ISO Magazine

Pinar Yolaçan

Lady Gaga 2010 and Zhang Huan 2007

These past few years, meat costumes seem to be the latest trend in the art scene: from singer Lady Gaga’s raw meat dress she wore during the MTV awards, to Chinese artist Zhang Huan’s muscle suit he used in one of his performances in 2007, food clothing has made a big impact world-wide.

Another artist that works with food costumes is photographer Pinar Yolaçan. She first explores this concept with her series Perishables where she used raw poultry to clothe her models. Later, in her Maria project, the Turkish artist used animal placentas to cover Brazilian women, creating uncanny portraits that are impossible to stop staring at. For every image, Yolaçan creates the costumes herself, usually the same day as the photo shoot so the food stays fresh. She designs the clothes specifically for every individual and takes into consideration the sitter’s skin color, features, expression, etc., as to accentuate each model’s personal characteristics.  

© Yolaçan form her series Perishables

She photographs models ranging from ages 27 to 90, whom she uses to explore controversial topics such as aging, mothering, and religious heritage.  The sitters showcase a different type of beauty than the one we are use to. They undergo a mysterious and sometimes shocking experience, deprived of the youth and wealth plaguing Western ideals of a woman’s image.  The passage of time is inevitable, and much like the food they are wearing, women (and men) are not exempted from decaying, rotting, and one day perishing.

 © Yolaçan from her series Maria

-Elena Kendall.

Living Among Angels

‘The Ascent’ ©Robert Sky Bradshaw

Slipping Halos is Robert Sky Brandon’s personal vision of heaven, where the American photographer explores what might happen to those who are mistakenly welcomed to His kingdom. In the pictures, heaven is a similar place than our homes here on Earth; with the only difference that everything is covered in white. However, through the series the rooms become progressively tarnished. Red objects make their appearance, for sin follows the ones that do not belong in heaven, and it ultimately surrounds them completely, creating their own personal hell “in the midst of everyone else’s heaven.”

For each picture, Brandon creates a miniature set, which he then proceeds to photograph using the technique of Light Painting (also called Light Writing). The rooms he builds are highly unstable, and between fixing the sets and coming up with the correct light exposure, his shoots can take up to 40 hours.  The end results are images that feel both very familiar and surreal at the same time: they are a promise of rest and peace waiting on the other side, yet they remind the viewers that in this world or the next, “hell could be just a door away.”

-Elena Kendall

                        ’Abandon Hope All Who…’ ©Robert Sky Bradshaw

Ryan McGinley: Animals and Grids (pt. 1)

Ryan McGinley, a famous contemporary photographer known for exposing the intimacies, adventures, and remarkably interesting lives of the counter-culture youth of the twenty-first century to his viewers, will be having two different shows on display at the same time, starting May 2nd through Team Gallery. Their gallery at 83 grand street will display his series “Animals”, studio shots of nude models with animals, while 47 Wooster will display “Grids”, framed portraits of fans at music festivals.

What is particularly interesting about these events is the difference in content that will both be marked by the same artist’s touch and aesthetic. By simultaneously showing these exhibits through the same gallery, the space of the galleries will become something of particular focus. The artworks interacting with the same form of gallery spaces will demonstrate the relationships of art and the space they are presented in.

As these two presentations are being shown for the first time at the same hours (6-8 PM), it will be interesting to see what type of individual flocks to which presentation first. And whether many people will flock from one gallery in a separate location to another also becomes something fascinating. Will people remain at only one gallery at that night, as gallery openings are as much a social event as an artistic display? This simultaneous presentation will be just as much about Ryan McGinley’s fantastical mind as much as it is about the way people interact with art in gallery spaces.

I am planning on visiting both spaces within the next week and will document what I see, both regarding the spaces and the art itself.

-andrew nunes

Claude Cahun

The self-portraits of surrealist photographer Claude Cahun demonstrate the undeniable magic of the camera in its emergence as a medium of expression. In the modern age, we are trained to believe that there is no higher truth then the photographic image and that the camera cannot lie. However, the photographer certainly can, and Cahun plays with the viewer’s insistence on determining truth in every image by photographing herself in both masculine and feminine form. Toying with early 20th century perceptions of sexuality, Cahun is the exemplary of the surrealist obsession with the androgynous being. Her undefined sexuality suggests that she is a perfected balance of both genders, representing the masculine and feminine traits present in all beings. Shrouded in disguise, it is never quite obvious who the real Cahun is, and her work suggests that a single image cannot expose us to the complexity of a personality.

