That sense of refuge permeates the book. From a sunrise spilling over Yosemite Valley to the haunting stillness of the Everglades, the photographs seem to whisper that beauty, even in turbulent times, remains constant.

Throughout A Walk in the Park, light plays as much a role as the landscapes themselves. For Katz, light has always been the truest subject of his work. In Yellowstone, early morning mist becomes an ethereal veil. In Arches, the last rays of daylight ignite sandstone into a glowing monument.

“Light is nature’s paintbrush,” Katz reflects. “The parks gave me an endless palette. Every moment was fleeting, and that’s what made it extraordinary.”

This devotion to capturing the perfect balance of light and shadow recalls Ansel Adams, yet Katz’s work feels more intimate, more personal—less about monumentality and more about connection.

Beyond its visual power, A Walk in the Park carries a mission. A percentage of book sales benefits America’s National Parks, directly supporting preservation efforts. Katz sees this not as charity, but as reciprocity.

“These landscapes have given me so much,” he says. “It’s only right that the work gives back.”

In this way, the book serves as both inspiration and call to action. It reminds readers that the parks are not static museums but living ecosystems—fragile, threatened, and worth protecting.

 

The result is A Walk in the Park, a new book that is both a stunning visual chronicle and a profoundly personal narrative. Featuring images from 65 national parks, the collection is more than a coffee-table book: it is a testament to resilience, wonder, and the healing power of nature. This book feels less like an assignment and more like a calling. “I wanted to create something that wasn’t a guidebook, but a love letter,” Katz explains. “A reminder of what we have—and what we need to protect.”

The project took Katz from Acadia’s granite cliffs to the volcanic wilderness of Hawai‘i Volcanoes, from the crimson canyons of Zion to the glacial majesty of Denali. Each image is composed with Katz’s signature mastery of light, a luminous quality that transforms a familiar landscape into something timeless and transcendent.

As Will Shafroth, President and CEO of the National Park Foundation, writes in the book’s foreword:

“Andy Katz’s photography captures the light and beauty of America’s national parks, inspiring wonder through images that are singularly powerful and personal, yet always within reach of our understanding, always inspiring us to connect and to search. Begin your national park exploration here.”

The timing of the project gave it a weight beyond aesthetics. In 2020, the pandemic forced many of us to reconsider our relationship with the natural world. For Katz, the national parks became both sanctuary and stage. “They reminded me of what’s essential,” he says. “In a time of fear and uncertainty, the parks offered peace, perspective, and resilience. I wanted to translate that into images that others could hold onto.”

What sets A Walk in the Park apart is its intimacy. Rather than presenting the parks as distant marvels, Katz invites viewers to walk alongside him. His photographs feel accessible, moments anyone might stumble upon, if only they had Katz’s eye for light and patience for timing.

There are no people in the frames, yet the images are profoundly human. They reflect solitude, reverence, and awe—emotions that readers inevitably carry back into their own lives.

In an age of rapid consumption and fleeting digital imagery, A Walk in the Park asks us to slow down. To linger on a page. To notice the way a shadow bends across a canyon wall or the way sunlight pools on a forest floor.

The book reminds us that photography, at its best, is not about freezing time but about deepening it. Each image is an invitation to pause, breathe, and reconnect with a world larger than ourselves.

For Katz, this project also feels like a culmination. After decades of assignments around the world, he has distilled his artistry into something deeply personal. “These parks belong to all of us,” he says. “But they also became a part of me. This book is my way of giving that back.”

In many ways, A Walk in the Park is not just about America’s landscapes—it is about the American spirit itself. It celebrates resilience, unity, and beauty that transcends division. It is a reminder that while our lives may feel fragile, nature endures, and in its endurance, we find our own strength.

Ultimately, A Walk in the Park is more than a collection of photographs. It is a journey through wonder, a meditation on beauty, and a plea for preservation. It is art that asks us not only to look, but to see. As readers turn its pages, they are not simply observers of landscapes; they become participants in a shared inheritance. And in a time when so much feels uncertain, Andy Katz’s images offer something rare and enduring: hope, illuminated by light.

 

The post A Walk in the Park: Andy Katz’s Love Letter to America’s National Parks appeared first on Art Business News.

A new virtual exhibit showing Aldo’s exclusive works from the book Seances and Ghosts, authored by the renowned American science fiction writer, Ray Bradbury, is now being shown by the Aston Martin Residences Art Gallery for the first time.  The 1989 collaboration between Sessa and Bradbury on Seances and Ghosts catapulted Sessa’s notoriety from the museum world to the publishing business, and became one of Sessa’s most publicized projects at the height of his career.

“Photography is the closest thing there is to magic,” says Sessa. “To think that you just click, and now the image is sitting on the film’s emulsion, or inside the digital camera, as a trapped picture that is floating there, brings something unexpected, something no one else saw but you. Being able to visualize and give perspective to it and take it to a certain scale, from something that was only one inch, to now two yards, from an original picture that no one but you will know.”

Sessa has also created an original photographic interpretation for the Aston Martin Residences’ permanent collection, entitled Cosmic Reflection, inspired by the residences’ sail-shaped architecture and immense towering height.  The image portrays the 66-storey building illuminated under the moon against an incessant galaxy of stars.

Reflecting on this exclusive work, Sessa says: “In my artistic life, space has always occupied a privileged place in my mind. When working on this piece for Aston Martin Residences, I had a vision related to the immensity of space and infinite magnetism of the moon and the stars that illuminate it. The magnificent architectural presence of the building is enhanced by the blue diaphony of its crystals that merge in this magical night panorama.”

