52 Editions

Franco-Angeleno, Arnaud Gregori, has created something new in the gallery world. 52 Editions.com, an online gallery, features a new photograph each week for a year--52 weeks, 52 editions. Our weekly goal: to demolish the misconception that collecting great photography is a privilege solely for the hoity-toity. We're knocking it off its pedestal, and bringing it live, to your walls.

Paul Adams, First Light, First Day, Bonneville Raceway, Utah


Arnaud Gregori curates images that he finds worthy, no matter if the photographer is an amateur or professional. And he comes to his decisions with over 20 years of looking at photographs on a daily basis. Arnauld is the co-founder of Paris Photo Lab & Imaging in Los Angeles and a curator in his own right. His years of experience working with some of the world’s most renowned professional photographers gives him a rarefied eye.

Greg Mrotek, Ricart's Car Dealership, Columbus, Ohio, 2007



"We are constantly bombarded by slick images whose only purpose is to sell us more stuff, it is important for me to showcase honest photographs, which exist solely because they capture something beautiful... a landscape, an object, a moment."

Kris Graves, East Hampton beach, New York, Winter 2007


The photographs sell in the $75 range, certainly affordable by any collector. "For Gregori, it's more about the sharing and appreciation of art than making money."

Meg Birnbaum, Trouble In Mind


Scott Patrick Wiener, Places I've slept (Bedroom Pieces), 2007

Seven Selves

I knew that something special was underway when I recieved e-mails from two of my favorite photographers in one day. Russell Joslin, publisher and editor of SHOTS Magazine, and Aaron Hobson, The Cinemascapest, alerted me to a new collective of seven photographers that "that dare to challenge the conventional language of self-portrait photography." Seven Selves "demonstrates the beginning of infinite possibilities of self-portraiture, and elevates the significance of the artist with the pretension to become part of the pictorial narrative."

The goal of the collective is to create a touring exhibition, to publicize the genre of self portraiture, and to create opportunities as a collective--opportunities that might have been too cost prohibitive as individual photographers.

Members include:

The Feltus Brothers, American born, lives in Italy



Cornelia Hediger, Swiss born, lives in NYC




Aaron Hobson, Adirondack Mountains, NY




Russell Joslin, Minneapolis, MN




Suzanne Junker, German born, lives in Paris and Shanghi





Isabelle Lumpkin, Brooklyn, NY




Kate Pollard, Philadelphia, PA

Olivier E. Laude, RdH.

All I can say is that San Francisco photographer,Olivier D. Laude, is someone I would like to know. I'll let him tell you about himself, in his own words.

Born:
In France, in Lille, France, October 2nd, 1964.
Wild ass is slaughtered and turned into sausage to celebrate afore mentioned nativity. Quadruped’s name withheld from public records.
I shared this date, but not the sausage, with Mahatma Ghandi, Sting, Charlie Chaplin and umpteen other bitches.

Education:
Skidmore College
BS in Art History
Class of 1986.
Graduated Magma Cum Laude in Art History, but dem bitches did not award a prize for that, so no cigar for this record, so not worth mentioning.
Magma cum MaryJane. I’d like to thank the Otis elevator company for providing me with a safe and secure place to smoke between classes. “Je voudrai m’excuser aupres des handicapes”.
Failed philosophy twice, some photography classes….
Graduate with a 1.7 GPA; I tried to do better but my subsequent corporate sponsorship with the Otis elevator company conflicted with regularly scheduled classes.
Ate large amounts of cream of wheat; cause: no money. It’s nutritious and nourishious.
Bring water to a boil, dump in stomach size lump of cream of wheat, cook until good enough to consummate, flavor with glucose heaps, eat 3 times a day. Ruminate.
Lived in the woods in turquoise 1978 VW van but sometimes parked on school property. Showered irregularly.

Special Skills:
Using agricultural metaphors in political speeches for the advancement of the hard of hearing and the Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian and Transgender community.
Making life deliberately hard for friends and family, so that they can redeem themselves through labor.
Legal latin. Try this at home: “Ab Initio, it should be said, that this is a good prima facie case for my decision to forgo said curriculum vitae”.

Yossef's Buck, from the "Lifestyle" series.


Papa Bear, from the "Lifestyle" series.


Mia Ferita, from the "Lifestyles" series.

A Corsican Welcome, from the "Lifestyle" series.


Holzfällers?, from the "Lifestyle" series.


Hal Close, from the "Lifestyles" series.


Cold War Diaries, from the "Guinda" series.


La Bella Dene, from the "Cultural Appropriated" series.


Chicken fighter, from the "Chicken Fitgher" series.


Araya, from the "-ish" series


Shawnrey, from the "............. " series


Big John, from the Las Vistas series


Mikkel Sønafenlillepigemedsvovlstikker, from the "Autobahnüberfal, the Danes" series.


