Fred Ritchin winds down his conversation with Brian Palmer calling for authentic images. In the third and final part of this podcast Ritchin says "If one believes that people want the authentic at some level, you know either you want to fall in love, or you want to believe in god, or you want to eat something that's real or you want to take a walk in the breeze, there's something authentic that people want then why should imaging be outside the pale. Imaging also can be authentic, should be authentic." 

Fred Ritchin is Professor of Photography & Imaging at the Tisch School of the Arts, New York University. He is the author, most recently, of After Photography, on the future of new media (translated in four languages), and In Our Own Image, rereleased this Fall by Aperture. Ritchin is also the director of PixelPress, former picture editor of Horizon magazine and the New York Times Magazine, former executive editor of Camera Arts magazine, and the founding director of the photojournalism and documentary photography educational program at the International Center of Photography. He also produced the first multimedia version of the daily New York Times, and the website he created with Gilles Peress, “Bosnia: Uncertain Paths to Peace,” was nominated by the New York Times in 1997 for a Pulitzer prize in public service. 

Brian Palmer is a journalist, photographer, and filmmaker based in Brooklyn. He has written for Mother Jones, PixelPress.org, ColorLines, and other publications. He has photographed for The New York Times, Time Inc, North Star Fund, and produced/created video for PBS, MTV News & Docs, and ColorLines.org. From 2000 to 2002, he was a New York-based CNN correspondent. Prior to that, Palmer served as Beijing Bureau Chief for US News & World Report. In 2009, Palmer completed Full Disclosure, a documentary about US Marines in Iraq for which he received grants from the Ford Foundation and Applied Research Center. He is a Fellow at NYU Law School’s Center on Law and Security and a faculty member at the School of Visual of Arts in the MFA Photography and Related Media Department.

 

"To me the parallel is the slow food movement, slow food is the idea that you have to cook it, converse and wait a couple of hours... and I do think that there is the possibility for a slow photojournalism movement or credible photojournalism or a term like it" muses Fred Ritchin in the beginning of Part two of this three part podcast of Ritchin and Brian Palmer's conversation at Aperture this past November. The two colleagues go on to discuss the potential of digital media, providing witty and insightful critique of the current state of photography.

Fred Ritchin is Professor of Photography & Imaging at the Tisch School of the Arts, New York University. He is the author, most recently, of After Photography, on the future of new media (translated in four languages), and In Our Own Image, rereleased this Fall by Aperture. Ritchin is also the director of PixelPress, former picture editor of Horizon magazine and the New York Times Magazine, former executive editor of Camera Arts magazine, and the founding director of the photojournalism and documentary photography educational program at the International Center of Photography. He also produced the first multimedia version of the daily New York Times, and the website he created with Gilles Peress, “Bosnia: Uncertain Paths to Peace,” was nominated by the New York Times in 1997 for a Pulitzer prize in public service. 

Brian Palmer is a journalist, photographer, and filmmaker based in Brooklyn. He has written for Mother Jones, PixelPress.org, ColorLines, and other publications. He has photographed for The New York Times, Time Inc, North Star Fund, and produced/created video for PBS, MTV News & Docs, and ColorLines.org. From 2000 to 2002, he was a New York-based CNN correspondent. Prior to that, Palmer served as Beijing Bureau Chief for US News & World Report. In 2009, Palmer completed Full Disclosure, a documentary about US Marines in Iraq for which he received grants from the Ford Foundation and Applied Research Center. He is a Fellow at NYU Law School’s Center on Law and Security and a faculty member at the School of Visual of Arts in the MFA Photography and Related Media Department.

 

"Having been a photo editor of the New York Times I worried about the credibility of pictures" Fred Ritchin told a packed audience at Aperture's bookstore this past November while speaking on what inspired him to write his classic book of essays In Our Own Image, "The idea of fact... of reference points, we don't have them any more." In part one of this three part podcast of Fred Ritchin and Brian Palmer's talk, Ritchin talks about everything from plagarized journalism to Photoshop to the democratization of photojournalism in the digital age.

Fred Ritchin is Professor of Photography & Imaging at the Tisch School of the Arts, New York University. He is the author, most recently, of After Photography, on the future of new media (translated in four languages), and In Our Own Image, rereleased this Fall by Aperture. Ritchin is also the director of PixelPress, former picture editor of Horizon magazine and the New York Times Magazine, former executive editor of Camera Arts magazine, and the founding director of the photojournalism and documentary photography educational program at the International Center of Photography. He also produced the first multimedia version of the daily New York Times, and the website he created with Gilles Peress, “Bosnia: Uncertain Paths to Peace,” was nominated by the New York Times in 1997 for a Pulitzer prize in public service. 