As a young boy, Aldo Sessa studied painting and drawing at the De Ridder Atelier and worked at his father’s printing press in Argentina. As Sessa’s artistic career progressed, his oeuvre grew to include graphic design, graphic arts, cinematography, and photography, with his photography eventually taking center-stage. Sessa’s work has since appeared in over 200 exhibitions worldwide.

In 1976 he held his first solo show at the Museum of Modern Art in Buenos Aires, followed by two additional shows in 1977 and 1978 at the same institution.  His first publishing collaboration came in 1979, when Sessa illustrated the book The Ghosts of Forever with essays and poems by one of the most celebrated 20th-century authors and screenwriters, Ray Bradbury, that was published by Rizzoli International in the U.S. In 1989, Sessa was honored with the first retrospective exhibition of a living Argentine artist at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Buenos Aires. Gaining recognition and highlighting photography as a fine art form, Sessa was soon after Named Honorary Member of the Argentine Federation of Photography in Buenos Aires and Named a Member of the National Academy of Fine Arts in Buenos Aires in 1991.

In 1980, his painting Humorum was selected for the collection in the National Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C, and in 1976, the Argentine Government selected his triptych Before the Beginning as a gift to the U.S. Government to commemorate the Bicentennial Celebration of Independence. This work is still displayed at the Lyndon Johnson Space Center by NASA in Houston, Texas.

Sessa participated in his first group exhibition in 1952, and in 1958 he began working as freelance photographer for La Nación newspaper in Buenos Aires. After studying cinematography in Hollywood, he worked as an illustrator and freelance photographer for La Gaceta newspaper in Tucumán, and he signed his first contract as an artist with the Bonino Gallery in 1972.  In 1976 Sessa illustrated Cosmogonies, a book with poems by Jorge Luis Borges.  He has since published more than 40 art books, and his work is included in the permanent collections of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX; The National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC; Victoria and Albert Museum, London, England; Museum of Modern Art, Bogotá, Colombia; Museum of Modern Art, Buenos Aires, Argentina; National Academy of Fine Arts Collection, Buenos Aires, Argentina; National Museum of Fine Arts, Santiago, Chile; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA, and the International Center of Photography, New York, NY.  Sessa was named an Illustrious Citizen of Buenos Aires and a Member of the National Academy of Fine Arts. His photographs are housed in private collections and museums worldwide.

Sessa approaches all of his image-making with a passion, to illuminate the subject from his unique perspective and convey his fascination with light and shadow. Always carrying a camera, Aldo Sessa finds much of his inspiration in New York City and Buenos Aires, allowing his strong connection to each city to lead him to uncover extraordinary observations.

“I always try to have my camera ready.,” states Sessa. “If I change my path and the light changes, I adjust the diaphragm, even if I haven’t found what I want to photograph.”

______________________________

Aldo Sessa’s Seances and Ghosts exhibit can be viewed from Thursday, November 23 at the Aston Martin Residences immersive 3D virtual gallery, at https://astonmartinresidences.github.io/virtualtour/.

The post Aston Martin Residences Art Gallery Presents a Spiritual Glance at The Works of Acclaimed Fine Art Photographer Aldo Sessa appeared first on Art Business News.

I think maybe they have the wrong person or have sent a message to the wrong email address. To my mind, a “collector” was someone born into enormous wealth, a JP Morgan, a Frick, a Mellon, a Huntingdon, or a Getty. My background was the complete opposite. I was born in a tenement in the East End of London and my parents both had to leave school at 13 years old to work. They were wonderful folks with deep hearts, but the word “culture” was a word not in their vocabulary. There were no books or anything visual in my surroundings. I sensed there was another world out there. I listened to the BBC radio, really to learn how to speak and use language. I then ventured out into the world by escaping to the cinema then the theater and then museums. There I found out about beauty and other lives being lived.

By some chance when I was 15 years old, I came across a book called, “A Vanished World” by a man called Roman Vishniac. An image within that book called “Sara, The Only Flowers of Her Youth,” was the first photograph that totally “possessed” me.

Flash forward three years. I manage to scrape enough money to buy a student ticket to New York. Back then there was something called the Yellow Pages. I look under the name “R Vishniac” and see a listing and pluck up the courage to dial the number. A man answers.

I fumble the words like “Mr. Vishniac, Your book made me cry.  This is my first day in America. Can I come see you?”

He says, “I’m very busy but I can spare you 10 minutes tomorrow.”

I nervously go and end up spending five hours with him. I must have looked like I had not eaten in a week, because his wife kept feeding me food. He was such an amazing man and the first photographer I had ever met.

I began a career in film production and soon found myself tired of struggling to make films in England. I went to Los Angeles in 1979 and decided to stay.  I had a net worth of $2000, five T-shirts, and two pairs of jeans. Somehow, I got invited to a commercial photographer’s house for dinner. He had a small collection of photographs on the wall which his wife told him to sell because he wanted to buy a vintage car — and he couldn’t have both!

There was one image on the wall which totally seduced me. Its name was “Premiere at Cathay Circle” by a photographer I had never heard of called Max Yavno. I sheepishly asked, “how much is it?”

The host said $400. Then I did the most irrational thing I said “I would like buy this, please” in my polite English accent. If I were anywhere near rational, I would have spent the $400 on putting decent brakes on my beat-up Ford Pinto, but something clicked in my brain. This one act changed my life, and I am forever grateful, because I would not be here now writing about collecting without it.

What have I learned about collecting over the last 40 years? Listen to no one — only listen to your heart and you won’t go wrong. I would love to own a Modigliani or a great Degas or a great Francis Bacon, but I don’t have a spare $100 million tucked under my bed. Photography is the most democratic medium in the art world. It is the only medium in which you can own the same piece as the Getty Museum, and if have a good eye and passion and energy, you can own something even better. There are photographs out there that can be purchased for relatively little money, $1000 and up. Some of the greatest photographs I have ever owned, and some that are even in The Power of Photography exhibition at the Bowers Museum, were first purchased for far less.

