Last minute addition to tonights proceedings

On top of all the official festivities regarding NYPH 08 in Dumbo tonight local gallery Farmani is hosting an opening reception for IPA: Best In Show - Portrait Edition, selections from the International Photography Awards 2004 thru 2007 Best of Show curators featuring work by photographers Paul Elledge, Julia Fullerton-Batton, Nadav Kander, Joyce Tenneson and Lauren Greenfield to name a few.

7.00pm - 9.00pm

Farmani Gallery

111 Front Street, Gallery 212

Things to do tonight . . . . 8x10, Earth day & not your average Joel

Its not even Thursday and yet who would have thought we would have so many fine offerings so early in the week. Problem is choices are going to have to be made as scheduling dictates although I bet you could get in all three picks if you were so inclined.

Tuesday April 22


The camera club of New York - Lecture Series presents Richard Renaldi

7.00pm

School of Visual Arts Amphitheatre

209 East 23rd street, bet 2nd & 3rd ave

general admission $ 10.00 / $ 5.00 for students with ID

Richard Renaldi's environmental portraits and landscapes are a collection of photographs about the social makeup of our country and our world. The portraits he makes of ordinary strangers encountered at home and on the road begin a quiet documents of individual struggles and triumphs. However because of the breadth of his interests, Renaldi's pictures try to shed light on our collective reality. Carrying an 8x10 view camera, his favored tool, Renaldi travels widely, constantly scouting for the next person to 'cast' in his ever-evolving narration about the people and places in this city, across the US and around the world.

During the lecture Renaldi will present work from his various long-term projects followed by an informal book signing.



The powerHouse arena : Shifting Landscapes featuring the work of Olaf Otto Becker, Edward Burtynsky, Joshua Lutz, Christopher LaMarca, David Maisel and Simon Norfolk.

opening reception 6.00 - 9.00pm

37 Main street at Water street Dumbo





Joel Barhamand: Soft & Hard - 6 new photographs

opening reception 6.00 - 7.30pm

L'Asso

192 Mott street at Kenmare

Things to do tonight . . . heroin, childhood & a palace

Things have slowed down a little but hey its Thursday after all so here's tonight pick of the litter:


Jeff Olson: North Woods II

Opening reception

6.00 - 8.00 pm

Peter Hay Halpert Fine Art

511 West 25th Street, bet 10th & 11th ave

North Woods II is a series of large-scale photographs taken over the course of two years. Begun in the fall of 2005, the work explores life in an isolated area of New Hampshire that is representative of rural, small town America. Olson follows a select cast of young people, capturing moments of minor significance. Through his use of color and light, Olson infuses these images with a sense of emotional content that is more perceived than understood.

Olson's nostalgia and distinct connection to his past and its relationship to the multiple rural areas he was raised in are a constant presence in these pictures. He spent the substantial periods of his childhood documenting his consistently changing lifestyle as he moved around rural areas across the country. Working first with a camera he found when he was 8 years old (only to have it sold a year later), he received another camera four years later as a gift. These two cameras, one lost and the other a reclamation of the potential its predecessor suggested, enabled Olson to document what he saw on his journeys. His images reflect the solitude of his childhood experiences, as processed through a more mature eye. Courtesy Peter Ray Halpert Gallery

Robert Polidori: Versailles

Opening Reception

6.00 - 8.00pm

Edwynn Houk Gallery

745 Fifth Ave at 45th Street



Jessica Dimmock: The Ninth Floor

Opening Reception

6.00 - 8.00pm

Foley Gallery

547 West 27th Street, 5th Floor

Jessica Dimmock began photographing her series "The Ninth Floor" after being approached by a New York City drug dealer several years ago. She was in the midst of completing her degree at the International Center of Photography for Documentary Photography and Photojournalism. She became interested in photographing the dealer and his daily deliveries. One such stop was the ninth-floor of an elegant apartment building in New York's Flatiron district. For the next two and a half years Dimmock settled in as a long-term observer to candidly record the consumptive and consumed lives of nearly thirty heroin addicts in heir eroding, claustrophobic home.

