Author: Pierre Bessard

The Self-obsessed photo series, which explores Hester Scheurwater’s desires, obsessions and fears sparked media hype in the Netherlands. The explicit imagery shocked many and fueled debate on the sexualization of society. Zurich-based curator, writer and contemporary photography specialist Walter Keller compares it to Rober Mapplethorpe’s sexually-charged imagery or Francesca Woodman’s erotic mise-en-scene.”Scheurwater’s visual self-explorations extend the boundaries of another main topic in art history and photography – the pose. But in her pictures, model and artist are one,” says Keller. “Yes, this is sexually explicit work, but even more, it is a curious and smart research about herself, where the artist looks at herself from both sides of the mirror.”

Fotobookfestival Kassel & Éditions Bessard in Beijing
We are happy to announce the 8th Fotobookfestival Kassel as a special Kassel/Beijing edition in cooperation with Éditions Bessard, Paris. It will take place from 11 June until 3 July at the Three Shadows Photography Art Centre. The festival weekend, with presentations, workshops and lectures, will be from 11 to 12 June, the book exhibitions are from 11 June until 3 July.

Making the Photobook
Together with Éditions Bessard, we invited South African photographer Guy Tillim to continue his long-term city project work with a current portrait of Beijing. Guy Tillim will begin his work in Beijing from mid-May 2016 and will finally realize the book in China with Pierre Bessard and the book designer SYB from The Hague. The work and book will then be presented on Saturday 11 June at the opening of the Fotobookfestival Kassel/Beijing.

Designing the Photobook
Sybren Kuiper (SYB) is one of the most important photobook designers today. He has designed outstanding books for Cuny Janssen, Viviane Sassen, Bertien van Manen, Carolyn Drake, Florian van Roekel, Rob Hornstra, Valerio Spada, Enrique Metinides, Niels Stomps, Laura El-Tantawi and many more. SYB will design the Beijing-book by Guy Tillim and will give a book design workshop and an overview of his work on the festival weekend.
The secong book design highlight will be the designing of another Beijing book from Éditions Bessard with photographs by Pieter Hugo, taken in 2014. Ramon Pez, the art director and designer from Spain will design Pieter Hugos book on-site. Ramon Pez designed award winning book highlights like The Afronauts by Christina de Middel, The Epilogue by Laia Abril and Ponte City by Mikhael Subotzky & Patrick Waterhouse. Beside the on-site book design of Pieter Hugos book, he will give a presentation about his work and a photobook design workshop.

Showing the Photobook
Three book exhibitions will highlight the latest book work by photographers from all around the world: the shortlisted book dummies for our Dummy Award 2016, the experts’ selection of the Best Photobooks 2015/2016, and all the photobooks designed by SYB.

Designing the Photobook
Sybren Kuiper (SYB) is one of the most important photobook designers today. He has designed outstanding books for Cuny Janssen, Viviane Sassen, Bertien van Manen, Carolyn Drake, Florian van Roekel, Rob Hornstra, Valerio Spada, Enrique Metinides, Niels Stomps, Laura El-Tantawi and many more. SYB will design the Beijing-book by Guy Tillim and will give a book design workshop and an overview of his work on the festival weekend.
The secong book design highlight will be the designing of another Beijing book from Editions Bessard with photographs by Pieter Hugo, (firt artist invited at my artistic residence with the Rosewood Hotel) taken in 2014. Ramon Pez, the art director and designer from Spain will design Pieter Hugos book on-site. Ramon Pez designed award winning book highlights like The Afronauts by Christina de Middel, The Epilogue by Laia Abril and Ponte City by Mikhael Subotzky & Patrick Waterhouse. Beside the on-site book design of Pieter Hugos book, he will give a presentation about his work and a photobook design workshop.

Special Senior Apostle Eze Michael Emenike, 41. Business owner and Pastor at Eternal Sacred Order of the Cherubim & Seraphim Holy Trinity. From Anambra State. Been in Lagos for 13 years.

I came for greener pastures. I did my schooling in the east, my first degree, Business Administration. So, I came to Lagos to work with banks, I now set-up a finance house in 2007, where am the Managing Director now.

I received the call of God in the year 2006, I started pasturing this house of Prayer and its been massive, this House of Prayer.

We do everything to please God, but if it pleases God we can relocate. I see a bright future for me in Lagos.

