Abe’s Penny’s August 2012 edition features images from Jen Davis, whose decade spanning “Self Portraits” series was featured in reGeneration 2: Tomorrow’s Photographers Today, the second book in the esteemed series shining a spotlight on the next generation’s rising stars.

›› Shop Jen Davis’s limited-edition print Untitled No. 32, from the “Self Portraits” series
›› Buy reGeneration 2: Tomorrow’s Photographers Today

Merce Cunningham: 65 Years, a dynamic multimedia app celebrating the unique legacy of the late choreographer, dancer, and artist, launches today. Based on the book Merce Cunningham: 50 Years (Aperture, 1997) by David Vaughan, which is often referred to as “the Cunningham bible,” this expanded digital edition for the iPad includes new essays, journal entires by the choreographer, video excerpts, photographs and interviews. Read more about Merce Cunningham and the app in the New York Times.

The app is available for purchase in the iTunes App Store.

While working on a series of cloud photographs in 1925, Alfred Stieglitz coined the title ”Equivalents” for his work, with the idea that the photographs could correspond to both the reality in front of the camera’s lens and the internal being of whoever was looking at them. Photographs could be representational and abstract, so even a photograph of a mundane subject could provoke a strong emotional response.

W. M. Hunt, the juror of the 17th Annual Photo Competition at Photo Center NW, chose this idea as the open theme for this year’s contest. So, the winning images are eclectic, but all meet Hunt’s criterion for what makes great photographs: their ability “to evoke a sensation that resonates through my being,” regardless of subject matter or technical process. See if the work resonates through your being too at Photo Center NW’s Seattle gallery, or check them out online. And for more of Hunt’s curatorial vision, check out The Unseen Eye: Photographs from the Unconscious, 35% off as part of Aperture’s summer sale, which ends this Friday, August 10.

2012 © Sara VanDerBeek

Established in 2001, the Smithsonian American Art Museum created the Contemporary Artist Award to enhance the museum’s commitment to living artists and to honor their achievements. Artists nominated have to be younger than 50, have produced a significant body of work, and consistently demonstrate exceptional creativity.

The 15 nominees for the 2012 Contemporary Artist Award, whose work spans a diverse range of media, are Matthew Buckingham, Kathy Butterly, Christina Fernandez, Amy Franceschini, Rachel Harrison, Oliver Herring, Glenn Kaino, Sowon Kwon, Ruben Ortiz-Torres, Jaime Permuth, Will Ryman, Ryan Trecartin, Mark Tribe, Mary Simpson and Sara VanDerBeek.

Artists are nominated by a panel of jurors from across the country, each with a wide knowledge of contemporary art. The artist receives $25,000 with the intent to encourage the future development and experimentation of the artist’s work. Winners will be announced in October.

VanDerBeek appeared in Aperture issue 202.

Aperture Anthology In-A-Bag

The bluelines for our upcoming Aperture Magazine
 Anthology: The Minor White Years, 1952–1976 have just been delivered to editorial, expertly packaged and fully portable!

This long-awaited volume—published on the occasion of Aperture Magazine’s sixtieth anniversary—will provide a selection of the best critical writing from the first twenty-five years of the magazine—the period spanning the tenure of cofounder and editor Minor White.

The texts and visuals in this anthology were selected by Peter C. Bunnell, White’s protégé and an early member of the Aperture staff, who went on to become a major force in photography as an influential writer, curator, and professor. Several documents from Aperture’s founders and individual articles are reproduced in facsimile, and the book is enlivened by other distinctive elements, including a portfolio of each cover, and a selection of epigrams and editorials that appeared at the front of each issue. An extensive index of every contributor to the first twenty-five years of the magazine makes this an indispensible resource. Stay tuned for its Fall 2012 release…