Artchipel

Tumblr Monday 107 - Tumblr Artist

Josh Wool | on Tumblr (USA) - Portraits of Hattie Watson

Josh Wool is a photographer living and working in New York. In a city where voices and visions are so easily lost, Wool has been able to achieve an honest vocabulary through his portraiture and lifestyle photography. While he acknowledges the motivation and inspiration the city provides, his natural role as a patient observer allows for a more profound connection with his subjects and environment. In the same way a finger stops the vibration and sound of a tuning fork, the time and place Wool captures on film cultivates a necessary visual pause. 

Jacob Van Loon interviewed Josh Wool for Artchipel’s Tumblr Monday #107.

JACOB VAN LOON: You have seasoned experience as an Executive Chef prior to starting your career as a photographer. Food, especially in the design and preparation of food as a chef, is an often understated reference to a social/cultural connection with another person(s). Did this aspect of your past career prime you in any way to shoot portraiture?
JOSH WOOL: I’ve always felt that food is a way to connect with people, and when you think about it, you put a lot of trust in the people who feed you. From the farmers who grow the food, to the people who prepare it, that food has traveled a long way to get to your plate. Cooking for people is an intimate thing.  It’s also a connection in common experience and memory. Smell and taste are the biggest memory triggers and to be able to take someone back to their childhood with a bite of food is incredibly amazing to me. I think part of that translates to photography, you really have to connect with people to make a good portrait. It’s intimate and you have to get people to trust you even if it’s only for a few minutes. When people let their guard down, when they trust you enough, that’s when the portraits are best for me.

JVL: “Quiet” is a word I’ve seen to describe your approach to portraiture. How is that something you maintain in your work as you walk the line between candidacy and mutual awareness?
JW: I think that quietness is a direct result of my personality. That quiet approach is, for better or worse, how I tend to deal with a lot of things in my life. My father told me as a kid that one should listen twice as much as he speaks, that’s really stuck with me over the years. It’s amazing what you can learn if you actually shut up for five minutes and observe the world around you. I think at times in social settings I may come off as aloof, intimidating, or unapproachable, but really I’m just observing my surroundings and people’s personalities. The other half of that is that I’m assertive and deliberate in my actions. I think the combination of the two in a portraiture setting allows me to perceive my subject’s personality and then approach them in a way that allows me to make the photographs I want to make. I’m not an in your face, flashy kind of person, I’m more about nuance, subtly, and intimacy.

JVL: Is personality an unexpectedly difficult element to truthfully convey in photography?
JW: It can be an exceedingly difficult task. I don’t think there’s much truth to a lot of photography out there, especially in art photography. It’s all about creating an illusion, not documenting a reality. Portraiture on the other hand is all about finding a way to convey personality, which isn’t an easy thing. People generally only show you what they want you to see. Getting past that wall is the challenge and when it happens the reward is great. Photography is in essence visual storytelling, and some of those stories hold more truth than others, but each has a place.

JVL: How much should portraiture tell about a place and time?
JW: I think a great portrait tells you everything about that particular time and place in a person’s life. Physical place/location takes a secondary role in most cases, but it really depends on the situation.

JVL: Cormac McCarthy is one of my favorite authors. It doesn’t matter what he’s writing, every character and idea in his books are clearly influenced by his life in the South. How does your personal background come through in what you choose to shoot?
JW: I grew up between South Carolina and Virginia and have lived in Georgia and Tennessee. My roots are in the South and I tend to romanticize it as a place and I feel like it seeps into my work more often than not. I think it’s an attitude more than anything else, though some of the aesthetic gets in there too. I have a love/hate relationship with the South, there’s so much that is blatantly wrong with the South - the disparity between rich and poor, the racism, the fundamentalism in religion and politics, but that being said, there are a lot of good and progressive people in the South, it’s an unbelievably beautiful place, even though much of it is slowly decaying. There’s this stoicism that prevails down there, a quiet rebelliousness, that people are going to make a life for themselves despite what other people think or what their circumstances are, that I identify with. There’s so much history in the South and there’s a lot of weird energy down there that is almost tangible. There’s this idea of proper society down there, but what really interests me is the dark underbelly of the South, what the real people are up to.

JVL: I recently went on an eight-mile circular walk through Garfield Park and the Kinzie Industrial Corridor, which were two Chicago neighborhoods that made national headlines last year for being some of the most violent areas in the Nation. For such historically integral parts of the city, I felt a strong disassociation between what I normally think of Chicago, and what Chicago might actually be. How do social and economic contrasts both in the South and New York influence your tendencies as a photographer?
JW: What we want to think of people, places, and times are not necessarily accurate of how they really are. We romanticize those things, I know I do that a lot with the South. In reality a lot of places and people in the South are broken down, slowly decaying, poverty ridden and at times dangerous.  I’m aware of the contradiction in that reality versus artistic interpretation, but I don’t know that I’ve explored it in a traditional sense, but I’d like to at some point. I’m incredibly uncomfortable with typical street photography, I can’t point a camera at a stranger and snap away. I have to be able to talk to the people I photograph.

