Monthly Archive for May, 2011

Image Journal first issue published

Published on May 25, 2011 in Journal and Newsletter. 0 Comments

image_frontThe first issue of The International Journal of the Image has now been published.

Volume 1, Number 1 contains:

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Image Conference, San Sebastian–Owen Evans to give Plenary

Published on May 24, 2011 in Headline and Newsletter. 0 Comments

Owen Evans is Senior Lecturer in Film and Television in the Media Department at Edge Hill University, UK. He’ll be presenting his plenary presentation at the Second International Conference on the Image, 26-27 September 2011 at the Kursaal Congress Palace in San Sebastian, Spain, in dialogue with the San Sebastian Film Festival.

After completing his BA and PhD in German Studies at Swansea University, Owen Evans worked as a Lektor in the English Department of the Johannes-Gutenberg-Universität Mainz before his appointment to a lectureship in German at the University of Wales Bangor in 1995. He returned to Swansea in January 2005 to teach in Media, with particular emphasis on Film Studies, before moving to the Media Department at Edge Hill University in February 2011 where he is Senior Lecturer in Film and Television.

His research interests embrace German film, literature and culture, European cinema, autobiography, and the representation of history and cultural memory. He has published on German literature, especially work from the former GDR and autobiography. His most recent monograph is entitled Mapping the Contours of Oppression: Subjectivity, Truth and Fiction in Recent German Autobiographical Treatments of Totalitarianism (Rodopi, 2006). His cinema work includes articles and chapters on topics such as Run Lola Run, The Lives of Others, Sophie Scholl: The Final Days, German film comedy, the role of the film festival in Europe, and on the influential British film publication Sight and Sound. More on Owen Evans…

Photographer Elliott Erwitt on His Lifetime Achievements

Published on May 23, 2011 in News and Newsletter. 0 Comments

From Erica Singleton at Vanity Fair…

Elliott Erwitt’s “Personal Best,” an exhibition opening this month at the International Center of Photography in New York, is a survey of the witty, the moving, and the delightful—everything that Mr. Erwitt is himself. I.C.P. recognized him with an Infinity Award for Lifetime Achievement, which celebrates his long career of magnificent picture-making. At 82, he’s busier than ever. With a slew of books, exhibitions, and films under his belt, he’s currently at work on three additional books and embarking on a whiskey photo project (lucky guy). He even has an iPad app. In conversation with VF.com, Erwitt reflects on the pictures he took, the ones that got away, and the personal bests yet to come.

Erica Singleton: What is it about this photo [above right, and included in “Personal Best”] that you really like, that made it stand out to you?

Elliott Erwitt: I like this photo because it could be taken in many ways, and you can read into it whatever you’d like. I think it’s a funny picture. I think it’s a tragic picture. I think it’s an ambiguous picture—I think it’s the sort of picture that might engage somebody to put his or her own interpretation on it. And consequently I like the picture because, apart from that, it’s nicely composed. What else can I say? More…

Woody Allen: Midnight in Paris

Published on May 20, 2011 in News and Newsletter. 0 Comments

From Zachary Wigon at Tribecafilm.com…

Woody Allen’s public persona is a bit confusing at times; the prolific American auteur is both notoriously press-shy and yet surprisingly open when he does decide to engage with the media. With a career renaissance that’s been underway for six years now, kicked off by a relocation to European shooting and his best film in ages (Match Point), Allen has slowly started coming out of his shell a bit more as of late.

Such was the case at the press conference for Allen’s latest, Midnight In Paris, his French-set (duh!) ode to romance and fantasy in the City of Light, starring Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard, Adrien Brody, and some terrific cameos, including one by Mrs. Sarkozy, Carla Bruni. Clearly falling in the fantastic tradition of earlier works such as The Purple Rose of Cairo, the film is more of an adventure than a comedy or drama, a pure romance as few Allen films are.

