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editing: the off details which irk me

I may not have "editor" as one of my job titles, but I find myself constantly editing incorrect grammar or spelling while reading posts on official company Facebook pages, blogs, and even actual articles (an error on Kate Spade's Facebook page actually prompted this post). Additionally, I criticize the lack of trim space alotted when too much of a layout is missing from the edge of a magazine page. This has happened repeatedly in Vogue, which, in my opinion, is completely inexcusable. I cannot tell you how many times I've been frustrated with confusing graphic design choices by designers involving anything along the lines of spacial relations or visual hierarchy.

While I was not an English major, I read a lot and I write a lot. I studied photography and I have a design degree. Everyone makes mistakes, but I feel like I see them so often that people are becoming too careless.

Now and then, it has been casually mentioned that I'm anal with respect to details. Maybe so, but what happened to correct English and presentation standards?! I can't appreciate a sloppy spread or technically disastrous photograph and I can't be bothered with an explanation for how the following ever made it to my news feed:

"we think you'll agree this classic have never looked so good."

What kind of sentence is that? I'm certainly not an authority of any kind, but I do wish a bit more thought would go into presentation. The first thing I think when I come across a media/communications error is how unprofessional it looks. What kind of business would possibly want to project such an image?

just wondering...

What made people think that photographs needed to be airbrushed anyway? I'm all for making the middle school kid more confident with their yearbook picture, but really does Cameron Diaz need Photoshop for her abs or already impeccable smile? WHY did fake start selling? This creates an increasingly ridiculous alternate reality of what is ideal.

It's like Andy Warhol once said, "Beauties in photographs are different from beauties in person. It must be hard to be a model, because you'd want to be like the photograph of you, and you can't ever look that way. Photographers bring in a whole other dimension." And Photoshop brings an additional dimension after that! By the time you dissect any given photograph in a magazine these days, the model hardly ever looks like the image. If a model or celebrity doesn't even really look like their person in an image, what are we projecting this illusion for?

*applause*applause*applause*

Photographer Joni Sternbach was brought to my attention by the ever awesome HotShoe blog. Her use of the wet plate collodion process is particularly relative to her subject matter and even more admirable in context. These images are timeless -they have something to say that no digital camera could produce (genuinely, anyway).

Anyone who reads this blog or knows me at all, knows my endearing love of the traditional photographic approaches. I enjoy the convenience of digital, sure, but there is nothing like authenticity.

note to self: re-focus that shot after i shoot it.

Everyone has taken a photograph/picture/still image/etc. in which the wrong element is in focus. Even the BEST photographers, I'm sure of it. I know I've done it; not paying any attention to what I was doing, and maybe subconsciously thinking my camera could read my mind and switch to a 2.8 entirely on its own. I don't know. Point being, it's a horribly depressing moment to ever have to discover that you messed up a photo because you were in one hurry or another.

NOW there is Lytro: Picture Revolution for the consumer market (I'm questioning the image quality with this specification). If it is actually as good as it sounds, from what I understand, my eyes should never again hurt from awful lighting/focusing condtions of weekend party pictures on Facebook. I guess composition is still up to the operator, but this is a very attractive product/idea that Apple seems to be interested in (will this technology be on my new iPhone?).

The key feature is that you can adjust the focus after you shoot thanks to Lytro's Light Field innovations in image capture. I don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to some more details on the limitations and a personal test run for sure.

go green with the guggenheim e-cards

Cindy Sherman, Untitled Film Still, #58, 1980. Gelatin silver print, 20.3 x 25.4 cm, edition 1/10. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Gift, Ginny Williams 97.4611. Courtesy of the artist and Metro Pictures. © 2010 The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York.

 The next time you'd like to send a card with an artful edge, check out the Guggenheim's e-card collection. Free correspondence that's sure to please the recipient. Choose from a selection of works by significant artists ranging from sculpture to photography, including a gallery of images of the Guggenheim's various locations.

Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, 1997. © The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York. (Photo: David Heald)

fashion from the met

The Met has produced many fashion related exhibitions since the founding of its Costume Institute in 1940's (it became a main curatorial department in the late 50's). I've been coveting some of the related catalogs for my ever expanding personal library and thought I would compile a list of recent favorites:

 

 

Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty ($45.00) The McQueen retrospective spanning almost 20 years of amazing fashion and the challenging of cultural expectations with pure creative genius.

