For anyone not familiar...

There is a great Hamtramck Artists Collective, HATCH, here.. In addition to online portfolios of there members, they also are running Saturday workshops. They're doing great things, so check them out!

Fantastic Interview

There is a really great interview over at JM Colberg's blog with Jeff Brouws, whose work is below. One of the main focuses towards the beginning is on the suburbs / city battle and the effects on society, economy, etc. Franky, I don't think there is a topic of conversation more relevant for Detroit than that.

Also, towards the end of the interview, there is some interesting commentary and thoughts on the role of photographers and artists in society.

Tonight @ The Majestic

Compare / Contrast

I'm in love with Jeff Brouws work, specifically his "American Typologies" series, this work from the "Freshly Painted Houses" section. Perhaps its the color, or the deadpan architecture documentation, but I find Brouws work relates pretty well to Jones', below...All of Brouws works can be found here.

Showcase: Don Jones

Don Jones is a metro-Detroit based photographer, exploring images of the woods and of the city. "I love the raw isolation and spirit that exists in both places. I am working on a series of photos of Detroit cityscapes called 'Greetings from Dreamville', these 3 images come from Detroit and Hamtramck".

I enjoy the fact that these images have a certain timeless quality to them. They could have been easily photographed in the 60's, 70's, 80's, etc. I think that speaks of both the photographers approach, and the subjects.

GenArt

An inspiring concept...
GenArt is an organization focused on showcasing young talent from music, art and fashion. Regular contests, memberships and events....all that good stuff. Find more info here. In addition, they take portfolio submissions on what seems like a regular basis, to be considered for their showcases, contests and shows.

Thursday @ The Majestic Cafe

Also Thursday

Thursday AUG 30th at 7PM
at the MARLENE BOLL Theatre in the BOLL FAMILY YMCA


The ARTIST'S SURVIVAL SEMINAR
(What they don't teach you in Art School)

Hosted by Rick Manore, Founder of C-POP Gallery
Plus special guest artist


This vital and illuminating seminar focuses on the aspects of the
business, marketing and etiquette of being an artist in today's highly competitive
world. Learn how to protect and promote yourself successfully and still stay
creative.

These tools will be yours; A better grasp of the artist/gallery dynamic;
the fine line between self-promotion and ego trip; turning the negative
of rejection into positive career growth. Also, meet a successful artist with information to share.


$15 for adults
$10 students
$5 YMCA members

Tickets at the door.


Gillian Eaton
VP Arts and Culture
Boll Family YMCA
1401 Broadway
Detroit, MI 48226
313 223 2751
geaton@ymcametrodetroit.org

Duos, Books

Two photographic and artistic partnerships, Pierre & Gilles and Jeremy and Claire Weiss, have new books. The Weiss' have put together a limited edition photo-zine, hand stitched, for sale @ their site here.



Pierre & Gilles, with their over-the-top images, have a new book surveying their career, entitled "Pierre & Gilles: Double Je, 1976-2007", for sale over @ Amazon

Purple Hearts by Nina Berman @ Jen Bekman

There's an interesting group of portraits being shown by Nina Berman at Jen Bekman right now, found here, along with an article and review in the NY Times about the show and the work, here.
The images are pretty haunting, definitely read the statement.

Two Great Sites

I discovered two really great sites today. One, artphotolink.com, is a database of tons of photography links. The second, Source, showcases various Grad programs and students' work, mostly in the UK.

Compare/Contrast- Olaf Blecker

The in-your face honesty and a certain raw quality of these portraits, and others here, of Olaf Blecker's, remind me of the images taken by Patrick, below. It's interesting to note that Blecker has seemingly found a real niche in this type of portrait work, and looks to have quite a bit of advertising and editorial work coming in. An addition to the always growing list of photographers working in both fine art and commercial methods.

