Vik Muniz, whose book Reflex: A Vik Muniz Primer was published by Aperture in 2005, is the subject of a new documentary directed by filmmaker Lucy Walker. The new film titled: Wasteland follows Muniz as he embarks on an ambitious and moving project in his Native Brazil, traveling from Brooklyn where he currently resides to the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, home of the world’s largest garbage dump Jardim Gramacho. Collaborating with Catadores: workers who comb the dump for recyclable materials, Muniz constructs images from the garbage itself, transforming the materials being worked with while promoting wider awareness around issues surrounding waste, the ways landfills affect surrounding communities and reminding us all the potential power and impact of art. Wasteland opens in New York this Friday at the Angelika Film Center.

Wasteland
Opens in New York Friday, October 29th, 2010

Angelika Film Center
18 W. Houston Street
New York, New York

Click here to purchase Vik Muniz’sReflex: A Vik Muniz Primer

The first edition of The Pond-published by Aperture in 1985 and one of the most important photography books in the history of the medium-included an original gelatin-silver image printed by John Gossage himself and tipped onto the cloth cover of the book. This was a special and luxe addition to an already stunning book, which, ironically, came about because the budget wouldn’t allow for it.

The Pond‘s funding was maxed out with the book’s cloth binding, high-end paper, and extra-long dust jacket with custom color inks. It simply didn’t allow for any more extras, like a tip-on image, which is typically printed as an extra sheet with the rest of the pages of the book. Since what happens underneath a dust jacket is not immediately visible, and, in fact, many readers don’t ever remove it, adding more features there can drive costs up without necessarily adding more perceived value to a book. In short, adding a manufactured tip-on just didn’t make financial sense.

However, it does make for a nice surprise for those who take the time to remove the jacket, and John saw that if he printed the tip-ons himself, he could add this feature without affecting the book costs significantly. As he put it, “It required my effort. But it was just some trouble, and so I did it.” This meant, though, that he needed to make over 2,500 prints! Faced with days in the darkroom, John decided to include six different images so he wouldn’t grow bored. He chose images that commented on the interior of the book, but that weren’t included within, in order to keep attentive readers on their toes and intrigued. Five out of the six images were a series of frames of a string blowing in the wind. The sixth image was a wild card: a menacing junkyard dog behind a fence. While all the images spoke to the kind of beautiful imperfection in the borderland between man and nature surrounding the pond, the dog seemed to guard the book in a very direct way, quietly growling at the viewer.

John made extra copies of each of the prints so that the printer would have more than 2,500, in case any damage occurred during production. After the book was made, the printer returned the leftover images to John.  In the end, he got a disproportionate number of dog prints back. This meant that fewer of these prints were tipped onto books that went into circulation, making a copy of The Pond with a dog print tipped onto the cover even more rare.

It also means that John has some extra copies of vintage dog prints. To our great surprise and honor, he has generously donated one of these prints, along with a first edition of the book, to Aperture for this year’s Benefit and Auction. Now you have a chance to own this amazing, storied print and first edition book, and at the same time support Aperture’s publications, exhibitions, and educational programs.

Blog post by Denise Wolff

For more information on our Benefit as well as bidding online and in-person, please click here.

Don’t miss your last chance to buy tickets to the 2010 Aperture Benefit and Auction and SNAP! Benefit Party on November 1st! This year there are a number of available ticket packages to choose from. Enjoy Aperture’s Silent and Live Auctions as well as the Benefit dinner honoring photographer Richard Misrach, Steven Ames and Julie Saul from 6:00 to 9:30PM.

Or join us for the SNAP! Benefit Party, from 9:30 to 11:30PM, and dance the night away to music spun by special guest DJs and downtown fixtures Tim Barber of Tinyvices.com, AJ Slim and Jeannie Hopper of LiquidSoundLounge.com and ARTonAIR.com. This year the SNAP! Benefit Party will also include Aperture’s first ever Emerging Artists Auction featuring works by artists Jen Davis, Mark Lyon, LaToya Ruby Frazier, among others, an open bar and gourmet bites as well as an exciting selection of raffle prizes including theater tickets, dinner for two and many more!

Aperture is honored to be recognized by the Lucie Awards as the 2010 Photography Magazine of the year. In addition to giving out awards in a range of categories, last nights reception at Lincoln Center in New York paid tribute to photographers Tina Barney, Howard Bingham, James Drake, Graciela Iturbide, Lee Tanner as well as photography organizations Eddie Adams Workshop, Center for Photography at Woodstock and composer Michael Nyman for his photography and film work. Congratulations to fellow winners and nominees!

