Test with Julia Wolters
Today we did a really casual test. Hair and makeup, no wardrobe. Here are a few of the shots we came up with:
Update to My Site
I did a minor update to my site: http://michaeldonovanphotography.com/. I added a few more galleries including an archive showing some of the work I did while in Chicago. Take a look and let me know your thoughts!
A Special Energy
Last night I went to the Surface Magazine magazine launch party in the L.E.S. I kept looking around at all the great talent in one place. Justin Hyte, Gary Wood, Mark Gong, Brendan Burdzinski, Ron Goldstein and many more. It’s an interesting collection of talent and there is just an energy among the group. I’m the newest to arrive to NY and I have the least amount of time in the city but you can tell that “something good is up.” Seeing everyone grow in to their work over the next 5-10 years will be pretty interesting.
Clifford Coffin
I was looking at Clifford Coffin’s work recently for the first time in over a year. It makes me look at my work a little differently. There is such peace and stillness to his work while mine is always fighting something. This makes me want to let peace start to happen in my work over the next 6 months.
It’s great how the artwork and artist can evolve together.
Martin Fuchs
I met Martin Fuchs on the train yesterday. I saw his tripod and started talking about photography. He is a photojournalist who just made the official move from Austria to New York. I checked out his work. It’s pretty good. Enjoy!
“Xavier”
I received an email earlier in the week from Adam Livermore. He’s a hair stylist from Minnesota who I have a lot of respect for. I have followed his work for a couple years now. He informed me he was going to be in NY this week and asked if I wanted to work with him. “Absolutely!” was my response.
I’ve been talking to MANY hair stylists about ideas but many of them have been shutting them down. I gave Adam a challenge and, where most of the others bailed out, he stepped up. The goal was to shoot a male model in a way that wasn’t masculine, wasn’t strictly feminine and was not “stereotypical androgynous.” I wanted something special, new and to create a gender blur. I did NOT want it to look “draggy” or “faggy.” (my impolite but sincere words)
I brought in some new guns: Jennifer Fein on wardrobe and JP on makeup. Ford delivered with Ian, an amazing guy from London who jumped in to the project with enthusiasm (I quickly found out he is also signed with Bleu in LA with my good friend Mel)
We opted to shoot at Adam’s hotel near Times Square. We shot for a total of 4 hours (including time for makeup, hair and wardrobe changes)
I always feel like I could shoot men better, but I feel this is a great leap in my work. Ian suggested the name “Xavier” for the character we shot… so enjoy the shots of Xavier!!!
Luke Smalley & Bruce Davidson
Luke Smalley: Sunday Drive @ ClampArt
I was only able to see about 8 openings yesterday because I had meetings and couldn’t come out until 6pm. And, out of the 8, 6 of them sucked. I found more people agreeing with me as I ran in to other people looking for new and fresh art. My biggest pet peeve was how many portrait photographers were flooding the art scene this week. I guess oversized shots of people’s faces just didn’t resonate with me. I understood the concepts, I saw their value, and I saw the effort and work behind them but they really didn’t “wow” me. Would I want to have a 3′x4′ photo of a homeless person looking at me from behind my sofa? And will that REALLY be socially significant in 5 years?
There were two photographers that DID stop me. One was Luke Smalley. I won’t say why I liked all of his work, I just did. That’s the thing about really good art: you just like it. Artwork with reds sell better than artwork with browns. And art with cows have a MUCH harder time selling at Christie’s and Sotheby’s than artwork that doesn’t have cows. People will never say “I like this because the red” or “I like this better than the other work because there are no cows in it,” but people will make up SOME story in their heads. So I don’t know WHY I liked Luke’s work but I DID like it. In fact, MANY people liked it (ClampArt does an exceptional job at bringing in really good work).
Luke was presenting in the same gallery as Jill Greenberg. I understand the appeal of her work and I liked the large shots of bears with her signature lighting but I kept thinking they compared to kitten posters with taglines like “Hang in there.” She is going too commercial for my taste (it doesn’t help that her monograph is loaded with sales pitches by comedians and celebrities). Maybe that is why ClampArt stuffed her in the back room.
Bruce Davidson @ Bryce Wolkowitz.
The other was Bruce Davidson showing at Bryce Wolkowitz on 24th. The gallery was featuring shots from around the US dating five decades. There was a lot of cultural significance in each of the photos. I was eavesdropping on one of the dealers while she explained each piece to a potential buyer and, well, everything about the presentation from mounting to explanations was just sweet. The photos were approachable, the gallery staff was approachable and the small space was accommodating.
Bruce’s work in portrait was everything the other portrait shooters lacked. They all had an eye however he has a sense for art and telling stories. He wasn’t just shooting blank faces and attaching some meaning as the others were doing, Bruce shot people and let people attach their own meanings. He wasn’t “trying” to be someone else (you can read that in SO many contemporary artists!) but he was just himself and at peace with his work.
I missed everything at Pace Wildenstein and several other key galleries due to getting caught up in conversations with friends I hadn’t seen in a while (I tried to go in to Pace Wildenstein but it was closing. Chuck Close was leaving and our eyes locked briefly, I feel like he was saying “Yep… come back tomorrow. You’ll enjoy yourself”). Also, I was told Bill Viola at James Cohen Gallery was really good so I will be sure to check it out Saturday when I have some free time before a shoot.
(PS: I have this habit of changing the home page on every Mac I see to my site, MichaelDonovanPhotography.com. So yesterday I changed the homepage at ClampArt to mine just as I got caught. I hope they have a sense of humor. Please let me know if you need me to come in and change it back.)
Beauty Story
Here is a piece I shot and saved for myself. It was created during the making of an editorial I directed and shot earlier this month and will be be featured next month in an art/fashion/culture mag.
Sculpting + Painting + Photography
This is my first attempt at sculpting, painting and photography.
Birth of Beauty
This was my first studio shoot in 4 months. Before that, I hadn’t shot in the studio since I lived in Chicago. This is also the first time I shot editorial/personal work in about a month (I shot for a few clients in the last month but I really didn’t shoot much). Overall, I feel it is a success!
Photos by Irving Penn
Here are some of the photos that have really inspired me. It is hard because many of the great shots are still not online, but I’ve done my best with what is available.
leave a comment