Out of town: November 2005 Archives
The Saturday NY Times has an article about Paris Photo, supposedly the world's larget photo fair. As such, its got a representative sampling of major photography trends.
The black-and-white masters of the early- and mid-20th century set out to explore what photography could do, through experiments with technique and form, through the near-abstraction of nudes and through documenting, as Henri Cartier-Bresson put it, the "decisive moment" of everyday life. In other words, they were artistic photographers.
In contrast, while today's photographic artists have absorbed this legacy, they are also influenced by advertising, fashion, video art, painting, sculpture and Conceptual art. They seem more intent on altering than on recording reality. They are also responding to an existing - and increasingly competitive - market.
If you live near George Mason University in Virginia, you might be interested in catching the ArtBus tomorrow for a day trip to NYC full of art. Check the site for details, it costs $50 for students and $60 for non-students. The site also has a lot of great links to NYC art events and sites. An interesting service held three times a year (unfortunately this is the last one for 2005).
