Monday, August 27, 2012

Happy Sad

Aaron Hobson  STONES

Aaron Hobson  PILLARS

Aaron Hobson  SWEEPING MAN

Aaron Hobson  ZEN 
It feels  great to have the chance to purchase Aaron Hobson photography, I get four beautiful prints and become a part of a community supporting one man who will help. Some of us dream others act. This is a way to act .

all images copyrighted

Thursday, August 16, 2012

WORDS ARE ALL THAT I HAVE

A question I get asked often is, who are you collecting?

I am not collecting as much as I did in the past. How many photographs can one man have ? Stuff has to be taken care of and as I get older there are moments when I can barely take care of my self .This does not mean I have stopped but that I am a little more focused. As some of you may know I have worked with FWAB for the past 11 years. I have come to know a lot of artist/photographers who have given generously over the years not only to Friends Without A Border, but many others causes. I am beginning to believe photographers = generosity of spirit. That being said, started to collect images that are created to do something for social justice, health issue and problems that effect us all. 
Was please to have found out while working on the post for Aaron Hobson  that he has started to devote time and resources to a new project called Tohoku which I should let him speak about.
MISSION/PROJECT: 
More than one year after the Tōhoku earthquake and resulting tsunami, the devastation remains visible and the amount of work still to be done seems exceedingly daunting (some estimate 10 years). What remains of fishing villages and small cities, has been organized into huge mounds carefully separated by category: cars, boats, household debris, metal, fishing and oceanic supplies, with piles reaching as high as five stories and encompassing 5-10 city blocks. The following images were gathered from hundreds of miles of “virtual travel” along the eastern coast of the Tōhoku region via Google Earth Street View. During these travels it was extremely rare to come across any street view in the region that didn’t have a crew diligently working or small groups of fisherman trying to go about their daily lives.

I want to help be a part of the rebuild... and not by just taking photos or print sales to donate cash to foundations like the Red Cross, but with actual hands-on physical labor. I plan on working with the nonprofit Disaster Relief Organization It's Not Just Mud (INJM). After "visiting" hundreds miles of coastline via streetview during the creation this series, I have not been able to stop thinking about the people affected from this disaster. Maybe I can relate to these small remote villages because I also live in a remote village, or maybe it was seeing the destruction so clearly in near real-time, block by block for miles and miles? Assisting in the relief efforts is something that I NEED to do, not just want to do. My goal is to assist in any capacity necessary with INJM, as well as, making this an annual effort on my part. I will be documenting my efforts and will post photos both during and after my trip.

I can't make this happen without your help. All the images in this series are all for sale and 100% of the proceeds contributing to any requisite travel costs. Any remaining funds will be donated to It's Not Just Mud to help aid in their continued efforts. For more information about It’s Not Just Mud and its recent projects, visit the website at itsnotjustmud.com.


The 9.0 undersea megathrust earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tōhoku, Japan, occurred on Friday, March 11, 2011. It was the most powerful known earthquake to have ever hit Japan, and one of the five most powerful earthquakes in the world, since modern record-keeping began in 1900. The earthquake triggered powerful tsunami waves that reached heights of up to 40.5 meters (133 ft.) in Miyako in Tōhoku’s Iwate Prefecture, and which, in the Sendai area, traveled up to 10 km. (6 mi.) inland. The earthquake moved Honshu 2.4 m. (8 ft.) east and shifted the Earth on its axis by estimates of between 10 cm. (4 in.) and 25 cm. (10 in.).

On March 12, 2012, a Japanese National Police Agency report confirmed 15,854 deaths, 26,992 injured, and 3,155 people missing across twenty prefectures. The report also indicated 129,225 buildings were totally collapsed, with a further 254,204 buildings ‘half collapsed’, and another 691,766 buildings partially damaged. Around 4.4 million households in northeastern Japan were left without electricity and 1.5 million without water. Early estimates placed insured losses from the earthquake alone at $14.5 to $34.6 billion (in U.S. funds). The World Bank’s estimated economic cost was $235 billion (U.S. funds), making it the most expensive natural disaster in world history
 $25 + $6 USA shipping, $15 International shipping
editions of 25 (10" x 20") 

You will find a secure "Buy Now" button beneath each image for convenient purchasing options via Paypal or you can email if you would rather mail a check. (info@aaronhobson.com)

copyright © cinemascapist 2012


Thursday, August 9, 2012

Things Left In Drawers

Stanely Stellar    I Have Birds 2 1976

Brian David Stevens   John



One of my favorite artist is a British Pre-Raphaelite painter Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, I became aware of his painting after seeing them in a magazine. I liked the fluid yet precise style that he painted. Even though the subject matter today could seem a bit arched .I bought a few postcards and books to save and savor. Burne-Jones figures have a type of light and grace that is almost drug like.