Enjoy the journey and the hunt as I do every day, even after 40 years. It only gets better.

___________________________

Author Bio:

Born in London, Peter Fetterman has been deeply involved in the medium of photography for over 40 years. Initially a filmmaker and collector, he set up his first gallery over 30 years ago in 1988. He was one of the pioneer tenants of Bergamot Station, the Santa Monica Center of the Arts when it first opened in 1994.

The Peter Fetterman Gallery has one of the largest inventories of classic 20th-century photography in the country particularly in humanist photography. Diverse holdings include work by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Sebastião Salgado, Steve McCurry, Ansel Adams, Paul Caponigro, Willy Ronis, André Kertesz, Manuel Alvarez Bravo, Lillian Bassman, Pentti Sammallahti, Sarah Moon and Jeffrey Conley.

Fetterman and his colleagues are committed to promoting the awareness and appreciation of the most powerful of the mediums in an intimate, user-friendly salon environment.

The post The Power of Photography appeared first on Art Business News.

Nevertheless, without a considerate strategy and plan for marketing and selling your art prints, you won’t be able to be successful. You might upload your images for sale on an open platform like Pixels.com for example. But just imagine how many other photographers do exactly the same thing. That is why your promotion strategy is vitally important to let you stand out from the crowd.

In this article, we would like to advise you on where to start and how to market and sell your fine art photography for the most benefit possible.

USEFUL STEPS FOR MARKETING & SELLING YOUR DIGITAL FINE ART PRINTS

You do not need to get an academic degree or even take a photography course to start doing this part of your business. You need to join the community of photographers who sell their photos online or develop your own recognizable website. Defining your personal style is also a good place to start before you get your prints seen and bought.

Let’s have a more thorough look at how to do your fine art photography sales and make them as beneficial as possible.

START MARKETING YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY VIA SOCIAL MEDIA

Social media sites like Facebook and Instagram are great options for starting your marketing campaigns, even if you do not have your personal website or blog yet. Get accounts established there, remembering that all your followers are your potential buyers. Use the different advertising options provided by these platforms to make your edited photos recognizable and increase your exposure.

Ask your friends and colleagues to like or follow your page and share it with their acquaintances. Let everybody know that you are selling your fine art prints and word of mouth together with the ads in the social media will quickly spread. You can also start interacting with people who are potential fine art photography buyers interested in your work. Answer their questions or write short photography-related posts informing your potential customers that you have created a new piece of artwork. This can be a bit time-consuming, but it can result in positive outcomes.

HOW TO MARKET PHOTOGRAPHY VIA YOUR PERSONAL WEBSITE OR BLOG

It’s not a secret that, if you have your own website, you get more control over the interactions with potential customers. Of course, it will take more time and effort, but it will be beneficial in the long run. You can either utilize your own domain name to establish a store or create an online store on such reputable platforms as BigCommerce or Shopify. These platforms require small fees while others, such as Wix, provide free templates to get started. Choose your templates, which will integrate payment processing and order forms. You can buy a domain as well to introduce a paid service for more selling options.

If you cannot develop your website yourself, you can hire a development company to create a photography website according to your needs. The developer can also teach you some basics on how to maintain the website, integrate the keywords for search engines and keep your website optimized.

You can also create your personal blog where you will be able to show your fine art stock photography and write some interesting articles on photography. Your potential customers will be able to email you and ask for more information or shipping details if they need them. Such a convenient payment service as PayPal is appropriate for receiving payments. 

CREATE EMAIL LISTS AND MARKETING CAMPAIGNS

As you gain blog followers, you can start creating email lists for further communication. It does not matter much whether you have your own website or use social media or other websites to introduce your images. You just need a place where you can communicate with your potential buyers. A place where you can receive emails from them and send them newsletters and notifications about your new pieces of fine art photography.

You do not have to share all the new pieces with your followers, of course. Give them just enough to stay in touch and get interested in what you are doing. People should see you as a real person and like you and everything you do.  If you have a blog, keep them informed about your new ideas and let them see you behind your art.

You can also collect the email addresses via a giveaway or raffle, by using Facebook or local contests, everywhere you can to make people remember you. These small marketing campaigns are sure to boost your sales and provide you with a lot of benefits.

USE LOCAL OPTIONS

To find the new market for photography, you can also develop an interest in what you are doing at the local level. You can offer to hang your artwork at the local coffee shop. You can also go to art galleries and ask them if they can accept your photos as exhibits.

You can offer your prints to local businesses that can use your business cards with fine art images for further promotion. A local restaurant or retail outlet may want to have your photos on their walls. They obtain free artwork and you get a free advertising option. Or go to the local libraries and offer to make a display of your photos on a monthly basis.

The option of placing your fine art photos for sale in local fine art stores should also be considered. Such shops will charge you some fees only if your artwork is sold. Leave your business cards so buyers can refer to you directly if they are interested.

You can expose your fine art prints at an art fair. That is the place where you can network with different enthusiasts of fine art photography and your colleagues. Start by finding out how selling your photography at the fair works, the terms of such cooperation, and possible fees at art fairs in your area. Bring some of your prints with you and let them be sold immediately. You can also leave your business cards and flyers to the organizers. This is also a great chance to get email addresses and other contacts of your potential buyers. Offer people to sign up for a raffle to win your print.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Do you really want to start selling fine art photography? Then there is a lot of hard and interesting work in front of you. We think you’ll find it is a rewarding experience.