High Style: From the Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection ($50.00) Looking back through fashion history from the mid 1700's, this fabulous book includes luminous images of key fashion movements and work by prestigious designers.

Model as Muse ($50.00) This catalog brings the relationship of models and designers to the forefront of the creative process; therefore its effect on fashion, style, and popular culture as a whole.

Wild: Fashion Untamed ($14.95) An examination of the cultural implications of animal related accessories and adornments. This book addresses the relatively recently controversial topics in the grand scheme of the history of fashion.

fashionable food

images from www.apollinas.com and stella mccartney.

I've seen some beautiful cakes in my time shooting and attending weddings, but I found this citrus dessert on the Apollinas blog to be such a creative and lovely cake (inspired by Stella McCartney's unique citrus print) -surely it must be delicious as well. Check out the recipe for the aptly named  Stella Cake and try to tell me you can wait to bake your own. Nom nom nom.

remembering the futurist manifesto

photograph © megan crist 2011

the cola war explained demographically?

I just read an essay, Why the Super-Rich Only Drink Coke, by Jamie Johnson on the Vanity Fair page. Essentially, the conclusion is based upon the associations and manifestations of the brand identity. But I think everyone can appreciate a little nostalgia. Who wouldn't prefer a Coke in a bottle to a Pepsi in a can? The only time I ever require either is with a healthy dose of rum mixed in, so I can't say I have too much of an opinion at that point, anyway. It just goes to show the signifigance and value of a strong branding strategy and maintenance of target market relationships.

"the city, she loves me..."

"Very early on, I had a teacher who told me that if you are ever bored in a city, you are boring." This is a great slideshow produced by the Met.

running up quite a checklist...

Portrait of a Man (1919). Erich Heckel.
From the MoMA Collection.

Another show that I have somehow yet to see is the German Expressionism: Works from the Collection at MoMA. There is an associated micro-site dedicated to the show, which contains a wealth of basic recap information on the movement and artists. (I could almost hear my various art history professors reading some of these brief articles... the concept of modern ambivalence always reaches out to me and I come running with open arms.) Of course, as always, can't forget the catalogue and maybe a relative book or two...

summer's off to a hot start: lovely LA

We Are Handsome's LA Swimsuit

I just thought this suit by We Are Handsome (available online at Barney's) was way cooler than any other, EVER. Except for Jasper Goodall's collaboration JG4B.

backed up book list

Looks like this will be a great read on the romantically bohemian artist, Modigliani. (I also can't help but to comment on the beautiful cover design.) Such interesting lives are led by the most genius of artists, particularly ones who blur the lines between movements in the world of art. Why must they (routinely) have the most tragic causes of deaths, most depressingly too soon? Can't wait to get my hands on this biography by acclaimed writer Meryle Secrest.

Modigliani's Woman With Red Hair 1917

fabric photos

I saw this DIY photography kit, Sunography, on the NGA Store website. Such fun! It's not the normal sun print photographic kit either -Sunography consists of 6 "sheets" of fabric that are light sensitive on both sides. I can't even imagine all the possibilities here. DROOL.

there is no word for the extent of my admiration...

While I missed the book signing due to an unfortunate deviation in my schedule, I am looking forward to seeing the Elliott Erwitt: Personal Best show at the ICP (until August 28th). Invited to Magnum in 1953 by the one and only Robert Capa himself, Erwitt is quite the master of black and white work. He is obviously well traveled, though he settled in New York. Per his website, "'Settling' in Erwitt parlance means 'where you are at the moment for as long as you don't go somewhere else.'" I'm sure this is a show that is relative and comprehensible on many levels; it surely won't disappoint.

some new images

images ©megan crist 2011

200mp oh my!

I'm sure everyone has heard about this fancy new Hasselbald H4D-200MS, but I still can't wrap my mind around the size of the image file (200MP) or the price ($45,000.00)! And, I'm guessing the 30 second image capture is probably too long for most people to accept in these days of instant gratification.

art and books and parties



"Gee Joan, if only you were French and male and dead."
-New York art dealer to Joan Mitchell in the 1950's

























A little champagne and a good book about a great artist (Joan Mitchell) by a lyrical writer (Patricia Albers-who is happy to sign a copy by the way) with an amazing painting on the wall equals a lovely Tuesday evening for me.