Kayla Lindquist from Sony, guest, & Peter Berberian from Gotham Imaging

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Thanks to everyone who attended Tuesday night’s opening of the Raymond Weil International Photography Prize Exhibition at Aperture Foundation, featuring Carlo Gianferro and Nicolas Delaroche. It was a wonderful evening with special thanks to Fujifilm USA for providing Instax cameras for the guests to record the all fun. See the party pics above taken with the Instax Mini camera.

Raymond Weil International Photography Prize Exhibition
Featuring Carlo Gianferro and Nicolas Delaroche
On view: Tuesday, October 26 -Tuesday, November 2, 2010
FREE admission

Aperture Gallery
547 West 27th Street, 4th floor
New York, New York
(212) 505-5555

Mark your calendars — Aperture is gearing up for a busy first week of November!

Detail from Untitled, 2008, by Richard Misrach

November 1 – Aperture Foundation 2010 Auction and Benefit

Aperture will be hosting its annual Benefit and Auction at The Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers, New York. This year’s honorees are photographer Richard Misrach, collector, philanthropist and former Aperture Board member, Steven Ames; and New York-based gallerist Julie Saul. Benefit co-chairs are Sondra Gilman and Celso Gonzalez-Falla.

Immediately following the benefit will be Aperture’s first ever SNAP! Benefit Party hosted by SNAP! The Aperture Foundation Young Patrons Program.

Aperture Foundation 2010 Benefit and Auction and SNAP! Benefit Party
Monday, November 1, 6:30-11:30 pm

The Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers
New York, New York

Click here to preview and bid on Auction items.

© Michael Wolf

November 3 – Contemporary Documentary Practices: New School Panel Discussion

Aperture Foundation, the photography department in the School of Art, Media, and Technology at Parsons, and the Vera List Center for Art and Politics at The New School present a panel discussion entitled Contemporary Documentary Practices, as part of the ongoing series, Confounding Expectations: Photography in Context. Revisiting Martha Rosler’s seminal 1981 critique, “In, Around and Afterthoughts, on Documentary Photography,” this panel will explore the viability of documentary practices today, both within the contemporary art realm and in the larger context of visual culture. Moderated by Susan Bright, panelists include photographers LaToya Ruby Frazier, Michael Wolf and Chris Verene.

Contemporary Documentary Practices: Panel Discussion
Wednesday, November 3, 7:00 pm

The New School
Tishman Auditorium
66 West 12th Street
New York, New York

November 4 – Richard Misrach Lecture and Book Signing at The Strand Bookstore

The Strand Bookstore presents a lecture and book signing with Richard Misrach on the occasion of the publication of Misrach’s acclaimed new monograph, Destroy This Memory. Published by Aperture on the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina—this powerful book presents previously unpublished and starkly compelling material, all of which Misrach shot with his 4 MP pocket camera.

Artist Lecture and Book Signing with Richard Misrach
Thursday, November 4, 7:00 pm

The Strand Bookstore
828 Broadway (at 12th Street)
New York, NY
(212) 473-1452

Click here to purchase a copy of Destroy This Memory

November 5-November 7 – New York Art Book Fair

Join Aperture at the New York Art Book Fair, the annual fair of contemporary art books, catalogs, artists’ books, periodicals, and ‘zines offered for sale by over 200 international publishers, booksellers, antiquarian dealers, and independent artist/publishers representing the best in contemporary art publications. Visit us at our booth featuring limited-edition books such as The Pond by John Gossage.

New York Art Book Fair
Friday, November 5-Sunday, November 7

MoMA PS1
22-25 Jackson Ave at the intersection of 46th Ave
Long Island City, NY

Visit our website to view all upcoming events.

The annual PDN PhotoPlus International Conference and Expo kicks off this week in New York at the Jacob K. Javitz Center. This three day event features a full schedule of talks, seminars, workshops and presentations of the latest imaging products and services. For the duration of the conference hundreds of exhibits and booths from leading industry publications, manufacturers, organizations, galleries and more will be open for browsing. Visit Aperture magazine at booth #643 to preview the Winter issue, for back issues and to receive special discounts on subscriptions. Thursday afternoon join co-publisher Michelle Dunn Marsh, VP, Bonnier Group Gregg Hano, Photographer Lisa Kereszi and Photo Editors Sacha Lecca and Whitney Johnson at the convention center for panel discussion sponsored by Aperture and Freestyle Photographic Supplies entitled 10 Things You Should Know About Magazine Publishing Today.

