11.20.2012

CHRISTOPHE JACROT: New York In Black

 Photograph © 2012 Christophe Jacrot

Photograph © 2012 Christophe Jacrot

Photograph © 2012 Christophe Jacrot

Photograph © 2012 Christophe Jacrot
 
"On October 29th, 2012, Hurricane Sandy slammed into New York City. Consolidated Edison, the city's electric, gas, and steam utility, lost power not only to much of Manhattan below 39th Street, but to its own headquarters as well. Con Ed employees had to take a raft up the flooded Avenue C, weaving in and out of floating cars in the dark, to rescue co-workers trapped in the company's crippled East 13th Street power station."–CNN

Paris-based Photographer Christophe Jacrot captured the surreal drama of downtown Manhattan's eery dark streets, rarely seen unlit since gas street lighting was first laid on Broadway, from Canal to the Battery, in 1825.



11.17.2012

SVA PHOTOGRAPHY: Student Images | Part II Hurricane Sandy


 Photograph © Elise Swain

"The entirety of the NYC Transit system shut down at around 7pm on the Sunday night before Hurricane Sandy was schedule to strike the northeast. That Sunday, Manhattan residents working in the city tried frantically to leave work early to make it to their home without the use of public transit. Later that night photographs of a deserted Grand Central Station started to circulate on the Internet. College dorm rooms across the city started monitoring the students’ whereabouts. Those of us who wished to venture out into the night, were made to fill out a sign out sheet.  I stated the reason of my exit as, “photographic purposes.”  I was greeted with a New York City I had never seen before."
"Late Monday night, a huge explosion lit up the sky from the 14th Street Con Edison power plant, etching the sky with the last traces of light that lower Manhattan would see for 5 nights. Having stocked up on candles, most homes enjoyed the first night, picking up a book and reading by candle light before going to bed.  As soon as the extent of the damage was realized, businesses and colleges shut down the remainder of the week, panic began to set in. The effects of not having power were significant. Small tasks, such as going outside became an ordeal when faced with walking up and down fifteen flights of stairs because of no working elevators.  A great exodus from Lower Manhattan began to occur. People ventured by bike, by foot, or by cab to friend’s unaffected houses or apartments in surrounding areas. Manhattan at night became terrifying.  No traffic lights created a free-for-all at most busy intersections for those still on the roads.  Small bars opened up with help from generators, and filled up slowly with various characters that happened to linger in the city." 
       "By Saturday, most affected areas had power and running water restored. Businesses reopened. Classes were scheduled to resume on Monday.  Manhattan collectively sighed with relief, and reflected on how comparatively easy our experience was to those who lost their homes and neighborhoods.  We will no doubt remember the powerful effects of this storm for a long time to come."–Elise Swain

Photograph © Tina Rivosecchi

Photograph © Tina Rivosecchi
"After the storm calmed down, the East Village was left with nothing but darkness and the sounds of blaring sirens.  The city below 34th Street was a dead zone, completely dark after sundown and eerily quiet. It was the kind of atmosphere where you might imagine the zombie apocalypse erupting."–Tina Rivosecchi

 Hurricane Sandy, Carlstadt, N.J.  Photograph © Alexis Adam

"The power went out while eating dinner, illuminating the house with only L.E.D. flashlights. Being without power for a week, the atmosphere in my home changed drastically; it felt surreal."–Alexis Adam


Photograph © Frankie Torres
"Known as the city that never sleeps, New York is a very active city, full of people from many diverse backgrounds. There's always something happening and people outside, even in the middle of the night. Except for when Hurricane Sandy came passing through her destructive path. It seemed as if Manhattan stood still. The streets were empty. One of the most visited places in the United States, Times Square, was as deserted as a ghost town. View more images here captured by Marine Veteran and Photographer, Frankie Torres right before and right after Hurricane Sandy in New York City"–Frankie Torres


 Photograph © Lia Schryver

 Photograph © Lia Schryver

"While most inhabitants of New York State were preparing for a torrential hurricane two weeks ago, in Albany, the sun was continuously shining and the sky was a consistent shade of blue; not even a a handful of raindrops touched the ground. Considering that Sandy wreaked havoc in much of lower New York State, I did not take for granted the beautiful weather..."Lia Schryver

Photograph © Kaitlyn Nissen

"Life in my home state of Iowa during Sandy"–Kaitlyn Nissen

+  +  +
Inspired by a talk given to my sophomore students in the BFA Photography program at the School of Visual Arts by James Estrin, Co-Editor of the NY Times Lens Blog, I gave an assignment to create a documentary or editorial blogpost through slides or video. We knew a storm was  heading towards New York, but no one had any idea Hurricane Sandy would black-out downtown Manhattan where many of the students dorms are located and schools would be closed for a couple of weeks. Part II, above, is an excerpt of the work of the students who focused on Hurricane Sandy. Part I here.
 

