Sandy Carson show at L. Nowling Gallery

My good friend Sandy Carson has another show of his photographs coming up soon.

Here are the details from Sandy:

I want to formally invite you to the opening of my first group exhibition of the year Storytelling at the L. Nowlin Gallery here in Austin. This exhibit, curated by the Austin Photography Group, features 40 Austin photographers and opens next Saturday, January 15th from 6-8pm. I shall be showing a piece from my Black Friday series from 2009.

Here’s a preview of the show. See you all there!

Sandy Carson: Paradise Has Relocated

Longtime BMX homie and amazing photographer Sandy Carson has a show on display here in Austin at Okay Mountain Gallery. The opening on October 23rd was a bicycle scene reunion. We all gawked at Sandy’s photos, and geeked out on bikes, parks, and trails. A good time was had by all.

Here’s what the Okay Mountain site says about the show:

“Paradise Has Relocated” attempts to capture the lifeless remains and emptiness of a once thriving and historic island devastated by Hurricane Ike in September of 2008. Ike was the third most destructive and costliest hurricane to make landfall in the United States, destroying and flooding 75% of homes and landmass. The project deals with the physical dead space and ghostliness of Galveston- post hurricane. Each image whispers of an ordinary past lost to the ravages of Mother Nature. The everyday objects left behind in haste suggest former human inhabitation. The unoccupied landscapes, fractured structures and mundane interiors I have carefully composed compel the viewer to look beyond cultural stature and financial complexities, and question geographical location.

The geographic anonymity of my photographs prove that such devastation is not reserved for the third world but stand right on our doorstep. This is important to remember given the current state of world climate change. Unfortunately some believe that this may be the final blow for Galveston. With an already anemic economy and population decline that predates Ike by 50 years, survivors who are re-building or relocating, feel that their mythical land never fully recovered from the first Galveston Hurricane of 1900.

Sandy’s book Paradise Has Relocated is available from Blurb (where there’s also a full preview!). A percentage of the sales will go directly towards Hurricane IKE relief, so do good and buy a copy.

Chuck Close Exhibit at Austin Museum of Art

Chuck Close’s “A Couple of Ways of Doing Something,” now showing at the Austin Museum of Art, is a new look at some old photographic techniques. Close’s use of an early form of the photograph, called a daguerrotype, forms the basis of the exhibit.

Chuck Close: A Couple of Ways of Doing Something

Unlike artists who show us alternate realities that don’t actually exist, Chuck Close shows us what we’ve been missing in the world right in front of our faces. “I have always been fascinated by how one way of doing something can kick open a door to another way,” Close has remarked. “For me, the original image serves as a matrix, from which I can explore issues of scale, information, and perception.”

Chuck Close: Laurie Anderson

“A Couple of Ways of Doing Something” features Close’s use of digital pigment prints, tapestries, and photogravures alongside poems by Bob Holman. The exhibit’s subjects include Holman, Cindy Sherman, Philip Glass, Terry Winters, Laurie Anderson (pictured above), and Close himself, among many other New York creative luminaries.

The exhibit runs through November 8th.

New Zine: labcabinalabama

With all of this digital stuff, sometimes it feels good to go back to the analog world. I find making a real, honest-to-paper-pulp zine every once in a while keeps things in perspective. As many of you know, I spent the summer of 2008 in my old haunts in southeast Alabama. Well, I made a zine to commemorate the last few months of skateboarding, correspondence, and heat. Continue reading “New Zine: labcabinalabama”

The Architect’s Brother Revisited

“Kingdom” by the ParkeHarrisonsRobert and Shana ParkHarrison‘s exhibit, The Architect’s Brother, has been one of my favorite statements on our relationship with our technology and our planet since I first saw it in San Diego almost four years ago. This time around, I caught the display — including several pieces I hadn’t seen before — at The Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science in Tallhassee, Florida. Continue reading “The Architect’s Brother Revisited”

Mark C. Taylor: The Philosophy of Culture

Mark C. TaylorMark C. Taylor is one of those people you stumble upon and wonder why you were previously roaming around unaware. His countless books explore many areas of culture, philosophy, art, theory, and, most recently, commerce. I originally came across his work while doing research on artist Mark Tansey (Taylor’s The Picture in Question explores the mix of messages and theory in Tansey’s paintings). Continue reading “Mark C. Taylor: The Philosophy of Culture”

Hal Brindley: Wild Boy

Hal BrindleyRemember when thoughts and theories about so-called “Generation X” were on the tip of everyone’s tongue? We were called “slackers,” and older people said we lacked motivation and passion. I’ve always taken issue with these characterizations because I’ve constantly seen people my age pursuing paths and interests that had no prior archetype — and working very hard at them. Now that the focus has shifted to the next generation, and now that we’ve been pushing for a while, our generation is emerging in new careers and pursuits quite different from our forebears — and in many that didn’t exist before. Continue reading “Hal Brindley: Wild Boy”

Andrew Feenberg: Questioning Technology

Andrew Feenberg“Technology marches on, over you or through you, take your pick.” — Stewart Brand

As technology marches on, who, besides alarmist Luddites, is keeping tabs on the changes it’s bringing about? One such person is philosopher Andrew Feenberg — and he does it with a philosophical pedigree that no one else can claim and from a critical stance that no other can maintain. His many books on the subject illuminate numerous aspects of technology’s ever-increasing influence that are so often overlooked in similar texts, yet he maintains an even keel: Andrew uses and embraces technology, so his critical perspective comes from the fray, not the forest. Continue reading “Andrew Feenberg: Questioning Technology”

The Architect’s Brother by Robert ParkeHarrison

The pieces in Robert ParkeHarrison‘s The Architect’s Brother depict a character named “Everyman” coping with a number of distraught scenarios in which the pace of technology has out-stepped the resources of the earth. As tired as this theme may sound, ParkeHarrison brings a new perspective to each of many glimpses of these possible futures. These images are riddled with melancholy, but the weight is ultimately lifted by an unflagging belief in human agency. Continue reading “The Architect’s Brother by Robert ParkeHarrison”

Cynthia Connolly: The Punk Stays in the Picture

Cynthia ConnollyCynthia Connolly has been a fixture in the DC punk rock scene since its voice started echoing out of the Capital. The independent stalwarts of Dischord in DC, K Records, and Killrockstars in Olympia, WA are among her friends and her photo subjects: She takes pictures and makes postcards — one series of which was of many of these musicians and their cars. Continue reading “Cynthia Connolly: The Punk Stays in the Picture”