FEATURES Last month, Flak Photo highlighted a selection of images from Hijacked, Volume One, a collection of Australian and American photographs. MORE » |
WEEKEND This month's series features a selection of four images from Joshua Lutz's Meadowlands, a book and exhibition of color photographs. MORE » |
IN PRINT Three new books including Pieter Hugo's The Hyena & Other Men, Susan Bank's Cuba: Campo Adentro and Jessica Todd Harper's Interior Exposure. MORE » |
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RECOMMENDED READING A selection of quality online photography exhibits published elsewhere on the web. Updated monthly.
Photographs by Bill Vaccaro 
Roadside Attractions is part of a long-term project of images taken on numerous road trips east of the Mississippi River (including
Canada) that began in 2005. Strongly influenced by memories of a childhood of family vacations watching the world wiz by from the
back seat of the family Chevy — the view of the dome of the U.S. Capitol for the first time, a miniature re-enactment of the Civil
War in a Gettysburg, Pennsylvania museum; a visit to the family farm of his cousin's father in the hills of West Virginia — Vaccaro sees
the road as a beacon that has drawn him to sights as unusual as eight cars impaled on a spindle, or as commonplace
as the swoosh of a horse's tail.
Photographs by Kent Rogowski 
Bears is a series of portraits of the most unusual sort: ordinary teddy bears that have been turned
inside out and restuffed. Simple patterns and
devices never meant to be seen are now prominent physical characteristics, giving each one a distinctly quirky personality: fasteners become eyes,
seams become scars, and stuffing creeps out in the most unexpected places.
Together these images form a topology of strange yet oddly familiar creatures. They are at once hideous yet cuddly, absurd
but adorable, while offering a metaphor for us all to consider. Rogowski's bears reveal an inner core that might help us to better understand our own.
Minnesota Center for Photography 
This fall, Flak Photo teamed up with Minnesota Center for Photography in support of PhotoBravo, a celebration of photographic
arts to benefit the MCP. A selection of photographs from the exhibit ran in these pages from October 29 - November 3, 2007. PhotoBravo is an annual event that provides an opportunity to see a cross-section of today's most
intriguing and collectible photographic art. This year, through live and silent auction, nearly sixty fine photographs are available
for bidding. PhotoBravo provides crucial support for MCP's programs while providing opportunities to acquire contemporary art
from some of today's most exciting photographers.
Ed. Davin Risk & Ross Evertson 
MakingRoom is a magazine about the process, intention and results of image-making. Each issue presents a series of
galleries and interviews with visual artists. Edited by Davin Risk and Ross Evertson, the magazine dispenses with talk of
technique in favor of discussing what compels artists to create. While the online version of MakingRoom continues to evolve, a series of print projects are in
the works under the same name — the first print journal will be released in 2008. A recent addition online is the SOLO feature series; a
single image is chosen to highlight a new artist each week.
A Jen Bekman Project 
This summer, Flak Photo featured photographs from A New American Portrait. Co-curated by Jen Bekman and Jörg Colberg, the exhibit ran in these
pages July 30 - August 8, 2007. These environmental, posed, and self-portraits express a distinctly American point of view. While they appear to be "honest" representations, some revealing and confessional, in truth the subjects
exist within narratives and environments carefully constructed by the show's nine photographers. The exhibition explores potent
themes and emotions which shape contemporary life in America: sexuality, gender, desire, heroism, consumption, fear, class, hope and loneliness are all
in the mix.
by Photographic Resource Center 
Last month, Flak Photo featured a selection of images from Exposure: The 12th Annual PRC Juried Exhibition. Juried by NYC
gallerist Jen Bekman, the exhibit ran in these pages July 10-27, 2007. Another exciting project from Boston University's Photographic
Resource Center is Northeast Exposure Online (NEO), a web-based showcase of emerging photographic artists in the New England
region. Highlighting an artist each month, the online gallery includes images, artist and curator statements, and links to each
photographer's website. Featured artists are promoted in the PRC's monthly newsletter, in the loupe, and past presentations
are archived online. For more information about the program, email PRC Curator Leslie K. Brown .
Photographs by Mark Brautigam 
Admittedly wide-eyed in scope, Brautigam's large format photographs highlight the idiosyncratic character of those environments that have frequently been disregarded. Though captured exclusively in the state of Wisconsin, the photographs do not represent a single locale. Instead, they subtly suggest the universal qualities that comprise this modern existence: irony, humor, beauty, heartbreak, excess and destruction. On Wisconsin is a personal journey that captures the unconventional side of a place and its people by seeking out the intrigue in otherwise overlooked settings. The result is a body of work that comments on the nature of man's interaction with the landscape to reveal a sense of wonder in the ordinary.
