Robert Kalman: What’s It Like for You to Be an American?

“What’s It Like for You to Be an American?” is an ongoing project by Robert Kalman, and he is seeking help.

I’ve been wondering what Americans think of themselves in these fraught, divisive times. What is their (and our) sense of identity as Americans? So, I went out into the street and asked, “What’s it like for you to be an American?” and invited my subjects to answer on a single notebook page. Their responses proved to be a mix of sincere, emotional expressions: pride, deep ambivalence and even shame.

I made their portraits with a large format 8×10 camera, positioning individuals identically, in a formally structured way. The result is a series of closely related images of distinctly diverse American faces. I was aiming for a type of democracy expressed through portrait photographs. From many, one: e pluribus unum.

“In terms of guidance, we need place-specific information on where we are likely to encounter a decent amount of pedestrian foot traffic throughout the day. In our experience, diners, restaurants, farmers’ markets and grocery stores are good possibilities, but it helps to have information locating them. Green spaces like public parks are also likely areas, as are any other places in the city where people tend to congregate. Any assistance you can give us will be immensely helpful.” Email Robert if you can help.

Oklahoma City
Amarillo
Lubbock
Abilene, TX
Shreveport
Vicksburg
Memphis
Lexington, KY
Louisville
Columbus, OH
San Francisco
Anywhere on the Pacific coast between LA and SF and SF and Oregon

The Copyright Claims Board – What We Know So Far

On Wednesday, February 1, at 1 p.m. ET, the Copyright Alliance—in partnership with 15 Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (VLA) organizations across the U.S.—will host a Copyright Claims Board (CCB) webinar titled What We Know About the CCB Thus Far.

The event speakers will take an in-depth look at how things are working with the CCB seven months after its launch by the U.S. Copyright Office. There have been interesting developments and challenges that may help guide prospective CCB claimants and respondents, and other interested parties regarding this new copyright small claims tribunal.

Photos of Puerto Rican life in New York in the ‘60s and ‘70s

George Malave’s photos document the many faces of a marginalised community growing up amid urban decay. He got his start documenting New York’s Puerto Rican community during the 1960s and ‘70s, chronicling a people persevering against the odds. Read more in Huck.

George S. Zimbel, 1929-2023

Irish Dance, by George Zimbel

The American-Canadian humanist photographer George S. Zimbel was one of the last elders of photography faithful to the legacy of the Photo League, who, in the fifties, imbued their pictures with a personal commitment towards the people and the social landscapes they documented. Zimbel’s work is collected by major museums internationally, he has published numerous books. In 2016 he was the subject of an award winning feature documentary on his work called “Zimbelism”.

Tony Vaccaro, 1922-2022

“Tony Vaccaro is one of the few people alive who can claim to have survived the Battle of Normandy and COVID-19.” – Monroe Gallery.

Tony Vaccaro was an incredible man who seemed to have a positive impact on everyone and left an amazing legacy. Tony got his wish and made it to his 100th birthday, passing away a week later. His son Frank said at Tony’s memorial that Tony never had a bad word to say about anyone and every day was a beautiful day, even if it was cold and rainy. Out thoughts are with Frank and Tony’s daughter-in-law Maria, who look after Tony’s incredible archive. They and Tony were kind enough to host an APAG group at Tony’s studio a few years ago, followed by a memorable meal at Tony’s favorite local Italian restaurant.

Look for the moving documentary “Mentors” starring Tony Vaccaro and his mentee Santi Visalli.

George Malave: A Collection of Photographs from 1968 – 1979

George Malave: A Collection of Photographs from 1968 – 1979, features a selection of works from prolific photographer, and original En Foco Member, George Malave including: Varet Street Kids, Third Avenue El, and other historic images of the Bronx.

Exhibition on View: November 1, 2022 – January 1, 2023 on the En Foco website.

Sonia Handelman Meyer, 1920-2022

Join the Meyer family for a remembrance of Sonia Handelman Meyer, October 30, 2022 2–4 p.m. Remembrance at 2:30 p.m.

