FotoNostrum Magazine Issue #0

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LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER

Dear Readers, We opened the FotoNostrum Gallery in Barcelona on March 4, after an extensive refurbishing effort to convert it into one of the largest privately-held exhibition spaces in Europe entirely dedicated to photography.

It was hard to believe that a few days later, an unprecedented situation would be affecting our businesses, our communities, our families, and our way of life. Six days after the opening, the Spanish government decided to ban all events with more than 1,000 attendees. On March 13, we closed to the public due to the coronavirus. Our group exhibition with the awardees of the 15th Julia Margaret Cameron Award and the 15th Pollux Award, scheduled to close on March 29, was kaput. Like many other museums and galleries all over the world, we closed our gallery midway through the show.

Right after closing, we started brainstorming to be creative and keep our exhibitions’ program alive and maintain contact with our vibrant community of artists and viewers. As a result, we decided on two action lines: on the one hand, we will start showing online exhibitions. Right now, you can see a show of the artists represented by the gallery Virtual Exhibition Represented Artists. In another virtual room, an exhibition of the works of the inventory of the gallery Virtual Exhibition Inventory. On the other hand, we concluded that a fortnightly online magazine was an excellent medium to maintain alive the contact with the community of photographers and collectors, as well as showcasing photography portfolios and interviews with different artists. We are committed to staying in touch with our vibrant community of photographers and collectors. FotoNostrum Magazine will be fully dedicated to the showcase of portfolios and interviews with the authors, as well as interviews with editors, publishers, and curators. We believe this initiative will help 4

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to maintain our contact with photographers and collectors during the closure of our physical space. And we think it is an excellent initiative to go on promoting fine art to the public, even after overcoming this pandemic that is affecting our daily lives.

Although the Coronavirus pandemic is first and foremost a public health emergency, it is causing widespread concern. It is affecting everybody around the world. The world is on the brink to a recession, and photographers are not exempt from the financial impact.

In modern times art can be a commodity, but it can also be more a luxury good than a necessity. Most of us will have to brace ourselves for a temporary decline in revenue. Sports photographers will be impacted by the cancellation of games, and wedding photographers will feel the impact of postponed weddings. At the same time, in-studio shooting will be decline as the clients decrease their social contact.

And as the world gets accustomed to greetings without handshakes, hugs, or virtual social interaction, we need to adapt as well. There are two choices, sit at home, binge Netflix and be in a constant state of anxiety, or be as resilient as possible and mitigate the impact of the recession and confinement. Photographers can’t work from home. The job simply doesn’t go like that. But it can be the time to do all the things that we have left aside in the past, working on the improvement of websites and in postproduction, curating portfolios, posting on Instagram, researching new projects, and participating in awards and in virtual exhibitions. And this is precisely what we, in FotoNostrum, decided to do. The issue zero of this magazine is proof of what can and should be done to keep our social contact alive, to work for the future, to be able to improve our skills and showcase the work of our fellow photographers. When it seems that we’re lost in confinement, we propose to find each other in our magazine.

This first issue #0 showcases two special invitees. Julia Fullerton-Batten, a Hasselblad

Ambassador and acclaimed fine art and commercial photographer who was a winner of the Pollux Awards, and Renée Jacobs, who after being once a civil and constitutional rights lawyer in the United States is now an eminent fine art nude photographer. Renée Jacobs will be exhibiting in FotoNostrum jointly with Helmut Newton’s Private Property collection right after we’re able to reopen the gallery. Honoring Helmut Newton in his 100th Birthday Anniversary, this issue displays select images of the Private Property collection by Helmut Newton. The entire series will be exhibited in FotoNostrum Gallery as soon as we’re able to reopen it.

Helmut Newton’s iconic photographs are accompanied by an extensive interview with Matthias Harder, Director, and Curator of the Helmut Newton Foundation. We are also publishing selected images and interviews of Michael Knapstein, Judith Minks, Tom Chambers, Calli McCaw, Cheraine Colette, Julia SH, Susan Onysko, Vicky Martin, Schnezana von Büdingen, Molly McCall, Lennette Newell, and Alain Schroeder who was the winner of the World Press Photo 2018 in Sports category and was awarded twice in the World Press Photo 2020.

FotoNostrum Magazine will be released fortnightly. We look forward to seeing you again on April 30, when releasing the next issue, and thank you for taking the time to read FotoNostrum Magazine.

We wish you all the best in these difficult days. Stay safe. Wash your hands. Don’t touch your face. And keep a safe distance.

Julio Hirsch-Hardy Publisher, FotoNostrum Magazine fotonostrum.com

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CONTENT

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LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER Julio Hirsch-Hardy

JULIA FULLERTON-BATTEN Cinematic Quality

HELMUT NEWTON'S PRIVATE PROPERTY An Interview with Matthias Harder

AVEDON: BEHIND THE SCENES 1964-1980 Text and Images by Gideon Lewin

RENÉE JACOBS Women from a Woman Perspective

JULIA SH Subverting Beauty Standards

LENNETTE NEWELL Subliming the Animal Kingdom

ALAIN SCHROEDER Introducing Fine Art in Documentary Photography

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SUSAN ONYSKO Cosplay Master

CHERAINE COLLETTE (LORLEON) New Perspectives of the Natural World

MOLLY MCCALL A Visual Representation of the Ephemeral

SNEZHANA VON BÃœDINGEN Compassionate Reportage

CALLI McCAW Aesthetics and Humanism

JUDITH MINKS Perfection with a Degree of Estrangement

TOM CHAMBERS Magic Realism

MICHAEL KNAPSTEIN Midwest Photography

VICKY MARTIN Exquisite Escapism

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JULIA FULLERTON-BATTEN Cinematic Quality Julia Fullerton-Batten is a worldwide acclaimed and exhibited fine-art photographer. Her body of work now encompasses twelve major projects spanning a decade of engagement in the field.

Julia’s use of unusual locations, highly creative settings, street-cast models, accented with cinematic lighting are hallmarks of her very distinctive style of photography. She insinuates visual tensions in her images, and imbues them with a hint of mystery, which combine to tease the viewer to re-examine the picture, each time seeing more content and finding a deeper meaning. These distinctive qualities have established enthusiasts for her work worldwide and at all ends of the cultural spectrum, from casual viewers to connoisseurs of fine-art photography.

Fullerton-Batten has won countless awards for both her commercial and fine-art work, and is a Hasselblad Ambassador. She was commissioned by The National Portrait Gallery in London to shoot portraits of leading people in the UK National Health Service.

These are now held there in a permanent collection. Other images are also in permanent collection at the Musee de l’Elysee, Lausanne, Switzerland. She is widely interviewed about her projects by professional photographic magazines from around the world and is sought after as a speaker at international events and as a judge for prestigious international photographic competitions.

All images © Julia Fullerton-Batten Images courtesy of MC2 Gallery (Milan), Camara Oscura (Madrid), Galería Impakto (Lima), Jenkins Johnson Gallery (San Francisco)

Left page, top left: The Chambermaid’s Secret from the series In Service Left page, top right: The Chauffeur from the series In Service Left page, bottom: The Housemaid from the series In Service

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The color seems very important in your work. What role does it play in the messages you want to deliver?

into my show and the set designer used those two exact colours for the backdrop to my artwork. She had recognised my use of those colours My photography narrates visual and added them in a major way to my stories. I use colour to enhance my exhibition walls. It looked stunning! storytelling, especially emotionally.

With it I can express a mood or a A lot of your work seems to deal tone, making the photo look exciting, with your personal experiences as mysterious or even sombre. I use aged- an adolescent and young woman, coloured vintage clothing and props is photography a means for you to which I now find more subtle and come to terms with issues you have interesting than overly bright colours. encountered?

I have even added wilting flowers and rotten fruit to my images to give a A lot of my earlier work, from Teenage singularly potent, faded coloured effect. Stories - completed in 2005 - up to Testament to Love - finished in 2013 – Until the 1970s, colour photography was semi-autobiographical in nature was considered inappropriate as Art. If and was a very cathartic experience at all black and white was held to be the for me. It helped me resolve some only possible photographic art form. issues, especially my parents’ divorce This changed with William Eggleston. (Mothers and Daughters, 2012), which His colour images were highly had affected me quite strongly at saturated and intense. They really stood the time. It broke up the family unit out at that time. Eggleston certainly and after spending my childhood in influenced me significantly when I had Germany and the USA we moved just started my photographic career. to the UK which was quite a major change to make at such a troubled I love working with colour to such time. Upon completing those projects, a degree that when my images are I felt that I had spent enough time hung in an exhibition, I have begun reflecting on the past and started to ask for the surrounding walls to be concentrating on shooting projects painted in a colour to reinforce the based on social issues and historical colours in the images. I did this for a events relevant to my new home nation. recent exhibition in Zagreb, Croatia where images from my project The Act were hung. I asked for the walls and ceiling of the passageway in which they were hung to be painted a beautiful deep turquoise colour to match and enhance the image settings.

I hadn’t realised that my favourite colour combination is purple and green until I had a solo show at Fotografiska in Stockholm. I walked

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"It helped me resolve some issues, especially my parents’ divorce".

Above : Broken Eggs from the series Teenage Stories Following spread: Pretty New Thing from the series Mothers and Daughters

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In projects such as Feral Children or The Act you emotionally draining as a mother of two strapping tackle important social issues. How do you manage boys, I would relate to each of the cases in turn. to raise such topics and maintain your aesthetic?

In The Act, I took on the portrayal of the much I have covered many social issues. In many respects, salacious subject of women, many extremely welleven the projects on adolescent teenagers (School educated, who voluntarily participate in the sex Play, 2017) are social issues, albeit on a very personal industry in the UK. Once again, the inspiration level. I considered even more serious social issues in came from something that I had read in a magazine.

Unadorned, 2012, Blind, 2013 and In Service, 2014. The subject matter piqued my interest and I decided to make a project out of it. As usual, I did a lot of In Feral Children, I examined the heartrending background research and then set about finding stories of lost or abused children that have occurred fifteen women who chose to earn their living by over centuries. The project came about when I exploiting their bodies in various activities in the read Marina Chapman’s intriguing autobiography, sex industry. I built sets for each act and watched The Girl with No Name. I then decided to see how them unfold in front of me. I was conscious that it many other cases of feral children I could find. could be a controversial topic, so I avoided shooting I photographed fifteen different cases, covering anything that might be considered too borderline. three centuries. The background of each image was I interviewed my models as they narrated their thoroughly researched over many months before I ‘stories’ and self-published my second book, The Act. chose locations, cast the children actors, searched for props and outfits. Shooting this project was 14 fotonostrum.com

" I was conscious that it could be a controversial topic, so I avoided shooting anything that might be considered too borderline".

Left page: Genie, USA 1970 from the series Feral Children Above, top: Shadait, Escort from the series The Act Above, bottom: Monique Stripper from the series The Act

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Above, top: Slut Holes from the series Old Father Thames Above, bottom: Flooding of Tate Britain from the series Old Father Thames

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I always have the same approach - to do all the research first, then find the models and locations, slowly prepare the details and build up to the days of the shoot. Me and my team then set up the lighting, the support crew, prepare the actors and the action begins, only to be followed by days of editing.

Ophelia painting I had to find out the details of all the flowers on the riverbank. Every one of them had some meaning or symbolism and had to be there for the image to be authentic.

You have described yourself as not always the “safest photographer” regarding commercial photography. What do you mean by this?

Do you prefer working with a team on commissions or on your own on personal I am not sure I said those exact words, but projects? if I did it certainly requires an explanation.

My photographic style is cinematic, stylised I have always enjoyed the freedom of dreaming by a storytelling and consciously narrative up my own projects… In the recent years though approach. Often my settings are unexpectedly I have found that my style of photography was surreal with dramatic lighting, communicating what won me most of my commission work simultaneously both tension and mystery. In plus the fact that creatives appreciated the contrast, more often than not, commercial contributions I could make to the content of the clients wish for lifestyle images that are grabbed shoot. I enjoy both aspects of my career these days. moments in the lives of people enjoying happy situations. As my typical work is Are your ideas the result of a previous study quite the opposite, I am seldom the “desired” or do they arise naturally? How much research photographer for those kinds of images. do you do before starting to shoot a series like Old Father Thames for example?

