As a species, we have become addicted to the spectacle of political theater. Events are organized to engage our sensitive minds in the furor of ideological division, and arguments become tribal tools meant to manifest the supposed will of Western democracy, though little of this exhibitionism uncovers the true vessel of political life, fueled by […]
The ideas of usefulness and aesthetic appearance often come into conflict over time in architecture. Decay, cracks, erosion, and palimpsests of change clash and defy our natural sense of wholeness when we look at buildings that have persisted over decades, if not centuries. I am thinking particularly of 19th and early 20th-century buildings, those that […]
Jonathan Meese is one of those artists compelled by an unseen, yet pernicious, towering force that many of us cannot recognize as anything else but a steam engine powered by Satan and maybe curry wurst, lager, and a cartoonish desire to paint the times as a disgraceful embodiment of human spirit, causality, scum, and victory. […]
The life of Sarah Schumann should be much better known to the world. As a proponent of the New Women’s Movement, a talented painter, collagist, designer, and all-around life of post-war intrigue suggests a profound tie to the German movements of the mid-century, and yet, like many artists, particularly female artists of the Twentieth Century, […]
I was sent this lovely book about the choreography and performance art of Hermann Heisig by Spector Books, one of Germany’s finest publishers, at the suggestion of their team. I tend to value suggestions like these from a publisher known for a wide output, as they offer a thoughtful dialogue between parties. I get to […]
And then there was the night—archives from the edge of hell—chimerical dissonance—six cloven hoof Satyrs. Bachanalian. Excremental. Grain, dissolve. Pushing the sword of Damocles in until the hilt fractures on the bone of the pubic mound. A horsehair away from piercing the veil. Scrutinize, Labotomize. Forever roam. Necessarily hexed, vexed, encouraged by nebulous worlds […]
Between the Skin and the Sea is the new book by German artist Katrin Koenning. Katrin lives abroad in Australia, and that will factor into the discussion regarding her latest book, published by Chose Commune, the wonderful French publisher who put out her book with equally talented Sarker Protick in 2016, entitled Astres Noirs. […]
Change is not always a fast process. Stating what is an obvious observation, ruminating over the nature of change or our perception of change in local geography is pertinent. I think we like to denote the object status of “change” as being implicit, noticeable, and understood as event-driven, clear, and not necessarily attached to […]
I am sure many of these people are dead. That is not what distinguishes the book or what makes it great. Instead, what is challenging is being alive during that part of history when the faces and bodies inhabiting the frames are familiar, enhanced by the glow from a window. Some of their bodies […]
In her first book, Arbeit, Laura Bielau found monumental images of tiny things in her studio workspace. The notion of art and labor were at the fundament of the documents she produced. Everything from an empty Amazon envelope to a rubber band was magnified and challenged for their quotidian usage. Enlarged and brought into […]
I did not want to use Bladerunner as an analogy for this photobook simply because the title implies an association. I find nothing immediate in the book that relates the film to Uta’s miasmatic and crepuscular photographs. However, I could marginally make that leap if I wanted to chalk the images up to having a […]
Joachim Brohm’s work has influenced my way of thinking about photography, particularly his work regarding architecture. Though Joachim might not say that his work is directly about architecture, how he photographs sites and buildings has been vital in opening my eyes to new possibilities for seeing potential subject matter. Known for several high-profile and […]