Artists Lecture Thursday at UPenn

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Disturbance © Amy Stein

Thursday morning I am taking a quick train to Philadelphia to participate in the University of Pennsylvania's Visiting Artists program. Later that day I am giving a public lecture and on Friday I will be doing studio visits with the MFA students. The lecture is co-sponsored by the Print Center and is free and open to the public. I encourage everyone in the Philly metro area to come out and say hi.

Here are the details:

Amy Stein
University of Pennsylvania
B3 Meyerson Hall
Thursday, January 22, 5:30 pm
210 S. 34th Street
Philadelphia, PA

If you miss my lecture, do not fret. UPenn has some heavy hitters lined up for future lectures including Barkley L. Hendricks, Patti Smith, and Alec Soth.

Bunny Hops to F-Stops

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Brian Ulrich and Todd Hido getting rad!

Last Tuesday at Aperture I saw a great lecture by the talented Todd Hido. As he talked about the long hours he spends driving around looking for his next subject and finding influence in the work of Robert Adams I realized that we share a very similar vision and approach to working. It really was an inspiration.

Much of what Todd said will soon become career canon for me, but one thing he mentioned really piqued my interest. His early years were spent in Ohio on a BMX bike.

This got me thinking about another photographer I know who rode BMX back in the day, Brian Ulrich. I started to wonder if there was a correlation here. Maybe the future stars of MoMA can be found getting agro on the dirt tracks and in the parking lots of America. Perhaps photography grad schools should cut the curriculum and just show this to incoming students:

Hmmm...

If you are a modern photographer genius who spent their youth doing tail whips, table tops and endos, let me know and please send me a photo. I think I can get a grant for this.

Todd Hido at Aperture Tonight

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Untitled, #4078 2005 © Todd Hido

The very talented Todd Hido will be giving a lecture tonight at Aperture. Todd consistently produces images that are uncanny and haunting, but never foreboding. Much like Hopper his work propagates the kind of mystery that invites you into the scene instead of warning you to keep a safe distance. I am a big fan.

I am feeling sick today, but if I can drag myself out of bed and onto to the F train I will be there.

If you can't make it, check out the video of Todd below.

Alessandra Sanguinetti at Aperture this Tuesday

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© Alessandra Sanguinetti

Alessandra Sanguinetti will be giving an artist's talk at Aperture Gallery this Tuesday. Alessandra's work is electric, beautiful and iconic and her quick rise to the upper echelon of the contemporary photography scene has been impressive. See you there.

Kenny the Retarded White Tiger

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© Taryn Simon

Last week I attended a lecture by Taryn Simon at Aperture. Taryn has always inspired me and I find a lot of parallels between our approach to photography. The lecture was great and I learned a bit about her process, but I walked away fascinated by her image of Kenny, a retarded white tiger, from the series, An Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar. It would be safe to say that Kenny has haunted my dreams. Of course, it doesn't help that the subways of New York are plastered with ads for the Ringling Bros circus that features three white tigers (are they retarded, too?) and a clown with a high top fade (definitely retarded).

The process of producing white tigers is pretty horrible and those that survive end up being sentenced to life with flamboyant magicians and eccentric celebrities. Not exactly prime tiger habitat. Seriously, read up on white tigers and you will be haunted, too