26 miles across the Pacific Ocean from the tangled mess of humanity that is Los Angeles and Orange County sits an island paradise called Santa Catalina where time has stood still and visitors can experience what California was like before the Europeans sailed in. Adventures in the Nearby Far Away is a photographic diary of my many visits to the island over the years, a place I have been visiting since I was a boy, and been documenting photographically since the late 90¹s. All photos are shot on film. – Ed Templeton

26 miles across the Pacific Ocean from the tangled mess of humanity that is Los Angeles and Orange County sits an island paradise called Santa Catalina where time has stood still and visitors can experience what California was like before the Europeans sailed in. Adventures in the Nearby Far Away is a photographic diary of my many visits to the island over the years, a place I have been visiting since I was a boy, and been documenting photographically since the late 90¹s. All photos are shot on film. – Ed Templeton

Julia Grimes, research assistant at the Getty Research Institute, introduces a fascinating selection of images from the Pierre de Gigord Collection detailing Armenian life in the 19th-century Ottoman Empire, many from the studio of Armenian photographers Pascal Sebah and the Abdullah Frères.

Benefiting from the continued generosity of French photograph collector Pierre de Gigord, the Getty Research Institute (GRI) has assembled an extensive collection of images documenting the 19th-century Ottoman Empire, specifically the area which we know now as Turkey. A growing number of these photographs depict the Armenian community within the empire, representing religious leaders, families, and individuals in full ethnic dress. Besides those living in Constantinople (present-day Istanbul), the Ottoman capital and location of the major photographic studios, certain images also record details of life in other cities, including valuable views of their Armenian quarters.

Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of the Gigord collection is the number of images taken by Armenian photographers. Due to the frequent employment of Armenians as chemists, goldsmiths, and pharmacists, many possessed the skills necessary for photography, in particular a thorough knowledge of the chemical processes used in development. During the late-nineteenth century, some of the principal studios in Constantinople were owned and operated by photographers of Armenian descent. Pascal Sebah, for instance, opened his “El Chark” studio in 1857, and by 1873 had achieved such success with his elegant, crisply detailed portraits that he opened a second branch in Cairo, Egypt. By the time of his death thirteen years later, his name had become synonymous with studio photography in Constantinople to the extent that his studio remained active and the new managing partner, Polycarpe Joaillier, changed its name to “Sebah and Joaillier.” The business continued to prosper and achieve renown, even adding Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany to its list of clientele in 1889 during his visit to Constantinople.

A portrait of two Armenian men in full dress taken circa 1875 reveals Sebah’s mastery of both the technical aspects of photography and its use as an artistic medium. The men’s formal poses show off their wide trousers, scarves, and hats, aspects of traditional Armenian costume that would have immediately triggered recognition among viewers. Their expressions match the dignity of their posture. This is a posed studio photograph, likely staged by Sebah and his assistants to portray these men as a “type,” or as representatives of the Armenian ethnic group to which he also belonged. The control of tonalities, or the manner in which the sepia color of the photograph varies from light to dark, expressing areas of illumination and shadow, is among the qualities which most clearly signals Sebah’s skill as an artist.

Similar control of composition and tonality is visible in Sebah’s album, Les costumes populaires de la Turquie en 1873, commissioned by Ottoman diplomat, artist, and founder of Istanbul’s Academy of Fine Arts, Osman Hamdi Bey. In seeking a photographer to depict the peoples of the Ottoman Empire for the 1873 International Exposition in Vienna, Osman Hamdi Bey chose Sebah due to the refined elegance of his style. The image of an Armenian bride, the central figure in Plate V, captures this quality with the manner in which the dangling tassels, necklace, and gold pattern of the bride’s costume catch the light, contrasting with the delicate lace of her veil.

The high standards set by Pascal Sebah remained a hallmark of his studio, even after his death. The 1894 Sebah and Joaillier image of the Armenian Quarter in Brousse, located across the Sea of Marmara from Istanbul, for instance, presents an unusual view taken up a hill. As in the image of the two Armenian men, the mastery of tonalities for which Sebah’s studio was known is again on display. The bright midday sun posed a challenge, since it could easily wash out the details of gestures, faces, and objects, but the photographer deftly dealt with this issue by positioning the small child to the right of the road underneath the last in a row of trees, allowing the shadows to compensate for the glare. Close inspection reveals that each person in the image has been placed in the shade, either of the trees or of the two-story buildings on the opposite side of the road.

