Good news. On Sunday I visited Herr Steidl in Germany. After a lot of sturm und drang, he agreed to publish our book this year!
I’m eager to get home and back to work on our manual. But now I’m in Rome. Today on a walk I saw something that made me think of you:
Y’rs,
Chad States excellent book, Cruising, won 2nd place in the FotoBook Festival book dummy competition. Before some savvy publisher snatches up this excellent title, you can purchase your own copy here.
Greetings from Göttingen, Germany – the home of Steidlville (take a Polaroid tour here).
A couple days ago I was in the Netherlands where I have a show of Dog Days Bogotá with the wonderful folks at Fotodok (at the Flatland Gallery). Along the way, I had my portrait made by Koos Breukel. Here is my iphone portrait of Koos in his studio:
Koos gave me a couple of his books. Check them out on our Tumblr site.
One of the pleasures of Steidlville is hanging out with other artists. Tonight Robert Polodori and I broke bread:
Tomorrow I’m headed to Kassel for the Photobook Festival. If you are in town, come to my lecture and say hello. Otherwise, I’ll be in Rome next week for an exhibition of my portraits here.
I’m headed out West next week for a project entitled ‘The California Sleepwalker’s Treasure Hunt.‘ I have a whole bunch of stuff I’m trying to track down and could use some help. If your tip leads to a picture, you’ll receive a reward. I’m looking for specific leads you might have in California (see my route on the map below) for the following:
-Condors
-Sleepwalkers (specific individuals would be best)
-Punk hangouts
-Self-mutilation/flagellation, scarring
-Horror film (in progress….otherwise horror makeup artist)
-Star Wars iconography / Star Wars collectors
-Dolores Huerta / United Farmworkers
-Bats
-Hare Krishnas
-Metal detector enthusiasts
-Hang Gliders
-Frankenstein
-Emo’s in Tijuana or Mexicali
-anything else that fits this stream of thinking
Please leave your tips in the comments section.
Many thanks,
My first post as a New York Times contributor is up. Have a look here. If you feel compelled, I’d be ever so grateful if you’d leave a comment on the Times site. Many thanks,
I’m currently in Brighton, England with my family (and thus the lack of posts lately). I was supposed to be here working on a commission for the Brighton Photo Biennial, but due to some visa problems, I’m not allowed to work. So the trip is pretty much an Easter vacation. But my kids and I have been collaborating on some book projects. On the very day that Carrie posted about rabbit books, my daughter and I were putting the finishing touches on our book, “The Brighton Bunny Boy.” For contractual reasons (with my daughter), I’m not allowed to show the whole thing, but here is a sneak peek:
Be sure to check out Carmen’s last book, The Mountain Trip.
The other day on our Tumblr site I posted a picture I made in 1995. An Italian curator and criminally insane book collector recently told me he owned a book in which this picture was published. This prestigious volume, Minneapolis/St. Paul: Linked to the Future, was published in 1997. I’d love to know about other photographers with similarly humble beginnings.
In a recent post on photo-novellas, Marc Feustel of eyecurious mentioned two children books by Eikoh Hosoe and Betty Lifton. I just received Taka-Chan and I, (1967). I love the book and so do the offspring.
The ‘about the photographer’ page pretty much explains the book and the spirit in which it was made:
“One day Eikoh Hosoe, the photographer of this book, was walking on a lonely beach in Japan, now and then taking pictures of the ocean, the beach, and of a small girl sitting on some rocks. He was startled by a Weimaraner dog which appeared unexpectedly from right out of the ground. Mr. Hosoe couldn’t believe what he saw, but before Runcible’s departure from Japan they had a long talk. Runcible told Mr. Hosoe about his adventure. Runcible was very proud to know an outstanding free-lance photographer who had received so many awards for his pictures. Mr. Hosoe gave Runcible copies of his three photo-essay books, Killed By Roses, Ondine and Why, Mother, Why! The two have been firm friends ever after.
See scans of the whole book here.
This little brown mushroom enterprise is meant to be my escape chute from the gas-leaking, ready-to-blow, art biz. As such, I want to refrain from using this space to talk about spreadsheets and art politics. But after a couple days at the NYC fairs and the Whitney Biennial, I need to vent. Or maybe vomit. I’ve overindulged at the buffet.
As Peter Plagens wrote in the current issue of Art in America:
“Not only are the aural and visual dins almost deafening and blinding, and not only is the speed at which they’re conveyed approaching simultaneity, but the analysis, punditry and attendant bloviating are delivered just as fast. And quicker than you can say “Jaron Lanier,” the second round of analysis, punditry and bloviating attendant to the first arrives, and so forth, practically ad infinitum. As a result, it’s extremely difficult for an artist today to take any sort of stand, except a stand against taking a stand, or a stand that mocks all stands, or a stand that blankets all stands.”
Plagens is right. What’s the point? It’s like living in Minnesota and taking a stand against the Mall of America. Speaking of which, there is a video about our beloved Mall in the Whitney Biennial. Mall of America, 2009, by Josephine Meckseper uses red and blue filters and an apocalyptic soundtrack to try and get at the menacing undercurrent of the culture of consumption.
But after a couple of days at the art trough, the Mall of America almost feels like the serene farmland it used to be. (God, I’m happy to be home). So enough about the art market, let’s get back to mushrooms and caves. Earlier today someone emailed me this video. We might be onto something here:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XI5frPV58tY]
