Newsletter

The newsletter is published quarterly to provide notice of upcoming shows at the Camera Obscura and news of international photographic events. It includes listings of major exhibitions of photography in Denver, as well as other major cities. When pertinent, the newsletter contains a biographical sketch of the upcoming artist. It is sent by U.S. mail.

To get a complimentary copy of the newsletter , and to get on the mailing list, send email to Hal Gould or Loretta Young-Gautier . You may also sign the guest book at the Gallery. A complimentary copy of the newsletter will be sent to you along with a subscription request form ($10 for a one year subscription.) The subscription fee partially covers the cost of publication and mailing of the newsletter. If you wish to subscribe, send a check for $10 to the Camera Obscura Gallery, 1309 Bannock St, Denver, CO, 80204. You may also stop by the Gallery and subscribe in person.


PFA Newsletter
Photography in the Fine Arts Quarterly
Vol 25 No.2  April 2008


Baghdad and Beyond: Photographs by Zoriah

April 25 - June 8, 2008

 


The Camera Obscura Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of photographs by noted freelance photojournalist and war photographer, Zoriah. Featuring recent images made in Iraq, the show will also include Zoriah's intimate and sensitive photographic coverage of the Tsunami, Asian Earthquake, Afghanistan, Lebanon, and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.


ZORIAH: BAGHDAD & BEYOND



Documenting history and the human experience, Baghdad and Beyond bridges the gap between art photography and photojournalism, eloquently providing a visual narrative to some of the most tragic and life changing events in recent history.
Baghdad and Beyond encompasses four years of work in nine countries. It showcases widely published images and never seen before work. Designed to educate and inspire, it gives a unique glimpse into the lives and struggles of people living in impossible situations. In the time honored tradition of photojournalism, it uses the art of photography to grab the viewer by the heart and pull them into a world they may otherwise never see. Already hailed by critics as being some of the best photojournalism and war photography since Robert Capa, this will be show not to miss.

Zoriah states of his work experience:


Baghdad: "I documented the Iraq war from the most intimate position available to me: living with front line infantry soldiers and going on daily missions into Baghdad's two most dangerous neighborhoods. From raids on Iraqi homes to the drama of Bagdad ER's trauma room, it is a glimpse into a world rarely seen by the public. These images capture life from both
an American and Iraqi perspective, showing the human toll of a controversial war."


Beyond:


The Tsunami: "My coverage of the Tsunami began two days after it initially hit and continued on and off throughout the next year. Shot in Thailand and Sri Lanka, these images document the aftermath of one of the most devastating natural disasters in recorded history."

The Asian Earthquake: "Photographed in Pakistan and the Kashmir Valley, these images document life in refugee camps housing the thousands of displaced as well as the overwhelmed hospitals, struggling to treat the wounded and save lives."

The Occupied Palestinian Territories: "These photographs document daily life in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. I wanted to show the struggles and desperation of people cut off from the world and humanitarian aid, forced to live behind walls and in a world of constant violence."

The Israel Lebanon War: "The aftermath of the 34 Day War left thousands of Lebanon¹s poorest citizens homeless, injured and without resources. With the blessings of the group Hezbollah, I was allowed access to many areas off limits to other journalists, to document the destruction and its impact on the Lebanese people.

Afghanistan: "While the world's eyes have been on Iraq, the war in Afghanistan continues to escalate. During the bloodiest period of the war so far, I embedded with the Afghan National Army as they went on missions across the border into Pakistan to track insurgents."

Zoriah is a multiple award winning photojournalist and war photographer with a background in international humanitarian aid and disaster management. His work has been widely published and his clients include The BBC, Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, ABC News, The United Nations, NPR Focus, Elle, UNICEF and many others. Currently Zoriah is working freelance, producing in depth feature photo stories for his web site, www.zoriah.com
Having lived and worked in nearly fifty countries around the world, Zoriah specializes in documenting conflict, crisis and disasters from an up close and concerned viewpoint. He often lives for extended periods of time with the subjects he is photographing. During the Tsunami Zoriah stayed in a refugee camp; and after the Asian Earthquake he documented the aftermath living in a tent camp in Kashmir. Zoriah's work from the Gaza Strip was taken while living with a local family; and after the Lebanon Israel war he rented an apartment in the hardest hit region of Lebanon, walking distance from the Israeli border. This year, Zoriah has been living with front line infantry troops in Iraq's top two most dangerous neighborhoods, documenting the war from both and American and Iraqi perspective.
Zoriah produces his work independently, funded in the most part by donations and grants from individuals and organizations. When not shooting in the field or editing, he lectures at universities and hosts hands on, international workshops training students one on one and in small groups in photojournalism and social documentary photography.

Zoriah is giving an informal presentation on armed conflict and humanitarian crisis on Thursday, April 24th, 3 PM at Metro State College, Science Building, Room 119, on the Auraria Campus. Free and open to the public.