The “Abdullah Frères” studio, run by three brothers of Armenian descent, opened in 1858 and quickly became so honored for its technical skills and artistry that just five years later the brothers were named royal photographers to the Ottoman Sultan. In 1867, they exhibited their 220 cm-long panorama of Constantinople at the second International Exposition held in Paris, moving beyond the studio to prove their equal ability as landscape photographers internationally. They hosted a distinguished clientele during these years, photographing Edward, the Prince of Wales, during his visit to Turkey, and Eugénie, the Empress of France. By 1886, their fame had spread as far as Egypt, and at the personal request of the Khedive (Viceroy) there, they also opened a branch in Cairo which lasted for the next decade. Interestingly enough, their Constantinople studio merged with that of Pascal Sebah when Abdullah Frères sold it to Sebah and Joaillier in 1900.

The Abdullah Frères excelled at capturing landscapes, “types,” and scenes of daily life in the major metropolises of the Ottoman Empire. Their photograph of the Galata Bridge, the bridge spanning the Golden Horn in Constantinople and one of the city’s principal landmarks, is remarkable for its view of the Old City. As minarets soar in the distance, the blurred images of boats in the middle ground suggest a bustling site of commerce, an urban landscape where the traditional meets the modern in dynamic patterns of exchange.

A set of five studio photographs depicting a porter and varied types of street vendors stages a similar interchange, for although the men’s occupations are traditional, they are now being represented using the contemporary medium and conventions of photography, including backdrops, studio lighting, and carefully choreographed poses.

Less rigorously staged, yet full of energy, is the Abdullah Frères image of a fire brigade in Constantinople. Due to the age and proximity of many structures, along with the extensive use of wooden timbers in construction, the city lived under constant threat of fire, and firefighters thus held a significant role in the community. By dedicating an album page to them specifically, the Abdullah Frères recognized their importance to civic life, simultaneously displaying the preparedness and modernity of Constantinople’s municipal services.

These brief examples reveal only a fraction of the extent of Armenian involvement in photography during the late-nineteenth century. There were dozens of other Armenians working not only in Ottoman lands but in Eastern Europe and Central Asia whose legacy still remains to be explored. As the number of images from the Gigord Collection available in the Getty’s digital collections continues to grow, it is our hope that information about this remarkable historical link between the Armenian community and photography in that era will become more widely accessible, and that fresh discoveries will continue to be made. The history of photography is a relatively new discipline, and this chapter is still being written.

Julia Grimes is completing her Ph.D. in Chinese modern and contemporary art at the University of California, Los Angeles. She has been a research assistant at the Getty Research Institute since 2010.

Explore more photographs from the Pierre Gigord collection over at the Getty Research Institute site. There are more than a hundred images in their Open Content Program and more than 30 albums available through their “Rosetta” database (click on link in top right corner to get access to albums).

This post is part of our Curator’s Choice series, a monthly feature consisting of a guest article from a curator about a work or group of works in one of their “open” digital collections. The series is undertaken in partnership with OpenGLAM and made possible through funding from the European Union’s DM2E project.

HERE THE LINK: http://publicdomainreview.org/collections/armenians-and-armenian-photographers-in-the-ottoman-empire/

smoldering rainforests, orphaned proboscis monkeys, emaciated orangutans – the Indonesian palm oil company Bumitama Gunajaya Agro (BGA) is leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.

We have been raising awareness of BGA’s activities and collecting signatures for our partners on Borneo since 2013. Recently, we received a letter from BGA, telling us to take down our petition to prevent “misunderstandings” – the company claims that the issues of rainforest destruction we addressed had been resolved, but our contacts on Borneo tell a different story.

Please sign our petition and lend your voice to our partners in their struggle against BGA and the destruction caused by the palm oil industry.The wholesale destruction of rainforests on Borneo for the palm oil plantations of Bumitama Gunajaya Agro (BGA) is threatening the survival of orangutans. BGA is a member of the RSPO – the organization issuing the label for supposedly “sustainable” palm oil. Please call for a stop to deforestation and an end to palm oil imports NOW!

Flattened rainforests, orphaned proboscis monkeys, emaciated orangutans – the Indonesian palm oil company BGA is leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. In West Kalimantan province, the company is clearing irreplaceable primary forest – the habitat of protected orangutans and proboscis monkeys – in violation of the standards of the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).

In April 2013, the NGOs Friends of Borneo and International Animal Rescue Indonesia filed an official complaint with the RSPO. We launched a petition at the time in support of their complaint.

In mid-November 2015, we received a letter from BGA requesting that we take down the petition. The problems of rainforest destruction that we criticized had allegedly been resolved and the company was now in compliance with RSPO standards. BGA assured us that it would “try” to do things right in future. The reports from our partners in Borneo paint a rather different picture.

Despite the promise to “do things right”, BGA continues to violate RSPO rules: on September 26, 2015, the NGO Link-AR Borneo and the community of Keklipor lodged a further complaint against unlawful activities by BGA on their land in West Kalimantan.

