1000 Words Photography Magazine Blog

Tono Stano @ Pace/MacGill Gallery, New York

© Tono StanoAn exciting exhibition is opening very soon at the Pace/MacGill Gallery in New York. Tono Stano's series of haunting and surreal images are due to go on display from 2 February through to 17 March, 2012, marking the Slovakian photographer’s first solo show in the United States and features 20 unique gelatin silver prints from his ongoing series of surreal portraits, White Shadow. With White Shadow, Stano seeks to turn reality negative, transporting the viewer to an inverted monochromatic realm. Produced in-camera, his photographs are analogue paper negatives that appear as positive representations through Stano’s meticulous and unique process of painting the white portions of his subjects’ bodies and faces black, and vice versa. When photographed in this fashion, that which is negative appears positive. The resulting images, which are graphically striking and seductively haunting, present a fusion of both the negative and positive. In this way, Stano is interested not only in the physical aspects of this negative/positive transformation, but also in "promoting this conversion as a life philosophy" according to the gallery's pr. Since 1984, Stano’s work has been the subject of solo and group exhibitions worldwide. His photographs can be found in the permanent collections of the Art Institute of Chicago; the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris; the Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris; the Museum Ludwig, Cologne; the National Media Museum, Bradford, England; and the Slovenská narodná galéria, Bratislava, Slovakia, among others. 

Eggleston Shore

We have just come across this bonus footage from the DVD, Eggleston In The Real World, which takes a brief look at the relationship between the work of Stephen Shore and William Eggleston, possibly two of the most important photographers to tame colour photography back in the early 1970s, alongside William Christenberry, Luigi Ghirri and others. For those of you who, like us here at 1000 Words, enjoy to hear Bill Eggleston in laconic interview mode, this snippet will uncover some unexpected delights.

Farewell 2011, hello 2012!

And so another year passes. We hope you have all had a happy, healthy holiday season and here’s to a prosperous2012! Asever, thanks to everyone who has supported and worked with 1000Wordsduring this past year. Here are some of our organisation's highlights:-the appointment of a board of directors who play an active role in the direction of the organisation. They are Camilla Gore, Nicholas Barker, Simon Baker, Aron Morel, Louise Clements, Tim Clark, Michael Grieve and Norman Clark-the announcement that our sister-site, the 1000 Words blog, was named as the winner of Arts Media Contacts’ Photography Blog of The Year Award-two 1000 Words Workshops with Anders Petersen and Erik Kessels that took place in the beautifully evocative medina of Fez, Morocco-1000 Words editors, Tim Clark and Michael Grieve’s participation in a panel discussion on “galleries” for photography with Linda Berlin and Toni Cederteg, Library Man; and Kristin Bråten, Director, Gallery Riis in association with Objectiv in Oslo, Norway-curation of a slideshow featuring Anna Linderstram, JH Engström and Viviane Sassen at Łódź International Festival of Photography, Poland-three issues of 1000 Words Photography Magazine, based around themes of Aporia, Hidden and Thereness, released in February, May and October respectively-sponsoring The Salon Photo Prize 2011, in which thirty-five early-career photographers were exhibited at Matt Roberts Arts on Vyner Street, East London with one exhibitor, EJ Major, winning the selectors’ prize supported by 1000 Words consisting of £1000 and a subsequent solo exhibition-Tim Clark, Editor in Chief at 1000 Words, joining the Academy of Nominators for the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize and also co-judging FreshFacedandWildEyed2011, the fourth annual competition for recent graduates organised by The Photographers’ Gallery, alongside Edmund Clark, Photographer; Louise Clements, Artistic Director, QUAD and Format International Photography Festival; and Brett Rogers, Director, The Photographers’ Gallery

