musings from the photographic memepool [the shallow end]

Maybe I should have named my upcoming show at Trocadero Artspace, 'The Wasteland'?

Technorati Tags: exhibition, photography

Tomorrow I get my first gander at the solo show images, on the monitors at the printers. This can mean one of three things. They will need tons of work or, they will need some work, or they will be ready to go. Fingers crossed folks.

Technorati Tags: computers, photography, photoshop

When I recently heard about the current show at the CCP of Anne Zahalka's work, I was quite excited.

I spent some time at the show on Wednesday just gone, and well, to be frank, I was disappointed.

The show is really well hung, the staff at the CCP have done a great job. The large light box, in gallery 3 is mind blowing. The rest of the work itself however has a level of inconsistency about it's printing that makes me wonder if it is even by the same artist? I was really looking forward to seeing the work in gallery 2, her best known I suppose, but was sadly disappointed by the prints, they seemed to lack any richness, and I was not even sure they had been shot on medium format, due to poor sharpness and what appeared to be chromatic abberations. The body of work in gallery 1, the Artist series, really has me perplexed because it is so obviously digital, but the material it is printed on takes it almost to a sculptural level. The ideas themselves are of course engaging and humorous, but I'm kind of left gasping when there seems to be so little to tie them together.

Technorati Tags: CCP, conceptual, exhibition, gallery, melbourne, photographic, photography

Friday just gone saw me at Heide Museum of Modern Art. The show I saw was, entitled, “Perfect for every occasion: photography today.”

Without getting into specifics, I am more than stoked to have seen such a lively and healthy showing of the state of current contemporary photographic art practice here in Australia.

My main favourites were:-

• Patrick Pound's prints from mobile phone images.
• Debra Phillip's beautiful and considered photographic installation
• Paul Knight's large and very European feeling colour images.

At first when I saw the beautiful giclée prints by Patrick Pound, I didn't believe that they were images that hadn't gone though some post processing, until I got home. I was able to mimic the Henson-esque like softness of the images by simply focussing up close on an image, as he had indeed done, and with some simple moves in photoshop hey presto, all I would need is the cash to print them as giclée prints.

Debra Phillip's were seemed to me to really honour the traditions I've come to love in Photography, but not in a fawning or servile way. Everything from the framing down to the sequencing really worked well, it was a cohesive and resolved body of work.

Paul Knight's work which are large scale prints of slightly ambiguous subject matter reminded me of an amalgam 2 European Photographer's work, Boris Mikhailov, and Thomas Struth.

There was a noticeable number of New Zealanders represented, and of course some work that for me just clutched at straws or were simply post-modernist ideas, the usual one trick pony type stuff.

Overall, I really enjoyed the way several people were approaching the use of image capturing devices and how they responded to the idea of output, I would have liked to have seen some mention however of images being used in an online context. Overall the show was witty endearing challenging beautiful and engaging.

Technorati Tags: conceptual, exhibition, Heide Museum of Modern Art, melbourne, photographic, photography, pomo

After a glimpse of a household object caught my eye this morning, I wanted to write something about humour and modern art, but the pull of the glorious sunshine and the list of more important things to do tugs desperately for my attention.

Here's something worth a look, if you're in Melbourne this month. Zephyr Gallery in the Docklands, has a show of photographs Elvis Impersonators. The book and sales of the prints will raise funds for the Mirabel Foundation, the work is by Saville Coble, the show runs from the 1st to the 30th of May. at Zephyr Gallery 60 River Esplanade Docklands Melbourne.

On a personal note I may not get a chance to see the show, as sadly the web site for Zephyr gallery is actual an Ad Agency website, and am unable to garner much more information. The 'Docklands' website has some more information, scroll down to read it.

Technorati Tags: exhibition, photographer, photography

Only midly photography related, however worth a look I feel.

ACMI are having an interesting show in July. An exhibition of Pixar Studio's work

Pixar: 20 Years of Animation is the international exhibition that takes you behind the scenes of the studio that created Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc., Toy Story, Cars and The Incredibles.

Over 500 sketches, paintings, sculptures and storyboards reveal how Pixar's much-loved characters and worlds are brought to life. In addition to these one-of-a-kind works by artists and sculptors, the exhibition includes spectacular immersive environments and interactive experiences developed by Pixar to extend the magic of their films.

The world's largest exhibition dedicated to the art of animation comes from the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and makes its only Australian appearance at ACMI.

All thanks to upcoming dot org

Technorati Tags: interwebs, ACMI, Fed Square, computers, CGI, geek