All images courtesy Elliot Black.

Hear WNYC Art Cult blog here.

Tinyvices Books.

The Ice Cream Parlor, 2004

Dutch photographer Erwin Olaf is a key European figure in both fashion and fine art photography. Olaf will be at Aperture to discuss and sign his new Aperture monograph, Erwin Olaf, which brings together for the first time three of the artist’s series: Rain, Hope, and Grief. Each richly colored and sleekly composed image offers a sly reinterpretation of Norman Rockwell-like iconography and characters, manifesting a nostalgia that both burlesques and wryly celebrates America of the 1950s and ’60s.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008, 6:30 p.m.

Aperture Gallery
Exhibitions of his work are currently on view:

Erwin Olaf: Still Living Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art (SECCA), North Carolina

Erwin Olaf: Rain, Hope, Grief & Fall Hague Museum of Photography

View and buy book here.

The Printed Picture

Exhibition on view: October 17, 2008 – June 1, 2009

Lecture: Saturday, October 18, 2008, 11:30 a.m. with Diana Bush

The Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53 Street
New York, New York

An educational installation portraying the history of picture-making is now on view at the Museum of Modern Art. The show includes sixty enlarged details magnified fifty times to reveal the technical elements involved in printing. The exhibition opens in conjunction with the release of The Printed Picture, a book by master printer Richard Benson, that traces the changing role of technology in producing multiple images. Benson, who has worked as a printer and photographer for over forty years, is known for his incredible ability to produce outstanding photographic prints. In fact, Benson printed several Paul Strand limited-edition prints for Aperture Foundation, including Wire Wheel (pictured), Alfred Stieglitz, Lake George, St. Francis Church, Rancho de Taos, and a platinum print of Wall Street, of which there is only one left. Benson also printed Strand’s Garden Portfolio (Portfolio Four), which consists of 10 gelatin-silver photographs, printed under Strand’s supervision in the artist’s darkroom in Orgeval, France, shortly before Strand’s death.

On Sunday, October 19, coinciding with the 2008 Lucie Awards, Nueva Luz magazine (which has the work of Hank Willis Thomas on their current cover) presents a discussion between up-and-coming artist Hank Willis Thomas and award-winning writer and documentary photographer Sara Terry at Splashlight Studios, followed by book signings.

Sunday, October 19, 5:00 p.m.

Splashlight Studios, New York
Limited seating, RSVP (required) to lectures@lucieawards.com

Photo by Martin Parr

Aperture Foundation’s Annual Benefit & Auction is next week! Photographer William Christenberry will be honored and there will be silent and live auctions. Over 60 amazing photographs will be available at the auctions, including work from Christenberry,  Mitch Epstein, Pamela Hanson, Richard Misrach, Gabriel Orozco, Martin Parr, Stephen Shore, Paul Strand, Dan Winters, Carrie Mae Weems, Garry Winogrand, and more. See all the auction items here.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2008
Pier 60, Chelsea Piers
New York, New York

6:30–8:00 p.m. Cocktails and Silent Auction
8:00–10:00 p.m. Dinner, Live Auction, and Award Ceremony

All proceeds benefit Aperture Foundation’s publications, exhibitions, and public programs at Aperture Gallery and at other venues worldwide.

A few tickets are still available. Email mgrasso@aperture.org for availability.

APA|NY Presents Photographer Michal Chelbin at the Apple Store, Soho

6:30 p.m.

AND

Aperture, The New School and Vera List Center for Politics Present Photography©®™

7:00 p.m. at The New School

Panelists to include Nancy E. Wolff, lawyer and partner at Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams & Sheppard, who specializes in intellectual property and digital media law; Eileen Flanagan, licensing director of Magnum Photos and former national president of the American Society of Picture Professionals, with longstanding experience in the photo licensing business including Corbis, Getty Images, and the Chicago Historical Society; as well as photographer-turned-industry-advocate Lou Lesko. Moderated by Michelle Bogre, Associate Professor of Photography at Parsons The New School for Design.

©   Jaimie Warren

Tinyvices Book Party

Thursday, October 16, 2008

6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Aperture Gallery
547 West 27th Street, 4th floor
New York, New York

This Thursday, join Aperture as it co-hosts the launch of Tinyvices: Vol. 1-5. This new series of monographs, published by Aperture in a limited-edition of 1,000 copies each, features five of the most promising photographers found on the widely popular website tinyvices.com.  The featured photographers are Kenneth Cappello, Allan MacIntyre, Jason Nocito, Robin Schwartz, and Jaimie Warren, who will all be present at the event. Tim Barber, founder and curator of tinyvices.com, will be in attendance as well.

For more about the books, click here.

Hank Willis Thomas reports back from the recent Aperture West Lecture Series tour to celebrate the release of his monograph Pitch Blackness.

Mr Thomas,

Your mission should you choose to accept it is to give three lectures, in three days, in three different cities.  We will be sending Christina Caputo from the Aperture Foundation to escort you. We will be watching you. Be sincere, be compelling, and most importantly – sell your book.  This email will self-destruct in 5 seconds….

Well okay, maybe it wasn’t that dramatic, but Mission Impossible would describe the feeling I had when I thought about giving back-to-back-to-back public lectures at important art institutions for my Aperture West lecture series. Especially when I realized that my talk on Thursday, October 2nd at the Hammer Museum in LA would coincide with the Vice-Presidential Debate. And then again, when I realized that my talk for Photo Alliance in SF the next night would be competing with three major art-related events in the Bay Area. Who would come? I had visions of me walking into a dark auditorium to be greeted only by a few friends and the organizers. I was also pretty nervous because I had never spoke about the book in public, and it is such a personal project. I was worried that I would sound inauthentic after repeating myself everyday.