PDNedu

PDNedu has a new issue coming, out, and looks like its going to be a really great one...

www.pdnedu.com

Last Show @ Yacht Club

Don't miss our last show...
yacht club gallery presents:

REHAB

Opening: Saturday, August 25th, 6-10pm
2750 Yemans
Hamtramck, MI 48212

exhibiting artists:
david coyle (chicago)
johannes deyoung (new york)
melanie manos (ann arbor)
jeffrey mathews (detroit)
clare rojas (san francisco)

Spend enough time doing anything and you’ll probably, eventually, begin to hate it … this holds true for art as well. But after the reactionary period and the runaway period, there can be a love rekindled.


Directions here

Showcase: Patrick Pantano

Patrick Pantano, a Detroit resident, has photographed for magazines and bands, including the White Stripes and Adult.. He has recently started working on a more personal project of portraits. Pantano states that he doesn't want the viewer, or the images for that matter, to be informed or influenced by anything specific, but for his audience to instead just deal with the relationship between the images themselves. He has some interesting work at his site..

YourTube @ Gracies

Knowing that a lot of people working in photography have crossed over to video, I thought everyone might like to know about YourTube @ Gracies in Ferndale. Every Monday night, at 9 pm, host Chris Brown screens films made by local artists and film-makers. Its a great opportunity to get some feedback on your work...Gracies is on on the West side of Woodward, just south of Nine.

Believe it or not

The Dally in the Alley is coming up, soon. Fall is upon us, and you can find more info about this year's happenings at the site.

Compare/Contrast: Meredith Ensell

I found Meredith Ensell's work at the JPG magazine site, which everyone should check out, and her photographs from what I assume is a Holga (or other toy/plastic camera), are really nice. Her JPG profile is here.

Showcase: Lindsey Yeo

Detroit photographer Lindsey Yeo has been shooting with what she calls the "Holga of Digital Cameras", the Vistaquest VQ1005 which she bought for $20. Lindsey has quite a few more great shots taken with this camera, and others, here

News from Cranbrook

As you may have heard, Carl Toth has ended his Artist-in-Residency position within the photo department @ Cranbrook. Reed Kroloff, Director of Cranbrook Academy of Art and Museum, released this statement below. It is really a great addition to Cranbrook to have David Hilliard, who's site and work is here.






I am delighted to report that noted photographer David Hilliard will be joining Cranbrook this fall as the Artist in Residence for Photography. David is a young photographer with a mature reputation. His work hangs in the permanent collections of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Los Angeles County Museum, the Miami Art Museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, and many others. He has been published widely in books (including a recent monograph from Aperture Foundation publishers), catalogues, and magazines (twice as “Featured Photographer” in Blind Spot), and his work has been reviewed in publications ranging from Nylon and Vanity Fair to Art in America and Photo District News. David has been the subject of more than 25 solo shows, and at least twice that many group shows.

David holds degrees from the Massachusetts College of Art—where he currently teaches, and Yale University—where he previously chaired the Undergraduate Photography program. He has also taught at Harvard, the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and the Fine Arts Works Center in Provincetown, among others. He is the recipient of a John Simon Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, and was a Fulbright Scholar.

David’s work is exceptional and his teaching experience is substantial. Please visit his website (www.davidhilliard.com) to learn more, and to see a brief selection of his work. David and I and about 70 others will all be First Years together this fall. I’m looking forward to it, and I hope you are too.

See you soon,

Reed Kroloff
Director
Cranbrook Academy of Art and Museum

Compare/Contrast

Cathy Brown's Polaroid transfers have a certain quality that reminds of Yenelouis' work, below. Both are photographing architecture, and in an ethereal manner (probably a judgment based on focus, colors, etc). Brown has a ton of work, all worth looking at, here.

New Gallery and Opening

Carriage House Gallery

Showcase: Bernard Yenelouis

Bernard Yenelouis grew up in Royal Oak and then attended school in Ann Arbor. Now working at the International Center for Photography in NYC, Bernard still explores Detroit through his work. Bernard is also one of many who blog, which you can find here. A recent post discusses a really interesting Detroit/DIA/photography censorship issue from the past.

