Celebrating the Chainsaw

Sugimoto by Brown

One more show to point out before I take a real summer break. It’s a show I saw in Los Angeles a few weeks ago and was incredibly impressed with. And it’s up until the end of the month.

Showing at the Robert Berman gallery in Santa Monica, it’s the work of Hugh Brown – an artist, and as you’ll see an obsessive chainsaw collector and aficionado. The show is comprised entirely of Brown’s appropriation of famous artworks into which Brown has inserted a variety of chainsaw references from the obvious to the subtle.

So we have Brown’s version of photographs by such heavy hitters as Diane Arbus, Harold Edgerton, Walker Evans, and Robert Mapplethorpe and painters like Matisse, Ed Ruscha, Jackson Pollack and dozens more. The works are so convincing that many mistook them for authentic pieces when shown last year at the California State University Fullerton Grand Central Art Center.

While the images stand on their own, there is humor and wit and intelligence behind every image. Take Brown’s Hiroshi Sugimoto piece entitled “Vista Theater (Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2)”. For this image Brown rented out the theatre and used a large format camera and an extremely long exposure to capture the entire film, just as Sugimoto did in his photographs of old American movie palaces and drive-ins.

A photographer, printmaker and assemblage artist for over 35 years, Brown has exhibited widely on the west coast, but claims his standout achievement was his prize in the “Design a Chair for Barbie” competition – not because of the second place finish but because the entry caused a fist fight amongst the judges!



Ruscha by Brown

Hockney by Brown

Arbus by Brown

Edgerton by Brown

More Video

As you may have noticed, I'm on something of a summer hiatus, but I'll try to post a few things from my summer break. In the meantime, this Canadian ad takes full advantage of high-def slow-motion.

Weekend Video

Sent to me by Jim Krantz, the highly talented photographer who is one of the original Marlboro photographers (and much of whose work was borrowed by Richard Prince). This ad promoting the launch of the Polaroid SX-70 reminds us of one of those magical moments when it seemed like the future had arrived and it was all good. What's particularly surprising is the degree to which the history and art of photography is referenced. And while photography is much more appreciated, studied, and written about today - it's highly unlikely that a digital camera would be promoted in this way.

Addendum

An anonymous but knowledgeable tipster points out that in lighter prints of the Bill Dane image, Garry Winogrand can be seen in the background.

This can be verified by looking at the clearly recognizable figure on the right in the variant image below.

Bill Dane

Also seen at the "Exposed" exhibition at the Tate Modern, this late 70s/early 80s picture by Bill Dane seems every bit as good as the picture it reminds me of, "Satiric Dancer" by Andre Kertesz.

Satiric Dancer by Andre Kertesz. 1927.

Exposed

What museum exhibition would you find the above picture of Paris Hilton on her way to jail in? 10 points if you guessed "Exposed" - a show originated by SF MoMA and now at the Tate Modern in London.

The exhibition offers a fascinating and original look at pictures made without the explicit permission of the people depicted. With photographs from the late nineteenth century to present day, the show tackles its voyeuristic theme in a way that's at once serious and pleasurable.

Beginning with the idea of the 'unseen photographer', "Exposed" presents 250 works by celebrated artists and photographers including Brassaï's erotic Secret Paris of the 1930s images; Weegee's iconic photograph of Marilyn Monroe on the set of "Some Like It Hot"; and both Nick Ut's Paris Hilton picture and his more famous image of children escaping napalm attacks in the Vietnam War.

At a time where organized surveillance is dramatically increasing and reality (or faux-reality) t.v. is the mainstay of cable, the issues raised by "Exposed" are timely and provocative. So drop by if you're in London. If not, there's an excellent catalog readily available.

The Contessa Castiglione by Pierson.

Liz Taylor and Richard Burton caught by a paparazzi.

Helmut Newton's famous image of Lisa Taylor, considered to be the first image where the female gaze was allowed to appear as predatory as a man's.

Two London Shows

Mick Jagger by David Bailey

On a flying visit to England I stopped in to Hamilton's Gallery to see the show of David Bailey's enlarged contact sheets. They're very large, effective, a trip down memory lane, and a reminder of his place as the English Avedon. Here are a few of my favorites:

Jean Shrimpton

John Lennon and Paul McCartney

The Rolling Stones

Catherine Deneuve

Next door to Hamilton's the Timothy Taylor Gallery had an original Diane Arbus show tucked away in the back - a selection of her most summery pictures. I guess it's not surprising that a photographer who roamed the streets would do well in the summer but Arbus is in some ways so dark one wouldn't always put the two together. Anyway, a selection of known and unknown: