SLOW TRAIN

Sorry I've been absent on the blog front.

I am focusing all my energies on www.simoneauguillaume.com right now.

Shooting new series and keeping it tight as can be.

I will be back though, do not lose hope.

Thanks.

PARALLEL 03 (SUITE)

Never before published, Terril Jones’s view of Changan Avenue in Beijing on June 5 1989, shows “tank man”, in the distance at left, framed by two tree trunks, on the verge of his confrontation with the tanks in the distance at right.

WORLD PRESS PHOTO

The World Press Photo Organization in collaboration with The Mondriaan Foundation and the VSB Foundation is launching their new online archive. Going all the way back to 1955, it includes every year's prize-winners in chronological order. Covering over 50 years of award-winning images, the archive features around 10,000 photographs, each of which has been carefully scanned and labeled. It’s a monumental project , I can’t even begin to imagine what it represent in terms of technicalities. Probably more photos than you’ll ever need but unquestionably a truly unbelievable reference for documentary photography. Photo by Malcom W. Browne, 1963.

SIMONEAU GUILLAUME

My new website is online. I am drinking Champagne tonigth. Check it out at www.simoneauguillaume.com and let me know what you think.

PARALLEL 01 (SUITE)

Persian plumes seen from the window of an instrument packed environmental assessment Convair aircraft. Photo by Sisse Brimberg, National Geographic Vol. 181, NO.2 February, 1992.

SAM TATA

I recently picked up a book by Sam Tata entitled A Certain Identity: 50 Portraits by Sam Tata. The book was published in 1983 by Deneau Publishers and foreworded by Geoffrey James. Sam Tata was born in Shanghai in 1911 and lived in Montreal from 1956 to 2005 where he died at the age of 93. The following portraits are, in order: Québec's playwright genius Michel Tremblay, living legend Leonard Cohen, animation pioneer Norman McLaren and the one and only Robert Frank.

PARALLEL 04

Top image by Ryan Carter and bottom image by Eamon Mac Mahon. Thanks to Todd Brown for pointing this one out to me.

BENOIT AQUIN

A couple days ago my dear friend Benoit Aquin was awarded the first Prix Pictet. The Prix Pictet is a major new global prize in photography that focuses on perhaps the greatest single issue of the twenty-first century: sustainability. This year's thematic was water. Benoit's work entitled The Chinese Dust Bowl was selected amongst a very intimidating selection of striking series from everywhere around the globe.

NIK MIRUS

People and Quiet Spaces is the title of Nik Mirus new solo show opening November 6th at Visual Voice Gallery (Belgo building on Ste-Catherine). Vernissage is from 18h to 21h and the show runs from Nov. 6th to Nov. 15th. Gallery is open from Tuesday to Saturday 12h to 18h.

RETOUR SUR BILL EWING

Yesterday's lecture by Mr. Ewing, entitled Jack's True Calling, was, in a nut shell, a crash course on visual literacy (v.l.) focusing on the highly calculated "candidness" of advertising photography. Having been interested in the subject of v.l. for the past couple years, I would like to respond to his lecture by showing you a fantastic piece that was brought to my attention last year by Evita Karasek. The wide open iconic June 1985 issue of the National Geographic showing the back cover and the cover next to each other. As in Mr. Ewing's Jack examples, the greatest irony and fantasy does not reside only in the striking visuals but in the small print that accompanies them...Here, the first sentence reads: "Declare your independence. Bust out. Take off."

BILL EWING

Internationally recognized curator and writer on photography William A. Ewing (Director of the Musée de l’Elysée in Lausanne, Switzerland) will be giving a conference tomorrow tuesday the 21st of October at 18:30h at Concordia (1515 Ste-Catherine St. West EV-1.605). You can listen to a radio interview here.

LIU BOLIN

I often foolishly think that today's reality barely justifies the need for fiction. But when reality and fiction actually meet on common ground, I have to admit that great things can happen. The work of Beijing based Lui Bolin reminds a lot of Werner Herzog's Grizzly Bear in that sense. Thanks to Scott at The Incubator for the heads up.

KAREN IRVINE PART 1 OF 4: AUTOBIOGRAPHY

In case you missed Karen Irvine's presentation in Montreal (organised by DHC/ART), here's a 4 parts visual summary/teaser of some work produced by the photographers she refered to in her lecture. In order: Jen Davis, Nikki S. Lee, Nan Goldin, Eileen Cowin, Tracey Baran, Lilly McElroy, Hrvoje Slovenc, Kelli Connell, Gillian Wearing, KayLynn Deveney (flower), Jim Goldberg, Tracey Mofatt, Julie Moos, Jason Salavon, Karen Yama, Paula McCartney, Jeff Wolin, Polly Braden, Tina Barney and Yeondoo Jung.

KAREN IRVINE PART 2: VOYEURISM

In order: Philip-Lorca diCorcia, Michael Wolf, Shizuka Yokomizo, Merry Alpern and Mélanie Manchot.

KAREN IRVINE PART 3: PERFORMANCE

In order: Ma Luiming and Marina Abramovic.

KAREN IRVINE PART 4: FICTION

In order: Ben Gest, Anthony Goicolea, Beate Gütschow, Curtis Mann and An-My Le.