Cool Hunting
Ohio-born Israeli Rachel Papo began photographing female soldiers in 2004. Having worked as a photographer in the Israeli Air Force for two years during her mandatory military service, Papo had experienced first hand being “plucked from her home surroundings and placed in a rigorous institution where her individuality is temporarily forced aside in the name of nationalism” as she describes it in her artist's statement. The project is titled Serial No. 3817131 from the author's own military service.
These images show the homogenizing effect of military service of young people. For young women it can be especially contradictory with competing demands from society to appear gentle and feminine with the necessity of adapting to the rigors of a regimented survival.
“In striving to maintain her gentleness and femininity, the soldier seems to be questioning her own identity, embracing the fact that two years of her youth will be spent in a wistful compromise,” writes Papo.
According to Papo's website, a book published by PowerHouse will be released this spring. Click images for detail and see more after the jump.
An interesting contrast is Jerusalem-born photographer Steve Sabella's images of occupied Palestinian lands. A professional freelancer who shoots photos for the United Nations, Sabella maintains a website bringing images of daily life from Palestine to the outside world.
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Nieves, a Swiss-based indie publisher, recently released "Mister Lonely," the third script from film director, producer, screenwriter and author, Harmony Korine. Released 10 years after the widely acclaimed Gummo (1997), his third feature film, "Mister Lonely," examines what happens when a Michael Jackson impersonator (played by Diego Luna) meets a Marilyn Monroe impersonator (Samantha Morton). Released in conjunction with the movie's release in the...
Growing up in the suburban land of big-box retail (which increasingly seems to infiltrate our cities too), I was no stranger to the wanton excess that lined the shelves of stores like Meijer, Target, Costco and Walmart. As the mediocrity of these spaces and the mind-numbing effects of consumerism come to define our American landscape, it seems important for artists to encourage active debate...
"Topologies" is Portuguese photographer Edgar Martins' first book with significant distribution taking selections from each of his major series of large-format photographs. The images, which abstain from any digital manipulation, were taken in Portugal and Iceland and focus on what may be the world's least photographic scenes: barren landscapes with no conventional subjects. Instead, he opts for cold, isolated locations. But despite the lack...
by Laurice ParkinSidney Lo's show, "What Are Your Wearing Today?", which he describes as "an exercise in time and digital replication," is a group of photographs documenting the passage of time and the agent of change that it is. Going beyond the notion of a photograph as simply a moment of time captured, Lo's work makes viewers privy to the time that has passed...
by Laurice Parkin Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Photography recently announced the editions for their 2008 Fine Print Program. The program offers the opportunity to collect contemporary photographs by internationally recognized artists while supporting the Museum. Definitely a win-win for all involved. This year's diverse selections feature the work of KayLynn Deveney, Greta Pratt, Simon Roberts, New Catalogue and Jan Theun van Rees. From Deveney’s...
British artist Muzi Quawson explores the social structures of American culture with color photographs that feel like movie stills. While in Manhattan in 2002, Quawson had a chance meeting with a young musician and mother named Amanda Jo Williams, and spent the next four years staying with Amanda and her family in Woodstock. The pictures document Amanda's relationship with her partner and young twin...
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