Photography art Gallery Friday Round Up - 18 July, 2014|Photography Art Definition

This week on Friday Round Up new exhibitions for Edmund Pearce and Blackeye Gallery, Awards and Finalists and the Picture of the Week. Plus photographs from three iconic documentary photographers – Diane Arbus, Garry Winogrand and William Eggleston. And check out the Danube Revisited: Inge Morath Truck Project, which is currently underway.

Picture of the Week:

In Beijing the parents of Internet addicts are sending their children to military style boot camps to try to combat their online obsessions. There are more than 250 of these boot camp programs in China. Photo: Kim Kyung-Hoon

Exhibition: Melbourne

Out of the Closets, Into the Streets

Gay Liberation Photography 1971-1973

(C) Phillip Potter

This group show presents works that document the early rising of the gay liberation movement in Australia. These photographs not only record the societal shifts of the time acted out in public rallies and protests, but also capture private moments as seen in the intimate portraits of photographer Barbara Creed. The show features a number of photographs by John Englart that capture 1973’s Gay Pride Week in Sydney.

 Anon

 (C) Barbara Creed

(C) John Englart

At a time when Australia is debating the issue of gay marriage, this exhibition demonstrates that many of the phobias around sexuality and gender that existed in the 1970s are still present now. Yet it also shows the power of a united voice, and reminds us that the protests of the 1970s, and the courage of those who were prepared to stand up for their rights, directly impacted the lives of many who identify as GLBTI.

Out of the Closets, Into the Streets features work from Barbara Creed, John Englart, Phillip Potter, Ponch Hawkes and Rennie Ellis.

Edmund Pearce Gallery

Level 2 Nicholas Building

37 Swanston Street

Melbourne

Exhibition: Sydney

Stephen Dupont – White Sheet Series

(C) Stephen Dupont

This week photojournalist Stephen Dupont’s “The white sheet series No. 01” exhibition opens in Sydney at Blackeye Gallery. This exhibition, which was shown earlier in the year at Edmund Pearce, Melbourne, features a series of portraits Dupont took of visitors and pilgrims to Kumbh Mela, the most important Hindu Festival held in India four times every 12 years.

With this series Dupont, who is best known for his hard-nosed photojournalism work, has used Indian textile stamps to decorate the borders of the images, creating intricate patterns that frame the portraits in rich reds.

Until 3rd August

Black Eye Gallery

3/138 Darlinghurst Road

Darlinghurst (Sydney)

Looking Back

Diane Arbus, Garry Winogrand and William Eggleston

As I dive into research for my PhD I’ll be sharing snippets of information on the world of photography, both past and present. This week while we look at the new work that is being showcased in galleries and competitions, I thought it pertinent to share images from three iconic photographers who challenged documentary tradition in the 1950s and 1960s - Diane Arbus, Garry Winogrand and William Eggleston.

(C) Diane Arbus

(C) Diane Arbus

(C) Garry Winogrand

(C) Garry Winogrand

(C) William Eggleston

(C) William Eggleston

Prizes:

Melbourne

The Bowness Photography Prize – Finalists

Forty-eight photographers have been named as finalists in the 9th annual Bowness Photography Prize valued at $25,000.

Both emerging and established photographers can enter this competition, which is considered one of Australia’s “most open prizes for photography” as it has no thematic restrictions either. As such the finalists’ works are truly diverse with classic portraiture styles up against conceptual and abstract work.

Some of the finalists’ works are from larger series or bodies of work. In my opinion, often single images do not translate when they are removed from context and there are several images in this collection that fall into that category. But hats off to the judges – artist Siri Hayes, MGA Director Shaune Laikin and National Portrait Gallery Director Angus Trumble - for being able to whittle the entries down to only 48 – having been a judge this year for Head On Photo Festival I know what an enormous task it is to critically assess thousands of images.

This week images from four of the finalists are featured to give readers an indication of the breadth of work submitted for this coveted prize.