Communicate with your potential clients as much as possible. Let them know you and what you are doing. Get noticed via small marketing campaigns. Focus on the sources and means which you can manage easily.

Of course, you will need to invest a lot of time and effort in all this. Don’t rely on selling fine art photographs as the only means of living. Take it up as a hobby first and then you will see that you will start selling your work both online and offline and your business will grow. You will be delighted knowing that your pieces of art decorate people’s homes and offices. It’s a great feeling of success — so get busy and try it now.

Author Bio: James Baxter is a professional ghostwriter, online marketer at photo retouching company, and blogger, who loves sharing his experience and knowledge with readers. His hobby is photography and traveling, so he has already been to 35 countries.

The post How to Market and Sell Your Fine Art Photography appeared first on Art Business News.

The Definition of Art Photography

Trying to define, and justify, any type of art will always be a little tricky. The things that make one style of photography and art movement important can often be overlooked for decades. However, there are a few key things to look for when considering what separates art from general photography.

Art photography is in line with the goals of the photographer. This is designed to elicit an emotional response, communicate a message, or explore the formal aspects of photography as a medium. The process of creating art is often an intentional one. Even if the photography isn’t recognized as art for years, its artistic qualities will stand the test of time.

Photography can also become art in retrospect. Photographers like the legendary Dorothea Lange started off as documentarians and are now recognized as some of the finest art photographers to have lived.

Before Photography Became an Art

It might surprise you to learn that the first device that we would recognize as a camera was invented in the year 1021. This was known as the camera obscura. Interestingly enough, it shared a lot of problems that held photography back as an art until the mid 1850s.

Early photography had a few big problems. It wasn’t until the early to mid-1800s that cameras could capture images on film stock. The film used then was incredibly fragile and very expensive.

It was also challenging to replicate images on a scale that could be enjoyed in an art gallery.

Most early photographers were considered to be technicians by the general public. They were skilled tradespeople that knew how to operate the complicated machinery and chemistry behind taking photographs. It wasn’t until the 1850s that photography became an art.

The 1850s and the Dawn of Art Photography

In 1853, The Photographic Society of London became the first major group focused on photography as an art. The next year, the Société Française de Photographie was founded with similar goals. These two groups became flagships in a sea of budding photography groups that discussed the craft, and art, of photography.

In 1852, Sir William Newton gave a reading of his paper titled Upon Photography in an Artistic View which advocated for a particular style of photography. This would come to define art photography for the next three decades.

Newton’s paper argued that art photography should seek to emulate the artistic qualities of classical paintings. He advised art photographers to throw their subject slightly out of focus, use re-touching, and post-production extensively to achieve the desired effect. Many art photographs of this time we’re composite images made up of five or more individual photographs.

It would be another three decades before nature photography would be able to claim its space in the art photography world.

Natural Photography Becomes Art in the 1880s

In 1889, photographer Peter Henry Emerson published a groundbreaking work titled Naturalistic Photography. This essay outlined the philosophy of photography he had been working on for the preceding decade. It argued that the qualities of photography made it artistic on its own. This style argued that photography didn’t need to be touched up to replicate classical painting.

Emerson’s style became known as Naturalistic Photography from the essay that inspired it. This style of photography did away with staged actors, soft focus, and composites made of multiple images. These were shots taken directly from life and then displayed as artwork.

Fans of the style believe that it allowed the inherent qualities of photography to stand out. Naturalistic photography is often considered the moment where photography branches out to an art form. At this point, photography is no longer bound by the rules of closely related art styles, such as painting, and begins to be recognized for its own artistic merit.

The Brotherhood of the Linked Ring and Photography Salons

Fast forward a decade later to 1892. Photography as an art form is getting more popular than it’s ever been. New photography groups are popping up all over the world including Germany, Italy, and India. One of these new photography groups was the Brotherhood of the Linked Ring.

The Brotherhood of the Linked Ring rejected the idea that photography had to be a strictly technical concept. These were artists approaching photography from new angles and trying out new styles. The Brotherhood of the Linked Ring was made of countless individuals with their own individual styles, all sharing a belief that photography was a valid art form.

From 1893 to 1909, The Brotherhood of the Linked Ring staged photography art galleries they referred to as “salons.” These salons allowed them to explore new art styles and show the depth of the potential that photography had to offer for artists.

New Objectivity

Photography continued to develop as an art form for the next two decades. The mainstream focus was on realistic photography that did not involve touch-ups or post-processing. There was still a strong rejection of the photographic styles of the 1850s.

New objectivity continued this trend and moved it forward. Photographs were still to be composed in the lens and not touched up or cropped it all, but they now took more experimental looks at their subjects.

Styles that grew out of New Objectivity, like Constructivism, sought to take photographs of everyday objects and change how people view them. Edward Weston’s Dunes, Oceano is one of the clear examples of these new trends in photography.

The Work of Ansel Adams

Ansel Adams grew out of the New Objectivity style. His photography helped plant the seed that would grow into the National Parks system. Ansel Adams also foresaw changes that were coming to photography.

The biggest one was that Ansel Adams was not afraid to alter his photographs. He used extensive touch-ups in post-production to make his photos recreate his experience rather than the cameras.

Art Photography Begins to Experiment with Form

The age of Rayogrpahs, Vortographs, and Photograms bloomed shortly after 1916. This was a new focus on the photograph as an artistic medium. Photographers began to experiment with post-production and editing techniques.

New kinds of film were developed as were strange new styles. Photographers began creating art photos in which there was no clear subject. These photographs were similar to abstract paintings and the art of the Dadaist movement.

