ART NEWS: Hero Worship: Friedman, Rollins, & Fairey Join Forces.

Last month in celebration of Henry Rollins 50th birthday, artist Shepard Fairey and photographer Glen E. Friedman teamed up with the musician for a special collaborative poster print. Based off of Friedman's 1981 classic photograph of an early Black Flag era Henry Rollins, Fairey created a limited run poster print that every Rollins/Friedman fan would be proud to have hanging on their wall, including yours truly.

I was one of the lucky 450 to get one and for now at least, it's closest thing I'll have to a Glen E. Friedman print. Friedman has long been one of my photographic heroes. In all honesty, longer than I thought. A couple of years ago I was working in a camera shop and after talking with one of my co-workers about music and showing her some of my photos, she mentioned "You would love Glen E. Friedman. Do you know him?" I said, "I don't think so." She said "I'll bring in some of his books, you gotta check them out."

A few days later when she plopped Friedman's book FUCK YOU HEROES down on the sales counter I realized, "Yeah, I know Glen E. Friedman." Many of his images were already hanging on my bedroom wall, ripped from magazines collected in my teenage years and tacked up with Scotch tape. Those same photos were the ones floating in the back of my mind when I started taking my own photos at shows.

That was the day I put a name to the person behind the lens. I was amazed to learn the images that had sparked my imagination were captured with little more than a simple manual Pentax KM-1000 and a speedlite. Not only that but Friedman started his publishing career at fourteen with the release of MY RULES one of the most successful zines of all time. He would go on to document not one but three of the most important cultural movements of the past thirty years.

Nowadays, Friedman tours his work in galleries around the world under the title FUCK YOU ALL. The show is comprised of photographs from all of Friedman's past work. Not included in the show is Friedman's current photographic endeavor, documenting his son's childhood. While Friedman's show FUCK YOU ALL is an exhibit of his work, it is more a challenge to the next generation of photographers. "This is my stuff, now show us what you've got" so to speak.

When I was younger Glen E. Friedman's photos helped inspire me to pick up a camera. Since then I've learned how to use it. But now it's Friedman's question "What The Fuck Have You Done?" that inspires me. I might know how to use a camera, but what the fuck am I gonna do with it?

That's a pretty hard question to ignore when Henry Rollins is screaming it from your living room wall. And I think its one I need to answer.

ART NEWS: Punk Planet's Dan Sinker Is @MayorEmanuel

Last week The Atlantic revealed Dan Sinker, former editor of the seminal punk zine Punk Planet, to be the mastermind behind the genius "political satire meets Twitter" character @Mayor Emanuel. Many will remember Sinkers now defunct Punk Planet for it's in depth interviews, critical record reviews and intellectual feature articles exploring punk's role and responsibility in today's society. If perhaps you are not a Chicago resident or politics nerd like myself, it's possible that you may have missed the story of @MayorEmanuel.

Last September, White House Chief Of Staff Rahm Emanuel announced his leaving of the position to run for mayor of Chicago. Soon after a Twitter profile was created called @MayorEmanuel. @MayorEmanuel quickly racked up followers eager to devour every curse laden and sarcastic tweet the presumably fictitious Rahm Emanuel sent out to the world.

Followers were treated to an (albeit fake) behind the scenes look at politics today: from campaign stops to feeble minded interns and even airport pickups of Emanuel's Hollywood super-agent brother Ari Emanuel. Often times @MayorEmanuel would respond to news pundits, primary election results, and political opponents in real time. Slowly, @MayorEmanuel began to craft a multi-layered dynamic character that revealed a deep love of Chicago even if his sentiment was buried in f-bombs. By the time the real Rahm Emanuel won the mayors office, @MayorEmanuel followers had been taken on a comedic and at times emotional journey the likes of which Twitter had never seen before. The Atlantic's Alexis Madrigal summed it up as a "epic poem"via Twitter.

Head over to Madrigal's article on The Atlantic, it's a great read with highlights from the @MayorEmanuel Twitter feed. Or if you are interested in the entire story the @MayorEmanuel profile is still up and running.

And for those of us who were along for the ride, I would like say thank you to Dan Sinker. It was a good one.

PHOTO CREDIT: Copyright Daniel X. O'Neil.

