Eugene Scherba's journal/blog on contemporary photography and personal work. en-us http://eugenescherba.com/journal Copyright © 2004–2010 Eugene Scherba http://eugenescherba.com/entry/89 <p>I found myself liking the work of <a href="http://www.lukas-roth.de/" rel="external">Lukas Roth</a> (found via <a href="http://community.livejournal.com/pishpot/132320.html" rel="external">pishpot</a>, where you can see more of his work). This German artist based in Cologne relies on intensive digital manipulation by using software to stitch hundreds of individual photos into a single extraordinarily large image. You can find out more about him by reading <a href="http://www.lukas-roth.de/Dwell_Lukas_Roth_2006.pdf" rel="external">this PDF</a>, which contains an English-language conversation with the artist, and which is posted on <a href="http://www.lukas-roth.de/" rel="external">his site</a>.</p> <p><a href="http://www.lukas-roth.de/Dwell_Lukas_Roth_2006.pdf" rel="external"><img src="http://eugenescherba.com//journal_files/Lukas_Roth.jpg" alt="A Conversation With Lukas Roth" /></a></p> <p>An update: More of Lukas Roth' work can be found <a href="http://www.paulkopeikingallery.com/artists/roth/" rel="external">on the website of Paul Kopeikin gallery</a> located in Los Angeles, where the photographer has <a href="http://www.paulkopeikingallery.com/artists/roth/exhibitions/" rel="external">a show</a> until December 22nd. (via <a href="http://jonahsamson.typepad.com/squint/2007/10/lukas-roth.html" rel="external">Squint</a>.)</p> http://eugenescherba.com/entry/89 Fri, 26 Oct 2007 12:20:12 CDT http://eugenescherba.com/entry/88 <p>Jörg M. Colberg has posted a <a href="http://www.jmcolberg.com/weblog/archives/002757.html">fascinating conversation</a> with <a href="http://www.andrewmiksys.com/bio.php">Andrew Miksys</a>, a Seattle-born photographer who is working on an upcoming book on Lithuanian Roma people (gypsies), BAXT. One of the main questions that arose in the conversation, was how to avoid the Borat-exposed stereotype of gypsies as emblematized subjects of xenophobia and to present them in a way that differs from the convention of "a woman holding a baby, barefoot children and wild dogs." Andrew took on an approach that could only be described as "fortuitous":</p> <blockquote><p>Somewhat out of frustration, I asked [a Roma girl] if she wanted to stand in a different pose. Right away she took on the seductive super model pose. It was totally unexpected. In the discos I often have similar experiences. Last summer I was photographing in a disco and there was a guy who kept asking me to photograph him. I really wasn't interested in photographing him, but finally agreed to take one picture of him. While I was setting up my lights he took off his shirt and got in a pose like a boxer. Again, I never could have imagined or set up a scene like that. In the past, I thought that this kind of posing was unnatural. Now I find it more revealing. The poses are sort of like the dreams and fantasies that most people keep hidden.</p></blockquote> <p>Once I read these words, it struck me that I have encountered a similar concern on a popular photo forum some time before. A photographer who was working "on a collection of portraits of bar girls in Mexico" had asked: "How to kill a smile?" In his own words, he was trying to "go beyond a collection of pictures of faux-happy hookers." That is to say, he was either trying to place his subjects into some kind of preconceived notion of how they should appear or to reveal something about the subjects that the casual smile was hiding. From his argument, we could guess that he wanted the latter, yet in his case, a case very different from that of Andrew Miksys, the pose that his subjects first took on did not "reveal" but instead "concealed."</p> <p>I do not know how to reconcile these two different stories, but they certainly provide me with material for further thinking on this subject. Any comments are welcome...</p> http://eugenescherba.com/entry/88 Wed, 27 Jun 2007 13:37:18 CDT http://eugenescherba.com/entry/86 <img class="medium" src="http://eugenescherba.com//medium/4680a0d4b4e8c" alt="" /> http://eugenescherba.com/entry/86 Tue, 26 Jun 2007 01:15:23 CDT http://eugenescherba.com/entry/85 <img class="medium" src="http://eugenescherba.com//medium/467e9df07f941" alt="" /> http://eugenescherba.com/entry/85 Sun, 24 Jun 2007 12:39:25 CDT http://eugenescherba.com/entry/84 <img class="medium" src="http://eugenescherba.com//medium/42c0189703ee1" alt="" /> http://eugenescherba.com/entry/84 Mon, 18 Jun 2007 14:36:40 CDT http://eugenescherba.com/entry/83 <img class="medium" src="http://eugenescherba.com//medium/42c0184cd1670" alt="" /> http://eugenescherba.com/entry/83 Sun, 17 Jun 2007 23:22:55 CDT http://eugenescherba.com/entry/82 <img class="medium" src="http://eugenescherba.com//medium/46705bba243da" alt="Once There Was, Once There Wasn't -- A Short Film by Olive Barrel Productions" /> http://eugenescherba.com/entry/82 Wed, 13 Jun 2007 17:13:29 CDT http://eugenescherba.com/entry/81 <img class="medium" src="http://eugenescherba.com//medium/465f8aab533a1" alt="Night shot" /> http://eugenescherba.com/entry/81 Sat, 09 Jun 2007 11:39:27 CDT http://eugenescherba.com/entry/80 <img class="medium" src="http://eugenescherba.com//medium/4543fc1bdacb3" alt="Once There Was, Once There Wasn't" /> http://eugenescherba.com/entry/80 Sun, 27 May 2007 15:46:37 CDT http://eugenescherba.com/entry/79 <img class="medium" alt="Once There Was, Once There Wasn't" src="http://eugenescherba.com//medium/4543fb4554d95" /> http://eugenescherba.com/entry/79 Fri, 13 Apr 2007 04:30:48 CDT http://eugenescherba.com/entry/78 <img class="medium" alt="Belle Epoque Fashion Show, Boston" src="http://eugenescherba.com//medium/45f0f1965cc46" /> http://eugenescherba.com/entry/78 Tue, 13 Mar 2007 23:57:08 CDT http://eugenescherba.com/entry/77 <img class="medium" alt="Belle Epoque Fashion Show, Boston" src="http://eugenescherba.com//medium/45ea7192a8a89" /> http://eugenescherba.com/entry/77 Tue, 06 Mar 2007 19:58:30 CST http://eugenescherba.com/entry/76 <img class="medium" src="http://eugenescherba.com//medium/453a986b6b342" /><p>Paul Battaglia as Benjamin sitting next to a fridge in a short film <a href="http://olivebarrel.com/blog/?cat=8">Once There Was, Once There Wasn&#8217;t</a> by <a href="http://www.olivebarrel.com/">Olive Barrel Productions</a>.</p> http://eugenescherba.com/entry/76 Sun, 22 Oct 2006 11:10:29 CDT http://eugenescherba.com/entry/75 <img class="medium" src="http://eugenescherba.com//medium/451fef18704e0" title="Copyright © 2006 Eugene Scherba" /> http://eugenescherba.com/entry/75 Sat, 09 Sep 2006 19:24:42 CDT http://eugenescherba.com/entry/73 <img class="medium" title="Copyright © 2006 Eugene Scherba" alt="Dennis Hurley" src="http://eugenescherba.com//medium/44c5428f7b748" /><p>Dennis Hurley in Jay Salvo's short film "Priorities." Acrylic on canvas. July 24th 2006</p> http://eugenescherba.com/entry/73 Tue, 25 Jul 2006 13:04:22 CDT