(What To Do? is a weekly installment of previously unpublished photos from my archives)
Sunday, December 14, 2008
What To Do? #6
(What To Do? is a weekly installment of previously unpublished photos from my archives)
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Terry Norman Toedtemeier, 1947 - 2008
The death of Terry Toedtemeier on Wednesday came as a shock. Born and raised in Portland, Toedtemeier became thoroughly enmeshed in the city's photographic community, first as a founding member of Blue Sky Gallery and later at the Portland Art Museum where he was the curator of photography from 1985 until his death this week. His crowning curatorial achievement, Wild Beauty, is on display at the museum until January 11, 2009. A brief obituary is here, public comments on his life and legacy are here, and some of his photos are here:From Some Twenty Odd Visions (1978)
From the 80s and 90s
From Basalt Exposures (1995)
Recent work
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Ready for the Whitney to call any day now...
While browsing this recent interview with William Eggleston (by Larry Clark collaborator Harmony Korine), on the same site I stumbled on Ryan McGinley's travel journal. Ah, to be young and successful...and if I could get a sponsor to supply a van of naked models and endless film on my cross country wanderings, that would be nice too (or would've been twenty years ago). Enough has been written about his photos so I won't go into that. I just wanted to say that McGinley's travelogue is surprisingly engaging. An excerpt:
June 13. Clayton, Ga. It's Friday the 13th. I've been out of contact with most everyone I'm friends with. It doesn't feel right to call people when you're on the road-it's nice just to get away from it all. We drove from Tennessee through Franklin, North Carolina, where almost exactly one year ago to the day my Volkswagen Eurovan died on the side of the highway. I thought I had died too and saw the light, but it was just the white powder from the airbag.
When I first read this I grew wistful for the long unplanned road trips of my younger years. But then I thought, wait a minute. I live in a house of young naked models! I drive them around in a van, and you're darn right its airbag contains white powder! I may not have an endless supply of film, but I sure act as if I do! In short, my life is every bit as exciting as McGinley's. Here's an excerpt from a few days ago:
December 4. Eugene, Or. I've been out of contact with most of my kidless friends for the past few years. I don't enjoy the phone. I'd rather email, although lately I haven't had time. Today Leo and Emmett were home from school. Leo didn't put on clothes until noon. Emmett wore his Stormtrooper outfit, then wanted to wear Spiderman, then wanted Stormtrooper again, then he crapped his diaper and some of it got on the legging so I just stripped him naked. Then we couldn't find any blank paper in the house so we wound up using the dog's face as a canvas. Good thing Annie's white. Leo wanted her to have mean eyebrows and Emmett wanted smiley, and it turned into a screaming match. Then Leo decided she needed a big gray "brain" on top. Annie took it all pretty well. Later Emmett found the prism I thought we'd lost and for the next hour acted as if he'd seen the light.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Lesli Larson
Lesli Larson has been part of the Eugene Grid Project from its initial stages last spring. Her shooting process is pretty interesting. Using a twin lens camera, she aims and focuses to create an image on the ground glass. But instead of capturing the image by pushing the twin lens shutter, she uses a small digital camera to snap a photo of the ground glass image.
The effect is uniquely strange. The ground glass lines become part of the image. There is usually heavy vignetting near the edges where light cannot penetrate the viewfinder box. Sometimes the ground glass magnifier becomes part of the image. All in all it's a new twist on the frame-within-a-frame dynamic, and one that seems quite original.
More of Larson's work can be seen on flickr.
The effect is uniquely strange. The ground glass lines become part of the image. There is usually heavy vignetting near the edges where light cannot penetrate the viewfinder box. Sometimes the ground glass magnifier becomes part of the image. All in all it's a new twist on the frame-within-a-frame dynamic, and one that seems quite original.
More of Larson's work can be seen on flickr.
Monday, December 8, 2008
What To Do? #5
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