Photographer Charlie Carter chooses path of tradition
An Overlooking Presence of History, Charlie Carter
by Meg Glasgow
Few art methods have changed as dramatically as photography. Shaped by innovation and technology, the process of making photographs has undergone a revolution since its invention 125 years ago. Black-and-white silver gelatin printing is a fading art. It requires a highly skilled and experienced darkroom technician. Yet a devoted band of film fans still adhere to the traditional method of gelatin silver printing.
Meet artist and photographer Charlie Carter. Clinging to the traditional means of the gelatin silver process, photographers like Carter continue the practice through the use of film and silver-coated papers.
“I am inspired and influenced by technique. My interest in the past is becoming more prominent in my work today,” says Carter.
His compositions are a contrasting mix of 19th century bookplate images combined in the darkroom with his contemporary landscapes. It is in the darkroom manipulation where science becomes art. The selection of the appropriate negative and the preparation for the selected negative in the enlarger is a long procedure. The process of printing these ideas into a single photograph is complex and very time consuming. It’s not uncommon for Carter to produce several images before creating the one that fits the highest standard.
“Each photograph is unique due to how it is printed and the paper it is printed on,” Carter says. “The complexity and spontaneity that occurs in the printing of my photographs ensures its originality to the collector.”
Untitled, Charlie Carter
Carrying photography equipment into Idaho’s backcountry, it is easy to understand where Carter’s passion lies. Being a native Idahoan, his pursuit of the perfect black and white photograph has led him all over the west in hopes of capturing the majesty and grandness of the Western landscape. His strives to create images that inspire and emotionally move the viewer into looking at the natural world around them. Creating an appreciation for the art of silver gelatin black-and-white photography is a bonus.
“My goal is to produce imagery that evokes appreciation to technique, creative merit and intellectual thought while upholding the traditional process of fine art photography,” he says.
Carter received a BFA degree from Boise State University while studying under Professor Howard Huff. He has worked in his chosen medium for the past 20-plus years and is steadfast in making his photographs the “old fashion way.” The artist resides in Meridian, Idaho.
Carter’s latest exhibit, The Path Chosen, opens Friday, October 4 and continues through early November at the Gallery at Finer Frames in Eagle, Idaho.
SOURCE: Art Business News » Latest News – Read entire story here.
Ivan & Natalia: Solo for Two
Summers in London have never been hotter. Ditto for its dance scene. This week for instance, celebrated artists like Carlos Acosta and Wendy Whelan are in town exploring cross collaborations outside the classical dance genre. One of the most awaited events of this kind is Solo for Two, an evening built around the superstar duo Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev, who will be showcasing new pieces by contemporary choreographers Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Ohad Naharin and Arthur Pita.
The project debuts in LA this week, and ahead of its run of four shows at the Coliseum, we have some pictures of the pair rehearsing with Arthur Pita, taken by Doug Gifford:
Solo for Two is on at the London Coliseum from 6 to 9 August, 2014. For more information and booking, visit the ENO Website.
© The Ballet Bag, 2013.
The post Ivan & Natalia: Solo for Two appeared first on The Ballet Bag.
SOURCE: The Ballet Bag – Read entire story here.
GENERAL HARDWARE – Alex Bierk “Pitfalls and Withdrawals”
Alex Bierk’s solo show opens TODAY at General Hardware Contemporary. I caught up with the artist and GHC Director, Niki Dracos, for a sneak preview.
By: Stephanie Anne D’Amico
Alex Bierk and his former self, as depicted in Self Portrait, Looking Back, from 2006, (2013)
You would never know Alex Bierk had struggled with addiction. The clear-eyed and ebullient artist is a new father with a full-time painting career, and he just mounted his first solo exhibition at General Hardware Contemporary. The show is a significant survey of works from the past two years, and features more than a dozen oil paintings, several works on paper, and a video contributed by the artist’s brother, Jeff. Based on digital snapshots taken during the difficult years of 2002-2006, during which Bierk (and his brother) struggled with substance abuse, these high-realist, black and white paintings are not your typical peek into the violent and exotic world of chemical addiction. On the contrary, the deeply personal object matter is handled with incredible poise and sensitivity. Bierk doesn’t rely on the sensational aspects of drug culture to unsettle his audience; there are no black eyes, bloody noses, or infected injection sites. Instead, “Pitfalls and Withdrawals” offers unresolved juxtapositions, like a tender depiction of leaves from a dying orange tree next to a hand-scrawled list of drug debts.
Debts, acrylic on linen, 2013 and Untitled (Orange tree), ink on paper, 2013
“Every painting has a story,” explains General Hardware Director, Niki Dracos. Walking through the exhibit, Bierk shares a few of the narratives: he points to a mid-sized canvas depicting a worm’s-eye view of a residential window, and explains that it’s the view from outside his bedroom, the view he had after being forced to leave the house. The gaze is at once longing and prying, trying to regain access to both the physical space of the home, and to the emotional space where the memory of family resides. Depictions of windows, driveways, bottles, and heaps of chalky pills line the walls, with a few potent canvases isolated, much like vivid memories that become branded on your consciousness. These small works, which include Self Portrait, Looking Back (from 2006) (2013), have more than enough psychic weight to hold an entire wall. Incidentally, many of them have already found their way into major corporate collections.