This era of art photography was also deeply political. Much like the Dadaist artist that inspired it, the early age of experimental photography was expressly dedicated to liberatory politics and resisted emerging fascist movements such as the Nazis in Germany.

The Rise of Documentary Photography

The Great Depression had impacts on all aspects of fine art. One of the most notable ones was the rise of documentary style photography as its own artistic movement.

During the Great Depression, the United States government had several programs that employed countless artisans across the country. One of them involved commissioning over 250,000 photographs to be taken across the country to document life during the Great Depression.

Dorothea Lange was one of these photographers. Today, Lange is recognized as one of the greatest naturalistic or documentary photographers of all time. While this work was seen as more clerical and technical during its day, it quickly became recognized for its historic and artistic qualities.

Smartphone Photography as Art Photography

We’re going to fast forward some sixty years of history. In the year 2000, the first camera phone was released. This fundamentally changed photography by putting a camera in the hands of millions of people across the world.

Smartphone photography often has a journalistic or biographical quality to it. Most people aren’t considering their photographs to be artistic statements, but rather expressions and recordings of their daily lives. However, in 2016 the Met Art Gallery held a display dedicated to smartphone photographers.

We’re currently living through a renaissance of multiple different styles of photography. Street photography, the retro Lomography style, and digital and glitch art are reshaping how we look at this unique medium. What the future holds for photography is going to be exciting.

Author bio: Hello, my name is James Miller. I’m the founder of Photographer Touch. I’ve been photographing for the past 18 years, and my mission is to simplify this misunderstood art of taking and processing photographs I love. Find out more at https://photographertouch.com/

The post Your Guide to Art Photography History appeared first on Art Business News.

Paul McDermott is one of Spectrum Miami’s 2021 Spotlight Artist Recipients. Learn more about Paul and his photography below.

Q. Introduce yourself — who you are and what you do?

A. I am Paul McDermott and my brand is Paul is Everywhere. I work with the natural beauty in front of me. My craft leads me to explore the world capturing unique moments in time and space in photographs. 

Q. What is your background?

A. Photography is all I’ve ever done and the only career I’ve ever known. I started working at a photo lab when I was 14, studied photography in college, and have worked with some of the top studios and individuals in the world. It was only in the pandemic without the distraction of my steady flow of jobs that I finally made the decision to devote myself to building my fine art brand.

Q. How do you work?

A. My creative process isn’t work.  In the words of Einstein “you can treat life as if nothing is a miracle or everything is a miracle.”  I choose the latter and wander about the world seeing beauty and opportunity in most everything. When I keep my attention out of my head and in the experience actually in front of me, the miracles present themselves and inspiration finds me.

Q. What art do you most identify with?

A. I identify with all art. It’s been my gift and training to look for the greatness in everything and pick out the positive attributes that I appreciate. While a particular style may not be my favorite, I can still love the artist’s intent in the creation process. My dirty little secret is that I’m a photographer by necessity. I loved to draw as a kid but didn’t feel my kinesthetic skills advanced at the rate I wanted so I turned to photography. This experience gives me a deep appreciation for how others create differently than I do.

Q. What artist(s) inspires you?

A. Some of my biggest inspirations are artists of consciousness. Rob James and Susan James, along with their team and the other great masters, are the most amazing creators I know. Learning about consciousness doesn’t just enable me to create better and more deliberately, it clarifies the purpose of what my work is contributing to humanity and how we can make the world a better place.

With tangible artists I am inspired most by the people who strive for greatness and create beyond the scope of what was previously conceivable. Photography wouldn’t be what it is today without Ansel Adams. The MOMA exhibition in the 1950s of The Family of Man is a body of works that has transformed the way I think about life and photography with how closely we are all connected. There are many greats. Walker Evans, Robert Frank, Atget, Arbus. I love the rawness and realness of street photography and documentary work because it’s life as it is. These photographers did it with technical greatness as well (which most photographers miss these days). Edward Burtynsky is one of my great inspirations today. He has an amazing capacity to create beauty and bring attention to present issues in the world. I aspire to push the envelope the way these great photographers have.

Q. What is the best advice you’ve received?

A. When I was young I was debating what to study in college. I was concerned that photography wouldn’t amount to anything so I was considering a more traditional career path. My dad never swore so I remember clearly when he stated, “If you’re going to f*** up at any time in your life, now’s the time to do it.” He told me his biggest regret was listening to the judgments of others and not pursuing his dreams. If I chased my dreams and failed I could always go back to school and create a new career but this opportunity to do what I love would be hard to get back as an adult. Thank you, Dad, for supporting my dreams and success.

Q. When you are not working, where can we find you?

A. When I’m not working, I’m working. Photography is more of a lifestyle for me than a job. If I’m scuba diving I’m often shooting. If I’m traveling it’s with a camera in hand. Hiking, visiting friends and family, always with the intention of creating. I am fortunate to have such supporting people around me – especially my wife who is all too familiar with playing with a light stand to illuminate a portrait or spending 15 minutes hanging out underwater while I maneuver for a better shot of a seahorse. I joke that I work harder on vacation than I do while at home but it’s really the truth. I deliberately chase light trying to catch every sunrise and sunset in a location I feel will opportune a great shot. It’s often the unexpected moments in between that create the magic of my best shots; yet being ready and knowing the shot will reveal itself is 90% of the job.

Q. What does exhibiting at Spectrum Miami 2021 mean to you?

A. Exhibiting as Spectrum is a special opportunity for me. Living in South Florida this show is in my backyard and represents getting exposed to not just more local collectors but also the art community from around the world. Especially given that I opened my gallery mid-pandemic, such a large public exhibition to be discovered is essential for my career.

The post Meet the Artist: Paul McDermott appeared first on Art Business News.

