How I felt on my first day shooting with a Leica M10. Life is beautiful -
How I felt on my first day shooting with a Leica M10? Like this bro -
Like this bro
The absent minded
When exactly did I become an absent-minded professor? Not sure any more... but just standing next to this other daydreamer made me feel less alone in my labyrinth.
This enigmatic image has always been my favorite William Wegman photograph. I knew that it was taken in the early days of his career, back in the 1970s. And I knew that it was part of a larger body of works he undertook, which somehow managed to both lampoon and embody the principles of conceptual art.
Yesterday, Bill told the story himself: how he was coming from his painting studio to a party in LA; that when he went to pick up a slice of cotto salami he saw the little circles he had drawn on his hand earlier that day; the little circles perfectly matched and dissolved with those in the rounds of cotto salami; how he left the party with some salami in his pocket and went straight back to the studio and made this photograph. His first photograph and my all-time fave.
Thank you Nancy Burson and New York Film Academy for setting up the talk. It was truly wonderful and it helped clear up a mystery or two along the way.
Wegman tells a story
Upcoming exhibition: Museum of Modern Art, Guatemala
In April 2018, the Museum of Modern Art in Guatemala will host the exhibition "Máscaras, rumores y otros vuelos" (Masks, Rumors and Other Flights), which brings together recent works by myself, my younger brother Igal and our father Mario. In the past decade, the three of us have collaborated on joint books and exhibitions, including Re-trato de familia and Tarzán López.
The exhibition will feature works from my series "The Street Becomes"; Igal is represented by works from "El Color Prohibido" (The Forbidden Color); and Mario by a series of color abstractions inspired by Guatemalan flora and fauna.
Stay tuned for updates in the coming months!
New Acquisitions
It gives me great pleasure to announce that El Museo del Barrio has acquired four images from my series, The Street Becomes for its Permanent Collection. The series had its debut exhibition at El Museo in 2017 as part of "nasty women / bad hombres" and the first Uptown Triennial organized by Columbia University.
I have a long history of collaborating with El Museo and enjoying their richly stimulatiing programs and community. I am truly honored to be a part of their Collection.
Museum as Canvas (Part II)
Thirty years ago I visited New York for the first time. I was nineteen and felt the city was my future. I came for ten days with a hundred bucks in my pocket, a brick of Tri-X film and wanderlust in the blood.
It was a memorable trip and among many firsts was a visit to the Met Museum, where David Hockney had a beautiful retrospective.
Two years later, I packed a bag and moved to New York.
This week I returned to the Met to see the new Hockney exhibition. And I made this photograph of a sweet old couple, lost together in the experience of art.
Time flies. Carpe diem!
Museum as Canvas
Another blustery day in New York.
My students and I sought refuge and inspiration at the Metropolitan Museum. But before heading out, we spent some time studying and discussing the works of Elliott Erwitt, Matthew Pillsbury and Mitchell Hartman.
This is one of my favorite moments from our visit, at the Michelangelo exhibition, which by the way, is breathtaking -
First impressions of 2018
Washington Heights, first impressions of 2018:
Quick hustling neighbors with bottles of wine under the arm, scampering to nearby apartments.
Open-doors at Rabbi Samson’s Yeshiva. On the curb, bundled up orthodox kids discuss the Talmud, their words condensing in the frigid air like thought bubbles.
Hungry families lining up for brunch at the diner on 181st, the only one open today. A hand-lettered sign offers Greek yogurt with a choice of granola or fresh fruit.
A half-read paperback, still sitting in the pocket of my jacket, an American Airlines boarding pass marking the page.
An improvised cozy of hard-packed snow propping up an empty beer bottle on the hood of a red Honda Accord.
A coarse mural depicting a row of buildings on the side of a blind alley.
I admire the equanimity of dogs; they care nothing for New Year’s resolutions.
The Takeaway
A life in photography brings with it as many hardships as blessings. I imagine the takeaway changes from one photographer to the next. For myself, photography has the power to unsee the ordinary and make it new. And by photography I don’t mean the images per se, I mean the whole crazy set up of venturing into unknown lands and embarking on new journeys; waking up in strange beds in far away places; inhabiting other people’s lives and rising to meet a new day in a city or landscape you’ve dreamt about for months - or years - previous to your arrival there.
These are but the smallest of footnotes in the story of my life and yet each of them had its particular charm and their memory still abides: biting into warm, slightly sweet, sesame encrusted bread on the still-dark streets of the Old City in Jerusalem; day-old tortillas, black beans and queso blanco washed down with coffee made by the lion-tamer’s wife when I traveled with the circus in Guatemala; a glass of cognac in lieu of breakfast on Boulevard Saint-Germain; a scalding hot pot of tea and an enormous Irish breakfast pulling into a small town in County Clare after a three hour, rainy-morning bike ride on an empty stomach; stopping to pluck apples from a tree with my father on our way up Volcán de Agua, Nikon cameras dangling from our shoulders; Korean breakfast as big as lunch or dinner and my first taste of kimchi chigae in Seoul; despairing of finding a coffee-shop in Madrid and finally settling for a bar with long legs of jamón ibérico displayed by the window and serving churros and hot chocolate to a handful of early-birds like myself; having Jianbing and beer before exploring the Temple of Heaven in Beijing; hanging onto a steaming cup of coffee during the coldest car ride and coldest winter in Maine; watching the waves explode over the Malecón in Havana and being drenched by their spray; sweet bread and thick muddy coffee in a ‘cafe de chinos’ after a white night in Mexico City; walking the back roads of Santa Cruz de Balanyá with a humble farmer, his cow and her calf and being offered a glass of warm, frothy milk when we arrived at our destination.
