Harpa, Reykjavik 2008
It’s good to see that issue one of The Ride Journal is about to hit the streets - a new UK-based Journal on cycling and bike culture very much in the quaterly journal ‘Rouleur’ quality mould, and featuring writing and photography on bike culture from all over the world. There’s even a few snaps from me in there, though as I’m still waiting for see a copy (hint hint mr editor man 
) I’ve no idea how it all turned out. The journal should be available from the usual magazine outlets and bike shops nationwide soon.
Stigur, Reykjavik 2008
I met Stígur Steinþórsson when I was in Reykjavik recently - he’s a talented photoghrapher and the owner of the fotografi gallery, Reykjavik’s only dedicated photography gallery. The gallery has reprints from Reykjavik’s photographic archive for sale, featuring some truly gorgeous b&w and colour images of Iceland from the early 20th C onwards, and a small exhibition space for fine art and documentary photography. Definitely worth a visit.
Saul Leiter’s beautiful early colour work is at Faggionato Fine Art until July 4th; strong, graphic images and a sense of colour to rival Eggleston’s:
and I’ll be catching the Unpoular Culture show curated by Grayson Perry before it closes on July 6th - any excuse for another visit to the funky new De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill, and a chance to scoff fish & chips on the train home…mmmmmm…….
Emeka, London 2008
Jóna, Reykjavík 2008
And a thought-provoking piece in last week’s Guardian on the hyperreal ‘threat’ of photography -
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/jun/05/news.terrorism
Andrew, Eton 2008
Maria, Lambeth 2008
This Saturday is your last chance to see Crewdson’s carefully crafted filmic tableaux at the White Cube, though the photo-blockbuster baton is immediately passed to the Tate modern’s ‘Street & Studio‘ summer show which opened today.
The issue of the right to photograph in public places has recently raised its head again: BBC news. It staggers me that this sort of thing continues to happen and that police, security guards, park wardens etc still routinely attempt to foist their authoritarian tendencies on people who have a legal right to photograph in public spaces.
Downing St petition: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/photographylaw/
Downloadable UK photographers rights: http://www.sirimo.co.uk/ukpr.php
I love it when life drops some synchronicity in your lap: about an hour after I finished reading Allan Sekula’s seminal ‘Reading an Archive: Photography between Labour and Capital‘ I stumbled on a link on Zoe Strauss’ blog to this 2005 interview in BOMB magazine. Sekula discusses Facing The Music, which he curated in 2005 at Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall, touches on some of the political and social currents which underpinned the construction of the latter, speculates on the possibilities of contemporary social documentary and ends up outing the role of Opus Dei in the 2002 Partido Popular Spanish government… It’s good to see that in these neo-con dominated times there’s still a healthy level of good ol’ fashioned Marxist critiquing coming out of CalArts!
A new exhibition ‘Life Before Death‘ by Walter Schels has just opened at the Wellcome Trust NW1 2BE.
And I’ve recently discovered Pete Halupka’s work via Richard Renaldi’s blog - truly inspired work from the 19 year old photographer.
Fay, Cambridgeshire 2008
