Ryan Furtado at Photo Epicenter

Artist: Ryan Furtado
Gallery: Photo Epicenter
Opening Reception: Thursday, August 14, 2008 from 5-9 p.m.
Address: 26 Lilac Street

"Ryan Furtado presents a collection of over 30 photographs taken between 2002 and 2008. These pictures explore a variety of contrasting people, places and situations through out the United States and abroad. Edited from years of various assignments, trips, and journeys down the rabbit hole, it is subjective glimpse into the kaleidoscope of humanity."

Stillness

For the mood I'm in today and the memories theses photographs conjure, the fact they are in black in white is more appropriate than color.




Looking through Hendrik's photography gallery, I found some closeness to my past and to what he's seen. Many of the locations he's visited, I've traveled as well and am reminded of my desire to get somewhere new soon.

A Little Family Exposure

After boycotting my own graduation ceremony, I supported my brother by sitting through his. Most schools pay an interesting/intelligent/comedic person to speak before the graduates, to give them encouragement and a last bit of enlightenment. James Madison University chose a graduation speaker who donated a large sum of money earlier in the year. So, not only did the school not have to put up the cash for a speaker; the speaker paid them. This speaker ended up putting everyone to sleep and closed by conducting a meditation session. "Imagine the drops of water going down your throat as your drink from your glass...think of how we can help those in other countries without clean water...this water is a metaphor for our connectedness with those around us...let's hold hands and take this time...."

Fortunately, my sister, who is experimenting with camera lenses and her photographic eye, took advantage in this lull in stimulation, to shoot some photos. Above is my favorite... not too risky but has a minimalistic elegance.

You can find a growing collection of her photographs on Flickr.

An Indy Photo Exhibit

Artist: Christelle Imperial de Castro
Gallery: Bottle Capp Gallery
Opening Reception: Thursday, March 27, 2008 6- 10 p.m.
Location: 180 Capp Street

Exhibit title: "PICTURES OF YOUR FRIENDS"


















"Pictures of Your Friends will be a display of both b&w and color photography. She considers it to be more of a photo installation that just a simple photo show, as it will combine lightboxes, framed pieces, large and small pieces, and other random eye candy type shit. Everything is priced to sell, according to Christelle, as all proceeds of the show will benefit her first publication, Everyday People, set to be released May or June of this year."Link

Filipa Cesar

Artist: Filipa Cesar
Represented by: Cristina Guerra

Serge Hambourg

Artist: Serge Hambourg
Gallery: Berkeley Art Museum
Dates: March 12, 2008 - June 1, 2008

The placement of this exhibit on the Berkeley campus is appropriate. Looking through Serge's photographs makes the history of the protest seem much closer to my life time. With the added bonus that I could've met Jean-Luc Godard...(man with camera below)




"The protests of May 1968 had actually begun in March, with students at Nanterre, a university in the suburbs outside Paris. Their demands for reforms at the university level grew by early May into massive demonstrations in Paris against the government itself.


In mid-May, seven to ten million students and workers went out on a general strike; coupled with wildcat and sit-down strikes, this event virtually shut down the economy for two weeks.">link

Amsterdam: Shops Windows, and Reflections

Artist: Tito Vandermeyden
Art Form: Photography
Location: Castro, SF



I met Tito this week at Reaves Gallery. Of the photos he has up on his site, these are the few that I was immediately attracted to.


I think it's all the color! I love color!

A Midnight Carnival

Artist: Chris Raeker
Gallery: Jenkins Johnson Gallery
Address: 464 Sutter St





I want to dream about places like this and be the girl emerging from the tank.





The overwhelming presence of the sky, makes me feel like the world inside the photo is contained and controlled space.





Seeing the children, I take on a child-like interpretation on what is happening and everything seems to slow down inside the photo.





Lately, I've seen much juxtaposing of machines and nature. Here it's machines and childhood. Interesting....





When I first saw these photos, I wanted to evaporate into his play world of the carnival. Usually, carnivals remind me of dirtiness and chaos. I'm sure those things are still present, but I would be willing to ignore them for the pleasure of emerging from that tank or spinning through the sky on a swing.

"Pictures of Me"

Artist: Autumn de Wilde
Gallery: Queen's Nails Annex
Dates: February 28th - March 2nd
Opening Reception: Thursday, February 28th, from 7 - 11 pm.

Queens Nails Annex, in conjunction with Noise Pop, is pleased to present Pictures of Me, an exhibition of photographs taken by Autumn de Wilde of the late American musician Elliott Smith.

