Happy New Year Everybody!

See previous years here.

Ode to Robert Ryman

Two Rivers

The Delaware and The Hudson
December 26 and 27, 2010

Postcards from the Edge

My favorite benefit is just around the corner. I always enjoy creating a special piece for Postcards from the Edge and am truly amazed at all the amazing 4" x 6" art. Check it out the week after next.
-R



Postcards From the Edge benefit for Visual AIDS
Hosted by CRG Gallery
548 West 22nd Street NYC
January 7-9, 2011

Friday, Jan. 7, 6 - 8 PM
Preview Party (See the entire exhibition, no sales)
$85 admission, payable at the door, includes a raffle ticket for the chance to pick the FIRST postcard that evening. Silent auction of additional artworks and VIP packages.
**Preview Party admission for donating artists is waived. No RSVPs necessary. All artists’ names will be held at the door.

Saturday, Jan. 8, 10 AM – 6 PM
Sunday, Jan. 9, Noon – 4 PM
Benefit Sale
Over 1,400 original, anonymously-displayed, postcard-sized artworks, each sold for $85. All sales first-come, first-served, artists’ names revealed only after purchase. $5 suggested admission.

Artists include: Richard Renaldi, John Baldessari, Ross Bleckner, Louise Fishman, Ann Hamilton, Mary Heilmann, Jeff Koons, Glenn Ligon, Marilyn Minter, Yoko Ono, David Reed, John Waters and many, many more.

All proceeds support the work of Visual AIDS. Visual AIDS utilizes art to fight AIDS by provoking dialogue, supporting HIV+ artists, and preserving a legacy, because AIDS is not over.

Questions?
http://www.thebody.com/visualaids/current/postcards2011_faqs.html
Still have questions?
Contact Visual AIDS at (212) 627-9855

November in California

Gay Bashing at the Smithsonian

Frank Rich has a great piece from this Sunday's NY Times about the Smithsonian's censoring of the David Wojnarowicz video from their current show Hide/Seek. Frank Rich has been such a vocal supporter of LBGT rights over the years and is always spot on with his political analysis. He is certainly one of my media heros and I look forward to his column every Sunday.

David Sena

I met David Sena at the Rising Dragon Tattoo Shop in Chelsea about ten years ago. He has done three separate pieces on my arms and leg and since opened his own shop called North Star in the East Village. He is incredibly skilled at making tattoos and is world renowned in that field. He also happens to be a pretty amazing artist whose work is primarily on paper and involves the use of fireworks. I have one of his 3 dimensional pieces and it is simply beautiful. David currently has a show up in Greenpoint and I strongly suggested checking it out.


Yashar Gallery - 276 Greenpoint Avenue building 8 ground floor, Brooklyn NY 11222
On view: December 9-29, 2010

Sprinting through the Vernissage

Portraits of creatively dressed people in green or red at the Nada Art Fair - Deauville Beach Resort, Miami Beach, FL.

Clifton's

While I was visiting LA last month - I stopped by my favorite cafeteria Clifton's. Clifton's is the oldest style cafeteria restaurant in Los Angeles and is a kitsch lover's dream.
When I used to live in downtown LA (in the historical theater district) Clifton's was only a couple blocks away. It was a place I would always take my friends and family when they came to visit. I wanted to get back there to make some proper photos and share them here. If you live in or are visiting LA I would recommend getting there soon, as the cafeteria was bought by a developer from the original owners and is going to be made all fancy sooner then you can say mac n' cheese...

CHARLES LANE PRESS @ NADA ART FAIR

December 2-5, 2010

The Deauville Beach Resort
6701 Collins Avenue
Miami Beach, FL 33141
Open to the Public
Thursday, Dec 2; 2pm to 8pm
Friday, Dec 3; 11am to 8pm
Saturday, Dec 4; 11am to 8pm
Sunday, Dec 5; 11am to 6pm
Admission is free and open to the public