The big leagues aren’t entirely new to Bierk. He was formerly Kim Dorland’s studio assistant, and worked for many years under his father and painter, David Bierk. David was a formative figure in his son’s early artistic practice, and his death in 2002 marked the beginning of a particularly challenging period in Alex’s life. In “Pitfalls and Withdrawals,” a framed painting of the artist’s father occupies an entire wall. David appears to be presiding over the exhibit, but his neutral expression makes it hard to tell if he’s as impressed as the rest of us.
A portrait of the artist’s father, David Bierk.
Bierk is astutely aware of the specter of his parents in this body of work. He describes his painting as a way to “make amends” for the wasted years during which he lost both his mother and father. “It still gives me chills to look at this,” he says, pointing to a painting of the exterior of his former family home. For Bierk, these sharp renderings of psychologically charged spaces are far more haunting than the goriest of belt-strapped veins and needles – and I have to agree. There is a hard honesty in these poetic images that is not immediately apparent. On the surface, they are beautifully painted canvases that offer visual delights like the pool of light on a slick road or the fine line of a window grille. Dig deeper, and it becomes clear that by bringing into view a past that is forever inaccessible, these works are razor-sharp reminders of time, people, and opportunities that can never be fully recovered.
Pitfalls and Withdrawals is on view through February 15th, 2014
General Hardware Contemporary is located at 1520 Queen Street West.
SOURCE: Art Bitch | Toronto art review and blog – Read entire story here.
Zootown Fringe Festival opens with First Friday occupation of Brink Gallery
The Second Annual Zootown Fringe Festival unofficially opened on August 1 with a First Friday occupation of its Fringe Central headquarters at the Brink Gallery on Front Street in downtown Missoula.
SOURCE: Graphic Design News – Read entire story here.
Digital Revolution @ Barbican
Digital Revolution is the new blockbuster at Barbican – it is a story about digital creativity across the arts, showcasing technology-driven projects from a wide range of media. Rich on immersive experience, but somewhat lacking depth and critical core, it make us think of William Gibson’s famous quote “the future is here, it’s just not evenly distributed yet”. (all our photos are on Flickr)
The show starts with a range of early hardware, computer games and other digital paraphernalia and takes you slowly into more and more immersive experiences such as will.i.am‘s collaboration with sound artist Yuri Suzuki or a three-dimensional laser light field from the Umbrellium design group. It’s fun, interactive and eye-catching. But for an exhibition that promises to show you the best in digital creativity there’s an evident lack of a real artistic discourse. Instead, what we get is an evolution of technology and a demonstration of Moore’s law. During the hour we spent in the exhibition, we never felt stimulated to think about the impact of digital innovation on our lives and there were few works that challenged the meaning of digital, addressed the potential risks of it, or tried uncovering the commercial and political forces that drive some of these technologies.
We also missed a theoretical framework to put this digital revolution into perspective. We agree that shows can be fun and playful but staging an overview of digital transformation without referring to the authors of The Golden Age of SciFi or linking the work on display to more contemporary concepts such as William Gibson’s Cyberpunk or Chris Anderson’s Makers movement is a missed opportunity.
Final verdict: don’t expect to be deeply intellectually challenged, but if you don’t mind some waiting time, go and see it. It has iconic digital design projects, an impressive collection of technological artefacts and a coin-less Pac-Man arcade!
SOURCE: Happy Famous Artists » Blog – Read entire story here.
Photographer Opens Art Gallery in Cary – CaryCitizen
CaryCitizen |
Photographer Opens Art Gallery in Cary
CaryCitizen Cary, NC- Gordon Munroe Fine Art Gallery opens this Friday August 8 with a show by Cary artist Dan Campbell. But how did a transplanted English photographer come to open a fine art gallery in suburban Cary? Gordon Munro is a renowned commercial … |
SOURCE: art Photography – Google News – Read entire story here.
This Is The Most Controversial Show In Edinburgh
“South Africa’s fearless theatre-maker Brett Bailey has made a career out of tackling the most difficult aspects of race. His new show” – titled Exhibit B – “features black people in cages, in reference to real 19th-century human zoos – and even some of the performers are uneasy about it ”
SOURCE: ArtsJournal» THEATRE – Read entire story here.
French Kiss by Jeaze Oner
Artist: Jeaze Oner
Picture by: Terry
SOURCE: Graffiti & Street Art – Read entire story here.
Put Your Business Cards Away
by Mckenna Hallett
Why simply giving your business card to interested prospects is the worst thing you can do.
Okay, I know you clicked to see what the heck is this all about. You think I am going to trick you into some other issue altogether and I just used that title to get more hits, right? Nope. I am totally serious.
