Wednesday, July 4, 2018
Black and white photography in Scarsdale
It is the first exhibition of Maier’s photography in Westchester. Her black and white photographs, mostly from the ’50s and ’60s, provide glimpses of the architecture, street life, children, women, elderly and indigent in Chicago and New York City. The New York Times has recognized her as “one of America’s more insightful street photographers.”
The gallery also will present a free screening of the 2015 Oscar-nominated documentary “Finding Vivian Maier” on July 12 at 7 p.m.
Saturday, June 9, 2018
5 Practical Tips To Help You Find Your Footing In Street Photography
Despite the ever-changing definition and aesthetic of street photography, it is a genre that will remain vital to photography as a whole. Dogmatists, of course, will contend that there is no great street photography being produced today, but this in no way means the genre is dead. And it certainly doesn’t mean everyone should give up doing street photography.
In fact, I’m in favour of every photographer giving street photography a try at least once. It’s worth the challenge, especially if you end up developing a knack for it. Whether you establish yourself as an all-time great isn’t the point (nor should it be your goal, really).
You’ve got to start somewhere, so here are 5 practical tips that will help you find Your footing in street photography.
1. Be Confident
Street photography brings up feelings of anxiety for many photographers. Fear of getting negative reactions from subjects can prompt you to shoot at too great a distance, thereby creating “empty” shots. Fear can also lead you to try to take a sneaky approach, attempting to conceal your camera and what you’re doing, which is ironically only going to generate more attention toward yourself.
Generally speaking, street photography works best when you get close to your subjects. To sort of erase yourself into this, try shooting in places with lots of tourists (or assume the role of a tourist yourself).
In very busy areas people aren’t likely to be paying close attention to you and everyone is probably going to be accustomed to the presence of cameras in public spaces.
2. Don’t Obsess Over Gear
We often hear street photographers talk about their preference for small discreet cameras, but the truth is any camera can be used for street photography. While I mostly agree with and abide by the “small is good” logic, I think what’s more important is to use a camera you’re very familiar with so that you’re not fumbling over settings and missing shots.
Tech specs aren’t of monumental importance either, certainly less so than if you were shooting architecture or landscapes. It’s not the camera that’s going to make you a good street photographer, but knowing how to use your camera will be invaluable in achieving that end.
3. Speed Kills
When shooting on the street you have no control over much of anything. As people in all their shapes, sizes, colors and states of dress swirl about, the best thing you can do is be prepared.
Obviously, you can’t see everything that occurs around you, but when you do spot a moment worth capturing, you’ve only got a matter of seconds to get the camera up to your eye and press the shutter.
It’s perfectly fine to shoot in Program mode and let the camera do all the technical work. Just get the shot. As you become more adept at shooting on the street you may opt to shoot in aperture priority or shutter priority for different creative effects. And if you ever reach hero level, shooting fully manual isn’t out of the question.
But remember the one rule to rule them all: just get the shot.
4. Skip The Cheap Shots
As with all things creative, there’s going to be differences of opinion concerning what’s good and what isn’t. If your goal is to craft interesting street shots, I have discovered over time that if a shot is too easy to capture it’s probably not worth capturing.
It’s certainly possible that, under the right circumstances, shots of the back of people’s heads can tell an interesting story.
But this isn't always the case — inexperienced street photographers tend to shoot the backs of heads because they are easy targets. Instead, look for facial expressions and gestures to anchor your candid street photos.
Of course, this means you’ll have to get close (see #1).
5. Establish Your Vision
While you may be taking photos of other people, your street photography says more about you than it does about those you photograph.
When you’re out with your camera you are capturing mere moments in the lives of individuals you don’t know and will probably never see again. But as you strive to record those moments in your own way, you will eventually build a collection of images that reflects your worldview and your creative process.
When you find what works for you, keep doing it.
Final Thoughts
Don’t get caught up in the debates about the state of street photography — it isn’t going anywhere. But if you are going to participate in this particular genre of photography, make sure you’re contributing something meaningful — something interesting, at the very least. The ideas presented above will hopefully help you figure out how to get there.
3 Fundamental Reasons Why Film Photography Is Still Powering
If film is dead or dying, then it would follow that film photographers, at some point, should have been considered an endangered species.