Over time, however, clients increasingly come to me for very specific briefs which do require Obviously, the idea and content of my semi- a more atmospheric feel with content and autobiographical projects were known to lighting more akin to my style. These tend to me, but I still needed to expend a formidable be larger projects. Sometimes also, I am asked amount of time on each individual image. What by creatives to help them make their concept story do I want, what is my message to myself look more interesting. I can achieve this with and the viewer? Since I finished that series of my choice of models, but more significantly projects, the most recent ones have added an my lighting technique contributes most, and immense amount of background research to I win assignments for those reasons. I am my workload, especially since I always strive happy now to be able to benefit from those to make the content of the image as authentic five years that I spent as an assistant to a wide as humanly possible. The amount of detail I cross-section of professional photographers needed to research for my Old Father Thames and was able to learn all the technicalities and project was phenomenal – location, setting, tricks associated with lighting from them. every little detail of the history and the reason behind the tradition or custom. I researched Each brief has a different look and feel, and the background to every single image however much I sometimes feel that I can make meticulously before there was any thought of a contribution to improve it, at the end of the starting to plan the shoot. Attention to detail day I have to listen and appreciate what it is my was often minute; for my image of Millais’ clients need and expect to get from the shoot.

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HELMUT NEWTON Interview with Matthias Harder (Chief curator at the Helmut Newton Foundation in Berlin)

Dr Matthias Harder, born in Kiel in 1965, studied Art History, Classical Archaeology and Philosophy in Kiel and Berlin. He is a member of the German Society of Photography and an advisory council member of the European Month of Photography. Since 2004, he has been working as the head curator at the Helmut Newton Foundation in Berlin (since 2019 also as the Foundation’s director) and he publishes regularly in respected international magazines, such as Art in America, Foam, Aperture, Eikon, Photonews, and has written numerous articles for books and exhibition catalogues.

Helmut Newton: Private Property, curated by Matthias Harder, will be exhibited in the FotoNostrum gallery from July 12th to October 11th. Due to the Covid-19 crisis, the exhibition may be postponed until later in the third quarter of the year or beginning of 2021. The show will include original works signed by Helmut Newton. It will stand alongside two other exhibitions in an adjoining room : one by Renée Jacobs, whose photos and interview can be found on page 52 of the magazine, and the group exhibition The Devine Feminine, with works by artists from various countries and curated by Julio Hirsch-Hardy.

All images by Helmut Newton © Helmut Newton Estate

Right page: Jenny Capitain Pension Florian Berlin 1977 Following spread: Saddle I, Paris 1976

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As the Director and Chief Curator of the Helmut Newton Foundation, which aspects of Helmut Newton’s work would you say are the most relevant today, especially for younger generations?

prevailing zeitgeist and integrated visual metalevels, sometimes more subtly and sometimes quite brashly. He often used exaggeration and provocation as stylistic devices. If you look at the evolution of Newton’s fashion imagery, published in the most renowned magazines Of the three main genres and the numerous over a period of half a century, it reveals excursions into other areas in Helmut nothing less than the radical transformation Newton’s work, two stand out in terms of their of the role of women in Western society. relevance for today’s and future generations: his fashion and portrait photography. His In 1981, Newton took a further radical step portraits of the famous and infamous, which with his series Naked and Dressed which he started in the 1980s, are direct and intense he produced for Italian and French Vogue. insights into the faces of art collectors, He photographed models twice in the same politicians, musicians, and actors – and go exact pose – once clothed and once naked. behind the mask of celebrities. His black- The resulting diptychs were published and-white and color portraits document first in the magazines for which they were these individuals beyond their public created and then in his own photography role, without exposing or transforming books; later he showed life-sized prints of them. Newton gives them space for self- Naked and Dressed in exhibitions. This was dramatization and representation; a portrait around 1980 and marked the transition session is like an intuitive and intellectual from fashion to nude photography in his test to capture the single, decisive image. work. It was an an aspect that was not only provocative but also commercially important.

In his fashion shots, Newton visualized the

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What can you tell us about the transition of his photography from magazines to museums? Is this something you want to portray in the foundation?

This shift is one of the things that our institution addresses. As is well known, the vast majority of Newton’s photographs were shot on assignment for magazines or directly commissioned by fashion clients. But Newton made a point of de-contextualizing select images and integrating them into his own exhibitions and publications. We are continuing this approach posthumously at his foundation: in recent years, Newton’s books have sometimes become exhibitions. If we look at his early books, his second photo book, Sleepless Nights, from 1978 already represents a shift from editorial to book format. The photographs reissued there had previously appeared in Playboy and Oui, in the German news magazine Spiegel, and in the French, American, and Italian editions of Vogue. For our exhibition White Women / Sleepless Nights / Big Nudes in 2011, we re-produced all of the

photographs from Newton’s first three books as inkjet prints in various formats. The show then travelled to Houston and Los Angeles, followed by Venice, Genoa, and Naples. This show of his works from the 1970s and early 1980s – a time when Newton became Newton, so to speak – was quite a success at all of the institutions involved, both with the public and the press. We repeated the transformation from printed to exhibited image for Newton’s publications World without Men from 1984, Pages from the Glossies from 1998, and SUMO from 1999. In 2009, ten years after the latter was published, an unusual and, in a way, appropriate exhibition was created for this legendary publication. All 404 pages of SUMO were framed and hung alongside each other on the wall in three rows, one above the other. Instead of leafing through the book one page after the other, exhibition visitors were able to see everything at once.

At the same time, the visitors themselves were essentially framed by the nearly 400 photographs. This arrangment made it

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possible to see connections between Newton’s iconic images, especially from his main genres of fashion, portraits, and nudes, some in black-and-white and others in color, which were created over the course of 40 years from the 1960s to the 1990s. On the occasion of that exhibition, Taschen published a scaleddown version of SUMO, which has since been replaced on the book market by a later edition published on the occasion of our renewed SUMO exhibition yet another ten years later in 2019. So this is one of our approaches at the Helmut Newton Foundation, in which earlier Newton books give rise to exhibitions, which in turn may lead to further publications.

States. This project includes the famous “Self Portrait with Wife and Models”, a curious and genre-transcending fashion shot for the 1981 Italian men’s Vogue, which is at the same time quite a private photograph. Newton later included it in Us and Them – probably his most private exhibition – and in the accompanying book. Us and Them is a kind of photographic diary that documents the life of Helmut and June Newton in the self-portraits and portraits they took of each other, and also features their photographs of actors, artists, and other acquainted personalities.

It offers quite intimate views, such as nude self-portraits using a mirror at the hospital, and documents the life and love story of Does Helmut Newton: Private Property – the photographer couple over five decades. which will be exhibited at FotoNostrum Newton’s Private Property portfolio from gallery in Barcelona this year – showcase the 1984 does not offer such private photographs. photographer’s personal life? What is the meaning of the title and what aspects of his Helmut Newton’s Private Property is also personality can we understand through this the title of the permanent exhibition at our selection? foundation in Berlin. Visitors can discover numerous objects from Newton’s private Actually, the title Private Property refers to a sphere on display at the museum, where few things. For one, it refers to Newton’s small they can learn more about his eventful life book based on set of 45 vintage prints in and photographic work. The unconventional three boxes with 15 photographs each. These presentation on our ground floor not only are black-and-white silver prints that were brings people closer to the photographer, but produced in 1984, and all signed verso by the also to the people he worked with. Among photographer. The images themselves were other things it contains cinematic insights taken between 1972 and 1983 and represent into the photo shoots, cameras, and the all the genres Newton worked in during this accessories he outfitted his models with, as period: fashion, portraits, and nudes. At the well as parts of his private library. Additionally, foundation’s archive, we have a complete set numerous publications and magazines, some of these valuable, iconic, and small-format of which Helmut Newton worked for as early prints framed. This little exhibition titled as the 1950s, along with many posters from Private Property, we have loaned to some his exhibitions, document the development institutions around the world, most recently of his unparalled photographic oeuvre. in Hungary, South Korea, and the United

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Above: Self-Portrait with wife and models, Paris 1981

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Some iconic images such as “Saddle” are considered offensive by some people. Other of his fashion shots are regarded by his detractors as bordering on pornography. Do you think “Saddle” is an example of the blend of sexual subversion and high fashion that Newton was bringing to his photography in the 1970s? What can you say to those who criticize the image for being misogynistic?

revealing a lesbian relationship between the two protagonists. But of course the two models, who first had to be convinced to perform such an outrageous act in front of the camera, were also wearing clothes that were being featured editorially in the magazine. Today, exhibition visitors must first be made aware of the radical nature of this staging idea by “naughty boy” Newton; it seems so harmless according to contemporary standards. At “Saddle” – a legendary photo – neither reveals the time, however, it was seen as a titillating a sexual obsession of the photographer nor eye-catcher in the magazines, and that was is it in any way misogynistic. Of course, what photographers were often interested in Newton has always irritated and polarized achieving in photographs that were meant with his work, and challenged traditional to be published. Newton’s images were a step moral standards. “Good taste” was a dirty ahead of the “radical chic” zeitgeist to come. word for him, as he once said in an interview.

Being Jewish, Newton fled Germany in A few years ago in Stockholm at a public talk, December 1938, shortly after Kristallnacht.

I met Gunilla Bergström, the former model One can sense the mood of 1930s Berlin who is featured in the photograph, and asked in some of his scenes of dark decadence. her about the photo shoot from the 1970s. What do you think Newton was trying She said that working with Helmut Newton to communicate with his visual nihilism was always a lot of fun, and that he always and playful subversion when shooting his came up with the most unusual ideas, for elaborate mises en scenes filled with power example putting the Hermès leather saddle and sex? on her back – and that everyone involved in the shoot was rolling over in laughter. Of Helmut Newton loved both the night and the course, every photograph and every work of mysterious, not only in Berlin in his teenage art can be interpreted or judged differently, years, but also later in Paris in his early forties. and “Saddle”, which was featured in Vogue There he walked in the footsteps of Brassaï, Hommes, has just as many fans as opponents. who counted among his role models. Newton’s We see this in the reactions to Newton night shots are also reminiscent of the German exhibitions to this day. By the way, “Saddle” Expressionist Ernst Ludwig Kircher. Think of and two other variations of the photograph Newton’s famous fashion photograph “Rue are also part of Newton’s Sleepless Nights. Aubriot”, which he produced for the French Vogue in 1975 on the street of the same This is by far not the only photograph by name in the Marais quarter, where Newton Newton that has sparked controvery, both lived at the time. Back then it was known during his lifetime and posthumously. In the among other things for being a pleasure early 1970s, for example, he photographed district, its narrow streets a perfect setting two women lighting each other’s cigarette and for clandestine meetings; the atmosphere even kissing each other, which some saw as was similar to what Brassaï visualized in his

Left page: Fashion Yves Saint Laurent French Vogue Paris 1979

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famous book Paris de Nuit from 1933. In his iconic photograph, Newton may not only have been referencing the French Brassaï, but perhaps also the German Kirchner, who portrayed female prostitutes in Berlin in the evenings and at night on Potsdamer Platz shortly before the outbreak of World War I. Smoking and waiting for suitors, they are similar to Newton’s model in the fashion shot. But the androgynous woman with the slicked-back hair in Newton’s image for Vogue is wearing a tuxedo by Yves Saint Laurent, who revolutionized fashion at the time. The tuxedo transforms the model into the epitome of a modern, wealthy, self-confident woman.