(C) Lee Grant

(C) Georgia Metaxas

 (C) Matthew Newton

(C) Darren Sylvester

The winner will be announced on 4th September. In the meantime you can check out the finalists’ images at the Monash Gallery of Art website – www.mga.org.au/bowness-prize

Finalists for the 2014 $25 000 Bowness Photography Prize:

Todd Anderson-Kunert, John Bodin, Jessica Brent, Ross Calia, Andrew Chapman, Danica Chappell, Rowan Conroy, Nici Cumpston, Tamara Dean, Shoufay Derz, Marian Drew, Lesley Duxbury, Cherine Fahd, Sean Fennessy, Gerrit Fokkema, John Gollings, Lee Grant, Mike Gray, Janina Green, Kristian Häggblom, Petrina Hicks, Shane Hulbert, Ingvar Kenne, Mark Kimber, Aldona Kmiec, Katrin Koenning, Christopher Köller, Annika Koops, Agata Krajewska, Ashlee Laing, Owen Leong, Georgia Metaxas, Graham Miller, Sarah Mosca, Harry Nankin, Matthew Newton, Zorica Purlija, Clare Rae, Kate Robertson, Julie Rrap, Emily Sandrussi, Vivian Cooper Smith, Darren Sylvester, Salote Tawale, Claudia Terstappen, Justine Varga, Anne Wilson and Yiorgo Yiannopoulos.

San Francisco:

Kellicut International Photography Show

2014 Winner – Goran Jovic

The Kellicut prize was established in 2008 on an open call basis. This year more than 1200 entries were received from across 15 countries with the winner Croatian photographer Goran Jovic for his work “Home Alone” (below).

Started by photographers Jeff and Kirsten Klagenberg, the Kellicut International Photography Show prize and exhibition are designed to promote the concept of photography as art to new audiences and to introduce new artists. To date the Kellicut trophy and cash prize ($US2000) has been awarded to photographers from Australia, Italy, Spain, Croatia and the US.

Kellicut International Photography Show

Exhibition Until 31 July

Coastal Arts League

300 Main Street

Half Moon Bay

San Francisco

To find out more about the prize and exhibition visit the website here

Other Exhibitions worth seeing:

Melbourne:

Michael Prideaux

Sea & Sky

Fortyfivedownstairs

Until 2 August

45 Flinders Lane

Melbourne

The Sievers Project

Group Show

Centre for Contemporary Photography

(C)  Zoe Croggon

Until 31 August

404 George St

Fitzroy

Project Update:

Danube Revisited

Inge Morath Truck Project

Last month Friday Round Up featured an interview with Australian photographer Claire Martin, one of the winners of the Inge Morath Award, about the Danube Revisited project. To quickly recap, this project involves the nine recipients of the Inge Morath Award who are now travelling along the Danube River from the Black Forest to the Black Sea in a large truck that has been converted into a mobile photography gallery. Along the route they will host artist talks, photo forums and cultural exchanges with local institutions and organisations. Following the tour they will embark on the creation of new works to be exhibited in 2015.

(C) Inge Morath

To follow the progress of these nine inspirational women photographers visit their blog here

Photography art Gallery Friday Round Up - 4 November, 2016|Photography Art Definition

This week on Photojournalism Now: Friday Round Up 3 very different exhibitions - Andrew Chapman's Drive Line in Melbourne and exhibitions in Sydney - The Light Collective and Stephen Dupont.

Exhibition: Melbourne

Andrew Chapman ? Drive Line

The ultimate of the Ford plant in Melbourne, and indeed the withdrawal from Australia of this iconic car producer, is a major blow to this united states of america?S production industry, but greater importantly it is devastating for loads of households who've depended on the plant for their livelihoods.

Ford is gone. Holden might be final up store and so will Toyota.

Still I?M not going to say anymore at the shortsightedness of the Liberal authorities and its epic failure to well known the big ramifications of allowing our car industry to crumble to dirt?

Melbourne photojournalist Andrew Chapman has captured the final days of the Ford plant in Broadmeadows (on the outskirts of Melbourne) in his common fashion making pictures that resonate at a deep human degree, even when they simplest function equipment as many of these do.

Chapman draws out the tales of this plant, which started operation in 1959 and closed its doorways in October 2016, in black and white, which serves to right now region these snap shots as historical documents.

The series changed into commissioned through Hume City Council and may be on display till the quit of January.

It is fantastic that Hume had the foresight to engage Chapman before it was too past due.

Drive Line is an critical collection and will serve as a useful archive for destiny generations.