From the Introduction to Joan Mitchell Lady Painter: A Life by Patricia Albers:
Always her own toughest critic, she started apologizing for the works' shortcomings to the curators, critics, and installers milling around. With an impervious sweep of her arm, her tone abruptly shifted to sarcastic: "Not bad for a lady painter." A brisk toss of her hair. "I think everything is magnificent." Then, as a mock aside: "I'm trying to act like a male painter. You know, where you say that everything you do is wonderful."

*Images are from an Android camera. Apologies extended.

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catch-22:money business

As I sit here getting my thoughts together for a grant proposal, I am reminded of my continual frustration with a horrendous catch-22. Yes, I feel just like Yossarian in the midst of a satirical war.

From Catch-22 by Joseph Heller:


Yossarian looked at him soberly and tried another approach. "Is Orr crazy?"
"He sure is," Doc Daneeka said.
"Can you ground him?"
"I sure can. But first he has to ask me to. That's part of the rule."
"Then why doesn't he ask you to?"
"Because he's crazy," Doc Daneeka said. "He has to be crazy to keep flying combat missions after all the close calls he's had. Sure, I can ground Orr. But first he has to ask me to."
"That's all he has to do to be grounded?"
"That's all. Let him ask me."
"And then you can ground him?" Yossarian asked.
"No. Then I can't ground him."
"You mean there's a catch?"
"Sure there's a catch," Doc Daneeka replied. "Catch-22. Anyone who wants to get out of combat duty isn't really crazy."
There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one's safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn't, but if he was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want to he was sane and had to. Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle.
"That's some catch, that Catch-22," he observed.
"It's the best there is," Doc Daneeka agreed.


Back to the situation at hand: For every art grant or contest or submission of almost any kind, there is a fee. Sometimes it is a generously low $25, but more often this fee is significantly upwards of $50. Occassionally, you may be lucky to get a "discount" for multiple entries or series.

I just don't understand the logic: The artist doesn't have the money to produce their art, so they think they will apply for a grant to get some money and recognition for their art. But in order to apply for the grant money they need to pay some money. The artist wouldn't be applying for the grant money if they had money to begin with. In what world does this make sense? (It can't be just the art world because I'm sure scientists and the like have similar situations.)

introducing double exposures to the through glass series

images © megan crist 2011

This project is my heart and soul. It just keeps getting better. Don't tell me all good things must end.

nike+=increasingly awesome

Image copyright YesYesNo Interactive Projects 2011.
This awesomeness was brought to my attention by
the Swiss Miss blog.

I was a huge Nike+ fan until my sensor died and I have yet to get a new one. But this just about sends me out to the store. Nike tracks your movement GPS style and creates graphics with the data. It's art and fitness together. That's motivation. Nike+ Paint With Your Feet.

notable and quotable

"To take a photograph is to align the head, the eye and the heart. It's a way of life."
-Henri Cartier-Bresson

happy earth day

illustration copyright megan crist 2011

the doors

photographs copyright megan crist 2011

A new project that I have been working on recently is based on entirely on curiosity. I always wonder what goes on behind doors that strike my attention, for whatever reason. Maybe they are visually loud and exuberant or maybe they are slightly beat up with a few dents and dings. Perhaps they are absolutely pristine and sparkle like a star. I know more than a million things could be the answer to my musings; it is a mystery.

film: my love affair with the anticontemporary medium

I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but the program Exposure 3 ("taking the digital out of digital photography") was brought to my attention last night. Awesome as it may be -at a price that is completely unbelievable- it made me slightly irritated with the industry.

This program essentially converts your digital image files to look as though they were shot with virtually any film; push and cross processing options are available.

Why, I have to ask, is it that we so covet the look and feel of film and the traditional arts of the photographic darkroom, but so few people shoot film anymore? Apparently the concensus is that it is less expensive but I don't see photography services or talent becoming less expensive, so I'm not sure how that makes sense. Does this whole situation not seem hypocritical and flat out fake? Have we so really gotten so far ahead of ourselves that authenticity means nothing? I know people (gasp) buy fake designer bags, and I feel as though digital photography, in some aspects, is doing the same thing. Digital can be its own art form on so many levels but who's to say where to draw the line?

Just shoot film for heaven's sake.

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toning down the tech level

 

illustration copyright @megan crist 2011






You would think a rainy Saturday without a computer would be absolutely miserable. But, I'm taking this golden opportunity to get back to the basics.