Newton’s image is a perfect expression of Saint Laurent’s radical fashion statement. Moreover, as so often with Newton, its flirtatious ambivalence leaves room for interpretation.

the rest. For the exhibition Men, War & Peace we paid tribute to the exhibition space itself, a former military casino dating back to the early 20th century. In addition to Newton’s portraits of men, we showed compelling social portraits by David LaChapelle and war images by James Nachtwey. Our group exhibition on paparazzi photography was the first of its kind worldwide. Newton appreciated the speed and chutzpah of the paparazzi and even cooperated with them in Rome in 1970 for fashion shots for Linea Ilaliana. The site-specific installation by Mario Testino was designed specifically for our foundation. Consisting of fashion and nude photographs, it uncluded numerous unpublished studio portraits. 50 largerthan-life portraits were affixed directly to the walls of the three exhibition halls, with the images reaching into So it’s not necessarily a dark decadence or the corners and up to the ceiling. visual nihilism that Newton conveyed in some of his fashion images, but rather a refined This extraordinary form of presentation, and playful attempt to visualize his visions of which is without comparison or precedent fashion and style, of beauty and seduction. And in Testino’s work and in the foundation’s this was almost always done on behalf of the exhibition history, filled the room with magazines and other fashion clients he worked bodies and emotions. The experimental for, albeit according to Newton’s own rules. presentation transformed the exhibition space into a hyperspace, giving the feel The foundation’s mission statement expresses of a walk-in magazine or a pop-up book, the wish not to be a “dead museum”, but a with visitors right in the middle of it all. “living institution”. How do you enhance Everything became a stage – the space inside this vision? the presentation as well as presentation space itself. The list of unconventional presentations We present all aspects of Newton’s that have transformed our house into a incomparable work, always in novel and “living institution” could easily be continued. surprising ways. In the years since 2004 we Newton’s wish, which he specified when he have created many new exhibitions, and set up the foundation, defines our program. the works are always individually printed and framed. The arrangements range from That said, the foundation does not confine minimalist to elaborate, the walls on which itself to its own four walls; we also bring they are presented can be dark grey or brightly numerous exhibitions to other institutions colored. Each of our exhibitions radically and museums. The same exhibition looks transforms the spaces – their juxtaposition completely different at other locations; this with the work of other photographers does constantly amazes me each time I adapt

Right page: Peretti Bunny

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the exhibition to a new venue. Each Newton show is different and a mustsee. A few years ago, the Grand Palais in Paris had more than 3,000 visitors a day.

At our foundation in Berlin we also offer regular guided tours and talks. We are active on social media and are using this bring our exhibition content digitally to people’s homes, most recently with VR films of earlier exhibitions. Our audience reflects society: young and old, male and female, photo experts as well as people entering a museum for the very first time.

Helmut Newton remains alive through his iconic and much-discussed work and through our foundation activities.

His foundation at the Berlin Museum of Photography is truly one of a kind.

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AVEDON: BEHIND THE SCENES 1964-1980 Text and images by Gideon Lewin Gideon Lewin was born in Jerusalem, Israel. He graduated from the Art Center College of Design, Los Angeles, majoring in photography and advertising. As an established photographer for 40 years, he has collaborated with American and European fashion designers on advertising, promotions, and books, as well as beauty campaigns for Clairol, Revlon, Colgate, and Mirabella. He has also created editorial work for Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, Avenue, Lear’s, Elle, Lifestyles, and Travelgirl magazines. Lewin’s portraits include many celebrities and personalities of note in politics and the arts. He has collaborated on Unmistakably Mackie: The Fashion and Fantasy of Bob Mackie, and fashion books with Bill Blass and others. A retrospective exhibit of his work was presented by the Museum of Photography in Mougins, France, and a one-man exhibition, Platinum Nudes, at the Neuhoff Gallery, New York. Early in his career, Lewin was the studio manager and “right-hand man” to Richard Avedon for 16 years. During this time, he collaborated with Richard Avedon on many projects, including printing of major museum exhibitions and editions, working on books, traveling with him extensively for editorial assignments.

Avedon: Behind the Scenes, 1964-1980 relates Lewin’s personal experiences working with Richard Avedon. Published in the USA by powerHouse Books, and available in Amazon.

Behind the Scenes, 1964-1980 with original prints by Gideon Lewin, will be an exhibition curated by Gideon Lewin, Joanna Mastroianni, Analy Werbin, and Julio Hardy-Hirsch, in FotoNostrum in November 2020 January 2021. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, and the day the gallery will be reopened, schedule may change to a later date to be decided.

All images © Gideon Lewin

Right page: Avedon with mask, 1978. Body language tells all.

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You were the studio manager and “right-hand man” to Richard Avedon for 16 years. You wrote: “Many photographers tried to imitate his work, but images of the same women, when photographed by others, lacked that inimitable magic,”. According to you, what makes Richard Avedon’s work so iconic?

Avedon had the ability to establish a personal relationship with the women he photographed, whether a model or a personality, resulting in a more intimate, collaborative atmosphere. As a director, it gave him the advantage to create his vision of an Avedon woman and a unique image.

What motivated you to publish Avedon – Behind the Scenes 1964-1980?

I started my own studio in 1980, and soon became a very busy photographer, creating and delivering assignments to many wonderful clients. In the mid 1990s, I fell in love with a fascinating woman, Joanna Mastroianni. She is also a great fashion designer and my partner in life. Her inquisitive mind and her passion for my work brought to life all the wonderful stories of my experiences working and collaborating with Richard Avedon for sixteen years. They are behind the scenes images and stories of some of the most iconic images in Fashion. It took a few years to convince me to let go, share my memories with a new generation that grew up with computer technology, Photoshop, the Internet and Smartphones. I feel that this book is educational for any generation.

Can you tell us about your selection process regarding the images in the book?

Selecting the images for the book was a long process, as I had about 4000 images to look through. First I eliminated many of the personal images and incidental reportage images.

Above: Avedon with collage 1965

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Right page: Veruschka Ara Gallant Polly Mellen 1966 Following spread, top left: Avedon and Sumo Following spread, bottom left: Veruschka and sumo. Yuzawa, 1966 Following spread, right: Avedon jumping of joy

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Above, bottom left: Avedon and Sumo

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Then, I grouped them into subjects and stories. At that point, serious editing began with Joanna by my side, identifying the strongest images in each group and creating the core images that could tell the full story. I started to write the text as I was looking through the photographs, each one bringing to life vivid images of the wonderful experiences and the creative days working with Avedon, my mentor. But a book has its limitations imposed by the publisher, therefore some stories were eliminated, others were condensed. So we had to re-edit the core images to the most important ones that would still tell the full story. Finally, the layout of the book was a very important element in showcasing the photographs.

Fortunately, I was able to participate and collaborate with the designer in creating the complete design of the book.

we all worked to his will. He dressed impeccably when going to meetings or the theater. His suits were custom made by the finest tailors; his shoes were custom made

by Loeb in Paris. He was totally casually dressed working in the studio, wearing fury slippers almost every day.

In many of our personal conversations, when talking about his early years growing up, he only spoke of some fun moments and a strained relationship with his father.

Avedon was afraid of death, not having enough time to do all the creative work he needed to do. He had his guarded private self and then a public face every outsider was familiar with. With his permission, I did several portraits of him over the years. But whenever I photographed him, I realized that he needed to have control over the sitting, giving me the same expression every time. I had to gain You talk about your intimate relationship with Richard his trust over time to finally break through and be able Avedon and the duality of his public and private selves. to capture his moods and his feelings in my portraits Can you tell us about this? Were you ever able to of him. I feel that the photograph of him holding the capture it in your portraits of him? mask of himself, captures his critical, mysterious, observing self, behind a mask of his public persona.

I have always protected Avedon's privacy, but I realized early on that he was a performer. He was in control of everything in the studio, he created the ups and downs,

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"Avedon was a performer, he was in control of everything in the studio".

Previous spread: Veruschka. Ara Gallant treating a bracelet. Tokyo, 1966 Right page: Richard Avedon with a portrait of his father Jacob Israel Avedon Following spread, top left: Richard Avedon - MasterClass 1967 Following spread, bottom left: Diane Arbus - Master Class 1967 Following spread, right: Hiro, Diane Arbus, and Avedon - Master Class 1967

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In 1980, you established your independent studio, can you tell us about this experience?

The Avedon studio was my second home for 16 years.

This was the place I spent most of my time, working long hours and collaborating with the master. I also had my own clients there, and doing my personal creative work – it was home. Even though my plan was to start my own studio after his triumphant retrospective show at the Met in 1978, it still felt a bit traumatic, as if I was leaving home. Yet, it was a relief because I could focus exclusively on my own work. I already had a number of clients as a base, so I had some security for income.

It took me three months to build my new studio and get comfortable, when I received a call from Avedon’s secretary to keep the afternoon open. That afternoon Richard Avedon marched into my studio with his team, bearing food, Champagne and dishes (the same as in his studio), a poem composed by all of his staff, and the most personal gift of all, "Dovima and Elephants", his iconic photograph that hung in the studio. I was definitely home.

"Even though my plan was to start my own studio after his triumphant retrospective show at the Met in 1978, it still felt a bit traumatic, as if I was leaving home".

Previous spread, left: ‬Lauren Hutton and Ara Gallant, 1974 Previous spread, top right: ‬Rene Russo and Suga in dressing room Previous spread, bottom right:Polly Mellen Patti Hansen, 1975 Left page: ‬Lauren Hutton on set 1974

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Above: Avedon and China Machado. After party. Paris, 1965 Right page: Avedon inspecting the tan with Rene, 1974 Following spread: Avedon and serpent eagle. Ireland, 1969

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RENÉE JACOBS Women from a Woman Perspective Renée Jacobs is one of the most celebrated photographers of the female nude of our time. Recipient of the prestigious International Photography Award for Fine Art Nude, her work has been exhibited and published around the world.

Her 2009 & 2010 photo calendars went to #1 on Amazon. Monographs of her work include Werkdruck (2012/Editions Galerie Vevais, edited and with an introduction by Jock Sturges); Renée Jacobs’ PARIS (2013/Editions Galerie Vevais) and Rêves de Femmes (2014/Editions Bessard). Magazines that have featured Renée’s work include Silvershotz, Adore Noir, PH Magazine, Fine Art Photo, Nude Magazine, Photoicon, French Photo, B&W Magazine, Focus, FHM Turkey and numerous others. She has been featured in numerous anthologies, such as Taschen’s Mammoth Book of Erotic Photography.

Renée’s early photojournalism included assignments for The New York Times, Philadelphia Inquirer and many other newspapers and magazines. She received the Robert F. Kennedy Award for Outstanding Coverage of the Disadvanatged and her work is in the permanent collection of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library. Her first book, Slow Burn: A Photodocument of Centralia, Pennsylvania was originally published in 1986 and reissued in 2010 to favorable reviews in The New York Times Review of Books and photo-eye.

Renée Jacobs will be holding a solo exhibition at the FotoNostrum gallery from July 12th to October 11th.

Due to the Covid-19 crisis, the exhibition may be postponed until later in the third quarter of the year or beginning of 2021. Women will take top honors at the gallery as the exhibition will show some of Renée’s most exquisite female nudes and will occur alongside two exhibitions in an adjoining room: Helmut Newton: Private Property, curated by Matthias Harder (see page 18) and the group exhibition The Devine Feminine, with works by artists from various countries and curated by Julio Hirsch-Hardy.

Al l images © René e Jac c obs Left page: Carolyn and Horse

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Renée Jacobs

”Elisa in Rome”

Left page: June and Lindsey Center: Elisa in Rome Right page: Marine on the Stairs

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Left page: Brasserie Right page: Le Pont

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What is femininity to you? Why do you choose to photograph female nudes?

I don’t necessarily have a concept of “femininity”, but I certainly have a concept of “feminism” that is extremely important in my work. Those ideals of feminism propel me to photograph female nudes. Concepts of sensuality, empowerment, authenticity, consent, ownership of our bodies, our fantasies, our emotional intelligence are the driving factors for me. Suppression and silencing of women’s voices and desires are the enemy.

What is the relationship between your work and voyeurism? How do you use this to convey your message?

In the introduction to one of my books, Douglas and Françoise Kirkland so kindly wrote: “Renée Jacobs’ work is the result of a very personal vision and interpretation of women. The female form is her intimate sketchpad…Life is a dream and Renée treats us to exquisite images that are a magical feast…[You] are walking past an open door and witnessing beauty…Apparitions and fantasies...the story is left to our imagination…

[You] become a voyeur; you experience a guilty pleasure, un léger frisson, catching a glimpse of forbidden private moments.” It’s a lovely sentiment from the perspective of the viewer of the images. But when I’m photographing it doesn’t feel like voyeurism at all. It’s a dance, a performance, a revelation of something the model wants to express, to show, to have seen.

I’m extraordinarily unaffected by what the viewer might think. I’ve sometimes referred to my work as “erotic journalism”. I want to portray and experience what the model wants to share with me.

