Thomas Allen creates dioramas from cutouts he takes from covers of old pulp paperbacks and then photographs them. Although the context is new, the salacious nature of the 40s and 50s artwork remains. See the rest of his work here.
Mini Firenze By Timothy Sschenck
Check out Smashing Magazine’s pick of 50.
“I’m working on a story that the world needs to know about. I wish for you to help me break it, in a way that provides spectacular proof of the power of news photography in the digital age.” - James Nachtwey
This is a slide show of 37 pictures taken by James Nachtwey. His subjects - patients with XDR-TB or Extreme Drug Resistant Tuberculosis. One person dies of it every 20 seconds, often within weeks of diagnosis. Are we looking at the beginning of a global pandemic? Spread the story. Stop the disease. Find out how you can help here.
via ted.
The Journal of Urban Typography has an amazing and growing collection of photos featuring typefaces found in NYC.
via quipsologies.
I first posted about New York-based photographer Phillip Toledano less than 2 weeks ago regarding his book PhoneSex.
Days With My Father is a photographic account of Toledano’s relationship with his father. In being motivated to capture the remaining time that they have together, he produced a poignant collection of images that lets us into the world of a man, who at 98 and with a short-term memory, is in the twilight of his years.
His images allow us to confront not only the frailties of the aged but also their thoughts on death and ambitions yet unfulfilled. While the tone is sombre, Toledano’s narrative reveals that there are lighter and heartwarming moments near the end of one’s life. And that with love, compassion and patience, they can be as rich and meaningful as any before.
via ChangeTheThought.
Black Metal is a genre that I could and would never get into. But this photo essay by Peter Beste of the movement in its traditional home of Norway is both compelling and intriguing in equal measure. It sheds light on what is perhaps the darkest form of musical expression today.
“In the last two decades a bizarre and violent musical subculture called black metal has emerged in Norway. It’s roots stem from a heady blend of horror films, extreme heavy metal music, Satanism, pagan mythology, and adolescent angst. In the early-mid 1990’s, members of this extremist underground committed murder, burned down medieval wooden churches, and desecrated graveyards. What started as a juvenile frenzy came to symbolize the start of a war against Christianity, a return to the worship of the ancient Norse gods, and the complete rejection of mainstream society. I have spent the last 7 years photographing in this insulated and secretive community.” - Peter Beste
“I never thought I would work in the phone sex industry. All those years doing customer service, my customers would comment on my sexy voice. I thought I was being professional, not sexy. This work is customer service. It’s just your customers leave with more than a smile.”
The allure of phone sex is rooted in the make believe world of fantasy. That perhaps one is actually talking to the woman in the ad or least one who looks as sexy as she sounds. But really, who are the women manning the phone lines? New York-based photographer Phillip Toledano lifts the veil on this in his book, PhoneSex. Indeed they aren’t the beauties callers expect but this is just testament to the power of (male) human imagination.
Images from the book and Interview with Toledano here.
Did Iran really conduct the missile tests as reported? Who knows. But what’s obvious is Iran sucks at Photoshop. The encircled portions are identical. Read more about it here.
A farmer’s creation to celebrate the passage of the Tour de France. By Anduze Traveller.
95th Tour de France. 5 - 27 July 2008.
“Harri Palviranta cruises the night streets of Finland, armed with his Hasselblad camera and a big flash, looking for a fight to photograph, or the bloodied face of a drunken party-goer, or the scene of a recent brawl.”
Slide show of his work here.
via lens culture.
No Wave: Post-Punk. Underground. New York. 1976-1980 is a visual history by Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth) and veteran rock critic, Byron Coley of the cacophonous and nihilistic collision of punk and Dadaism. From the book’s description:
“This is the first book to visually chronicle the collision of art and punk in the New York underground of 1976 to 1980. This in-depth look at punk rock, new wave, experimental music, and the avant-garde art movement of the 70s and 80s focuses on the true architects No Wave from James Chance to Lydia Lunch to Glenn Branca, as well as the luminaries that intersected the scene, such as David Byrne, Debbie Harry, Brian Eno, Iggy Pop, and Richard Hell. This rarely documented scene was the creative stomping ground of young artists and filmmakers from Jean-Michel Basquiat to Jim Jarmusch, as well as the musical genesis for the post-punk explosions of Sonic Youth. Thurston Moore and Byron Coley have selected 150 unforgettable images, most of which have never been published previously, and compiled hundreds of hours of personal interviews to create an oral history of the movement, providing a never-before-seen exploration and celebration of No Wave.”
You can buy it here.
Next,