Yet, they managed by some twist of fate to survive the global transition to digital photography.
Film is surely an afterthought (or a non-thought) for most people, but there are those who have remained deeply entrenched in the analogue realm, and perhaps more interesting, still others who have recently come to an enthusiastic appreciation of shooting film.
What follows is a brief examination of 3 reasons why, despite ongoing technological progress, analogue photography just keeps hanging on.
What’s Old Is New Again
It’s tempting to blame the uptick in interest in film photography on millennials or “hipsters” but I see those groups as catalyst rather than cause.
They have certainly helped boost awareness of film photography (of the instant variety especially), but as I already mentioned, film never really died. Some photographers who started out with film and eventually transitioned into digital have found their way back to film — they’ve also had a hand in bringing new film photographers into the fold, further reigniting an interest in all things analogue.
This is the cyclical nature of things. Vinyl records were once kicked to the curb in favour of CDs and ultimately mp3s, but the medium has seen a resurgence. The story of film is similar. There’s just a certain ebb and flow to life.
Ilford SFX 200 | Photo by Jason D. Little
It’s Really About The Cameras
Old film cameras remain sought after to this day because so many of them are so beautifully designed. It has been said time after time that there are no truly bad cameras in today’s market — a sentiment I agree with.
But few of today’s digital cameras match the wildly diverse and unique aesthetics and ergonomics of yesteryear’s film cameras.
What comes to mind when you think of the Nikon F2 or Leica M3? How about a Rolleiflex TLR, Olympus OM-1 or Contax T3? Most people who have used one or more of these or other similar classic cameras hold them in extraordinarily high esteem.
Make no mistake, old cameras often come with a bevvy of quirks and are prone to failure (jammed mirror, broken light meter, obsolete battery type) because they’re…well…old.
But in terms of feel, fit and finish, classic cameras are generally unmatched by much of anything more modern. Some photographers shoot film simply to be able to use a particular camera.
Ilford SFX 200 | Photo by Jason D. Little
Creative Control
Anyone who creates things usually wants as much control as possible over the things they create. For photographers, one method of achieving this is by doing everything the analogue way. And there’s a lot to do: choose a film (black and white or color, slide or negative, 35mm or medium format) that is going to provide the desired look; load the film properly; shoot wisely, as there are a limited number of frames per roll; unload the film; develop the film; make prints.
Not all film photographers develop their own film and make their own prints, but those who do are simultaneously gaining more control and shouldering more responsibility. If your negatives turn out beautifully, you get all the praise. If they turn out poorly, it’s your fault. You can’t blame the lab.
Ilford SFX 200 | Photo by Jason D. Little
Final Thoughts (For Now)
The reasons for shooting film discussed above obviously don’t apply to all analogue photographers, and they may or may not be enough to encourage someone to try film photography for the first time.
This is simply an effort to provide some insight into what makes the film photographer tick, to think about for a moment why anyone would bother creating on a medium considerably less convenient than digital. Of course, there are other valid reasons and I will cover three more of them in a subsequent article.
Until then, happy shooting — whether film or digital.
These Photographers Captured the Madness and Passion of Heavy Metal
The roots of metal stem from British and American musicians living in working-class neighborhoods—mid- to late-1960s acts like Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, and Deep Purple, as well as Blue Oyster Cult, MC5, and The Stooges—who infused classic rock ‘n’ roll with heavier riffs, louder distortion, and more sinister lyrics and aesthetic tropes.
Metal would evolve constantly and complicatedly over the following decades, eventually splintering into countless subgenres: power metal, the “new wave of British heavy metal,” progressive metal, thrash metal, black metal, Norwegian black metal, death metal, Swedish death metal, grindcore, metalcore, stoner metal, industrial metal, nu-metal, and even Kawaii metal (sometimes described as “cute metal”). Each branch has its own codes, cues, cliques, and quirks in both sound and style, as well as diehard legions that follow their preferred sub-subgenre or particular band as if it were a religion. (In the case of Norwegian black metal, the votary was quite literal, as the Scandinavian metal community of the early 1990s became overtly tied to Satanism and anti-Christian practices.)