"...the mood inside was muffled, slow, secretive and sick, becalmed by a septic hush," Dimmock recalls, and though her vivid portrait of that decaying place, with no light and duct-taped walls indeed silences its voyeur, it is her relentless documentation of the human lives struggling through and surviving addiction that impact upon us so profoundly.

Caught between the unaffected, objective nature of journalism and the heart-felt feelings for her subjects, Dimmock reflects how, "...the strange contradictions of this work are such that a mutual trust is built...but that very trust eventually undermines the arms-length neutrality of the documentarian."

A selection of more than forty chromogenic prints from Dimmock's series will be exhibited. The photographs lay bare the privacy and unmentionables of this three-bedroom apartment; its afflicted tenants silhouetting through smoke-clouds, wading in piles of waste, lampshades, bottles, cardboard boxes, and needles. Courtesy Foley Gallery

Last nights party

Well we treated ourselves Thursday to a little photo frenzy. First up was a late afternoon trip uptown to AIPAD. James Danziger has a post on his blog from yesterday here thats a nice summation of what you can expect this year. Theres a lot of vintage black and white on display, maybe a sign of the times but don't worry there were still plenty of color behemoths taking over some of the booths. Was nice to be able to wander unopposed, do yourself a favor if you are thinking about a visit and try and get up today before the weekend hoards descend.

Then it was back down to Chelsea for the Blind Spot benefit auction. This was certainly the place to be with a packed crowd on hand making the most of the cocktails and the odd bargain or two as some of the pieces sold for below the initial asking. Spotted in the crowd were photographers: Jeremy Liebman, Victoria Hely-Hutchinson, Eric Ogden, Eric McNatt, Rafael Fuchs, Nick Haymes, Katherine Wolkoff, Mark Tucker (who has decamped to NYC from Nashville for the month), Ber Murphy, Cara Phillips, David Rinella, Ethan Hill, Dietmar Busse, Bill Hamilton, Chris Bartlett, Robert Wright, David Walsh supremo: Primary Photographic Imaging, Lesley Martin & Kellie McLaughlin: Aperture, Nancy Jo Iacoi & Christina Cahill: Orchard Represents, Megan Ziegler-Haynes director of photography: Photoshelter, Jennifer Miller photo editor, Judith Puckett-Rinella photo editor: The New York Times T magazine, Brenda Millis photo editor: Mens Health, Michelle Egiziano photo director: Spin, Eric Miles director rare books and auctions: Photo-Eye and gallerist Jen Bekman.

For a night cap we wandered up to super club Mansion for the Brian Finke bash at the newly installed powerHouse books library. Not really what I was expecting to be honest but think Las Vegas casino hotel and waitresses in French maids costumes and you might begin to get the picture. Brian was on hand and we managed to spot a few friendly faces amongst the throbbing crowd: photographer Darin Mickey, Caroll Taveras photo editors Maisie Todd & Nancy Weisman: ESPN The Magazine & Rory Walsh: Blender.

Unfortunately you will have to use your imagination this week as we are self-portrait free. Pheeeew.

Opening mob scene

Just as James Danziger had predicted earlier in the week here the Ryan McGinley opening at Team Gallery was the place to be Thursday night in New York.

Ryan McGinley (L)

To say it was busy would be a bit of an understatement, with the curious and adoring throngs packing the gallery and spilling out onto Grand street. Anyone getting to the gallery even 20 minutes after the 6.00pm opening had difficulty seeing the work. No need to serve any alcohol or finger food here to attract a crowd although I have to say a little refreshment would have been appreciated by the parched en masse.