Lee Friedlander - America by Car

Generally, I have not been a big fan of Lee Friedlander's work since the 1970's. Being aware that many artists and photographers rest on their laurels and continue to do the same thing over and over again - I commend Mr. Friedlander who has consistently explored new points of view and themes in his work. Unfortunately the evolution from master street photogragher to nature photographer of stems, twigs, sticks and branches never suited my tastes. So it was with some skepticism and an open mind that I attended the Lee Freedlander show America by Car at the Whitney Museum of Art last month. Having heard that the new work was to be all images of America from his car window I was curious to see the show. As you may know, I myself make at least one major road trip a year to do some serious shooting across the United States. I felt that is was necessary to see what Lee Friedlander was up to on his own journeys. I found to my disappointment a tedious and unrestrained edit of dozens and dozens of images. Photographs of mostly cliched images of the American Road. I was hoping for something deeper, something that did not just scratch the surface about the America at the turn of the twenty first century. What I got instead was an overly studied typology (identically framed photographs always looking through the car window with the window/dash/door frame intersecting the image) that had nothing really special to say. After I saw the first five I was already quite bored and had the feeling I could probably have stopped right there and had a complete and total experience of the work. I should point out that Friedlander suffers from arthritis and is largely housebound (according to wikipedia) - so I commend him getting out and doing what he was physically capable of doing. That said however, I just don't think that I should give the work a pass solely because of his physical condition. I know this work has its defenders and feel free to argue here as to the value of this work. I also rarely ever post criticism on this blog but I felt inspired to say something. I can say that I was definitely impressed with how clean the window glass was in every single image!

Infinite Cat and a Peacock...

© Tim Barber

© Matt Stuart

New Portraits in 49

Check out the entire series here.

Zoe Strauss

Last night I attended a lecture at ICP by Zoe Strauss. I came to appreciate Zoe's work only recently and am now a big fan. When I heard that she would be at ICP this month I made it a point to make it out to hear her talk. It was fantastic! She talked in depth about her ten year I-95 project. Her dedication to that body of work is pretty unmatched and completely admirable. She is a powerhouse shooter, has a wonderful presence, what appears to be boundless energy, and is an extremely smart woman. She is a force unto herself and I will very much enjoy watching the arc of her career.

Zoe Strauss- Nigel at the San Andreas fault

Time Stands Still

Laura Linney, who happens to be one of my favorite actresses, is currently in a Broadway play titled Time Stands Still. The play is very good with a great supporting cast. It's about a photojournalist (war photographer) and her struggle with commitment and the dangers involved with her work. The play touches on several issues that deal with ethics and photography. It was rather strange to hear the words Aperture and ICP uttered on the Broadway stage. Laura Linney's acting was superb and fascinating to watch. If you like theater this is a play you should see.

Meier und Mueller

I had been anticipating the arrival of the inaugural book from the new imprint Meier und Mueller, Conditions by Andrés Marroquín Winkelmann. The wait finally came to an end last week when I received a copy hand delivered by my friend Joerg Colberg, the co-publisher of Meier und Mueller and blogger extraordinaire. I was not exactly sure what to expect as I am not too familiar with Andrés work. I had heard about the unique binding and interactive sequencing as well so I was more than a little intrigued. I am happy to report here that the book came off fantastically well. The images are all very strong, as is the printing. And the fold out sequencing is a novel way to approach a photography book. I liked the experience of being able to turn two pages at the same time and appreciated the thoughtfulness of the pairings. I am also attracted to the built in potential, that this book allows us to create our own pairings. Design and Sequencing aside, I think the photographs are really good and this is a book to add to your collection. I'm already looking forward to seeing more titles from this bold and exciting new imprint.

NY Art Book Fair and Book Signing with Allison Davies

This weekend is the NY Art Book Fair at PS 1. It's incredibly cool - so if you are in NY please come out to Queens and check it out!

Alaskan gold in the hand.

Joe holding nuggets

Prospector Jesse James shows me a cell phone photo of a smiley made of gold nuggets.

Restoring Sanity!

Way to go to the thousands and thousands of people that turned out at the Rally yesterday.
And by the way Happy Halloween!

Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press

The Seward Peninsula

Some images from my recent excursion to Nome, Alaska and it's surrounding areas. Thankfully, I resisted the temptation to title this post Home from Nome...