"I’m keenly aware that women have been suppressed for eternity".

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You said in an interview for The Eye of Photography “Many of the women I photograph remain friends and our stories become intertwined over time. We understand one another, often in ways that never need to -- or can be-- spoken. “. Could you tell us about this connection?

I’m keenly aware that women have been suppressed for eternity. We are constantly judged and categorized. I, of course, have internalized those signals, messages and judgments. In trying to reach through those curtains to hear what these women have to say from their individual experiences, it helps me reclaim my own authenticity. I rarely tell models what to wear, how to pose or—most importantly—who to be. I want them to tell me all those things about themselves. The connection comes in that attempt to understand, to encourage, to support.

There is so much variation on the spectrum of who women are and what we want—and I want to hear it all!

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How do you create an intimate environment during a photoshoot?

Champagne! No, but really, the intimacy creates itself in the space in which I let the model do whatever she wants. I’m not there to judge or censor. I’m there to open the door to whatever the model wants to say.

Why did you choose black and white in your female nudes? Do you think it enhances the eroticism that is present in your photographs?

Black and white has such a timeless quality. And of course, one of the oldest subjects of photography is the female nude. So I want to be true to the timeless origins of the medium, while using the richness of shadows you get in black and white to achieve a dimensionality I don’t think you can have in color. I do have some

color nudes I like very much, but when I use color in a nude it’s almost always to give a different richness to the background or the setting rather than the model.

Some of my nudes in Italy—Venice, in particularjust have to be in color. But I do use color rarely.

What is your relationship with Paris? In which ways does the city inspire you?

Paris is an explosion of the senses and just holds a very special place in my heart and in the firmament of women in the arts. Women feel free there. There’s just such a rich history of women finding freedom in Paris—Gertrude Stein, Josephine Baker, Djuna Barnes, Renée Vivien, Natalie Barney, Janet Flanner, Berenice Abbott. And of course, Paris is the historical heart of photography. So for me, it’s an incredibly powerful place to photograph women.

How does the work of Helmut Newton influence your photography ?

I am delighted for our upcoming exhibit of my work alongside Helmut Newton's at FotoNostrum. I had the incredible thrill of actually photographing one of Newton's muses for my PARIS book. To be able to photograph Sylvia Gobbel--a woman who holds such an iconic place in photography-- in the City of Light was a unique and wonderful experience. I'm often asked how Newton's work influences mine.

More than anything, I think we both were inspired by the way Paris unleashes something in women. I'm delighted to put a different twist on looking at women-seeing women's power and sensuality as a woman.

Previous spread: Café de Flore Left page: Carolyn on a Horse Right page: Taline on the Roof

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JULIA SH Subverting Beauty Standards Julia SH is an award-winning photographer, working on both Fine Art and Commercial projects. She frequently takes pictures of female models with body types that aren’t normally featured in photography. Julia often frames these models in a Fine Art context in an effort to hinder the viewer from making a kneejerk sexual value judgment. Her work encourages the viewer to take an aesthetic interest in the geometry and textures that make the models’ bodies unique, moving beyond societydictated notions of attractiveness. Born in Stockholm, she spent the first 18 years of her life in Sweden before moving to London to pursue her studies in Fine Art. She has always been fascinated with the human form in all its iterations, particularly the female body.

This interest has grown since she moved to the United States, where nudity, the body, and how we view it are highly controversial issues.

Al l images © Ju l i a SH

Left page: Studio Practice #1 from the series Studio Practice

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Above, top: Studio Practice #2 from the series Studio Practice Above, bottom: Studio Practice #4 from the series Studio Practice Right page, top: Limber from the series Nudes Right page, bottom: Nudes #3 from the series Nudes

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You frequently shoot nude models. How do you use your visual skills to challenge the expectations that society holds about women’s bodies?

I am interested in challenging the concept of photography as a modernist medium through creating images that are not only inspired by the sculptural, painting and sculptural arts, but are approached as if they were created in a different medium altogether. The camera is merely one of the materials used.

What is your relationship to sculpture and how do you use it to desexualize your subjects?

In the U.S., what little nudity is permitted is usually shown in a sexual context. This contributes to a perception that we’re supposed to evaluate every naked body we see as a potential sex partner or rival. Seeing nudes in a museum is one of the only exceptions to this. I don’t think that most of us react to a naked portrait in a museum by thinking “wow, I’d never have sex with that, why is it on display?” or by writing a letter of complaint to the museum director about Rubens’s glorification of obesity. Therefore, I have framed my models as sculptures and works of art in a museum, in the hope that the viewer will suspend any judgments about whether they find the models sexually attractive or not, or whether their bodies are socially “acceptable.” Hopefully, this will give the viewer an opportunity to observe the work as they might a classic painting, and discover some aesthetic interest, or even pleasure, in the unique shapes and textures of the models’ bodies.

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What do you feel is the most challenging aspect of photographing nude models?

To not be able to control what the trolls are saying on social media. The female body is highly controversial here in the west (especially the plus sized one) and a ridiculous amount of people think that not only do they have the right to make judgements on other people’s physiques but also share those opinions publicly. While many of my models will inspire and empower other women, they will also be subject to a lot of shaming by insensitive viewers that love to give unsolicited health advice, express “concern” or simply say really nasty things. I hate it because I want to protect my models but I also recognize that by stirring the pot, we are creating a much needed dialogue.

primary lens was a Hasselblad 150mm f4 fitted with a prototype Metabones “Speedbooster” designed by Brian Caldwell.

Exposures were made at 125th of a second at f16, to preserve depth of focus.

The primary challenge for makeup artist Satya Linak, was to manage the amount of makeup smear the plastic would create. While some smear was desired, this had to be carefully controlled. To do this, the plastic wrap was held in a rig and the face pushed onto it. The makeup was applied conventionally and then covered in a sealant to help hold it in place.

Water and glycerine were used on both the plastic and the face to enhance the “meatlike” visual effect. As much as possible was done to generate the effect in camera, rather than merely compile it in postYour series Fresh Meat in collaboration with production. This created “happy accidents” Nic Sadler was praised for raising issues in the process which were either corrected such as unhealthy beauty standards. Can you or enhanced as they occurred. The team explain the motivations behind this series as worked closely together, evaluating and well as the techniques you used to render the evolving the technique for best effect. effects wanted?

Do you think social media has shifted the The idea for Fresh Meat evolved out of a way we interact with and view photography? desire to subvert current beauty standards in photography and confront the de- Absolutely. Now most of the images we look humanization that it has created. In the at are no larger than a thumbnail which forces last few years, the proliferation of social photographers to develop a visual language media has altered the way we interact with that has to engage viewers in a micro format. culture and each other. The standards of I’m grateful that I get immediate feedback beauty that were previously applied to through social media and see what people models in magazines, now extend to the engage with, but I also miss the physical images presented by the public at large. format of books, magazines and prints.

This leaves us with a question: What do we However, social media has allowed me consider beauty in 2020? Where is the line an artistic platform which I didn’t have between what is beautiful and what is ugly. before and I consider it a necessary evil.

The images were captured with the medium format Fuji GFX50S camera. The

Right page: Fresh Meat Emory #1 from the series Fresh Meat Following spread, left: Fresh Meat Adelina #1 from the series Fresh Meat Following spread, right: Fresh Meat Eromomen #1 from the series Fresh Meat

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LENNETTE NEWELL Subliming the Animal Kingdom Starting her career as a commercial photographer, Lennette Newell specialized in advertisements containing humans and animals. Simultaneously, she maintained a passion for fine art, photographing humans and animals in original styles to reveal their beautiful personalities.

Al l images Š L en nette Ne wel l

Above: Baboon 1416 from the series Ani-Human Right page: Chetaah 347 from the series Ani-Human Following spread: Elephant 555 from the series Ani-Human

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After working on your Ani-Human series, of all species, which depend on each other for what patterns do you think are found in both survival. Keystone species, such as elephants, animal and human behavior? have a large effect on their environment and impact the surrounding biodiversity.

The most common pattern is trust and respect between species. I have always found that all Sensuality is a recurrent theme in your species are like humans in this respect. Trust photography. Can you explain how the use of is hard to accomplish in a short time, but suggested poses enhances your message? respect goes a long way to close this gap. We allowed the animals to view and smell the body I don’t believe that I intentionally use any poses painting progression as she/he morphed into that enhance sensuality. I simply believe when that animal. Including the animal during this we are in a raw state, unclothed, uninhibited process led to a comfortable environment of by social norms, we are free to find ourselves mutual respect, where the animal was free to and enjoy the moment. Throughout history, express his/herself at each stage without feeling zoolatry and spirit animals have played confined. In addition, the studio environment important roles in different cultures and I too, was carefully arranged to enable the animals to hold animals in high regard. I feel that we can move and to explore freely around the set. We are gain confidence from the strength and elegance born with the capacity to experience all of our that animals emanate, and it is possible that the feelings and I believe this is true for all animals. models have benefited from this effect on set.

In a lot of your work, the human models are mirroring the animals. Do you think this is something we should be doing on a general scale?

Animals play an important part in sustainability, as the ecosystem is comprised of an intricate web

"The most common pattern is trust and respect between species".

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Lennette Newell Lennette Newell Ani-Human Series Ani-Human “Elephant”Series “Elephant”

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You use both black and white and highly saturated colors in your photography, as in your series Interpretations. Can you talk about your use of color?

Bold colors can draw your attention and might bring you to an immediate conclusion that may be different from the underlining subject that resonates beneath. Once you have moved past the obvious boldness and taken the opportunity to pause, it is possible to see another message within the image, sparking an open-ended engagement with the audience.

Your book Ani-Humans was published in 2016.

As a photographer, how was the experience of releasing a book? In your opinion, what is the importance of releasing a book?

I was very fortunate to have paired many European exhibitions with the release of an Anihuman book, prepared in collaboration with Maria Dolores Cattaneo and Zoom magazine.

The book provided additional exposure, enabling me to provide a more detailed account of the project and furthermore served as a means to promote animal awareness amongst the audience.

“I hope this collection of primate images will garner awareness and bring us closer to our animal relatives in a time that is particularly challenging for humans".

I was surprised by the attention drawn by the Ani Human series and therefore underprepared when it came to explaining my work to the public; I have since found myself working differently on present and future projects.

Can you talk about your Primates series and the importance of this project?

I have been working on my Primate series for some time and it started with casual shoots that occurred by chance whenever it was possible to interact with primates that came from sanctuaries, rescue facilities or small zoos. I then moved on to photograph in national parks located in Bali, Uganda, Ethiopia and the U.S., including the Audubon Institute and other primate facilities. All of the images photographed outside the studio have been silhouetted out of their natural environment or enclosure and placed on black backgrounds to focus all attention on the primate. I hope this collection of primate images will garner awareness and bring us closer to our animal relatives in a time that is particularly challenging for humans. Our behavior plays an immense role in the dangers we face. As human populations grow, our incursion into a variety of habitats expands even as our appetite for certain animals remains unabated.

The chimpanzee and bonobo share 98.7% of their DNA with humans, making the two species our closest living relatives. Wild bonobos can now only be found in forests south of the Congo River in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Most primates are very limited in habitat and remain critically endangered. I hope that as humans fight to escape the pending pandemic they will become increasingly considerate not only of each other, but also of our primate relatives who have been facing similar hardships. The black and white images have just been released to Welcome Enterprises which will design and package them for publishing.

Previous spread, left: Mandril from the series Primates Previous spread, top right: Brown Capuchin from the series Primates Previous spread, bottom right: Sumatran Orangutan from the series Primates Right page: Spider Monkey from the series Primates

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ALAIN SCHROEDER Fine Art in Documentary Photography Alain Schroeder is a Belgian photojournalist born in 1955. Freelance sports photographer from 1979 till 1989. In 1989 he founded Reporters, a well-known photo agency in Belgium. He has illustrated over thirty books. In 2012, he sold his shares in Reporters and since then travels the world shooting personal projects focusing on social issues and human interest stories. He has won many international awards including a Japan Nikon Award 2017 for the Rohingya series, the TPOTY Travel Photographer of the Year Award 2017 with the series Living for Death and the series Kushti, and 1st prize at World Press Photo 2018 for the series Kid Jockeys in the category Sports Stories. Recently he won two first prizes in Nature category of the World Press Photo 2020, with the series Saving Orangutans. He participated in numerous exhibitions worldwide. Schroeder is represented in Belgium by Reporters and in France by the photo agency Rea and Hemis.

