Land/City/Real/Imagined.

Rio. Las Vegas Nevada 2008

Private view at Diemar Noble gallery on Wednesday 23rd August.

I realise I am so skilled that my image (above) will fit in any of the four categories that make up this group exhibition.

More info here.

Wonderful series here by Anoek Steketee.
The Dream City project is incredibly well observed and executed. Makes me want to go there..

OFF TOPIC SATURDAY..

Wonderful series here by Carlos Jimenez Cahua.

THIS IS WHAT ITS ALL ABOUT..

Snapshot.

I am not a fan of the Snap Shot aesthetic. Even though I sometimes take to the street with a compact camera (but not since my camera went ca-poot) I tend not to point and shoot but point, compose, think about it for a split second, and then take one shot.
Look at the image above. At first glance it looks like I took it while falling backwards. But give it a chance and look closer. First you see the swings, then the bench, then the tree, then the car and back to the swings. Then you start to see other things like the graffiti in the background and perhaps that yellow pole on top of the swing. Then you realise everything is a shade of green which is quite unusual and the reason I was drawn to such a scene. So what started out as a Snap Shot, is in fact a well thought out image. Having said that, it doesn't mean its any good or you like it as much as I do.

The medium is the message.

You do it then..

Car 21. Salton Sea CA 2008

There is a syndrome associated with photographers where upon a family member, friend, friend of a family member, fella in the pub, girl in a cafe, a neighbour, and even a business acquaintance such as an agent, gallery rep or even another photographer. In fact it could be anyone telling you that they have seen something that would make a brilliant photograph. It might be;
"An amazing tree like the one out of that film. It would make a great photograph."
or
"This derelict factory full of old cars, you can just duck under the fence and dodge the cctv. It would make an amazing photograph."
Better still;
"You've just got to photograph my friend Betty, she's just so beautiful. You could get an amazing set of photographs.."

I am sure you know what I mean by this and I for one am often told of how I could do a wonderful photograph of this that and the other. My first response is always to say (or think of saying), 'Well, why don't you make a photograph.' But I always end up taking there advice and actually heading out to a certain spot with my camera only to be frustratingly annoyed, but not surprised, that they failed to mention that the amazing tree is a Bonsai in a shop, or the car factory has no windows and a big dog with gnashing teeth patrolling the grounds, and that although Betty has nice skin, she has no teeth and tatty hair.

The only time I have not been disappointed, in fact it became a twelve month project, was when an old lady who lived in the desert and was constantly surrounded by flies told me about the Salton Sea.

Of course this syndrome is not just synonymous with photography. No matter what you do someone will always have a 'good idea' for YOU.

Program:

June 14 - September 30, 2011, Rijeka City Museum, Ervin Debeuc - Photographs from the Collection of the Rijeka City Museum, opening: June 14 at 6.30 p.m.

Ervin Debeuc: Jesen na Mrtvom kanalu, 1955

June 16 - August 9, Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Chrystel Lebas & SofijaSilvia - Conversations on nature; opening: June 16 at 8 p.m.

Chrystel Lebas, Presence- Untitled n.30 - Risnjak - Kupa, 2010.

SofijaSilvia, Silent Islands, Brijuni - Imaginary Landscape – no. 02 – Fog, C – Type, 2009.

June 17– July 28, Mali salon - Tension Field, opening and presentation of the catalogue: June 17 at 8 p.m.


Goran Škofić, Neon Sky, triptih, 2009.

June 17 - 18, The City Hall, City of Rijeka, 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. - PHOTO FORUM

PHOTO FORUM
The City hall, Rijeka, Korzo 16, Rijeka

Program

June 17, 2011
10:45 Registration
11:00 Introduction, Sabina Salamon, curator MMSU Rijeka
11:15 Liz Wells, Curator and Convenor, Land/Water and the Visual Arts at Plymouth University
12:00 Alexandra Lazar, Freelance Writer and Curator, Researcher, Courtauld Institute of Art, London
12:45 Lunch
14:00 Đuro Huber, Professor, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb
14:30 Sandro Dujmović, expert-protection activities of Brijuni National Park
15:00 Chrystel Lebas i SofijaSilvia, Chrystel Lebas and SofijaSilvia
15:45 Coffee break
16:00 Plenary

17:00 – 18:30 Reception and informal portfolio sharing (Liz Wells)

June 18, 2011
10:00 Visiting the exhibition of Ervin Debeuc, guidance: Sabrina Žigo, curator, Rijeka City Museum
11:00 Registration
11:15 Introduction, Sabina Salamon (curator MMSU Rijeka)
11:30 Svetlana Mladenov, Sanja Kojić-Mladenov, curators, Museum of Contemporary Art, Novi Sad
12:30 Miljenko Smokvina, photographer, Rijeka
13:00 Aleksander Bassin, free lance curator, Ljubljana
13:30 Lunch
14:30 Gerhard Gross, curator, Kunstvermittlung Steiermark, CCN Graz
15:00 Sabrina Žigo, curator, Rijeka City Museum
15:30 Ranko Dokmanović, photographer, Rijeka
16:00 coffee break
16:15 Zoran Petrovski, curator, Museum of Contemporary Art, Skopje
16:45 Erika Petrić, Graz, artist, PR manager, Academy for Applied Photography, Graz
17:15 Dejan Sluga , art historian, Gallery Photon, Ljubljana
17:45 Plenary

Moderator: Sabina Salamon

August 3 – 31, Mali salon, Marcus Doyle – Nocturnal Memories, photographs from the industrial history of Rijeka

Marcus Doyle, Torpedo, 2010.

Marcus Doyle, Torpedo, 2010.

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Rijeka Photo Festival
Enjoy first-class photography all summer long!

Until mid-September, the Rijeka Photo Festival this year again exhibits the works of renowned Croatian and European photographers such as Marcus Doyle, Ervin Debeuc, Sofia Silva and Chrystel Lebas. The festival will conclude with a large retrospective of the French photographer Walter Carone, an artist whose camera captured many Hollywood stars and prominent personalities from all over the world.

This summer, all photography lovers, professionals and amateurs, will again have the chance to enjoy the Rijeka Photo Festival. The event will run until mid-September and present several Croatian and international masters of photography. The festival was opened in mid-June with the presentation of two exhibitions and a series of lectures and symposiums.
The first exhibition, dedicated to the work of the Croatian artist Ervin Debeuc, will remain on display until the end of the festival in the Rijeka Town Museum. The second exhibition is displayed in Rijeka's Museum of Modern and Contemporary Arts. It presents the concept of "Discussions about nature" by the American photographer Sofia Silva and the French photographer Chrystel Lebas. This exhibition will remain open until the end of July.
The Mali salon gallery on Rijeka's Korzo promenade hosts a large group exhibition entitled "Tension Field". This exhibition presents situations within different contexts of five partner towns: Graz (Austria), Ljubljana (Slovenia), Bratislava (Slovakia), Novi Sad (Serbia) and Rijeka (Croatia). This exhibition will run until the 28th of July.
Two more exhibitions are scheduled for August. The first is dedicated to the work of a master of night photography Marcus Doyle, whose photographs were already displayed on last year's Rijeka Photo Festival. This time, the artist will present photographs dedicated to Rijeka's industrial history under the title "Night Memories".
The festival will end with the large retrospective exhibition of Walter Carone, French artist whose camera captured numerous Hollywood stars and prominent personalities. Rijeka's audience will have the opportunity to admire famous portraits of General de Gaulle, Marlene Dietrich, Jean-Paul Sartre, Marilyn Monroe and many other renowned persons.