ART NEWS: Andy Levin's Coney Island

I have a small obsession with typing random search terms into Google Images. It's a crap shoot but sometimes if you follow the bread crumb trail long enough you come up with something good. Such is the case with photographer Andy Levin's work on Coney Island.

The first time I visited Coney Island was with my family when I was maybe 8 or 9 years old. All I remember is that it was crazy busy and took a really long time to get there from New Jersey. Beyond that it's kind of a blur.

When I moved to Brooklyn, I started heading down to Coney Island more frequently. It reminded me alot of Asbury Park. Coney Island and Asbury Park have mirrored each other for many years. Both have combated decline in business, urban decay and eminent domain. They even share Tillie! So I guess it was a natural progression for me to take a shine to the place.

Andy Levin began visiting Coney Island in 1977 while in his late twenties. In between assignments for Life, National Geographic, and Time Magazines, Levin would use Coney Island as a personal space to practice his craft and sharpen his skills. Deferring to the tamer side of Coney Island, Levin captured the lighthearted simple pleasures of a day at the beach. 

Levin's yet to be published book "F Train To Coney Island" chronicles his work from this period. A preview "dummy version" of the book is available for viewing on his website. The New York Times blog LENS also features a few more photos.

PHOTO CREDIT: All photos copyright Andy Levin. Images via andylevin.com and NYT LENS.

ART NEWS: The Works Of Dan Witz

This is a painting. Last week, Animal featured a selection of hyper-realistic mosh pit paintings by New York based artist Dan Witz.

While amazing, the mosh pit paintings only begin to crack the surface of this artist's considerable talent.

Witz began his career as a street artist with his 1979 series Birds. Witz painted over forty humming birds in Lower Manhattan but excluded the neighborhood of Soho, "... there was enough art there."

"Each bird took about 2 hours. It seems difficult to believe now but when cops or supers caught me I never got in trouble. In fact, usually when they saw I was painting a hummingbird they'd let me finish."

Witz has continued with various street based projects over the past twenty years. His 2009 series, Dark Doings, attempts to "exploit our collective tendency towards sleepwalking by inserting outrageous things right out there in plain view that are also practically invisible." Witz places ghostly images of humans and animals in the overlooked windows of Brooklyn and Los Angeles neighborhoods. He explores this idea further in the 2010 series, In Plain Sight.

But for me, it's Witz's painting series Nightscapes which is most captivating. Dark, lonely and beautiful, Witz "creates his pieces using a distinctive process; first by printing a digital photograph onto a canvas as an underpainting and then adding layers of oil paint and transparent glazes."

"In my lifetime there’s been a revolution in representational capabilites comparable to the invention of oil paint in the 15th century. The opportunities to push on to new forms today are just unbelievably exciting. To ignore them, from my point of view, would be a ridiculous waste. So photoshop and photography have become as important tools for me as paint and brushes. I don’t for a moment consider myself to be a photographer or a digital artist though: these are paintings; I’m definitely a painter."

SOURCES: Animal, Dan Witz, DFN Gallery.

ART NEWS: Support My Sister!!

My sister has a couple of cool things going on so go check them out!

First up, is a t-shirt she drew up and is being released by OBEY. If you need a cool new shirt, why not get this one. Click the pic to head over to Metro Park and buy it today.

Next, is a limited edition print series called "Hooty Hoo." It was recently featured on the OBEY blog not too long ago and they are going fast so grab them while you can. Click the pic above to check out her store.

If you happen to be in the SoCal/Long Beach area on November 11th, check out my sis and a bunch of other great artists at the "You Can't Handle The Youth" art show. Click the pic below for more info.

And finally check out the KVZ KUSTOMS blog for all the latest KVZ kreations.

ART NEWS: Lyle Owerko's "The Boombox Project"

Photographer Lyle Owerko's new exhibit at the Clic Gallery & Bookstore in NYC features some real blasts from the past.

The Boombox Project features photographs of boomboxes, jam boxes, and ghetto blasters from yesteryear.

The exhibit is an unexpected product of the photographer's personal obsession with the stereos. Many of those featured are from his personal collection.

