Note on Censorship

I am back in Shanghai a great city, very modern with many good intents of a bright future, the city will host the 2010 Expo, perhaps one of the most organized Expo ever, I will have some new metro lines soon, I will be perhaps in one of the first Wi-Fi city in the world soon.... but nevertheless I cannot write a blog on photography.... reason ? The government of China blocked many web site and blogspot which host this blog. It is sad to see a government scared of his own people... to be afraid of thoughts.

I will resume my daily posting as soon it will be unblock and I am really sorry for that... this post has been written in italy and scheduled to appear at the day of my arrival in China.

Profile : Newsha Tavakolian

Continuing my posting on Iranian female photographer , and in particular to show the hidden face of Iran which is now trying to come out in the protest on the aftermath of the election, I am presenting the work of Newsha Tavakolian which has ( comparing to Gohar Dashti or Shadi Ghadirian ) a more photojournalist impact. En fact Newsha Tavakolian has worked for international media covering current affairs and traveling outside he country. Her web page is a showcase of different reportages . I choose a photo from this project on plastic surgery which is widely spread in capital city of Teheran.

Exhibition : Cross by Chen Jiagang

New Exhibition at Paris-Beijing Photo Gallery, Cross by Chen Jiagang

note from the gallery:

Cross is a journey from East to West, from past to present, represented by two series of monumental work depicting the vast landscape of Xinjiang Province, Silkroad and Temptation.

Profile : Virginia Ryan

Virginia Ryan is an artist, working with installations, sculptures and painting. I visited her atelier in Trevi , Umbria (Italy) and she showed me an interesting project done with photography.

Her work is part of a series of different projects done on West Africa. The photographs showing the spaces of the slave's houses from the colonial period. 

I am happy to share this, below the statement of the project

These photos were taken in 2008 by Virginia Ryan in the company of american artist Tom Joyce and sound artist and anthropologist Steve Feld.The photos were taken late afternoon , mainly through dorors and windows of the abandoned fort,once used to house slaves and later a prison under British rule in the years proceeding independence in 1957.

Ryan was hoping to capture something of the nature of imprisoned  memories.

 'If walls could speak' she says'these walls and rooms would tell a story of deep sorrow. But then, there is also the maginificent painting of the walls by sea spray and salt,over decades, so that nature, the outside environment and the inside shell of the past, join to paint a new picture of deep loss and re-collection.'

profile : Giorgio Barrera

Giorgio Barrera works commercially as advertising photographers, his portfolio tough reflect a great talent for concept story and landscape photography, he will present "Through the Window" series at the 2009 Fotografia Festival in Rome but i do like to mention his series "Batterfield" a landscape series on the sites where famous battle were take place in the past. From this series i choose the cover of this post.

Book : Tokyo by Takashi Homma

Another interesting book from a Japanese Photographer : Tokyo by Takashi Homma

here the note from the publisher:

Since the advent of photography, certain cities have become inextricably intertwined with their depiction by great photographers: Eugène Atget in turn-of-the-century Paris; Berenice Abbott in 1930s New York; Ed Ruscha in late-60s Los Angeles. While Daido Moriyama documented the disaffection and dissipation of postwar Tokyo, Takashi Homma picks up the baton with a contemporary portrait of the modern-day metropolis that is both cinematic and complex. For over a decade, Homma has turned the neutral gaze of his lens toward Tokyo’s suburban environs and urban center. As in all of his work, Homma’s vision of Tokyo navigates a finely nuanced line between sterility and sentimentality, detachment and lusciousness, presenting a sleek, contemporary vision of a postmodern megalopolis populated by a new generation of video-game aficionados and fashionistas. While Homma has published extensively inside his native Japan, this is his first volume published for an international audience. Takashi Homma: Tokyo compiles selections from each of the artist’s six previously published titles on the city, including Tokyo Suburbia, his seminal work now considered a contemporary classic.Photographs by Takashi Homma. Text by Ferdinand Brueggemann.
Aperture, New York, 2008. 256 pp., 125 color illustrations, 7x10".

Festival : Guangzhou Photo Biennal 2009

The Guangzhou Photo Biennal is one of the best festival to investigate on Chinese Photography, I will post later on what , for me, has a particular interest, here for now the official statement from the Biennal 2009 :

Sightings：Searching for the Truth (“看真D．COM” in Chinese) is the theme of this Biennial. The original Chinese “看真D” has a literal meaning as to see more clearly, while ".COM" is no doubt the most used term on the Internet. In this sense, both the liveliness of the Cantonese language and the importance of new media in spreading news and pictures are neatly packed by the theme.

