Horses Think

Sibylle Binder, Munich, c. 1933 by Josef Breitenbach

Looking through the current issue of Photograph, I stumbled across an advertisement for an upcoming Josef Breitenbach exhibition at Gitterman Gallery in New York City.

Montparnasse, Paris, 1937 by Josef Breitenbach.

Needless to say I was beyond curious about the image in the ad (shown below). The photograph is dated c. 1935 but in my mind it could easily have been made yesterday or something like that using photoshop. I had never heard of Josef Breitenbach before but definitely wanted to find out more.

Annabella, Munich, c. 1935 by Josef Breitenbach

Turns out that Josef Breitenbach (1896-1984) was born in Germany to a Jewish wine merchant family. He opened his first photographic studio in 1931. Fleeing the Nazis in 1933 he arrived in Paris where he set up another studio. He eventually made his way to New York where he taught at places like Black Mountain College and The New School.

Sculpture Academy, Paris, 1935 by Josef Breitenbach

I guess he’s most well know for his avant-garde work from the 30’s and 40’s. I’m not surprised as the work still holds up. He made friends with and exhibited his work alongside people like Man Ray, Brassai and Kertesz but his early use of vivid saturated color definitely set him apart. I love the expressive quality of the work (which includes both photographs and collages), not to mention the experimentation and of course the color.

Here are a couple more great images found at Stephen Daiter Gallery:

Portraits with Make-up, New York, c. 1945 by Joseph Breitenbach

Ski’s Carnival in the Tyrol, C. 1933 by Joseph Breitenbach

The Gitterman Gallery exhibition opens on Wednesday, September 17 and there will be a reception from 6-8pm celebrating the artist as well as a new publication of his work.

Untitled, Arches National Park, Utah, 2008

(Detail)

To request the above photograph:

Send an email (subject: photograph #16) to horses [at] horsesthink.com with your name and address.

If you are the first* person to respond after the posting, you will receive the photograph in the mail.

* This photograph is no longer available.

Untitled, Leadville, CO, 2008

To request the above photograph:

Send an email (subject: photograph #15) to horses [at] horsesthink.com with your name and address.

If you are the first* person to respond after the posting, you will receive the photograph in the mail.

* This photograph is no longer available.

Head of a Boy by Asa Ames. Photo by Richard Walker

Do yourself a favor and head over to the Folk Art Museum in New York City before September fourteenth and spend some time at Asa Ames: Occupation Sculpturing.

Phrenological Head by Asa Ames. Photo by John Parnell

Asa Ames was a young sculptor from Evans, New York during the mid 1800’s who died tragically at the age of 27 due to Consumption. In his short life he sculpted a handful (12-13 known today) of wooden figures that are captivating, mysterious and nothing less than extraordinary.

Portrait of Asa Ames courtesy of John T. Ames, Austin, Texas

One of the most amazing things on display besides the sculptures is a single daguerreotype portrait of the artist (the only known image of him) sometime near the end of his life. He is pictured working on a sculpture (what appears to be a self-portrait) while a bunch of his other carved figures surround him and another human face looks on. Take a moment and imagine yourself leaving behind a single portrait as strange and bizarre as this.

Roberta Smith wrote a loving tribute and review of the exhibition in the Times awhile back and it’s worth reading before or after you see the show.

Talia Chetrit, Spectrum 2007, Inkjet print | Rainbow 2007, Inkjet print

Most of you probably know about this already but if not head over to Bond Street Gallery in Brooklyn tonight for the opening of Young Curators, New Ideas, a group exhibition organized by Amani Olu and curated by Alana Celii & Grant Willing (Fjord Photo), Michael Bühler-Rose, Jon Feinstein (Humble Arts Foundation), Laurel Ptak (I Heart Photograph), Amy Stein (amysteinphoto.blogspot.com), and Lumi Tan (Why + Wherefore).

I’m excited to see the entire exhibition but I’m very intrigued by the GIF segment, curated by Laurel Ptak. I’ve always loved the concept behind a film loop and GIF’s are essentially that except they are produced digitally.