Unplugged @ MoNA

In addition to the opening for Moving Walls, MoNA is having an "Unplugged" event tomorrow, August 11th, apparently showing all of their work in the permanent collection. The opening is from 6-9 pm. More info here..

The response continues

Getting Lost
Should we stay or should we go?
By Rebecca Mazzei

-----Original Message-----
From: kelli b kavanaugh
Sent: Wednesday, August 08, 2007 10:39 AM
To: rmazzei@metrotimes.com
Subject: you gotta love...
a kick from someone on the way out the door.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070808/METRO/708080371

On 8/8/07, Rebecca Mazzei wrote:
Thanks for the heads up. I'm going to start packing my bags. Where are you moving to?
On 8/8/07, Kelli B. Kavanaugh wrote:
I was thinking Brooklyn . Williamsburg , then when I get married and start spawning, I'll head over to Park Slope.

No, seriously. Come on.
That was my reaction to Jonnelle Marte’s recent story in The Detroit News: “Detroit’s art scene fades: Area leaders see young talent moving away and local galleries closing.” With a headline like that, why bother writing the article?
The dailies deal in disaster, so this piece in the Metro section of the Aug. 8 edition, quoting a precious few artists and gallery owners about the scene’s sure demise, isn’t a surprise. But talk about jumping the gun! Jesus. First the Statler Hotel is demolished, and now artist and blogger Ann Gordon is leaving. What will Detroit do?
Gordon’s Yacht Club Gallery in Hamtramck was always supposed to be temporary; she had been planning on leaving. Her presence here has been enlivening, but does her leaving warrant a story about a cross-town trend? Here are some facts about the actual growth of arts in the Detroit area: Enrollment in the art departments at Wayne State University and College for Creative studies is increasing each year. And as several artists and critics have pointed out in bulk e-mails back and forth since Marte’s piece was published last week, MoCAD has done a lot to reinvigorate and extend the community with enterprising programming and space to roam. There are more galleries and artists studios popping up at Russell Industrial Center . For the past few years at Motor City Brewery on Canfield, Graem Whyte has consistently put up weekly exhibitions by local artists selling affordable stuff. I’ve bought at least five pieces from those shows. I hear that maybe they’ll be closing “This Week In Art” in the next year or so, simply because it has run a good long course. Fine. Now someone do something else.
After I let Marte’s story settle in to my consciousness, a couple of thoughts occurred to me. Yes, I know of a few creative types who are moving or who have recently moved — for love, for school, for work, for a change of scenery. It happens all the time, in every city. Some come back, some keep moving. Yes, again, people seem to move more from Detroit than to it. But those who stay seem totally fierce about it and have committed themselves to the community in remarkable ways. A handful of examples: Local artist Billy O’Bryan regularly volunteers at the Catherine Ferguson Academy and 555 Gallery, riding his bike around town and stopping wherever his gut tells him to. Artist James Dozier shows up at every gallery opening and spends his money on several live performances each week. And Museum of New Art ’s Jef Bourgeau has just initiated “Moving Walls,” a program that will supposedly send local art works off to galleries in other cities and countries, and bring art to Pontiac from elsewhere as well.
These past few months, two friends I thought I’d lost forever have moved back to Detroit — one’s a writer from Mississippi and another is a grad student who’s glad to be out of L.A. , tickled to have found a pad in a dreamy corner of Detroit , on Fourth Street . But whatever — this news, like Marte’s quotes, is anecdotal evidence. Until the census starts tracking artists the way it does other vital statistics, it’ll be hard to tell for sure who’s coming and going.