As we've made “看真D．COM” the central theme, we want to carry forward these messages: first, starting with emphasizing "sightings" and "truth", we can go back to thee very basic links between photography and human life; second, The Cantonness of the theme also make the local context, local experience and local problems more relevant to the show, which in turn puts a subjective value judgment of "seeing" in photography into spotlight; third, we aim to stress interference and interpretation of photography in real life, to focus on a perennial photographic watch of life itself, and to reveal the sociological significance of photography; fourth, the theme displays a combination of real life and virtual life. We want to reflect upon some problems with local photography in the context of globalization, and find an answer to the roles and functions that the practice of photography can play in the nexus of the socio-historical past and the current now. We give a heavy focus on some of the most valuable individuals and photos in this nexus with a belief that visual communication is a necessary step for photography to have a social significance. In this way, there is a notable nexus between people, society, history and photography in this show. The political-historical and political-ethical dimensions will stand out prominently, the modernity and distinctive features of photography will also be expanded and enlarged in the nexus of life, society and history. Freedom to express and collective memories of a society are viewed as the very reasons for the spread of photography. In this sense, this Biennial will be a feast for shows of art and also a platform for academic discussions, where thoughts and ideas flow.

As we've made “看真D．COM” the central theme, we want to carry forward these messages: first, starting with emphasizing "sightings" and "truth", we can go back to thee very basic links between photography and human life; second, The Cantonness of the theme also make the local context, local experience and local problems more relevant to the show, which in turn puts a subjective value judgment of "seeing" in photography into spotlight; third, we aim to stress interference and interpretation of photography in real life, to focus on a perennial photographic watch of life itself, and to reveal the sociological significance of photography; fourth, the theme displays a combination of real life and virtual life. We want to reflect upon some problems with local photography in the context of globalization, and find an answer to the roles and functions that the practice of photography can play in the nexus of the socio-historical past and the current now. We give a heavy focus on some of the most valuable individuals and photos in this nexus with a belief that visual communication is a necessary step for photography to have a social significance. In this way, there is a notable nexus between people, society, history and photography in this show. The political-historical and political-ethical dimensions will stand out prominently, the modernity and distinctive features of photography will also be expanded and enlarged in the nexus of life, society and history. Freedom to express and collective memories of a society are viewed as the very reasons for the spread of photography. In this sense, this Biennial will be a feast for shows of art and also a platform for academic discussions, where thoughts and ideas flow.S

Exhibition : A Moroccan Journey by Eric Mannaerts

A new Exhibition at Beaugeste gallery in Shanghai, the gallery curated by Jean Lohn is presenting the work from Eric Mannaerts on Morocco. Here a note from the exhibition:
Eric Mannaerts – who now lives and works in Shanghai, discovered Morocco in 1982 when he was sent there as a young mathematics teacher and fell so much in love with the beauty of this country that he took up photography as a serious practice. After twenty five years of repeated visits accumulating thousands of images through his Leica lenses and dark room processing, the result is this album of black & white portraits of a country seen from the interior. Often rigorous classic compositions, marked by a contemplative sort of nostalgia sometimes even with a touch of the Belgian school of surrealism, Eric’s Moroccan Journey is a photographic experience. As the author Tahir Shah - who lives and works in Casablanca – wrote in his foreword essay for Eric’s first published book; “to understand the extraordinary you must learn to appreciate ordinariness”. Come and discover the extraordinary in the underbelly of the apparent ordinariness.

Books : Small Planet by Naoki Honjo

Another book from Japanese Photographer Naoki Honjo : Small Planet
Here a note from Publisher :
Containers, urban buildings, freeways, Tokyo Station, parks, people: all are transformed in the photographs of this young Japanese photographer from the real to the fictional, like some cheaply made, yet exquisite, diorama. A total of 68 full-colour images are reproduced here, taken from high places with a special tele photo lens a little out of focus, in order to recreate a surreal pin-hole camera effect.

Profile : Rob Hornstra

There are certain kind of topics i prefer over other to look at in photography, they can be interesting enviromental essay , urban landscape and working on the many diverse sub cultures which every country produce as an effect of a need of alternative way of seeing daily life. Indeed also geographical area which are constantly on verge of major changing. Following these vision I found interesting the work of Rob Hornstra, dutch photographer which choose to view the new subcultures in Russia born under the inevitable western influence. After graduate Rob Hornstra start his photographic journey and he has worked on the first generation after the fall of communism and also in the project "Communism & Girl" from which I choose the screenshot of this post.

Profile : Carla Van de Puttelaar

The figure of women in Carla van de Puttelaar 's photos reflect the intimate and erotical female universe.
Here a note from his web site:
In her photographic work, Carla van de Puttelaar wants to emphasize personality, vulnerability and intimate eroticism, as well as distance and, sometimes, alienation.Her nudes draw heavily on the use of close up effects and the use, or deliberate non-use, of focus. Moles can be seen clearly, as well as more temporal marks, such as bruises or the imprint of underwear in the skin. They enhance the intimacy of the picture, loading it with tension. Distance is being created first and foremost by the use of color. Often, the skin will have a porcelain glance, delicate, fragile. Color also creates a sculptural feel, elaborated by the light and framing of the compositions.