Noel Rodo-Vankeulen, Father, 2008

The exhibition features work by: Charles Benton, Alison Brady, Brian Bess, Victor Boullet, Mikaylah Bowman, Olga Cafiero, Talia Chetrit, Tyler Coburn, Petra Cortright, C. Coy, Gerald Edwards III, Daniel Everett, Thobias Fäldt & Per Englund, Martin Fengel, Jason Fulford, Nicolas Grider, Pierre Hourquet, Konst & Teknik, Eke Kriek, Emily Larned, Bryan Lear, Miranda Lehman, Seth Lower, Matt MacFarland, Katja Mater, Kelci McIntosh, Mark McKnight, Erin Jane Nelson, Ilia Ovechkin, Robert Overweg, Alex Prager, M. River, Noel Rodo-Vankeulen, Asha Schechter, Trevor Shimizu, Alix Smith, Jo-ey Tang, Jesper Ulvelius, Anne De Vries, Hannah Whitaker, Karly Wildenhaus, Ofer Wolberger, Ann Woo and Damon Zucconi

RSVP REQUIRED: rsvp@bondstreetgallery.com
PUBLIC RECEPTION: 6 - 9 pm
ON VIEW: Wednesday, August 13 – Saturday, September 6, 2008

BOND STREET GALLERY
297 Bond Street | Brooklyn, NY 11231 (Carroll Gardens)
718.858.2297 | DIRECTIONS: F/G to Carroll St. or R to Union St.

GALLERY HOURS: Tuesday – Saturday | 11 am – 6 pm

Jason Polan officially put his Drawing Project to rest yesterday.

If you were lucky enough to receive a drawing (or two) in the mail over the course of this fantastic online project, then you know how truly wonderful the feeling was to open your mailbox and be surprised by an inconspicuous envelope with a drawing inside.

Thanks Jason for all the entertaining drawings, it’s been fun watching the project unfold.

Just for kicks, here’s a selection of some personal favorites I wish I had won:

Drawing #3, 3D Pyramid

Drawing #233, Educator Astronaut Floating

Drawing #62, Meat Thermometer

Drawing #60, John Kerr

Drawing #239, Alan and Wayne

Drawing #216, Colorful Face

Drawing #35, Man with Mustache

Drawing #218, Over & Over

As creepy as I think this painting is, I still couldn’t resist having it.

It’s obvious that the painter was just practicing by painting all those eyes at the bottom of the composition but somehow it manages to feel like a very purposeful and complete picture to me.

For all I know it could have been the painter’s total intention to make such a bizarre and freakish painting.

Click on the image for a larger version.

As much as I love to both create and look at photographs, I am beginning to wonder whether a photograph can ever have the same kind of overwhelming effect on me that a song or a piece of music can have.

There’s just no comparison for me as music seems to be the more engrossing experience. I sometimes feel like it could be the “highest” art form there is. Cinema approaches that experience as well, most probably due to the combination of moving image, audio and narrative.

Somehow though, I find music to be the most affecting medium. Even when the music is an abstract composition, it somehow manages to communicate so effectively and directly to my cerebral cortex.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately each and every time I witness a magnificent live musical performance. Most recently I saw Fleet Foxes perform an incredible live set at Bowery Ballroom a few weeks ago and just the other day I saw a mesmerizing Bon Iver performance at The Music Hall of Williamsburg.

What was most remarkable about both of these performances was that they were so atypical of most concerts these days. The bands weren’t trying to be cool or give a “rock” performance. In fact, both bands seemed in awe of the crowd and surprised by the fanatical screaming in between songs. The band members stayed seated during the performances giving the songs and music the focus and attention they so necessarily deserved.

Both of these musical artists convey so much complex feeling and emotion with their songs, but that’s really only the beginning. Each song tells a story and places the listener in a complete sonic universe. The voices, the instruments, and the musical arrangements add up to so much more than their individual parts. Words don’t do the description justice. Photographers tend to say the same thing about photographs, that words can’t accurately describe what’s being captured in an image. While I believe that is true, I can’t think of any photograph that has affected me with as much power and intensity as so many songs have.

Untitled II, Brimfield, MA, 2008

To request the above photograph:

Send an email (subject: photograph #14) to horses [at] horsesthink.com with your name and address.

If you are the first* person to respond after the posting, you will receive the photograph in the mail.

* This photograph is no longer available.

Square America has posted an online exhibition titled It’s 1975 And This Man Is About To Show You The Future.

It’s a pretty strange relic from IBM of the 1970’s and definitely worth a look.

Somehow the images manage to conjure both Lewis Baltz and John Baldassari not to mention a little Ed Ruscha.

(via Big Contrarian)