30 Pieces of Poignant and Uncensored Art by U.S. Veterans of War.

above: Autobiography (02) by Maurice Costello

In honor of Veteran's Day, I wanted to share with you some very personal and intimate art pieces from the National Veterans Art Museum in Chicago. The National Veterans Art Museum inspires greater understanding of the real impact of war with a focus on Vietnam. The museum collects, preserves and exhibits art inspired by combat and created by veterans. The pieces express their experiences through photography, sculpture, paintings, drawings and mixed media.

Please note: The work in this museum- and shown here- was made by veterans of war and the depictions of their experience is poignant and uncensored.

Good Morning PTSD by Christopher Arendt:

Real Life Souvenirs by Jay Burnham-Kidwell:

Towers (1) by Victoria Bryers:

Exiles on Main Street by Elgin Carver:

Title Unknown by Ronald Doc Cook:

58,000 Plus by John Dell:

Angel In The Desert by Marcus Eriksen:

(un)clothed and in her right mind by Iris Feliciano:

Aftermath by Michael Gottschalk:

Orphan III by Bill Hackwell:

In the Jar of Mars by Michael Helbing:

Where the Publisher Meets the Writer by Jay Burton Hellwege:

Tourist Photographs from Iraq - This is How I Wanted to See Myself by Aaron Hughes:

Fascinating Vietnam by William Hoin:

Memory of a Conflict by Louis Janetta:

Blown Away by Richard Lindsay:

Seventeen Months, Twenty-Nine Days by Grady C. Myers:

Early Out by Scott Neistadt:

Morphene, Anyone by Neal Pollack:

Mending by Scott Rogers:

The Wall by Michael Rumery:

Anguish by Bruce A. Sommer:

Together Separately by Anthony Stetina:

They Also Serve (POW) by Gary Tillery:

Prayer Boots by John Turner:

Head by Gregory Van Maanen:

Diptych Self Portrait by Kimo Williams:

This is How You Died by Richard Yohnka:

Punji Trap Wound by Bernie Zawiki:

Autobiography Installation by Maurice Costello:

The above pieces only represent a few of the works within the museum. You can view the online collection here.

God Bless all the brave men and women who give of themselves for the rest of us and this country. Thank You.

all images courtesy of the NVAM Collection Online website © 2012 - National Veterans Art Museum

Fine Art Prints Of Stanley Kubrick Photos Available For The First Time. 25 Fabulous Images.

I've always been a huge fan of the directorial and writing work of Stanley Kubrick, as witnessed by this comprehensive post I wrote on an exposition of his work earlier this year.

So you can imagine my joy when I discovered that the photographs he took as a photojournalist for Look Magazine early in his career which were previously only available for viewing in museum archives or in books about Kubrick, are now being offered as art prints (complete with certificates of authenticity) from the Museum of the City of New York and VandM.



The selection of fine art prints of the photographic works by the legendary film director exemplify his eye for both content and composition. Shot during the years of 1946-1949, each of the 25 hand-selected photos is printed on museum quality acid-free fibre paper using archival pigment inks and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity, numbered and signed by the Museum of the City of New York’s Curator of Prints and Photographs.



Available in limited editions and four different sizes, the unframed prints have a minimum half inch border so you can frame them without obscuring the image.



Stanley Kubrick—who wrote and directed Lolita, Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange and The Shining—was one of America’s most influential filmmakers. Directors ranging from the Coen Brothers to Tim Burton paid visual homage to his works in their own films, and no less than Steven Spielberg said: “Nobody could shoot a picture better in history.”



In fact Kubrick’s special skill behind the camera and his ability to create visual intrigue were evident long before he was a Hollywood icon. Even at the age of 17, Kubrick was an immense talent. In 1945, for $25, he sold a photograph to Look magazine of a broken-hearted newsvendor reacting to the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. A few months later Kubrick joined Look’s staff to become the youngest staff photographer in the magazine’s history. He continued to work for Look until 1950 when he left to pursue filmmaking.



It was during this period that Kubrick’s respected—and often-imitated—style first became apparent. His photographs are vintage Kubrick: a complex blend of composition, drama, light and mystery.




Now, for the first time, fine art prints of Kubrick’s work as a photojournalist are available for sale. Previously only available for viewing in museum archives or in books about Kubrick, curators at the Museum of the City of New York and art advisors at VandM examined over 10,000 negatives of Kubrick’s photos to hand select 25 for this limited edition sale on VandM.




All photos are printed on museum quality acid-free fibre paper using archival pigment inks and are accompanied by a certificate of authenticity, numbered and signed by the Museum of the City of New York’s Curator of Prints and Photographs.

Edition of 50
11x14 = $250
16x20 = $450
20x24 = $600

Edition of 10
36x36 = $2500

The majority of the proceeds go to the Museum of the City of New York.

See all 25 stunning photographs and purchase them here

The 30 Photographers To Watch In 2010

above photo by Eman Mohammed

Photo District News has just published their picks for 2010 Choice of New and Emerging Photographers to Watch and there's certainly a lot of wonderful talent out there. Take a look.


above background photo by yang yi
 
Below is the article by Conor Risch for PDN, followed by images from each of the 30 photographers and links to their personal sites.

Look at the photographers in this year’s PDN’s 30 class and you’ll find a solid refutation of the idea that “everyone is a photographer now.” Did “everyone” move to Beijing to freelance for the AP with no financial guarantee like Danfung Dennis? Or live out of a mini-van so they could create a major project like Scott Conarroe? Or defy social norms to become one of the only female photojournalists from Gaza like Eman Mohammed? Is “everyone” willing to be as patient as Alex Prager, who put on her own shows when gallerists ignored her? Does “everyone” have 2,250 followers on Flickr like Ben Roberts?

Perseverance and determination are common to all these photographers but equally notable is the individuality of their interests and styles. These photographers have produced long-term projects on music scenes (Lauren Dukoff), orthodox Hasidic communities (Clémence De Limburg), and a mother’s paranoid schizophrenia (Sohrab Hura). They have used the visual language of gritty reportage to shoot cookbooks (Gabriel Stabile) and created photojournalism based on “a sense of feeling” (Andy Spyra). They have used modern image-making techniques to lament the destruction of a centuries-old city (Yang Yi). They tell stories that matter to them in ways that make them matter to viewers.

Yes, it’s true: a lot more people are taking pictures now than when PDN was founded 30 years ago. But only a very small percentage of those people are photographers. We salute these 30 individuals, who are helping to define what being a photographer means today. —Conor Risch

Click on each artist's name below (shown in alphabetical order) to visit their website or portfolio.

levi brown:

alejandro cartagena:

scott conarroe:

sumit dayal:

clemence de limburg:

gratiane de moustier:

danfung dennis:

lauren dukoff:

matt eich:

matthieu gafsou:

marcelo gomes:

deborah hamon:

estelle hanania:

ben hoffmann:

sohrab hura:

wayne lawrence:

brent lewin:

eman mohammed:

adrian mueller:

nick onken:

alex prager:

thomas prior:

ben roberts:

anna skladmann:

andy sprya:

gabriele stabile:

peter van agtmael:

elizabeth weinberg:

yang yi:

reed young:


You can view more pieces from each of these 30 photographers at PDN's online gallery here.

The team behind PDN's 30:

above, left to right: Amber Terranova, Conor Risch, Jacqueline Tobin, Holly Stuat Hughes and Darren Ching.



PDN thanks the sponsors of PDN's 30, Kodak and Sony, for their support of this issue and of the PDN's 30 educational programs. Special thanks to the American Society of Media Photographers, who are giving on-year merit membership to each of this year's 30.