PDN PhotoPlus International Conference + Expo
Aperture Booth #643, Expo Hall
Thursday, October 28, 2010 – Saturday, October 30, 2010

10 Things You Should Know About Magazine Publishing Today
Thursday, October 28, 2010, 3:45 – 5:45pm

Registration required.
Receive FREE admission to the Expo Hall by clicking here.
Admission charged for conference sessions.

Jacob K. Javitz Convention Center
655 West 34th Street
New York, New York

Red Ceiling or Greenwood, Mississippi, 1973 by William Eggleston

The most comprehensive retrospective to date of William Eggleston’s work will be on view at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, entitled Democratic Camera: Photographs and Video, 1961-2008. Although beginning his photographic career in black and white, Eggleston quickly turned to color—predominantly thought at the time to be for amateurs—and proved that it indeed deserved a place in art institutions. Democratic Camera only furthers the fact that Eggleston is the master of color photography and has secured an important place in art history for his quintessential American scenes. His inventive use of color turns the mundane into an unforgettable image, and blazed the path for future photographers, curators, critics, and authors alike. A portfolio of Eggleston’s little-known and intensely vibrant drawings was featured on the cover and in Aperture magazine, Issue 196.

Click here to see all of the LACMA public programs about William Eggleston.

William Eggleston: Democratic Camera
Photographs and Video, 1961-2008
On view: Sunday, October 31, 2010 – Sunday, January 16, 2011

Los Angeles County Museum of Art
5905 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 857-6000

Photo by Edgar Martins

The Wayward Line, a new exhibit of work by artist Edgar Martins opens in Paris this October at the Calouste Gulbenkian Cultural Centre. The exhibition brings together images from over seven bodies of work as well as an unpublished series from the past year, highlighting a number of ongoing themes in the artist’s work such as Martin’s nuanced landscapes and exercises in minimalism. This exhibit will be Martin’s largest exhibition to date and his first solo show in France. Martin’s monograph Edgar Martins: Topologies was published by Aperture in 2008.

The Wayward Line: Photography by Edgar Martins
October 20 – December 18, 2010

Calouste Gulbenkian Cultural Centre Paris
51 avenue d’Iena
75016 Paris
t: 01 53 23 93 93

Click here to view Edgar Martins: Topologies

Image by Gerald Slota / text by Neil LaBute

As Home Sweet Home, the new exhibition at the Ricco Maresca Gallery proves, a simple e-mail can go a long way. In the case of artists Gerald Slota and Neil LaBute, it resulted in a provocative yet poignant artist collaboration. Shot out into the depths of the internet, the initial e-mail sent by photographer Slota was a seed waiting to be planted; a great idea that needed mutual incentive for physical manifestation. That’s where LaBute, a renowned screenwriter and playwright, comes in. With his consenting reply, the duo set to work. The photographs—with Slota trademarks like vivid colors, collaged items, out-of-focus elements, and etched indentations—were like peeking into the bizarre dysfunctions of family life. LaBute’s brief accompanying text gives the necessary narrative to top off each piece, allowing his twisted writing style to shine through. The two artists during their correspondence never actually met, making the partnership even purer, with no distractions—just the art at hand.

The Slota / LaBute works are featured in Aperture magazine Issue 196, and as limited-edition postcards.

Home Sweet Home
On view: Thursday, October 14th – Saturday, November 13th, 2010

Ricco Maresca Gallery
529 West 20th Street, 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10011
(212) 627-4819

The Board of Trustees of the Aperture Foundation announced today that Chris Boot, a veteran in the field of photography, has been appointed Executive Director, Aperture Foundation.

Mr. Boot has had a long and distinguished career in photography and photobook publishing. He worked for Magnum Photos from 1990-98, including as Director of Magnum, London, and, later, Magnum, New York. Subsequently he held the position of Editorial Director at Phaidon Press from 1998 until 2000. In 2001, Mr. Boot started his own company Chris Boot Ltd., based in London to work on projects independently, producing exhibitions and publishing his own list of books. Over the past eight years he has published many acclaimed photobooks, ranging from contemporary titles that push the boundaries of the medium, to books that provide a fresh perspective on the history of photography.

Mr. Boot has a BA in Photography with Distinction from the Polytechnic of Central London, and a BA in English Literature with Honors from the Royal Holloway College, University of London.

“I’m delighted to welcome Chris Boot to Aperture,” says Celso Gonzalez-Falla, Chairman of the Board, Aperture. “His vast experience working in photography in a variety of positions, including as editor and publisher, and his passion for and knowledge of photography, makes him uniquely qualified to set Aperture’s course for the future as Aperture gears up to celebrate its 60th anniversary in 2012.”

Mr. Boot will join Aperture in January of 2011.