Q: Tell us a little about yourself and why fine art photography is your path?

A: Being an architect and a very visual person, I found my artistic expression in photography. Since my college time in Europe, I started exploring black and white photography and participated in many National Geographic competitions. During my exchange year in Marseille, I got inspired by the magical light in the south of France and spent hours in the darkroom developing my black and white photos. In 2014, I moved to New York City, where I attended several photography classes at the International Center of Photography to deepen my knowledge and experiment with photography. In April 2015, I had my first exhibition Street Photography and Urban Landscape at Columbia University. Last year, when New York City became the epicenter of the pandemic, I started my photography project on Instagram called S.O.S – Save our Spirit with the message that while the virus is strong, our New York spirit is stronger.

Q: Why did you do this project?

A: There were few reasons to create this project. First, I wanted to avoid depression while being alone during the pandemic. Second, I wanted to capture this unique moment in history. Third, I wanted to share my photography with the world.

Q: How long did this project take?

A: I started my project on March 1, 2020, when the first Coronavirus case was detected in New York City. It’s a visual diary of the Pandemic where I matched the news of the day with a relevant photo, mostly in a symbolic way. I have been posting one picture per day for 16 months now. This project became my main occupation during the pandemic and kept me busy and creative during these difficult times.

Q: What are the sizes of the images?

A: All my pictures were taken with my iPhone and their sizes are between 2-6 MB.

Q: What is the purpose of the project?

A: The purpose of the project was to document the pandemic time. When New York City became the epicenter of the pandemic, life suddenly disappeared. I was out every day capturing this surreal situation. It gave me very mixed emotions — I felt happy and sad at the same time. The City of Silence was beautiful from an artistic point of view, but it was painful to see my favorite city so empty and deserted.

Q: What do you hope to accomplish by doing this?

A: Besides the artistic aspect of my project, I wanted to keep up our spirit and support New Yorkers during this time of crisis. I felt the need to share my photography with others, while spreading the good energy and keeping up the New York spirit. We were all in this together, and everyone contributed in one way or another. I used my photography skills and my passion to deliver uplifting messages every day and show how strong and resilient New Yorkers are.

Q: Which photographers influence you and how did they influence your thinking and photographing?

A: I was always inspired by the big masters from Europe, such as Henri Cartier-Bresson and Robert Doisneau. I loved their black and white street photography in Paris and the unique moments they captured with their cameras. During my classes at ICP in New York, I also discovered Vivian Maier who was a secret street photographer. I started seeing the city life in frames and was looking for those special moments which make every picture unique.

Q: What motivates you to continue taking pictures economically, politically, intellectually, or emotionally?

A: For me, photography is about capturing the moment and showing the Magic of the World. New York City is a magical place, and it changes constantly. I love the energy of this city; it drives me and inspires me every day. I’m looking for magical moments to show our diversity. My photos are mostly emotional, with a very esthetic component.

But last year I also delivered a strong message for equality and justice. I documented the City of Silence during the lockdown and participated in ten bike protests for Black Lives Matter, called Justice Rides. This difficult pandemic year was a breakthrough for me as a photographer. As a result of my hard work, I was honored to show my photography in three exhibitions in New York. Two pictures from Black Lives Matter bike protests have been featured at the Museum of the City of New York and at the Women Street Photographers group exhibition. The third picture from the Lockdown was selected for a virtual exhibition about the Quiet City at the Sembrich Museum in Lake George.

Q: Which image of the series is your favorite and why?

A: I chose a selection of my 7 favorite photos to show the diversity of the covered subjects and the development of the turbulent times during the pandemic and BLM protests. My absolute favorite picture is Hope is in the Air which was featured in one of the exhibitions. It shows the empty Ghost City covered in fog and a stop sign at the light as a symbol of a forbidden zone. The famous HOPE sculpture delivers a message of hope, but the mood of the picture is very mysterious. The lost bike stands for loneliness and confusion, while the Chase signs remind us about not giving up and chasing our dreams. It is the perfect picture to express the isolation during the pandemic time.

About Anna: Anna Jast is an architect by education and photographer by passion. She grew up in Vienna, where she graduated in Architecture at the Vienna University of Technology. In 2009 she moved to Zurich, Switzerland, where she discovered her talent for organizing shows and worked for Baselworld, the famous Jewelry and Watch Show. Anna has over ten years of international experience in event management on various interior design and exhibition projects. She strongly supports the arts and culture, while volunteering for various art shows and cultural institutions. Due to her multicultural background, Anna is fluent in four languages.

Instagram: @SaveOurSpirit_NYC

Email: annajast@yahoo.com

The post Save Our Spirit: An Interview With Anna Jast appeared first on Art Business News.

The vivacious and colorful mural called ‘The Story of Bangalore’ was designed and painted by the Aravani Art Project, a collective that uses public art and wall art projects to spotlight the relationship between transwomen and women in public spaces. The Project was commissioned by the Museum of Art & Photography (MAP), whose flagship building is just being built and will open to the public sometime next year. Hugging a corner of MAP’s building site, the mural captures the myriad communities that live and breathe in the vibrant, urban landscape of the city—from migrant workers who have built the glass-facade buildings in the city’s technology parks to the IT workforce that populate them,  Bengaluru’s techies who have arrived here from different parts of the country and the world. The city’s traffic cops are also instantly recognizable in the mural with their distinctive cowboy hats, standing companionably alongside a person from the trans community. The entire artwork visually weaves together the stories and aspirations of hundreds of people who have made Bengaluru their home.

