“A fashion picture is a portrait, just as a portrait is a fashion picture.” - Irving Penn
November 10, 2008
(From Los Alamos)
In case you somehow haven’t heard…William Eggleston is having his first retrospective in the United States at the Whitney (November 7th to January 25th)/
The man has come a long way from how his first show at the MOMA was viewed, back in 1976, which was described by one observer as “perfectly banal, perfectly boring”.
Reviews at New York Magazine and New York Times.
So, before we start getting even more media coverage of the new President-Elect…from PDN Pulse, the 5 photographs that helped Obama the most.
(Chung Sung-Jin)
From TIME, an album of reactions from around the world.
And you’ve probably seen this elsewhere…but an insider’s Flickr album of Election Night.
(Eve Arnold/Magnum)
And from Slate/Magnum Photos…a slideshow of the civil rights movement.
November 2, 2008
Walking up Lafayette from Chinatown I saw this little gem…no website yet but a new photography store and gallery in downtown Manhattan.
October 31, 2008
Fellow agents, have you had the “talk” with your photographers recently?
No, not that sort of talk. The one that starts with “So, what do you think of the economic crisis…”
You might have heard about the current state of things.
Well, unfortunately a deep understanding of macroeconomic theory was not a prerequisite for this job so my thoughts on the situation are as good as anybody else’s (though at this point I’m not entirely sure the US Treasury Department has much of a better idea than me).
I entertain cautious optimism, and hopefully on November 4th, if the right person (That One) is elected as the new President of the United States, I think there’ll be some more cautious optimism everywhere.
I think that if anything, the coming months will be a great opportunity for the younger, newer talents in our business.
The only advice I can dispense is to keep your head up, keep investing in your business and perhaps this year is not the year to finally get that fancy new sports car.
On a somewhat related note, Heather Morton is bucking the trend and has rejoined the workforce full-time and that’s always a good thing. Unfortunately that means she is taking a hiatus from her blog. So I’ve taken the liberty to highlight some of my favourite posts of hers. (All you photographers in Canada better take heed!)
October 30, 2008
Amy Elkins as some of you may know is a young portraiture photographer who has already made a bit of a splash in the New York photography scene, especially as one of the co-founders of Women in Photography, along with Cara Phillips.
So I was pleased to see that she had an opening reception at the Yancey Richardson Gallery for her first solo show!
The show is opening tonight!
October 26, 2008
(Paul Schroeder)
As you have probably heard, one of the greatest American icons in acting recently passed away, Paul Newman.
The Starworks blog has a great tribute over here.
A few days later after hearing this sad news, I was reminded of a book I once read: Adventures in the Screen Trade, by Hollywood screenwriter William Goldman.
I don’t remember the original reason I read this book, but it’s pretty much a must read for anyone who wants to venture into the world of screenwriting or indeed for anyone even remotely interested in the movie business. One of William Goldman’s great screenwriting achievements was winning the Academy Award for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid…starring Robert Redford and Paul Newman.
Anyways, I went back and looked through my ragged copy, because I remembered there was a certain section that may be of interest to readers of this blog..aptly titled “Agents”. Hopefully you’ll enjoy.
Continue reading Paul Newman, William Goldman and just bear with me on this one.
October 24, 2008
You have to love all the street vendors in Soho, especially this one. (Carne asada? Yes please)
Anyways one recent weekend I happened upon some gentleman selling many wonderful books of photography in fantastic condition. It must have been the saran wrap coverings that kept it in such good shape.
First purchase - Polaroids, by Robert Mapplethorpe (a description here)
And Photographs 1946-2004, Richard Avedon, a beautifully produced catalogue from the first major retrospective of his work since his death in 2004.
October 23, 2008
So, this is tonight:
PDN’s 30 is always interesting…showcasing some of the brightest young photography talent out there.
Maybe I’ll be there scoping out the next generation.
October 19, 2008
Finally official…Art+Commerce has added photographer/fashion designer Hedi Slimane and fashion stylist Edward Enninful to their roster.
(Hedi Slimane)
(Steven Meisel)
And Horst Diekgerdes has joined Katy Barker.
