A New Deal

 

Every two years Houston is home to FotoFest, a several weeks long celebration set up "to promote the exchange of art and ideas through international programs and the presentation of photographic art."  The Bayou City becomes host to fine art photographers from all over the globe, countless exhibitions, portfolio reviews and workshops all centering on photography.  In addition to getting to go to the swanky opening night party with Catherine, it was also an opportunity to get to hang out with the fabulous Susan Burnstine.  I was lucky enough to meet her when she came for her Within Shadows exhibition at the John Cleary Gallery during the Fall of last year and can now happily count her among my dear friends!

During her time here she invited me out to dinner with several of her fancy photographer friends.  At one point Susan realized she didn't have a picture of me on her phone to show up when I called and so she whipped out her iPhone.  All of a sudden I looked up and ALL of them were taking my picture!

L to R: Brad Moore, Rania Matar, Michael Crouser, Susan Burnstine

 

Michael was kind enough to send me two of his pictures… as partially seen through Susan's phone:

 

I LOVE that in the one on the left I'm smiling in Susan's phone but not in Michael's picture

 

Now comes the "audience participation" portion of the blog post!  A couple of days ago I saw the following message on Michael's Facebook page and wanted to share this fabulous opportunity with y'all:

Dear Friends,

This coming August the Festival de la Luz in Buenos Aires, Argentina will be exhibiting my series "Los Toros" at the Fotogaleria de San Martin. This is an important venue in an important festival, and I'm quite excited about the honor and the opportunity. In an effort to attend the opening, I am selling a limited edition of two small prints from the series at a very low price.

The two attached images will be available for a short time as 8x10 toned silver gelatin prints, each in numbered limited editions of 25, for $150. The prints will be signed, numbered and delivered to you prior to the exhibition.
Those interested can contact me directly through Facebook, or by email at mc@michaelcrouser.com.

Thank you for considering these print, and for your help in getting me to Argentina for this great opportunity!

 

 

As of this posting both images are still available.  Opportunities like this rarely come up for such fantastic work… take advantage of this amazing deal today!

 

Artist: Michael Giacchino / Album: Ratatouille

Loveliest of Trees

 

The last Friday of April is set aside annually in celebration of National Arbor Day, a holiday which encourages the planting and caring for of trees and other foliage.  According to our good friend, Wikipedia, it originated in Nebraska during the early 1870's and has since spread to a global level.

What better way to celebrate the greenest of holidays with a vertically integrated product: trees make paper, photographs are printed on paper, photographs on paper look FABULOUS on your walls!  See the logic there?

So in honor of the 140th Arbor Day here is a small forests' worth of the photography world's best trees!

Mitch Dobrowner: Wind Swept Tree

 

 

Maggie Taylor: Oh, Happy Day      |      Jerry Uelsmann: Untitled, 1969

 

 

Josef Hoflehner: Elephant Hill Pathway      |    Jeffrey Conley: Snow Covered Branches

 

Takeshi Shikama: Central Park #21

 

Jeri Eisenberg: Magnolia, No. 9

 

 

Susan Burnstine: Forever    |    Michael Crouser: Girl and Tree

 

Brett Weston: Holland Canal

 

   

Charles Grogg: Juniper Bonsai  |  Jefferson Hayman: Tree in Central Park  |  Keliy Anderson-Staley: Plum Tree

 

David Fokos: Haybales, Ripsa, Sweden

 

Henry Gilpin: Trees, Reflections    |    Dan Burkholder: Tree in April Snow, Catskills

 

Niniane Kelley: Palm

Brad Moore: Roosevelt, Huntington Beach, California

 

Pine-ing for any of these images?  Don't have a collection and looking for one to take root?  Already have one but looking to branch out?  Want me to stop with these ridiculous tree jokes? Don't be such a crabapple! Come into the John Cleary Gallery or give us a call and we'd love to help find that perfect photograph for you.

 

Artist: Bryn Terfel / Album: The Vagabond and Other English Songs

Look Before You Leap

In celebration of Leap Day—the best of all temporally related quadrennial celebrations—I thought it would be fun to take a photographic look at the “art of the leap.” (Don't worry, after the first one it's all primo stuff!)

I say "leap" you say "tumble"… tomato/t'ohmygoshIthinkIjustbrokesomething

But first, let’s take a moment to define what is, and what is, not a leap. For instance….



NOT a leap: George Zimbel – Marilyn Monroe, Looking Left

A sixteenth-hearted effort if I’ve ever seen one.  Let someone else have the spotlight for once, Marilyn!

ALMOST a leap: Henry Horenstein – Miss Saturn, Outside Slipper Room, New York, NY 2008

Nice fake-out, Miss Saturn, but no matter how celestial your pose (and name) may be… your stance remains a tad too Earthbound for my taste!

Leap: Ruth Orkin - Boy Jumping Into Hudson River, 1948

Now THAT’S how it’s done, baybay!

Culturally, the French appear to be quite adept in their leaptitude, which is unmistakable in this duo of jump-themed pieces.

Yves Klein –Le Saut dans le vide, 1960

   

Henri Cartier-Bresson – Behind the Gare Saint-Lazare, 1932

Jaques-Henri Latrigue -- Bichonnade Leaping

Fear not, patriots, for while the French Leap does appear prominently in the photographic realm, we all know the Freedom Leap is equally entertaining.

Loomis Dean – Man Flying Off a Trampoline at Santa Monica Beach

Susan Burnstine – Jump

Dance is rife with leap photo-ops, and American modern dance queen, Martha Graham, shows up prominently in photography of the mid-20th century. Let’s combine the two, shall we?

Barbara Morgan – Graham Group, American Document, Sophie Maslow, Frieda Flier, Marjorie Mazia, (Starburst) 1938

Philippe Halsman - Merce Cunningham, leaping and Martha Graham, sitting

Apparently umbrellas play an integral part in the “leap shot,” as is evident in the following rainy day photos.

Richard Avedon – Homage to Munkasci, 1957

Ellitt Erwitt – Paris, 1989 (Tour Eiffel)

Like to see some of these works in person?  Never purchased a work of fine art photography? Take the LEAP (see what I did there?!) and stop on in and visit me at the John Cleary Gallery.  Happy Leap Day everyone… and don’t forget those umbrellas!

Artist: The Dave Clark Five / Album: Hits