-Gabriela June Tully Claymore

Food is getting really pretty.

I’m sure that many of you have noticed or have been informed that the media, particularly in the realm of advertisement, does not represent standards that are found in reality. Models being photoshopped to be thinner, people without a single blemish, and products that are much brighter or appear differently in their photos than they do in actuality. I noticed this very harshly last week when I ordered a meal that I saw pictured in a menu, and had it come back to me meeting quite below my expectations and standards. This made me think of how food photography manipulates reality just as much as the advertisements of Victoria Secret models. 

Food photography is a production. Hard core. Professional food photography is a collaborative effort, usually involving an art director, a food stylist, a prop stylist and their assistants. Being a professional food stylist: that would be interesting to talk about at parties. 

According to the source of infinite knowledge, food stylists use numerous techniques to make appear the food as attractive as possible in addition to choosing, preparing and composing plated food. 

• creating steam with cool air nebulizers or a combination of chemicals that give off smoke that gives the appearance of steam;
• spraying food with water or mixtures of water, corn syrup, or other liquids to keep food looking fresh;
• making a mixture of solid shortening, corn syrup, and powdered sugar (essentially a very stiff frosting) that can be scooped to simulate real ice cream;
• using a variety of browning agents (usually mixtures used to brown gravies or sometimes heat activated liquids used in commercial bakeries) to enhance the color/brownness of cooked meats and poultry;
• using heavy cream instead of milk in bowls of cereal to prevent flakes from becoming soggy too quickly. The use of white glue is generally discouraged, and is not usually encountered. (as most cereal companies prohibit this practice).
• blanching green vegetables to just bring up their bright color, rather than cooking them completely. Other vegetables and foods may be cooked just to color, so they do not brown or become wrinkled if they must stand under the camera for a while.
• adding water to beverages so light will filter through better and add sparkle to the drink.

Pretty intense. But it’s so true. When I take a picture of even the most delicious food, it looks like this. 

It’s fish, veggies, and sweet potato fries. It’s delicious, but it’s just not the same:

*sigh*

I find it very interesting while being pretty silly the effort, but demand that food photography and “food porn” has risen to. Food porn is a glamorized / spectaular visual presentation of cooking and eating. It gets treated with similar production and set-up as fashion photography and actual pornographic photography. Food too is airbrushed and crush hopes and dreams. It has come to where it receives the same artistry that other categories of photography require. But just remember that next time you see an advertisement for a cheeseburger, it won’t quite be the same. 

Oh. The glamour. 

Photos and videos found on here. 

-Emily Dubovoy

Collective Snapshots, New Aesthetics, and the Era of Digital Accumulation

© Ventosa, Road to Monument Valley

Lately, I have been hearing a lot about this concept called “the New Aesthetic”, and how it is a “collectively intelligent and sharable phenomena”. If you’re not already familiar with the concept, I recommend you read Bruce Sterling’s great article on the matter, where he explains the idea extensively (warning, it’s a very long essay). To sum it up, the way I understand it  “the New Aesthetics” propose a renovated artistic vision distorted through the lens of our computers.

Pep Ventosa is a Catalan artist whose projects are very much so related with this new idea.  His “Collective Snapshot” Series combine dozens and dozens of snapshots of famous landmarks taken by different people and at different times, which have been uploaded to the web. Ventosa then proceeds to superimpose the images together, transforming the final product into a myriad of abstract subtleties. The images acquire a soft and painterly quality, much like a long exposure photograph of a moving object. However, in his projects the perspective has been inverted: it is our society that moves through time and space, and the monument that remains still -a silent witness of the many generations succeeding each other.  Indeed, to the era of digital accumulation corresponds the proper cumulative consciousness, and it seems nothing but appropriate that the “New Aesthetics” should be involved in it. 

