Man Ray‘s photograph, ‘Le Violon d’Ingres’ sold this month for a record $12.4 million far surpassing the previous record set by Rhein II by Andreas Gursky, which sold at auction in 2011 for $4.3 million (CNN).
A new record for a photograph
Documentary in Dispute
Berenice Abbott knew my idol Eugène Atget in Paris (See: Eugène Atget and Berenice Abbott) and was instrumental in saving his work after his death and making it known more broadly . Atget spent considerable time photographing a Paris, which was rapidly disappearing. On her return to New York Abbott wanted to do the same for New York. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out as planned.
The publisher’s summary describes the book as follows:
The recreation of a landmark in 1930s documentary photography.
The 1939 book Changing New York by Berenice Abbott, with text by Elizabeth McCausland, is a landmark of American documentary photography and the career-defining publication by one of modernism’s most prominent photographers. Yet no one has ever seen the book that Abbott and McCausland actually planned and wrote. In this book, art historian Sarah M. Miller recreates Abbott and McCausland’s original manuscript for Changing New York by sequencing Abbott’s one hundred photographs with McCausland’s astonishing caption texts. This reconstruction is accompanied by a selection of archival documents that illuminate how the project was developed, and how the original publisher drastically altered it.
Miller analyzes the manuscript and its revisions to unearth Abbott and McCausland’s critical engagement with New York City’s built environment and their unique theory of documentary photography. The battle over Changing New York, she argues, stemmed from disputes over how Abbott’s photographs—and photography more broadly—should shape urban experience on the eve of the futuristic 1939 World’s Fair. Ultimately it became a contest over the definition of documentary itself. Gary Van Zante and Julia Van Haaften contribute an essay on Abbott’s archive and the partnership with McCausland that shaped their creative collaboration.
In my opinion this is a very accurate summary of the book. Will be of interest to anyone interested in the work of great photographers. The machinations (on the part of the publisher and others), which prevented this book being published in its original form are a real eye opener. Wonderful book! I really enjoyed reading it.
Congratulations to Sally Mann
Congratulations to one of my favorite photographers, Sally Mann on winning this years Prix Pictet award for her project exploring the devastating wildfires at the Great Dismal Swamp in south-eastern Virginia.
Anthony Morganti
During the pandemic I became something of a YouTube aficionado, subscribing to a number of photography related channels. I bumped into Anthony Morganti some time ago, but haven’t thought to post about it here until now.
He describes himself as follows:
I’m a professional photographer and photography educator from Buffalo, New York. In the 1980s, I established a thriving Wedding, Portrait, and Stock Photography business called, Creative Edge Photography in the Buffalo, New York area. I now spend my time teaching photography through workshops and YouTube Videos found on this website and my YouTube channel which currently has over 300,000 subscribers and is adding over 100 subscribers per day. I also mentor students one on one My mentoring program has been full to capacity and closed to new students since September of 2014 and has a waiting list of over 100 people hoping to be mentored by me.
I am a member of the Professional Photographers of America (PPA) and the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA).
My studio is in the historic Ellicott Square Building in downtown Buffalo
On YouTube he provides numerous, excellent and free tutorials on Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Photoshop Lightroom and less frequently on other photography related software.
You can find his website here and his YouTube channel here.
Enjoy!
The Photographic Eye
A while back I bumped into this photographer on Youtube. His name is Alex Kilbee and his channel is rather different. Most photography related channels focus on gear. Camera reviews, what’s the best camera, best lens etc. He describes his channel as follows:
A channel dedicated to helping you discover more about the art and history of photography, so you can become a better photographer.
I am Alex, and I’ve been fortunate to be a professional photographer now for around 30 years.
Having a wider appreciation of the art of photography is the key to creating photographs that stand out from the crowd and speak with your own unique voice. Think of this channel as a free course in learning how to speak visually through your photography.
This recent video (above) is a good example. In it he considers why it is that Youtube tends to largely show the gear related content. He provides information on other photographers who provide other photographic content (some of which I already knew, a number I didn’t). Then, based on his knowledge of the Youtube algorithm he explains how you can get Youtube to show you more non-gear related content.
Great stuff! Take a look at his other videos.