We're going to LA

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Happy new year from all of us at Light Work! We’re starting out the year with preparations for photo LA, which will be held this year at the Santa Monica Civic Center from January 14-17. We’ll be there, along with an impressive list of other exhibitors, in support of our mission and our 2010 Subscription Program. We’re looking forward to seeing friends we made at photo MIAMI as well as to making some new ones. Many thanks to Stephen Cohen for making it possible for us to participate! Stop by the Light Work booth and also make sure you take advantage of the wonderful programming that’s been planned around the fair.

Kerry Skarbakka opens at Irvine Contemporary

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2006 Light Work Artist-in-Residence Kerry Skarbakka opens his exhibition The Struggle to Right Oneself: A Survey tomorrow night at Irvine Contemporary in Washington, DC. In this series, the artist trips, falls, and generally loses his balance in ways both everyday and almost comically epic. Ultimately, the images reference the existential battle to remain upright in a challenging world. Included in the exhibition are several photographs that have not been exhibited previously, including Window Crash, 2009, at right.

At Light Work, we’re showing a video from Skarbakka’s series Elements of Attraction in conjunction with our upcoming exhibition Rachel Herman: The Imp of Love. Skarbakka’s video, which shows the artist falling down a sandy embankment in slow motion, makes a poignant counterpoint to Herman’s portraits of once-couples.

Kerry Skarbakka
The Struggle to Right Oneself: A Survey
December 19-January 30, 2009
Opening: December 19, 6:30-8:30pm
Irvine Contemporary
1412 14th St., NW
Washington, DC 20005
202-332-8767

Keith Johnson stops by for a visit

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Today 2005 Artist-in-Residence Keith Johnson stopped by Light Work and Community Darkrooms on his way back home to Connecticut after spending some time at Visual Studies Workshops in Rochester. We got the chance to see some beautiful work from his Extended Landscape, Suite Niagara, and Grids series.

At left, we (l-r Mary Goodwin, Keith, Hannah Frieser) enjoy a couple pictures from the Grids series as well as some of Keith’s great stories from his travels to places as diverse as the Mayan ruins of the Yucatan Peninsula and St. Louis.

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Review over at Dodge & Burn

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Selina Roman over at the blog Dodge & Burn wrote a review about photo MIAMI 2009 which features Light Work and former Light Work Artist-in-Residence Carrie Mae Weems. Click here to see the review as well as other recent posts including interviews with Neelakshi Vidyalankara and María Fernanda Hubeaut.

Light Work Collection grows

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This week 2009 Artist-in-Residence Yolanda del Amo sent us a gorgeous digital c-print of her image Winfried, Brigitte, 2006, for the Light Work Collection, which currently contains almost 3,500 pieces. The collection is comprised mainly of gifts, such as del Amo’s, from the hundreds of artists who have spent time at Light Work since we began our residency program in 1976. The collection also features the archive of Rita Hammond’s work, which was donated upon her death in 1999.

You can view each piece in our collection online. Each image is accompanied by detailed information about the photograph and the artist who made it. The My Favorites feature of the online database is a wonderful tool for teachers and students. This feature allows you to group images together onscreen, making is a fun and effective way to learn about curating. Researching in our online collection is free, and you can access it 24 hours a day. Check it out and curate a show of your own.

Welcome Priya Kambli

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Our December Artist-in-Residence, Priya Kambli, has arrived just in time for the first major snowfall of the year in Syracuse. Good thing that Priya plans on spending most of her time indoors at Community Darkrooms making multiple editions of prints from her series Color Falls Down.

The series takes its name from a popular Hindi movie song, which speaks to the artist’s ultimate goal with the work: to bring together her roots in India with her life in America. Priya uses digital collage to combine the different cultures, generations, and identities that inform her life and work.

At right, the photographer keeps close tabs on various iterations of proofs as she works with Digital Lab Manager John Mannion to perfect her prints. Today the first full-scale print rolled off the 9900 in the new digital service area, with many more to come soon.

Miss Florida, art lover, at photo MIAMI

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Miss Florida Rachael Todd dropped in at the Light Work booth at photo MIAMI. A collector, who had just purchased the Hank Willis Thomas platinum print Branded Chest, asked Rachel to pose with the print, and she obliged.

Call Light Work to check the availability of Branded Chest for your collection. We only have a handful left of this beautiful print.

Light Work at photo MIAMI 2009

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We’re pleased to post this week from photo MIAMI, which features 25 exhibitors from around the world, from Syracuse to Beijing. Things got off to a strong start with a bustling press and VIP preview this evening. Hundreds attended the six-hour preview, with most of those folks making their way through the Light Work booth.

We have prints on sale from our 2009 Subscription Program, including images by Elijah Gowin, Doug DuBois, Stanley Greenberg, and Suzanne Opton, as well as a host of other images from our Fine Print Program and Master Editions. Also attracting considerable attention at our booth were the signed books Maggie, …all the days and nights, Pitch Blackness, and On the Sixth Day.

Among those who stopped by to say hello at our booth was former Light Work Artist-in-Residence Peggy Nolan, who lives in the area. A blogger from Dodge and Burn dropped in to interview us about Light Work’s residency program, exhibitions, and Contact Sheet.

photo MIAMI opens to the public tomorrow at 11am when we’ll have more news.

Two days with the experts at Light Work

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Last Thursday and Friday, Light Work hosted a widely anticipated Professional Practices seminar with photographic consultant Mary Virginia Swanson and internationally recognized artist Susan kae Grant. The Thursday night lecture featured two parts. First, Swanson delivered (in her well-known rapid fire style) a taste of the latest and best ideas in getting work out into the market and in front of the right eyes. Then Grant and Swanson spoke about the many phases of Grant’s project Night Journey. Rarely do viewers get such a detailed look at an artist’s process, and it is especially rare to hear the whole story of such a complex project as Night Journey, which Grant has been developing over the past decade. Together Swanson and Grant flooded the room with 1,000 ideas for making and marketing photography creatively.
On Friday morning, Swanson and Grant met with Syracuse University students starting with a lecture geared to making the most of a photographic education. Following, Swanson and Grant held portfolio reviews. It was the students’ chance to show the experts how well they had listened to their advice on making the most of a 20-minute portfolio review.

Above, right: Susan kae Grant, installation view of Night Journey
Left: Mary Virginia Swanson meets with Syracuse University graduate student Shimpei Shirafuji

Deana Lawson is today's Flak Photo

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Andy Adams over at Flak Photo has chosen Sharon, 2007, by Deana Lawson, as today’s featured image. It couldn’t be better timing – the reception for Deana Lawson: Corporeal is tonight at Light Work from 5-8pm.

Flak Photo has a reputation as one of the best places online to enjoy exciting new photography. The site connects international audiences to online art experiences and promotes the discovery of photographers from around the world. Produced by Andy Adams, Flak Photo provides unique opportunities for artists and photo organizations to share new work, book projects, gallery exhibitions, and event updates with a global photography audience.

Check out Flak Photo’s daily updates, and definitely stop by the Corporeal reception tonight if you’re in the area.

Roy DeCarava, 1919-2009

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Roy DeCarava died on October 27, 2009, at the age of 89. During his long career he photographed Billie Holiday, John Coltrane, and other jazz greats. He was, as well, a master at capturing beauty and grace in everyday life. The obituary in The New York Times said, “His books, like ‘The Sweet Flypaper of Life,’ a best-selling 1955 collaboration with Langston Hughes, and his most famous photographs were hugely influential, paving the way for younger photographers like Beuford Smith and Carrie Mae Weems.”