Photojournalism Now: Friday Round Up - 10 November, 2017

This week on Photojournalism Now: Friday Round Up - Lauren Greenfield's epic Generation Wealth at ICP New York, World Press Photo exhibition in Washington DC and the 24th Noorderlicht Festival in Groningen, The Netherlands. Photojournalism Now is on hiatus now until 24 November. See you then!

Exhibition: New York
Lauren Greenfield - Generation Wealth



Las Vegas strippers showered in dollar bills and LA rappers weighted down with bling; celebrities and socialites consuming more than they could ever use; teenagers crippled by eating disorders; parties for children that cost thousands; luxury homeowners now homeless...these are just some of the scenarios photographer Lauren Greenfield has captured in her expansive study of what it means to live the so-called American Dream.

In this massive, and incredibly impressive, retrospective that spans more than 25 years of Greenfield's work, including photographs and videos, Generation Wealth paints an extraordinary picture of the age of consumerism and a world driven by rampant consumption where the dollar is worshipped beyond comprehension. This is a must-see. I'd go so far as to say, it is the exhibition of the year, for me. If you are in New York check it out. Also Phaidon has an amazing deal on shipping - only $10 to the US for the book! Much cheaper than excess baggage or postage!














(C) All images Lauren Greenfield

Until 7 January, 2018
International Center for Photography
250 Bowery

Exhibition: Washington DC
World Press Photo 2017

This week I had the opportunity to see the World Press Photo exhibition in Washington DC. In the awesome space that is the Dupont Underground, a disused tram (or trolley car) station underneath Dupont Circle, the exhibition presented by World Press Photo and Lightscape DC, is truly impressive. I've seen many of the images before, online and in print, but on the walls of this super cool venue, the large prints, and the numerous projections, make the work even more impactful. If you're in DC, check it out.









Until 26 November
Dupont Underground

Festival: The Netherlands
Noorderlicht  


Jay Gould
The 24th edition of the Noorderlicht International Photography Festival features the work of 74 photographers from 26 countries. With the theme ‘NUCLEUS, imagining science’ this expansive festival celebrates science and its representation with exhibitions across six locations in Groningen, Eelde and Assen. I visited Groningen and Noorderlicht in 2013 and it is one of the best festivals of photography in the world. Here is a brief selection of work I've chosen from this year's programme. Visit the website for more information.


Karin Borghouts


Monica Alcazar Duarte


Francesca Catastini


Edmund Clark


Marcus Desieno


Todd Forsgren


Michael Najjar

Henk Wildschut

Ulrike Schmitz

Caleb Charland

Until 26 November
Various venues
Visit Noorderlicht for more information

Photojournalism Now: Friday Round Up 27th October, 2017

This week Photojournalism Now: Friday Round Up comes from New York City and features a brilliant exhibition by Debi Cornwall - Welcome to Camp America, Inside Guantánamo Bay - at Steven Kasher Gallery, as well as Flint, a story by LaToya Ruby Frazier who was a keynote speaker at Photo Plus Expo in New York yesterday.

Exhibition:
Debi Cornwall - Welcome to Camp America, Inside Guantánamo Bay



Debi Cornwall, Compliant Detainee Media Room, Camp 5, U.S. Naval Station Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, 2014

“My goal in making this work was to invite people to look at Guantánamo again after almost 16 years. Most of us have stopped looking,” says Debi Cornwall whose first New York solo exhibition - Welcome to Camp America, Inside Guantánamo Bay - opened last night at Steven Kasher Gallery.

Welcome to Camp America, Inside Guantánamo Bay, is described as “a vivid and disorienting probe into the U.S. Naval Station on Cuba known as “Gitmo.” Cornwall was given access after eight months under strict conditions including the requirement to process and print her medium format film on the base, under the watch of military censors.

Labelled by former President Barack Obama as the place where “we tortured some folks”, Guantánamo Bay through Cornwall’s lens questions the so-called war on terror and “examines the compromises we make between decency and fear in the post-9/11 era.”

Welcome to Camp America, Inside Guantánamo Bay is a fascinating expose segmented into three bodies of work: Gitmo at Home, Gitmo at Play and Gitmo on Sale. The exhibition comprises 29 large-scale colour photographs as well as formerly classified documents.


