Watch Timothy Briner’s “Boonville” multimedia.

Download Timothy Briner’s “Boonville” video podcast.

Subscribe to the Pause, to Begin iTunes podcast.

Watch Shawn Gust’s “Regaining Consciousness” multimedia.

Download Shawn Gust’s “Regaining Consciousness” video podcast.

Subscribe to the Pause, to Begin iTunes podcast.

Big thanks to our web programmer, Matt Bagwell, for making our iTunes video podcast a reality, and to our web designer, Kim Miller, for being continually wonderful.

Although I have never met Zoe Strauss, she has been a long supporter of Pause, to Begin and we have long been a fan of what she creates and does, including her recently released USA Artist YouTube video. There are many notable quotes from the video but this hit a particular chord in my mind:

At 4 the show is done and that means that if people want to take the photographs, they can. It’s not a commodity in terms of, “I’m putting these up and then I’m going to take these down as if there’s some worth for that.” The worth is the moment in which they’re up – that 3 hour time period in which it’s all up and together.

We are pleased to begin launching the 2008 Pause, to Begin Multimedia.

We will release 1 multimedia presentation per day, Monday thru Friday, over the course of 3 weeks for a total of 15 multimedia presentations.

Watch Thomas Prior’s “Color Photographs 2003-2006″ multimedia.

Download Thomas Prior’s “Color Photographs 2003-2006″ video podcast.

Subscribe to the Pause, to Begin iTunes podcast.

Coming shortly!

Matthew Gamber and Timothy Briner, two wonderful Pause, to Begin photographers, are both in a show titled Revisiting America opening tonight at Bond Street Gallery.

Beaver, from Leave it to Beaver, 2006
By Matthew Gamber

Two Cheerleaders, Boonville, Indiana, 2008
By Timothy Briner

Use the links below to view their selected work for Pause, to Begin.
Matthew Gamber
Timothy Briner

http://www.terryrichardson.com/

 http://www.terryrichardson.com/

 Resurfacing after little more than a year, Vibe Magazine’s September 2007 interview with Obama seems especially relevant this week.  Tuesday (October 7) marks the last day to register to vote for this year’s presidential election and it seems like almost everyone has something to say about it.

My opinion regarding celebrity endorsement of presidential candidates is a matter that I will keep to myself — but I am particularly interested in the the number of photographers who are choosing to endorse their candidate of choice.  Above are fashion photographer Terry Richardson’s images from the Vibe interview.  Falling in step with his characteristic flash-on-camera style, Richardson’s images are a welcome juxtaposition to the lack-luster stereotypical candidate portraiture:

http://en.wikipedia.org/

 An additional note, more than fifty photographers (including Elinor Carucci, Philip-Lorca DiCorcia, Mitch Epstein, Larry Fink, Todd Hido, Richard Misrach, Alec Soth and Joel Sternfled…et all!) have donated images to http://www.artforobama.net – an online auction benefit organized by five artists who “have come together to help the Obama campaign.  Because we cannot afford to make large donations ourselves, we want to bring together the leaders of our community to help create change.”

Larry Fink ‘The Candidate’ (2008)

Edition 13/25

Value: $4,000.00
Starting Bid: $2,000.00

Included in the bidding is this image by Larry Fink, another interesting take on the theme of Obama portraits I am exploring in this post.  The auction is open from October 3 to October 10 and all money earned will be donated to moveon.org.

This weekend the Camden International Film Festival presented midcoast Maine with the world’s finest non-fiction documentaries.

Although I was not able to see as many films as I would have liked, I did have the opportunity to see The Way We Get By, Full Battle Rattle, and Red Gold. All of the films were visually and emotionally compelling, but Red Gold hit home particularly hard.

Taking place in Bristol Bay, Alaska, aka the home of the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery, Red Gold focuses on how plans to construct the world’s largest mine, the Pebble Mine, threatens to forever negatively impact the fragile, 300 million dollar salmon industry and more importantly, the livelihoods of Alaskans and the future of Pacific Salmon as we know it.

If and when the mine is created, toxic mineral waste, also known as tailings, will be generated as copper and gold are mined from the earth. When this toxic waste ever enters the salmon watershed, the fish will immediately begin to die.

I say “when” and not “if” because there is no question that no matter how many precautions are set in place and environmental regulations established, the toxic waste will at one time or another enter this watershed and have an enormous, forever-negative impact on not only Bristol Bay, but also the world.

What can you do to stop the world’s largest open pit mine from being created and in turn protect the world’s salmon industry? Head over to Save Bristol Bay now.

The trailer for Red Gold:

The NYT Feature:

Kenneth Josephson. New York State, 1970 (http://www.artic.edu/aic)

Culled from the permanent collection, the images that comprised the Art Institute of Chicago’s recent photography exhibition (on view from June 14 to September 7, 2008), “A Mind at Play,” celebrated the photographic medium’s inherent subjective experience.  Thematically, the exhibition sought to separate photographs that act as records of what is in front of the camera in order to highlight those that contain moments more contingent, witty, serendipitous and inspired.  The exhibition showcased the work of more than fifty artists whose influence spans the history of the medium.  Selected by a team of curators and employees at the museum, “A Mind at Play” boasted a comprehensive display of photographs –  everything from an image by Nadar made in 1863 to an inkjet print by contemporary Chicago photographer Suzette Bross (Blue, White and Red with Wheel, 2007).  Certainly not lacking breadth, “A Mind at Play” showcased some of the medium’s most prominent – Duane Michals, Robert Frank, Kenneth Josephson and Joel Sternfeld – to name a few.

At a time when the discussion regarding the photographic medium and the role of digital technology is making weekly headlines, “A Mind at Play” seemed appropriately poised as a retrospective of  the non-digital era.  Although there were a handful of digital inclusions, the gallery walls were filled almost entirely with silver gelatin prints.  Understandably, this bias lends itself to a conversation about contemporary photographic philosophy.  In speaking to the photographer’s ability to manipulate viewer perception, a question arises about the tools photographers are using today versus those used in decades prior.  Particularly when considering contemporary photographers such as Andreas Gursky, Gregory Crewdson or Jill Greenberg (all embrace computer based post-production techniques in order to reconstruct and redefine photographic reality), how should the manipulation of viewer perception be defined?    Raising this question, “A Mind at Play” ignored that subjectivity, curiosity and experimentation are all inherent qualities of photography regardless of the argument between digital versus analog image making.

Positioned to parade highlights from the collection and attract viewers with the promise of tongue-in-cheek images, “A Mind at Play” hit the mark.  The gallery was overflowing with funny and intelligent images.  Entertainment aside, the Art Institute failed to acknowledge changes in contemporary photographic practice, leaving viewers stuck with a Modern vernacular.  Philosophically this omission, albeit justifiable, seemed negligent – ultimately leaving the viewer asking for more.