Though the differences among, say, the virulent blast-beats of black metal bands like Venom and the viscous sludge and turn-it-up-to-11 distortion of stoner metal groups like Sleep and Kyuss could not be more pronounced, the disparate scenes all share a certain ethos that transcends pentagrams, devil-horn hand gestures, rippin’ guitar solos, guttural singing, and face paint. A number of excellent photo projects have attempted to highlight the fans and bands that have made this cult music genre more than the sum of its parts.
Metal would evolve constantly and complicatedly over the following decades, eventually splintering into countless subgenres: power metal, the “new wave of British heavy metal,” progressive metal, thrash metal, black metal, Norwegian black metal, death metal, Swedish death metal, grindcore, metalcore, stoner metal, industrial metal, nu-metal, and even Kawaii metal (sometimes described as “cute metal”). Each branch has its own codes, cues, cliques, and quirks in both sound and style, as well as diehard legions that follow their preferred sub-subgenre or particular band as if it were a religion. (In the case of Norwegian black metal, the votary was quite literal, as the Scandinavian metal community of the early 1990s became overtly tied to Satanism and anti-Christian practices.)
Though the differences among, say, the virulent blast-beats of black metal bands like Venom and the viscous sludge and turn-it-up-to-11 distortion of stoner metal groups like Sleep and Kyuss could not be more pronounced, the disparate scenes all share a certain ethos that transcends pentagrams, devil-horn hand gestures, rippin’ guitar solos, guttural singing, and face paint. A number of excellent photo projects have attempted to highlight the fans and bands that have made this cult music genre more than the sum of its parts.
“I am unafraid to photographically explore that which society might deem politically incorrect,” explains American documentary photographer Peter Beste, whose oeuvre has spotlighted music subcultures such as Houston rap, London grime, and especially Scandinavian black metal.
The latter genre has one of the most violent and nefarious histories of all of metal’s substrata, burgeoning in the early 1990s with Norwegian groups like Mayhem, Burzum, and Gorgoroth, who built off the extreme sound developed by earlier European acts like Zurich’s Celtic Frost, Copenhagen’s Mercyful Fate, and Sweden’s Bathory.
The latter genre has one of the most violent and nefarious histories of all of metal’s substrata, burgeoning in the early 1990s with Norwegian groups like Mayhem, Burzum, and Gorgoroth, who built off the extreme sound developed by earlier European acts like Zurich’s Celtic Frost, Copenhagen’s Mercyful Fate, and Sweden’s Bathory.
Known for theatrical “corpse paint,” misanthropic worldviews, and a public embrace of Satanism and vitriolic anti-Christianity, Scandinavian black metal (sometimes nicknamed “Satanic black metal”) established a global presence after members of the scene incited a wave of arson attacks against historic churches throughout Norway. In 1994, Varg Vikernes of Burzum was found guilty of both burning down several churches and murdering Mayhem guitarist Øystein “Euronymous” Aarseth, effectively establishing the country’s music underground as the most brutal faction within all of metal. (For context, Mayhem’s singer, Per Yngve “Dead” Ohlin, had committed suicide three years prior, and Euronymous allegedly fashioned pieces of his skull into necklaces.)
Beste documented the Norwegian metal scene for many years, gaining access to its insular and cultish heart. VICE Booksreleased Beste’s monograph, True Norwegian Black Metal, in 2008. His photo work showcases the deadpan morbidity and self-seriousness of this fringe community; we see band members from acts like Darkthrone and Carpathian Forest wearing face paint and leather, brandishing weapons on the streets of Bergen and other black-metal hubs. Rather than purely glamorize the anarchic bands or attempt to rewrite history, Beste sought to “portray the various groups documented as they express themselves, without reference to outside opinions or ideologies.” Whether it’s a shot of disembodied sheep heads on display at a concert or a photo of vocalist Nattefrost “covered in his own shit,” the documentarian lets the bleak imagery speak for itself.