Al l images Š Al ain S ch ro e der

Above: Taekwondo North Korea Style 01 from the series Taekwondo North Korea Style Right page: Kim City 04 from the series Kim Cityy

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You are known for being a photojournalist. However, your work is often at the crossroads of reality and surrealism. How is your photography influenced by Belgian Surrealism?

when I see a special arrangement of things that makes the reality look strange or different. It is visible in the story “Kim City” in North Korea, or in the 2 stories in Belgium; “Les Marches” and “The Carnaval”. Not only the framing, but the stories It probably comes from my adolescence. Between themselves evoke Surrealism, and I am attracted to 15-18 years old, I spent a lot of time at the library that. Of course it is not always the case especially reading fine art books and studying surrealist when you shoot human stories, but I am convinced painters. I was deeply impressed and loved them that my background leads me to choose a certain (especially Dali, Magritte, Chirico, etc.). When I point of view, framing, association of objects had read all the books they had about painting, the and color. You cannot escape your identity. librarian gave me some photography books. One was the famous French magazine Photo and the You founded Reporters in 1989, can you tell us first story I liked was by the Japanese photographer, about this experience and why you decided to sell Kishin Shinoyama (a series of infrared nudes in the your shares? street; a new concept at the time close to Surrealism).

It was a very interesting magazine as it mixed all I was a professional photographer for 40 years and kinds of photography - fashion, documentary, travel, now I am technically retired (65). In 1989, after 10 war, personal work - in one issue. Then I discovered years of freelancing, with two other photographers, another famous magazine called Zoom and all I established Reporters Photo Agency (www. the classic photographers like Cartier-Bresson, reporters.be). Within a few years, it grew from 3 to Koudelka, etc. At the time I was studying fine arts, more than 20 people doing all types of photography. but I got hooked by photography and at school Around 2000, business was getting harder due to I switched immediately to photography classes. the internet and the rise of digital cameras. While both were great things, competition became tougher Nowadays, as a photo journalist and documentary and more diverse, not only from other agencies but photographer, there is often that one moment now almost anyone could sell, or try to sell, pictures. fotonostrum.com 79

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Prices dropped. This revolution affected magazines and newspapers as well and the money suddenly disappeared. Magazines no longer offered assignments or guarantees and we were forced to explore other sources of revenue like corporate communications and video. In 2012, I sold my shares in order to travel the world and shoot personal projects focusing on social issues and human interest stories. I have won many awards since, notably, 1st prize at World Press Photo 2018 in the category Sports Stories with Kid Jockeys and in 2020 two World Press Photo awards for Saving Orangutans in Nature Stories and Nature Single.

or sometimes they don’t recognize the best pictures. In those cases, I diplomatically suggest a different selection and usually they listen.

Your personal projects focus on social issues and human interest stories. How do your visual education and technical skills serve your narratives?

I’m most interested in the in-depth reporting of stories relating to people and their environment.

Various cultures, modes of living, rituals and customs fascinate me. I strive to tell a story in 10-15 pictures capturing the essence of an How do you deal with impartiality? Is this instant with a sense of light and perfect framing. something you seek in your work or on the Whatever the situation, there is always a good contrary are you expressing your personal picture to be taken. To explain that, I have to feelings towards a situation or social issue? share an interesting experience I had when I Does this change whether the project is was a sports photographer - in a previous life. commissioned or not?

I was invited for many years to participate in the making of the book Roland Garros seen by the 20 best tennis photographers in the world I like to tell stories in a personal, visual way. I managed by Yann Arthus-Bertrand, the famous try to be impartial in the sense that I don’t want French filmmaker and photographer. In a to misguide the audience about what I saw, but confined area of Roland Garros, the idea was I always try to do it in a more personal way, by that every day, 20 photographers had to bring the sense of framing, the use of color or black back a few good pictures that were immediately and white, etc. Shooting a series gives a better displayed on a wall. Yann would select the best understanding of a story. In general, I am not ones for the book. Some days you did not even a single shot photographer. I think in series. make the wall selection! But every day your Editing is key. You can tell one story or another by colleagues made good pictures, sometimes where you place the accent. Both have to be true. when you had not seen anything special. They might have found a new location, a different way of seeing things, from a higher perspective or at night after the matches. What I want to explain is that the pictures are there, they exist.

"In general, I am not a single shot photographer. I think in series".

Magazines ask for more or less 30 photos and they make their own editing of your story which does not always reflect what you had in mind. They often go for cliché shots,

You have to ask yourself, how can I make a good picture and where is the best angle, then find the spot and wait. I know that the pictures “exist” in a sense, and if I don’t get them myself, another photographer in the same place will find the way to reveal them. There is always a good picture to be taken, you just have to work hard to get it. That idea never leaves me.

Left page: Grandma Divers 08 from the series Grandma Divers

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Your series Kid Jockeys has been awarded 1st prize at World Press Photo 2018 in the Sports Stories category. Can you tell us about this project and its importance to you?

It is the story of fearless child jockeys aged 5-10, who mount bareback, barefoot and with little protective gear, racing at speeds of up to 80 kms per hour on small horses typical of that region (Sumbawa, Indonesia).

I spent 10 days at the racetrack which was 20 km away from the town of Sumbawa Besar. During the preliminary races, I got to know everyone at the dusty, unkempt track and got carte blanche to go anywhere on the track. With 4 to 8 races per day, there was a lot of time in between to look for behind-the-scenes pictures and to learn about healers’ rituals and the bathing of the horses after the races. This is probably the reason for the success of the story. It depicts not only the race but also the associated customs and rituals. Only a few people spoke a little bit of English so it was not easy to get information. By chance, the owner of the (only) food truck had previously worked in the tourism industry in Bali and he helped me find 84 fotonostrum.com

the right answers and to interact with the sandros (local healers). In the beginning, I thought it was all about sports, but as I discovered the off-track rituals, I began to edit my pictures to reflect the bigger story.

I was impressed by the contrast between modern Indonesian lifestyle, this local custom, and the way they choose to live their passion with their horses.

The tradition of racing here has not changed in over a century. The only aspect I did not like was the fact that the kids do not wear helmets. Almost inevitably, you will fall one day; and that day, a helmet could save your life or at least limit the damage of the fall.

Previous spread, left:Grandma Divers 09 from the series Grandma Divers Previous spread, right: Grandma Divers 02 from the series Grandma Divers Above: Kid Jockeys 08 from the series Kid Jockeys Right page, top:Kid Jockeys 10 from the series Kid Jockeys Right page, center left: Kid Jockeys 01 from the series Kid Jockeys Right page, center right: Kid Jockeys 06 from the series Kid Jockeys Right page, bottom left: Kid Jockeys 05 from the series Kid Jockeys Right page, bottom right: Kid Jockeys 07 from the series Kid Jockeys

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Left page, top: Brick Prison 51 from the series Brick Prison Left page, bottom: Brick Prison 52 from the series Brick Prison Above, top: Brick Prison 55 from the series Brick Prison Above, bottom: Brick Prison 54 from the series Brick Prison

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SUSAN ONYSKO Cosplay Master

Susan Onysko is a travel photographer who has devoted the last decade to the art of capturing evocative stories from some of the most remote and extreme locations of our world. In places like Bhutan, Mongolia, New Zealand, Morocco, Patagonia, Death Valley, Alaska, Cuba, India, Thailand, Cambodia, Antarctica, Tibet, Scotland, The Galapagos, Vietnam, Myanmar, and Turkey, Susan has an eye for unexpected images that evoke that locale’s purest essence. Because she quietly positions herself to convey a relatable moment that unites us in our similarities, her well-rounded, professional work has garnered numerous awards and exhibits and has been featured in Popular Photography Magazine and Photo District News.

After attending a Cosplay convention with her children, she immediately fell in love with Cosplay and the cosplay culture. She then decided to combine two of her greatest loves in her Photography, Cosplay and travel.

Al l images Š Sus an O ny sko

Left page: Jack Sparrow Cosplay from the series Cosplay 50 Above, left: Ursula Cosplay from the series Cosplay 50 Above, right: Rose Quartz Cosplay from the series Cosplay 50

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How did you get into Cosplay?

My children introduced me to the world of Cosplay. I attended a convention with them in my home state of Ohio and was floored at the thought, attention to detail, talent, and welcoming nature of the Cosplayers that I met there. I saw photographers working with them on the floor and in the hallways of the convention center and thought, “That’s wonderful, but the images they receive all look pretty much the same.” I pondered how could I do something different to best represent the Cosplayer and the amazing work that they do. It took years for me to get into my first convention as I decided that I wanted to rent a room large enough to house a full studio set up, which was unheard of to the conventions. To this day it is still is a struggle to get into conventions. You have travelled all around the world; in your opinion, what is the best way to Can you tell us about your project, connect with your subjects beyond the Cosplay 50: The United States of Cosplay? occasional language barriers?

" I decided to combine two of my greatest loves, Cosplay and travel in a personal project called Cosplay 50: The United States of Cosplay".

After much thought I decided to combine two of my greatest loves, Cosplay and travel in a personal project called Cosplay 50: The United States of Cosplay. I am attending conventions in every state and photographing the amazing cosplayers that I find there to be assembled in a coffee table book at the conclusion of the 50th state. As of the first half of 2020, I will have completed 21 states. At each convention I scour the convention floor to find exceptional examples of Cosplay, inviting those I find to my studio for a free thirty-minute photography session.

I use different lighting techniques and backgrounds so that every individual gets a unique high-quality portrait of themselves and we have a lot of fun in the process. They receive one fully retouched, high-resolution, watermarkfree JPEG by email after the convention.

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Although I am definitely on the introverted and quiet side, I am also from Ohio in the United States. Ohio is in the region called the Midwest, an area known for being very friendly, welcoming, and kind. I connect with people by making eye contact, being polite, and smiling a lot. The worst that can happen is that someone can say no, which I rarely hear.

Sometimes being too friendly can have unforeseen consequences. I was in Turkey and walking down the street smiling, making eye contact, and taking photos and was shocked at how friendly all of the men were. One of my subjects must have sprinted a few blocks to catch up to me and stopped to propose marriage and many healthy babies in my future with him. It turns out my friendliness there was taken as a keen interest by the opposite sex.

Above, top: White Raven Cosplay from the series Cosplay 50 Above bottom: Tinkerbell Cosplay from the series Cosplay 50

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Above top: Sangchhen Dorji Lhuendrup Nunnery Above bottom left: Embrace Above bottom right: Stories in Folds Follownig spread The littlest monk

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Other common courtesies such as asking before touching or posing a model, work well to put people at ease. Frequently showing them their images on the back of my camera and even giving instant photos using a portable printer that I travel with also helps to strengthen relationships. Many models I photograph in foreign lands do not have Internet access, email, etc. They are sometimes vendors selling items at stalls, etc. Instead of paying them for a photo I normally purchase souvenirs for my family from them. For translating purposes and safety concerns I always travel with a guide.

How do you combine capturing the essence of a culture with portraying relatable moments that unite us all?

Oftentimes I look to photograph people who are in traditional dress or with an accessory or prop that screams their culture, such as conical hats in Vietnam. I seek out people at festivals and events where they will be traditionally dressed or travel to countries such as Bhutan where many still wear traditional attire. I watch for interactions between those people with friends, family, pets, children, you name it...

Since the CO-VID 19 outbreak I think now more than ever we are realizing that no matter where we are in the world, we are all connected and share the same feelings such as heartbreak, pain, love, loss, and encouragement.

For people portraits I can and do photograph in any type of light. A traditionally dressed man in the Sahara Desert looks great in morning or evening sun with the dunes in the background. I will photograph models in doorways on sunny days to get more pleasing soft light on them and have the image look like a studio portrait.

"Since the CO-VID 19 outbreak I think now more than ever we are realizing that no matter where we are in the world, we are all connected and share the same feelings such as heartbreak, pain, love, loss, and encouragement".

