Image of the Day

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Philip-Lorca deCorcia, W, September 2000, #6
From the show ELEVEN, an exhibition of W editorials photographed by DiCorcia
between 1997 and 2008. The show, which opens tomorrow at David Zwirner,
was organized by W 's former creative director Dennis Freedman
(recently appointed to replace Simon Doonan as creative director at Barneys).
More info here.

Precious / Throwaway

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"Caroline & Julia at Dior " from the Korean street fashion blog Street FSN

Last April I posted about a forum at SFMoMA which posed the question "Is Photography Over?" to a number of highly respected critics, scholars, and practitioners in the field, including Peter Galassi, Joel Snyder, Vince Aletti, Jennifer Blessing, and Philip-Lorca diCorcia. Here's video from that event, in two parts – it's long but worth a listen if you're interested in critical thinking on photography.



If you get through the first video and want more (you nerd!) here are links to the rest of the videos: 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Is Photography Over?

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Alright alright, I've been meaning to mention this too and didn't get to it in time, but since most of us don't live in San Francisco we wouldn't have been able to go anyway:

Unknown, Untitled (Man Reflected in Mirror). Photograph, undated. Collection of SFMOMA

As part of its 75th anniversary celebration, yesterday the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art kicked off a major forum on photography, wherein guests such as Philip-Lorca diCorcia, Peter Galassi, Vince Aletti, Jennifer Blessing, and other experts in the field weigh in with answers to the question "Is Photography Over?" Here's part of diCorcia's answer, which I enjoyed:

William James said, "Wisdom is learning what to overlook". We now look at everything, including the invisible. Photography, a mechanical form of looking, is intrinsically limited in what it can show. There lies the wisdom. The current crisis is partially caused by attempts to extend Photography's capability. Maybe it will succeed and show us something new we don't really need to see, or maybe it will fail and be the wiser for it.

Read the rest, and everyone else's initial responses to the question, here – and follow SFMOMA's blog throughout the month for more on the topic.



Serge Gainsbourg "Negative Blues"