invited guest: Tuija Lindström

I am proud to present Tuija Lindström on The F Blog. She was born in Kotka (Finland) but educated at University College of Arts Crafts and Design ("Konstfack") in Stockholm during 1981-1984. From 1992 to 2002 Tuija was professor of Photography at Gothenburg university. Tuija is one of the most recognized and influential Swedish photographers. Some years ago I discovered her photobook "Tuija Lindström" and was very fascinated by the interesting and beautiful photographs. Unfortunatly I was not able to visit her large exhibition at Liljevalchs konsthall, an art gallery in Stockholm, in 2004, so I am very glad that Tuija selected some of her work shown at that exhibition for The F Blog. Now I leave the word to Tuija herself:

A report on searching for the original(s)originalnoun (plural originals)
1. first version: the first or unique item from which copies or alternative versions are made.
2. authentic piece of art: a genuine work of art, and so not a copy or forgery.
3. eccentric person: an unusual or eccentric person.
4. creative person: a person of outstanding creativity or revolutionary thinking.

"Jussi". © Tuija Lindström, 1981.

"Tuittu". © Tuija Lindström, 1991.

"Sandemar". © Tuija Lindtröm, 1991.

In this task – not unlike that of a private detective – an inhuman persistence developed which, strangely enough, was combined with a tremendous impatience. In order to be able to maintain a balance between these polarities required an exceptional and constantly present attentiveness, which was naturally experienced as very tiresome. But at an early stage there was the promise of brilliant research results – though no secret was made of the fact that this would necessarily entail a massive loss of energy. When important discoveries were made, these losses were rewarded by a momentarily heightened mood. It was also possible to discern an increased sense of satisfaction the closer to the goal one got. During the duration of the process an unusual attraction to nature developed – morphological* research dominated the fieldwork for several years. Like Goethe’s original research into morphology, clearly illustrates nature from the dynamic movement that is native to growth in plants; two distinct leaves are united in a series of transformations that have their origin in a deeper generative movement.

Photo from the exhibition at Liljevalchs 2004. The serie The Girls At Bull´s Pond.

"Red iron". © Tuija Lindström, 1991. From the serie The Girls At Bull´s Pond.

During the period the current research method was re-evaluated and tested innumerable times; for example the raw material was introduced into various signifying contexts – only for us to discover that research directed exclusively at the outer form gave practically no results. This led to periods of serious depression and the research was considered to be of no value.

"With guide on the beach". © Tuija Lindström, 2000. In cooperation with Jesper Örtman. From the serie Look at us.

"At the border". © Tuija Lindström, 2000. In cooperation with Jesper Örtman. From the serie Look at us.

"Stork". © Tuija Lindström, 2000. In cooperation with Jesper Örtman. From the serie Look at us.

An uninterrupted period for working was guaranteed which made it possible to penetrate more deeply into the subject. The research was then resumed in the immediate neighbourhood finally expanding to cover a vast terrain. The study of speed acquired greater space which, ironically, led to massive delays in publishing the results. One of the important discoveries was that immobility transforms life into particles and the increased rapidity transforms the speed into a synthetic movement. Another important observation was – when all the basic data had been put together – that everything exists. Now it was finally possible to publish the work. But one must add that the final result in no way matched the expectations that were had at the beginning of the process. It was possible to ascertain that the previous value system lacked any foundation and it was therefore realized that the project could not be evaluated. Which is not to say that the research was without value.
- Tuija Lindström

Photo from the exhibition at Liljevalchs 2004. The serie 12 fractals of one Plant.

"Fractal 1". © Tuija Lindström, 2004. From the serie 12 fractals of one Plant.

"Fractal 2". © Tuija Lindström, 2004. From the serie 12 fractals of one Plant.

Invited by Fredrik Skott

Gruppo F inbox: decay

©Ulla Larsson

Lucius Tarquinius Superbus?

Lucius Tarquinius Superbus (also called Tarquin the Proud or Tarquin II)
was the last of the seven legendary kings of Rome, son of Lucius Tarquinius
Priscus, and son-in-law of Servius Tullius. Tarquin ruled between 535 BC and
510 BC, in the years immediately before the founding of the Roman Republic.

article from wikipedia

broken

All you ever need..!

Construction

In a spotless mind

Ad #7

A Daleena Ad

Portraits (Migrant mother)

Destitute pea pickers in California.
Mother of seven children. Age thirty-two. Nipomo, California.
Lange, Dorothea, photographer.
OTHER TITLES
Migrant mother.
CREATED/PUBLISHED
1936 Feb.
see more from the collections at Library of Congress

This is another of my favourite portraits. It is part of the Farm Security

Collections and this particular picture is shown before and after a retouch,
which is interesting to see. "Migrant mother" was also a part of the exhibition
Family of Man. In 1955 Edward Steichen organized that exhibition in New York.
It consisted of 508 photographs from sixty-eight countries. I will return to that
event, but perhaps you remember Steichen from my prior postings. He worked
with Alfred Stieglitz at "291" and with the journal Camera Work.