You once said in an interview to Voyage ATL, that it was important to you to “capture the emotions of the people or animals using light in a way that accentuated the mood�. Can you explain this?

I also am pretty well versed in flash photography and can use high speed sync on a sunny day to make a pleasing portrait.

After you work in the studio more (like the Cosplay 50 Project) you become hyperaware of the light around you when not in the For emotional moments between animals studio. I seek out interesting light - perhaps or people I like to photograph them in soft, a shaft of light - and wait for something even light. This kind of light accentuates the interesting to happen around it. Photography mood without overpowering or distracting in general requires a lot of patience; you from the moment. Places like Africa are can take a thousand average photos but pretty sunny, so I look for open shade, for if waiting means you may get an amazing example two lions under a tree or shrub. photo then I can wait as long as it takes. fotonostrum.com 93

Susan Onysko Susan“The Onysko Littlest Monk”

“The Littlest Monk”

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Cheraine Collette LORLEON New Perspectives of the Natural World Cheraine Collette is an established international award-winning fine art photographer, recognized by art collectors and curators around the world. She combines contemporary photography and new perspectives of the natural world with digital painting and photo manipulation, with focus on capturing the world’s beauty and oneness.

Halfway through 2019, she began applying to international photography competitions and has won 3 first prizes and 13 honorable mentions in internationally acclaimed photography competitions such as the International Photography Awards (IPA), the Pollux awards, the ND Awards, the Monochrome awards, the Julia Margaret Cameron awards, the London International Creative Competition (LICC) and most recently the International Color Awards with her series and other works.

A l l i mage s Š C heraine C ol lette ( L orle on )

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We recently had the opportunity of seeing your work at the 14th Julia Margaret Cameron and Pollux Awards exhibition.

Your series Where is Adam? has raised a lot of attention. Can you tell us more about it? Are you the model in the photographs?

If not, what is your selection process?

I imagine paradise as being a world where people and animals lived together in harmony. In the series Where Is Adam?, I explore how things could have been if we didn’t leave paradise. Is there a way to return? Is there a way to create a new one?

I think it is important to mention that all animals were photographed separately and later digitally edited into the photographs.

Magical realism.

Before shooting, I create the concept and have an idea of how the images eventually should look like. Some ideas are created by my mother or my brother as well. We are usually very in sync with each other and find the same subjects interesting, seeing beauty in the same things. The human models, animals, backgrounds and such are always photographed by me and my mother. As the head photographer, I set the settings on both cameras and communicate in advance which angles we need in order to achieve the end results. I do the postprocessing and editing by myself.

Left page: Through Leopard’s Eyes Above, top: Four Of A Kind from the series Where is Adam?

Above, center: Giant’s Dust from the series Where is Adam?

Above, bottom: Will We Find A Way from the series Where is Adam?

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In the case of the Where Is Adam? series, I wanted to have a model in a short amount of time. I therefore decided to start with myself as the model. I then edited myself in such a way that I may still be somewhat recognizable, but to me, it has become an entirely different model (apart from the long hair of course, which I made way longer in post-processing of the “Elephant Dust� photograph).

What does LORLEON mean? Why did you choose this name?

Previous spread: Uplifting from the series Where is Adam?

Above: Allure Yellow from the series Where is Adam?

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Your series Ma tackles power you talk about

I hope to make is not necessar illustrated by t

I combine con the natural wo Because I have experienced that it is difficult for people to emphasizing o pronounce or remember my name, I chose to use a pseudonym. world. My ulti LORLEON stands for Golden Lion, hence the logo which consists of a lion statue in combination with wings from the Persian era. Because of hum My love for history, art and animals is reflected in the logo. A to the outskirts pseudonym is a blank page and gives artistic freedom. Despite with Yoerie the many advantages that a pseudonym can bring, I recently emphasizes th made the choice to continue working under my real name. neglected. Nat My works in collaboration with other photographers or artists are still released under the name LORLEON.

arvels, made in collaboration with Yoerie Custers, rful political issues concerning animal rights, can t your motivations and goals?

e people more aware that the physical use of animals ry for the final photo or film. This is for example the increased use of 3D animated animals in films.

ntemporary photography and new perspectives of orld with digital painting and photo manipulation, on capturing the beauty, unity and oneness of the imate goal is to preserve this for future generations.

mans, animals are being pushed further every day s of the earth, losing their homes. The combination Custers’ photographs of abandoned places his notion. These places are beautiful, though sadly, ture has a way of reclaiming what once was hers.

“I hope to make people more aware that the physical use of animals is not necessary for the final photo or film".

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Can you tell us about your combination of traditional techniques and digital media?

What are you working on at the moment? Is there a project you would like to tell us about?

I almost always make a sketch for a concept before hand. I then get a complete overview of all the elements that have to be photographed. When this is done, the time consuming digital- composition and painting begins. The combination of traditional techniques and digital media opens the doors to a world of imagination. All boundaries are removed by this combination and almost everything becomes possible to visualize. And sometimes, dreams can seem even more real than reality.

I am currently expanding the Where Is Adam? series. During the first months of 2020, I have also been working on the realization of a futuristic series, in collaboration with LEF3D.

Above: Steps of a Giant from the series Marvels Right page, top: Inner Peace from the series Marvels Right page, bottom: Tallest in the Building from the series Marvels

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Soon, I will start the Where Is Eve? series, as an extension of - and to complete - the Where Is Adam? series. It has the same concept as Where Is Adam? but with a male model (Adam), in a paradise in which everything comes together as the final photograph (Or not? Will the snake find its way? We’ll have to wait and see).

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"I almost always make a sketch for a concept before hand. I then get a complete overview of all the elements that have to be photographed".

Above: Bee Extravaganza from the series Alien Beauty

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MOLLY McCALL A Visual Representation of the Ephemeral

Born in Monterey California, Molly McCall was surrounded by infamous photographers and the West Coast Landscape tradition.

With a family influence in clothing, she began her creative career designing her own label and selling to numerous specialty boutiques including Henri Bendel in New York, Fred Segal in Los Angeles, and Nordstrom, where she was awarded their most favored designer in California.

Molly’s earliest influence on art making came from her great grandfather, an illustrator for The New York Times, and grandfather, a professional watercolorist in Southern California. She started painting and photography at an early age, and later attended Laguna Beach School of Art. After nearly two decades in the clothing business, Molly returned to painting and darkroom photography.

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Above top: The Token from the series Momento Vivere Above center: Because from the series Momento Vivere Above bottom: Breath Deep from the series Momento Vivere Right page: Beneath the Surface from the series Momento Vivere

Your work explores diverse themes such as history, memory and change through photography. Can you explain why you seek to tackle such themes?

struck me that this act mimicked the process of memory similar to the way the brain overwrites memory as new memory is stored.

Your series The More Things Change reflects a My interest in the themes of history, sense of motion. Can you explain this choice? memory, and change came as a response to the times we live in, the pace at which I tend to do most of my creative thinking when technology is pushing us ahead, and the I am in motion, whether hiking, swimming, or necessity to find a point of reference to riding a motorcycle. I feel the act of changing locate myself within this fluctuating time. my physical speed allows my mind to open up and contemplate thoughts in a much freer state How do you capture the ephemeral? Which than when I am sedentary. Once again, I could techniques do you use to enhance your see a parallel in this action between motion message? and memory: the way my mind adjusted its speed as I physically changed speed, and the As I began to explore the visual representation transitory state that occurs while in motion. of the ephemeral, I noticed that two offered my work a dimension that brought me things were happening simultaneously, forward to the new work that I am showing now. that paralleled the nature of memory. As I As I delved deeper into memory, layers began would attempt to add material in an effort to represent not only the past but the present, to diffuse my imagery with layers of paint, and even the future. The amalgamation of all I was removing the visual information. It three elements revealed itself to me as memory.

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Left page: Deja Vu from the series Momento Vivere Above: Red Cape from the series Momento Vivere

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"Memory is not a true recording of the past, but a malleable state that is in constant change".

Can you tell us about your post-processing workflow?

Most of my work over the past five years has involved changing the surface of the photograph with collage, paint, pencil, etc.

My new body of work is an attempt to create that visual surface and diffusion purely photographically, with the camera and my computer. These images were all captured either with a medium-format film camera, a digital camera, or an iPhone, some taken either with a slow shutter speed or while the camera itself was in motion. I use the computer (Photoshop) to create layers of the same image, or layer multiple exposures of the same image taken over time, along with various other Photoshop techniques.

I experimented with printing these new images on several different materials: canvas, metal, fine art, and photo paper. My desire was to present them in a large format to reflect the scale of nature and the way it makes one feel small. I ended up with this process of pigment printing on photographic paper, then mounting the image onto an aluminum composite substrate, then finishing it with a matte UV laminate. I like the way the paper kept the image warm and gave it a tactile surface, and the matte UV knocked back the finish to create a smooth, clean, contemporary presentation.

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Previous spread, top left: 1025 Elm Street from the series Homestead Previous spread bottom left: Two Steps Forward from the series In the In-Between Previous spread, top center: Pony Girl from the series One Moment Previous spread, bottom center: Other from the series Nothing Comes From Nothing Previous spread, top right: Out of a Shadow� from the series Momento Vivere Previous spread, bottom right: Deep Delight from the series Home Movies Right page: The Architect from the series Momento Vivere

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SNEZHANA VON BÜDINGEN Compassionate Reportage

Snezhana von Büdingen, born in 1983 in Perm, Russia, lives as an independent photographer in Cologne, Germany.

Von Büdingen studied communication management with a major in journalism at the University of Applied Sciences Osnabrück. From 2016 to 2017 she completed her photography studies at the Cologne Photoacademy. She focuses on portrait photography and reportage. Her works have been published in such media as TIME, Die Zeit, Der Spiegel, Stern, DeMorgen, deVolkskrant, Polka, Photonews etc.

Von Büdingen has received awards and prizes at a few international photography competitions such as the ipa (International Photography Awards), 2019, USA; Leica Oskar Barnack Award, 2019, Germany; The Alfred Fried Photography Award, 2018, Austria; Zeiss Photography Award, 2018, England; Sony Worls Photography Awards, 2017, England.

All images © Snezhan Von Büdingen

Above: Nicole With Gabriel from the series Mother Right page: Nicole with Kathy from the series Mother

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How do you create the necessary space for your models to express themselves?

When taking pictures, I stay calm and in the background. There should be zero pressure or severity coming from the photographer so that the people can open up and just be themselves. I think that the people I photograph can feel that I find them fascinating. I really do. My enthusiasm for people is what stands behind all of my photo projects. I think that you just have to get involved with a person and let yourself be driven by your own curiosity, your sincere interest. I often think of how photography and the people who let me into their lives have enriched my own life.

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How much of yourself do you put in your photographs and how do you see the role of the photographer (unbiased observant or active protagonist)?

Through photography, especially longterm projects, we get a chance to touch on the life of others. You are not just an observer, you are a part of somebody’s life, you are living through the moment together with the protagonist. There is that endless discussion amongst photographers, on how close can the relationship between the artist and the protagonist be. Whether a close relationship will or won’t affect objectivity. I personally think that it’s not easy to remain “objective” when working on such a personal long-term project, like in my case in the Meeting Sofie project. At the end of the day, the photographer is just human and he or she forms a sympathy or aversion, a certain attitude, and a certain view of the subject, of his protagonists. You can feel this attitude when you look at the pictures.

I always send her the publications and the printed pictures by mail. She is always extremely excited to see them.

Besides that, her life goes on as usual, at a beautifully relaxed pace, in harmony with nature and herself. The only thing that makes her life incomplete is the lack of partner at her side at the moment. I hope that she will find her special someone soon. Without a doubt, the encounter with Sofie influenced my life, too. I got a chance to immerse myself into her life and I learned a lot of things while working on this project. The art of serenity would be one of those things. Sofie has an untaught protective mechanism: she can't take on a hectic pace. No matter what's going on, she won't let haste take over her day. I love this about her. We rush through life so often, and it only gets worse. I wish we could learn and utilize some of that mindful deliberateness that Sofie has mastered so well.

You have accompanied Sofie for two years for your project Meeting Sofie, how did your presence influence her daily life? How has it affected you on a personal level?