Although we didn't manage to stay for long, spotted in the crowd were: photographers Danielle Levitt, Todd Eberle, Richard Foulser, Ber Murphy, Chris Bartlett, Eric McNatt, Robert Wright who has posted a show review here, Butch Hogan, photo rep Matt Seminara: Friend & Johnson, Jordan Shipenberg: Art Department, Jennifer Pastore and Scott Hall: photo editors New York Times T Magazine and Kellie McLaughlin: Aperture.

Coming attractions

Heres what got me all hot and bothered in New York this week. Just a warm up for whats coming next week.

Tuesday April 1

© Todd Hido

Parsons The New School for Design Lectures Present:
Todd Hido : Artist’s Lecture

6:30 p.m.

Aperture Gallery
547 West 27th Street, 4th floor

As part of the ongoing lecture series hosted by Aperture and presented by the department of photography, Parsons The New School for Design, Todd Hido will discuss the spirit of his work. Hido’s recently published monograph, Between the Two (Nazraeli Press, 2006), features photographs of anonymous models in motel rooms, interiors of abandoned houses. He will also discuss his other series, including exterior views of homes at night. His work has been widely exhibited throughout the United States and Europe, and is included in the permanent collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; the Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago; the Cleveland Museum of Art; and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Thursday April 3

© Ryan McGinley

Ryan McGinley 'I know Where the Summer Goes'

Opening reception

6.00pm

Team Gallery

83 Grand Street bet Wooster & Greene

Ryan McGinley’s “snapshots” have been evolving steadily since his guerilla show at 420 West Broadway in 2000. In the intervening eight years he has moved away from an artistic practice that was the soul of casual and towards an elaborated production schedule that raises the ante on “being there.” McGinley has gone from being perceived as the hottest young photographer in town to being considered a serious artist with a rare gift for creating enduring color photographs — photographs that show us the best of youth.

The title of this exhibition, taken from an early B-side by Belle & Sebastian, is more than just a piece of poetic musing. McGinley does, in fact, know where his summers go. In the summer of 2007, for example, he traversed the United States with sixteen models and three assistants, shooting 4,000 rolls of film. From the resulting 150,000 photographs, he arduously narrowed down the body of work to some fifty images, the best of which are on display here at the gallery.

The inspirational images for the project were culled from the kinds of amateur photography that appeared in nudist magazines during the 60s and early 70s. McGinley would sit with his models and look through all of the ephemera of the period that he had collected, discussing with them the mood that he was hoping to capture that day. McGinley had chosen a very specific itinerary that would bring his troop through the incredible range of landscapes that are available across the US and carefully planned a battery of activities, sometimes orchestrating the use of special effects. He has always been quite fond of fireworks and fog machines and in this new work they play a major role.

The very artificial constructedness of the project allows for situations in which the models can both perform and be caught off guard. The resultant pictures of nude young men and women playing and living in the great outdoors are innocent yet erotic, casual yet calculated. Courtesy Team Gallery

© Sze Tsung Leong


Sze Tsung Leong: opening reception 'Horizon Series'

6.00 - 8.00pm

Yossi Milo Gallery
525 West 25th street

Horizons is an ongoing series of photographs, begun in 2001, that depict expansive but detailed views of a broad spectrum of environments throughout the world. The locations of the images may be distant in geography (including Mexico City, Cairo, Banaras, Lisbon, Isle of Skye, Tokyo, and Inner Mongolia, for example), and diverse in subject matter (ranging from pastoral landscapes, to monuments, to everyday spaces, to rivers, to industrial zones, to cityscapes), yet the photographs are linked by a horizon which continues in the same position from image to image. When placed side by side, the images form an extended landscape composed of an accumulation of varied continents, cities, terrains, situations, textures, and colors: an unfinished asphalt cul-de-sac lies before a line of tract houses in Victorville, California (2006); a boat drifts past icebergs in Jökulsárlón I, Iceland (2007); clumps of desert sand collect in front of a remote skyline in Dubai I (2007); red stone buildings seemingly hover over an opaque expanse of water in Canale della Giudecca I, Venezia (2007); beachgoers tread through mud on their way to the shore in Dungeness III (2003); boys play cricket in a clearing among electrical poles in Allahabad I (2008). Courtesy Yossi Milo

