mario cravo neto . . .

Take a look at this artist's "sculpture-like" portraits. Click here for more.

lee friedlander . . .

LEE FRIEDLANDER: AMERICA BY CAR at Whitney Museum of American Art

SEPTEMBER 4–NOVEMBER 28, 2010

Take a look at this exhibition of new work by one of the masters of the hand-held camera. Think about his use of depth of field, design of the picture space, frame within a frame . . .

a must look . . .

Be sure to take some time here - look and read the commentary - Henri Cartier-Bresson is a photographer you must know about! Think about his use of the hand-held camera, stop motion, and the "decisive moment". . .

Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Modern Century at Art Institute of Chicago

July 25 - October 3, 2010

The two most important developments in photography in the first half of the 20th century were the emergence of lasting artistic traditions and the rise of mass-circulation picture magazines. Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908–2004) was a leading figure in both domains. In the early 1930s, he helped to define photographic modernism, using a handheld camera to snatch beguiling images from fleeting moments of everyday life. After World War II, he turned to photojournalism, and the magic and mystery of his early work gave way to an equally uncanny clarity and completeness.

Before the dominance of television, most people saw the world through the eyes of picture magazines. Early in Cartier-Bresson’s postwar career, his photographs of Gandhi’s funeral and the Communist revolution in China were journalistic scoops. But the vast majority of his photographs describe everyday events, for his essential subject was society and culture—civilization.

Cartier-Bresson began traveling at the age of 22. For nearly half a century, he was on the road most of the time, and the geographical range of his work is notoriously wide. Its historical range is just as broad—from ancient patterns of preindustrial life to our contemporary era of ceaseless technological change. In the realm of photography, Cartier-Bresson’s work presents a uniquely rich, far-reaching, and challenging account of the modern century.

Hyères, France, 1932

Greenfield, Indiana, 1960

fun stuff . . .

"Art meets food" at San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. At left "The Wayne Thiebaud Cake". Click here to see more.

loose or rigid . . .

Check out this loose typology by Arnold Odermatt. Another example of "ruin porn" maybe? What do I mean by "loose" typology? Will yours be "loose" or "rigid"?

andrew Moore . . .

Andrew Moore's images of decay in the city of Detroit are currently on view at the Akron Art Museum. What is your opinion? Art or "Ruin Porn"? Listen to a couple discussions here.