Showcase: Matthew Nistor

Matthew Nistor, originally from Sterling Heights, now lives in Brooklyn, NY, and has some really interesting black and white architecture work. His site can be found @ www.matthewnistor.com. I really enjoy the texture and pattern that each image creates, abstracting the building beyond the point of recognition.

Words Fail Me @ MOCAD

More info here.
Opens Saturday, September 17th. 7 pm.

Jef Bourgeau @ OU

JEF BOURGEAU: A RETROSPECTIVE
Opening, Saturday September 8 from 6 - 8pm
Artist's talk on Sunday, September 23 - 2pm.

Worlds Largest Photo

In today's photography scene, there is seemingly a "bigger is better" attitude. And now, the world's largest photograph is on display over at ArtCenter. Measuring in @ 3 stories high by 11 wide, it debuted on September 6th. Here is an Art Center link here.

Miscellaneous

Two recent submissions by Detroit-area based photographer Richard Sudney, (top image), and Ted Van Orman (bottom image), are not related visually by any means, however their visual simplicity and cleanliness reminds me of the other. I also find it interesting that they could be considered to be "eye candy", a title that for me never depletes the work if it is a quality image to begin with. Photographs mustn't be loaded down with overbearing concept all of the time. However this debate / issue is one of the frequent points brought up in the "Is Photography Art?" argument. Over at Detroit Arts, there is a somewhat funny argument going on over John Cynar's work @ Motor City, with discussion of said issue.

"Telephone" @ Johanson Charles

An art show based on the children's game of Telephone is opening @ Johanson Charles gallery on Friday, September 7th from 7-11 pm.

1345 Division, West of Russell
Detroit, 48207, Eastern Market
313-483-1158

Phone Game players and live performances. Should be interesting!

Compare/Contrast- Georg Parthen

Although the images themselves do not remind me of Patrick Romero's movie industry portraits, Georg Parthen photographs movie theatres, which I think is an interesting contrast to the way Romero's perspective of movies and the movie industry. Parthen's site can be found here. There are loads more really stunning images there, go check it out.

Correction

As the Yacht Club Gallery pointed out below in a comment, yes, I am just taking over the space, not the actual gallery. The gallery will be officially called White Wall. Thanks, and remember, I need Polaroid submissions.

Lets Get Physical / Call for Submissions

I am happy and excited to "officially" announce that White Wall Collective will be given a physical space for the late half of September and October! I have taken over the Yacht Club Gallery for a little bit, and will be running several one-night opening shows. I'm very excited, and am working out all the details! I will keep everyone posted, and several people I may have already contacted to show in some of the shows. The four shows that are tentatively planned are:

The Portrait
Polaroid
Dead Pan / Documentary
Narrative and Language

If you feel your work would work in one of these categories, I'm open to submissions. Keep in mind that you will need to get me the work by a certain date, to Detroit for any out-of-towners. However due to limitations on sheer space, I will not be able to accept everything.

One show I am doing an open call for is the Polaroid show. If you work with polaroids, and would be interested in showing, please send me some low-res examples @ whitewallcollective@yahoo.com. Polaroids are small, so I can accept many photographers for that particular show.

Lastly, I would like to do several open critique nights in the space, on a week night. I will post more info as that comes along, but if anyone has any ideas or brainstorming for that, please let me know!

Questions welcome. Feedback always welcome. Thanks for the support!

Model D Media

Model D Media has a You-Tube account with their video showcases. The majority of them focus on creative centers, locations, businesses and happenings within the city. Check them out here.

Wooloo.org

Adding to the always growing list of online art galleries / exhibition spaces, Berlin-based Wooloo.org is really quite a fantastic site. By signing up for a free account, you can have your own site with your work up, form exhibitions that curators can pick-up for selection, have a blog, and do several other really great things.

It's yet another site, such as Saatchi or Jpeg, that allows artists to have sites for free, hosted through the organization. It's also an interesting study in how artists are sharing and presenting their work in the 21st century.

Wooloo.org.

Showcase: Patrick Romero

Patrick Romero works in the movie industry, and has started a body of work entitled "Available for Filming", a personal catalog of people and locations in Los Angeles. Romero has been shooting for two years, and more of his work can be found here.. I find the images without people to be really beautiful, both in lighting and a certain awkwardness. It's unclear what or where he is shooting in many cases.

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.