Please join Ari Marcopoulos and David Strettell at Dashwood Books for a book signing of Dashwood's inaugural publication “The Chance is Higher” by Ari Marcopoulos:

6.00 - 8.00 pm
Dashwood Books
33 Bond Street bet Lafayette & the Bowery

“The Chance is Higher” is a 72-page book featuring 40 black-and-white images by legendary Dutch photographer Ari Marcopoulos, all of which were printed on a Xerox machine. For years Marcopoulos has worked with Xeroxes as sketches for books, zines, and exhibitions. In love with the simple direct beauty of this low-fi technique, the artist turned to that medium to create this new body of work.

The book is designed by the Swiss team Gavillet and Rust who worked with Marcopolous on his landmark 2005 book “Even the President of the United States Sometimes has got to Stand Naked” (JRP Ringier), their cool elegant style subtly emphasizes the immediacy of the work.

”The Chance is Higher” by Ari Marcopoulos numbered limited edition of 700 copies. Price $85(Deluxe edition signed and numbered in an edition of 50 copies). Order books online.

Out on the town . . . . last night

James White (L)

Well we did the decent thing for a change last night and made the long trek out to Brooklyn for the opening of the new Bond Street gallery. It turned out to be quite the ballyhoo, not in the freshly constructed main gallery but in next doors rather spacious annex which really is more of a photo studio then anything else. This is where the evenings action was centered with uber celebrity photographer James White in the house showing some of his scantily clad A list clientele. To be honest his work is really great but you know what it didn't really hold up in the flesh; this stuff looks fab in a magazine with a tight layout and a nice bit of type thrown on it not supersized and hanging on a wall.

Nevertheless it was quite the crowd and James's popularity as a photographer and a person was pretty evident by the who's who who turned out. Spotted in the mix were photo editors Brenda Millis: Mens Health, Maisie Todd and Nancy Weisman: ESPN the Magazine, Doris Brautigan, Alison Unterreiner: Esquire, photo directors (we don't want to ruffle any feathers) Fiona McDonagh: Entertainment Weekly and Micheal Norseng: Esquire, art buyer Alex Tasch: Euro RSCG, photo rep Matt Seminara: Friend & Johnson, Eric Miles director rare books and auctions: Photo-Eye, photographers Matthew Furman, Eric McNatt, Chris Bartlett, Ber Murphy, Michele Asselin, Jonathan Saunders, Robert Wright and Rafael Fuchs.

*Update* And in case you were wondering I did ask one of the photo editors in attendance whether she would take the time to look at APE's Flickr promo when it comes online - she said she would oh and I also heard mutterings that some reps would be taking part.

Coming attractions aka things to do this week

With spring in the air things are certainly beginning to pick up with plenty to help get your photo fix. Here's what tickles my fancy this week in NYC.


Thursday March 27:


Opening reception: Bruce Gilden "Coney Island of the Heart" and others.

Bond Street Gallery

6.00pm - 9.00pm

297 Bond Street bet Union and Sackett
Brooklyn

And as a bonus in the galleries annex we have James White: "James White Photographs" Including 10 limited editions – 8 images of the Victoria's Secret models photographed for Esquire Magazine in a custom made clam shell box.

This is also the galleries opening night proper; located between Smith Street's chic restaurants and shops and the developing neighborhood of Gowanus. This location perfectly illustrates the gallery's mission, which is to present photography from the spaces in between—from artists who often fall through the cracks of the arbitrary and dated classifications of traditional curatorship.

Founded by photographer agent Bruce Kramer (ArtMix photography)and photographer Robert DiScalfani, who lives and works in the neighborhood, Bond Street Gallery is the first photography gallery in the area. It is housed in a 100-year-old townhouse that the founders have restored while keeping the original structure of the building intact. Inside it has exposed brick walls, and out back is a tranquil courtyard.