The Trouble with Art Criticism

frieze issue 143 and frieze d/e issue 3

We are very happy to announce a new discounted offer on frieze magazine exclusively for 1000 Words readers. Over the past last twenty years, frieze has firmly established itself as the leading print publication in the field of contemporary art and culture. Astute critical analysis, exquisite design and through using informed and dedicated writers (guiding principles which are very close to our heart), frieze still continues to be the magazine of choice for today's brightest and most forward-thinking writers, artists, curators and collectors.Here, we present a short preview of the current issue of frieze, and frieze d/e their new quarterly bilingual journal, both current issues of which are entirely dedicated to photography!frieze - issue 143: Still-Life PhotographyIn the new issue of frieze Elad Lassry discusses his sculptures that "happen to be photographs" with curator Mark Godfrey, articulating the relationship between objects, the importance of the frame and the potential of "nervous pictures."Plus, Chris Wiley looks at new approaches to photography in the work of a number of US-based artists and David Campany discusses the intertwining of art and commercial photography in the genre of still life. Also featuring: Gilles Deleuze, Luigi Ghirri, Barbara Kasten and Kathrin Sonntag, as well as Lynne Tillman on a new book on the writing of Diane Arbus that prompts a deeper understanding of her work. Alfredo Jaar answers the questionnaire: "I distrust images".With 40 reviews from 26 cities including: 'Untitled (12th Istanbul Biennial)'; 'September 11', MoMA PS1, New York; 2011 Folkestone Triennial; 11th Biennale de Lyon and Yokohama Triennale 2011. As well as exhibitions from: Athens, Beirut, Berlin, Brescia, Brussels, Cologne, Dublin, Dundee, London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Munich, Moscow, North Adams, Osaka, Paris, Portland, Porto, Stockholm, Vienna and Zurich.frieze d/e - issue 3: The Ends of PhotographyHow do photographs circulate and what happens to them over time? The winter issue of frieze d/e looks at how artists use photographs both as isolated objects and as instant images.Editor Jennifer Allen considers the status of photography after the end of film. Plus, Hans-Peter Feldmann contributes an exclusive artist project. Also featuring: Marieta Chirulescu, Haris Epaminonda, Holger Hiller, Dorothy Iannone, Albert Oehlen, Rudolf Schwarzkogler, Hito Steyerl and Christina Zück. With 20 reviews from 16 cities including: Aargau, Berlin, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Innsbruck, Kaufbeuren, Lausanne, Leipzig, New York, Stuttgart, Vienna and Zurich.Receive frieze and frieze d/e through your door and save 25% on newsstand prices.www.frieze.com/subsofferQuote: COMB11Subscription hotline: +44 (0)203 372 6102

Ochi Reyes

All images © Ochi ReyesLast Saturday, I met up with my fellow judges and the participating photographers from this year’s Fresh Faced and Wild Eyed at The Photographers’ Gallery offices for the follow-up portfolio reviews and slideshow. Now in its fourth year, the competition celebrates the breadth and dynamism of photographic work produced by recent graduates from across the UK. Following an online application process, the 20 selected finalists were exhibited in an online gallery. To see the list of those photographers who were included, and their respective works click here. This year’s judges were Edmund Clark, photographer; Louise Clements, Artistic Director, QUAD and Format International Photography Festival; and Brett Rogers, Director, The Photographers’ Gallery and yours truly, (Editor-in Chief, 1000 Words Photography Magazine).At some point during one session with a particular finalist, Ochi Reyes, a voice in my head started to channel the words "She’s got something special" for these indelible self-portraits hit me hard. Their dry humour and deadpan compositions and style remind us of better-known female practitioners from the past such as Jo Spence but also speak in the more contemporary photographic language of say Marina Abromovic or even Catherine Opie. Poignant and political, Reyes’ work examines the influence of the other on the self. She is interested in how our identities are culturally constructed, and her photography explores how conceptions of gender distinctions, love and desire are imposed on our bodies from outside. More often than not, the characters in her photographs are actors, and she questions how we become actors in our own bodies, playing out the roles already scripted and prepared for us. Her photographs question the nature of representation, often exploring the mise-en-abîme effect of using one sort of representation inside another. In her artist statement for the project Revelations, shown above, she writes:"My own body and thoughts are the basis for a critical examination of society’s expectations to do with identity, surrounding issues of age, gender and family. All of the thoughts scratched onto my skin are related to not fitting in and the feeling of anxiety arising from this displacement. The surface of my body portrays how these thoughts, which come from outside, find their way not only into my psyche but also into my own body image.My skin condition, dermographism, means that the surface of my body can be inscribed as if it were a slate. In the same way that early morning thoughts linger for a short while before they disappear, leaving a slight trace that remains throughout the day, my skin slowly goes back to normal over the course of the day and is ready the following morning to be re-inscribed. It is not only this malleability of the skin, that interests me, but also the idea that skin absorbs information from the outside world; it is the interface between the self and others, both separating us and becoming the physical link between our bodies."Ochi Reyes was born in Madrid in 1974. After studying at Murcia School of Art she moved to London and completed a degree at Westminster University in Photographic Arts in 2010. In 2005 her project Photographs of an Amorous Discourse was shortlisted in the category Descubrimientos in PhotoEspaña. She is currently studying for an MA in Photographic Studies at Westminster University. Definitely one to watch.