Photographs by Amy Stein 
This selection of photographs explores our paradoxical relationship with the "wild" and how our conflicting impulses continue to evolve and alter the behavior of both humans and animals. We at once seek connection with the mystery and freedom of the natural world, yet we continually strive to tame the wild around us and compulsively control the wild within our own nature. Stein's photographs draw on real stories from local newspapers and oral histories of intentional and random interactions between humans and animals to examine the primal issues of comfort and fear, dependence and determination, submission and dominance that play out in the physical and psychological ecotones between man and the natural world.
A Brandon Stone Project 
Flak Photo is excited to announce that it was named this year's "Best Kept Secret" at the 2007 Photobloggies, held last month in Chicago. Founded three years ago, the annual ceremony celebrates the art of photoblogging around the world and includes a variety of awards based on geographic region, subject matter, and several "best of" categories. Flak Photo finds itself in good company, featured alongside a mix of international winners in 25 categories, some of whom have been featured in these pages. In addition to this year's winners, the nominees are posted for each category, providing a "who's who" of some of the best photoblogs and web photography projects currently published online.
Photographs by Bill Sosin 
Like Giacometti's elongated statues, a jaywalker surveys the gridlocked traffic as the camera observes the shallow focus scene through a foreground field of condensation. This image is a part of Bill Sosin's "City Rain" series — scenes of Chicago photographed through his car windshield. Neon fluorescence and radiant reds from car brake lights are common, but abstract and suggestive patterns also appear: silhouetted pedestrians hasten along sidewalks with pendulous umbrellas, tow trucks and sixteen wheelers lumber ominously in these out-of-focus dreamscapes, and lonely objects in storefront windows are rendered redundant by the inclement weather. Sosin's work is a voyeuristic, random pursuit; he wanders the streets searching for something, capturing the colorations that comprise his ethereal tableau along the way.
A Jen Bekman Project 
Hey, Hot Shot! is Jen Bekman Gallery's quarterly photo competition — hundreds of online photographers vie for spots in her seasonal showcases. Those quarterly winners are featured in Jen Bekman's New Photographers Annual, published each spring, but they also have their eye on the big prize: representation by the NYC gallery through 2008 and a spot in next year's Ne Plus Ultra exhibition. The HHS! blog keeps its readers current on a variety of emerging photographers from all over the world, featuring entries from contenders, news and updates from Hot Shot Alumni. The Fall 2007 Edition is on — submissions will be accepted until November 6th, so apply today!
Photographs by Mikael Kennedy 
Armed with a Polaroid SX-70, photographer Mikael Kennedy has spent the past several years on the road, documenting the people and objects that inhabit his world. The series derives its name from a conversation Kennedy and his brother had while climbing over a barricade onto a crumbling pier, and Passport to Trespass provides a glimpse into this life — one of roaming and restlessness rendered in a vocabulary of landscape and vision. The resulting collection of images reads like small-scale paintings comprised of long exposures and rich colors, each preserved within the white borders of the polaroid print.
Photographs by Todd Deutsch 
Family Days takes place in the middle of a minor madhouse in the upper midwest. It is an autobiographical project based on family, fatherhood, and young sons. Deutsch's photographs describe the fatigue and tension that develop when the arrival of his third son upsets an already fragile domestic peace. Constant activity, endless jockeying for attention and a rising testosterone level spin the family closer to the edge of physical and psychological exhaustion. Set in common centers of family life — the kitchen, living room, backyard, and bedroom — these photographs reflect the craziness in a world overtaken over by three growing boys.
ed. Jon Feinstein 
A non-profit arts organization whose sole mission is advancing the careers of emerging fine art photographers, Humble Arts has launched numerous projects, the most notable being group-show, a monthly online gallery featuring single photographs from a variety of contributors. Earlier this month, Humble outfitted its website with a new design and expanded its projects to include a monthly "solo show" exhibition featuring a larger body of work from individual photographers. Humble will host its Chelsea debut at New Century Artists gallery on Thursday March 15.
Photographs by Jeff Brouws 
Like many who grew up during the spread of sprawl — with its predictable landscape of housing developments, interstate highways, and big-box construction — acclaimed photographer Jeff Brouws is intrigued by places that still show signs of the vernacular past. What began as cultural geography of Main Streets became a visual critique of the myth of upward mobility that created this car-centered, paved-over universe. Combining a minimal, bleak beauty with understated social commentary, his evocative color photographs seek a deeper meaning behind the cycle of construction, decay, decline and renewal.
ed. Humble Media 
Group Show is an online exhibition featuring the work of emerging and established photographers. Launched last spring by Humble Media and curated by a handful of editors, there are no conceptual guidelines or requirements to the images in its pages — The galleries provide a collage of the world as its contributors see it. Each monthly installment presents a revolving assortment of 24 photographers, mixing familiar names with new ones from beneath the surface.