Bond Street Gallery will blend fine art and commercial photography, the fields in which both founders have worked and lived for decades. "These two worlds are becoming more and more interwoven," says Kramer, "and we want to create an outlet that reflects that.” The gallery will also mix vintage and contemporary, famous and undiscovered, homegrown and foreign.

Saturday March 29:


Slideluck Potshow

Theme: Patterns

Time tbc

Chelsea Art Museum
556 West 22nd Street @ Westside Hwy

In case you are one of the few who don't have a clue on the Slideluck Potshow here is the skinny. Its a non-profit slideshow and potluck for members of arts, photography, and media communities. Participants bring food, drink, and up to five minutes worth of slides. The evening begins with a couple hours of dining on the home-cooked delights of participants, while drinking and mingling. It is not uncommon to arrive with, for example, a full-bodied bottle of wine, some vegetable samosas, Thai green curry, pumpkin ravioli, or some rosemary lamb chops. All guests are asked to contribute as the event is entirely dependent on participation. Following the potluck, the lights are dimmed, the crowd is hushed, and a spectacular slideshow commences.

Slideluck Potshow is a forum for exposing artists, curators and editors to new work, while infusing the arts community with a non-commercial vitality and refreshing exchange. Photojournalists, painters, designers, sculptors, fashion and fine art photographers all show their work alongside one another in a relaxed and spirited atmosphere. Presenters range from the very accomplished to those who have never shown work publicly before, but regardless of status, none is allotted more than five minutes for their slideshow. Past participants include; Elliott Erwitt, Chris Buck, Alec Soth, Martin Schoeller, Doug Menuez, Alex Majoli, Alistair Thain, Bruce Gilden, and Eugene Mirman.

Participants are encouraged to take creative risks, in terms of content and presentation, and to not just show their portfolios. Each slideshow has a section with a theme, as well as non-themed section. The submissions are collected and curated in advance of the slideshow. Cutting-edge multimedia presentations are welcomed and all shows are accompanied by music, commentary, or other surprises.

The event is primarily geared towards photographers, artists, photo editors, reps, art buyers, curators, collectors, designers, and other members of the media. Slideluck has become a place for artists to come together and share their work in a congenial, non-competitive atmosphere. It is rarely held in the same location twice, and the space in which it takes place sets the tone for the evening. More than anything else, this is a fun, inspiring evening, that is meant to remind us of why we are creating in the first place.

Slideluck Potshow was founded by advertising and editorial photographer, Casey Kelbaugh, in 2000. Kelbaugh produced twenty shows around Seattle, and together with Producer Alys Kenny, is now organizing roughly three events a year in NYC. Slideluck has become something of a global phenomenon, as they are now taking place everywhere from Berlin to Minneapolis, Mexico City to Washington, DC. As a 501c(3) pending non-profit, the existence and growth of Slideluck Potshow is very much dependent on the contributions and generosity of the individuals and institutions that lend their support.


Sunday March 30:


Opening reception 'Bitter Sweet': Photographs By Arlene Gottfried

A talk and book signing to be followed by a sunset reception on the beachfront estate to coincide with the release of her latest book "Sometimes Overwhelming" published by powerHouse books.

1:00pm - 5.00pm

The Alice Austen Museum House
2 Hylan Blvd
Staten island

Since the early 70’s Arlene Gottfried has created her own private document of the city, a precious mix of moments that can lead the viewer to laugh, cry and often times blush. She was recently summed up as a “quiet defender of the grimly vibrant denizens of an older New York that’s disappearing daily”, by Tim Murphy of New York Magazine. This show highlights work from he latest book “Sometimes Overwhelming” (published by powerHouse March 2007) and never before seen color photographs that continue her photographic obsession.

