Don’t miss Thomas Allen’s exhibition Epilogue on view at Michael Foley Gallery in New York through October 10th. In this new series of work, the narrative is reduced to the final scene, often the scene of the crime and is Allen’s final foray using his unique process of cutting and folding the covers of vintage pulp fiction novels to create imaginative scenes filled with drama, suspense and sensuality.  The short clip below is an excerpt from his discussion with designer Chip Kidd in the fall of 2007 on the release of his Aperture book, Uncovered, where these images have been gathered and published for the first time.

Thomas Allen & Chip Kidd on Uncovered-Excerpt from Aperture Foundation on Vimeo.

You can watch the entire talk divided in three different clips, in the multimedia section of our website or by clicking the links below:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Designed as a toy-like board book, Uncovered (Aperture, 2007) reflects the spirit of the project that is nostalgic, irreverent, and downright fun. Allen is in conversation with Chip Kidd, the internationally renowned graphic designer, author, comic book expert, and associate art director at Alfred A. Knopf, who wrote the foreword to Uncovered and has used Allen’s work in his award-winning design.

View related limited-edition print.

Aperture would like to say thank you for all who made our first Some Like it Hot Summer Party such a huge success.

Co-Chair Michael Foley and artist Thomas Allen

Co-Chair Cathy Kaplan and friends

Co-Chair Michael Hoeh and friends

Co-Chair Severn Taylor and friends

Aperture intern Jenny Plath hands off original Hannah Hooper drawing titled Self Portrait with Thomas Allen Print, June 2009 to the lucky winner.

Magnum wine bottle raffle winner

Spencer Throckmorton, Juan García de Oteyza, Susana Leval and Sofia Ortiz

the Willowz

Thomas Allen’s Beachcomber limited-edition print, specially commissioned for Aperture’s 2009 Some Like It Hot Summer Party, are available for a limited time! Contact prints@aperture.org

Learn more about how to become a part of the Aperture Foundation Young Patrons Program, Snap!

All images courtesy Elliot Black Photography

Kellie McLaughlin under the just released Silvio Wolf limited-edition print, currently only available at Aperture’s booth at Art Chicago.

Earlier this week, two fabulous Aperturians, Kellie McLaughlin and Christina Caputo, drove from New York City to Chicago, Illinois with a van full of Aperture’s brand new books and prints and preview copies of the next issue of Aperture magazine to attend Art Chicago. Stop by and browse, meet some of our favorite artists, or just say hello!

Art Chicago
The International Fair of Contemporary and Modern Art

Friday, May 1–Monday, May 4, 2009
Opening Preview: Thursday, April 30
Booth #12-653

EVENTS AT THE APERTURE BOOTH
MP3: Volume I featuring Kelli Connell, Justin Newhall, and Brian Ulrich
and
MP3: Volume II featuring Curtis Mann, John Opera, and Stacia Yeapanis
Book Signing
Saturday, May 2, 1:00 pm

Private Views, Photographs by Barbara Crane
Artist’s Talk and Book Signing
Saturday, May 2, 5:00 pm

Uncovered, Photographs by Thomas Allen
Book Signing – JUST ANNOUNCED
Sunday, May 3, 1:00 pm

Class Pictures, Photographs by Dawoud Bey
Artist’s Talk and Book Signing
Sunday, May 3, 3:00 pm

SPECIAL EVENT
The Rape of the Sabine Women/Works by Eve Sussman & Rufus Corporation
Aperture Foundation Reception
Saturday, May 2, 6:00 pm

Click below for more behind-the-scenes pictures.

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A visitor to the Aperture and D.A.P. booth at photo la this past weekend. Featured limited-edition prints from Takashi Homma, Thomas Allen, and Martin and Muñoz can be seen on the wall.

Bruce Davidson in conversation with Charlotte Cotton on Saturday, January 10, 2009 as part of the LACMA Artist Conversation Series.

Jim Goldberg signing copies of War Is Only Half the Story: The Aftermath Project at the Aperture booth on Sunday, January 11, following his lecture.

We wanted to give our devoted blog readers a little inside scoop and a sneak peak at the new Limited-Edition Photograph created by Thomas Allen expressly for Aperture. We will be releasing this work later in the summer. To create Suspended, 2008 exclusively for Aperture’s Limited-Edition Photographs program, American artist Thomas Allen selected the pulpiest of pulp paperbacks and then lovingly sliced out the cover figures, folding them into position and constructing the witty scene that he then photographs. We were thrilled that Thomas agreed to participate in our program ( a big thank you to Michael Foley of Foley Gallery, who represents Thomas Allen’s work in New York for also thinking it was a good idea ) , and even more thrilled that he decided to create a work expressly for Aperture. States the artist, “this image makes me laugh every time I see it. I found the book with the woman seated at a desk some time ago, but didn’t have a clue as to what to do with it. I didn’t find a “mate” until I began thinking about the limited-edition print ideas for Aperture. Truth be told, I found two books – one I used and this one:

but I felt it didn’t spark the tension like the one in the final print does-two coeds schooling us on the primal art of getting noticed.”

Allen enjoys taking on different roles in creating his photographs, ” in addition to being a photographer, I play talent scout, casting director, stage manager, lighting supervisor, and film editor.” He photographs these vignettes in shallow focus, with a four-by-five inch camera, rendering his prints with the dreamy effect reminiscent of the View-Master stereoscopic toy that inspired him from his childhood. Aperture proudly published his debut monograph Uncovered in 2007. This print will be coming to the Aperture website soon so be sure to sign up for notification online so you know when it will be available.