Roe Ethridge

Whilst researching for our latest issue "Thereness", we came across a selection of videos on featured artist Roe Ethridge. In this particular interview with MoMa's Curator of Photography, Roxana Marcoci, Ethridge discusses his experience of working in commercial photography and its influence on his personal projects, and in the process gives us an interesting insight into his unique approach to making fugues that are achieved through what he refers to as "amnesic states of wondering". Here is an extract from Maggie Gray’s article in issue 12 of 1000 Words:"Roe Ethridge studied at Atlanta College of Art, after which he found work as a catalogue photographer to make ends meet, so the theme of day to day luxury and branding is one he knows well. On top of influencing his subject choices, Ethridge’s commercial experience informs the eclecticism of his style. Working to other people’s briefs throws up a host of visual and thematic scenarios. As Ethridge put it in this interview, he can photograph “a golden retriever one day and an underwear model the next.” He brings the same incongruous variety to Le Luxe: a turn of the page leads the viewer straight from bikini-clad women to a thoughtful shot of an empty maple syrup jar. Unlikely reverberations and echoes emerge throughout the book. One photograph depicts men breaking up stone slabs for the Goldman Sachs construction. In three others, similar slabs feature as impromptu ashtrays. Are they from the same source? Does it matter if they’re not, if the associations still resound? Other themes, such as Ethridge’s fascination with textural surfaces, are woven more intrinsically into the whole. His free and associative combinations deliberately reflect the heterogeneity of a photographic career – the juggling of projects, the frequent unsolicited finds and the constant casting about for inspiration. Nothing in his work happens in isolation as he draws, untethered, from his entire visual practice.That Ethridge is prepared to include images from all areas of his work, and beyond (he regularly borrows from public sources such as newspapers and online media) is a powerful thing in itself. Some of the pictures he employs are pixelated and blurred, brazenly failing the standard tests of ‘good’ photography. But contemporary life sees a constant bombardment of images, good and poor, particularly online where they are circulated, replicated, cropped and corrupted with ease. Ethridge is one of several artists who have taken the plunge, raiding this plethora of modern photographs to create work that – to quote video artist Hito Steyerl – offers a “defence of the poor image” instead of bemoaning it. This practice of grabbing, scanning and pasting from other sources raises thorny questions of ownership and originality which Ethridge confronts with humorous candour."Also worth flagging up is this short interview and slideshow of Ethridge's work created by The Photographers' Gallery as part of the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize 2011 and, finally, here is an installation video of Ethridge's exhibition Le Luxe II BHGG at the Gagosian Gallery in Beverly Hills that took place June 9 - July 21, 2011.