-Elena Kendall

© Ventosa, the Eiffel Tower and The London Bus

Commercial and Editorial Photography

I get the impression that most people believe that Commercial and Editorial photography are the same thing, and thus get the same negative connotations of being non artistic endeavors, for people who often “sell out” and are thus less respected and sometimes not regarded at all as artists. However there are crucial differences that are often not understood between the two.

Commercial photography is a form of photography that is almost always done with the sole intention of glamorizing a product for selling. Generally stereotypical setups are used, examples being generic looking models, direct flashy lighting, subjects and situations that are both considered socially acceptable and not too exotic. The photographs must make the products seem intended for what often is a general public. Commercial photography’s purpose is to be straightforward. Stock photography is a prime example of this. 

(Photograph of “Blonde girl with Gun” from Istock.com. The photographer is only credited by his username “drial7m1”)

While there might not seem to be a lot of artistic nuances in commercial photography, technical perfection is crucial. In regards to lighting, one must have extensive knowledge and control over it if they want to create an image that will sell a lot. I also believe that with the advent of more and more photographers thanks to digital technology, stock photography will become a more creative process. Just like every other endeavor in the world, when competition increases, creativity becomes the dividing factor. Photographers are finding more interesting ways to directly show these products.

Editorial photography is what you see in magazine covers and spreads. These are generally more exotic and must both entice AND fascinate the viewer. These images generally have a story with them that is attempted to be conveyed, and often has a product (a clothing line for example) and/or an important person (famous model, musician etc.) associated with it. These photographs require artistic planning, innovation, and creation. This is why each famous editorial photographer has a distinct style or specialization. The photographer’s artistic touch must be evident and must in some way synergize with what is being shown. These magazine spreads are not merely trying to sell a product, but also suggest a lifestyle, while at the same time ensuring that the viewer is captivated and will continue perusing the magazine or whatever form of media it is transmitted in.

(Photograph from This American Girl, a spread of Lindsey Wixson in Style.com Magazine shot by Theo Wenner)

The conclusion of this post is that commercial photography is generally a less artistically inclined endeavor because it must be direct and to the point, which is why famous stock photographers do not exist. (Or rather, those known solely for their stock photography). I believe this will slowly become less of the case as more and more people engage in commercial and stock photography. Editorial photography is at its core an artistic practice, and contrary to popular notion, to “sell out” and do editorial photography is to develop a style that stands out and causes these brands and magazines to seek your work.

-andrew nunes

Patti Smith: Camera Solo

Following the release of her celebrated memoir Just Kids in 2010, Patti Smith has rebounded as America’s punk-rock idol. The memoir tells the story of the friendship between the artist herself and the photographer Robert Mapplethorpe from the early seventies until his death in 1989. Smith can once again be found on staff recommended and bestseller shelves in bookstores throughout New York City with her latest published work entitled Camera Solo. Camera Solo is a small art book that contains 70 of Smith’s black and white polaroids released by the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art after Smith’s exhibition in 2011. For the most part, the photographs are simple still-lives, taken in intimate settings far from the manic punk scene; they document Smith’s home, her travels, and her closest acquaintances. There is nothing inherently remarkable about the photographs in Camera Solo, but paired alongside her music, poetry, and memoir, these images expose just another side of Patti Smith that we might not have otherwise known.

-Gabriela June Tully Claymore

Read More About the Book and Exhibition Here:

http://www.pattismithcamerasolo.com/

Slanted Mansion: What Happens Behind the Creative Process

If any of you lovely tumblr-ers have visited the Whitney Biennial this year so far, you’ve probably seen Dawn Kasper’s installation performance entitled, This Could Be Something if I Let It. She has filled a gallery of the third floor of the Whitney Museum with most of her belongings, including a bed, stacks of books, numerous small appliances, artworks and art supplies. In this exhibit, the viewers get to step inside of and view firsthand the studio and life of an artist as they are in the process of creating.

As viewers on the opposite end of the creative process, we act as consumers of the artist’s work. We see the final product. However, it is the controlled chaos and remnants of thought proceses that happen beforehand that intrigue designer and photographer, Siobhan Frost. His series entitled Slanted Mansion, incorporates interviews and photographs of the spaces and studios of creative individuals from around the world. He currently works on freelance design and photography in London. 

-Emily Dubovoy