel Biddy, Joe Biel, Janet Biggs, Matt Blackwell, BORN, Elaine Bradford, Mark Bradley-Shoup, Laura Bruce, Tania Bruguera, Caroline Bullock, Lucinda Bunnen, Luca Buvoli, Stefani Byrd, Danny Campbell, Dennis Campay, Lilly Cannon, Philip Carpenter, Jennifer Cawley, Mel Chin, Susan Cipcic, Charles Clary, Clayton Colvin, Monica Cook, Ginny Cook, Kate Crosby, Jerry Cullum, Dorit Cypis, Cathy Daley, Patrick DeGuira, Rebecca DesMarais, Brian Dettmer, Terri Dilling, Craig Dongoski, Stephanie Dowda, Craig Drennen, Ruth Dusseault, Wes Eastin, Sarah Emerson, Jody Fausett, Malaika Favorite, Laura Faw, Barrett Feldman, Julia Fenton, Tom Ferguson, Brendan Fernandes, Rosemarie Fiore, Robert Fischer, Margaret Fletcher, Nancy Floyd, Taj Forer, Angela Fraleigh, Jason Francisco, Scott French, Anna Christina Frischknecht, Randy Gachet, Angus Galloway, Meta Gary, Eula Ginsburg, Rory Golden, Ben Goldman, Charles Goldman, Julie Green, Joshua Dudley Greer, Kojo Griffin, Hadley+Maxwell, Matt Haffner, Paul Hagedorn, Iris Häussler, Rachel Hayes, Jodi Hays, Sally Heller, Tony Hernandez, Julia Hill, Hope Hilton, Sarah Hobbs, Sun Hong, Ridley Howard, Scott Ingram, Doug Ischar, J. Ivcevich, Jennifer J.L. Jones, Glenn Kaino, Mark Karelson, Marcus Kenney, Harrison Keys, Lily Kuonen, Alexander Kvares, Kristofer Laméy, Judy Morris Lampert, Caroline Lathan-Stiefel, Jack Lawing, Scott Lawrence, Mark Leibert, Kalup Linzy, Matt Lively, Steve Locke, George Long, Pam Longobardi, Sharon Louden, Oliver Lutz, Jennifer Mack, Kelly Mark, Daniel Joseph Martinez, Victoria Martin-Gilly, David McConnell, Conor McGrady, Michael Jones McKean, Kelly McKernan, Michi Meko, Corrina Sephora Mensoff, Donna Mintz, Linda Mitchell, Katherine Mitchell, Traci Molloy, Julian Montague, Dana Montlack, Jiha Moon, Andy Moon Wilson, Gean Moreno, Rebecca Morris, Laura Mosquera, Carter Mull, Michael David Murphy, Prema Murthy, Patrick Nagatani, Warren Neidich, Ilona Niemi, Laura Noel, Brian Novatny, Karyn Olivier, Robyn O’Neil, Ernesto Oroza, Adrienne Outlaw, Susan Harbage Page, Carolanna Parlato, Vesna Pavlovic, Daniel Pelt, Joe Peragine, Sigrira Perret-Gentil, David E. Peterson, Sandra-Lee Phipps, Plastic Aztecs, Amy Pleasant, Greg Pond, Carl Pope, Sheila Pree Bright, Manny Prieres, Julie Püttgen, Sofya Radelet, Daniel Raedeke, Ray Rapp, Barbara Rehg, Allison Rentz, Jeff Rich, Matthew Rich, Shaun Richards, Shana Robbins, Rana Rochat, Ben Roosevelt, Jack Dingo Ryan, Jon Sasaki, Chris Scarborough, Mario Schambon, BE Schellinger, Michele Schuff, Michael Scoggins, Richard Sexton, Felice Sharp, Robert Sherer, Noah Simblist, Melissa Sims, Julie Sims, Deanna Sirlin, Brett Smith, Caroline Smith, Pat Snow, Joe Sola, Jered Sprecher, Micah Stansell, Whitney Stansell, Stephanie Sutton, Katherine Taylor, Tommy Taylor, Kelly Teasley, Dayna Thacker, John Tindel, Jeanie Tomanek, Tonel, Murphy Townsend, Gregor Turk, Lisa Tuttle, Yi-Hsin Tzeng, Yukari Umekawa, Waldo Vinces, Tracy Wagner, Robert Walden, Audrey Ward, Adam Waterson, James Way, Carrie Mae Weems, Heather Weese, Mark Wentzel, Angela West, Christian Bradley West, Holly White, Alex P. White, Martha Whittington, Pandra Williams, Teri Williams, Gwen Wong, Whitney Wood, Xenia Zed, Monica Zeringue and Marina Zurkow.

