Category Archives: OPP

It may be enough to know that, in theory-drunk circles of the period [the late 70s and early 80s], any sort of aesthetic appeal could be regarded as a stratagem of “late capitalist” ideology or some other wrinkle of malign … Continue reading →

That Jeff Wall. He’s so hot right now. Few photographers get two articles in the Times in as many days. On Saturday, the obligatory biographical sketch and introduction to the MOMA exhibit. Yesterday’s Times Magazine cover story is long, and … Continue reading →

I’m fascinated by the images of New York-based photographer Sze Tsung Leong. Most photographs from his History Images series concern development, change, and decay (forced or otherwise). The arty Guernica magazine recently published an interview with him. (via BLDGBLOG) (That … Continue reading →

With apologies to Aperture for the title. David Segal in Slate asks “Can Photographers Be Plagiarists?” and then provides a slideshow with some famous (and infamous) “borrowing” from the last hundred years. (Thanks to Conscientious for reading Slate so I … Continue reading →

Many thanks to Sonia Faleiro for highlighting the work of Dayanita Singh, who appears to be one of the most prolific contemporary Indian fine-art photographers. Singh is perhaps best known for her portraits of India’s urban middle and upper class … Continue reading →

For someone living in the Google age, it’s slow business finding information about Indian phtographers. Thanks to the small number of people who pointed me to a few photographers of note, I got a modest start. But very modest. (Mostly … Continue reading →

To say that Ruth Bernhard spent a life in photography would sell short the span of her life and the impact of her work. It’s fairer to say that she spent two or three lives in photography. NY Times obituary … Continue reading →

I’m a voracious link clicker . . . and pack rat. (I click and I click and sometimes I even read.) Here’s the first in a series highlighting what I would have clicked over the last couple of months (and … Continue reading →

One of my favorite documentary images from the 1970′s is Leonard Freed’s photograph of a police officer playing a game with kids in New York. (From Garrison Art Center.) More images…

I haven’t forgotten about my promise to explore contemporary Indian photographers and show what I learn here. Classes are almost over for the semester, and I will be getting back to it. I hope this will tide you over for … Continue reading →

I don’t know much about Terry Falke, but he has a new/first book, Observations in an Occupied Wilderness. It’s a contemporary examination of the man-altered landscape.

Shouldn’t I be at my little club? Oh, that’s right. Here’s some other photography thinking. Chinese Photography (about.com) The Value of Space: A Theoretical Sketch for Photographic Art in the Late-Twentieth Century (LensCulture) — “Giotto and other artists and theorists … Continue reading →

Okay, everybody. I’ll be writing soonish about symbols, visual history, and artistic intention; but I wanted to give you all a chance to ruminate on this 2003 photograph, “Awakening,” by Chitra Ganesh. What does it mean to you?

I think we’re familiar with the notion that making former colonies “exotic” and “alluring” satisfies how many people want to see “foreign” places like India these days, when places are packaged as unique travel destinations and people are decorations for … Continue reading →