Please join us at Camera Obscura for a Reception for the Artist on Friday, April 25th from 5:30 to 8:30 PM


HAPPENINGS

New Denver ARTS Center

Photographer and artist Laura Merage's work takes on a grander scale with the widely anticipated opening of RedLine this year. RedLine is an art incubator for emerging and mid-career artists located at 24th and Arapahoe in the newly developing area of North Denver. This state-of-the-art facility where photographers and artists will collaborate and explore career advancement started with a warehouse framework and will include 14 artist studios, a 3,000 square foot exhibition room, an art library, community room and patio. A two- and three-year Artists-in-Residence Program launches this summer and will require the artists to contribute back to RedLine and the community through work on events, exhibitions and arts projects with local children.
RedLine is a non-profit charitable organization which will be accepting donations this summer as construction nears completion. The opening is scheduled with a week of events beginning Sept 25th. An inaugural fund-raising gala will be held on Sept 27th. For more information, contact Sara Chaitin at 303.620.6009 or visit www.redlineart.org (currently under construction).


Calls for Entries

-Louisville Art Association
www.Louisvilleart.org
- The Seventeenth Annual National Juried Photography Show in Louisville, CO . Juror: Mark Sink
Online entries close May 10


-The Center for Fine Art
Photography, Ft. Collins, CO:
www.c4fap.org
-International Peace Corps Exhibition
Deadline May 29
-All Things Horses
Deadline June 18.

Foto 3

From June 5-8, Foto 3 2008 will be held in Fort Collins, CO. Events include special pre-conference workshops with Kim Weston, Steve Simmons, Ted Orland and others; a photo contest with juror Ann Tucker, Curator of Photography, Houston's Museum of Fine Arts; keynote speaker John Sexton; and special presentations by Gordon Hutchings, Les McLean, Ted Orland, and many others. Sponsors and Exhibitors include companies such as View Camera Magazine, Kodak, Fuji, Hewlett Packard, Freestyle, Working with Artists, Mid-West Photo, and more are signing up each day. www.foto3-2008.info

"The Small Trades"
at Getty


On Feb 5, The Getty Museum purchased a series of 252 full-length portraits by Irving Penn entitled "The Small Trades" from the McGill Gallery after waiting five years due to copyright negotiation. The series, which Penn photographed in a natural light studio against a neutral background, depicts Paris workers with their tools wearing work clothes. The portraits are said to be "absolutely seminal" and theatrical. An exhibition of the series is scheduled at the Getty in September of 2009.


Moab Photo Symposium

From May 1-4, Moab will host its annual photography symposium in the spectacular desert backdrop of Utah's canyon-country. The theme for this year's event is "Bodies of Work-Bodies at Work", and the agenda is full. Visit www.moabphotosym.com for details.

Capa Collection at ICP

Lost for more than half a century, what a handful of photography experts called "the Mexican suitcase", has been recovered. Thousands of negatives of the Spanish Civil War by legendary photographer, Robert Capa, were recently acquired by New York's International Center of Photography, which was founded by Capa's brother, Cornell.
The treasure trove of over 3,500 negatives made by Capa and Gerda Taro, Capa's professional and personal partner, had been missing since Robert Capa fled Europe for America in 1939, though its possible existence in Mexico City had been hinted at as early as the mid 1990s. They were discovered in the hands of the descendants of a Mexican general and diplomat, and after years of hushed negotiation, were returned earlier this year to the Robert Capa Estate. The full story of how they came to Mexico City may never be known.

IN MEMORIAM

William Corey
(1949-2008)

We were heartbroken to learn that our longtime friend and gallery artist, William Corey, passed away on March 31 after battling cancer for two years. He was 58.
William Corey was a driven and consummate artist who produced a vast archive of stunningly beautiful images of the Japanese Garden over his thirty-year career. He was the first photographer, western or Japanese, to be given an extended period to photograph in these unique and magnificent gardens. His photographs are widely collected and were featured in a highly acclaimed exhibition held at the Bunshokan Art Museum in Yamagata, Japan, where Mr. Corey was the first western artist ever selected to hold a one-person show.
William Corey will be deeply missed, but his indomitable spirit lives on with his vision.
Donations can be made to:
The William Corey Memorial Fund,
First National Bank of Colorado
P.O. Box 9032,
Boulder, CO 80301


Philip Jones Griffiths
(1936-2008)

Best known for his coverage of the Viet Nam war, Photojournalist Philip Jones Griffiths died on March 19 at his home in London. He was 72.
Griffiths, a self proclaimed pacifist, never regarded himself as a traditional war photographer. His acclaimed 1971 book, "Vietnam, Inc.", was hailed a classic and considered instrumental in turning public opinion against the war.
Born in Wales, Griffiths studied pharmacy while working as a freelance photographer. He then worked full time for the London's Observer and covered the Algerian War in 1962. In 1966 he became an associate member of Magnum and a full member in 1971. He went on to serve as president of the celebrated agency in the 1980s.