Hands in the fire with Erik Kessels

© Michael Grieve / 1000 WordsDuring the month of September 1000 Words held its third workshop in the medina of Fez, Morocco. This time we invited energetic Dutch man, Erik Kessels, curator, publisher and top banana at KesselsKrammer creative agency, to conduct an interesting and unique workshop that surprised and challenged the participants. Erik is one of those special people who injects a lateral perspective into the minds of those willing to take up a conceptual yet free thinking disposition. And as a passionate collector of anonymous photographs Erik always found the time to hunt in the medina for those vernacular gems hiding in the most unlikely places and lost on the pages of dusty albums.1000 Words (Michael Grieve and Tim Clark) would like to thank all the participants for a productive workshop and for making the workshop a pleasant and relaxed environment. The participants were:Alan Nielsen (Brazil)Natasha Caruana (UK)Alessandra Ferragina (Italy)Hyseung Jeon (South Korea)Hil Van Der Waal (The Netherlands)Andy Nelson (UK)We, of course, would like to thank Erik Kessels for his teaching skills and powers of motivation and our local assistant, Omar Chennafi, and Stephen DiRenza for allowing us to use his beautiful riad for the week.1000 Words is organising four more workshops in Fez for 2012 with some of the finest photographers and artists the world has to offer including Roger Ballen (others still to be confirmed), and will be making a call for submissions very soon.© Michael Grieve / 1000 Words

1000 Words Photography Magazine #12

I am delighted to inform you that issue 12 of 1000 Words "Thereness" is now available to view online at www.1000wordsmag.comFeaturing portfolios from Léonie Hampton, Chris Shaw, Maja Forsslund, Rinko Kawauchi, Ordinary Light Photography and Roe Ethridge alongside in-depth interviews, essays and reviews by Louise Clements, Simon Baker, Lucy Davies, Natasha Christia, Brad Feuerhelm and Margaret Gray, 1000 Words attempts to show a kind of photography that draws directly and honestly from life; work that does not fit neatly into categories yet which can be infinitely more rigorous and fresher than any attempts at visual gimmickry made by the latest tricks of the trade.In line with this, we also cover new titles from Andy Sewell, C Photo and Enrique Metinides in the dedicated books section courtesy of texts from Michael Grieve, Oliver Whitehead and Daniel Campbell Blight."[...]'Thereness' is a sense of the subject's reality, a heightened sense of its physicality, etched sharply into the image. It is a sense that we are looking at the world directly, without mediation. Or rather, that something other than a mere photographer is mediating. [...] Such a feeling, such alertness, when present in the photograph, can of course conceal the greatest photographic art. 'Thereness' is seen at the opposite ends of the photographic spectra, in the humblest holiday enprint as much as the most serious art photograph, in the snapshot-inspired, dynamic small camera candid as much as the calm, meditative, large camera view. Those photographs which conjure up a compelling desire to touch the subject, to walk into the picture, to know the photographed person, display 'thereness'. Those photographs which tend towards impressionism, expressionism or abstraction can be in danger of losing it, or never finding it [...]. 'Thereness', in short, is a quality that has everything to do with reality and little to do with art, yet is, I would reiterate, the essence of the art of photography".From The Art That Hides Itself - Notes on Photography's Quiet Genius by Gerry BadgerThanks to all the photographers, writers and editorial and production team as well as of course our advertisers for contributing to yet another fantastic issue of 1000 Words.Enjoy dear readers, and please take note of our new studio address: 1000 Words Photography Ltd, 29 The Arthaus, 205 Richmond Road, London, E8 3FF

Hans Aarsman

Greetings from Fez, where our workshop with Erik Kessels is in its final stages. Tomorrow the participants will present their projects but there will be a future blog post for this. For now, I just wanted to share this wonderful talk at TEDxAmsterdam which Erik has put me onto. Its by Hans Aarsman and is titled 'From pretty to ugly and back again; mysterious ways of beauty in photography'.Surprising, insightful and at times hilarious, Aarsman shows different concepts of beauty in photography, and suggests that the only real photographic beauty is to be found in pictures that were made without such a goal in mind....Food for thought as we break for lunch.