August 9, 2010

Linus Bill

"I try to keep my technique as easy as possible, so that it does not get in my way." Linus Bill's quick and unassuming snapshots of family and friends portray the true nature of each subject. His informal, raw approach to photography is clearly a contemporary trend, but crisp and refreshing all the same. Bill allows his viewers to be a part of each photograph and by extension, allows a temporary view into his life. 

Faceless subjects.
Images from www.soiree-shot.comnofound.tumblr.com and www.villanoailles-hyeres.com.

August 3, 2010

Michael Schmelling

I've been browsing through the book SHOOT- Photography of the Moment recently, and came across an interesting antidote of the different connections between photographers (and all artist associations for that matter.. ). In an essay by Ken Miller called the moment, Miller states that Michael Schmelling engages with the mysterious intensity of 'wrong' photographs, while maintaining forerunner's Wolfgang Tillmans and Juergen Teller's formalist approach to consumer photography (who wouldn't want to associate themselves with them though??). By exhibiting the 'wrong' photos, Schmelling celebrates the photographs that a vast majority of photographers would have discarded. Miller argues that the trend away from choosing a photograph with the 'correct' aesthetics, is the photography of the moment. It's the photography of today. It's the photography of that particular moment captured in time and unaltered by technology. The photographs with blurred focus, shifting light, or subject issues are celebrated in Schmelling's work. 
Speaking of artist associations, the image below is of Montreal's band Wolf Parade. Pop cultural associations.. 


Images from michaelschmelling.com.