Photographers: June 2007 Archives

It seems that German photographer Bernd Becher passed away last Friday in Germany as the result of complications from surgery. He was 75 years old. Amazing that there has been little or no coverage of this in English-language news, even in art-related publications.

Becher, along with his wife Hilla, was one of the initial photographers I became familiar with when my interest in photography began in earnest in 2000.

Sonnabend Gallery is currently showing a selection of the Becher's "Grain Silos", one subject amongst an encyclopedic catalog of industrial structures.

More commentary on Bernd's significance over at "State of the Art".

UPDATE: The NY Times published an obituary on June 26th.

Perhaps someone can explain this one to me, because it makes absolutely no sense to me, and not just because I can't speak Portuguese. Sao Paolo-based ad agency Neogama/BBH just won a Cannes Gold Lion for an anti-smoking campaign using the post-Katrina photography of Robert Polidori to represent the internal damage smoking can cause.

Is it just me or does this seem like a highly inappropriate use of such photography? Heck, I felt a little uncomfortable viewing these works in a museum setting, like I was some sort of death voyeur, but seeing them used as an ad, even for a "good cause", strikes me as wrong.

Both uptown and downtown, there are quite a few shows out there to see before everything converts completely to group work from the flat files. And I've created a handy Google map to assist with your June gallery crawl. Black and white seems to be making a comeback, at least in terms of what's being shown.

A New American Portrait

Water by Christine Collins

Christine Collins, Jen Davis, Benjamin Donaldson, Amy Elkins, Peter Haakon Thompson, Todd Hido, Alec Soth, Brian Ulrich, and Shen Wei
A strange prevalence for anonymity amongst the photographers and subjects. What does that say about the modern American character?
June 22 - Aug 3 at jen bekman
6 Spring St
(212) 219-0166

Colour before Color
1970s European Color Photography, curated by Martin Parr
Luigi Ghirri, Keld Helmer-Petersen, John Hinde, Peter Mitchell, Carlos Pérez Siquier, Ed Van der Elsken
Contrast the work of John Hinde and Peter Mitchell for a stark understanding of the range of what was going on at the time, economically and photographically.
Through July 20, 2007 at Hasted Hunt
529 W 20th St, 3rd Flr
(212) 627-0006

Bernd & Hilla Becher
Grain Silos
If you haven't seen the Becher's work up close, Sonnabend gives you a chance about once a year. Highly recommended.
Through July 27 at Sonnabend Gallery
536 W 22nd St
(212) 966-6160

June Bride
Diane Arbus, Tracey Baran, Valérie Belin, Lee Friedlander, Robert Gober, Nan Goldin, Wang Jin, Seydou Keϊta, Rosemary Laing, Nikki S. Lee, Loretta Lux, Robert Mapplethorpe, Karl O. Orud, Bill Owens, August Sander, Lise Sarfati, Rudolf Schwarzkogler, Malick Sidibé, Alec Soth, Arthur Tress, Chris Verene and Akram Zaatari.
Through August 17th at Yossi Milo Gallery
525 W 25th St
(212) 414-0370

Sam Samore
Scenarios
Through June 29 at D'Amelio Terras
525 W 22nd St
(212) 352-9460

Apocalypse: Contemporary Visions

Untitled by Paolo Pellegrin

Through July 27 at Candace Dwan Gallery
24 W 57th St, Suite 503
(212) 315-0065

Uniform: South Africa's New Clothes

OASIS: Sasol, Albert Road, Woodstock, 2006 by Pieter Badenhorst

Pieter Badenhorst , Bridget Baker, Lien Botha, Franci Cronje, Santu Mofokeng, Dale Yudelman, Donovan Ward
Through June 30 at Spanierman Modern
45 E 58 St
(212) 832-1400

Conceptual Photography, 1964-1989
Through June 23rd at Zwirner and Wirth Gallery
32 E 69th St
(212) 517-8677

Office Parks by Mark Luthringer

From Mark Luthringer's artist statement:

The typological form achieves an uncanny synergy and resonance with this subject matter because it mimics the mental images I suspect many of us form as a way of ordering the chaos of abundance that surrounds us. We can’t help but form in our heads lists, groups and categories based on product, brand, price point, style, market segment, country of origin, etc.

To see one of these turned into a group of images lined up together can be unnerving, though. In print, they confront us in a way never possible when they're just in our heads. We are presented with order, and while it is often an absurd, seemingly pointless order, it is one that we recognize immediately.

(via Core77)