Directions:
Take the 1/9 to South ferry, W/R to Whitehall Street
or 4/5 to Bowling Green Station
From the Staten Island Ferry:
Take the #S51 bus to the corner of Hylan Boulevard

ABOUT ALICE AUSTEN HOUSE:

Alice Austen House Museum is a national historic landmark, maintained by the Friends of Alice Austen. Austen was born on Staten Island in 1866, and was introduced to the nascent art of photography at the age of ten by a seafaring uncle. Austen is a singular figure in history, a well-traveled society woman, an accomplished artist with a dramatic personal story that intersected with some of the most important cultural figures of her time.

“Clear Comfort” was the name of the charming waterfront cottage where Austen lived most of her life, along with her companion of 35 years, Gertrude Tate. The home has been preserved as the Alice Austen House Museum to honor her fascinating life and significant contribution to the field of photography.



Blog:Mode - Panel Discussion

The afternoon panel offers an opportunity for a critical and creative dialogue about fashion as both an art form and a reflection of the zeitgeist, as well as the place of the blog to facilitate the public voice.

Panelists include:
Cathy Horyn, journalist and fashion critic, The York Times
Diane Pernet, film festival curator, co-editor-in-chief of ZOO magazine, and editor-in-chief of A Shaded View On Fashion
Scott Schuman, photographer, fashion journalist, and creator of The Sartorialist blog.

3:00 p.m.
The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium
Metropolitan Museum of Art

Free with Museum admission

Things to do tonight . . . . NYC

Much to the relief of some I won't be able to make it along to Brian Finke's 'Flight Attendants' opening tonight at Clampart; so no fear of me forcing myself and my camera upon photo folk. As a huge fan of Brian and his work I am pretty bummed to be missing out on all the revelry. Should be a big turnout for this most popular of photographers.

Brian has spent the last few years flying the friendly skies photographing flight attendants on carriers in the United States and abroad. This is a vibrant collection of photographs documenting the lives of those adventurous souls who chose to work at 40,000 feet. Shot before, during and after flights the photographs capture the allure of the high-flying profession alongside the more quiet moments of the attendants daily lives.

The show coincides with the release of a book of the same name published by PowerHouse. This is Brian's second monograph a follow up to "2-4-6-8: Photographs of Cheerleaders and Football Players".

Reception with the artist 6.00pm - 8.00pm

Clampart
521-531 West 25th Street
Ground floor

For you trivia buffs Brian got married the day after me and I was honored when he asked me to take his wedding pics. Obviously it didn't work out, probably a good thing I would have been sweating it big.

Heres to you Brian Finke !

Things to do this week . . . . NYC & RI

Tuesday February 6


Tod Papageorge
'American Sports, 1970: or How We Spent the War in Vietnam'

Talk and Book Signing

6.30 p.m.

Free Admission

Aperture Gallery
547 West 27th Street, 4th Floor, NYC

Tod Papageorge will discuss the coolly observational yet intensely engaging work featured in his new Aperture monograph American Sports, 1970 or How We Spent The War in Vietnam. These remarkable images, taken over the course of a watershed year for popular opinion against the war, draw a subtle but sharp parallel between the war in Vietnam and the American attitude toward spectator sports during a time of conflict.

Wednesday February 6


Stacy Renee Morrison

“THE GIRL OF MY DREAMS”

2:00 p.m. invited talk by the artist

Fine Arts Center Galleries, University of Rhode Island

Also February 7, 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. reception for the artist


Thursday February 7


Book signing for Rockaway, NY by Roe Ethridge
published by SteidlMack

6.00 - 8.00 pm

Dashwood Books
33 Bond Street
between Bowery and Lafayette, NYC



The 'Master' himself Juergen Teller

'Ukraine'

Opening reception 6.00 - 8.00pm

Lehmann Maupin

540 West 26th Street, NYC

Teller was commissioned, along with four other artists, by the PinchukArtCentre to interpret the Ukraine for the 52nd International Venice Biennale 2007, where a selection from this series was first shown. This exhibition marks the first time an expanded version, along with other new works, will be shown in the United States.