Brian Palmer is a journalist, photographer, and filmmaker based in Brooklyn. He has written for Mother Jones, PixelPress.org, ColorLines, and other publications. He has photographed for The New York Times, Time Inc, North Star Fund, and produced/created video for PBS, MTV News & Docs, and ColorLines.org. From 2000 to 2002, he was a New York-based CNN correspondent. Prior to that, Palmer served as Beijing Bureau Chief for US News & World Report. In 2009, Palmer completed Full Disclosure, a documentary about US Marines in Iraq for which he received grants from the Ford Foundation and Applied Research Center. He is a Fellow at NYU Law School’s Center on Law and Security and a faculty member at the School of Visual of Arts in the MFA Photography and Related Media Department.

 

"Welcome to the Gerry and John show" Aperture editor Denise Wolff stated in her introduction to Gerry Badger and John Gossage's conversation at Aperture Gallery in June 2010,  on the occasion of the release of Badger’s collection of essays The Pleasures of Good Photographs. Prominent critic Gerry Badger and master photographer as well as author John Gossage, have each been in the field of fine art photography for over thirty years and both men have established acclaimed careers. They are also old friends. Their discussion about their favorite images, artists, and themes from the world of photography, is now available as a podcast divided in three parts. 

In part one of the podcast Gerry Badger recalls the Lee Friedlander quote, from which he excerpted the title of his new book of essays, "The pleasures of good photographs are the pleasures of good photographs whatever the particulars of their make up." John Gossage asks "What are the pleasures of good photographs and how do you decide which are the good ones?" pointing out that this deceptively simple question is in fact quite difficult to answer. The two men go on to discuss the works of former MoMA curator John Swarovski, Susan Sontag, Paul Strand and Ansel Adams.

Badger’s The Pleasures of Good Photographs compiles the writer’s evocative meditations on thought provoking classic and contemporary images by a range of photographers from Dorothea Lange and Eugéne Atget to Martin Parr, Luc Delahaye, Susan Lipper, and Paul Graham. 

Gerry Badger, a photography critic for nearly thirty years, is himself a photographer, as well as an architect and curator. He has written for dozens of periodicals and his previous books include The Photobook: A History, Volumes I and II, coauthored with Martin Parr, and The Genius of Photography: How Photography Has Changed Our Lives, a companion volume to the esteemed BBC television series. Badger lives in London.

John Gossage is well known for his artist's books and photographic publications, and has produced seventeen books and boxes on specific bodies of work. He is the author of The Pond, to be reissued by Aperture in September 2010. In the 1960s, Gossage studied briefly with Lisette Model and Alexey Brodovitch. Since then, his work has been exhibited worldwide. His photographs are held in numerous private and public collections, including those of the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., and the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gossage lives in Washington D.C.

 

 

Photographer Eirik Johnson discusses the spirit of his series Sawdust Mountain, and explains how he tried to convey the way he sees “the relationship changing” between industries based on natural resources in the Northwest and the communities they created in a time of economic decline when these communities have to adjust. Johnson touches on his process from making the work to the sequencing of the photographs in order to tell a story, and how he tries to convey a beauty from these industry sites and a “tonal palette and mood” throughout the series.

Sawdust Mountain, curated by Elizabeth A. Brown, Chief Curator, Henry Art Gallery, Seattle, is on view at the Aperture Gallery, New York through June 10th 2010, and now a accompanying podcast can be easily downloaded here.

A culmination of four years photographing throughout Oregon, Washington, and Northern California, Eirik Johnson: Sawdust Mountain focuses on the tenuous relationship between industries reliant upon natural resources and the communities they support. Timber and salmon are the bedrock of a regional Northwest identity, but the environmental impact of these industries is increasingly at odds with the contemporary ideal of sustainability. The exhibition and accompanying Aperture book of the same title reveal a landscape imbued with an uncertain future—no longer the region of boomtowns built upon the riches of massive old growth forests.

Eirik Johnson’s (born in Seattle, 1974) work has been exhibited at venues such as the Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, and George Eastman House, Rochester, New York. He has received several awards, including the Santa Fe Prize (2005) and a William J. Fulbright Grant to travel to Peru (1999–2000). His work is held in the collections of the Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago; National Fulbright Foundation; and Joseph and Elaine Monsen. His first monograph, Borderlands, was published in 2005. Johnson is represented by G. Gibson Gallery, Seattle, and Rena Bransten Gallery, San Francisco; he is an assistant professor of photography at Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston, where he resides.

 

 

Jonas Bendiksen is a Norwegian photojournalist and member of Magnum Photos. For such a young photographer, he has received a wide range of accolades including the 2003 Infinity Award from the International Center of Photography. Focusing on enclaves and other isolated communities, Bendiksen often photographs dire social situations from a unique investigative perspective.

Philip Gourevitch is among the most vibrant nonfiction and editorial writers of our time. His texts have tackled such weighty topics as American torture of Iraqi prisoners in Abu Ghraib, ethical conflict in Africa, and presidential campaigns. In an interview with Alex French, he explains: “I guess I like to look at things that might normally make me prefer to look away, but which in fact I feel more uncomfortable ignoring.” Gourevitch contributes the introduction to The Places We Live where he describes the growing problem of slums in major urban centers.

