Photographer David Zimmerman, Take on residencies symposium, and more..

INTERVIEW

The NCPA, Mumbai presents the photography show of David Zimmerman in their ‘ The Last Lecture series’.The show titled ‘Conversations in Photography’ will preview on 7th July 2013, at the Piramal Gallery, NCPA. Having worked in India for the last 15 years, David Zimmermman brings his recent works which are related to the Tibetans in exile. Reproduced here is an interview with the legendary photographer from when he won the Sony World Photography Award in 2009.

( David Zimmerman)

Scarred landscapes and a forgotten wilderness - David Zimmerman's unusual work won him a Sony World Photography Award. 

Q:What type of photographer do you see yourself as and why? 

A: "Many of my projects deal with the landscape and man's physical or emotional relationship to it. A barren wilderness photographed during a storm or at night; not simply as a depiction of a scene, but as Edmund Burke writes on his concept of the sublime, "the imagination is moved to awe and instilled with a degree of horror by what is dark, uncertain and confused." Beyond these remaining wilderness places I have been working in landscapes where man's presence and discards have left their scars." 

Q: Why do you take photographs? What do you hope they'll do? 

A: "I had an interest early on in the arts, studying sculpture and painting. My own experimentation led me to photography quite young when living in Europe & the Middle East. The ability to record something I feel or to tell a story as well as to clarify my own thoughts about a subject are the primary reasons I take photographs . It takes many voices to change the course of certain events, whether environmental or political, and I would like my work to be one of those voices." 

Q: Do you like to tell stories with your work rather than having a random collection of single images? 

A: "I think it works both ways. Storytelling is really the core of photography and that story can be told in a single image or in a series linked by a theme. Many times I don't have a preconceived idea prior to photographing a project. I try to stay open and respond to ideas and stories that I see." 

Q: How long do you spend on a project? And how do you decide what to work on? Does it take a lot of planning? 

A: "Much of my work is ongoing. The ideas behind projects come in different forms and at their own schedules, it seems. There are times when an idea has been germinating for years only to be photographed when I have a grasp on the visual to execute the idea. At other times an event or seeing something new triggers an idea almost immediately." 

Q: There's a lot of symmetry in the work you produce. Is this intentional? 

A: "I have been working with fairly formal compositions in some recent projects. Similarities in the compositions in some series help to focus the theme visually by limiting the variables." 

( The David Zimmerman show at NCPA)

Q: A lot of your pieces have a clean, sharp, almost perfect feel about them. Do you go out with this idea in mind? And do you spend a lot of time looking (without the camera) to find the perfect place to photograph? 

A: "My intent is to create a visual as an interpretation of what I see. Cameras, film, digital capture; none are really very capable of faithfully reproducing everything we see, without some help. I do spend time fixing the limitations of the process, whether in the colour correction of a shadow with a colour cast or the control of contrast so that in the end, what I see in the print most closely resembles what I saw with my eye. The only time I work without a camera to find a position for a photograph is when I'm working with a view camera. I would normally work with a viewing lens (or a hand on my eye) to find an exact position because of the greater complexities of setting up a view camera to check every position." 

Q: Do you know where you're going next? Do you miss it when you're not out there documenting? 

A:"There are times when I'm working on a specific project that I'll do research on a particular location and go specifically to photograph that location. New ideas often come while I have no particular destination. These are times I pack up a small camper with some food and my cameras and head off with no deadlines and no destination." 

Q: What kit do you use and why? 

A: "Most of my work now is with a digital back on a medium format camera or view camera. I also use a 6x12cm film camera for some work." 

Q: Do you do any post production work (If yes or no) why? 

A: "I've always liked Ansel Adam's quote "the negative is the score and the print is the performance". There is always some post production work but of course it varies from image to image. Simply printing straight from a negative or a digital file involves some post production work in that we make decisions throughout the process. The decision to crop a little or to remove a little green from a skin tone is post production work. In my recent work most of the post production involves traditional techniques of colour and tone correction to create a balance within the image." 

Q: What's the best thing someone's said to you about your work? 

A: "Mary Ellen Mark has said about my work "... a unique vision of beauty, poetry and power possible in great landscape photography"."