From Lyle Owerko:

"It is a symbol of rebellion and a way to shout your message at the system. Turn up the volume on your boombox, whatever the size, and let the capstan wheels of the tape deck drive a favorite mixtape to life... as the defiant voice of punk rock legend, Joe Strummer sang "This is radio clash with audio ammunition...""

From Clic Gallery:

"Abrams Books is publishing THE BOOMBOX PROJECT: THE MACHINES, THE MUSIC, AND THE URBAN UNDERGROUND. Featuring an introduction by Spike Lee, this collection of archival photographs, Owerko's own images, and commentary on boombox culture by Fab 5 Freddy, Spike Lee, Kool Moe Dee, LL Cool J, Rosie Perez, DJ Spooky, Ad-Rock of the Beastie Boys and Pras of the Fugees, the book, like the photographs, is an extraordinary historical document."

The book is available at the gallery as well as on Amazon for a very reasonable price. The exhibit runs until December 5th.

Clic Gallery
255 Centre Street
New York, NY 10013
Daily 12 - 7 pm

ART NEWS: Bruce Springsteen - From Darkness To A Dream

On a rainy evening last Thursday night, the new exhibit "Bruce Springsteen - From Darkness To A Dream: The Photographs of Frank Stefanko and Danny Clinch" opened to a packed house at The Morrison Hotel's SoHo Gallery in NYC.

The Bruce-nerds were out in force, each wondering if the Boss himself would show up. But Springsteen is an artist with class and left the attention to the real stars of the exhibit, photographers Frank Stefanko and Danny Clinch.

"From Darkness To A Dream" presents an intimate and revealing photographic look at Bruce Springsteen over the course of forty years. Stefanko's images cover from 1978-1985 and Clinch's from 2001 - present. If you've ever dreamed of seeing Bruce Springsteen ala Darkness On The Edge of Town album cover in near life-like size, now is your chance.

Also in attendance opening night were famed rock photographers Eric Meola and Bob Gruen as well as legendary rocker Patti Smith.

Morrison Hotel - SoHo Gallery
124 Prince Street
New York, NY 10012
212-941-8770
212-941-8815 fax

The exhibit runs through mid November.


Photos courtesy of Backstreets Magazine.

ART NEWS: Danny Clinch On Shooting With Toy Cameras

As mentioned before, Danny Clinch is my hero. The dude is amazing. If you have never seen his work, which pretty much impossible if you even remotely are interested in music, please do yourself a favor and peep out his portfolio.

I found this great interview with Clinch from the website ToyCamera. Clinch is well known for his honest and intimate portrait photography. What some might not know is at least a few of his famous images have been shot on "toy cameras."

Here Clinch talks about shooting some of the biggest names in music with $100 or less Holga & Lomography cameras. Once again proving, it's the camera but the artist behind it.


  

Shooting Stars with Toy Cameras - An Interview with Danny Clinch

Written by Dave Bias

Danny Clinch is a rock star. He’s been on stage with some of the greatest musicians of our
time, and his harmonica talents have graced Foo Fighters records and a Phish show or two. But
most of the time, the reason he’s on stage has nothing to do with playing with the band, but
rather photographing them. He’s said before that his favorite spot is right behind the drum kit,
and bands like Pearl Jam like his fly-on-the-wall demeanor, creeping around the stage like a
shadow and capturing those candid moments when the band truly connects with its audience.
But the members of Pearl Jam (and Metallica, Bruce Springsteen, Ben Harper, Ryan Adams,
the list goes on...) are always aware of Danny’s presence and will occasionally turn to face the
lens so he can get that perfect shot.
     
Perfect shots might populate Clinch’s portfolio, but he’s been shooting with less than perfect
cameras for many years, going all the way back to childhood
“I got my start in photography with a camera I won at a church function—a Keystone 126
camera, if I remember correctly,” Clinch explains. “I often tell the story about the Keystone, but it
never occurred to me how it fits into the theme of plastic toy cameras. It got left on the
dashboard of my mom’s AMC Gremlin when we went to the beach one day. The camera
basically melted, but it still worked, so I used it anyway and I would get some weird, funky
photos out of it.”
 
 HISTORY
 
Throughout the late 80’s, while at the New England School of Photography in Boston, Clinch
started sneaking his cameras into live shows. He would slowly infiltrate the scene, getting to
know people until finally they trusted him enough to let him come shoot backstage and even on
stage with the musicians.  These were his first steps into a career as a music photographer.
 