JVL: It tickled me to see photos from your apartment on Rog Walker’s blog. How has living in New York most influenced you as a photographer?  
JW: New York has been amazing, it’s been tough, but really pushed me as an artist. It’s an unforgiving place and it demands that you put out your best effort, there’s not a lot of second chances here, there are thousands of other people trying to make it as well. If you’re not hungry or motivated, and a little lucky, you’re not going to make it in New York. Living here has made me a better photographer, space is a luxury, and it’s made me understand how important working with what you have is. I shoot mostly from home, and each place I’ve lived has had very different light, and I’ve had to adapt to each situation. It’s also exciting to live here and be surrounded by so many talented people in all different fields. There’s a sense of community that’s starting to form, and seeing everybody make those big steps forward in their careers is incredibly inspiring and motivating. I think we all share the common struggle of trying to make it as artists.

JVL: Tell me about your latest camera acquisition.
JW: I just picked up a Crown Graphic 4x5 camera from the 1950’s. It’s an old press camera like Weegee used. I’ve wanted to explore large format for a while, for what I do in portraiture at least in my personal work, it sort of makes sense. The plan is to eventually invest in a 4x5 developing tank so I can shoot and process 4x5 black and white film myself.  For now I’m using it as a glorified Polaroid camera for a possible book project over the next year or two. Also when I have the space to build a dark room I want to venture into wet plate and tintypes. I’m not a huge collector; I try to only buy cameras that I feel that I’m going to use on a regular basis. I acquired a number of medium format cameras, but unfortunately sold them off last year when times were pretty tight. I have an Polaroid Land Camera from the 60’s that I use a lot and just inherited a Canon AE-1 35mm from my late grandfather. Aside from that I have a Pentax K1000 an old girlfriend gave me, a Zeiss Icon medium format from my uncle, and a Canon 5DmkII that’s the workhorse for my digital production. There’s a long list of cameras I’d love to own, but I can’t justify buying any more vintage equipment at the moment.

JVL: What is there to value about traditional photographic processes? A lot of the industrydefining companies I used to purchase from completely ate it in the mid-to-late 2000’s.
JW: The analog process is invaluable. The technology involved is incredible, light sensitive minerals on cellulose acetate stuck into a device that records a moment in time, I’m still blown away that someone figured out how to do that. Analog photography is a completely different mindset than digital, at least for me, and you can take all of what I’m about to say with a grain of salt, because I’ve only been shooting for three years (at this point). Analog is about getting it right in the camera the first time, there’s no luxury of taking a thousand photos and hoping you got something. There’s no preview aside from taking a Polaroid. I got into shooting film about two years ago and that’s when things really started clicking for me. Having a limited number of exposures made me think so much more about what and how I was shooting, is my composition good, is my exposure right, do I really want this subject matter? Each frame costs me money and time, I process black and white at home, so when I’m shooting I ask myself am I willing to spend the time processing and scanning this image?  So it slows the process of photography down for me and makes it much more of a deliberate process and I think that’s translated into my digital workflow as well. I will say however that just because something is shot with film doesn’t automatically make it a good image. I think it’s important to be versed in both analog and digital, it’s sort of the old adage of you can’t know where you’re going if you don’t know where you’ve been. I’m certainly not a purist, but I will shoot film as long as it’s available as a medium. I hope there’s enough demand that film companies will continue making it for decades to come.

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Josh Wool has a busy year ahead. He will be working on a project for GQ, as well as a largescale editorial documentation for a collective of independent clothing designers to be featured in a concept catalog. Continuing to photograph musicians and artists, he plans to be backstage at Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island. Earlier this year, Josh was in Nashville showing work for the first official time in a show at a Joint Pop-Up gallery event, curated by Susan Sherrick. He was honored to have his work shown alongside some of his long-standing inspirations such as Irving Penn, Richard Avedon, Lee Friedlander, Horst P. Horst, Vivian Maier, William Klein, as well as friends Joshua Black Wilkins and Mikael Kennedy. He will be returning for another exhibition with Joint Pop-Up in the fall, and with travel and exploration being a motivator, Josh is also entertaining the idea of an in-depth portraiture series that would take him across the US. 

Our sincere thanks to Josh Wool for taking the time to answer some questions for Artchipel, and of course, to Jacob Van Loon for conducting the interview. Jacob Van Loon is a painter and designer living in Chicago. This is his 6th contribution for Artchipel Tumblr Monday.