EXHIBITIONS

Byers-Evans House Museum, Denver, Myron Wood: Photographs of the West, through May 1.
Visions West Galleries, Denver, 303.292.0909, Adam Jahiel: Within Range, through May 1.
The Photographer's Gallery, Denver, 303. 780.9317 George Vago: Colorado in Black & White, through April.
Reed Photo-Art Gallery, Denver, 303.744.7979, Tony Eitzel, through May 16.
Victoria H. Myhren Gallery, Denver University, 303.871.3716, On the Road: Photography of the Soviet Empire, through May 4.
Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver, Trevor Appleson, April 29-Aug 10; Jasper de Beijer, through Aug 3.
Flash Gallery, Lakewood, CO, 303.837.1341, Sensual Botanic, May 2-June 8.
Littleton Historical Museum, Littleton, CO, Through the Eye of the Camera, through May 4.
The Center for Fine Art Photography, Ft. Collins, CO, 970.224.1010, Street Photography, through April 26.
Open Shutter Gallery, Durango, CO Light, Shadow and Time: Photographs by Thomas Carr & Mitch Dobrowner, through April.
Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Univ. of California, Berkeley, Joan Jonas, through May, 2008.
SF Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, Picturing Modernity: Photographs from the Collection, ongoing.
Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA, Oblivion: David Maisel through April 27.
Rose Gallery, Santa Monica, CA, Three From Britain, through May 31.
Fahey Klein Gallery, Los Angeles, Steve Schapiro: Schapiro's Heros, through May 10.
Getty Center, Los Angeles, Ten Years in Focus: The Artist and the Camera, through Aug 10.
Ordover Gallery at the San Diego Natural History Museum, San Diego, CA, Photography at the Poles, through May 4.
Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego, CA, Picturing the Process: Portraiture through the Lens, through July 6.
Verve Gallery, Santa Fe, NM Vincent Cianni, David Scheinbaum, through May 10.
Etherton Gallery, Tucson, AZ, Notes From the Interior, through May 31.
Center for Creative Photography, Tucson, AZ, Debating Modern Photography: The Triumph of Group f64, through May 4.
Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, TX, 100 Years of Autochrome, through July 27.
International Photography Hall of Fame, Oklahoma City, OK, Visions through a Plastic Lens: Lou Chapman, through July 6.
Southeast Museum of Photography, Daytona Beach, FL, Karl de Kevzer: Zona, through May 23..
Howard Greenberg Gallery, NYC. Photographers of Japanese Descent, through May 3.
Robert Mann Gallery, NYC, Jem Southham: The Rockfalls of Normandy, through May 10.
International Center of Photography, NYC, Archive Fever: Uses of the Document in Contemporary Art and The Collections of Barbara Bloom, both through May 4.
Museum of Modern Art, NYC, Bernd and Hilla Becher: Landscape/Typology May 21-Aug 25.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC, Lee Friedlander: A Ramble through Olmsted Parks, through May 11.
George Eastman House, Rochester, NY, Conscience the Ultimate Weapon, through June 1; Larry Towell: The World from My Front Porch; and Facing the Other Half, through June 15; Black in America: Eli Reed, through June 29.

Auction Report

The spring photograph auctions in New York are next week, Monday, April 7th through Friday April 11th. The three major auction houses, Sotheby's, Christie's, and Phillip de Pury and Company, will be presenting ten sales in five days with a grand total of 2,725 lots of collectible photographs. Swann Galleries is passing this gamet of sales, however they have scheduled a sale of Photographic Literature and Photographs on Thursday, May 15th, 10 am and 2 pm.
Starting out at 6 pm on Monday, April 7th will be Sotheby's special sale of the Quillan Collection of important 19th and 20th Century Photographs consisting of 69 lots accumulated by art dealer Jill Quasha starting in 1989 as an investment for the Quillan Company. Of special note: Lot #43, Leaf, a photogenic drawing annotated "W" in ink on the image, maker unknown, estimate upon request. A recent communiqué from Sotheby's advises that the sale of Leaf has been postponed due to numerous questions by scholars regarding its maker and date and is pending further research.
The next morning at 10 am, Tuesday, April 8, Sotheby's comes back with a sale of 118 lots of Edward Weston's Gifts to His Sister, including many images not previously published. Following the Weston sale, Sotheby's will present their regular offering of 301 lots.
Later on April 8th, Phillips, de Pury and Company will present 207 lots from a Collection of Corbeau et Renard assembled by Gerd Sander. The afternoon session at Phillips will offer 83 lots.
On Friday, April 11th, 10 am, Christie's will present a sale of 135 lots from the Collection of Gert Elfering featuring Helmut Newton, Richard Avedon, Irving Penn, et al. At 5:30 pm on Thursday, April 10, Christie's will offer a special sale of 51 images by Diane Arbus.
On Friday, April 11, 10 am, Christie's will present their regular sale of 211 lots. At 5 pm Friday, April 11th, the final sale of the week, Christie's will present a special sale of 121 prints by Ansel Adams, including portfolios, a 40 ½ x 54 5/8" print of Clearing Winter Storm, Yosemite Valley, 1944, est. $250,000-350,000.

Quarterly Quotes

"No matter how slow the film, sprit always stands still long enough for the photographer it has chosen"

Minor White