All Things Art & Photography
Many people have worked in this vein of collaging pictures through the history of art. See David Hockey’s wonderful collages… While the technique is not new these images by Sohei Nishino are particularly ambitious.
Diorama Map /Rio de Janeiro via the artist web site
There are just not enough photo surrealist’s in the world for my liking and the young and untrained Toshiko Okanoue is one of the best. In 6 years she knocked out over 100 works and had a couple of shows in Tokyo in the 1950’s. She then stopped making art abruptly after marrying (the not so remarkable) painter Kazutomo Fujino.
Her photo-collages as she says,
“…fit my dreams. Those scraps of my fantasies turned into strangely interesting things, – things I would not have thought of. Emboldened and delighted by the results, I made one collage after another.”
Her work was forgotten for 40 years but now she is getting the attention she deserves via two books from the great Nazraeli Press which got her into a show at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston.
via nice article in Foam Magazine
The Collages of Toshiko Okanoue
I love Alec Soth’s work but this hand-ringing is complete and utter nonsense. It’s not about the camera(s) it’s about the vision. Photography is having its “Is Painting Dead” moment and painting is doing just fine thank you very much. There is this big universal photographer worry out there and I can’t wait until its over and we can move on. Yes you can network 50 miniature cameras and record an event from every angle but it will not be interesting. Give me a great lens and I can change the way you see something forever. Great Photographers will always be able to do that. That is why we should not worry about this and just go forth and make a great image dammit!
Maybe Photography Isn’t An Art Any More, Maybe It Never Was
Alec Soth: A few years ago Robert Frank said, “There are too many images, too many cameras now. We’re all being watched. It gets sillier and sillier. As if all action is meaningful. Nothing is really all that special. It’s just life. If all moments are recorded, then nothing is beautiful and maybe photography isn’t an art any more. Maybe it never was.” What do you think about this?
William Eggleston: I don’t disagree with any part of that statement.
via LBM Tumblr.
via Maybe Photography Isn’t An Art Any More, Maybe It Never Was.
Jim Pickerell article on the challenges for pro photographers today…
Of all the images used today, nothing is paid for the vast majority. PicScout searches the Internet for uses of professionally produced photos that are being licensed by many of the largest stock photography companies. Eighty-five percent are used in ways that are have never been authorized by the creator or his/her representatives.
via A Litany of Woes for Career Photographers | Black Star Rising.
A national wrap up of all the attempts at squashing the press lately..
It is an artist’s prerogative as to whether or not they will allow photography of their performances. A photo ban is one thing but it appears that Beyoncé wishes to have her cake and eat it too. She still wants photographic coverage but only wants to release images of her own choosing. The NPPA believes that this is improper and we have said so in our letter to her publicist.
We also believe that once it becomes apparent that news organizations are willing to accept this type of policy and use handout photos it will only encourage others to follow suit. The danger in this type of “infotainment” is that the public will be denied the information and images that come from independent news gathering and the media will be relegated to being nothing more than aggregators of sanitized material provided by public relations firms and press secretaries. This point is best illustrated in a joint protest by the NPPA and the White House News Photographers (WHNPA) Association regarding the photo manipulation of an official photograph made available for distribution by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s office.
via Photography & the Law – Beyonce’ and Beyond: A Roundup of Recent Legal Issues – JPG News.