[more Josh Wool | Tumblr Monday with jacobvanloon]

Tumblr Monday 106 - Tumblr Artist

Paul X. Johnson | on Tumblr (UK) - Courteeners (2013)

The work of London based artist Paul X. Johnson is simply amazing. Inspired by classic 40′s movies and vintage illustrations, his precise lines and muted colors capture beatifully the natural expression of emotions. Great thanks to artforadults for introducing us Paul X. Johnson’s magnificent illustrations, and please visit artist’s website or follow his Tumblr for more work!

[more Paul X. Johnson | Tumblr Monday with artforadults]

Tumblr Monday 105 - Tumblr Artist

Jason Laferrera | on Tumblr (USA)

The textures and contours of old maps are fascinating, even the tattered and stained parts. Artist Jason Laferrera digitally manipulates cartographic materials to create fauna and fowl in poses reminiscent of field guides from a similarly early era of publication. These idealized depictions created from recycled imagery question our relationship with the boundaries we draw to divide the natural world. The patterns of forests and shores often become an animal’s feathers or fur, while the rings of topography often trace out wings or antlers. Many thanks to actegratuit for this Monday for having introduced us Jason Laferrera!

[more Jason Laferrera | Tumblr Monday with actegratuit]

Tumblr Monday 104 - Tumblr Artist

Olivier Ratsi | on Tumblr (France) - Huang Shan

Confronting the real world and the digital dream, Olivier Ratsi’s work is mainly based upon representations of world’s perception and the experience of reality. By deconstructing the reality into the mobile and the motionless fragmentation, artist disturbs our vision and invite us to discover and to take place in a new dimension that once belongs to him. Many thanks to Seriously Hazardous Art Gallery SHAG for this Tumblr Monday to introduce us this brilliant artist!

2nd PARIS ART CONNECTÉ EXHIBITION | {TRANS}FORMED VISIONS > Thursday May 16, join us for an exceptional meetup to discover 5 artists connected on Tumblr! > RSVP Meetup

[more Olivier Ratsi | Tumblr Monday with SHAG]

Tumblr Monday 103

H. Craig Hanna (b.1967, USA) 

Born in 1967 in Cleveland USA, H. Craig Hanna is a New York painter from Fine Arts Syracuse University, Fine Arts School of Visual Arts, New York Academy of Figurative Art. He exhibited his work since age of 29 year and has received an immediate recognition. In 1998, an entire floor reserved for him at Bergdorf Goodman, following exhibitions in London, Hong Kong and Malta where he spent a period of his life. H. Craig Hanna currently lives and works in London and is represented in Paris by Laurence Esnol Gallery who shows his works permanently and exclusivity worldwide. Our thanks to Laurence Esnol Gallery for the warm reception and this beautiful discovery.

in exhibition @ Laurence Esnol Gallery | on Tumblr

[more H. Craig Hanna | Tumblr Monday with Laurence Esnol Gallery]

Tumblr Monday 101

Elizaveta Porodina (Russia/Germany)

Moscow born, Munich based fashion and fine art photographer Elizaveta Porodina has the talent that could not leave us indifferent. Colorful and modern, her work is a manifestation of her cultural roots. Elizaveta Porodina’s most “russian” traits are her tendency to melancholy and sadness, but above all, her obsession with shiny and glittery things (cf. interview with artist by This Is So Contemporary). Great thanks to showslow for this Tumblr Monday to introduce us this talented photographer!

[more Elizaveta Porodina | Tumblr Monday with showslow]

Tumblr Monday 100 - Tumblr Artist

Phédia Mazuc | on Tumblr (France) - The soul of objects

Sit. This is your space. Make yourself comfortable in the frame. The work of French artist Phédia Mazuc takes action on several dimensions, layers, sublayers, as it speaks at once of absence and presence. It is familiar to us remotely, the memory that is persistent, insistent, obsessive. Please follow artist’s Tumblr or contact SHAG for more works. Many thanks to Seriously Hazardous Art Gallery SHAG for the 100st Tumblr Monday sharing!

2nd PARIS ART CONNECTÉ EXHIBITION | {TRANS}FORMED VISIONS > Save your May 16, 2013 for an exceptional meetup with Artchipel & SHAG to discover the artists connected on Tumblr!