Faced with how to experience and discover the Ukraine, Teller chose to employ the city as a setting for a W Magazine fashion shoot, characteristically mixing fashion, still-lives of the city, and portraits of ordinary people as a way of representing his own fantasy of a country marked by a brash youthful energy and an obsession with capitalism. In Teller’s Kiev the membrane between harsh economic reality and obtainable fantasy is surprisingly thin and these pictures represent a place where beautiful girls wait to be discovered in a place where the desire for luxury has reached a fever pitch. Courtesy Lehmann Maupin

Joseph Michael Lopez

'Above Below'

43 8th Avenue Gallery, NYC

between Jane & Horatio

opening 6.00pm - 9.00pm

Joseph Michael Lopez photographs those moments of introspection we steal on the way to or from our destinations, as well as frenetic, over looked moments of life in an urban metropolis. In one shot an unconscious man appears to have just fallen off his seat on the subway; one leg still caught up on the armrest. In another a child, back pressed against a subway pole, clasps her arms behind her in a perfect cross formation.

Last night on the town

Well we took ourselves out and about last night trying to take in as many openings as possible and didn't end up doing so bad after all.

Domingo Milella (left) The Jackanory (right)

First up was Domingo Milella at TracyWilliams Ltd. This was my first visit to the gallery which it turns out covers two floors in a west village brownstone. Interesting space, a hybrid of sorts, a galler/house, with the big prints exhibited in regular sized rooms that maybe unwittingly give potential buyers a true glimpse at how these mighty pieces might size up in their own homes. That's the thing isn't it, much of the art we view here in the city is on display in vast Chelsea warehouses that bear little or no physical relationship to the spaces in which the work may eventually be hung. I had never really thought of that before and Milella told me later that the images were specifically chosen for each of the rooms. Remember a 52 inch flat screen TV doesn't necessarily work in every space so why should a massive print, remember size isn't everything, proportion can be.

Martin Schoeller & me

We then made our way to the Marty Schoeller opening at Hasted Hunt. Can I say full house, it was certainly chock a block with a strong turn out for this most popular of photographers.

Dawoud Bey and me again

Then it was on to 347 west 27th street where we checked out the Bart Michiels show 'The Course Of History: The Mediterranean Theatre' at Foley Gallery before descending a floor to Aperture for Dawoud Bey's 'Class Pictures'.

So far so good right on schedule to making plan as mapped out in Tuesdays post here. Unfortunately this is where the nights activities got held up as Aperture certainly know how to keep a large crowd grounded; an ample supply of alcohol coupled with en suite bathroom facilities always seems to do it, so Katy Grannans opening on the lower east side was a miss. Although I am happy to say we made it down to BBlessing for the 'Adolescence and the Virtues of Maturity' extravaganza only to join the mighty hoardes waiting to gain admission. Fuck that so, the scene on the inside looked just as packed, I was certainly interested but there was no way through the throng.

The scene outside BBlessing, is that Danielle Levitt in the door ?

No worries though it was quite the night, with a veritable who's who spotted during our travels. Out and about were photographers Chris Bartlett, Eric McNatt, Joe Fornabaio, Adam Friedberg, Christopher McLallen, Ber Murphy, Jeremy Liebman, Victoria Hely-Hutchinson, Christy Whitney, Anna Bauer, Ofer Wolberger, photographer/bloggers Robert "Don't get on the plane" Wright, Raul 'Mexican pictures' Gutierrez, William 'Vignette' Brinson, gallerist Jen Bekman and photo editor Keri Pampuch from Quick and Simple.

Want something to do . . . . knock yourself out

Theres alot going on in NYC over the next week so as opposed to giving the heads up on the day of here's a listing of some events that may tickle your fancy.