The list goes on and on, each the recollection of a new morning with a camera in hand. And on this day of gratitude I remember fondly the kindness of strangers, the many places and cultures which have broadened my horizons and taught me something about life and about myself and most of all about the beauty of our planet, which words can never encompass, and which we so often take for granted.
Benefit Fundraiser for Puerto Rico
Benefit Fundraiser for Puerto Rico
I'm donating a print to El Museo del Barrio's fundraiser to help Puerto Rico recover from the devastation of Hurricane Maria.
There are many other beautiful works available. All of them are small and priced to sell. Get there early, go home with beautiful art and help people in need.
Today, Saturday, starting at 2:30PM.
New York Art Book Fair
I am thrilled to share the book dummy for my latest project The Street Becomes, which is ready just in time for this week's New York Art Book Fair. The book was designed in collaboration with the very talented team at Studio Lin. I'll be at the fair throughout the weekend. Drop me a line if you'd like to take a closer look at the project and I'll be happy to find a time to meet.
Also, twelve images from the project are currently on view at El Museo del Barrio as part of the exhibition "nasty women / bad hombres", which closes in November. And finally, I'm honored to have one of the images from the series declared a Winner in the 2017 edition of AI AP's Latin American Fotografia, showcasing the best projects done in or about Latin America during the past year.
Wishing you Shana Tova, a Happy Jewish New Year 5778!
Jaime
Winner AI AP Latin American Fotografia 6
It gives me great pleasure to announce that an image from my latest series "The Street Becomes" is a winner in this year's edition of AI AP's Latin American Fotografia 6. This prestigious competition highlights the best photographic projects exploring the complex and multi-layered realities of Latin America.
Also, a selection of twelve images from the series is currently on view at El Museo del Barrio in New York City as part of the first Uptown Triennial organized by Columbia University, in an exhibition entitled "nasty women / bad hombres".
artnet: must-see Museum Exhibitions in New York City.
I have nothing but respect and admiration for Curator Rocío Aranda Alvarado and her talented staff at El Museo del Barrio who have gathered a remarkable group of artists in the exhibition "nasty women / bad hombres". It is a thoughtful and timely exhibition, which offers some deeply felt responses to a political/cultural moment fraught with anxiety.
Yesterday, as I moved through the galleries, I felt that each artist project amplified and extended the ones around it.
A case in point, Nari Ward's installation of a swing made from an automobile tire, but suspended from a noose and crusted with fragments of broken shoes is an inspired counterpart to my own work, which is installed directly adjacent to his. With its sense of rupture and transformation the sculpture moves from idyllic childhood pastime to personal trauma. As such, it overlaps with themes and concerns which are central to my work.
And so on, the exhibition flows beautifully from one artist to the next.
It came as no surprise to me that the exhibition made it to artnet's list of must-see Museum shows in New York City. And I am particularly gratified that one of my images from The Street Becomes illustrates the feature.
"The Street Becomes" get its debut exhibition in New York City
In the Summer of 2014, I spent two months in residence as a Smithsonian Artist Fellow. During my time in DC, I researched, gathered and secured permissions for all the source materials I required for creating a new book and exhibition project entitled The Street Becomes. The project is interested in the changing character of the urban street in times of war and peace.
The Street Becomes is entirely based on archival images by other photographers. One part of the images come from the private archives of local Washington DC photographers who documented the Latino Festival during the 70s and 80s. The second part comes from the US Marine Corps archives and documents the American military occupation of Central America and the Caribbean in the early 20th Century. My artistic intervention and repurposing of these source images suggests new meanings for the street and examines the kind of contests that are predicated on overtaking and controlling public spaces. The Street Becomes is a metaphorical construct whose extension maps the interrelation of war; displacement; immigration; assimilation and cultural resistance.
Twelve works from The Street Becomes are featured at El Museo del Barrio as part of an exhibition titled "nasty women / bad hombres", which opens June 13th at 7PM.
Opening Night at El Museo del Barrio
My latest project "The Street Becomes" gets its debut exhibition at El Museo del Barrio opening June 13th.
The project is a meditation on how the urban street is transformed in times of war and peace.
Twelve images from the series are featured in the exhibition "nasty women / bad hombres" curated by Rocío Aranda-Alvarado.
Would love to see you there!
Belonging and recognition
Sometimes when I walk in Seoul, I feel like i'm suddenly inhabiting one of Hye-Ryoung Min's photographs. The landscape turns intimate and I feel a sense of belonging and recognition slowly permeating my entire being.
The first photograph was taken yesterday in Seoul. The second is from HRM's series "In-Between Double" (2009).
http://hyeryoungmin.com/in-between-double/
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Opening Night at Center for Photography Woodstock
Here's a short video of my remarks last night at CPW to introduce the audience to my YONKEROS exhibition;
Pre-Opening YONKEROS at The Center for Photography Woodstock
It's a rainy day in Woodstock and still a couple hours before people come in for the Opening. The exhibition is impeccably hung.
Found some miniature Jack next door and the last of my good Cohibas from Havana in my jacket pocket. All's good in the world and I'm just watching it go by from CPW's porch.
Instagram Takeover!
This week I'm taking over The Center for Photography at Woodstock's Instagram feed @cpwwpc.
Follow along as I revisit my series YONKEROS, currently on view at CPW's galleries.