Gorelick Gallery, Central Piedmont Community College, Central Campus, North Classroom Building

1320 Sam Ryburn Walkway, Charlotte, NC

Exhibit: The Photo Archives of Sonia Handelman Meyer

RSVP with number of guests by October 19 to Joe Meyer

My Atlanta: Ron Sherman

Ron Sherman, Atlanta Skyline, 1990

Arts Atlanta launched a new series, “My Atlanta,” which turns the spotlight on photographers who use their images and supporting text to illustrate how living in Atlanta has inspired their careers and lives. Here, they spotlight the work and words of Ron Sherman.

I fell in love with Atlanta for many reasons. The beauty and vitality of the city was apparent even before I moved here in 1971. Once I did, its growth gave me unlimited possibilities to document the region. With new buildings, expanded parks, various festivals, attractions and celebrations, there was never a lack of self-assigned subjects to shoot or, importantly, paid assignments.

When my wife and I began thinking about a move, we considered many locations across the country, settling on Atlanta, which seemed to hold many possibilities as a city on the move — growing, hustling, reinventing itself.

Doors opened as my career grew here. I worked for national magazines, including Time, Life, Newsweek and Business Week. In a very different time in American life, I was able to get close access to Jimmy Carter during his presidential campaign, Hank Aaron as he watched his history-making 715th home run fly over Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium’s outfield fence and Coretta Scott King surrounded by civil- and human-rights leaders at Martin Luther King Jr. Day observances.

Jay Blakesberg: Captured on Film, 1978-2008

Jay Blakesberg’s first solo museum show opens this coming weekend, October 16, 2022, at the Morris Museum in Morristown, NJ.

“This first solo museum retrospective of Jay Blakesberg’s photography will take over four galleries at the Morris Museum, New Jersey’s only Smithsonian Affiliate. Jay’s photographic journey began in Clark, New Jersey in 1978, just 25 miles away from the Morris Museum. Borrowing his father’s Pentax Camera, Jay began photographing the bands he loved and the friends in his orbit. In his basement darkroom, he pumped out 8×10’s to thumbtack to his bedroom wall and share with friends, with the only goal to create his own personal memorabilia. Without knowing it then, these earliest photographs would become the foundation for Jay’s extensive archive.

Join us for a special public opening event on October 16. This event, free with Museum Admission, will feature a 60-minute slideshow presentation by Jay Blakesberg, a walking tour of the exhibit and a book signing for his new release “RetroBlakesberg: Volume One, The Film Archives” – which was curated by his daughter Ricki Blakesberg.”

The exhibition runs from October 14, 2022 to February 5, 2023. Tickets here.

Check out Jay’s new book: RetroBlakesberg – Volume One: The Film Archives a 312 page hard cover coffee table book presenting a vast collection of Jay Blakesberg’s iconic images shot on film spanning four decades.

Marilyn Nance: Last Day in Lagos

“From 15 January through 12 February 1977, more than 15,000 artists, intellectuals, and performers from 55 nations worldwide gathered in Lagos, Nigeria. Formally titled the Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture, FESTAC 77 drew on the Négritude foundations of Senegal’s 1966 World Festival of Negro Arts and emphasized themes of Pan-Africanism and global black liberation. Visual artist Marilyn Nance served as the official photographer for the USA contingent of the North American delegation to FESTAC.

The book LAST DAY IN LAGOS stages an in-depth encounter with Nance’s FESTAC photographic archive. With a sensitivity to recurring formal and conceptual themes, it contends with the scope of the archive’s 1,500 images of the festival and its adjacent events. Locating Nance’s perspective within the context of geopolitical, historical, and aesthetic discourses of the Black Atlantic, postcolonial Nigeria, and the Black Arts Movement in the United States, LAST DAY IN LAGOS provides a series of entry-points through which to consider the construction, circulation, and maintenance of photographic archives that render black liberation and celebration.”