Beste documented the Norwegian metal scene for many years, gaining access to its insular and cultish heart. VICE Booksreleased Beste’s monograph, True Norwegian Black Metal, in 2008. His photo work showcases the deadpan morbidity and self-seriousness of this fringe community; we see band members from acts like Darkthrone and Carpathian Forest wearing face paint and leather, brandishing weapons on the streets of Bergen and other black-metal hubs. Rather than purely glamorize the anarchic bands or attempt to rewrite history, Beste sought to “portray the various groups documented as they express themselves, without reference to outside opinions or ideologies.” Whether it’s a shot of disembodied sheep heads on display at a concert or a photo of vocalist Nattefrost “covered in his own shit,” the documentarian lets the bleak imagery speak for itself.
Sanna Charles
Sanna Charles, God Listens to Slayer, 2015. Published by Ditto Books.
When Sanna Charles, a British music photographer who worked for NME and Melody Maker, was assigned to shoot a Slayer concert in the early aughts, the nefarious California thrash metal band’s set was delayed by three hours, leaving fans waiting in grueling heat and packed into the venue like sardines.
The band eventually performed, but it was the fans—not the quartet’s pummeling speed anthems—that inspired the photographer’s work for years to come. While other photojournalists left after a few songs, Charles was “mesmerized by the crowd” whose “pure release of anger and aggression…felt so free,” as she said in an interview over a decade later.
The band eventually performed, but it was the fans—not the quartet’s pummeling speed anthems—that inspired the photographer’s work for years to come. While other photojournalists left after a few songs, Charles was “mesmerized by the crowd” whose “pure release of anger and aggression…felt so free,” as she said in an interview over a decade later.
Charles began traveling around Europe to shoot (often shirtless) teenagers with long hair outside venue gates and inside mosh pits. In 2015, Ditto Press released the impeccably titled God Listens to Slayer, a photo compilation of Charles’s years-long ethnographic exploration into the band’s disciples.
Though Slayer fandom is a fervent, extreme lifestyle (naturally, the book features images of the Slayer logo carved into the arms of sweaty headbangers), Charles was interested in “the innocence of their often youthful fans.” God Listens to Slayer turns its lens on the pockmarked kids whose budding angst is alleviated by the group’s escapist, “fuck everything” mentality—a ritualized release that Charles visualizes in equal parts joy and fury.
Though Slayer fandom is a fervent, extreme lifestyle (naturally, the book features images of the Slayer logo carved into the arms of sweaty headbangers), Charles was interested in “the innocence of their often youthful fans.” God Listens to Slayer turns its lens on the pockmarked kids whose budding angst is alleviated by the group’s escapist, “fuck everything” mentality—a ritualized release that Charles visualizes in equal parts joy and fury.
Jonas Bendiksen
Jonas Bendiksen, Erik Unsgaard from Sarkom, from “Norwegian Singers,” Norway, 2016. © Jonas Bendiksen/Magnum Photos. Courtesy of Magnum Photos.
Jonas Bendiksen, Jørgen Nilssen from Befouled, from “Norwegian Singers,” Norway, 2016. © Jonas Bendiksen/Magnum Photos. Courtesy of Magnum Photos.
Listening to metal and seeing it live are two different beasts, as the mega-tour spectacles of bands like Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax clearly evince. But rather than focus on pyrotechnics, overpowering strobe lights, and stacks of Marshall amps, Norway’s Jonas Bendiksen honed his lens in on the expressive faces of frontmen mid-performance for a photo series titled “Singing Norwegian Singers.”
Not unlike Magnum alumnus Bruce Gilden, Bendiksen literally got up close and personal with his subjects. We see eyes bulging out of sockets and sweat-drenched beards; mouths are twisted or agape, in a way where you can feel the sheer abrasiveness of the vocals without hearing them. The artist once described the project as “a tribute to that energy of this way of making music.…I just wanted to photograph Norwegian brutal music in a brutal way.”
Jacob Ehrbahn
Jacob Erhbahn, Headbangers, 2015. Published by powerHouse Books.
Jacob Ehrbahn doesn’t have long hair, but the Danish photojournalist is deeply familiar with those who do. Though his past work has grimly showcased heavy handed subject matter—such as the plight of Mongolian runaways known as the “street children” generation, or the disenfranchised community in Youngstown, Ohio, after the loss of steel industry jobs—the staff photographer at Danish newspaper Politiken took a euphoric (and heavy-headed) approach to his documentation of European metal fans.