Mobile Reflections

Mobile cameras are not the best ones, but its quite fun to look at some of the photos afterwards. :)

Gruppo F inbox: a house

photo: Stigbert Jernheim

...

photopolymer gravure
photo: markus andersson

Madeiro

I am happy to invite you for the exibition of my works and promotion of my book both documenting tradition of Madeiro from small villages in Portuguese mountains, in Beira province. I'd like to thank to co-authors Joao Adolfo Geraldes and Joao Mugeiro, to wonderful people of Proenca a Velha, local authorities and Portuguese Ministry of Culture for giving me such chance.
The exhibition will be shown till 7.01.2007. And the entrance, as far as I know - Anders, it's free :)

Portraits (Georgia)

Georgia[Georgia O'Keeffe], ca. 1920 /
Alfred Stieglitz, photographer.
1 photographic print : silver gelatin ; 24 x 18 cm.
Miscellaneous photograph collection.
Archives of American Art.

Stieglitz made over 300 portraits of O´Keeffe during a period of twenty years.
Some of them are true masterpieces, like this one. It´s one of my favourite
portraits. - urbano

Yoga Tarkini?

Dear Gilbert. I had a closer look at your picture and was absolutely amazed to find this. I hope you don´t mind that I cropped your picture. But this is absolutely mindblowing. -urbano

Invited guest: Nancy Burson

When I saw the book "Faces" by Nancy Burson in a bookstore in New York in 1993, I instantly bought it. It was so novel, beacause the human being was portrayed by using computer generated images and the results were astonishing. The last section of the book with children having craniofacial deformities, all captured with a Diana camera, really conveyed a strong sense of beauty and dignity. It was all so refreshing and mind-boggling. Still today, I tend to go back to this book and am endlessly inspired both on a spiritual and photographic level. Therefore, I was very pleased and happy to receive Nancy's kind response to my invitation.

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- Craniofacial series Picture 1, 2 & 3
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Warhead I (55% Reagan, 45% Brezhnev, less than 1% each of Thatcher, Mitterand, and Deng), 1982

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Mankind (Oriental, Caucasian, and Black, weighted according to current population statistics), 1983–85

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First and Second Beauty Composites (First Composite: Bette Davis, Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelley, Sophia Loren, and Marilyn Monroe. Second Composite: Jane Fonda, Jacqueline Bisset, Diane Keaton, Brooke Shields, and Meryl Streep), 1982
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Nancy Burson is best known for her pioneering work in morphing technology, which age enhances the human face, enabling law enforcement officials to locate missing children and adults.

Her Human Race Machine, which allows people to view themselves as a different race, was featured on Oprah in 2006. Currently there are Human Race Machines touring the U.S. college and university market, as a diversity tool that provides students with the profound visual experience of being another race.

See a short video of the human race machine.

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"There is only one race, the human one. The concept of race is not genetic, but social. There is no gene for race. The Human Race Machine allows us to move beyond differences and arrive at sameness. We are all one."
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Some of her recent work: Vibhuti is the sacred ash that's known to fall from the hands of Indian Avatars such as Sai Baba. It's healed millions of people in India and beyond.
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Burson's first text-based book, Focus: How Your Energy Can Change the World, was published in 2004, and she has just completed her second book, "Lineage". In addition, she has authored four books of her photography. Some of the books are available at Amazon. Furthermore, there's an interview at the cIndy Center, go ahead and listen to it (or download it first, it's a large file of 16 MB).

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© Nancy Burson www.nancyburson.com

Invited by Anders Blomqvist

Invited photographer: Sonja Fagerholm

Mistral
Photography helps me to explore and remember people and places.
I am graduated in humanistic science with focus on modern history.
Life on a ship has always fascinated me. It´s a lifestyle that leaves
you isolated at sea for weeks or months. As a final project at a photography
school, I decided to document life on a Finnish cargo ship, mv Mistral.
The ship was carrying a cargo of paper and the trip went from Helsinki,
Fredrikshamn and Rauomo in Finland with destination Santander, Spain.
I am showing some of the pictures that were exhibited at the
Åland Maritime Museum from 11 September -11 October 2006.

- Sonja Fagerholm

invited by Ulf Fågelhammar ( I am so glad to see you here!)

cIndy Center

A Podcast dedicated to Creators of Contemporary & Independent art.

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The podcast is released every Tuesday morning. Subscription is free, and will enable you to ensure that you will have something fun to listen to on your way to work.

Alec Soth for example, who was recently invited to the F blog, was interviewed by cIndy Center. It's recommended that you download the files first, they are large! Listen to Alec's interview with cIndyCenter.com.

http://www.cindycenter.com/

invited guest: Staszek Heyda

I am honoured to show on F blog Staszek Heyda - one of most promissing young photographers in Poland.
Staszek is very modest and didn't allow me to tell much more that what he wrote below:

[born 1983] Student of Creative Photography Institute in Opava (Czech Republic) - 3rd year. His been taking pictures for 6 years. Works and lives in Gliwice (Poland)

Staszek agreed to show his very personal, touching series:

"So Close"

My family is the main subject of my pictures. At the center there is my grandfather, accompanied by us in his good and bad days of senility. My mother, with the help from he rest of household members, looked after him. We had witnessed how this slowly dying man started to dominate the life of out house. We tried to make possible to our grandfather to die with dignity, among relatives. I witnessed it with my camera. I tried to get with my camera as close as possible to these important moments, which became a document from my family life. My grandfather died on January 24th, 2006 at 91.

all photos © by Staszek Heyda
invited by Marcin Górski

silesian songs

entrance to Upper Silesia B&W magic world

reflectomania

for no particular reason...

Photos by: christofer grandin

Art of the photogravure

Browsing this site I found many photos from Camera Work. It´s indeed
worth a visit. From the "About" section I quote:
"This website celebrates the beauty and history of the photogravure process
and the important role it has played in shaping the history of photography."
Art of the photogravure - the blog