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Sunday 1st August 2010
Imagine the magic when the Polaroid Land camera first came out back in 1948; the technology is still something of a marvel today. “See this new miracle of photography in action today – and you’ll want a camera to enjoy for years to come.”
Intrigued by the current tilt-shift craze in photography we have just done our first experiment. This was a shot taken in Brickell, Miami a while back and we have retrospectively altered it in Photoshop to look like a tilt-shift miniature scale model. Interesting stuff with great potential.
Studien nach der Natur (Studies After Nature) by German artist Bergbauer is an archive of 665 photographs of 152 different rock forms that were found at the roadside. Bergbauer photographed them from various perspectives and arranged them, by “form and applicability.” Each of the plates are presented on solid off white backgrounds and are based on the compositional criteria of the form of the object and positioning of the objects within Bergbauer’s defined space.
From his series The Parade, these shots have a Todd Hido feel to them, but are more invasive. Born in Tel Aviv, Kander is a London based photographer, artist and director, internationally renowned for his portraiture and landscapes.
In 1970, Andy Warhol purchased a Polaroid Big Shot camera, a clunky piece of machinery that had a fixed focal length of just three feet. With his characteristic voracity, he turned his new toy on everyone, from the famous – Muhammad Ali, Georgia O’Keeffe, Blondie, and seen here Grace Jones and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – to the completely anonymous. Most of Warhol’s Polaroids were used as studies for eventual silk-screen portraits. The artist would cover his subjects’ faces in white kabuki-like makeup to conceal wrinkles and blemishes. He intended his Polaroids to serve as time-capsule glimpses of a specific era—namely, the ‘70s and early ‘80s when he was at the height of his fame.
We are sad to hear that Dennis Hopper has died at the age of 74 following a battle with prostate cancer. Known for such cult classics as Easy Rider, Apocalypse Now, and–our favourite–Blue Velvet, Hopper embodied the image of the Hollywood icon. He was also a prolific photographer, painter, and sculptor. His photography is known for portraits from the 1960s. His painting style ranged from abstract impressionism to photorealism and often included references to his cinematic work and to other artists. He began working as a painter and a poet as well as a collector of art in the 1960s, particularly Pop Art. One of the first art works Hopper owned was an early print of Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Cans bought for $75.
On a recent visit to Lowe Art Museum we discovered these great prints by American artist and photographer Frank Paulin. In the mid-forties he developed his documentary style by photographing wartime devastation of German cities. On his return to the US he continued working in Chicago and NYC. Remember there are still a few days left of Miami Museum Month so get down to the Lowe and see for yourselves.