In Headbangers, a photobook released by powerHouse in 2015, Ehrbahn used an on-camera flash to capture metalheads frozen in motion as they flail their bodies, shake their jowls, and give themselves a case of whiplash to the accompaniment of double kick drums, dueling guitar solos, and doom-filled anthems. The photographer traveled to the crème de la crème of metal fests—Denmark’s Copenhell, Germany’s Wacken Open Air, and Sweden’s Metaltown—but you wouldn’t know it from these photos: Most subjects are shot from below with little in the frame besides unkempt locks, rapturous facial expressions, and grey skies. The publisher calls it an “intimate world disconnected from time and space,” but to metal fans, it may as well look like heaven.
Paul Shiakallis
Paul Shiakallis, Samie Santiago Newsted, 2014. Courtesy of Paul Shikallis/Redux Pictures.
Metal as a genre has infinite permutations, but it’s impossible to deny that its musicians and fans are often homogenous. Look at concert footage from any major festival, and the crowd will be a sea filled primarily with white men.
So when South African photographer Paul Shiakallis first encountered the “Marok”—the name for Botswana’s metalhead subculture—at a 2010 show, he was “instantly attracted” to the self-described “Queens” who are integral to the scene.“I had never seen a group of women letting go like they did at this concert; it was liberating,” he told i-D in 2017.
So when South African photographer Paul Shiakallis first encountered the “Marok”—the name for Botswana’s metalhead subculture—at a 2010 show, he was “instantly attracted” to the self-described “Queens” who are integral to the scene.“I had never seen a group of women letting go like they did at this concert; it was liberating,” he told i-D in 2017.
After seeing other news outlets cover the Marok and only highlight the male members, Shiakallis decided to document the leather- and stud-clad women, emphasizing the “forgotten narrative of the eccentric black woman in rock.” Collected in a series entitled “Leathered Skins, Unchained Hearts,” his images feature these stoic, stylish female fans posing both in their homes and in nature, accompanied by quotes from subjects about the country’s metal underground. As one Marok Queen told Shiakallis, “Only girls who believe in themselves and are not afraid to express themselves can be rockers.”
by: Zach Sokol
Rare Photographs From Inside a Hollywood Costume Archive
Image
Mimi Haddon
It’s impossible to miss Palace Costume as you drive south down Fairfax Avenue in West Hollywood. The vast costume rental wardrobe, one of the largest collections of vintage clothing in the country, has a three-unit-wide stucco facade airbrushed with murals of ghosts and mythical creatures. The building is eccentric even by Hollywood standards; one doorway doubles as the mouth of a large trompe l’oeil gargoyle.
But the archive is also a serious business. Founded by its owner, Melody Barnett, as a vintage clothing store in the late ’60s, Palace Costume has since grown into an important resource for the film industry: professionals can search through some 500,000 garments and accessories of every era and aesthetic to find the perfect rhinestone rodeo jacket, Victorian petticoat or reproduction medieval tunic. And while Palace Costume’s wares have appeared in major movies from “Beloved” to “Boogie Nights,” its doors remain closed to visitors who don’t work in film production.
A rare exception is the Los Angeles-based artist and photographer Mimi Haddon. She met Barnett though a stylist friend a decade ago and immediately fell in love with her collection. “When you walk in, you see these amazing vignettes with mannequins. It’s not just a warehouse — there are all these displays arranged with love and humor,” Haddon explains. In 2015, while studying for her M.F.A. in fiber art at California State University, Long Beach, she started documenting the archive’s pieces. Once a week, she would make the trip to Hollywood to photograph a different set of treasures: a troupe of '40s dancing shoes on one visit, a collection of lace collars the next. Though she recently graduated and has since increased her visits to twice a week, “I haven’t even scratched the surface,” she says. “It would take a lifetime.”
The images Haddon shares here depict one of Barnett’s many glove collections, a set of delicate lace-trimmed pieces from the ’20s and ’30s. Impressed by their intricacy — “they almost look like miniature dresses” — Haddon photographed each pair on a lightbox to illuminate its construction. Next, she plans to assemble the images in a book. Along with this series, it will include photographs of what are perhaps her favorite pieces at Palace Costume: “Melody actually lives in the space, and in her apartment is the most amazing vintage lingerie collection you’ve ever seen.”
