simple is beautiful
Amy Stein Photo: February 2007
2 ... 2 ...

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

PHotoEspaña 2007

phe07
Just received notice that I was selected as a finalist for the Desubrimientos Award at PHotoEspaña 2007. The review will be held at the Museo Municipal de Arte Contemporáneo in Madrid, June 1 - 3. This is outstanding news for many reasons not the least of which is I was looking for any excuse go back to Madrid and drink copious amounts of Rioja in the shadow of García Lorca.

Also making the cut is good friend and fellow JMU alumn, Susana Raab, and Chicagrapher, Nathan Baker.

© Nathan Baker 2006
(Kids, do you want to get noticed in the dog-eat-dog world of photography? Put Jon Gitelson in your photos!)

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Sunday, February 25, 2007

Meet Me at the Fair

In case you haven't heard there is a perfect art storm happening in New York this weekend. Pulse, Scope, The Armory Show, LA/Art, ADAA, DiVA...if you love crowds, temporary walls, and booths chock full of marginal art, then rush on down to one of the too many art fairs going on right now in NYC. A quick rundown of the weekend so far:

LA/Art -- Highlights included the Marcel Dzama pieces at Richard Heller and Rachael Papo's print at Paul Kopeikin's booth.

Pulse -- Standout photos by Brian Ulrich, Jeff Chien-Hsing Liao, and Didier Massard at the Julie Saul booth. I am not a big fan of Massard's fantasy landscapes -- they remind me of Yes album covers -- but I loved the Rhino.

Gurnee, IL © Brian Ulrich 2003
Dinner with Peeps -- Friday night our posse had velocity. We met up with Bill Sullivan, Shen Wei, Amy Elkins, Brian Ulrich, Paddy Johnson, and Kevin Faulkner for some tasty food and some quality post Pulse conversation.

The Armory Show -- One hour lines to pay $20 to see "SHIT" in neon? Oh yeah! Contemporary photography not represented well in the big show, EXCEPT Pieter Hugo's work at the Michael Stevenson booth. I think we are going to make the big leap and buy one of his beautiful prints.

UPDATE: We just bought this Hugo print! Woohoo!!

Morris Toe, Monrovia, Liberia © Pieter Hugo 2006

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Sunday, February 18, 2007

Discover: Fred Herzog

I've only recently discovered the beautiful early color work of Fred Herzog. Fred is a Canadian photographer and educator who has been documenting the diverse scenes of downtown Vancouver, BC, since the 1950's. I have never seen Fred's name mentioned before and I don't believe he's had a major show outside of Canada, but his stunning photographs could and should hang with the greats of "New Color." The Equinox Gallery in Vancouver is featuring an exhibition of Fred's color photographs from the 50's and 60's through March 10.


Jackpot © Fred Herzog 1961

Lucy/Georgia © Fred Herzog 1968
Family © Fred Herzog 1967
Diefenbaker © Fred Herzog 1962

Saturday, February 17, 2007

Richard Renaldi at Yossi Milo

© Richard Renaldi 2006
It was a warm 35 degrees today, so we popped into Chelsea to see Richard Renaldi's "The Plains" at Yossi Milo. Simply beautiful, beautiful prints. Richard has to be one of the most talented portraitists in contemporary photography. His placement of the figure in the landscape is simply inspired. I am a big admirer of his work and I hope to scape together some cash to pick up one of his prints while they are still somewhat affordable.

Saturday, February 10, 2007

I'm Going Back to New York City...

After a month straight in New Orleans and three plus months working on the Do You Know What It Means Project, I have finally come home to New York. I met so many wonderful people in the Big Easy who are trying hard to put the pieces of their lives back together, but there is still so much work to be done. Here's one thing you can do right now. The FEMA deadline for housing assistance is expiring on February 28. Please take action and tell your rep to extend the deadline.

I will write more about my time in New Orleans later, but will leave you with some photos from the Shangri-la Coronation Ball I attended this past Saturday. The ball is put on each year by the The Mystic Krewe of Shangri-La to eat, drink, and name their royal court for Mardi Gras. New Orleans is like no other place on earth.

The Captain © Amy Stein 2007

The King © Amy Stein 2007
The Queen © Amy Stein 2007

Thursday, February 8, 2007

Photo of the Week: Ditch Plains, Montauk, NY

© Amy Stein 2006

A View From Photo LA

It seems like years since Photo LA ended, but Paul Kopeikin just posted some photos from the exposition on his site. I didn't get a chance to make it out to Los Angeles for the big event, so it's nice to finally see the Domesticated work in all its art fair glory.

Friday, February 2, 2007

Waltz Across Texas

Stranded photos are always a challenge. Imagine your car has just died and you are sitting on the side of the road as trucks thunder past you only feet away. Your mind is racing with thoughts of how you are going to get off the highway and how much of your paycheck it's going to cost you to get your car running again. You are probably at a very low moment in your life. And then a car pulls up and a stranger asks if they can take your picture. That anyone ever says 'yes' amazes me. That most say 'yes' continues to blow my mind. Beyond the extreme tension inherent in the moment I am also working against the sheer improbability that someone will be broken down at the exact time and location that I happen to be passing in my car. I have made many trips and traveled many miles with this project and sometimes it doesn't bare photographic fruit.

Last Friday we took another road trip to hunt for stranded motorists and explore the vacant glory that is coastal Louisiana and East Texas. The trip covered over 1,200 miles and yielded only one stranded motorist and one roadside photo shoot. In the past this lack of output would have frustrated me to no end, but this trip was different. We decide to embrace the randomness and let our curiosity and the open road be our guide.

In Bayou Vista, LA, we stopped at the community center to visit the Barnes and Bailey circus (not Barnum & Bailey) and met Sam whose job it was to glue glitter to the hooves of the dancing horses.

In Huntsville, TX, we stopped at the “world’s largest statue of an American hero” -- a 67 foot concrete and steel effigy of Sam Houston. Huntsville is a gift that just keeps giving. We visited the Texas Prison Museum where I bought a wallet that was purported to have been made by a prisoner. On close inspection I found a Made in China sticker. Maybe they meant to say a Chinese prisoner made the wallet. From the museum we made the short drive to the Walls Unit of the Huntsville prison. The Walls Unit is the oldest prison in Texas and the location of the “Friendship” state’s death chamber where over 355 state-sponsored homicides have taken place since 1976.

Outside of Buffalo, TX, we pulled over to watch a giant strip mining operation and soon had new friends in the form of 80-year-old Morgan and his dachshund buddy, Snickers. Morgan seemed to be a little weary from the day -- or perhaps he was drunk. Whatever his condition he had a hard time keeping upright. “I fall down a lot,” he said.

Our journey then took us toward Waco along highway 164 to visit the Mt. Carmel compound of the Brand Davidian church. This was the site of the 1993 BATF and FBI siege on David Koresh and his followers that resulted in the deaths of 82 people. The chard foundation of the building still remains along with several militia-funded memorials that pay tribute to those that died and celebrate Koresh as a modern day Davey Crockett.

Just a short distance from Waco is Crawford, TX, and the site of another compound owned by a messianic leader hell bent on steering his followers toward a fiery downfall. I speak, of course, about George Bush and his western White House ranch. We drove out to the gate of the ranch, stole his newspaper, and then made a mad 200 mile dash back to Houston. The next morning we drove back to New Orleans.

All in all the trip was a healthy helping of American pie and, despite only finding one stranded motorist, I did find some inspiration for a new series. Tonight I will be driving back to Huntsville and will be shooting at the Walls Unit all weekend.