Monday 14 June 2010

The Family and the Land

Finally, Sally Mann exhibits in a one-women show at The Photographers’ Gallery, which opens on Friday 18th June until September 19th 2010. Unbelievably this is her first UK Solo show- what have we been doing!

The show is, The Family and the Land, and will be a selection of her most powerful, thought provoking series linked back to the title. I am so excited about seeing these works, especially her most recent series, What Remains made between 2000 and 2004 that deals with our attitudes surrounding death and our own morality.

Image, Untitled WR Pa 59, 2001, from the series What Remains © Sally Mann, Courtesy Gagosian Gallery.

Where's the Photography?

Newspeak: British Art Now is the new exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery displaying works that are representative of the best of contemporary British Art. For me, this is where it has failed, where was all the Photography?

As I wondered through the maze of rooms filled with Burberry handbags, Versace face lifts and champagne giggles I soon realised that Photography hadn’t been offered a place in this exhibition. Apart from one room, which was filled with, what appeared to be magazine cuttings and photocopies, actual photographs, were all but lost behind the mass of paint and installation. What dawned on me was how separated the Art world is from the Photography world.

As I walked around the exhibition, from one painting to another, to another (positioned rather lower, I guess they work to a child’s eye level) I felt a real sense of sadness and agitation. How can you represent, present a true survey of British contemporary art in 2010 when you leave out a medium?

I feel it is important to look back at the Sensation exhibition in 1997 as photography played a more prominent role with artists like Gillian Wearing, Richard Billingham and Sam Taylor-Wood all exhibiting photography. How can it be that thirteen years have passed and photography is becoming more accepted as an art, but yet it still doesn’t have its place among the paintings?

I hope the time comes where both worlds meet and not run parallel to one another, but where photography is really understood, appreciated and exhibited as a form of contemporary art. 

Monday 7 June 2010

Web Picture of the Day



On the 2nd June, two of my Photomontages where featured on the Troika Editions blog, Troikatalk as “Web picture of the Day.” They were featuring the best of the rest of the UK Winners from the Magenta Award 2010 and I was the first!

See what they choose at http://www.troikaeditions.co.uk/troikatalk

Wednesday 2 June 2010

Contact

It seems like my new series of work, “The Photograph as Contemporary Art” is getting noticed. First the Magenta Award and now is has been featured on the Contact Editions blog, posted 1st June 2010. 

www.contactcollective.blogspot.com 

Check out this blog to see my work and other exciting photographers, from Anne Hardy to Andre Cepeda. This blog also provides links to a great selection of other photography blogs and magazines worth looking at, not forgetting their editions company too. 

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