Debi Cornwall, Comfort Items, Camp 5, U.S. Naval Station Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, 2015


Debi Cornwall, Liberty Center Band Room, U.S. Naval Station Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, 2015


Debi Cornwall, Recreation Pen, Camp Echo, U.S. Naval Station Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, 2015 


Debi Cornwall, Murat, Turkish German (Germany)
Refugee counselor

Held: 4 years, 7 months, 22 days
Released: August 24, 2006
Charges: never filed
Containerdorf, Refugee housing

Bremen, Germany, 2015


Debi Cornwall
Anonymous Chinese Uighur (Albania)
Held: 4 years, 7 months Transferred to Albania: May 5, 2006 

Charges: never filed

Tirana, Albania, 2015

Debi Cornwall 
Hamza, Tunisian (Slovakia 2015) 

Held: 12 years, 11 months, 19 days 

Cleared: January 12, 2009 

Transferred to Slovakia: November 20, 2014 

Charges never filed

By the River Hron, Slovakia, 2015

Panel Discussion:
Saturday 28 October 2.30pm to 5pm 

Steven Kasher Gallery and the Center for Constitutional Justice will host a panel discussion with Debi Cornwall, J. Wells Dixon and Mark Fallon. Moderated by ICP's Fred Ritchin. The panel will discuss Guantánamo Bay, art, and social justice. The event is free but seating is very limited, please RSVP here. 

Exhibition on until 22nd December
Steven Kasher Gallery
515 W 26th St.,
New York

All images courtesy of Steven Kasher Gallery.

Social Issues: 
LaToya Ruby Frazier - Flint



At Photo Plus Expo in New York this week I attended the keynote speech Women in Photography featuring Sue Bryce, Barbara Davidson and LaToya Ruby Frazier. I was particularly taken with Frazier's expose on Flint, Michigan where the horrendous poisoning of that community's water is literally killing its residents. Others have tackled Flint also, including Matt Black as part of his extraordinary Geography of Poverty.

The photo (below) is from a feature in Rolling Stone magazine and shows the difference between the water in Flint and the water in Detroit, both cities of Michigan. (Photographer unnamed)

(C) LaToya Ruby Frazier

I hadn't heard Frazier speak before. She gave a powerful, inspirational discussion on the power of photography and the passion that drives her was evident in her voice. Here are some of her images featured in Elle magazine's feature on Flint, a feature that Frazier said was unexpected; she never thought a women's fashion mag would have any interest in social issues. It ran over 12 pages.

Photojournalism Now: Friday Round Up 20th October, 2017

This week Photojournalism Now: Friday Round Up is coming from Los Angeles. I'm in the US to conduct research for my PhD on photography and social change. As well as doing interviews, and archival research, there are some amazing exhibitions to see in the City of Angels - Photography in Argentina 1850-2010 and Havana Youth. Plus PDN Photo Plus opens in New York next week Thursday 26th October.

Exhibitions:

Los Angeles
Photography in Argentina 1850-2010
Contradiction and Continuity
Comprising 300 works from 60 artists, “this exhibition examines crucial periods and aesthetic movements in which photography had a critical role producing - and, at time dismantle - national constructions, utopian visions, and avant-garde artistic trends.”

Casa de Moneda de la series Bruma/The Mint from the series Mist. (C) Santiago Porter. 

Tape Project: Sidewalk 1, 1971 (C) Jamie Davidovich

Madres de Plaza de Mayo (Mothers during their customary march) (C) Eduardo Longoni

Obelisco/Obelisk 1957 (C) Javier Agustin Rojas

El rapt de Guinnard (The Kidnap of Guinnard) (c) Leonel Luna

The J. Paul Getty Museum
Until 28 January 2018 

Los Angeles
Greg Kahn - Havana Youth

American documentary and fine art photographer Greg Kahn's show Havana Youth at the Annenberg Space for Photography reveals complexities of the young people of Cuba as they grapple with their history and the dawn of a new era.