It is also an apt reflection of MAP’s vision of what the museum hopes to be, which is a space for unlocking stories for the community, through their extensive collection; narratives that the audience would want to hear, share and inspire others. And the mural begins that mission. It has caused masked commuters on their hurried way to pause mid-step, smile, and capture the scene with their phones, evoking a storm of selfies and social media posts that personalize their response. 

Sanjay Roy drives past the mural every day on his way to work and was actually able to follow its progress through the execution period, as the shapes and colors took form. He remarked, “During this time of the pandemic, as we head to our workspaces with a slight fear of the unknown, it was wonderful to see this burst of color emerge through an otherwise gloomy outlook. What was once an eyesore of construction-in-progress is now wrapped in a colorful mural depicting scenes of Bangalore that is so much more pleasing to the eye. I wish this lovely idea would be extended to all constructions across the city. It has also been fun trying to work out who is who in the Bangalore story on the mural.”

The mural and collaboration bring to focus a pertinent shift in the definition of a museum to one that is inclusive, diverse, and a driver of social development.  Museums today can no longer pose as institutions where objects are merely stored and occasionally exhibited. Instead, a museum needs to be a space for ideas and conversations that are initiated through its collections, commissions, and collaborations, to enable and spark audience engagement in multiple ways. This is at the very core of MAP’s ideology. Determined for museums to play a positive role in society, MAP’s vision — to bring art into the heart of the community — provides a framework for its strategy right from curatorial direction to programming, commissions, education, and outreach. Preserving the nation’s rich artistic heritage, of course, remains the primary goal for MAP; however, the museum also hopes to drive forward the positive role of a cultural institution in the shaping and progression of society.

As reflected even in ICOM’s (International Council of Museum) theme for this year’s International Museum Day, the issue of inclusivity is ubiquitous in the art community. With an aim to be institutions of social justice rather than just social value, museums all over the world are now pivoting their outlook and narrative to reflect the voices of people and communities from all walks of life, to make their collections, and the world of art in general, accessible to a wider audience. MAP believes that the role of art and culture as a soft power of global diplomacy needs to be utilized and emphasized, especially in the recent extremely polarized environment. 

MAP wants the public to move away from viewing museums as relics of the past, or storehouses of objects. On the contrary, museums need to be interactive and engaging spaces of storytelling, communication, ideas, and cultural exchange. Museums can and need to play a significant role in impacting and sensitizing the next generation to the heritage of a society, community, and nation. The collaboration with the Aravani Art Project is just one such step in MAP’s efforts to bridge the gap between museums and the community. 

Even prior to its official opening, MAP has carved an integral space for itself in the city by expanding its activities and outreach initiatives, such as a variety of educational programs, beyond the four walls of a traditional museum space. A timely pivot to the digital realm in the past few months and the introduction of a flurry of engaging workshops, seminars, and study packs, appealing to young children, teens as well as adults, has added another dimension to the whole cause of integration, inclusion, and accessibility in MAP’s mission. The soon-to-launch physical building of MAP will also offer a 360-degree approach to accessibility for people with special needs, in order to ensure a more holistic experience for visitors. 

Museums have great potential and responsibility to create engaging and meaningful experiences for their varied audience. Now, more than ever, museums and cultural institutions are being challenged to reinforce their relevance and social impact, and it is extremely important to make people aware of the power that lies within the scope of art, history, and culture to shape modern society. With the Aravani Art Project’s bright, exuberant, and thought-provoking imagery of the relation between the transgender community and the urban landscape of Bengaluru, MAP hopes to create ripples of ideological and perspectival change throughout the nation. 

Priscilla Roxburgh and Krittika Kumari are on staff at the Museum of Art & Photography.

About Aravani Art Project:

The Aravani Art Project is a women and transwomen art collective based in Bangalore, Karnataka. The project aims to create safe spaces for alternate voices through art. It has provided the third gender, outsiders to many communities, with an open platform to express their views about transgender rights and equality to a larger audience. Their projects include street art and art festivals in different public spaces in order to sensitize people and encourage exchange, discussion, openness, and debate surrounding gender identities. The project, in their own words, has given the transgenders the confidence to step out and interact with a community beyond their own.

The post India’s Museum of Art and Photography Creates a New Story appeared first on Art Business News.

Q: Introduce yourself – who are you and what do you do?

A: My name is Danijela Spitzer, but I present myself as Dani Ropi. I am a photographer in love. My work is based on photography, but I take pictures in sketch form. My specialty is technology, so I apply my images in different programs and paint them digitally. I believe in the future we will stop using our hands, therefore I spend my free time exploring different programs. After I print my work, I caption it with a quote I believe represents each particular piece of art, or I paint some parts of the picture. Usually, it is mixed media, but I love to refer to myself as an art journalist. Every piece of mine has a long story behind the colors I use and the quotes I apply to each image.

Q: What is your background?

A: I was born in Croatia on the Island of Pag. At the age of six, I took my father’s suitcase, packed it with my favorite outfits and snacks, and wrote a letter to my parents saying I was unhappy and was leaving to go on a mission to find my happiness. I was not an easy child. I was raised on a small island where I felt like I was suffocating. There was no room to explore or be creative. My country was at war, I was confused, angry, and aggressive towards everyone. I spent my time on the streets. My twenties were spent living all over Europe – Parma, Italy, Bilbao, Spain, and London, UK. I studied in London but never finished college even though I attended three different schools. College never fit with me, the big hooligan inside of me always had a problem following the system. I learn better by educating myself, listening to my heart, and traveling. 

Q: How do you work?

A: I work in the streets. The street is my beginning and end, filled with people, energy, and action, all of which are variables that inspire me to work. 

Q: What art do you most identify with?

A: I identify most with modern and contemporary art. I like to mix old with new. 

Q: What has been your favorite experience so far as an artist?