Sofie has gained one more friend since the day we met. I am glad that Sofie and I have such an intimate bond. She loves to see her portraits in the magazines!

Right page: Meeting Sofie 3 from the series Meeting Sofie

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"Through photography, especially long-term projects, we get a chance to touch on the life of others".

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Left page: Meeting Sofie 15 from the series Meeting Sofie Above: Meeting Sofie 14 from the series Meeting Sofie

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Above, top:Meeting Sofie 13 from the series Meeting Sofie Center, top: Meeting Sofie 18 from the series Meeting Sofie Right page, top: Meeting Sofie 19 from the series Meeting Sofie Above, bottom: Meeting Sofie 5 from the series Meeting Sofie Center, bottom: Meeting Sofie 11 from the series Meeting Sofie Right page, bottom: Meeting Sofie 9 from the series Meeting Sofie

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There are references to classical paintings of the old masters in your work. Can you explain the use of this imagery?

When I first entered Sofie’s parents’ house, I was absolutely thrilled. It felt like I was traveling back in time. The house dates back to the 16th century and because Sofie’s parents are passionate antique collectors – her father has worked all his life as an antique dealer – the whole house is furnished very tastefully, with a lot of antiques. Sofie grew up in this unique environment, and she subconsciously absorbed it. When I got to know her better, I saw her kindness, dignity and rare beauty which are somehow similar to the features found in the protagonists of the classic paintings. I studied the paintings of the old masters while studying photography and learned a lot about how they used light, colors and composition to build up an atmosphere. I used this for the Meeting Sofie series as well.

"When I got to know her better, I saw her kindness, dignity and rare beauty which are somehow similar to the features found in the protagonists of the classic paintings".

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CALLI McCAW Aesthetics and Humanism Calli’s photography defies categorization as she is equal parts an accomplished street, fine art, conceptualist and landscape photographer. With a background in modern and multicultural art history, her work is informed by her passion for the canon of art history, as well as various contemporary issues. Calli has a Modern Art MA from Christie’s, studied multicultural Art History at Columbia University and Photography at ICP in NY. Calli also has degrees from Georgetown (BS BA) and St. John’s Universities (MBA). She resides in NYC with her husband, Bob, an author and photographer. Calli is listed in Photo-eye’s Art Photo Index and LensCulture.

Al l images © C a l l i Mc C a l l

Left page: Untitled 5 from the series Imagine That Above: Untitled 11 from the series Imagine That

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What would you say is prominent in art: the aesthetics or the message? How do you combine both?

I believe that the aesthetics and message in art must go hand in hand to be impactful.

While the balance between these two components may vary, both are essential.

Historically, artists such as the American painter James Whistler championed the “aesthetic” movement in art during the latter part of the 19th century. In contrast to the predominantly moralistic nature of the arts of his day, Whistler, and others, felt that meaning in art could be achieved through its appeal to the senses using formal visual qualities.

Thus, Aestheticism itself – art for art’s sake – offered a powerful message.

moved further away from any appeal to the viewer’s sensual nature, favoring an emphasis on the mind. However, for all the modern and contemporary art world’s disdain for aesthetics, it is the very sensual appeal inherent in a work of art that serves as vessel to communicate its message.

For example, there is much symmetry amidst the seeming randomness of a Pollock drip painting and as much beauty in Donald Judd’s minimalism as in the shapes of Duchamp’s found objects. Shirin Neshat’s human rights photography is infinitely more powerful for the exquisite visual qualities of her art.

As I formulate my own work, I, too, strive to convey my message by appealing to the viewer’s sense of humanity. For me, what makes us human is our ability to process information not only through our intellect As the canon of art unfolded, and but also through our heart and soul and artists continued to rebel against the our ability to be touched. Life’s adversity rigid strictures of academic art, artists is always best conveyed beautifully.

Right page: Untitled 8 from the series Imagine That

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Above: Untitled 8 from the series Imagine That Following spread: Untitled 1 from the series Imagine That

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One recurrent theme in your art is the If there is a recurrent theme in my work, it is relationship to the past: why is this important my need to empathize with the subject matter to you and how does it shape your work? while never losing sight of a personal sense of aesthetics. I approach street photography the We do not live in a vacuum but are the sum same way I approach landscape and fine art. of all that precedes us. It is thus with great Although seeking the classic decisive moment humility that I look to the past in awe and can feel random when photographing candidly, reverence. My studies in art history have the same principles apply on the street as in been the catalyst for my portfolios, providing the studio for fine art photography and for invaluable parallels between the past and plein air landscape images. In each situation, I present. My desire to highlight the importance work to achieve the right expression, quality of of freedom, democracy and human rights, for light, and balance between the various formal example, found its voice through my “Muse” properties of line, shape, form, tone, texture, portfolio founded upon tenants from antiquity. pattern, color and of course composition.

My Remember Me portfolio, which portrays the ephemerality of life, found its counterpart Can you describe your post-production in the vanitas tradition of the northern process? renaissance. I feel strongly that one cannot look to the future without knowledge of the past. Although my street photography is essentially unadulterated, I do apply a considerable amount Is the use of art history a way to distance of post-production to my fine art imagery. In that yourself from your topics or on the other hand regard, I work almost exclusively in Photoshop a means to place yourself in the center of your where I digitally manipulate, composite, and own heritage? blend various aspects of my images. Although I have no set formula to the post-production Interesting question – it is neither. Art history is process, allowing each portfolio to dictate the a passion for me, and something which defines required approach, I am generally resolute in all aspects of my life, not just my photography. working towards a polished finish. As you might Long before I became a photographer, I reveled guess from my interest in art history, I believe the in the study of the history of art across various quality of the craft adds to the appeal of my work. cultures. Knowing how the fine and decorative arts evolved throughout time has always intrigued me and ultimately served as my inspiration to pursue a Master’s degree in Art History. My graduate studies in multi-cultural art history were then pivotal in my evolution as a photographer. Whether I am in pursuit of a street photography moment or immersed in imagery more grounded in concept, my work is informed by art historical references and themes.

As a multi-faceted artist, is there a recurrent theme in your work? Do you approach street photography in the same way you approach landscapes or fine art?

"If there is a recurrent theme in my work, it is my need to empathize with the subject matter while never losing sight of a personal sense of aesthetics".

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Calli McCaw Calli McCaw

Imagine That Imagine “UntitledThat 1” “Untitled 1”

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JUDITH MINKS Perfection with a Degree of Estrangement

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Judith Minks graduated Cum Laude in December 2015 from the Photo Academy Amsterdam. In 2014-2015, her work as photographer underwent a major transformation.

The way she photographs has developed its own style. With self-reflection she gained an insight into how she functions which resulted in a breakthrough in her work. She likes to have complete control over everything she does and this also applies to her photography.

It is therefore logical that she photographs in a studio. The images she creates are based on her memories, experiences and fantasies. The topics and themes come from her heart.

Creating perfection with a slight degree of estrangement has become a characteristic of her work, all while leaving room for the viewers imagination.

Al l images Š Judit h Mi n k s

Left page: Sera from the series Freckles Center: Sjirk from the series Freckles Above: David from the series Freckles

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Left page: Marijke from the series Freckles Above: Emma from the series Freckles

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Can you tell us about your book, Freckles and How do you create your narratives? Can its importance to you? you tell us about the process of building the decors for each scene?

It is an honor for every artist to have a book from their work. I didn’t just want to make ‘a Creating the story in Moments in Time was book’, -it had to be a special book, not directly a very natural process. After all, they are my intended for a large audience and also not for own memories and experiences. In the Hotel the bookcase. My book must have a special Room series, a bit of fantasy was added. In place with those who buy it. It has become a my student days I worked as a chambermaid collector’s item. Not caught in a time but having in a hotel. The moment you step into a no external references, timeless but special! hotel room to clean, you actually step into someone else's life. What I found in the hotel The motivation behind this project is three-fold. rooms, I supplemented with images from Firstly, my fascination for freckles. Secondly, I my imagination. I fantasized about what felt ready for a project that diverged from my happened or was going to happen in that usual style in the studio. My aim was a project room and who the main characters in it were. that was accessible to a large audience and easily exhibitable. Three things came together. The sets in my series are all appropriate Seventeen portraits for exhibitions, postcards and truthful. The atmosphere and the and the book that is in itself an artwork and design of Moments in Time completely is clearly meant for lovers of special books. matches the moment and time when it all happened. For Hotel Room I gathered In your series Moments in Time, you create the materials to build a hotel room and I stylized domestic scenes. What is the installed it in such a way that there cannot importance of the mundane in your work? be any doubt that it is a real hotel room.

In the Moments in Time series I share memories from my childhood, as an adolescent and as an adult. The home environment is where it all happened and this is where I return to.

As a viewer you step into my living room and my life. This is very important to me. I am convinced that by making this work I not only tell my own story but I also connect with the viewer. My goal is to connect and take the viewer back to their own memories.

I go to thrift shops and stores, explain to the owner what my aims are with the project and ask them to borrow their furniture for a longer period of time. It is wonderful to see how by telling my story, I take them back to their own memories and see their enthusiasm grow for the project. I am thrilled that in almost all occasions, I was able to borrow objects from these stores and I am so grateful for this. To understand what objects or furnishings I need, I carefully plan the image down to the

"I am convinced that by making this work I not only tell my own story but I also connect with the viewer. My goal is to connect and take the viewer back to their own memories".

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Above top: Hotel Room Scene 1 from the series Hotel Room Above bottom: Hotel Room Scene 2 from the series Hotel Room

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smallest detail. I leave nothing to chance.

When I have finished drawing my idea, I start installing the room, set up the lighting and take the picture. The preparation takes the most time, but as a result of the careful planning, the recording of the scene by camera is often completed within a day.

little control over the light and was restricted to the size of the rooms. As I have a family, it was also very difficult to not disrupt everyone’s lives; the settings that I created couldn’t stay but had to be taken down at the end of the day. During my search, I came in contact with a former student of the Photo Academy. He introduced me to Gregory Grewdson. When I How much of your own experiences and viewed his work, all the puzzle pieces fell into memories do you put in your photography? place. It was then that I realized that I wanted Do you also aspire to depict more universal to translate all of those images in my head into feelings? a studio decor so that I could then work with the scene in peace. I realized that it was not My work is all about my own experiences possible to realize my ideas in my living room. and feelings. It is about how I experience the world around me, and how I view it. I found a studio nearby that allowed me The work I create is sometimes referred to recreate the scenes in my head in detail to as intimate and distant. An intriguing and allowed me to create the scenes with combination that, in my opinion, decreases in perfection and control, taking all the time I strength if I put more universal feelings in it. needed to achieve the image as I planned it to be. What Grewdson does on large sets, I Your photography has been compared to do smaller but in a similar way. Hopper used works of artists such as Gregory Grewdson a canvas, of course, but I also relate to that as and Edward Hopper. Are they sources of I devise my scenes carefully on paper before inspiration to you? attempting to install the scene. With their rather alienated and uncomfortable images, When I was asked, in the last year of the with their immaculately staged lighting Photo Academy, who I was as a photographer, and somber, solitary figures, it becomes I struggled for a long time. During my first clear that Gregory Grewdson and Edward years at the Photo Academy, I built all my Hopper are both great examples for me. decors at home, which was difficult as I had

Left page, top: Moments in Time Scene 1 from the series Moments in Time Scene Left page, bottom: Moments in Time Scene 2 from the series Moments in Time Scene Above: Moments in Time Scene 4 from the series Moments in Time Scene

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TOM CHAMBERS Magic Realism Photographer Tom Chambers was raised in the Amish farm country of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Tom completed a B.F.A. in 1985 from The Ringling School of Art, Sarasota, Florida majoring in graphic design with an emphasis in photography. Since 1998 Tom has exhibited photomontage images from eight photographic series both nationally and internationally in twenty one solo exhibitions and over seventy group exhibitions and art fairs.

A l l i mage s Š Tom C hamb ers

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Left page: A View From The Bridge from the series Illumination Series Above, top left: Annunciation from the series Dreaming in reverse Series Above, top right: Edge of a Dream from the series Animal Vision Series Above, bottom left: Last Bough from the series To the Edge Series Above, bottom right: Hidden Aviary from the series Still Beating Series

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Left page: Marwari Stallion #1 from the series Marwari Indigenous Species Series

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What equipment and software are you currently working with?