SVA PHOTOGRAPHY: Student Images | Part I Documentaries

Photograph © Xizi Wang
 
Photograph © Xizi Wang

 LAW OFFICER vs. THAI RESTAURANT, BEIJING
by Xizi Wang
"These photographs were taken when I interned for a Beijing newspaper. The case was about a Thai restaurant arrears for the cook's salaries for almost for two years, and the law officers who had the authorization to enforce closing this restaurant’s office. In the photograph at top, the law officer showed the Thai restaurant manager the enforcement order to close and she reacted really aggressively. In the second image, the Thai restaurant manager is surrounded by photographers from different newspapers and local TV stations."


Photograph © Zoha Babazadeh 
An ancient gateway into the Grand Bazaar

Photograph © Zoha Babazadeh

 THE GRAND BAZAAR, TEHRAN
by Zoha Babazadeh
"The Grand Bazaar is a historical market situated in the capital of Iran, Tehran. Throughout history, the Grand Bazaar has played host to banks and financiers, mosques and guest houses. Traditionally, the Tehran bazaar was split into corridors, each specializing in different types of goods, including copper, carpets, paper, spices, as well as traders selling all types of goods."
 
V I E W  V I M E O

NEW YORK COMIC CON by Mary Wienckowski
 
"I have been going to comic, anime and video game conventions since I was fifteen. Since then it became as integral to my annual schedule as any other major holiday. But like anything that becomes condemned to routine, there is a risk of something once considered wondrous becoming monotonous." Vimeo link

V I E W  F I L M




"Behind the scenes of three of my recent shoots of models posing with movement. I’ve had a special connection to these models from both the aesthetic of their look and the way we work together. With the use of video, the audience is brought into an experience that goes beyond the still photograph." Vimeo link
+  +  +

Inspired by a talk given to my sophomore BFA Photography students at the School of Visual Arts by James Estrin, Co-Editor of the NY Times Lens Blog, I gave an assignment to create a documentary or editorial blogpost through slides or video. Above, Part I,  is an excerpt of the excellent work the students turned in after Hurricane Sandy. 


 
Part II [LINK here], is an excerpt of the work of the students who focused on Hurricane Sandy. We knew a storm was heading towards New York, but no one had any idea Hurricane Sandy would black-out downtown Manhattan where many of the students dorms are located and schools would be closed for a couple of weeks.
 

11.04.2012

BILLY & HELLS: After Hours


 
Billy + Hells 1978 
from the series “The Astronaut’s Wife”

Billy + Hells
Flug, 2007

 
Billy + Hells
Oskar, 2008

After Hours, at Fahey/Klein in L.A., is the first U.S. exhibition from contemporary photographers Billy+Hells. This retrospective exhibition is comprised of their ethereal portraits and atmospheric landscape series. “Billy + Hells” is the pseudonym for the creative duo comprised of Berlin based photographers Anke Linz and Andreas Oettinger.

"Billy+Hells’ photographs exist in a world of in-betweens. Their deceptively simple, straightforward portraits convey a certain complexity. The archetypal characters depicted in their photographs—mothers, soldiers, cowboys, nurses, and teachers— possess an underlying sense of mystery, hinting at the duality of the sitter as well as the fictional world they inhabit. Although Billy + Hells’ images call upon historical and art historical references, their portraits are not burdened by the stipulations of historical recreations. Instead, seamlessly blending past and present, reality and fantasy, their photographs become a nostalgic diary, purposefully left open for interpretation."– Fahey/Klein 

RAISSA VENABLES: I'm Not Interested In Reality


 Jewel Room, Grünes Gewölbe Dresden
Photograph © 2010 Raϊssa Venables


 Green Vault, Grünes Gewölbe Dresden
Photograph © 2010 Raϊssa Venables

 
x=X Atrium Ceiling, DZ Bank Berlin
Photograph © 2010 Raϊssa Venables 

As I photographically reconstruct these rooms, I experience the spaces in an obsessive manner that allows me to know them intimately. I do away with photography’s conventional one point perspective as I play with multiple vanishing points.–Raϊssa Venables

Raϊssa Venables creates rooms with multiple perspectives that then gain anthropological dimensions. Her work is featured in a group exhibition "I am Not Interested in Reality" in Berlin, Germany. The exhibition showcases five international photomedia artists "exploring the notion of reality, conceptually through approaches other than documentary."

I Am Not Interested in Reality
Gallery WAGNER + PARTNER 
to Nov. 30, 2012

With Erwin Olaf, Jorma Puranen, Natascha Stellmach,
Raϊssa Venables and Thomas Wrede



Raϊssa Venables is a graduate of SVA's Masters in Digital Photography. The School of Visual Arts 'Master of Professional Studies (MPS) in Digital Photography' is an intensive one-year or part-time two-year program that addresses the technical and creative needs of professional photographers, photography educators, and creative professionals who are looking to advance their technical skills in digital image capture, asset management, and high-quality output to create compelling and engaging images.