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The art world may wait to roll out the heavies in the fall, but summer promises plenty of new ways to engage with local art and culture.
Mark your calendars for SFMOMA's retrospective of photographer Susan Meiselas, the techie Festival of the Impossible at Minnesota Street Project, a light spectacular at The Midway, the closing of Legion of Honor's Julian Schnabel show, and more.June
Look for the aerial dance performance Tender (n): a person who takes charge, at Cadillac Hotel in the Tenderloin. (Photo by RJ Muna)
What: Matrix 270When: Through August 28th
Where: Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA), 2155 Center Street (Berkeley), bampfa.org
Why: Alicia McCarthy and Ruby Neri are two of the most notable artists to emerge from the Bay Area's Mission School movement. They're showing their latest works together at Matrix 270, BAMPFA's series of rotating contemporary art exhibitions that highlight California talent. See new paintings (McCarthy) and ceramic sculptures that upend traditional representations of the female nude (Neri).
What: Hai Bo's The Southern Series
When: Through July 15th
Where: Pace Gallery, 229 Hamilton Avenue (Palo Alto), pacegallery.com
Why: The beauty of China is timeless. Take a deeper look in this first solo exhibition in California of Chinese artist Hai Bo, whose recent photographs taken across Southern China express the passage of time and human endurance against it. The images' power is intensified by their massive scale—at five-by-10 feet, they are large enough to erase whatever boundaries may stand between you.
What: Festival of the Impossible
When: June 8-10
Where: Minnesota Street Project, 1275 Minnesota St. (Dogpatch), festivaloftheimpossible.com
Why: What do augmented and virtual reality have to do with art? Adobe wants to show you in this first, large-scale immersive exhibition of interactive installations created in 2D, 3D, AR, and VR.
What: Tender (n.): a person who takes charge
When: 8:30pm Thursdays, 12:30pm and 8:30pm Fridays, and 8:30pm and 9:30pm Saturdays; June 7-16
Where: Cadillac Hotel, 380 Eddy St. (Tenderloin), flyawayproductions.com
Why: Choreographer Jo Kreiter is back on the urban stage with a site-specific, aerial dance performance that celebrates 100 years of outcast activism in the Tenderloin—from the working women who moved into the neighborhood in the early 1900s to transgender activism in the 1960s and the Vietnamese leaders who fought for immigrant rights in housing, healthcare, education, and public safety in the 1970s.
What: Soft Power
When: June 20th through July 8th
Where: The Curran, 445 Geary St. (TenderNob), sfcurran.com
Why: It's a comedic and musical fantasia, created by Tony Award–winning playwright David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly) and composer Jeanine Tesori (Fun Home), in which a Chinese executive lands in America and falls in love with a U.S. leader. Everything's going so well—until the balance of power between their two countries begins to shift.
What: 36th San Francisco Jazz Festival
When: June 6-10 and June 11-17
Where: Multiple venues, sfjazz.org
Why: Forty-four shows in 12 days means the opportunity for full immersion in the SF jazz scene. Headliners include Ahmad Jamal, a Kennedy Center Living Jazz Legend; Irma Thomas, the "soul queen of New Orleans"; iconic electric bassist Marcus Miller; and SAG Award–winning actor/comedian Lea DeLaria. Also look for tributes to Patsi Cline and Benny Goodman.
What: Nathaniel Russell's Peace Jazz
When: Through July 25th
Where: Gallery 16, 501 3rd St. (SoMa), gallery16.com
Why: Hope and human connections are at the foundation of the 10 large paintings displayed here by Indianapolis-based artist Nathaniel Russell.
What: Halation
When : June 9-31
Where: The Midway, 900 Marin St. (Bayview), themidwaygallery.com
Why: Inspired by the Haruki Murakami quote, "Where there is light, there must be shadow; where there is shadow there must be light," this exhibit explores the physical meaning of creating a sense of place with light. The show will highlight SF-based tech artist Marpi's "Aquarium Project," an interactive installation of underwater creatures, and the LED star canopy "Constellation" by Burning Man regular Christopher Schardt.