At the start of the press conference, at the Regency Hotel on the Upper East Side, it was clear that Allen—whose affect was extremely humble, soft-spoken, articulate and patient, certainly at odds with certain portraits of the filmmaker as nihilistic and depressive—would be packing a few zingers. When asked if he had ever been called a communist, as the film’s screenwriter protagonist is at one point, Allen replied, “No, absolutely not. I’m not a communist—I could never even share a bathroom.” More…

This year’s best illusion reveals a visual quirk

Published on May 10, 2011 in News. 0 Comments

From Science at msnbc.com…

3rd Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art – Thessaloniki, Greece

Published on May 8, 2011 in News and Newsletter. 0 Comments

State Museum of Contemporary Art
Thessaloniki, Greece
www.greekstatemuseum.com
www.thessalonikibiennale.gr

The 3rd Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art is lead by the State Museum of Contemporary Art (SMCA) working collaboratively with the rest of the “Thessaloniki – 5 Museums Movement” (5M): Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki, Museum of Byzantine Culture, Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art and Teloglion Foundation of Art. The Biennale comprises a main and a parallel programmes and focuses on the Mediterranean region under the title “OLD INTERSECTIONS – MAKE IT NEW” with exhibitions, a workshop for young artists, a performance festival, conferences and a symposium.

MAIN PROGRAMME
“A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE”
Curators: Paolo Colombo, Mahita El Bacha Urieta, Marina Fokidis

In the current climate of gathering instability that holds great promise as well as danger, this title, A Rock and a Hard Place captures the sense of fragility and jeopardy that looms over the wider politics of the Mediterranean and the psychology of the individual. Affected by a sense of impending danger and ‘Hamletic’ doubt, contemporary artists produce work that is often characterised by a defensive, ironic stance. Leaving behind the strong, iconic gestures and sweeping political statements of the past, A Rock and a Hard Place examines the changes, the shifts, and the different perspectives of more than 50 artists. Engaging with the historical significance of the venues and of Thessaloniki—a crucible of cultures for the past 2500 years—the Biennale explores a number of topical issues in Mediterranean region, from social conflict to the quandaries of the individual caught in an economic and existential crisis. The program takes place in five museums and several Islamic monuments and includes special exhibitions and installations, an information centre as well as performances and interactions that address cultural and popular issues in the Mediterranean region.

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Photos: Bruce Weber and Ingrid Sischy on Robert Mapplethorpe’s Legacy

Published on May 7, 2011 in News and Newsletter. 0 Comments

From Susan Michals at Vanity Fair… (Photographs by Robert Mapplethorpe)

On May 6, 2011, 50 Americans—one from each state—will be showcased in an attempt to shed light on that foundation of all things America: freedom of expression. Without outside influence, participants aged 21 to 106 were exposed to the art of the late photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, frequently cited for his most controversial works. Then, from the over 2,000 Mapplethorpe images, each was asked to select one photograph that spoke to him or her personally. The exhibition, called simply “50 Americans,” will show at the Sean Kelly Gallery, in New York, through June 18, and brings Mapplethorpe’s work back to its original essence: existing first as a visceral, emotional reaction to an idea.

What’s refreshing about this new Mapplethorpe show is that it brings with it an unfiltered, objective point of view. With its experimental premise, it makes for a fresh opportunity to experience the beauty of the late photographer’s raison d’être—saying aloud everything we always thought but were too afraid to speak. More…

LADYBOY: Judith Supine

Published on May 6, 2011 in News and Newsletter. 0 Comments

From New Image Art


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An Artist Imagines The White House As It Once Was

Published on May 4, 2011 in News and Newsletter. 0 Comments

Image Courtesy of White House Historical Association

By Staff, NPR

The White House is a home, not a museum, so when presidents move in, they do what any new homeowner would do: they redecorate. Just like the rest of us, they paint, paper, change the furniture and carpets.

The White House has been “done over” many times, and now, the White House Historical Association has commissioned a set of pictures to explore what those famous rooms might have looked like at different moments in American history. The exhibit of 14 paintings by architectural painter Peter Waddell covers roughly the first 100 years of the White House, from 1792 to 1902.

“Few artists painted [the White House],” Waddell tells NPR’s Linda Wertheimer. “It’s a really hard building to paint decently. Compared with how … many images there are of Mount Vernon, there’s very few of the White House.”

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