Thursday November 1

Klompching Gallery:

In-Conversation: Simon Roberts and Darius Himes
Book signing and discussion of Simons Motherland series

111 Front St., Suite 206, DUMBO

6.00pm - 7.00pm

Space limited to the first 25 people through the door.


Dashwood Books:

Reception and book signing for Ten Series/106 Photographs by Matthew Sleeth

A consummate observer of the world, Sleeth's stunning and eclectic series capture with warmth and humor the sheer beauty of ordinary things. Sleeth's playfulness, wry sensibility, and unorthodox visual style often recalls the work of Ed Ruscha, Lars Tunbjork and Lee Friedlander.

33 Bond Street (between Lafayette & Bowery)

6.00pm - 8.00pm


Splashlight Gallery:

You are cordially invited to join Storm Thorgerson and Splashlight for a gallery opening and book signing for "Taken By Storm" a retrospective visual journey of Storm’s great career as a photographer and his relationship with the band Pink Floyd.

Splashlight Studios 529-535 West 35th. St, Between 10th and 11th Ave.

7:00pm - 10:00pm


Friday November 2

ICP:

Book signing Jessica Dimmock: The Ninth Floor

Jessica Dimmock photographed a group of die-hard heroin users living in an apartment building in Manhattan's Flatiron District over a two-year period. The photographs brilliantly capture the chaotic atmosphere of human lives spinning out of control, but with the photographer's compassion for her subjects always evident.

1133 Ave. of the Americas (at 43rd St.)

6.00pm - 7.30pm


Saturday November 3

Blind Spot in association with Fred & Associates presents Collapsing Images at LIVE from The New York Public Library

As a counterpoint to the visual conversation provided by Blind Spot magazine, the Collapsing Images forum gives a voice to the issues surrounding photography and explores the role of photography in the media and popular culture. Collapsing Images presents three vital discussions led by leading photographers, filmmakers, critics, and thinkers.

2:00pm - A Conversation between Jack Pierson & Jerry Schatzberg

4:30pm - Money, Money, Money, Money

Moderator: Glenn O'Brien
Panelists: Vince Aletti, Philip-Lorca diCorcia, Dennis Freedman, Doug Lloyd, Glen Luchford, Collier Schorr, Andy Spade

7:30pm - Truth and Authenticity in Photography

Moderator: Elisabeth Sussman
Panelists: Mitch Epstein, Paul Graham, Katy Grannan, Danny Lyon, Tod Papageorge, Taryn Simon

Celeste Bartos Forum, Humanities and Social Sciences Library — Fifth Avenue & 42nd Street

This event IS NOT FREE, ticket purchase in advance is recommended to secure a spot, go here.


Monday November 5

Aperture Foundation 2007 Benefit and Auction

Honoring Joanne Leonhardt Cassulo, Gillian Laub, Sally Mann and Laurence Miller

Skylight, 275 Hudson street

6.30pm - 10.00pm

This event IS NOT FREE buy tickets here, starting at $ 250.00 and topping off at $ 25,000.00.


Tuesday November 6

SPD @ FIT

SPD presents a super Tuesday with a show and tell by the top man himself Platon.

Charming, conversant and influential as any politicial, Platon is the photographer who coaxed the now infamous crotch shot out of President Bill Clinton.

Arriving from London, he got his start in New York at John Kennedy Jr.'s George magazine and quickly went on to apply his signature perspective and frosty color palette to Rolling Stone, The New York Times Magazine, Esquire, Texas Monthly, Vanity Fair, Time and many more. His gentle, disarming approach is at the heart of his success and how he became one of generation's greatest portraitists.

Katie Murphy Amphitheatre, FIT
27th Street & Seventh Avenue

7:00 - 8:30 PM; doors open at 6:30

Tickets:
SPD Members, $10 in advance ($15 at the door)
Non-members, $15 in advance ($20 at the door)
Students with valid ID: $5
FIT Students & Faculty with valid ID: FREE