He quickly began to focus on music in his documentary courses and one of his instructors who
also photographed musicians encouraged him to pursue his passion.
“I also did a couple of workshops while in school. As it turned out, the Ansel Adams Gallery
workshop I attended had Annie Liebowitz as an instructor. I ended up with an internship in her
studio. We worked with a lot of musicians there and in turn, it piqued my interest in continuing to
photograph musicians.”
 
His stint with Liebowitz would lead to assistantships with Mary Ellen Mark and Timothy White. It
was during this period, in the early 90’s, that a friend reintroduced him to toy cameras. This
time, it was a Diana.
 
“I just kind of embraced it. I liked the quality of it, and on my assignments I started to throw a
little Diana in the mix, or a little Holga. I also started to shoot with one of those golf-swing
cameras—a four-frame camera. I used it back when they were made just for checking golf
swings—before everybody got on the bandwagon with it. I really love that camera. Photos from
that camera have been used on a lot of album packaging and in my portfolio.
 
“During that same time I started getting assignments for music magazines and I used another
plastic camera that I found at a garage sale. It was a Trump Castle Casino panoramic
camera—just a simple plastic camera with a plastic lens and a mask in the back to make it
shoot panoramic. I shot the Smashing Pumpkins with that one. And I remember getting
photographs with it that I thought were super cool and interesting. I would load it with 3200 film
and shoot in super low light. The edges were really ragged and I’d print them full-frame and it
was pretty cool.”
 
The “golf-swing” camera, of course, is well known to toy camera fans these days as the Lomo
Action Sampler and the Trump Castle Casino camera is none other than the Ansco Panorama.
Danny wasn’t too surprised to hear that the Ansco Panorama (and its clones) has a pretty avid
user-base even today and he’s well aware of the Lomography movement that has popularized
the Action Sampler, Holga and Kompakt Automat.
  
WORKING WITH MUSICIANS
 
Although one will find the odd actor or politician among Danny’s professional work, his
photographs (and films) of musicians are his first love. He began, like many photographers,
taking whatever opportunities came his way. Fortunately for him (and us), his experience with
Liebowitz quickly opened doors. 

“My first major music magazine assignment came from Spin. One of my first assignments for
them, if not the first, was to photograph the hip hop group Third Base. I was really nervous
about the shoot at the time but I felt like I really came through on it. I was really happy with it so
I took the photographs to Def Jam Records—to the creative department there. Initially, they
refused to meet with me to look at my portfolio until I told them that I had shot Third Base and
that I owned the rights to the pictures. They saw it as an opportunity to get some photos of the
group without having to pay too much for them. So I met with the guys who did the design for all
of Def Jam records and we really hit it off. They started to give me assignments to shoot other
Def Jam artists like Public Enemy and LL Cool J and a lot of other hip hop stuff. I got a lot of
work from those guys.”
 
The domino effect continued when MC Serch of Third Base asked Danny to work with other
artists Serch was producing. This culminated with his shooting for the first two CDs of then
up-and-coming rapper Nas.
 
“When I was shooting hip hop artists, everything was ‘keep it real’ and it was, in a sense,
documentary style. I shot that way on most of those shoots and I think that’s what was needed
at the time in that community. It was a big break for me because hip hop, in the early 90s, was
just beginning to get a lot of commercial acknowledgement, but the photography and the people
doing it weren’t the big names. They were hiring a lot of young photographers to do work that
was getting seen a lot.
 
“In addition, I’m lucky that documentary style never goes out of style. It’s just good, honest
photography. A lot of rock bands were vibing on that as well. Bands like Jane’s Addiction or
Smashing Pumpkins would see my work and say ‘Oh, this guy shot Public Enemy and Nas. I
love Public Enemy. I love Nas. These pictures are cool.’ So I was getting some notice based on
the fact that I shot these hip hop groups, and I got those mostly because they weren’t paying big
names or big budgets on these hip hop shoots.”
Over time, Clinch found that certain artists were particularly well-suited to toy camera
photography. He mentions that Tom Waits and Pearl Jam used some of his toy camera photos
for packaging or posters.
 
