REMEMBERING MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.

On this day, we honor Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King. Jr.

Letter From Birmingham Jail
April 16, 1963

Ernst Haas: Martin Luther King, Birmingham Jail, 1963

"While confined here in the Birmingham city jail, I came across your recent statement calling my present activities "unwise and untimely." Seldom do I pause to answer criticism of my work and ideas. If I sought to answer all the criticisms that cross my desk, my secretaries would have little time for anything other than such correspondence in the course of the day, and I would have no time for constructive work.

...But more basically, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here. Just as the prophets of the eighth century B.C. left their villages and carried their "thus saith the Lord" far beyond the boundaries of their home towns, and just as the Apostle Paul left his village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to the far corners of the Greco Roman world, so am I compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town. Like Paul, I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid."

Charles Moore: Martin Luther King, Jr. Arrested on a Loitering Charge, Montgomery, September 3, 1958

Steve Schapiro: Martin Luther King, Selma, Alabama, 1965

Stve Schapiro: Martin Luther King, Alabama, 1965

Steve Schapiro: Martin Luther King, Alabama, 1965

Steve Schapiro: On the Road, the Selma March, 1965

PHOTO LA Thursday - Sunday, January 14 - 17

Monroe Gallery of Photography is pleased to exhibit at the 2010 edition of this venerable Photography Fair January 14 - 17, 2010. We will be exhibiting specially selected work from the gallery's collection: several new acquisitions, new photographs from Stephen Wilkes, important civil rights and photoournalism prins, and introducing the work of the acclaimed photojournalists Guy Gillette, Irving Haberman, and Richard C. Miller. Visit our extra-large booth  #A-1 located in the front-left of the exhibit.

Returning to the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, photo l.a. 2010, the 19th Annual International Los Angeles Photographic Art Exposition moves back to it's former home at 1855 Main Street, Santa Monica, California. Conveniently located, just off of the 10 Freeway and two blocks from the beach.

More details here. Look for updates from the exhibit on the Monroe Gallery Facebook page. We look forward to seeing you this weekend!

DENNIS STOCK 1928 - 2010

Andeas Feininger: The Photojournalist (Dennis Stock), 1955

As reported in the New York Times
 by David W. Dunlap

Dennis Stock, whose photographs may have done almost as much to create James Dean’s public persona as the actor’s own performances, died Monday in Florida. He was 81.

The announcement was made Wednesday in New York by the Magnum Photos co-operative, where Mr. Stock was a member and a mainstay for six decades. Yes. Six decades.


“Dennis Stock seems impeccably contemporary in his perceptions, whether they be of splendid nature or ‘peccable’ humanity,” the critic and essayist Ralph Pomeroy wrote in “Contemporary Photographers” (1982). “He has managed to evoke jazz without the assistance of sound — its places, its atmosphere, its times, its makers.”

Stock’s choice of subject, his attitude of observance, the ‘color’ of his interests, reveal him as truly of his time, not in the sense of being ‘with it,’ which has to do with the ephemeral and fashion, but in the sense of attunement to the temper of American modern experience.

As a 23-year-old, Mr. Stock came to national attention in 1951 when he won the first prize in the story division of Life magazine’s young photographers’ contest for his essay on the arrival in New York of displaced persons from Europe who had been homeless since the end of World War II.

In “Get the Picture: A Personal History of Journalism” (1998), John G. Morris recalled that Gjon Mili, for whom Mr. Stock was then working, believed at that moment that the young man was ready to go out on his own. Robert Capa agreed and brought him aboard Magnum. Mr. Morris continued:

Dennis is probably best known today for his 1955 essay on James Dean — and specifically for a single image of Dean, in Times Square, walking the ‘Street of Broken Dreams,’ his shoulders hunched, his head pulled low inside an overcoat. The essay appeared in Life and did much to help make the short-lived actor a cult figure.

Mr. Stock avidly kept track of new developments in photography and regularly submitted comments to the Lens blog — on the work of Christopher Anderson, John Trotter, Bill Eppridge, Emilio Morenatti and the depiction of suffering in art.