To my great surprise, I couldn’t have been more wrong about anything. When I arrived in Seattle, Christina Caputo had arranged a television news interview with CBS KIRO. The jitters began then. I realized the conundrum of my work.  Here I am doing press for a  book which in large part talks about the way that marketing manipulates viewers. And to make matters more complicated, the major selling point of the book is that the work came out of my cousin’s murder. I do believe the work is good and I am making it for earnest reasons, but I am always given pause when I find myself in situations where my cousin’s murder is cache. I am trying to make sure that he and other young men are not forgotten, but there is a thin line between memorial and exploitation in this case. We all know that violence sells in America. So far, I have managed to stay on this side of memorial – but I am relying on family and the audience to keep me honest!

After the TV spot, which will air in January, we walked around Seattle and set off to the Henry Art Gallery at  University of Washington.  I was still working on my presentation while Director Sylvia Wolf was introducing me. That became obvious to everyone when it flashed across the screen. Then Christina, practically a stranger at the time, came up to the mic and on tip toes read an awesome intro which referred to me as one of the most important artists of our generation (or something like that).  To which I thought, “then how come I don’t feel it?.”  Well, no matter what I was thinking, when it came time to talk about the work I practically became possessed! All of a sudden this sense of poise came over me and I spoke incredibly well about the influence of my mother, Deborah Willis, on my work, and I flowed into the book and onto other projects almost as if I had been reading a well-written script. When it was over, I could tell the the audience was engaged and affected by my words and my work. And even stranger than that, I felt like they knew me really well! It’s weird to make a career of bearing your soul to strangers, but I guess that is what most artists do. The books sold out, the chief curator Elizabeth A. Brown gave us a quick tour of the awesome Richard Misrach show they were installing, and we went to a great dinner with a few friends.

The next morning, we flew out to Los Angeles, checked out the Steve Turner Gallery and a couple of exhibitions at LACMA.  I was really nervous that night because I didn’t know who would come to see me talk during one of the most anticipated debates in history. To my surprise, there were over 80 people there and more than a few of my closest friends, even a few collectors. I don’t know if I had ever spoken in front of that many good friends about something so personal. I knew they knew what I was thinking, so I felt extremely self-conscious. I had to be on my Ps & Qs. I was really nervous when I started out; I couldn’t really get my groove. I was really overwhelmed because I realized how much of my life and career was influenced by these peers, roommates, and long-time family friends. I was totally distracted throughout my talk and visually upset at certain parts. When the film project, Winter in America, was showing, I had to really talk to myself before I lost my full composure. On the other side of it, I felt more comfortable and confident. I was so proud and honored to have a chance to share myself, my work, my hopes and dreams with so many people.  During the book signing, I was overwhelmed with the support of people who came. Many purchased more than one book and the book store sold out. The line of people came up to me with love, criticism, support, and and admiration. I signed books and felt for the first time like an author.

Sweet home San Francisco was the final leg of the tour.  I arrived at the San Francisco Art Institute for the pre-talk dinner hosted by PhotoAlliance and got to talk to students, staff, and board members. For the first time, I actually felt comfortable in my new role as professional artist. I was happy to share my book with peers and prepared briefly for the lecture. I tried to change it up each night just enough to keep myself on my toes. Carla Williams gave a 15-minute presentation on photography books and pointed out the dearth of books that featured or were authored by African Americans. She highlighted the rarity and pointed out that the success of this project is an integral part of maintaining the legacy and visibility of black photographers. With that heavy burden and even more teachers, friends, and loved ones in the audience, I walked up and gave what felt like the most clear and articulate lecture about my inspiration, my hopes for work, and the reason that I believe it was important.  For the first time in a while, I was actually really proud of myself, and had this vague sense that I could make a difference.

In addition to the Aperture West lecture series, I also went to Oakland School for the Arts and talked to 230 high-school students on October 8. Although I spoke for about an hour, the student body was fully engaged, many of them came and talked to me afterwards. They were even patient through my technical difficulties. After the talk, I had an hour long Q & A with the visual-arts students. It was amazing! There isn’t a more scary experience than talking about something personal to teenagers. But these kids got it. The were thoughtful, sensitive, challenging, and engaging. I am so thankful to have these opportunities. I would never have known this book would have such an impact on me personally and be so influential in refining my voice.  Wow.

hank

Photo by William Christenberry

William Christenberry: Photographs, 1961 – 2005

Exhibition on view: October 13, 2008 – December 6, 2008

Artist’s Lecture: Monday, October 20, 2008

Opening Reception with the Artist: Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Massachusetts College of Art and Design
Sandra and David Bakalar Gallery
612 Huntington Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts

An exhibition featuring the work of photographer William Christenberry is opening in Boston this Monday. Additionally, Christenberry will be appearing for a lecture on October 20, where he will also be signing copies of his book, William Christenberry, published by Aperture.

The images both in the exhibition and book are a culmination of Christenberry’s highly regarded photographs of the American South, particularly his hometown, Hale County, Alabama. While his style is reminiscent of Walker Evans, Christenberry has made a name for himself as a pioneer in the field of color photography.

To purchase the book, click here.

For a limited-edition photograph offered through Aperture, click here.

Richard Misrach: On the Beach

Artist Lecture: Friday, October 10, 2008, 7:30 p.m.

Exhibition on view: October 11, 2008 – January 19, 2009

Henry Art Gallery
15th Ave NE & 41st St.
Seattle, WA

Richard Misrach will give an artist talk this Friday about his series, On the Beach. Internationally renowned for his exquisite, thoughtful-provoking work, he will discuss the images that are compiled in his recent, sold-out monograph and featured in the concurrent exhibition opening at the Henry the next night.

To hear a podcast of Misrach discussing his exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago, in Septemer 2007, listen here.