“There are people who are just more artistically bent than others. I’ve talked photography with
Bruce Springsteen a bunch, because he takes pictures. He’s a guy who’s involved in his career
on every level and he’s an artist on every level. He’s not just a musician—he’s a visual artist as
well. I’m not sure if I turned him onto toy cameras or not—because he knows a lot about
photography already—but we were talking a couple of years ago and he mentioned that he’s a
big fan of Dianas and Holgas and toy cameras in general and if you look in the album packaging
of The Rising and in any of his tour books of the last few years, you’ll see toy camera pictures
that I took. In the tour books, especially, you’ll see these huge full-page pictures of him that I
shot with my Diana—of him and his guitar, or just him, or even these abstract, out-of-focus,
in-the-dark moments that he totally embraces.”
 
It’s that kind of artist-to-artist connection that is the common thread throughout Danny’s work.
He relates an often-told story that helps him connect with musicians in their own language.
“There is a guitar called the Dan Electro. The Dan Electro is the musician’s version of the Diana,
in my eyes. When I pull out the Diana and I start a little discussion with the person about it—I
show it to them and explain that this is a toy camera, made in the fifties, and it’s so bad it’s
good. Then I tell them it kind of reminds me of the Dan Electro. It’s got its place and it’s got its
certain tone and it’s got its certain characteristics where you wouldn’t use it all the time, but at
certain times it’s the only thing you’d use. So that’s how I explain it to the musicians and then
their eyebrows rise up and they say, ‘Oh yeah! The Dan Electro! I know exactly what you’re
talking about.’”
  
TAKING CHANCES
 
Shooting with a toy camera, as Light Leaks readers know very well, is a different experience
than shooting with “real” cameras. There’s no meter, focusing is a best-guess scenario and
even one’s best efforts with the gaffers tape might not squash all those light leaks. Many toy
camera photographers modify their usual technique when using toys, although Clinch doesn’t
completely agree.
 
“I don’t know that I feel that my technique changes entirely when I use plastic cameras,” he
says. “I mean, I don’t double-expose my other cameras on a regular basis and I often double
expose my toy camera shots. They’re just different animals, so you have to adjust... The
four-frame is different because it works great with a lot of movement with the camera itself, or
when I shoot with a half-frame camera, I tend to get these really bold but really loose
compositions for some reason. I just think that working with toys in general is an opportunity to
take a lot more chances.
 
“You’re always taking a chance when you use toy cameras... I like to overlap frames and do
double exposures and take risks with the plastic cameras. When I was shooting the Bruce
Springsteen stuff, I shot a lot of live stuff and everything was going great. But then I thought,
‘How can I take a chance and try something that’s different from just capturing a shot of Bruce
at the microphone?’ Since he was often working with a large band, I would pull out the Holga,
set it on bulb, and shoot half the band on one frame, then let it overlap and shoot the other half
of the band on the next frame.
“But it takes the right person to say, ‘Wow, this is cool!’ like you or I would. Somebody else
might look at it and say, ‘What is this? It’s out of focus and blurry because everyone’s moving
and it’s double-exposed.’ I often throw Diana and Holga shots into the proofs I show clients and
I’ll go a bunch of shoots in a row with absolutely no response to those photos and then,
somebody you’d never expect ends up placing orders for the toy camera shots.”
 
Taking chances with toys extends Danny’s repertoire in ways that aren’t always completely
obvious, but are actually somewhat practical. Working with musicians and celebrities, he is
often under the gun and has very limited time with the artist to try to get something interesting.
He explains, “I can shoot something with, say, a Hasselblad, then turn around and shoot the
same thing with a Holga and it gives them an entirely different option just by picking up another
camera. I’ve also been in situations where, for example, Missy Elliot has given me ten minutes
in her hotel room, or just outside her dressing room, so I show up with my whole arsenal. In
those situations, plastic cameras are really helpful because even though you’re taking a chance
that you might not get anything, you’re also increasing your chances that you’ll get something
really good or with a certain flavor to it that you wouldn’t have gotten with anything else.”
 