(C) All snap shots Andrew Chapman

10 November 2016 - 29 January, 2017

Gee Lee-Wik Doleen Gallery

Hume Global Learning Centre

seventy five-ninety five Central Park Avenue

Craigieburn

Exhibition: Sydney

Kati Chanda - Lake Eyre

Interpretations from the Air

(C) Adam Williams

Adam Williams, Paul Hoelen, Luke Austin, Ignacio Palacios and Ricardo Da Cunha make up The Light Collective, a group of Australian panorama photographers four of which have just launched a new book and exhibition of pics of Lake Eyre taken from above. These photos may be oil art work and they're rich with texture. Many of the scenes are otherworldly and all are highly lovely.

?When you are taking to the air its (Lake Eyre?S) authentic complexity, variety and immensity is breathtakingly found out. Salt deposits, eroded channels and inlets, layers of sediment and algal blooms provide without end diffused versions of texture, traces, patter and coloration,? The organization says.

(C) Adam Williams

(C) Ignacio Palacios

(C) Ignacio Palacios

(C) Luke Austin

(C) Luke Austin

(C) Paul Hoelen

(C) Paul Hoelen

Adam, Paul, Ignacio and Luke’s images are truly stunning. I’ll be reviewing the book in December, but if you’re in Sydney check out the show at The Depot Gallery.  You can see more of their work here -The Light Collective . There's also a behind the scenes video.

Until 12 November

The Depot Gallery

2 Danks Street

Waterloo

Exhibition: Sydney

Stephen Dupont - The White Sheet Series

Havana, Cuba (C) Stephen Dupont

Multi-award winning Australian photojournalist Stephen Dupont caps off a brilliant year with his exhibition The White Sheet Series at Sydney’s Stills Gallery. This year Dupont has won numerous awards for his amazing book Generation AK including the Olivier Reboot Award, POYi Book of the Year and the Australian Photobook of the Year, adding to a long list of accolades.

The White Sheet Series features portraits taken by Dupont in various places around the globe including PNG, Cuba and India. Carrying a white sheet with him to use as a backdrop, Dupont sets up his makeshift studio on the streets of the cities he visits and invites locals to sit for him. The use of the white sheet places these portraits in the mode of traditional ethnographic photography where a blank background was commonly used in early portraiture. But Dupont’s take is original, and in his white sheet portraits we can see the people holding up the sheet, and the surrounds to give context and personality to the images that goes beyond the stereotypical portrait.

Havana, Cuba (C) Stephen Dupont

Piksa, PNG (C) Stephen Dupont

Varanasi, India (C) Stephen Dupont

9 November to 10 December

Stills Gallery

36 Gosbell Street

Paddington

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Photography art Gallery Friday Round Up - 9th December, 2016|Photography Art Definition

Book review: Stephen Dupont

Generation AK The Afghanistan Wars 1993-2012

I would that my photographs might be, not the coverage of a news event, but an indictment of war - the brutal corrupting viciousness of its doing to the minds and bodies of men; and, that my photographs might be a powerful emotional catalyst to the reasoning which would help this vile and criminal stupidity from beginning again. W. Eugene Smith.

This quote from W. Eugene Smith seems at the beginning of Stephen Dupont's opus on Afghanistan, that is a heavy tome in every experience of the word. But do not allow that deter you as that is a story that needs to be informed, needs to be looked at. What we realize of Afghanistan is essentially influenced by means of what we see on the nightly news and in newspapers and magazines. But those snapshots can not deliver an insight into the usa and its humans the manner Dupont's 20 12 months examine does.

Generation AK is sectioned into chapters each of which begin with diary entries from Dupont. Words and pix want each other and Dupont's reminiscing enables to draw the reader into the photographer's world, albeit if handiest in our imagination because if you haven't achieved it, you can not clearly consider what it need to be like to submerge yourself in a battle region. To accomplish that voluntarily is some other story altogether. But without photographers like Dupont these testimonies could by no means be informed.

Dupont has an enticing storytelling way, and his phrases sweep you alongside inside the drama. As you pass via the primary chapter, The Civil War 1993-2001, the sounds of rockets exploding and bullets screaming overhead become an inner soundtrack to the anxiety riddled faces of the folks who came underneath Dupont's gaze.

