Stare. It is the way to educate your eye, and more. Stare, pry, listen, eavesdrop. Die knowing something. You are not here long. -- Walker Evans

Monday, February 20, 2012

Vivian Maier

By now, everyone in photographic circles has heard of the reclusive Chicago nanny who died in 2009 at the age of 83 and who, from the '50s to the '90s, photographed street scenes, sharing the images with no one. 

She had an uncanny knack (which can only be gained from years of experience) of capturing those subjects which would best serve as time capsules of her environment.

Her subject matter was that everyday ephemera which we mostly ignore, because it is ... everyday. But it is largely those things which we take for granted, that best sum up an era.

A Vivian Maier website is now online.

Today, DP Review posted a review of Vivian Maier Street Photographer.

The New Zealand online store, Fishpond, does not yet have stock, but does have a page for the book.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Ben Cauchi at Lopdell House Gallery

From Jan Young at Photoforum NZBen Cauchi, the 16th artist in residence at the McCahon House studio has spent the summer months creating a new series of work capturing the bush and surroundings at French Bay – but in no ordinary way. Using the 160 year old wet collodion photographic process, a technique developed just after the daguerreotype, Cauchi presents haunting glass plate images that transport you back in time. [Read more ...

Lopdel House Gallery Website