Happy 100th Birthday to Milton Rogovin!

Milton Rogovin by Alec Soth. 2004.

Sometimes life gets in the way of the art. This is one of the few plausible explanations of why Milton Rogovin, who turns 100 today, is not more widely know or celebrated than he is. I have been lucky enough to represent Milton’s work for the last few years and have put up a show that re-opens next week and runs through January 16. If you don’t get a chance to see it in person, I hope you’ll check out all the pictures on the Danziger Projects website. (Click here to view.) Hopefully you’ll see why he’s such a photographer’s photographer – a particular favorite of Alec Soth and Tanyth Berkeley amongst many others.

Rogovin’s pictures consist almost entirely of portraits of workers and the working class. His prints are nearly all a modest 8 x 10 inches – a size that suits his commitment to activism above art world recognition and his dedication to social issues, most notably the plight of the miners around the world; the decline of the American steel industry, and the struggle of the working people of his home town of Buffalo, New York.

This is not to say Rogovin is unknown. In 2007 he received ICP’s prestigious Cornell Capa Award and his work is in the collection of most major museums, but it would be fair to say he’s not a household name.

Deceptively straightforward, Rogovin’s photographs reveal a personal style that up-ends the usual balance between a great photographer and the subject. While most masters of photography wittingly dominate the picture, in Rogovin's work the subject commands equal strength. The photographic style is deadpan. The camera simply provides a stage for his subjects to present themselves as they see fit. Rogovin trusts them and their ability to present themselves as the unique individuals they are. Whether because of his respect and empathy for his sitters or the sincerity of his humanism and politics, this seemingly simple concept re-addresses the delicate balance of power between the observer and the observed.

Still healthy at 100 years old, Milton is celebrating his birthday with friends and family in Buffalo. So let’s salute an artist without artifice, a democrat of the darkroom.

Happy Birthday Milton!

Prints of Denmark

For the last five years, Danish photographer Thomas Bangsted has been creating these chaotic, strange, and memorable images. What I like about Bangsted’s work is that it seems so painterly in the way it evolves. Unlike most contemporary photographers Bangsted does not work in series – each work is quite unique, has its own size, and its own character. This does not mean I’m against seriality, but the non-seriality of Bangsted’s work is just one of its distinctive characteristics.

I’m not sure if there’s anything particularly “Danish” about the work (many of the pictures were taken in America and England). Unlike Dutch or German photography which seems to be flourishing, I'm not aware of a school of Denmark – but there is a distinctive grey light to Bangsted’s work and a moodiness that would not be out of place in a contemporary production of a play about that other famous Dane.

Why put it off 'til when you can start today

Hey guys, my laptop is being really annoying at the moment and my screen is showing up all pixelated, so I'm having to use my parents slow computer while it's being fixed. So I won't be able to post as often for the next couple of weeks but I'll try my best to keep up to date. Thanks.

Dutch Humor

A little Dutch humor. Photographer Jaap Scheeren, one of the contributors to "Dutch Seen" at the Museum of the City of New York, devised this pseudo scientific experiment in collaboration with fellow artist Hans Gremmen. It's a little difficult to follow exactly what it's all about, but whatever it is, I found it quite compelling! In Gremmen's words:

Is it possible to create a three dimensional colour separation? That was the question that triggered us (photographer Jaap Scheeren and me) to start this experiment. A bouquet of fake flowers was arranged as starting and striving point. The next step was to create four still lives of this bouquet: one in Cyan, one in Magenta, one in Yellow and one in Black. These still lives were photographed and merged into one image. In theory this should have been the same as the starting point, but in practice it became “Fake Flowers In Full Colour”.

I think the point is just to make an intriguing visual, playing with the conventions of 3-D, but what I like about the image(s) is that just when you think there's nothing new that could possibly be done with a particular subject, along comes something that's playful, intriguing, oddly beautiful, and original.

For those interested in exploring further, there's Scheeren's website, Gremmen's website, a lengthy Dutch text, and a place to order the book if you're still interested in digging further into this puzzle.

A Magnum Xmas

First card in was from Magnum Photos with a large selection of Xmas and winter themed photos from which I've selected my favorites. Strangely for Magnum no credits were attached. I believe the one above is by Leonard Freed and was taken in 1958 which makes it pre-date Mario Giacomelli's famous series of student priests playing in the snow. The one of the inflatable Christmas figures behind a fence is by Martin Parr. Other than that we will have to make this a guessing game. The last picture in my edit is of two brothers meeting at Christmastime in 1963 after being separated for years by the Berlin Wall. The moment was captured by Ian Berry.