Cool Hunting

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 sweetly captured voyeurism to Pratt’s reinterpretation of Lincoln and his log cabin, the perspective of the images presented range from geographical to architectural to historical. Collectors may have a hard time choosing only one.

An exceptional standout in the group is “Boy with Stockings / Whiskey and Cigarettes” (pictured) by New Catalogue. Luke Batten and Jonathan Sadler are the two Chicago-Based artists whose collaboration forms New Catalogue. The artists' characterize their work as “a visual research project that mirrors a stock image bank." Their series of work have provided extensive examinations on subjects ranging from the mundane (suburbia) to the controversial (Hitler), all blended with satire creating imagery reflecting the postmodern world and all at once lyrical, sharp and humorous. To see more of New Catalogue, their first monograph entitled “Big Ten Co-Eds, Preppy Girls and The Lost Cheerleaders” is available through Nazraeli Press.