We all have drawers that we keep stuff in or maybe a bulletin board or an inspiration wall. I have a drawer I keep collage material in and one of the things I kept for over 35 years was a postcard with this image by Stanley Stellar called I Have Birds 2.Once I saw it I thought immediately of Sir Burne-Jones. the simple gesture of the hands, the light, the torso,the draping of the tee shirt .I always felt or wanted to believe that there was a connection to the 19th Century, the sweetness of youth.

Over the years ripped out many photographs revealing bird tattoos but this is the one for me. Recently while viewing  Brian David Stevens website I saw this portrait of John,which made me go into the drawer and rescue I Have Birds 2 so it could engage in a conversation about art and time.

There are still great photo and art postcards out there.Some of the best are being produce by Fotofolio in New York


Wednesday, August 8, 2012

5 New Images From The Cinemascapist, Aaron Hobson


Street View Edition  is the latest series Aaron Hobson is working on the photographs still remain a bit dangerous and sexy to parphrase John Wood .In his statement about what he is creating Aaron says that he is" in search of enchanted and remote lands typically only reserved for the eyes of its inhabitants, but now are captured on camera by the automated and aesthetically-neutered street view cars that linger. Void of the main character (self-portrait) and an internal view, these images represent the closing chapter of 4 years of cinemascapes with an external view of the world." I was originally planning on calling this blog The Great Quiet the images have the silence of a ghost town, the silence where you hear everything.

 La Linea de la Concepcion, Spain

 Inverallochy, Scotland 

  Saint-Nicolas-de-la-Grave, France

 Route 17, South Africa  

 Posada de Valdeón, Spain



all images copyrighted Aaron Hobson : The Cinemascapist

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Dark, Even Darker, Winter : Aaron Hobson, the cinemascapist

I often hear the expression " a picture tells stories " when in reality most pictures leave you wanting to know more.There are times when you look at photographs and say did I leave the room, what is happening here ? Maybe photographs fall into two categories the literal and the poetic.The literal allows the viewer to create his own story,to think he knows. Understanding the poetic is always a bit more  elusive, it worries us so, there is never one story, one conclusion so we keep coming back.

I do not remember how or when I came upon the work of Aaron Hobson except that it was about three years ago. I emailed him to let him know that I was moved by his images.There is a sense of isolation and hurt that does not go away.I can not remember if I've ever spoken to Aaron but I still visit his site.
Attracted to his still frames that are parts of a larger epic. I have wonder at times that if this is a scripted autobiography maybe all will be revealed or not in the last reel.

Long Cold Night 
My Back Window
Faraway

Pest Control

Steel town

64 Mercury
I found this to be a difficult edit so once again I encourage you to visit his site www.aaronhobson.com/ 

I will say that this Cinemascapist site is well edit and undated easy to navigate.

all images copyright by Aaron Hobson the cinemascapist

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

 GO + SEE


JIM MARSHALL : The Rolling Stones and Beyond


Steven Kasher Gallery
521 West 23 Street
New York NY 10011
212- 226 - 1485


Skip James, Newport Folk Festival, 1964



In November 1969 with a filled Madison Garden crowd I witness the concert of the year, Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones. It was the first concert I ever stood on line to buy tickets for. B.B King and Ike and Tina Turner were opening acts .


1969 was a wild and wonderful year in New York, in America .


So when I went to Steven Kasher Gallery I thought it would be a great moment to roll around in the nostalgia of my reckless rock and roll youth during the period when parents did not admit to liking anything their kids listen to.


There are so many wonderful images of The Stones and the Beatles and others of that older era. A lot of behind the scenes
in rock arenas, small clubs and the long missed Newport Jazz Festival. This exhibition has been one of the best reviewed in New York this summer.


All I have to say about it is, that I found a photograph that touched me. I had never seen it before but I plan on looking at it a lot. I know this man. I like this moment and the gentle mystery is he tipping his hat or on the verge of taking it off to wipe his head.


The crumple handkerchief looks like a blooming flower, I stood in front of this photograph a long time, waiting for Mr James to finish, knowing he is fixed beautifully in this moment.


If you wished to read reviews just google James Marshall they are there. If you want to find a surprise and remember a time go + see .


Steven Kasher Gallery

hours are Tuesday - Saturday, 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.  closed August 12 - September 3. 
The show runs through  September 8th.

Copyright Jim Marshall Photography LLC, Courtesy Steven Kasher Gallery, New York