I have been teaching this principle for years and it is the most valuable single action that an artist can take to increase sales. I will repeat: MOST valuable single action you can take. Get ready to make more sales. It’s the one change that people who take my course on selling techniques are most likely to report as the “most valuable” in my follow-up surveys.
While I agree that every person who is even vaguely interested in what you create should be someone who can locate you and follow your career and visit your website, letting them take a card at any random moment is ineffective and costly for your long term needs. Unless you are a magician who can cast a secret spell that will make someone go to your website later, you need more control.
Think back: they seemed so close to buying and then they grabbed a card and said, “I will think about it and email you.”
They just took complete control. They now control what you can say or do from that point forward. As they walk away with your card, you have no access to them again and no “active” influence ever again.
When you maintain control, your card has the ability to allow you to continue to sell, clarify needs, get more information, and even close a sale. When used properly, it has the ability to get the Holy Grail of information: their email address.
Your business card can act as a bridge for that gap from “I need to think about it” to “Yes, I would love you to ship this next week.”
Here are a few suggestions to help you build this bridge with no card visible anywhere:
- They decide they want to “think about it” or ask the common questions – “Do you have a card?” or “Do you have a website?
- Now, because you are controlling the departure, you can “finish your thoughts” while assuring them you will go get “all the information” they need. (You will want to dig for that card! Keep it under your table and in a box.)
- Hand them a guest book or index card or something (I use a sign-up on my ipad that automatically enters people) and say, “while I get my card….”
- Let them know (sell them) that you won’t send very many emails – you are too busy for that, but you want to let them have sneak peeks, event notices, and other cool information in the future, so “please just put down your name and email address.”
- It is rare for someone who is truly interested and really enjoying you, your art, and has been bonding with you to have resistance to giving you an email address. If you sense any resistance, a big smile along with something like, “If you grow tired of seeing pictures of my art in your inbox you can unsubscribe in two clicks” will usually do the trick.
Slowing everything down and controlling the departure is critical. Now you have a great opportunity to re-visit the piece and take measurements, finish telling details that you think are still important or even ask for the sale one more time. You can at least ask if they have any final questions. You can just plain “finish” your side of the story.
They still get your information, but you have a way to remain in touch in the future. You have the ability to keep THAT sale alive or introduce them to future art that might just be an even greater sale in the future.
A quick email saying, “Thanks for spending time looking at my art today” with the actual picture of the art they were considering is powerful.
Try it. It works. Dare I say, it? It’s kind of magical!
Mckenna Hallett
Has this article been eye-opening for your art business? Mckenna Hallett and Artsy Shark founder Carolyn Edlund are writing an online course on Email Marketing Strategies for Artists.
We need your input to address your most burning challenges. Take our quick survey right here and get a coupon for $10 on the course when it launches!
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SOURCE: Artsy Shark – Read entire story here.
Peep the new online issue of Chemistry Magazine
Peep the new online issue of Chemistry Magazine
SOURCE: ALL CHROME – Read entire story here.
Should The Arena Di Verona Get A Roof?
“Northern Italy has been pounded this summer by rain and thunderstorms. About 25 opera performances have been soaked … Determined to bring an end to this unpredictability, mayor Flavio Tosi says that he’s planning to launch an international competition to draw suggestions for how the massive architectural task should be accomplished.”
SOURCE: ArtsJournal» MUSIC – Read entire story here.
Rebel architects: building a better world – The Guardian
The Guardian |
Rebel architects: building a better world
The Guardian Nigeria Floating Structure African Venice: in the waterside slum of Makoko, near Lagos, Nigeria, work begins on Kunlé Adeyemi's first floating building, a primary school. The design was conceived following discussions with the local community about … |
SOURCE: art Design – Google News – Read entire story here.
Audio Arts sound art magazine, aural archive of artists’ voices and sound art
Audio Arts: Volume 5 No 3 & 4 audio cassette Live to Air comprises a compilation of artists’ soundworks, includes contributions from: Bruce McLean, Harvey Mangolds
As I tidy and throw away redundant materials from the Slide Library here at Cardiff Metropolitan University prior to a move to another campus it really helps when I know that what is going into the bin is not therefore lost to history. the old audio arts cassette has been binned but every volume from that magazine of sounds and sound art is available still! On the Tate website here.
Explore and listen to this innovative audio cassette-magazine featuring exclusive contributions from more than 900 individual artists including Joseph Beuys, Ian Breakwell, Tracey Emin and Andy Warhol. Audio Arts was established by Bill Furlong in 1972 and includes soundworks, interviews and coverage of exhibitions. You will find all 24 volumes from Audio Arts published between 1973 and 2006
including the Audio Arts supplements which focus on particular themes and individuals, from the state of British art in the late 1970s to a feature on Damien Hirst in 2003.
Read more here
SOURCE: Jenny’s Art, Design and Architecture blog – Read entire story here.