[more Phédia Mazuc | Tumblr Monday with SHAG]

Tumblr Monday 99 - Tumblr Artist

Paula Braconnot | on Tumblr (b.1981, Brazil/France) - Male / Female Timenaut

The story about the artist Paula Braconnot begins with an alchemical formula: VITRIOL. More than a mere acid, VITRIOL represents an inner evolution, a permanent transformation, a wandering metamorphosis. The images created by Paula Braconnot are born from this internal exploration, at the crossroads between the material and invisible realms. The artist composes virtual collages using remnants of bygone times: alchemical engravings, anatomical diagrams, and nineteenth century depictions of flora and fauna. This confrontation gives birth to characters adulterated by mechanisms, hybrid beings and organs cultivated amongst foliage. Eyes blossom over hands; hearts and flowers open as doors of perception. Braconnot’s visions are glimpses of a perilous path. As in Alice in Wonderland, where a little girl is confronted by her fears and hopes, the artist portrays visions that would normally be confined to dreams. The collages act as conduits, allowing precise themes such as Time, the cold beauty of Death and irrepressible Life to come to the fore - Themes that have been enthusiastically received during exhibitions in Europe (London & Paris) and Brazil (Sao Paulo) (text by Brice Kowalsky) Please follow artist’s Tumblr or visit her online shop for more works.

Great thanks to Diane Drubay, founder of Buzzeum and curator of creamoftheirskin, for this Tumblr Monday to introduce us Paula Braconnot’s work. Hope you will enjoy as much as we do!

[more Paula Braconnot | Tumblr Monday with creamoftheirskin]

Tumblr Monday 98 - Tumblr Artist

Teagan White | on Tumblr (USA) - Great Horned Owl / Honey & Sorrow

Teagan White is a freelance designer & illustrator from Chicago, currently living and working in St Paul, Minnesota, where she recently earned her BFA in Illustration from the Minneapolis College of Art & Design. Her body of work encompasses intricate renderings of flora and fauna, playful depictions of cute anthropomorphic critters, illustrative typography, and everything in between. The subtleties of nature and reciprocal relationships between organisms are her primary inspirations, and her work typically incorporates flat, limited color, decorative arrangements of organic forms, and obsessive detail. Please visit artist’s website and Behance, or follow her on Tumblr for more work. Great thanks to septagonstudios for this Tumblr Monday to introduce us Tumblr artist Teagan White!

[more Teagan White | Tumblr Monday with septagonstudios]

Tumblr Monday 98

Ludwick Hernandez (France) - Black drawings, personnel research

Graduated from Fine Arts in Toulon and Clermont Ferrand, Ludwick Hernandez discovered independent comics in 2000 and dashes into this new world. With some friends, he creates in the South of France a local “factory” named “Moulinsart” to produce micro editions of books, fanzines and comics. During this psychedelic experience will be born his love for the German expressionism, evolving between the contemporary drawing, the literature, the rock n roll, the pop art, the press drawing, the street art… He finally found his style and is known thanks to his comic “Bessam et Mucho”. Spotted by Monsieur Poulet, he designed visuals for different medias, such as T-shirts for Reporters Sans Frontières and Mamie Nova, exhibition “Les grandes causes” in Museum of the Decorative arts of Paris, etc. Ludwick works regularly on musical and cultural projects, giving free to his unbridled line and prolific style. Great thanks to illustrators agent Valerie Oualid for this Tumblr Monday to introduce us Ludwick!

[more Ludwick Hernandez | Tumblr Monday with valerieoualid]

Tumblr Monday 96

Rene Almanza (b.1979, Mexico)

Perdida de la inocencia del inconciente colectivo. Oleo sobre tela, 1,20x1,80 m
M1-17. Tinta china sobre papel, 76x106 cm

Originally from Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Rene Almanza graduated from the School of Visual Arts of the UAN. He began working during his adolescence as a visual artist; first in graphic novels, underground fanzines, the newspapers of Monterey, and later in printed media mainly designing signs. In 2000 he joined the editorial/political cartoon department of the group Reforma, illustrating various articles. After Reforma, he joined the Shinseken Editorial group of Tokyo, working in a illustrated project which collected folk tales from around the world. Currently he is working with the publishing house Sirpus (Barcelona, Spain), illustrating a series of bilingual books on the history of the Zapotec communities of Oaxaca. Almanza has received several international recognitions for his beautifully frantic line work that exudes urgency, passion, and agitation. Many thanks to nearlya for this Tumblr Monday to introduce us Rene Almanza!

[more Rene Almanza | Tumblr Monday with nearlya]

Tumblr Monday 95

François Réau (b.1978, France)

Scientist. Huile sur toile, 27x42 cm (2012)
Untitled (Dark shade  pt. I). Huile brou de noix, encore, pierre noire et crayon sur papier, 65x50 cm (2012)

François Réau is a 35 year old French artist born in Niort who now lives and works in Paris. His work is all about humanity as it was when it was just born, when it had just come out of a chaotic and primordial universe; and it lets the spectators’ look infiltrate what are almost geological layers of the paint. Frontiers, borders, demarcations, nothing is ever completely clear-cut, for a minimal desire for figuration always remains with the artist. (by Jean-Daniel Mohier 2011) Many thanks to the Seriously Hazardous Art Gallery SHAG to introduce François Réau’s work !

[more François Réau | Tumblr Monday with SHAG]