Currently, I am using two cameras. I work primarily with a Nikon D800 with a 24-70mm Nikkor zoom and a 14-24mm Nikkor zoom.

The camera I use for travel is a mirrorless Sony A7Rii with a Sony 24-70mm zoom and a Sony prime 35mm lens. I print on a 24” Epson Stylus Pro 7890 printer and use a Mac Mini with a large monitor along with Adobe Photoshop software.

After I come up with an idea, I usually will sketch it out roughly. Basically, the sketch is used to keep me headed in the right direction. Over time I collect photographic images which might be photographed in my backyard, photo studio, or when I travel. At times the image may begin to take a different direction from the original sketch. This is not a problem for me as I love it when my images take on a life of their own and change the direction of my original idea. When photographing, I keep in mind the direction and intensity of the light.

Ultimately, these image elements and backgrounds are combined digitally with Photoshop software.

Can you tell us about the process of creating a photomontage? What does this technique allow you to achieve?

Do you see your work as an attempt to merge the present and the past? If so, why is this important The source of my images comes through travel, to you? dreams and enjoying a wide range of artwork, including music and literature. Other stories I want the images I create not to be tied to any come from my imagination. I typically develop particular time period. If there is a type of a concept or story when I’m relaxed and letting style or look, it should be an older one, from ideas flow through my head. The time I develop a more romantic time of the past. Because ideas is usually right before I fall asleep at night, I’m shooting for a fairy-tale look or idea, the just before I am fully awake in the morning, models I photograph don’t have haircuts or or when I’m exercising. I need to trance out wear clothes that connect to modern day life. a bit, and let things flow through my brain.

What is your relationship with the surreal and how does it influence your photography?

"The source of my images comes through travel, dreams and enjoying a wide range of artwork, including music and literature.

Other stories come from my imagination".

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My work could be categorized as magic realism, a sub-category of surrealism. Typically in magic realism, the scene is realistic with a few magical elements added. Generally, I am trying to create an image which is possible but not probable, creating a sense of magic. Magic realism is used in painting, photography, and literature where the artist’s role is to create those moments of wonder, opening doors to possibilities. I admire the work of Gabriel Garcia Maquez as well as other artists who employ magic realism, including Cormac McCarthy, Isabelle Allende, Graciela Iturbide, and even at times Andrew Wyeth.

Above: Hide Your Eyes from the series Tales of Heroines Series

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Above: Winged Migration from the series Entropic Kingdom Series

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Childhood and animals seem to be important themes in your work. Can you explain why?

I believe that children and animals have a special connection, and even an ability to communicate at a level at which adults cannot relate. Furthermore, children and animals share the qualities of innocence.

In children this innocence is challenged by the issues of growing up, whereas the delicate beauty of animals is challenged by the infringement of man upon nature.

This innocence in children can be held in contrast to the necessary life compromises and resultant angst experienced by adults.

As a result, once grown, a person seems to be less connected with the magical world.

My intention is to portray animals as creatures who are challenged in their attempt to co-exist with mankind. In some photographs, a tension exists between human beings and animals.

The more disturbing scenario occurs when the animals are in conflict with each other and are unable to peacefully co-exist, a situation often created by man’s disregard for the natural world..

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MICHAEL KNAPSTEIN Midwest Photography Michael Knapstein is a fine-art photographer who has earned international recognition for his insightful and nuanced visual exploration of the American Midwest. Based in Middleton, Wisconsin, his photographs have earned more than 350 national and international awards for work in both color and black and white. He was honored as the International Landscape Photographer of the Year in the prestigious Pollux Awards.

Photolucida (Portland, Oregon) has four times named him a Critical Mass Finalist, widely considered to be one of the most important portfolio competitions in the world.

His photographs have also been widely published and exhibited through a variety of solo, juried and group exhibitions around the globe.

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Your Midwest Memoir portfolio has been featured in some of the world’s leading Photography publications. Can you tell us a bit more about this project and its meaning to you?

the other. Because it is so often overlooked, I find it especially rewarding to know that photographs from my Midwest Memoir portfolio are being appreciated by audiences across the country and around the world.

I started working on this project as a way to capture and record aspects of the American Midwest that I see changing and slowly disappearing around me. In some ways it is like a visual time capsule. I want to save and remember the sights I will miss the most once they are gone. From a style standpoint, the project could probably be described as part fine art and part documentary. None of the scenes are arranged or staged, but they do represent a highly idealized point of view.

The final images are filled with symbolism and are as nostalgic as they are realistic.

Why did you think the use of black and white was fitting for this project?

I think of the American Midwest as being classic and timeless in nature. Because of that, I felt that monochrome images were the most fitting way to capture the true essence of this area. In some ways, these photographs follow in a trajectory started with famous work commissioned by the United States government through the Farm Security Administration and Work Projects Administration nearly 100 years ago. I see these monochrome images as more in keeping with that legendary Many people in the United States refer to work done by Walker Evans, Dorothea the Midwest as “fly over country” as they Lange, Gordon Parks and others. It is a high only see it while jetting from one coast to standard that I will continue to work toward.

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Previous spread, left: Big Foot Pass Church from the series Midwest Memoir Previous spread, right: Hay Bale from the series Midwest Memoir Left page: Winterscape from the series Midwest Memoir Above: December Fog from the series Midwest Memoir

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What is your relationship with the silver printing process and how did you manage to include it in your work?

You have been working on this portfolio since 2010. How do you reflect on the passage of time through your photography?

I grew up in the era of analog photography. Initially, I honed my craft by spending countless hours creating silver gelatin prints in a wet darkroom. That traditional analog experience informed my early work and shaped my overall creative aesthetic. I still try to apply some of that analog discipline to my work created in today’s digital world.

I started working on this project when I retired from a 30-year career that kept me too busy for photography. So while it has captured the changes affecting the American Midwest, it has also documented my re-awakening and continued evolution as a photographer. I would like to think that the work I am creating now is a bit more nuanced and complex than it was ten years ago. This work has helped me grow as a photographer, and helped me gain a greater appreciation for the world around me. I am continually reminded how the Midwest around me is changing and disappearing. Several buildings I have photographed are no longer standing today – casualties to modern-day development. These include the “Canal Seed & Feed” building shown here. Here in the Midwest, as in many places, we continue to erase our history while we make room for the future. So even though I have been working on this project for a decade, I continue to approach it with fresh eyes and a sense of urgency. The Memoir is not yet complete. There is still so much to capture before it is gone!

My Midwest Memoir photographs are monochrome, but not pure black and white. They are actually color images that utilize a split toning process I created to look like toned images I used to create in a wet darkroom. I carry this through by making most of my exhibition prints on a warm-toned matte paper that yields a finished photograph that looks quite a bit like a silver gelatin print made on Agfa Portriga-Rapid paper, which was one of my favorites.

Authenticity seems to be important to you. How do you manage to capture it in your photography?

I think authenticity is part of the core identity of the American Midwest. The people here are honest, hard-working and unassuming. I can only hope that my work reflects some of those same traits. I try very hard not to let my own personal biases influence the work. As much as possible, I try to get myself “out of the way” to enable the true spirit of the American Midwest to shine through in the images.

"The Memoir is not yet complete. There is still so much to capture before it is gone!".

Left page: In God We Trust from the series Midwest Memoir

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Left page, top: Canal Seed & Feed from the series Midwest Memoir Center, top: Harvest Clouds from the series Midwest Memoir Above, top: Clothesline from the series Midwest Memoir Left page, bottom: Swing of Time from the series Midwest Memoir Center, bottom: State Fair from the series Midwest Memoir Above, bottom: Linda’s Farm from the series Midwest Memoir

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VICKY MARTIN Exquisite Escapism Vicky Martin (UK) is an award-winning fine art photographer. Having studied art and photography in the 1990s, it was not until 2008 after being awarded a prestigious bursary that she was able to pursue photography professionally. Since then, Vicky has had her work published and exhibited nationally and internationally, from Europe to the USA in solo and group shows. Her work continues to garner many awards and nominations including Finalist at the Lensculture Art Photography Awards 2019, Winner of the Professional Beauty and Fashion Category at the Chromatic Awards 2018, Winner of the All About Photo Magazine Colors issue 2018, Winner of the Single Image in the Professional Fine Art Category at the 12th Julia Margaret Cameron Awards 2018 and Winner of the Professional Fine Art Series at 2016 Fine Art Photography Awards.

Throughout Vicky’s practice she explores her fascination with identity and the emotions that are created by considered scenarios that are based in both fantasy and reality. Her work explores identity through staging and creating realities for characters who often display conflicting emotions with situations. Vicky seeks to encourage the viewer to ask questions of her work to which ultimately the answers depend on the viewer’s own personal identity and perceptions.

Al l images © Vicky Mar t i n How do you manage to create environments to add in specific elements which elevate the that involve both a foundation in reality and photograph to beyond the mundane. I like fantastical creative elements? Why is this to create narratives for my characters where important to you? there are conflicting emotions, this feels relatable to me but I also hope to the viewer.

I feel it is a great privilege to be a creative photographer. It gives you the opportunity You leave a lot of space for interpretation in to create photographs that combine fantasy your work. Can you explain why? and reality, engage and also have an aesthetic appeal. As a creative artist, I see my work as I like to give signposts in my work to a form of escapism both in part for myself but guide the viewer in the general direction also for the viewer, whilst at the same time of the narrative. However, I avoid being being a means to explore issues which I feel very prescriptive as I want to encourage have resonance. My starting point for any personal interpretations and engagement photograph is a general vision of what I want - which in my experience can be often the created narrative to be. From there, I look quite different to those originally being to build the narrative from a base which is envisaged. Ultimately, I want my work to be usually grounded in reality but then I look meaningful, intriguing and accessible to all.

Left page: Room 4215 from the series Not in Kansas

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Left page: Pure as Snow from the series Selfhood Center: Sunday Best from the series Selfhood Above: La Souris Femelle from the series Selfhood

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Above: Room 4316 from the series Not in Kansas Right page: Homecoming from the series Conceptual

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How much research is put in your compositions?

The preparation phase before each composition can be extensive, sometimes stretching into several months. Scouting, identifying, and securing locations can be difficult. I’m very hands-on, whether making props or outfits and love to challenge myself with each new project.

Creating something unique is a key part of the finished work and can be very diverse.

work together, and also to consider how the colours will balance with the rest of the series to give a consistent look and feel.

The Not In Kansas series is, I feel, a good example of the consideration that is given to colour. Individual photographs emphasize the red slippers, with the remaining number of colours being kept to as few as possible, such that the central colours are a stand-out feature.

For example, the blue and pink in “In Search of Courage”, the yellow bricks in “Potsdamer Platz”, gold curtains in “Lions and Tigers and How does the color in your photographs Bears!” emerald carpet, dress and tights in benefit the overall narrative?

“Not In Kansas” etc, serve this purpose. The choice of colour saturation throughout the It is a very important consideration of mine whole series is itself intended to reference when planning any shot to carefully think the technicolour saturation dreamscape about how the colours in the image will of the original 1939 film The Wizard of Oz.

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Can you tell us about your latest project, Curiouser and Curiouser?

Curiouser and Curiouser is a conceptual series of photographs inspired by the characters of Alice and the White Rabbit from the story Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

The series explores the complexity of identity from Alice’s perspective.

Stylistically it is a departure from my usual style of portraying a lone character, as here in many of the shots there are two characters, representing the complex relationship between identity and self-image.

The series was photographed on location in Las Vegas to deliberately create a backdrop of a modern day Wonderland.

Your series Not in Kansas and Conceptual are based on fictional female characters. Can you explain this choice?

As a female photographer, I find that narratives built around strong female characters are particularly interesting. Children’s literature characters have a special resonance as our understanding of their role and symbolism evolves as we transition from child to adulthood. By placing familiar characters in modern realities, I hope to invite reflections on the often stark contrast between fantasy and reality, especially from a female perspective.

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"As a female photographer, I find that narratives built around strong female characters are particularly interesting."

Above: Beauty Sleep from the series Conceptual

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VIRTUAL EXHIBITION INVENTORY VIRTUAL EXHIBITION REPRESENTED ARTISTS

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