In the bankruptcy on the guerrilla chief Ahmed Shah Massoud, Dupont tells how whilst he was travelling to meet Massoud he shared a helicopter trip with a useless Afghan General, the plane filled with the scent of "rotting flesh, formaldehyde and diesel fumes." My nostril twitches with the suggestion, but the notion is quickly changed through the force of the photographs, which seize Massoud along with his fans in addition to in quiet, reflective moments that make you surprise what this man who became idolised via his fans became clearly like.

Dupont's collection Stoned in Kabul, where he observed two heroin addicted brothers Reza and Hussein, is likewise featured in Generation AK. I've seen this work in exhibition and it is genuinely startling, raw and unnerving, reflecting the savagery and desperate nature of life on the streets of Kabul.

The series Axe Me Biggie (explained as "a crude Anglo phonetic rendering of the Dari for Mister, take my photo") also features. Dupont shot these images in a 3 hour window at the streets of Kabul. The series accommodates 18 portraits of Afghans photographed in the front of a chunk of black material rigged up to create a makeshift studio. These snap shots say 'take my photograph, let people see me, permit human beings know that I am not defeated, allow me look you in the attention and inform you my story'.

I first interviewed Dupont in 2008 now not long after he had again from Afghanistan wherein he'd narrowly neglected being blown to pieces in a suicide bombing. He'd been travelling with a poppy eradication unit. In the ebook Dupont gives an account of that day and the way he become working on auto-pilot as he shot and filmed the scene, in which fellow Australian journalist Paul Raffaele turned into severely injured. The pictures go away the viewer with little question that Dupont become lucky to have escaped this tour together with his life.

Generation AK is a ebook that requires time to take a look at otherwise it grow to be too overwhelming and the tale gets lost in the horror of war. Dupont is a master storyteller. He knows how to construct the tempo, to mix photographs that deliver a story that is complex but handy.

It always feels odd to talk about aesthetics when the subject matter is so grim, but this is a beautiful book and the reproduction of images in both black & white and colour is superb, which is what you would expect from Steidl. The book features a foreword written by Jacques Menasche.

When I look at Dupont's work the overriding emotion I feel is respect. Respect for this photographer who is driven to tell these amazing stories often at great personal risk and cost. And respect for the human spirit and the will to survive even in the face of untold horrors.

This is important work. Don't look away.

To buy the book visit Steidl

To see more of Stephen Dupont's work visit his website

On-Demand Books:

Out of the Phone Publishing

While we're talking about books, for those who can't get a deal with the likes of Steidl, or who just want to get their pictures off their phone and onto paper, Paris publishing house Out of the Phone (OOTP) has come up with a print-on-demand book idea that allows photographers to produce inexpensive books that are quirky and personal.

The first OOTP print-on-demand photo book is a travel notebook with a specific format and pagination that allows you to present up to 50 pictures. Produced in France, the travel notebook has an artisanal look and feel. Founder of OOTP Pierre Le Govic is hoping to raise funds on Indiegogo to build a website for what he is calling the 'world's first print-on-demand photo book platform for mobile photographers'. If you’re interested, take a look here.

Weekend Reading:

Daniel Berehulak - They Are Slaughtering Us Like Animals

New York Times

More amazing work by Pulitzer Prize winning photojournalist Australian Daniel Berehulak on the savage anti-drug campaign being waged in the Philippines where Berehulak documented 57 homicide victims over 35 days. Berehulak photographed and wrote the story for the New York Times. Here's an excerpt:

“The rain-soaked alley in the Pasay district of Manila was my 17th crime scene, on my 11th day in the Philippines capital. I had come to document the bloody and chaotic campaign against drugs that President Rodrigo Duterte began when he took office on June 30: since then, about 2000 people had been slain at the hands of the police alone….”

Awards:

Lensculture 2016 Emerging Talent

Check out the top 50 in this year's Lensculture Emerging Talent competition, including Polish photographer Wiktoria Wojciechowska who I met at Paris Photo last year. She was one of eight in the Jurors's pick for her body of work, Sparks, which she describes as 'a multifaceted portrait of a contemporary war', in this case the conflict in Ukraine.

The gold leaf depicts those who didn't make it home