March 2010 Archives

For his latest blockbuster show, American photographer Jeff Cowen collaborated for 6 months with his muse/model, Alexandra, in locations around Europe and the Western (Libyan) Desert in Egypt. The prints are mural-size, with exquisite detail, rich toning, and his signature style of artfully hand-worked gesture that raises the photographs to the level of fine art. If you can make it to Munich, don't miss seeing this work in person.

Exhibition: April 1st - April 30th 2010
Opening reception with the artist: Thursday April 1st, 2010 6pm
Galerie Klüser
Türkenstrasse 23, 80799 Munich

These 35 photographs — spanning 30 years of life in Iran, from the Iranian Revolution in 1979 through the highly contested political elections of 2009 — depict conflict, contradiction, anger, defiance, tenacity, as well as joy and celebration. In some ways there is a dramatic difference in how "normal" life looks now versus then. In other ways, the violence and struggles continue on a regular basis. Read more ...

This is definitely not your ordinary war photography — and the double entendre of the title hints at the multiple layers of meaning embedded in this seemingly mundane video. Set against the spectacular backdrop of the Tigris river in the background, a group of heavily armed and armored soldiers lounge around an empty swimming pool filled with rubble at one of Saddam Hussein's formerly luxurious hilltop palaces. They could be extras on a film set waiting for the action to begin.

The film's credits read:

"Theatre of War is a slow, virtually static video piece redolent of classical history painting. Audio was recorded at the official US military hand-over ceremony at the nearby city of Saniya. A mullah's prayer for unity among Arabs is spoken, after which the pan-Arab national anthem, Mawtini (My Homeland) is played, emphasizing Arab national solidarity and a pan-Arab territory. Made in Iraq in March 2009. Cinematography and Editing by Trevor Tweeten. Digital Color and Post Production by Jerome Thelia."

This video by Irish photographer Richard Mosse is showing now in Houston at FotoFest, as part of a large exhibition curated by Aaron Schuman of SeeSaw magazine. Mosse's exhibition includes exquisite large format 8" x 10" color photographs of the remaining architecture of many of Saddam Hussein's palaces that were destroyed and occupied by American forces, as well as other surreal images from that war and other areas of conflict and disaster around the world.

We recorded a great video interview with the artist while he was in Houston for the opening of this city-wide festival of photography. Check back in the near future to see and hear the interview as part of our ongoing series of Lens Culture's Conversations with Photographers.

[Update: A very generous donor has already claimed this gift. Thanks!]

Here is another chance for you to help Lens Culture -- and get a great gift in exchange!

The very next financial supporter who contributes $250 or more to Lens Culture will receive a signed copy of Andrew Phelps' excellent book, Not Niigata, along with a signed, limited edition print from that series made in Japan in 2009. You can choose any of the images below as your 30x40 cm print. We'd like to thank Andrew for his generosity and support of Lens Culture, too!

More good news from the International Exposure Awards ...

Each of the 29 winners of the 2009 Lens Culture International Exposure awards won the opportunity to design and publish a free photobook from Blurb. These are just two of the beautiful photobooks that winners Raina Vlaskovska and Paolo Patrizi have created. You can view complete previews by clicking on the book covers below. Enjoy!

The complete book of winning photographs from Lens Culture International Exposure Awards is also available via the Blurb website.