3.28.2013

DIANE ARBUS: FAHEY / KLEIN GALLERY

© The Estate of Diane Arbus, LLC

"There's a kind of power thing about the camera. I mean everyone knows you've got some edge. You're carrying some magic which does something to them. It fixes them in a way." –Diane Arbus
  
In 1967, Diane Arbus was included with her contemporaries Garry Winogrand and Lee Friedlander, in the hugely significant exhibition “New Documents” at the Museum of Modern Art, New York curated by John Szarkowski. A posthumous retrospective of her work was exhibited at MoMA in 1972, one year after her death.

Fahey/Klein Gallery presents a special Diane Arbus exhibition opening March 28. This exhibition includes several important Arbus photographs such as: Russian midget friends in a living room on 100th Street, N.Y.C., 1963; Lady Bartender at home with a souvenir dog, New Orleans, L.A., 1964; Jack Dracula, the Marked Man, N.Y.C., 1961; Two ladies at the automat, N.Y.C., 1966; and Circus fat lady and her dog, Troubles. "Diane Arbus remains one of the most influential and revered artists in the history of photography." –Fahey/Klein

DIANE ARBUS: Photographs
March 28 – May 18

3.25.2013

MALCOLM LIGHTNER: Dixieland

Stars and Stripes, 2008
Photograph © Malcolm Lightner

 Braids, 2009
Photograph © Malcolm Lightner

  Hauling Ass, 2009
Photograph © Malcolm Lightner

 Gator, 2001
Photograph © Malcolm Lightner

 Off Season, 2008
Photograph © Malcolm Lightner

MALCOLM LIGHTNER is a fourth generation native Floridian and his work is rooted in the distinctly American tradition of Southern Photography. By combining the traits of an articulate narrative storyteller, probing cultural anthropologist, and contemporary visual artist, Malcolm chooses depth over distance, imbuing both his pictures and his subjects with a profound sense of dignity.

His work has been featured in numerous exhibitions including: Art + Commerce Emerging Photographers and Joint Venture: Selections from the Dr. Barry S. Ramer Collection & Other Photographs. Several of his works are included in the permanent photography collections at the Southeast Museum of Photography in Daytona Beach, Florida. His work has also appeared in publications including Life Magazine, Florida Trends Magazine, Guernica, Photo District News and Visual Arts Journal.

Malcolm currently resides in New York and is a member of the photography faculty at the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

3.20.2013

STUDENT SHOWCASE: Roman Anaya

 My 85 year old Grandfather came here from Mexico as a migrant worker.
Photograph © Roman Anaya

My Grandfather captures the essence of a hard working man.
Photograph © Roman Anaya

"My family came here from Mexico as migrant workers. These images represent the hard work and obstacles my family has had to overcome to get to where we are today."–Roman Anaya

Roman Anaya is this month's Student Showcase choice. He is currently a student in the School of Visual Arts BFA Photography program.

3.16.2013

MONROE GALLERY: AIPAD Booth 419

  I Am A Man
 Sanitation Workers Strike, Memphis, Tennessee, March 28, 1968
Photograph © The Withers Family Trust

Roller Coaster, Seaside Heights, New Jersey, Hurricane Sandy, 2012 
Photograph © Stephen Wilkes

Apple Tree illuminated by gas flaring, Susquehanna County, 2011 
("Fracking The Shale Play")  Photograph © Nina Berman

 Empire State Building During Black-Out in Lower Manhattan, 
Hurricane Sandy, 2012.  Photograph © Nina Berman

And Photographer Bill Eppridge will be in attendance 
during the AIPAD Photography Show

 AIPAD
April 4 - April 7
Park Avenue Armory, Park Avenue at 67th Street

3.11.2013

SCHEINBAUM + RUSSEK: AIPAD Booth 307

Georgia O'Keeffe, Ghost Ranch, New Mexico, 1968
Photograph by Eliot Porter, Gelatin silver print

Retrato de lo Eterno, 1935
Photograph by Manuel Alvarez Bravo, Gelatin silver print

Scheinbaum & Russek will be exhibiting works by
Ansel Adams
Manuel Alvarez Bravo
Walter Chappell
Harry Callahan
Laura Gilpin
Yousef Karsh
André Kertész
Beaumont Newhall
Arnold Newman
Eliot Porter
Sebastião Salgado
Aaron Siskind
Alfred Stieglitz
Jerry Uelsmann
Minor White

April 4 - April 7
Park Avenue Armory, Park Avenue at 67th Street

3.08.2013

JAIME PERMUTH: Yonkeros

 Yonkeros. Photographs © Jaime Permuth

 Yonkeros. Photographs © Jaime Permuth

In his first monograph, Yonkeros, Guatemalan photographer Jaime Permuth documents “The Iron Triangle”: Willets Point, a small and often overlooked enclave of New York City that is home to junkyards and scrap metal businesses. “Permuth’s beautiful black-and-white photographs highlight local workers, and their tools and materials.”
 
 

Elizabeth Avedon: In the past, you've documented the circus performers of El Circo Rey Gitano in Guatemala. What drew you to photograph in Willets Point?