Taking chances also includes the possibility that a particularly vain artist might not want to
appear in a “crappy” toy camera photo. Although Clinch says he’s never had anyone flat-out
refuse to be shot with plastics, he says, “You know... I have had comments in jest where
someone says ‘We’re paying you all this money and you’re shooting us with a toy?’ It’s always a
joke and a good laugh. I will often wait to get their reaction when they’re looking at it and try to
capture that reaction when they’re like ‘What the hell is that?!’ So I have managed over the
years to get some pretty interesting comments and shots from my toys.”

In the past few years, Danny has added moving images to the stills. He toured with Ben Harper
and Ryan Adams.  He’s made two documentaries about Bonnaroo and in 2005, he filmed
videos and shot stills for Bruce Springsteen’s DualDisc of Devils and Dust. Clinch sites his work
with The Boss as some of his very favorite.
“That Springsteen shoot I did was really amazing. I got a call from his assistant who said, ‘Bruce
just asked if you wanted to come over on Sunday and shoot some pictures because he’s going
to be in his living room with a bunch of really interesting musicians, recording a record.’
Needless to say, I said, ‘Sure!’
 
“I talked to his manager and assistant to try to get a feeling for what Bruce was looking for and
nobody seemed to know, so I called them back and asked to speak to Bruce who said, ‘Oh, you
know, I’m doing this thing and it’s really exciting... Why don’t you just bring a little extra color film
since the last thing was really black & white...’
 
“Shooting Bruce is really lo-fi. He never uses a stylist. I show up with my cameras and maybe
my assistant and just shoot pictures. This could be normal or abnormal, I’m not sure. In a lot of
the entertainment industry, especially with someone of his caliber, there’s a lot more production
going on, but Bruce just happens to be very lo-fi.
 
“I had a feeling it was going to be a little more intense than just me with one or two of my
cameras, so I grabbed my assistant and we went over there. It was really just documenting
mostly, but toward the end of the day, right at ‘magic hour,’ the light was really sweet in his
backyard and the band was just about to take a break. I suggested we take a little time and run
outside to shoot some portraits. So inside of twenty minutes, I shot these really spontaneous
portraits of everybody in his band. They ended up using those in the CD package. The designer
did a really fantastic job and it came out great. The shoot was totally unplanned and we didn’t
really even talk too much about it. I just went and did it and the result was extremely rewarding.”
  
FAVORITES
 
No toy camera magazine interview of Danny Clinch would be complete without asking him
about his favorites—influences, films, mods.
 
He states that there are no particular toy camera photographers he looks to as influences in his
own work, saying, “I don’t see a whole lot of toy camera work—I don’t really search it out, but I
think I will after this interview. I’ll definitely visit the website you talked about (toycamera.com),
because when I do see toy camera work, I really get into it. I just grew up working with these toy
cameras with my friend, Gary Ashley, who originally turned me on to the Diana. He’s great. He’s
got a whole series on Elvis that he did down at the Elvis birthday anniversaries...”
 
As mentioned earlier, Danny loves his 3200 film for low light situations. In other circumstances,
he counts on Kodak EPL, a 400 ASA slide film that he always cross-processes.
“Cross-processing almost any slide film increases the contrast and I think the added contrast is
a great balance with the softness of the plastic lenses.”  

Clinch regularly travels with a few toys: two Holgas, his original Diana clone and the Action
Sampler. In addition, he’s also fond of his half-frame camera and his Widelux
panoramic—neither of which could be considered toys but both have their own distinctive look
and uses.
 
As for modifications, he says, “I’ll look to you guys for some suggestions on this because I
haven’t done a lot of them. I mean, I’ve done some stuff with the Holga where I darken the lens
on the outside with a Sharpie or put a lighter to the lens to warp it. The other thing I did was take
one of my four-frame cameras and remove the lenses to drill out the aperture. They shoot at f11
and I really wanted to use it in low light situations. I tried using high-speed film but it just wasn’t
cutting it, so we drilled one out and it worked ok...
 
“But after this conversation, I think I’m going to try some stuff with my Holga. I shoot a lot in low
light and basically have to shoot on bulb. As cool as that looks and as interesting as those
things can be, it would be nice to be able to not use bulb. Do you know people who have
modified the apertures on Holgas?”
Oh, DO we!
    
Dave Bias lives in New York, NY and toys with his Holgamods Holga 120N.

via Toy Camera: Shooting Stars with Toy Cameras - An Interview with Danny Clinch