Athens-based photographer Mark Steinmetz’s latest book “Greater Atlanta” was chosen as one of the top photobooks of 2009, by Photo-Eye.

“Mark Steinmetz completes his powerful and moving trilogy, “South”, with Greater Atlanta. Photographing in Atlanta and its outlying regions, Steinmetz provides his testimony on contemporary American civilization. Combining portraits and landscapes, he weaves a symbolic and lyrical investigation that subtly questions notions of progress. He further develops motifs – on the automobile, on the telephone – that were first introduced in South Central, and catalogues car culture, fast food, convenience stores, and suburban sprawl. Beautifully printed in duotone on matt art paper, Greater Atlanta is printed in a first edition of 1,000 casebound copies. Mark Steinmetz is a Guggenheim Fellow. His work is included in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art; the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York; the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; the Art Institute of Chicago; and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.”

There’s plenty of photography events happening in Atlanta this week! Here’s a few!

Composition Gallery’s “Four for Four” opens this Saturday.

“Composition Gallery was selected Best New Gallery in Atlanta in 2006, and has since developed a reputation for showcasing compelling and important photography from the region’s and the nation’s top emerging photographic artists. Composition has also hosted the work of nationally and internationally renowned photographers including Sylvia Plachy, Kael Alford, Al Rockoff, and Kristen Ashburn. The gallery will celebrate its Fourth Anniversary by presenting the work of four emerging photographers: Brittany Binler, Camilo Cruz, Rebecca Finley, and Tom Meiss. An opening reception will be held on Saturday, January 23rd from 7 to 10pm, and the exhibit will continue through Sunday March 7th.”

Arts Clayton has two shows opening on Wednesday, January 20th, “Odyssey 2010″ & “Digital Artifacts”.

Jackson Fine Art has an opening on Friday night, January 22nd, with work from Lynn Geesaman and Jack Spencer.

Lumiere has an opening on Friday, January 22nd with an exhibition from Robert Weingarten, “The Road Less Traveled,” which is in tandem with an exhibition of Mr. Weingarten’s work at the High Museum, “The Portrait Unbound“.

Fantastic news from artscriticatl.com about the launch of a new arts non-profit in Atlanta, Flux Projects!

“Its signature event will be “Flux,” the one-night arts festival in Castleberry Hill District held in October and formerly known as Le Flash. In fact, it was Corrigan’s experience at Le Flash’s 2008 debut that led him to found Flux Projects.

Enchanted by the energy and the crowds, Corrigan saw in Le Flash the potential to inspire artists and to help his home town see itself as the dynamic arts community he feels it already is.“Atlanta has the highest percentage of its residents in arts-based employment of any major city,” he observes. “The art scene needs to be visible to itself and the rest of Atlanta.”

Corrigan put up $90,000 to underwrite Le Flash’s sophomore incarnation in 2009 and started the non-profit to give the event ongoing stability. He has plans to grow Flux, which he took over from founders Cathy Byrd and Stuart Keeler, into a city-wide event.”

Atlanta’s gloATL performs “pour” at the 2009 Le Flash. Photo: Adam Davila