Photographs by Terry Evans 
Renowned landscape photographer Terry Evans explores the complexities of Chicago's "urban prairie" from an all-seeing observation point in the sky. Evans' dramatic aerial portraits explore the topographical diversity of the city's contemporary landscape, while exposing the environmental, economic, and social challenges it faces with continued development.
Photographs by Ryan Keberly 
Detroit photographer Ryan Keberly takes his camera into the city to capture a photo a day. He puts his subjects — often homeless folks living on the streets — directly in front of the lens and their gazes are penetrating. The up-close portraiture compels, because it begs us to look at the people whose glance we usually try to avoid.
Photographs by Simon Hoegsberg 
Over the course of three months, Danish photographer Simon Hoegsberg approached 140 strangers on the streets of Copenhagen and New York City and asked them what they were thinking the moment before he stopped them. He recorded their replies and then took their picture. Subtitled, "Life-Snaps," this elegant collection of portraits captures the daily minutiae of modern survival. His subjects' replies — published verbatim from the street recordings — range from the expected ("Should I grab a coffee before work?") to the surprising ("What is the cost of an intermediate-range ballistic missle?").
Photographs by Paul Fusco 
Twenty years ago, Chernobyl's Reactor no. 4 unleashed a modern plague that condemned a region and seeped invisibly into the bodies of those exposed to its destructive presence. Magnum photographer Paul Fusco's interactive essay examines the event's horrifying consequences.
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FLAK PHOTO FEATURES Hijacked, Volume One | Australia and America Flak Photo is pleased to team up with Big City Press to feature a selection of images from Hijacked, Volume One, a photographic book + exhibition that gives voice to some of the most exciting and provocative photographers working in Australia and America today. These images erase traditional boundaries between art, document and snapshot to point towards the future of contemporary photomedia. In support of the project, Flak Photo highlighted twenty-five of these photographers in the month of September and included images from Timothy Archibald, Greta Anderson, Grant Willing, James Mellon, Robin Schwartz, Lisa Kereszi, Mark McPherson, Gareth Willis, Alana Celii, David Griggs, Jason Lazarus, Karron Bridges, Nathalie Latham, Nicholas Chatfield-Taylor, Caitlin Harrison, Graham Miller, Martin Mschkulnig, Amy Stein, Shen Wei, Bill Sullivan, Emily Portmann, Juha Tolonen, Michael Gray, Suzy Poling, and Janelle Ryan. Shunning repetitive and predictable curatorial structures, Hijacked's aesthetic is driven by the mindset and energy of young and emerging practitioners. Embracing the prevailing wanderlust of their generation, their work exhibits a fascination with international subcultures, fragmented trends, alternate life styles and urban landscapes. The exploration of suburban pleasures is placed on par with 'high' artistic experimentation. Relentless in its ambition, much like the photographers, writers and contemporaries whose work it presents, Hijacked is a hybrid of real time photography and life in real time. Flak Photo's Hijacked feature ran weekdays from September 1 - October 3, 2008 |
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SPONSOR FLAK PHOTO Do you have a web photography project you'd like to promote? Share it with our readers by placing a graphic advertisement in this space. Banner ad space is available for use on a rolling basis. For specific information about our readership, website statistics, or to inquire about placing a graphic ad, send us an email at photo@flakmag.com. |
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IN PRINT / NEW PHOTO BOOKS Flak Photo considers unsolicited photography books from artists, publishers and galleries for inclusion in its pages. To submit a title for consideration, contact editor Andy Adams by email at photo@flakmag.com. 