There are problems with our art scene. Our gallery owners, those with money and good taste, are not really leaders or risk-takers. With a couple of exceptions (George N’Namdi and Aaron Timlin come to mind), they follow the clients or potential clients in the suburbs who would rather spend their paychecks on gadgets and vacations. Instead of supporting one another with art fairs or group events, gallerists struggle for their share or make their money out of town by selling and trading art. It’s gross.
But on the other hand, at least our system of continual rebirth never grows stale. The art marketplace existent in most big cities is a racket. If you want a scene with the usual schlock in a district on a boardwalk, leave. Please. What we have here in Detroit is a different model, one without strollers and pugs caballed on the sidewalks. After living in Chicago , I’m sick of tripping over heels and wheels. I’d rather hang out some place where you can still smoke and draw on the walls.
Now, some of you want to sell your art. That’s understandable. So sell it. On the streets or direct from your studio wall. It works (just ask Gwen Joy). Start a gallery in one of the dozens of abandoned buildings. Sit yourself on the steps at the DIA and set up shop. No shit. A homeless gal in Chicago named Lee Godie made a huge name for herself that way in the 1980s and '90s, selling portraits to tuition-paying art students at the front door of the Art Institute of Chicago, telling them she would someday be famous. She was right. She lived to see herself become the inspired icon she deserved to be (with help later in life from dealers who naturally wanted in on the action after they noticed the underground fuss).
Why do you need a dealer to do all the work for you? Do you think getting your art in a gallery sanctifies it? And why do we keep blaming a depressed art community on a lack of galleries? I’ve seen more than enough work — mind-blowing stuff and semi-competent stuff — hung up around here. Some of the shit that flies today wouldn’t have worked 20 years ago — just ask those who’ve been around for a while. The point is, our galleries definitely have got their bases covered. As a matter of fact, I’m stretching to think of one local artist who has not shown somewhere around here. Besides, if you’re a young artist who has just “emerged” from art school, you shouldn’t be focused on exhibiting now anyway. It’s much too soon to be branded. Try evolving first.
We (that “We” includes the city and state) need to support the art workers who are leveling the playing field — like teachers. Tons of talented creative writers in Detroit sustain their passion while receiving a paycheck from educating kids or working for a non-profit. And they find time to toss their heart and soul into that work, too, starting up mags with students and getting budding poets to publish. Get this: that day job actually inspires them. Talk to any local author and you’ll find the literary community is thriving with only a handful of indie publishers who are breaking their own banks to join in the torturous fun. So ask yourself, artist, do you really want to live as an artist or do you want an easy living? I’m inspired by European artists and musicians who move here to live very modestly -- and quite comfortably. They don’t care what sells, as long as they keep creating and sharing. It's a differnt kind of profit.
You know what makes Detroit great? People who infiltrate. We’ve got a ton of you here. If you are truly inspired from within, then it shouldn’t matter where you live, so long as you live deeply and suck the marrow out.

