Naples/ Torino

This is a Banksy I found in Naples

And a sweet interlude in Turin

Shout Outs

I just received a book from an artist/writer named Jungu Yoon who just published "Spirituality in Contemporary Art: The Idea of the Numinous".

He asked me last year if he could include an image of Corey in front of a Yves-Klein piece.

Numinous:

–adjective

1.

of, pertaining to, or like a numen; spiritual or supernatural.

2.

surpassing comprehension or understanding; mysterious:that element in artistic expression that remains numinous.

3.

arousing one's elevated feelings of duty, honor, loyalty, etc.:a benevolent and numinous paternity.

This morning I came across Bill's work from Carrara on Lenscratch

Aline Smithson of Lenscratch writes:

"I recently stopped by Hous Projects in Los Angeles, to see the terrific exhibition by William Wylie,Carrara. The exhibition runs until November 11th. "

Wylie began his photographic exploration of Carrara in 2000. Over the next six years he returned annually aided by support from a Guggenheim Fellowship (2005) and two Visiting Artist Residences at The American Academy in Rome. The project enabled him to combine his interest in the natural world and industry with his poetic sense of light and shadow. The pigment prints of Carrara’s marble blocks capture gorgeous spectrums of black, white, and grey. Wylie’s tone and structure work in perfect equilibrium.

His color portraits of Carrara’s stonecutters (known as cavatori) elucidate telling compositional elements through hue. Mountain light illuminates the fine marble dust covering the quarry workers; their clothes, hair, fingernails, and equipment all radiate a soft glow that physically ties them to the mine. Wylie’s awareness of structure informs his portraits but does not detract from the natural grace of his subjects. In these images, he uses all his skills to create a unified continuum of person and place.

And last month Hippolyte Bayard wrote a post on Adam's work.

View from the Window at Le Gras, 1826

"Sometimes there’s a picture to be made. But more often I spend hours just looking, trying to obtain position. I use a very inconvenient camera, and that helps meet the pace of the place(s). The shadow cast by the clarity of these pictures is clouded by a million reluctant conditions".- Adam Schreiber

Hippolyte Bayard writes:

I felt instant love for Adam Schreiber's photographs, his catalogue of hidden objects which feels to me like the funny version of Taryn Simon's An America Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar.

Among the many gems I would pick the View from the Window at Le Gras by Nicéphore Niépce (aka the so-called "first photograph ever"), shown as some alien mystery object locked inside an Area 51.

Bleach Fix

Sonya and I were walking in the woods behind our house several weeks ago and came across an intact deer skull. It was picked clean but still a little green around the edges, so Bill advised me on how to get it nice and clean. He told me to buy a pot that I'd never use again, boil the water (with maybe a touch of bleach added) outside on a camp stove to avoid fouling up the house, and then to let the bones dry out in the sun for a week or so.

Walmart

It's a little sad that I go to Walmart so much that I've saved a special setting on my camera for the White Balance and Exposure in Walmart.

Chicago Wedding

Congratulations Nick and Sara! I'll finally start working on your wedding pictures this week, but first wanted to thank you two for a beautiful and fun time in Chicago.

Fall and the Fair

Our friend James was visiting his family last week in Northern Virginia. He drove down for a night and we cooked up some spaghetti and grilled Romaine. Sonya's brother Peter also came down from D.C. and we made it to a 9 pm showing of "the Town" ("by the visionary director of "Gone Baby Gone" (otherwise known as Ben Affleck). Our little town here doesn't get much in the way of movies.

The next morning James pulled out his shotgun, drove to Wal-Mart and bought some shells, and we got a pumpkin and proceeded to shoot at it in our backyard. We're in need of practice before we go turkey hunting.

James shows us the ropes.
Sonya was the instigator of borrowing James' gun to shoot a turkey for Thanksgiving. I think she is having second thoughts after actually firing the gun.
James left for Richmond, and so Peter and Sonya and I drove out to the 5 County Fair. We scaled the Wall, trying to win $100.00. (I had to teach some Photoshop moves to my class...this is what you get in a 10 minute demo.)
Deep Fried Oreos
Deep Fried Twinkies. We had to try them of course.

And then it was back to work.