Revenge of the Corsican Welcome, from the "Corsican Welcome" series.

Gilbert Garcin

Sometimes you come across work that engages you so completely, and at first you think, why didn't I think of this, but then you let that go and just roll yourself up in the wonderful images. That's how I felt discovering Gilbert Garin's photographs. At 80, Mr. Garcin is an inspiration in so many ways.

"Gilbert Garcin spent most of his life managing a lamp factory in France. At 65, he retired and took up a trick photography workshop. For the past ten years he has been creating comical, surrealistic photographs which warmly highlight sometimes cold, existential questions. Garcin inhabits this strange world and ponders it together with the viewer; with Garcin you have a dedicated, but perplexed, guide."

In February, Gilbert's work was celebrated at the Festival at Rennes:




In addition, Mr. Garcin just closed a retropsective at Espace Jacques Villeglé - Place d'Art Contemporain in Saint Gratien, France.

World Wide Moment

In 58 days, something potentially powerful will occur: The World Wide Moment happens on 09/09/09 at 9:09. Sign up and mark your calendars.

Here is what Brett Brownell, Worldwide Moment's Founder, has to say about the event and organization:

In 2002 at the age of 23 I was living in Los Angeles, hoping for an Aha Moment. I was a recent college graduate, very appreciative for the opportunity to attain a higher education, but I felt like a wanderer with no direction or destination. I was “getting by” working as a restaurant delivery driver and a production assistant on T.V. commercials. But something wasn’t right.

So I started volunteering.

The organization was called P.A.T.H. (People Assisting the Homeless). At first I helped in the office, stuffing envelopes and helping answer the phones. It was menial, but at least I felt something.

One night I attended the grand opening for P.A.T.H.’s beautiful new building off the 101 highway. Staff and friends joined current and former homeless residents in a celebration. I helped set up the event by aligning chairs and setting out snacks and drinks. Then I noticed a woman hanging photographs.

Where the walls had been plain, they were suddenly brought to life by these stunning framed images of the residents who lived in P.A.T.H. building.

“Did you take these?,” I asked.

“Some of them. Yes,” she said. “I’m part of a photography group that volunteers our services to P.A.T.H.”

I had found my Aha Moment.

I joined the group, called The Human Essence Photography Group, and photographed special events and holiday gatherings for organizations, schools, and churches around Los Angeles. While photographing these events I noticed the families and communities were at peace together, even if they were struggling individually. Plus, I knew they would always have photographs to reflect on each special occasion. It was the type of gratification I had been seeking.

Then, during one photography group meeting, our president asked each of us to submit an idea for an assignment. I suggested we all take a photograph at the same moment no matter where we were in the city. I wanted to create the sense of community between us as photographers as I had observed between the families and communities we photographed. Plus, I wanted to capture the diverse points of view Los Angeles had to offer at any given moment.

I wasn’t sure if anyone would remember to take a photograph, or if they’d even want to. But the following week the entire group of eight photographers showed up at the meeting, with their photographs in hand from the specified moment. We all shared in the excitement of seeing the city from someone else’s point of view. It was eye-opening and exciting. I wanted to try it again with even more people next time.

And thus, Worldwide Moment was born.

Since then, Worldwide Moment has survived and grown with minimal resources, thanks to a corps group of passionate international citizens. Last year 270 people from 20 countries took part in our simultaneous photography project for peace. We now have thousands of supporters on Facebook and Twitter from all over the world, and this year we aim to have someone from every country involved, which is no easy task.

So what we need as we approach this year’s Worldwide Moment on 09.09.09+09GMT@09:09 is your help. Whether you make a donation to help fund our website and promotional efforts, or simply ask your friends, family, and community to pledge to participate and sign our email list, I hope you’ll be involved this year.

Imagine the people who could participate. Imagine the countries that could be represented. Imagine the photographs. Imagine the impact.

We now have this website to serve as the hub for Worldwide Moment. It is a very exciting day for us, and I expect the next 60 will be even more so.

Thank you for your support, wherever you are in the World.

www.worldwidemoment.org

Plates to Pixels

A big thank you to Blue Mitchell, Curator of Plates to Pixels and Editor of the new Diffusion Magazine, for including my series, Shadow and Stains, in the most recent on line exhibition of Plates to Pixels. There is also an accompanying interview.

Kyohei Abe

Kyohei Abe (aka Laszlodog) has a new book on Blurb, Imaginary scape, showcasing "the interrelationship between the physical world and the world of imagination. He draw ideas from subjectivity, perception, and philosophy and I attempt to represent them with a sense of wit and humor." Needless to say, I'm a huge fan of his work!