The Hyena & Other Men | Pieter Hugo
Many myths surround the 'Hyena Men' who haunt the peripheries of Nigeria's cities. Accompanied by hyenas, rock pythons and baboons, these men earn a living by performing before crowds and selling traditional medicines. Pieter Hugo's extraordinary portraits of their liminal existence reveal an uncanny world of complex, codependent relationships, where familiar distinctions between dominance and submission, wildness and domesticity, tradition and modernity are constantly subverted. Presented in thirty-five full-color plates, these intense portraits reveal why Hugo is one of the most exciting young photographers at work today. Hardcover • 35 color photographs • 80 pages • 11.4 x 9.8 in. • $49.95 US • About the Book 
Cuba: Campo Adentro | Susan S. Bank
Cuba: Campo Adentro is a first monograph of black and white photographs of daily life in the Cuban countryside by American photographer Susan S. Bank. Accidentally stumbling upon a forgotten out of the way community of tobacco farmers in Pinar del Río Province, Bank lived and worked over a six-year period with ten families who had no modern conveniences. Working against obstacles from Cuba and the US, with her Leica camera, she has achieved what no outsider or Cuban photographer has been able to do and produced the only known monograph that documents the ordinary life of Cuban farmers. Taking the raw, simple, ordinary details, she has created a poetic portrait of daily life of campesinos. The rainbow of human relationships and emotions extends beyond the island of Cuba and challenges the viewer to explore the universal enigma of the human condition. Hardcover • 48 b&w photographs • 84 pages • 10.5 x 10.25 in. • $50 US • About the Book 
Interior Exposure | Jessica Todd Harper Jessica Todd Harper's first monograph is a highly charged collection of otherworldly domestic interiors that bring to mind both the religious intensity of Northern Renaissance artists like Albrecht Durer or Jan Van Eyck and the quiet eroticism and tenderness of Andrew Wyeth's Helga pictures. Portraying an intimate world flooded with warm and ethereal light, Harper explores the interior lives of her subjects with precision and honesty. A woman stands as an awkward column in front of her seated future in laws; a man looks on with a mixture of fear, awe and adoration at the naked body of his pregnant wife; a baby stares intently into the camera, a dapple of sunlight playing across his face: these spontaneous and emotionally intense scenes reveal themselves to also be carefully composed and orchestrated. One of the winners of the Santa Fe Center for Photography's Project competition, and included in PDN's prestigious list of 'Emerging Photographers to Watch', Harper gives the viewer a fascinating glimpse into a provocative and beautiful intimate landscape. Hardcover • 50 color photographs • 112 pages • 11 x 9.5 in. • $45 US • About the Book |
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Flak Photo is published Monday through Friday, with curated exhibits on the weekends. Don't want to miss a day? Subscribe to our email updates and tune in to our daily photo posts and special section highlights.
WEEKEND / OCTOBER 4, 11, 18, & 25, 2008 We're pleased to present Flak Photo's WEEKEND series, a curated selection of images that highlights work from new photo essays, book projects and gallery exhibitions. Series photographs are published on Saturdays and shown throughout the weekend.
Meadowlands | Photographs by Joshua Lutz Just two miles west of Manhattan lies the Meadowlands, a 32-square-mile stretch of sweeping wilderness that evokes morbid fantasies of Mafia hits and buried remains. Development has claimed two-thirds of the region, making way for scores of landfills, motels, and gas stations. Under the pretext of searching for Jimmy Hoffa, photographer Joshua Lutz began exploring these lonesome wetlands ten years ago; what started as a strict documentary project soon evolved into something else entirely. Meadowlands, Lutz’s first monograph, is a compelling portrait of this vast and stunning landscape, whose unspoiled area is quickly dwindling. The Meadowlands are a place of solitude, a place you pass through on your way to somewhere more inviting — and yet, within it all resides a quiet beauty, a glimmer of hope, a hidden potential for renewal and rebirth. View the Meadowlands series | About the Exhibition | About the Book |
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SPONSOR FLAK PHOTO Do you have a web photography project you'd like to promote? Share it with our readers by placing a graphic advertisement in this space. Banner ad space is available for use on a rolling basis. For specific information about our readership, website statistics, or to inquire about placing a graphic ad, send us an email at photo@flakmag.com. |
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ABOUT FLAK PHOTO Flak Photo is a photography blogzine featuring distinctive work from an international community of contributors that promotes interesting visual approaches to seeing the world and celebrates the art of exhibiting quality photography online. The blog is produced by Andy Adams and features work from new photo essays, book projects and gallery exhibitions from established and emerging photographers. Flak Photo is updated frequently, attentively edited and open to submissions from the general public. SUBMISSIONS To submit your work for consideration, email your photograph (sRGB JPG format, minimum 1000px on the longest dimension) with title and place of capture including city, state/province, country and year to photo@flakmag.com. Contributors are encouraged to include their website URL with their submission. Although we are unable to offer monetary compensation, your work will be seen by Flak Photo's growing readership of photographers, publishers, curators and photo editors. THE FINE PRINT All photographs presented here are the sole property of the contributing artist unless otherwise noted. Published works are protected under domestic and international copyright laws and are not considered to be public domain. No photograph may be reproduced, copied, manipulated, or used whole or in part of a derivative work, without written permission. All rights reserved. |
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