Hubert Blanz

Geospaces - M 1:115000 C-Print, matt foil on aluminum  180x180cm  2002

Geospaces - detail

Roadshow no. 1  C-print, Diasec on aluminum  80x120cm  2007

"X-Plantation 11"  C-Print  Diasec on Dibond  100x150cm  2008

"Fifth Face no. 1"  C-print, diasec on dibond  117x135cm  2010

I had a hard time picking out just a few images to represent Hubert Blanz's work. And in addition to the photographic work there's film, installations and sculpture. But my favorites are these collages of freeways and airports and cities, and his satellite-like views of landscapes composed entirely of microchips, motherboards and other computer circuitry. One just sort of gets this work viscerally and immediately. It doesn't require much in the way of analysis. The environments most of us live in are so far removed from the natural world that these images trigger a instantaneous spark of recognition. The artificial pushes aside the natural sometimes so completely, whether in the real life of our actual cities or in the second life of online digital environments, that scale begins to seem meaningless, and what's real vs. unreal is called into question. Each of these images is from a series with many more examples to look through on his website: www.blanz.net

Leonid Tishkov

Private Moon series - "Moon and Hunter"

Private Moon series - "The Crane for the Moon" Xiaogang container yards - Photo Po-I Chen

Private moon series, Journey to Paris "More than simply dead"…Homage to Marie Laurencin

Private Moon series - "Who Washed Ashore?"  Sizihwan - Photo Po-I Chen

Private Moon series - "Two Moons" arctic 2010

Leonid Tishkov is a a former physician from Moscow, who is now a conceptual artist. In addition to a variety of installation work he has spent years lugging an electric moon around the world and photographing it a stunning variety of evocative settings. Often the artist is himself incorporated into the picture creating a narrative scene in which the moon, cast down from the heavens interacts with the lonely mortal. While it is unclear whether the photographer Po-I Chen is responsible for taking all of the actual photos, he (and any others that might have been involved) certainly deserve some of the credit for these images. There are loads of them to look through on his blog:
leonid-tishkov.blogspot.ca
Click on the tag Private moon if you want to see just these or you can scroll back through all his work if you're curious.
 thanks to www.booooooom.com for posting these before me.

Dan Tague

"Reality Sucks"

"Hope in the Whitehouse"

"Resistance is Futile"

"The Almighty Dollar"

"American Muscle" 1969 Firebird Hood

Well to day is Black Friday - that commercial flip-side to Thanksgiving. For those outside the US, I'll just say... it's a long story. But it's a perfect day to post these. Actually, there's a lot more to Dan Tague's work than cleverly folded US currency. There's all kinds of conceptual work, installations, graphics, and so on. But the folded money is what first caught my attention and it neatly captures the overall tone of his work. Which is to say, both highly cynical and slyly humorous at the same time. The money pieces are presented asquite large glossy prints, simply matted and framed and make an arresting presence in person. The bills are generally photographed on a black background, the one exception I found being "Hope in the Whitehouse" photographed on white,  presumably because it was the only one expressing anything optimistic. In general his work reflects a highly skeptical view of American politics and history, and this themes overlap his personal experience as a resident of the famously flooded ninth ward in New Orleans. Much of the work since then has dealt directly and indirectly with the government's response to the disaster. To look through all of this for yourself just go to his website: dantaguestudio.com
or his gallery's website: Civilian Art Projects.

Greg Sand

Grandparents.

3.3" x 5.25"

Family Reunion.

3.75" x 3.75"

Family Portrait.

3.3" x 4.9"

Brothers.

3.75" x 3.75

Sitting Portrait.