Last night, distinguished scholar, curator, and artist Deborah Willis and her son, Hank Willis Thomas, a notable photographer himself and first winner of the Aperture West Book Prize, sat down for an intimate discussion about their family and artistic histories. Together, they outlined the relationship they share as mother and son and as fellow artists.

One of the questions that arose after the presentation was how Deborah, as a central figure in African American studies, feels about Michelle Obama as a new role model in the American political and social landscape. Listen to a clip of her response here:

On Tuesday, September 16, Aperture hosted a panel discussion geared specifically towards young, first-time collectors on the ins and outs of collecting affordable photography. Moderated by Laurel Ptak, Aperture’s Educational Programs Manager, the discussion included Kellie McLaughlin of Aperture’s Limited-Edition Photographs Program, Amani Olu, founder and executive director of the Humble Arts Foundation, collector Ruben Natal-San Miguel of ARTmostfierce arts blog, and photographer Brian Ulrich. In case you missed it, here is another chance to listen to each panelist’s presentation or the entire discussion.

On Tuesday, September 16, Aperture hosted a panel discussion geared specifically towards young, first-time collectors on the ins and outs of collecting affordable photography. Moderated by Laurel Ptak, Aperture’s Educational Programs Manager, the discussion included Kellie McLaughlin of Aperture’s Limited-Edition Photographs Program, Amani Olu, founder and executive director of the Humble Arts Foundation, collector Ruben Natal-San Miguel of ARTmostfierce arts blog, and photographer Brian Ulrich. In case you missed it, here is another chance to listen to each panelist’s presentation or the entire discussion.


Artist Brian Ulrich presents his newest work photographing art fairs around the world. Regarding the art market, he also explains how photography has recently become a highly collectible item responding to the immediacy of the market compared to other mediums, and how the emerging technologies have increased the proximity between collectors and artists.

On Tuesday, September 16, Aperture hosted a panel discussion geared specifically towards young, first-time collectors on the ins and outs of collecting affordable photography. Moderated by Laurel Ptak, Aperture’s Educational Programs Manager, the discussion included Kellie McLaughlin of Aperture’s Limited-Edition Photographs Program, Amani Olu, founder and executive director of the Humble Arts Foundation, collector Ruben Natal-San Miguel of ARTmostfierce arts blog, and photographer Brian Ulrich. In case you missed it, here is another chance to listen to each panelist’s presentation or the entire discussion.

Amani Olu explains the concept behind his creation of Humble Arts Foundation in 2005, a platform for emerging artists through online and physical exhibitions, educational programs, grants and their limited-edition program. With a strong and passionate vision, this non-profit has featured hundreds of photographers, and has quickly become an important resource for collectors. In this spirit, Amani gives an exclusive preview of his collector’s guide to emerging art photography to be published in spring of 2009. He also shares his take on the differences in working for a non-profit organization and a commercial gallery.

On Tuesday, September 16, Aperture hosted a panel discussion geared specifically towards young, first-time collectors on the ins and outs of collecting affordable photography. Moderated by Laurel Ptak, Aperture’s Educational Programs Manager, the discussion included Kellie McLaughlin of Aperture’s Limited-Edition Photographs Program, Amani Olu, founder and executive director of the Humble Arts Foundation, collector Ruben Natal-San Miguel of ARTmostfierce arts blog, and photographer Brian Ulrich. In case you missed it, here is another chance to listen to each panelist’s presentation or the entire discussion.

Ruben Natal-San Miguel talks about his passion for collecting even during these terrible weeks for Wall Street, underlining that art is what lasts. He starts by noting the importance of timing as these prints are typically limited in number and can often sell out. He also suggests asking oneself if the photograph will still resonate for them twenty years later. And most importantly, he advises the collector to “do their homework,” researching online resources—more specifically, blogs which have an incredibly strong impact on the collecting community today. He also shares a glimpse of his collection, which focuses on emerging photographers.

On Tuesday, September 16, Aperture hosted a panel discussion geared specifically towards young, first-time collectors on the ins and outs of collecting affordable photography. Moderated by Laurel Ptak, Aperture’s Educational Programs Manager, the discussion included Kellie McLaughlin of Aperture’s Limited-Edition Photographs Program, Amani Olu, founder and executive director of the Humble Arts Foundation, collector Ruben Natal-San Miguel of ARTmostfierce arts blog, and photographer Brian Ulrich. In case you missed it, here is another chance to listen to each panelist’s presentation or the entire discussion.

Kellie McLaughlin kicks off the talk, presenting Aperture’s longstanding limited-edition photographs program. It all began in 1968 when Paul Strand’s Mexican portfolio was reprinted for greater availability and accessibility. Kellie gives examples of the collection’s diversity from classics such as Edward Steichen and Dorothea Lange, to contemporary visionaries including Richard Misrach, Thomas Allen, Michal Chelbin and Martin Parr. She highlights the strength of Aperture’s program—particularly for young collectors—with its affordable prices and savvy image choices made by Aperture editors and curators.