What: Richard Wager's The Ring
When: June 12th through July 1st
Where: San Francisco Opera, War Memorial Opera House (Civic Center), sfopera.com
Why: It's one of the most complex operatic journeys of all time. Originally premiered in 1876, Wagner's epic The Ring will be staged in four parts by the SF Opera. Don't know it? You do if you've seen Apocalypse Now (which, of course, you have). "Ride of the Valkyries"—one of the work's most famous pieces—is the tune that blared through the helicopter speakers as the Americans bombed the beach.
JULY
Lena on the Balmy Box, by Susan Meiselas. (Courtesy of SFMOMA)
What: Susan Meiselas: MediationsWhen: July 21st through October 21st
Where: SFMOMA, 151 3rd St. (SoMa), sfmoma.org
Why: War, human rights, cultural identity, and domestic violence—these are just a few of the hot button topics surveyed in this compelling retrospective, the first on the West Coast, for American photographer Susan Meiselas. The exhibition will focus on the artist's projects from the beginning of her career in the 1970s to present day, including her iconic portraits of carnival strippers.
What: Richard III
When: July 14–29
Where: African-American Shakespeare Company, Taube Atrium Theater, 410 Van Ness Ave (Civic, african-americanshakes.org
Why: Because "now is the winter of our discontent." This tale of power-lusting villains still resonates today, and maybe it even hits a little too close to home. King Edward sits on the throne at the end of the decades-long War of the Roses. But his youngest brother, Richard, has his eyes on the crown, his path to glory paved with seduction, murder, and betrayal.
What: A Thousand Splendid Suns
When: July 17-29
Where: A.C.T's Geary Theater, 415 Geary St. (Union Square), act-sf.org
Why: Lovers of the Khaled Hosseini novel won't want to miss this stage adaptation, by Irish-Indian playwright Ursula Rani Sarma, of his story about three generations of Afghan women who are bound together, amid the war-torn streets of modern Kabul, by marriage, family, and a secret past. The show features music by renowned composer David Coulter.
What: Ranu Mukherjee: A Bright Stage
When: July 14, 2018 through January 20, 2019
Where: De Young Museum, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Dr. (Golden Gate Park), deyoungmuseum.org
Why: No admission will be required to check out Mukherjee's installation that will span the four walls of the museum's Wilsey Court. With painted, printed, and animated elements, the work blurs the lines between still and moving images and is intended to amplify the space as one that is "freely accessible for public voice and action."
What: San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival
When: July 6-22, 2018
Where: San Francisco City Hall (Civic Center), worldartswest.org
Why: The 40th anniversary festival is a celebrations of cultural traditions from around the world, with dance and music ensembles representing for Bolivia, Cambodia, Cuba, India, Liberia, the Philippines, Spain and more.
What: Lew the Jew and His Circle: Origins of American Tattoo
When: July 26th through December 2nd
Where: The Contemporary Jewish Museum, 736 Mission St. (SoMa), thecjm.org
Why: San Franciscans love a good tat. This exhibition will bring to the forefront previously unpublished and rare original tattoo artwork, photos, and correspondence between famed New York artist "Lew the Jew" Alberts and SF tattooers.
What: Star Wars at the San Francisco Symphony
When: Multiple dates
Where: Davies Symphony Hall, 201 Van Ness Avenue, sfsymphony.org
Why: You've never seen George Lucas' original Star Wars trilogy quite like this before. See the legendary John Williams' scores performed live starting with A New Hope (July 18-21) followed by The Empire Strikes Back (July 26-28) and Return of the Jedi (July 29 through Aug. 3).
What: Mangaku
When: August 24-25
Where: YBCA Theater, 710 Mission St. (SoMa), ybca.org
Why: Dawson Dance and and saxophonist-composer Richard Howell team for their fifth collaboration, a nine-dancer ensemble inspired by (and set to) Howell's latest jazz album, Coming of Age—Mangaku.
