Five opportunities a month to learn and to find out something new about photography. April’s choice: a workshop by Charles Fréger, a photobook by Bieke Deporteer, an article by Jörg Colberg, and more.
A WORKSHOP – “The photographic portrait, from the person to the community” with Charles Fféger
Matèria Gallery, Rome
4-6 May 2018
© Charles Fréger
The Roman gallery Matèria presents a portrait workshop held by a very special tutor: photographer Charles Fréger, whose work portrays social groups from an anthropological and poetical perspective, with a focus on costume and clothing. The French photographer will lead participants to create a personal project of portraiture taking into account practical and theoretical aspects.
AN OPEN CALL – The Way We Live Now: The 2018 Aperture Summer Open
Deadline for applications: 4 April 2018
The Aperture Summer Open is an annual open-submission exhibition at Aperture Foundation’s gallery in New York. This year’s theme is The Way We Live Now, exploring how photographs define the currents and contradictions of our time, across ideas of beauty and style, landscape and environment, and media and connectivity.
The call for entries is open to photographers of all ages, at all points in their careers. It will be curated by Siobhán Bohnacker, senior photo editor, the New Yorker; Marvin Orellana, photo editor, New York magazine; Antwaun Sargent, independent writer and critic; and Brendan Wattenberg, managing editor, Aperture magazine.
© Keith Yahrling, Huntington Beach, James River, Newport News, Virginia, July 23, 2012, part of the 2014 Summer Open exhibition
A PHOTOBOOK – “As It May Be” by Bieke Depoorter
Published by Aperture, November 2017
57.50€ | 62 pages, with 66-page booklet insert | 44 images
© Bieke Depoorter 2017, EGYPT. 2013
(Translation of the written text below)
– You can stay with me no problem, a day, a week, a month. But taking pictures: no.
– Sometimes all the borders · customs, traditions, doctrines – can make you lose confidence in yourself. You have to trust yourself first before you can trust others.
– My name is Nora and I corne from a middle-class family. I think my parents would never allow a stranger to corne stay in our house for a day, because of issues with privacy and fear of strangers and crime. The fear is due to all the problems we read about on social media, fear that these stories might happen to us. I wouldn’t allow you to take a picture of me because I would consider that a violation of my privacy. And because l’m not used to dealing with strangers.
– I agree with these ideas.
– There are a lot of people out there who think this way because of the current situation.
– Marna says spend the night with us, or with Karima our neighbour, because her bathroom is better.
– The problem is not privacy. The problem is our fear of how people will judge us.
– If they knew that this book would be published in Egypt, they would not agree to being photographed.
– Haven’t you heard about Regeni, the ltalian?
– Who is Regeni the ltalian?
– They tortured him as if he was Egyptian (the mother of Regeni said). That’s very painful for us, as Egyptians.
– People here are programmed to think that a foreigner with a camera is a spy.
– But that’s actually true.
– Why are people afraid of you?
– Advice from my father to you: don’t trust anyone, because that’s just blind trust. But treat people with good intentions, until something proves otherwise.
– The picture was taken when she was in a bad state of mind, a sad mood.
– I am one of those people who wouldn’t want to be photographed in my house while relaxing.
– I sit like this at home every day.
Magnum photographer Bieke Depoorter has traveled to Egypt regularly since the beginning of the revolution in 2011, taking intimate pictures of Egyptian families in their homes. In 2017, she revisited the country with the first draft of the book, inviting others to write comments directly onto the photographs. Contrasting views on country, religion, society, and photography arise between people who would otherwise never cross paths. The included booklet features all of the handwritten notes in the original Arabic as well as the English translations. “As It May Be” depicts a population in transition with integrity, commitment and respect.
AN ARTICLE – Towards a photobook taxonomy
Conscientious Photography Magazine
“Conoscere chi e cosa è venuto prima di te e del tuo libro è un ingrediente fondamentale per riuscire a realizzarne uno”, scrive Jörg M. Colberg. Il fondatore e caporedattore di CPM propone una tassonomia del photobook che parte da un piano molto semplice: come essi operano o, in altre parole, come si svolge la narrazione.
Click here to read the article
RANDOM – The contest on Instagram #phomguess
Test your photography knowledge on Instagram! Turin-based photography platform Phom promotes a daily contest on its Instagram: can you guess the artist behind the photograph? The winner will decide next day’s photograph.
