In their Beacon studio, twin brothers Mike and Doug Starn house their massive installation Big Bambú. Utilizing over 2,000 bamboo poles, the artists have created an extraordinarily intricate network system that bridges architecture and performance. The installation continues to evolve and adapt in the vein of a living, self-healing organism as the work takes on a life of its own, rather than a static creation directly from the artist.

According to the Starn brothers, Big Bambú is connotative of an autonomous, spontaneous, self-governing, disorganized network responding to itself to better navigate the environment. “It represents me – in that I am who I was, and, I am completely different than I was when I was a little boy,” Doug Starn writes.

Click here to view Big Bambú on facebook.

Click here to read the New York Times Magazine feature on the Big Bambú.

Click here to view the Starn brothers in Aperture magazine, issue 175.

Big Bambú will be open to visitors the 4th weekend in August  from 11AM to 4PM.

Should you plan to visit, kindly e-mail at: bb@starnstudio.com
Starn Studio Beacon (former Tallix Foundry)
310 Fishkill Ave
Beacon, NY 12508

Click below to see an excerpt from a panel discussion on the recently published book and Spring 2009 Aperture Gallery exhibition, Intended Consequences: Rwandan Children Born of Rape, photographs and interviews by Jonathan Torgovnik. The April 29, 2009 discussion, held at the Aperture Gallery, features Torgovnik explaining how he decided to go beyond his editorial project and started to document Rwandan women who were subjected to massive sexual violence by members of the Hutu militia groups during the 1994 genocide, and who all bore a child as a result. Since these women’s testimonies all emphasized the importance of education, Torgovnik co-founded Foundation Rwanda, which uses photography and video as tools to raise awareness, support the enrichment of the children, and to provide psychological help for the mothers.

You can watch the panel discussion in its entirety, divided in six different parts, on the multimedia section of our website or by clicking on the links below:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Commemorating the fifteenth anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, the panelists included the artist Jonathan Torgovnik; Carl Auerbach, Professor of Psychology at Yeshiva University; and Melissa Robinson, Director of Educational Programming of the non-profit organization Kids for Tomorrow. Rwandan women Marie Claudine Mukamabano, a genocide survivor, Rosette Burakari Adera, whose parents were Rwandan refugees, and Yvette Rugasaguhunga, read testimonies of the genocide survivors portrayed in the exhibition and book.

Fifteen years after the genocide, the mothers of these estimated 20,000 children still face enormous challenges, among them, being stigmatized within their communities for bearing a child fathered by a Hutu militiaman and the medical repercussions for those who contracted HIV through the violent attacks.

Torgovnick’s work on this issue was also featured in Aperture magazine, issue 194.

In celebration of his milestone birthday this year, Erwin Olaf created the following set of photo-illustrations: I WISH, I AM, and I WILL BE. Aperture sends our best wishes for this year … and for many more to come!

Click here to purchase your copy of Erwin Olaf’s award-winning monograph through Aperture.

Next Tuesday, August 11, Aperture book publisher Lesley A. Martin will be the featured guest curator on 20×200. She culled their archives to find her personal favorites (in addition to all of her favorite Aperture limited-edition photographs, of course!) including Shaun Sundholm’s Untitled (Let’s Get Lost), seen above. She and Jen Bekman will discuss her selections, and the resulting conversation will be featured in Jen’s newsletter and on the 20×200 blog next week. Also, not-to-be-missed, in the same newsletter 20×200 will offer an exclusive special for collectors. So, if you want the inside scoop, sign up now for 20×200’s mailing list!

Now on view at the Willams College Museum of Art in Massachusetts is Edward Steichen: In High Fashion the Condé Nast Years, 1923–1937 and Edward Steichen: Episodes from a Life in Photography. In High Fashion highlights the legendary photographer’s career in the fashion and glamour industry, with much of his portrait and editorial work. Episodes from a Life in Photography provides a comprehensive look at his career through various technical and artistic approaches. Don’t miss your chance to see these rare works from one of photography’s most influential artists.

Click here to purchase Aperture’s limited-edition portfolio Edward Steichen: The Early Years.

Edward Steichen: High Fashion, the Condé Nast Years, 1923–1937
Saturday, May 30—Sunday, September 13, 2009

Edward Steichen: Episodes from a Life in Photography
Saturday, June 6—Sunday, November 8, 2009

Williams College Museum of Art
15 Lawrence Hall Drive, Ste 2
Williamstown, Massachusetts
(413) 597-2429