What: Julian Schnabel: Symbols of Actual Life
When: Through August 5th
Where: Legion of Honor, 100 34th Ave. (Sea Cliff), legionofhonor.famsf.org
Why: It's your last chance to see Schnabel's return to the Bay Area after a 30 year wait. It was worth it: The museum's courtyard is swathed in 24-by-24-feet abstract paintings as part of the Fine Arts Museums' newly formed contemporary art program aimed at creating dialogues between living artists and the museums' classic collections.
What: Broadway Under the Stars
When: August 3-19
Where: Jack London State Historic Park, 2400 London Ranch Rd. (Glen Ellen), transcendencetheatre.org
Why: Ready your jazz hands for one of the most acclaimed theater festivals of the season. In August, see the Gerswhin classic Shall We Dance, based on the 1937 film starring Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire.
What: Evolution of Hip-Hop Dance
When: August 25th
Where: Marin Theatre Company, 397 Miller Ave. (Mill Valley), marincenter.org
Why: You grew up with this beat. Now pay tribute to the music and dance that has had such a dramatic social impact in a performance that will show how Hip-Hop dance was born.
Taking pictures at GoPro Mountain Games in Vail? Sign up for the Mountain Click photo contest (pros and amateurs)
VAIL — If you're looking for one of the most photogenic events in the world, then look no further than the GoPro Mountain Games, taking place June 7-10 in Vail, and surrounding areas.
This year, the event's GoPro Mountain Click Photo Competition will be judged by an all-star panel of photographers, including Jacob Moon, Bo Bridges and Matt Inden. Registration for the event is still open at http://www.mountaingames.com.
"This is truly an all-star panel of photographers, each with their own unique style and approach," said Tom Boyd, spokesperson for the Vail Valley Foundation, which organizes the event each June. "There is so much happening at this event — we have more than 13 different disciplines and over 30 events — and it's an incredible challenge for photographers to capture single moments that embody the spirit of the event and the culture of the mountains. We will see what the judges think of their efforts — and see who wins their share of the $4,250 prize purse."
Celebrity photo panel
Jacob Moon is an Instagram phenomenon — and even a brief glimpse of his imagery reveals why. Stunning landscapes from his travels around the globe have inspired hundreds of thousands to follow his journeys — which he makes along with his wife, Natasha, and their 1-year-old daughter, Zoey. Visit http://www.moonmountainman.com.
Bo Bridges has become one of the most revered names in photography. His portfolio has been described by ESPN as a "pyramid wall filled with iconic pieces of history" and includes revealing portraits of top celebrities, even as his action and sports photography has differentiated him from the rest. Visit http://www.bobridges.com.
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Matt Inden has steadily become one of the most innovative photographers in the Rockies — and beyond. Based out of his gallery in Vail, Inden has explored large-format film photography in an era of digital dominance, creating a series of understated, hyper-real landscape photos that are unlike anything else. Now, his cutting-edge multimedia expressions are taking his artform into completely uncharted territory. Visit http://www.mattinden.com.
Join the Contest
Moon, Bridges and Inden will be the celebrity judging panel of the GoPro Mountain Click Photo Competition. Jimmy Chin was the celebrity judge in 2017. For rules, prizes, deadlines and more, visit http://www.mountaingames.com/events/mountain-click-photo-competition/.
For the GoPro Mountain Click photography competition, photographers will have four days to capture the action on any camera they would like, including a GoPro camera. This year, the photo competition will be broken down into two categories — professional and amateur. Each participant may enter only one category. Only difference: pro winners will receive the higher payout and the competition will be a little stiffer.
At the conclusion of these four days, photographers will submit their top photo in their respective category. The top photo chosen from the professional category will take home $2,500 and the top photo chosen from the amateur category will take home $1,000. An honorable mention will also be named in each category with a payout of $500 for the professional category and $250 for amateur category.
Note that credentialed media cannot take part in this year's photo competition.
Hosted by the nonprofit Vail Valley Foundation, the GoPro Mountain Games is the best all-around mountain experience available anywhere in the world.
Each June in Vail, pros and amateurs compete in more than 13 mountain sports disciplines and more than 25 events including whitewater, IFSC World Cup Climbing, slackline, biking, running, yoga and more. The event draws more than 70,000 spectators and is free to attend. Learn more at http://www.mountaingames.com.
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