A: Leaving everything behind, coming to America, and starting from scratch in New York City. I came here three years ago, when my art did not even exist yet. In just three years I grew, created, learned, and transformed myself into a completely different person, a person I always dreamed about. That is why most of my work is dedicated to my beautiful New York City. Leaving was the hardest thing I have ever done but I didn’t give up, even though I wanted to.

Q: Who inspires you?

A: I am not inspired by one person, but rather streets, cities, traveling, breaking the rules, politics, and plain old good conversation. It depends on what mindset I am in, my art is very personal and everything comes from the emotions I am feeling during that time. That is why I call myself a photographer in love. 

Q: What is the best advice you have received?

A: NEVER GIVE UP.

Q: When you are not working, where can we find you?

A: I am lucky to say that work doesn’t feel like work. I go from a state of euphoria to complete stillness. I like to view this as regeneration, like a Phoenix. I can stay at home for months, enjoy myself, and delve into my emotions simply through cleaning or healing my inner circle. This gives me the energy to go back on the street and create my magic again!

Q: Have you been inspired in a new way since the shelter in place orders? Anything new? A recipe, an exercise recommendation?

A: Definitely, this time gave me an opportunity to think, feel, and create. In the middle of everything, I found myself in Tampa, Florida creating new pictures. I also saw how people can react so differently to the events happening in our country. The news of George Floyd has started a revolution. We live in the most inspiring time and I hope we can become the ones who design a new system, a new world. For an artist, that is magic. 

The post Meet the Artist: Dani Ropi appeared first on Art Business News.

“EYECATCHER” highlights the photographer perspective on exotic landscapes and wildlife, surreal portraits, and artistic nude fine art photographers are presented on glossy acrylic or mounted on varnished brushed metal, all in limited editions, hand signed by the artists. The exhibition features 30 art photographs by eight local and international photographers. Learn more about the exhibiting photographers below.

Jackson Carvalho

Jackson is a contemporary artist born in 1968 in the Northeast of Brazil, having studied photography in several educational centers, among them the International Center of Photography (ICP), New York, IIF – International Institute of Photography, São Paulo and Future London Academy, In London. He holds more than 160 international awards in his work, Jackson Carvalho unites with balance and creativity works of art centered on fusions and manipulations of traditional images taking the viewer to a universe of dreams, fantasies, dramas beyond his own personal emotive load, resulting in images that are a mixture of beauty, absurdity, and chaos, with refinements of a dark atmosphere and metaphorical intelligence. Jackson’s images are composed of an improved light domain technique and refined post-production. Jackson Carvalho has already exhibited internationally in the USA, Europe and Brazil, having most notably participated in his photography, Jackson Carvalho covers several topics such as Wildlife, Landscapes, Fine Arts and Cityscape, always with a very peculiar perspective and a creative streak in his compositions and chromatic approach and a black and white marked by high levels of contrast. In his conceptual works, Jackson directs his models for strong and dramatic expressions associated with creativity contained in the topics under which deals with his photographic art. Jackson Carvalho lives today in Toronto.

Nicolas Abou 

Nicolas has lived in 6 different countries and traveled around the world. His travels have made him want to capture everything from landscapes to the fleeting moments of life in order to make the memories eternal and shared to others.

Wojtek Jakubiec

Wojtek is a freelance documentary photographer and videographer based in Montreal. Born in Poland, he lived in The Andalusians, Algeria, until the age of seven before settling down in Montreal. It was his trips to West-Africa in his twenties that sparked his interest in photography. He later enrolled in Dawson College Photography program from which his photo-essay “Stories from Behind the Bell” earned him the Patron’s Award. Wojtek is regularly on fashion and commercial assignments.

Nikriva 

Anonymous artist Nikriva explores the unconscious by transforming everyday objects into enigmatic creations where words and images play with the viewer through puzzling titles that are an integral part of the artworks.
Nikriva’s signature hoodies represent a way to hide the identity of the artist, at the same time symbolizing the intrinsic human need to reveal one’s real nature.
The viewer is absorbed into a playful world of transgression and morality, clues and revelations.

David Lozdan 

David’s passion for photography began when he was a teenager growing up in London, England. He continued to pick up his camera throughout his 10 years of working in the music industry, where he had the good fortune to support music legends including Herbie Hancock and Ornette Coleman. Always with a camera in hand, the opportunity of achieving the ‘shot’ motivates him continuously. Today, David spends his time focused on the creative balance between photography, music, and commercial ventures working in the technology sector.

Christian Chapot 

French autodidact photographer (Cannes) traveling the world through many journeys, Christian Chapot has been able to acquire a mindful openness to the diversity of his images. His many encounters fascinate him as well as the places where he goes. Winner of several photo contests (“Chasseurs d’Images”, “Photo”) Christian always tries to capture the atmosphere, the beauty, and the perceptible emotion that is offered to him in the present moment.

Kirsten Meier

Kirsten Meier, the native of Germany, discovered her love for photography after graduating with a Master of Arts in Literature and Cinema from Sorbonne University in Paris.

This soon grew into conceptual photoshoots that now define her work.

Settling in Montreal, she has founded the Art Rocks Design Gallery in 2018 with the international photographers who have left an impression on her.

Visitor information

Exhibition dates: May 29, 2020 – September 1, 2020 

Exhibition location: Mademoiselle Earth, 367 B St Paul East, Montreal, Canada

Hours:

Wednesdays: 11:00 a.m.-5.00 p.m. 

Thursdays and Fridays: 11.00 p.m. – 9 .00 p.m. 

Saturdays and Sundays: 11:00 a.m.-5.00 p.m 

@Artrocksdesign www.artrocksdesign.com

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