( The interview has been reproduced from ePHOTOzine for The Art Daily)


NEWS

The Varicolored show

(A painting by Niladri Paul)

The Taj West End and Artchutney.com present a group show of paintings and sculptures, titled, ‘Varicolored’.  The show previewed on 5th July and will be on view till the 14th of July 2013.

The show displays a varied collection of paintings, artworks and sculptures by artists from all over the country. The range of experience in art practices varies from established artists to upcoming and emerging artists, together forming a very eclectic show.

The participating artists include, Aditya Basak, Anita Dalmia,Avijit Dutta, Bimal Kundu, Dimpy Menon, Farhad Hussain, Jagannath Paul, Kanchan Chander, Niladri Paul, Ritu Kamath, Seema Kohli, Poonam Agarwal, Shipra Bhattacharya, Shruti Gupta Chandra, S Nandagopal, Sujata Achrekar, Thota Vaikuntam, Virender Sharma and Vikash Kalra among many others.

The show is on view till 14th July 2013.

Take On Residencies Symposium

(Take On Residencies )

Take On Art and India Foundation For The Arts, presents ‘Take On Residencies - A Symposium’. The symposium is to be held at 1 Shanthi Road, Bangalore.

With very little actual history on the concept of residencies in the past, the current spate of residencies has often been driven by support of organisations or individual needs. With varying levels of subjectivity being stimulated, ‘Take’ has identified the need for a uniform platform where the concept can be addressed on a relatively neutral territory. 

The Take-on Art Residency issue hopes to fill that role, by discussing the cropping up of a multitude of residencies in the past decade or so, as a practice and as a format with critical and personal reflections and thoughts, bringing together existing resources and references. The forthcoming issue on residencies is to be launched during the symposium.
The Take on Residencies symposium presents reflections by artists, curators, organisations hosting residencies, and funders to deliberate on pedagogic possibilities and challenges of residencies.

The panelists are, Archana Prasad, Ayisha Abraham, Chandrika Grover, Christine Rogers, Cristoph Bertram, Diana Campbell, Feroze Gujral, Geetha Narayanan, Jayachandran, Krishnaraj Chonat, Lina Vincent Sunish, N Pushpamala, Nancy Adjania, Ranjit Hoskote, Roshini Vadehra, Suman Gopinath, Sumesh Sharma, Suresh Jayaram and Tara Kelton.

The symposium starts on 11th ofJuly 2013 from 9:45 am to 5:30 pm at 1 Shanthi Road, Bangalore.

Burrowing into the Ordinary

( A painting at the show)

Art Spice art gallery, New Delhi presents a group show of art works by artists from all over the country. The show is titled, ‘Burrowing Into The Depths Of The Ordinary’. The show displays some interesting and unique artworks and paintings by a group of upcoming and established artists.

The works are primarily rendered in figuration and with some of the works bordering on rural life, and some focussing on religion and spirituality. Burrowing into the Depths of the Ordinary is a simple yet powerful art show that communicates the artists' passion and spirituality in colors and shapes that have woven their provoking imagery through the galaxy of time. Every painting tells a story and every drop of paint a part of our being.

The participating artists are Ganesh P Doddamani, Pratap Sjb Rana, Rajeev Semwal, Mahesh Jagtap and many others.

The show is on view till the 28th July 2013.

The Accessible Arctic Show

( A photograph displayed at the show)

The Consulate General of Canada in Mumbai presents spectacular photos as a part of Accessible Arctic show. Accessible Arctic was assembled and curated by the Canadian Museum of Nature. The Canadian Geographic and the Canadian Museum of Nature have jointly showcased Canada’s amazing natural history.

The images of the Arctic that Canadian Geographic accumulated since 1930 and the extensive work of The Royal Canadian Geographical Society and The Canadian Museum of Nature in this region are clear reflections of how the North has always been at the very heart of Canadian identity.

The show Accessible Arctic is being held at the Palladium, at High Street Phoenix, Mumbai, from the 3rd July to the 7th July 2013. For further details contact +91 2243339994.

(News reports by Sushma Sabnis)