3.3" x 5.25"

Photo Booth
8" x 1.6"

I don't often post photography. For one I don't think I'm a particularly good judge of it, and I happen to know too many photographers. But these images leapt out at me from the pages of River Styx literary magazine (issue 85). Since I'm so late with this post I decided not to hesitate but simply bring you these haunting narratives that explore issues of perception, reality and yes, death. I will not say any more except that you can see more work both similar and quite different at http://www.behance.net/Greg_Sand

Marc Da Cunha Lopes

Marc Da Cunha Lopes is a commercial photographer/photoshop artist who has a curious little website. On it he displays some of his commercial work (which is very slick but, let's face it, very commercial) as well as some of what certainly appears to be his own personal work. If it isn't, then bravo to the client. The reason I am uncertain about this is that the website has nothing else on it BUT these images. No information on how to contact the artist. No statement or CV. Just some very strange compelling photography. There are several different series, including more images from the two themes represented here. There are is also flesh eating zombies, robot gigolos, a little girl and her giant rat friend, and more! If that doesn't at least get you to look then you may be a little too high brow for this blog.
www.marcdacunhalopes.com
















































































Thanks to Tunacan Jones at FHN for the heads up.

Damon Mohl

I think it's high time for a little apocalyptic sci-fi horror. Damon Mohl's work is currently on a series of linked blogs but he apparently has a website on the way. I'm looking forward to it.
His work is clearly that of an obsessive. Browsing your way through the various pages and different styles feels a little like wandering around through the dreams of a man that your not quite sure is completely sane (but you kind of like him anyway). If the paintings aren't your thing, check out his drawings. They're different. If that doesn't suit you, try his installations. Or his photographs. There's got to be something amid all this chaotic creativity that's going to grab you, crawl inside and stick somewhere in the back of your brain for a while (occasionally wriggling uncomfortably perhaps).
(start here: damonmohl.blogspot.com)
There's even a few other things to look at on myartspace.com
click on images below to view them larger!














"Summit" oil on canvas 75"x125" 2008

















"The Ticket Booth" oil on canvas 49"x66" 2006
















"The Black Pillar of Smoke" oil on canvas 44"x67" 2005























"Distillation Chamber" (2008) from a series of objects and photographs called "Maladies of the Vine" which the artist says would be best displayed on the walls of an old wooden shack deep in the mountains.






















detail

















untitled photograph (from a series and book called "Trials and Tribulations in the Wilderness")

Jason E. Kelley

Jason Kelley did not invent strip photography, but he did introduce me to the concept and he's using it in a pretty unique way. First, a quick explanation. Strip photography involves slowly winding the film in-camera behind a thin exposure slit, creating what is essentially a time lapse scan of.. well whatever you are photographing. Go elsewhere for more technical information. There's all kinds of odd applications but Jason recognizes that one great potential is to create still images that are actually short movies. What you see is a single image but it was created by recording action. Moving objects appear relatively still (but with fascinating distortions) while the stationary background appears to blur past. He occasionally goes so far as to set the whole thing up like a movie, complete with costumes and sets. The banding lines you see result from the film being wound slowly by hand across exposure strip. Slight variations in winding speed affect the exposure. There are no digital effects being applied here.
Go to his Flickr site to see more. There's also plenty of other photography.
And he has a new website: www.jasonekelleyphotography.com

I've provided detail shots to draw you in, but you really need to click on the long thin images and see the whole thing writ large, as it were.



"Sauvie Dogs"




















"Sauvie Dogs" detail






"Tea Party"















"Tea Party" detail









"St. Johns Parade"







"The Thief"

Gregory Crewdson

For the most part I have avoided posting photography for two reasons. One, I do not think I am a particularly good judge of photography. And two, I know too many of them. But the work of Gregory Crewdson, it seems to me, bears little resemblance to most photography. There is no capturing the fleeting moment here. These large inkjet prints are very, very carefully composed and arranged, the color and light manipulated to the desired effect. All in all his approach appears to have more in common with narrative painting than anything else. Of course I love it.
It was very difficult to select images to include here since I would like to have included so many more. So please check out the rest of his work at the Luhring Augustine gallery.















"Untitled (Shane), Summer 2006" archival inkjet print 57"x88"














"Untitled, Winter 2006" archival inkjet print 57"x88"














"Untitled, Summer 2003" Digital C-Print 64 1/4" x 94 1/4"

















"Untitled (overturned bus)" 2001-2002 Digital C-Print 48"x60"














"Untitled, Winter 2007" archival inkjet print 57"x88"