March 2011 Archives

In his recent series of photomontages, titled Downtown Corrida, young French photographer Alban Lecuyer stops time at the precise moment of the deliberate destruction of old buildings, and then places that moment in an urban setting that he has constructed to suit the purpose of his art.

Lecuyer writes this about the series:

Inspired by American realism, people in the foreground define the place of all and sundry in this evolution. They seem to be waiting for something, a vanished environment or, on the contrary, a new one that hasn’t been built yet.

They’re looking at the show of the implosion as they would while attending a corrida. There is the symbolic space of the bull ring (the safety perimeter), the expectation of the deathblow (the countdown to explosion), and the carcass of the beaten animal (the rubbish). At the end, the audience generally applauds and the images of the demolition become a part of our collective subconscious.

Read and see more, including a high-resolution slideshow, in Lens Culture.

While preparing for the upcoming international photography portfolio reviews in Stockholm, Sweden, we were happy to find this video from our previous portfolio reviews in Paris last November. (Video by Alain Beulé. Special thanks to Pierre-Yves Mahé of Spéos, Paris.)

The Paris portfolio reviews were very successful -- great memories, and a lot of good business deals and opportunities came out of those meetings. We're hoping for similar success for the photographers and reviewers who will come from all over the world in May to meet in Sweden.

The portfolio reviews in Stockholm will be limited to 100 serious, career-oriented photographers. If you are interested in attending, we suggest you register today. You can find all the details, including the impressive list of international experts who will be reviewing the portfolios, at the Stockholm Photography Week website.

For the Stockholm reviews, Lens Culture has teamed up with Fotografiska (The Swedish Museum of Photography), with generous support from Blurb.com. It's going to be great. And can you imagine how wonderful Stockholm will be during the last weekend in May?

Missa inte det här !

The winner of the third Prix Pictet photography award, on the theme of Growth, was announced in Paris on March 17.

American photographer Mitch Epstein won the top prize for his series entitled American Power, exploring different aspects of the power industry in the USA.

Mitch Epstein said, "I hope this prize draws attention to the ever more urgent need for governments and private enterprise to invest substantial sums into alternative energies that are healthier and safer than fossil fuel and nuclear. And the need for consumers to consume less."

We are pleased to present Mitch Epstein's work in a high-resolution slideshow. Also included is an in-depth statement about this important and timely project.

Photographers, art collectors, and photo enthusiasts--

We're very pleased to announce that Lens Culture has teamed up with Fotografiska, (The Swedish Museum of Photography), to host the first large-scale professional Portfolio Reviews in Stockholm on May 27-28, 2011.

Over the course of two days, 100 photographers will engage in one-on-one meetings and portfolio reviews with 35 international photography experts, including museum curators, gallery owners, festival directors, magazine editors, photobook publishers and representatives from photo agencies. These meetings offer photographers tremendous opportunities for career development, including potential editorial assignments, book publication contracts, art gallery representation, participation in international exhibitions, feature articles in magazines, as well as extensive business networking.

The event is limited to 100 photographers, so we urge serious, mid-career photographers to register now.

We believe that formal portfolio reviews like this are among the most proactive and efficient ways for serious, career-oriented photographers to meet many international photography experts and colleagues in a professional atmosphere. Photographers connect directly with people who can help them with artistic and business goals. It’s great for the reviewers too – they discover new talent, as well as the latest work of photographers who are already established.

More details can be found at the website: spwk.eu

The Portfolio Reviews are just part of the very exciting first annual Stockholm Photography Week, which takes place May 23-29, 2011.

Stockholm Photography Week is a week-long celebration of international contemporary photography.

Jan Broman, co-founder and co-director of Fotografiska, says, “Stockholm Photography Week is all about developing as a photographer: through one-to-one meetings with international photography experts, workshops with fantastic photographers, and through inspiring seminars and artist lectures.”

Workshops, seminars and exhibitions include:

• Workshops with two internationally renowned photographers: Mary Ellen Mark and Anders Petersen.

• Exhibitions by world-renowned photographic artists Edward Burtynsky and Albert Watson.

• Artist lectures and seminars, including a free workshop on making photo books.

• A special, 2-hour Open Portfolio Night (open to the public), where art collectors and photography lovers can meet with all of the artists participating in the portfolio reviews — and perhaps purchase some art directly from these great talents.

• Our 2-day photography portfolio review with 35 photography experts from three continents, and 100+ international photographers.

Hope to see you there!

Cheers,

Jim Casper, founder and director, Lens Culture

Special thanks to our sponsor, Blurb.com!

Twelve great photographers have been chosen as finalists for the prestigious Prix Pictet award, which focuses this year on the theme of "Growth". Lens Culture is happy to present an overview of the nominated work in a high-resolution slideshow. The winner will be announced in Paris on Thursday March 17 by HE Kofi Annan.

According to the official statement:

"The jury looked for photographic series of the highest artistic merit that also presented a convincing narrative about the critical issues of sustainability and in particular, the theme of Growth. Growth, which lifts countless millions out of poverty, also has a huge and potentially unsustainable environmental cost. It presents one of the great conundrums facing humanity in the early decades of the twenty-first century."

The shortlisted artists are:

Christian Als (Denmark)
Edward Burtynsky (Canada)
Stéphane Couturier (France)
Mitch Epstein (US)
Chris Jordan (US)
Yeondoo Jung (Korea)
Vera Lutter (Germany)
Nyaba Leon Ouedraogo (Burkina Faso) Taryn Simon (US)
Thomas Struth (Germany)
Guy Tillim (South Africa)
Michael Wolf (Germany)

For more information about this year's Prix Pictet, see the full article in Lens Culture.

We created a high-resolution slideshow, and blogged about this exposition earlier this month, but go see it in person if you're in Paris. Lots of inspiring work by up and coming photographers.

Today, 8 March, is International Women's Day.

So, here at Lens Culture we thought we'd take the opportunity to take a look back at just some of the inspiring photography by women that we have featured over the years.

Here are just a few links to get you started – of course, there are many more articles, and hundreds more photos, in our archives …

Lori Grinker
Helen Levitt
Rachel Papo
Katarina Radovic
Vee Speers
Vanessa Winship

These photographers explore themes ranging from the impact of war, to adolescence, sexuality and marriages of convenience. From street photography to portraits, their photography is humorous, dark, playful, sensual, compassionate and often deeply humane.

Enjoy – and Happy International Women's Day!

Recently the Obama administration continued military aid to four countries known for their use of Child Soldiers, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad, Yemen and Southern Sudan by issuing a waiver to the Child Soldiers Prevention Act. In a memorandum to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, President Obama said he had determined that the waiver was in “the national interest.”

One Voice, One Thousand Children is a two part series by Marcus Bleasdale looking at Child Soldiers, in the first part, and Young Girls who are conscripted, raped and made the wives of soldiers, in the second. The stories are told by two distinct single voices representing many.

Four photoreporters from the agency VII Photo -- James Nachtwey, Lynsey Addario, Marcus Bleasdale, and Ron Haviv -- collaborated on a heart-wrenching multimedia documentary about the plight of victims of the 20 years of war and extreme violence in the DRC. It was projected on the exterior walls of the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo last month, and will be on display in Paris next week at Espace photo BETC Euro-RSCG, 85-87 rue du faubourg Saint-Martin 75010 Paris, from March 8-13, noon to 8 pm, free.