Category
art
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08.19.1037 Minutes in Chinatown
I shot these pictures last night in Chinatown–the first one at 6:53, the last one at 7:30. If these were movie stills, what’s the plot?
Note: click on the top left image and then hold your cursor on the right side of the photo for navigation instructions (click and drag to move, use arrows on keyboard to go to next image, click image to close).
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08.11.10Derek Erdman’s big art show
My good friend and, until recently, neighbor Derek Erdman has a big art show this Saturday: Without Wax: 14 Years of Derek Erdman in Chicago (RSVP to derek@nationalheadquarters.org), presented by National Headquarters. Sadly (for us Chicagoans), Erdman moves to Seattle next month.
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08.06.10Luxe Magazine Style Makers
I’ve been having a good time shooting portraits for Luxe magazine’s “Style Makers” section–I shot one a couple weeks ago, and the portrait above appeared in the Spring 2010 edition. These assignments are a treat for me; the section runs black and white photos, which I love to shoot, and the subjects have been fascinating people in interesting spaces. The Renaissance man pictured is architect, painter, sculptor, writer, critic, and poet Christian K. Narkiewicz-Laine.
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06.24.10How to get your subject to drop their pants
Say “please.”
This is zine artist Edie Fake, shot in the basement of Quimby’s bookstore for Best of Chicago 2010 in this week’s Reader. Be sure to check out his work.
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04.12.10camera phone street pictures
Taking pictures with your telephone is so much better than talking on it.
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03.16.10Chicago Alderman Project
I’m happy to be participating in the Chicago Alderman Project, an art show which involves fifty artists depicting the fifty aldermen of the Chicago City Council. I shot Scott Waguespack for this project–he represents my ward, the 32nd–at my studio, where we were joined by a writer and photographer from the Chicago News Cooperative who covered the shoot for a story that was recently published in the New York Times (I can hardly believe that my longtime dream of having my ass depicted in a world class periodical has now been fulfilled). There’s an opening reception for the show this Friday, from 7-11PM at Johalla Projects Gallery, at 1561 N. Milwaukee Ave.
I had a chance to get a sneak peek at the show, and there’s some great work by artists including Derek Erdman, Casey Stockdon, Jennifer Greenburg, Andrea Jablonski, and Melissa Ann Pinney.
Here’s an outtake from my photo session with Waguespack.
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01.02.106,697 daily Polaroids
I just discovered Jamie Livingston‘s stunning series of Polaroids (via Mental Floss). Beginning on March 31st, 1979, Livingston—a circus performer, photographer, and filmmaker—took a picture every day with his SX-70 Polaroid camera. His last picture was taken on October 25th, 1997, the day he died of cancer. All of the pictures (except for a few that are unaccounted for) can be viewed here.
Polaroid shot 03-02-87 by Jamie Livingston
Polaroid shot 08-15-87 by Jamie Livingston
Polaroid shot 08-31-97 by Jamie Livingston
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11.24.09How to display Polaroid prints
Recently I was looking for a way to display a few of the gazillion Polaroid prints I’ve amassed over the years. A Web search turned up a few good ideas (if you’ve ever wondered what the phrase “barrel distortion” refers to, click on that last link), but none of them quite did it for me, so I came up with the following, which works well:
- Get a piece of 1×2 inch pine, or simple rectangular moulding, at whatever length you want. You could cut short pieces that will hold one or two prints, or get a 12 footer to hang on the wall and hold quite a few.
- If you like, sand and paint the wood.
- Affix mounting strips to the 1×2 (I used Lineco See-Thru Archival Mounting Strips). Apply them with the adhesive strip flush to the bottom of the wood, and the clear protruding part on top. Butt the strips against each other so there’s no gap between them; that way you’ll be able to arrange the prints anywhere you want them.
- Cover the ugly off-white part of the strips with one long piece of ribbon. I painted the wood black and used black ribbon, simply stapling the ribbon to each end of the wood. You could also use thumbtacks or glue to attach the ribbon.
- You can mount this to a wall, or place on a table or mantle.
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10.16.09Denise Keim/Jim Newberry photo show this Saturday night
The enormously talented Denise Keim and I are teaming up this Saturday for a one night, two-stop photo show. I’ll be showing brand new work along with some old favorites, including stereo (3D) slides. Denise has a plethora of gorgeous black & white prints. I’ll be at my studio, and Denise will be at hers for the duration of the show (we’re hoping to have a video linkup). Look for the stream of indicator stop bath on the sidewalk between the two buildings. Please stop by both studios Saturday night if you’re in Chicago and free. Here are the addresses:
Denise Keim 2219 W. Belden Ave 773-294-7699 Chicago, IL 60647
Jim Newberry 2068 N. Leavitt St 312-485-1879 Chicago, IL 60647
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