Jaime Permuth: The Guatemalan poet Alejandro Marre recently described my work as coming from the “B-side of life”. Considering these two projects, I would have to admit that there is some truth to that statement!

Circus life is like a revolving door, with people walking in and out of it constantly. The same is true of the mechanics that work in Willets Point. There is an essential mystery and poetic richness in this kind of human community. People tend to live on the margins of society and play by their own rules. In my experience, photographers are not that different. We go from one project to the next. We arrive, set up camp, and then inevitably pick up and leave so we can move on to our next destination.

For the past 40 years the mechanics in Willets Point have been locked in a battle for survival with the City of New York, which wishes to evict them and redevelop the area as mixed residential and commercial neighborhood. Occasionally there is a flare up in tensions that make it to the newspapers. One fine day in spring of 2010, curiosity got the best of me and I took a ride on the 7 train to take a look for myself. What I saw there was absolutely surreal; I felt like I had stepped back in time and found myself a figure standing in a Walker Evans landscape from the Great Depression of the 1930’s...read Jaime Permuth's Interview here on Le Journal de la Photographie.

3.07.2013

MATTHEW AVEDON TRIO: Gypsy Jazz At The Club Room at The Soho Grand

 MATTHEW AVEDON TRIO - FRIDAYS AT THE SOHO GRAND
with Matthew Avedon, Jordan Hyde and Jay Sanford
The Club Room at The Soho Grand 7 - 10

"It is with great pleasure that we are able to introduce The Matthew Avedon Trio into our weekly program at The Club Room at The Soho Grand. The Trio have proven their ability to bring a uniquely beautiful sound to wherever they play, but we like to think that when they step into The Club Room a little bit of magic happens."

We spoke with Matthew Avedon, guitarist of the trio about his influences, growing up around great music and the current state of jazz in NYC:

GrandLife: Growing up, how big of a role did music play in the Avedon household?

Matthew Avedon: Music was always a big part of my family but in very specific ways. I don’t think my dad ever played anything besides the Beatles my entire childhood, which is why I can’t ever listen to the Beatles anymore! I can sing every lyric to every song but I haven’t listened to any of it for years. My mom was more of a Doors fan and I feel the same way about their music; I love and can’t stand it! However, these are definitely the foundation on which my love for music was built even if I’ve moved away from them.

GL: Clearly, Django Reinhardt is a big influence on your music. How did you discover him?

MA: Django entered my life almost by accident. Every now and then I’ll go and buy a bunch of records from bands or artists that I’ve never listened to or even heard of just to find new music I like. I’ve spent a fortune on crap music but it’s all been worth it for those few records that stuck with me, and in Django’s case changed my life. I had read his name in guitar magazines and decided to check him out, this was before I had ever played any jazz, but the music struck a chord immediately. It’s got all the elements for good music: strong melody, strong rhythm, and virtuosity. It’s just so much fun to listen to and even more fun to play.

GL: How did you develop your style? Would you consider yourself more comfortable as a soloist or in an ensemble?

MA: I’ve definitely used Django and gypsy jazz as a foundation from which I developed my style. I play modern jazz, blues, rockabilly and used to be in some punk and metal bands (!) but my playing at its most basic form comes from what I’ve learned playing Django’s music. I do like to think that I’ve built on it significantly though, I play a way more modern version of gypsy jazz than Django did; it’s 2013, I’m not a strict traditionalist so much as a fan of this music which happens to be 70 years old. My band mates Jay Sanford (upright bass) and Jordan Hyde (guitar) are much the same. We all listen to the old recordings for inspiration and filter them through our own personal styles, that’s why we get along so well and play so well together.

GL: What makes for a perfect gig?

MA: A perfect gig for me is one where everyone in the band is feeling good and really listening to each other. When we’re connecting musically we push each other to play better, this is when I’m happiest. We’ve all played high paying gigs that just sucked because the music was boring or there was no energy or something; a good gig comes from good music and that requires everyone in the band to be on point.

GL: If you could go back to any period of New York jazz, which would it would be and why?

MA: Like most jazz musicians I’d love to be in NYC in the mid 40′s when bebop was really coming together as a new style of music. Even though I don’t really play that music so much the creative energy that formed it was so intense I’d just love to be involved or witness it at least. Now that music is considered completely normal, square and stale even, but at the time it was so revolutionary that it was unheard of, like a musical wild west. So exciting!

GL: What future plans for performing and recording can we expect in the future?

MA: We’ve just finished our first album in classic Django and swing tunes, which should be available for purchase at our gigs soon and plan on recording an album of originals in the gypsy jazz style in a few months. As for gigs we’re going to continue playing the Soho Grand every Friday, it’s been a great gig so far with a beautiful ambiance and fun receptive clientele as well as having great acoustics. We sound great in that room! We play around the city about four nights a week and encourage everyone to visit our website at kingscountyswing.com to keep up to date on our schedule!


Tuesday Nights: MOTO, 394 Broadway, Brooklyn
Friday Nights: The Club Room at The Soho Grand, NY