I'm a bit of an art supply nut, I just also happen to be deathly addicted to Creative Suite. All of which are boxed up in storage approaching 10 hours away. Completely frustrating, I know. And so materialized my trip to DaVinci Artist Supply. This venture was carefully planned to include a few choice items to keep me entertained for the afternoon -to create a sort of makeshift pop up studio. As expected the excitement of all the artsy goodies overwhelmed me as I walked in the door. It took quite a bit of self control not to buy everything in sight -or duplicates of things I have already.

Walking back out in the rain after my purchase (which included a complementary reusable tote bag just for checking in on Yelp!) wasn't even that depressing because I was so excited to get home to play with my newest acquisitions.

I miss my lovely iMac that routinely and cheerfully greets me in the morning and obeys my every command without fail, but I'm realizing that sometimes -although it may feel like the death of you- it may be a good thing to tone down the tech level.

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chance encounters

My first encounter with a real-life Banksy (in Harlem). Some people argue that this is not, in fact, created by the famed street artist, but I nearly lost my breath when I came across it a couple weeks ago. LOVE.

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so many books so little time (and money)...

I'm not quite sure what it is about bookstores that make me feel like I'm in Disneyland, but it usually takes every smidgen of self control that I have not to walk out with two overflowing armloads of books and a few magazines. And I could probably stay in a bookstore all day admiring books.
I love examining the design of books. I love the variety of formats and different textures and weights of the pages. Certainly the books that I buy intrigue me also in the area of content, whether it is fashion or art history or photography or illustration or interior design... perhaps it's an appealing compilation of architecture or a musician's memoir? Maybe a new author's first published novel-I love the Discover New Writers section of Barnes and Noble, probably because I'm huge into supporting emerging artists of all genres. Sometimes I might be in the mood for a political or social commentary or an economic theory?

I think it might be the euphoric feeling of absorbing knowledge and insights from people you probably don't know. You can always learn something just from flipping through a few books -not even reading them cover to cover if you don't feel like a chronological progression of pages. You may not realize you are learning, either. A fiction book may not necessarily aim to inform, but it may expand horizons or share perspectives for you to evaluate with your own understanding and background that you come from.

I'm not sure what the difference is between owning the book and borrowing the book, but I love to collect books. Checking out books from the library is surely the most economical way to go about buffing up on ideas and smarts, but it is somehow less satisfying?

In any case, sometimes even just pictures of libraries are inspiring. Happy reading. : )

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priority penmanship

I immediately fell in love with this handlettering talent, Love, Jenna.

tick tock

Walked by this antique shop in the village that had a window display full of old clocks. They were pretty but somehow the sight was somewhat eerie. Maybe it was the frightening Captain Hook association that I have with clocks. Or maybe the fact that I sometimes wish we could neglect the idea of time itself. A subconscious fear of time passing too fast -I sure don't want to end up like an old dusty broken down clock, no matter how pretty.

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on the differences between people who are actually photographers and people who think they are photographers because they own a fancy digital camera -and how to explain the difference

I was having a discussion with a very talented photographer friend of mine last night about the differences between photographers and "photographers." We were trying to pinpoint the differentiation verbally, no matter how visually obvious it may be.

Today, I happened to have plans to see the "Stieglitz, Steichen, Strand" show at the Met and the copy on the wall handled the issue perfectly: "Since handheld cameras became available in the late 1880s, anyone could be a photographer; similarly, photography snaked its way into every corner of the culture. Elevated perception would distinguish the artists from the amateur and the tradesman."

We are not snobs. We are actually very nice people who appreciate an amazing photograph and understand where it comes from.

fit

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subway shots

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sew some fresh seeds at west elm

photographs copyright megan crist 2011

I have been gawking at the website and catalog for West Elm for a few years now and today was my first in-store experience. I must say it's ten times better than anything online or in print. What fabulous merchandise that I never would have come across just by flipping pages or clicking links. I know a lot of people only shop online now (I admit I do a lot of internet ordering myself) or find what they want and go online to find it at a more affordable price.

In any case, the reality is, nothing is quite like walking through well done shops. No, I don't want to rummage through a sloppy rack of clothes or messy shelving of picture frames or dishes spewed haphazardly about only hoping not to be broken by the end of the day. Should this be so, I'd rather go online. However, an immaculate shop is comfortable and convenient; a shop done right is a welcoming mecca of beautiful things that you can take home with you right now. It is clean. It is fresh. It is well-lit.

West Elm is one such shop.

daily dose of graffiti

 

photographs copyright megan crist 2011

reflections

These are a few images from today's work on my reflections series focusing on the relationships between the (manufactured) subjects and their (urban) environments.

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