These and other cases are ample evidence that the RSPO seal is mere greenwashing. It does not prevent deforestation, loss of biodiversity, or even brutal land grabs against indigenous communities.

Please call for a stop to the destruction of Borneo’s rainforests and the unbridled expansion of oil palm plantations.

Despite its ruthless practices, palm oil producer BGA has been a member of the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) since 2007. BGA’s customers include IOI, Wilmar and Sinar Mas, companies that sell the palm oil to European food and consumer goods manufacturers and biodiesel producers.

HERE THE LINK: https://www.rainforest-rescue.org/petitions/914/orangutans-victims-of-sustainable-palm-oil?mtu=125970056&t=505

HERE THE LINK: http://lesbranchouilles.com/photographie/le-livre-de-la-semaine/

Aeroporto / Cássio Vasconcellos  2015

Le livre Aeroporto, par le photographe Cássio Vasconcellos, est le résultat d’une année de travail avec des milliers de photographies dans de nombreux aéroports au Brésil et aux États-Unis, dans lequel il a créé son propre «aéroport imaginaire». L’image finale, unique, réalisée en grandes dimensions (2mx5m) a été fragmentée en 32 parties, chaque page contenant différents détails sur les avions, les voitures… sur tout ce qui peut être visible dans le lieu. Le livre est publié chez Editora Madalena, coordonné par Claudia Jaguaribe, avec une conception de Mariana Lara Resende (Estúdio Xadrez). Avec son mode de lecture inédit, le livre invite le lecteur à reconstruire l’aéroport comme il le souhaite, en déchirant les pages.

Cassio VASCONCELLOS a commencé sa carrière en tant que photographe en 1981 à l’école Imagem-Ação. Il a exposé son travail dans plus de 190 lieux dans une vingtaine de pays différents. Avec la série « Noturnos São Paulo » [São Paulo Nocturnes], il a rejoint le groupe restreint des artistes de l’Atlas mondial de la Street Photography, publié par Thames & Hudson et Yale University Press. Il est également l’auteur de Aéreas do Brasil (BEI, 2014), Panorâmicas (DBA, 2012), et Aéreas (Terra Virgem Editora, 2010). Il a remporté de nombreux prix, notamment le Conrado Wessel de Arte (2011); l’Associação Paulista dos Críticos de Arte (APCA, 2002) pour Noturnos São Paulo comme meilleure exposition de l’année; le premier prix du Seguro de Fotografia (2001). Ses photos sont intégrées à plusieurs collections au Brésil et à l’étranger, y compris au MASP de São Paulo, à la Bibliothèque Nationale de Paris et au Musée des Beaux-Arts de Houston.

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The book Aeroporto, by the photographer Cássio Vasconcellos, is a result of a year of work with thousands of photographs in many airports in Brasil and in the United States, by which he created his own “imaginary airport”. The final image, unique, in large dimensions (2mx5m) was fragmented in 32 parts, each page containing details of airplanes, cars and everything involved in the airport. The publication is from Editora Madalena, coordenated by Claudia Jaguaribe and designed by Mariana Lara Resende from Estúdio Xadrez. The cover  isin acrilic and special encadernação. The book invites the reader to reasemble the large airport, as he wishes, by ripping off the pages.

CÁSSIO VASCONCELLOS started his career as a photographer in 1981 at the Imagem-Ação school. He had his work displayed in more than 190 exhibitions in 20 different countries. With the “Noturnos São Paulo” series [São Paulo Nocturnes] he joined the restricted group of artists of The World Atlas of Street Photography, published by Thames & Hudson and Yale University Press. He is also the author of Aéreas do Brasil (BEI, 2014), Panorâmicas (DBA, 2012), and Aéreas (Terra Virgem Editora, 2010). He won several prizes, such as Conrado Wessel de Arte (2011); Associação Paulista dos Críticos de Arte (APCA, 2002) for “Noturnos São Paulo” as best exhibition of the year; Prêmio Porto Seguro de Fotografia (2001); and Fundação Nacional de Arte (Funarte) (1995). His pictures integrate several collections in Brazil and abroad, including São Paulo’s MASP, Paris’s Bibliothèque Nationale and Houston’s Museum of Fine Arts.

Aeroporto Photography by Cássio Vasconcellos
Madalena Publishing House
Editor: Claudia Jaguaribe
Price $ 100, 00

Fotobookfestival Kassel 2016

The 2016 Fotobookfestival Kassel will be announced soon.