Now is Always by Vaune Trachtman
This work began one summer in the early 1930s when my father shot a few rolls of film near his father's drugstore in Philadelphia. Nearly 90 years later I was given the negatives by a relative. Working from the original negatives, I've combined the people from my father's neighborhood with my own cell phone images, many of which were shot from windows and moving vehicles.
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Quarantine Chronicles by Neil Kramer
Quarantine in Queens is a diaristic visual journal of a paradoxical family experiencing the COVID-19 quarantine together inside one apartment in Queens, NY.
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You are Eternity by Marcy Palmer
This project is an exploration of beauty as an antidote for personal and political crisis.
In times of heartache, disaster, impasse, many turn to the idea of beauty in the natural world as a place of refuge.
These images are made from plants and flowers, which are photographed, printed on vellum, and hand-applied with 24k gold leaf, varnish, and wax to create the final images. The project is inspired by Anna Atkins’s botanical studies as well as surrealist photographers who manipulated imagery and materials such as Florence Henri, Dora Maar, and Maurice Tabard.
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These photographs are from an ongoing series of snapshots taken in and around my wife's and my apartment with a Polaroid camera and instant film over many years.
The thought of living somewhere else is a poignant reminder that although we've spent a good part of our lives here it may, at some point, be just a memory. I've made a lot of pictures of physical details of our apartment over the years, but the series mainly consists of those that depict the quiet moments of little consequence that comprise most of our time.
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Insects find a way into our homes no matter how vigilant we are in our effort to keep nature on the outer side of our windowpanes. During my inquiry into suburban experience, I started recording the indoor wildlife consistent with the environment my subdivision occupies.
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These pictures situate a mystical narrative along the edge of suburbia, a seemingly bland and uneventful place. This banality can incubate something curious, such as the luminous events shown in these landscapes. Conceptually, these pictures depict thresholds between physical, geographical, and psychological states of being.
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Hold my hand and hold your breath. I am learning as I pretend to know what I am doing. I am so tired and worry more about you than myself. I am restless in this domesticated life. I long for more for you and myself. Things seemed easy when it was only the pitter-patter of your little feet. Life can be so unkind.
I see the way the light hits your face as you cry out for warmth, I see how it hits your face and shows the lines of wisdom, through the good and the bad. We are the quiet and unspoken, yet we scream the loudest.
Rest your tired eyes. I will cover you in warmth. We will move past this and carve out our own light against the darkest skies. As the words, Are you Okay fade from our lives.
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After more than 20 years of working with hospice patients and families, I continue to hold their many stories of infinite grace, wisdom, and grief in my bones. Bearing witness to their end of life journeys has forever changed me and continues to influence me both personally and creatively. This body of work has been a way for me to metaphorically sweep off the graves of those many souls; to honor their presence on this earth and to thank them for allowing me the privilege of bearing witness to them during their most intimate and intense time of life.
Considering material items have long held importance in the grieving process as transitional mementos of memory and comfort, it was important to me that this project embodies objects to serve as tangible representations of familiarity that connect to memories. Photography based installations were created as spaces for quiet reflection and quotes and perceptions from patients and families were bound in a handmade book to offer as contemplations.
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Brian Culbertson uses his photographs to raise questions about the depersonalization in modern medicine, where prescription drugs are given out to individuals based on symptoms, regardless of differences in their physical or chemical makeup. Adverse uses both the process and the end result to highlight the danger of this one-size-fits-all approach. Brian creates multi-layered portraits which are printed using the salt print process with prescription medication incorporated into the salt solution. The incorporation of medications used to alter the chemistry of the mind into the salted print process yields unpredictable results with each print - just as it does with our own bodies.
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Natalie van Sambeck specializes in one-of-a-kind antiquarian pigment prints that reveal the artist’s hand in each piece of artwork. Her work is tailored to those who desire unique imagery that invoke a deeper exploration into the inner workings of the subconscious mind and our perception of reality. As an artist, Natalie van Sambeck is inspired by the natural world and mankind’s relationship to nature. Influenced by the teachings of Joseph Campbell and Carl Jung, van Sambeck offers a unique perspective that challenges conventional ways of thinking about the broader issues surrounding home, identity, the human condition, and our relationship to nature. With an emphasis in alternative processes and self portraiture, van Sambeck creates unique handcrafted works of art that offers her distinctive vision.
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From the editor: “I was introduced to Airitam's work when she was recently a guest on the Keep the Channel Open podcast this past May. I was delighted to hear about her process and purpose of the series. Airitam mentions in the interview that the work was sort of an "emotional vomit" in reaction to current social injustices. The context and implications of the work create a dichotomy... considering these beautiful images are a reaction to a topic that encapsulates so much pain and hatred. Congratulations to Alanna for creating such a tremendously powerful series.” –Blue Mitchell
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The 2017 Thomas Fire is the largest in California history, an extreme example of a powerfully destructive and creative cycle endemic to the region. The burn came within a quarter mile of my home, and as the smoke cleared, I was struck by how it had abstracted the landscape, leaving white shadows of ash where trees had been and turning a once-colorful forest black, rendered completely bare of undergrowth. Only the strongest features remained.
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I've been a fan of Paula's for a while now and had the pleasure of meeting her at Photolucida last year. What drew me to her work in the past was her experimentation with photo-based pictures. This new series Shibui is on another level. A sophisticated actualization as a result of her love and exploration of the craft. Shibui's simplified design mixed with organics topped off with a yummy color palette. Divine. Thanks Paula! –Blue Mitchell
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