Smith's intensely personal music has left a deep mark on a generation of fans and musicians. Autumn de Wilde worked closely with Smith as a friend and photographer for several years before the singer's untimely death. This showcase of startling and rare images captures an intimate and unseen side of his personality.

There Is Something About Water

Artist: Juliana Beasley

Looking at these three photos here is my plan for the day.

1. Get all of yesterday's toxins out of my body with a good swimming pool workout.

2. Gather my chlorine-y self and head to the cool natural river.

3. After a sufficient amount of rope swings and rock searching, bike home to the hot tub!

Juliana has many portraits and documentary photos as well. She exhibits mainly in other countries and New York.

Happy Monday

Hi Fructose is coming out with Volume 7. Bubbly fantastic images ensue!

Brian McCarty's photo

A Taste of An Opening

Artist: Dan Baker
Gallery: Big Umbrella Art Collective
Address: Divisadero at McAllister
Opening Date: Friday February 15, 2007

Dan experiments with time lapse photography, extracting varying intensities of light and movement.




His photographs have a magical element with their colors and at times oddly place objects.




The category "Nocturne" on his site reminds me of recognizable landscapes in Sonoma County.

Debra Fleming Caffery

Artist: Debra Fleming Caffery
Gallery: Robert Koch Gallery
Address: 49 Geary St, 4th Floor
Exhibit Dates: November 29, 2007- January 26, 2008






"Debbie Fleming Caffery's photographs capture moments of rich beauty in the people and places of Mexico and the American South. A native of Louisiana, Caffery is most comfortable in the shadows, drawn to movements, patterns and deep tonality."link

Tommy Everenden

Artist: Tommy Everenden
Gallery: Brown Bear

I made my monthly/week cruise over to Brown Bear yesterday. I love their addition to my neighborhood. Yet, I haven't had much luck finding art from their shows that I want to post...until now!



The pieces by Tommy Everenden in their current show stand out the most.



It's the way he uses sculpture as well as 2D images together that attracts my attention.



When I first saw them, I felt serious and took on the mentality of, "what does this mean, how can i intellectually interpret this?" Then I began to loosen up and enjoy them more as a dark comedy.
There is definitely a bit of both going on and of the pieces in this show, his are the most original.

*images from Fecal Face Dot Com

A Wall of Many Opinions

This month Bruce Tomb's graffiti documentation is one of four solo exhibits at Southern Exposure. His site, www.deappropriationproject.net, which launched the eleventh of this month chronicles the visual life span of the wall fronting the jail cells of the former Mission Police Station at 1240 Valencia Street.

I find his photographic records fantastic. Don't be surprised if it leads you to anthropological insights of the neighborhood and city. Below I have posted a few of the thousands he has dated, organized, and tagged on the site.






"The wall as a resource for a range of disciplines has become more evident over time. As a dynamic artifact, time has been a key aspect to understanding its value. The range of imagery and subjects seems to be unlimited, triggering considerable dialog with neighbors and colleagues. As new cultural issues arise, the archive expands to incorporate them, becoming a living record of our culture and concerns."





"Reciprocally, the documentation and organizational technologies used have changed the archive over time, allowing it to evolve in a way different from traditional photography."






"The project began with color print film and slides taken with a 35mm Kodak Retina IIIc. Later images were taken with a Canon PowerShot S110 Digital Elf and a Canon Eos 20D. The Eos has captured the most acute detail, showing the subtle or inflammatory comments handwritten by passersby with pencil and ballpoint pen. Yet while image quality varies wildly between cameras, all photographs are included in the archive."

*All quotes from HERE.

Lauren Cohen Photography

In my attempt to look for a bay area artist of the same name, I discovered the New York based photographer Lauren Cohen. She organized her website by Occasions, Television, Documentary. I found Documentary to be the most interesting. Documentary is broken down into three categories: Memories, Moments, Multiples. Great alliteration, yes! Also, they go backwards in chronological order by human life stages. A great way to savor each phase of life.



Memories

Her images aren't glamorous nor something you want hung on your wall. After being invited into people's homes in Argentina, these images remind me of the basic forms of American life. Many people living in a weaker economic system glaze over when thinking about living in the US. Being one who lives here I think, "we still have life and death, it just looks prettier."




Moments
I chose this aerial shot since I love looking down over acres of varying land masses, or just a swimming pool scene.





Multiples
The hallway bucket shot is so typical of kids! I love it. Reminds me of nannying!



Occasions
Who doesn't enjoy a good superhero gathering!