All images (C) Greg Kahn

Until 4 March, 2018
Annenberg Space for Photography

Seminars: New York
PDN Photo Plus Expo

Next week in New York PDN Photo Plus Expo and Conference opens on Thursday. There is an amazing line-up of world-class photographers giving seminars and talks. These caught my eye:

• Art and Advocacy: Using photography to promote positive change with speakers Clay Cook, Joel Caldwell, Michael Bonocore and Peter Dering
• Photojournalism Outside the Box with VII featuring Ashley Gilbertson, Chris Morris, Gary Knight and Ron Haviv
• What Photo Editors Want Right Now with Ahmed Fakher (Rolling Stone), Caroline Smith (Topic), Jacqueline Bates (The California Sunday Magazine) Joanna Milter (The New Yorker) and Toby Kaufman
• Today’s Women in Photography and Film with Barbara Davidson, Latoya Ruby Frazier, and Sue Bryce.

Conference: October 25-28
Expo: October 26-28 

Javits Convention Center New York

Photo Plus New York

Friday Round Up - 5 August, 2016

This week on Friday Round Up it's all about black and white photography. Morganna Magee takes a behind-the-badge look at police women, Markus Andersen's Rage Against the Light launches in Sydney, Andrew Chapman's Giving Life Special Event this Saturday and Diane Arbus: The Early Years in New York.

Exhibition: Melbourne
Behind the Badge: Women of Victoria Police

Above: Michelle

Currently on show at the Victoria Police Museum is "Behind the Badge", a series of portraits of ten women currently serving in Victoria Police. 

Melbourne photographer Morganna Magee has created this engaging series which depicts the women in their professional roles and “off-duty”. Shot over a 4 week period, Morganna says, “I was initially granted access to meet the women within their homes with the idea that the informal environment would allow me to create an engaging portrait. After speaking with my first subject I realised that rather than feel uncomfortable within their workspace, these women thrived on the work they did and the chance to make a difference within the community”.

Above: Sam

“Photographing these women at home and in the workplace enables the viewer to not only feel a sense of connection with the women in the images but also to begin to understand how being a Police member is more than just a vocation. The reasons these women joined the Police Force are varied, but a sense of pride and confidence in their work unites them.”

Above: Carlee

Victoria Police Museum
World Trade Centre
Mezzanine Level
637 Flinders Street
Melbourne

Check out more of Morganna's work here.


Exhibition: Sydney
Rage Against the Light - Markus Andersen

The official Australian book launch and exhibition of 'Rage Against The Light' by Sydney-based photographic artist Markus Andersen opens next week at Sydney's Black Eye Gallery and is definitely worth checking out. These images have multiple layers that draw you in and invite you to linger in the shadows. The longer you look the more you see.  

Markus says the work "explores my intoxication with natural light and the darkness/dark corners created from this light. Subjects caught in the dual forces of light and shadow remain at the heart of the work, the interplay of these elements within the architecture or landscape create order from discordance. 'Rage Against The Light' emphasises the dramatic nature of intense or subdued light and my continued relationship and fascination with the subject". 

9 - 21 August
Black Eye Gallery
3/138 Darlinghurst Road
Darlinghurst 

Check out more of Markus' work here.

Talk:

Giving Life - Magnet Galleries Melbourne

This Saturday Professor Bob Jones (who is one of the good guys) incredibly intelligent, but also super approachable, is giving a talk about how organ transplant works. Get along to Magnet Galleries at 2pm for this rare opportunity and at the same time check out Andrew Chapman's amazing images from his Giving Life series. There's good coffee to be had too! 

Magnet Galleries Melbourne

640 Bourke Street

Melbourne

Exhibition: New York

Diane Arbus: In the Beginning

In this expansive exhibition more than 100 photographs of Diane Arbus’ early career (the first seven years from 1956-1962) are on show, many for the first time. Jeff Rosenheim, Curator in Charge of the Department of Photographs at The Met says, “Arbus’s early photographs are wonderfully rich in achievement and perhaps as quietly riveting and ultimately controversial as the iconic images for which she is so widely known”.  

Until 27 November

The Met Breuer

2nd Floor

1000 Fifth Avenue

New York

Click to watch the Diane Arbus exhibition video from The Met