Doug Dubois

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Great interview with Doug Dubois by Sunday & Wednesday. Doug is a national treasure and a great friend.

Via Liz Kuball.

Must See Shows

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My Mother's Scar © Doug Dubois

I'm really looking forward to two openings Thursday night. Doug Dubois' ...all the days and nights at Higher Pictures and Phil Toledano's America: The Gift Shop at Hous Projects.

In advance of his show, I spoke with Phil about the project and one of my favorite pieces in the show, the Abu Ghraib bobblehead. It's based on the all too familiar image of a man being mock electrocuted as he stands Christlike and hooded.



Phil first approached a US company to make the pieces. An employee with limited knowledge of news and popular culture initially took the bobblehead order, but Phil got a quick call back from the company saying there wasn't a chance in hell. Phil then sent the Abu Ghraib images to a manufacturer in Shenzen, China who created the pieces based solely on the original photographs. Below is the original image and an early prototype for the bobblehead.



I asked Phil, why a bobblehead and he said "I suppose it was the most logical because it was the only 'figure' in the project, plus, it was one of the most iconic images of the war...It was the Iraq war's 'naked girl running down the road after being napalmed."

Here are the details on these two shows:

Doug Dubois | ...all the days and nights
October 29-December 5, 2009
Higher Pictures
764 Madison Avenue
New York, NY
Opening: October 29, 2009, 6-8pm

Phillip Toledano | America the Gift Shop
October 29 - December 19, 2009
Hous Projects
31 Howard Street, 2nd floor
New York, NY
Opening: October 29, 2009, 6-8pm

Syracuse MFA Show Opening Friday Night

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© Christopher Gianunzio

Last fall semester Doug DuBois invited me to Syracuse University to speak to his students and visit with some of the graduate students. This was my first visiting artist gig and I was pretty nervous. In the end I had nothing to fear because the students were talkative, talented and eager for feedback.

© Colin Todd

Since my visit I've stayed in touch with many of the students and am now happy to announce the opening of their graduate exhibition here in New York City. I'll be at the opening tonight. Hope to see you there.

Here are the details:

MFA 2009 | Curated by Matthew Lusk
July 17-August 1
NYCAMS Gallery
44 W 28th Street, 7th Floor

Opening Reception: Friday, July 17, 6-9pm

Thank You Syracuse

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Today I returned to New York City after two action packed days as a visiting artist in the Art Photography department at Syracuse University. I was honored to have the opportunity to share my work with the students and spend time with them discussing their work during studio visits and crits. The students at Syracuse are extremely committed and were enthusiastic with their generosity. They made me feel like a rock star.

A real highlight was sitting in on a grad critique by the great Doug Dubois. His teaching style energized me and I hope to bring some of his energy into my classrooms at Parsons and the SVA. I owe a big thank you to Doug for inviting me to his wonderful program and being such a strong advocate of my work.

Also, a big thank you to Emily Vey Duke for arranging my presentation and making me feel so welcome.

Battle Photo: The Old Man and the Sea!

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© Doug DuBois

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Dad, Hampton Ponds III, 2002 © Mitch Epstein

My Dinner with Doug DuBois

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© Doug DuBois

During a holiday visit to Southern California in 2006 I saw the Where We Live: Photographs of America from the Berman Collection at the Getty. In a show filled with great images by American color legends like Shore, Eggleston and Sternfeld, Doug DuBois’ tense and intimate narratives jumped off the wall and stayed with me long after I left the show.

At the time I was just out of grad school and still discovering and devouring the canonical names and images of photography. I had never heard of Doug DuBois. I had no idea he was featured in the landmark Pleasures and Terrors of Domestic Comfort show at the MoMA. I had never seen the hypnotic images from his Family Photos series. I had no knowledge he was a respected photo educator at Syracuse University. Discovering Doug and his work has been one of the great joys of my short time in the photography world.

Shortly after the Getty show I started an email correspondence with Doug. Right off the bat he was open with his advice and heartfelt in his encouragement. He pushed me to apply for the Light Work residency (and may have had a hand in my selection). He even invited me to come up to Syracuse to speak to his class. Doug is the best kind of educator because he doesn’t confine his wisdom to the walls of the classroom.

My Mother’s Scar © Doug DuBois

Friday I was finally able to spend some in-person time with Doug. He showed me 25 years worth of beautiful, rich C-prints from his Family Photo series. Each print feels like a subplot in an expansive epic narrative. The image above of his mother is particularly stunning. It makes me think of my own mother and the pain of seeing one's parents aging and vulnerable. As Alec Soth has said, Doug doesn’t seem to take a bad picture. After seeing the entire series in sequence you can't help but want to go through it again and again. Fortunately, Aperture will be publishing a book of this work in the spring and I will be able to dive into his photos whenever I want.

Summertime in Syracuse

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Unitled (Tree Mural) 2004 © Nathan Lyons

I have been working long hours of late putting the finishing touches on my Domesticated book. Lots of last minute tweaks and edits, minor revisions and tons of back and forth with the designer. It's pretty stressful stuff, but I am feeling really good about the final product and the extra time I spent sweating the details.

Naturally, after you finish with one laborious and mentally taxing process you immediately begin to think of doing it again, right? Maybe I'm just a masochist, but I can't wait to start on a book for my Stranded series. Fortunately for me I will have a great opportunity to do just that once Summer finally shines it's way on to the scene.

A couple of months ago I received a letter of invitation from Light Work to be their Artist-in-Residence for June. If you are not familiar with the program you should get acquainted and apply because it is the probably the best artist-in-residency photography program in the US. Past Artists-in-Residence have included Joel Sternfeld, Cindy Sherman, Andrea Modica, Nathan Lyons, Carrie Mae Weems, Angelika Rinnhofer, Alessandra Sanguinetti and Hank Willis Thomas, so you know this is a top notch affair. It's a wonderful honor and I'm very grateful to the generous Doug Dubois for pushing me to apply.

The month-long Light Work residency includes a $4,000 stipend, an apartment to stay in, a private darkroom, an assistant and 24-hour access to their world class facilities at the Robert B. Menschel Media Center at Syracuse University. For a full month you have the luxury of time and access to completely focus on your work.

I can't wait to get up there and start making a ton of new prints.

Doug Dubois: This Photo is Blowing My Mind

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Lise and Spencer in their Backyard © Doug Dubois

First saw this amazing photo by Doug Dubois at the Where We Live exhibition at the Getty. I haven't stopped thinking about it since.