Rebecca Mazzei is Metro Times arts editor. Send comments to rmazzei@metrotimes.com.

Showcase: Jennifer Loeber

Jennifer Loeber, from NY, has been involved with both Jen Bekman's "Hey Hot Shot" Competition, and the often talked about Humble Arts Foundation, showing in both. These images here are part of a series entitled "Catalogue of the Expectant". There is a brief statement below the images, and more work can be found at her site.





My photographs are comprised of transitory moments, namely, the subtle turning points between past and future. I'm drawn to that brief window of time in which the glimpse of an inner narrative or true spirit may be revealed.

In an increasingly corporate and media dictated world determined to unnaturally separate the human experience into black or white, I prefer to concentrate on the muddied up gray areas of neither grandeur nor debacle that make up the larger portions of most peoples lives and experiences. Although my subjects are varied, the overall focus echoes our daily expectations, our overabundance of choice, and the hidden dangers of the unknown that threaten us profoundly yet internally

And even more...

I found even more response to the News article from Wednesday over at The Detroiter.

Debate over at Detroit Arts

The Detroit Arts blog has seen some interesting conversation, including a statement by Vince Carducci, in response to the Detroit News article published on Wednesday. Go see it over here.

Compare/Contrast- Simon Larbalestier

The textural qualities, along with the traditional methods that Simon Larbalestier uses are similar to the work of Garrett's, below. Pixies fans might recognize some of the work from an album, (Doolittle). Simon's work can be found here.

Showcase: Rik Garrett

Rik Garrett submits from Chicago, but has had work shown at C-Pop and also has exhibited in the Dirty Show numerous times. His work is a nice contrast to much of the work being seen currently, using traditional negatives and prints, creating a certain physical and gritty quality to the work. His site is here.

Call for Submissions

Rebecca at Metro Times, is working on the Arts issue, check this out, below.

Hey there,

For the upcoming Metro Times arts issue, published Sept. 19, I'm soliciting self-portraits to print in a full-color 15-page supplement. If you'd like to be a part of the project, submit your self-portrait via email (high res is at least 300 dpi, at 10" tall) or mail it in on disc.

Anyone, not just painters, should feel free to join in by doodling, jotting down notes, spitting on or staining something. Teachers please tell your students and gallerists can send along work, too, as long as its by a metro Detroiter. All work will be published online, and about 10 self-portraits (maybe more, depending on how good the selection is) will appear in the paper. If someone wants to buy the work, we'll make it easy for them to contact you.

Also, if you have any comments on what we should cover in the arts issue, speak up.

Thanks,
Rebecca
rmazzei@metrotimes.com

Moving Walls @ MoNA

There is a great new group forming at the MoNA in Pontiac. White Wall Showcase alumni Cyrus Karimipour is one of the members. There is more info here. Also, there is an opening at MoNA this Saturday, August 11th from 6-9 pm. Check it out, and go support!

White Wall in MetroTimes

Thanks to MetroTimes for the great press on White Wall Collective and the photographers we've featured here! Find it at metrotimes.com!

Interestingly, there is an article in the News this morning about the art scene as well. I find it unfortunate that such a positive article is put out today about Detroit photographers on the same day that quite a negative article is put out in regards to the art scene in general. You can find the article here.

Is this a Detroit-specific problem, or is this a broader issue effecting cities everywhere (other than NY and LA)?

New Photography Section @ SAATCHI

Saatchi, the free online art gallery, now has a specific photography section here. Its worth checking out. Along the lines of Jpeg mag, or even Myspace, in the sense that you can communicate with other artists, critique, etc.

Stephen Shore and Warhol

There is an article, with interview, over at Wallpaper about a new exhibition of Stephen Shore images from the Factory Days here.

Space Left...

We started with 160 now only 20 remain. Check out ricdetroit.org and see how you can reserve your spot for the Biggest, little Art Festival there is.

ricdetroit.org

12 by 12 space available for free upon request for visual artists
September 15 11 am-Midnight
For more information email rffinfo07@gmail.com

CAID on Friday

Alternative to Funk Night

Friday, August 10, 2007 (and every 2nd Friday)

GALLERY NIGHT SUPER DISCO....
Rahaan (Jigswamusic/Faith/Milliondollardisco/Chicago)
RELAXER (Disco-Secret)
GREENSKYY (The Linenn Corp.)
Midnight, $5

Better than nothing

I did manage to find one image of Keasler's from the Harpers article.

Showcase: Jessica Ehrler

Jessica has explored the abandonment of Detroit, a popular subject for the residents here. Although she is now living in San Francisco pursuing an MFA, she is from the area originally. I find her work to be an appropriate follow-up to the Harpers article with images by Misty Keasler, an outsider. I wonder if the images that an outsider produces of Detroit decay and those of a non-outsider would show really great difference? Does the fact that some people are surrounded by the subject matter in their photographs influence the images they produce? Or does an outsider see the decay in the same way?
Of course, these are hypothetical questions, and there is no right answer. Just exploring the idea.

More of Jessica's work can be seen here.