“The goal for the photographer is be be visually articulate,” Mr. Stock wrote. “If the subject is in a suffering circumstance, it is all the more preferable to apply craft to the utmost. Call it art or not, we photographers should always try to pass on our observations with the utmost clarity.”

Mark Lubell, Magnum’s New York bureau chief, said he had been in discussions with Mr. Stock as recently as two weeks ago about future distribution plans. “Dennis’s dedication to his craft and his desire to ensure Magnum’s future have been extremely important to the organization,” he said.

MONROE GALLERY AT PHOTO LA: The 19th Annual International Los Angeles Photographic Art Exposition; January 14-17, 2010

Monroe Gallery of Photography is pleased to exhibit at the 2010 edition of this venerable Photography Fair. We will be exhibiting specially selected work from the gallery's collection:  several new acquisitions, new photographs from Stephen Wilkes, and introducing the work of the acclaimed photojournalists Guy Gillette, Irving Haberman, and Richard C. Miller. (As always, please contact Monroe Gallery if you would like to arrange for us to bring any particular photograph from  the gallery to the show.)

Returning to the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, photo l.a. 2010, the 19th Annual International Los Angeles Photographic Art Exposition moves back to it's former home at 1855 Main Street, Santa Monica, California. Conveniently located, just off of the 10 Freeway and two blocks from the beach.

The opening night reception will benefit the Wallis Annenberg Photography Department at LACMA and is hosted by noted photographer David LaChapelle and actor /photographer Chris Lowell. To order tickets visit: www.lacma.org/art/photola.aspx or email photola@lacma.org Please check their website for LACMA’s curated lecture program programming schedule.

Over the past eighteen years photo l.a. has earned a reputation as one of the foremost art fairs and the leading photo-based events in the country. Presenting the finest galleries from around the globe, this 19th edition of photo l.a. promises to be the best ever. We are very proud to be presenting a preview installation of the upcoming Museum of Latin American Art (MoLAA) exhibition: Changing the Focus: Latin American Photography (1990-2005), the first survey exhibition to be presented in the Los Angeles area of Latin American photography and photo-based art generated between 1990 and 2005. The curator, Idurre Alonso, will give a talk about the exhibition and will lead an on-site collecting seminar. Gordon Baldwin, former Curator of Photography at the Getty Institute, will also conduct an on-site collecting seminar.
Los Angeles continues to be home for more and more artists and it has become a major creative center for the production of photography and photo-based art," says Stephen Cohen, producer of Photo L.A., owner of the Stephen Cohen Gallery in Los Angeles. "Photo L.A. 2010 presents an international array of galleries and artists giving to curators, collectors, critics and art enthusiasts the opportunity to enjoy the best photography that our city and the world have to offer. Now in its 19th year, it is the longest running art fair in Los Angeles, and it will be a major cultural event in the Los Angeles fine art landscape."


Photo L.A. will feature the photographic art from the earliest 19th-century photographic experiments to the most contemporary photography and photo-based art. Many of the world's leading galleries and private dealers representing international and U.S. artists will display work at photo l.a. 2010. International galleries, including Galeria Sicart (Spain), Queensland Centre (Australia), Gallery Suite 59 (Netherlands), Czech Center for Photography (Czech Republic) and MR Gallery (Beijing), will participate in the fair. Contemporary Works/Vintage Works will also return once again to the fair, along with such major dealers as Halsted Gallery, Monroe Gallery, Susan Spiritus Gallery, Stephen White Gallery, Scott Nichols Gallery and DNJ Gallery--among many others.

Phase One of the La Brea Matrix project will debut at photo l.a. 2010. The project is produced by The Lapis Press and Schaden.com with the support of the Goethe Institut and MAK Center for Art and Architecture.
 
Opening Night Reception

Benefitting the Wallis Annenberg Photography
Department at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art

January, 14th 6 - 9 pm

Hosted by
David La Chapelle & Chris Lowell
Santa Monica Civic Center
1855 Main Street
Santa Monica, CA 90401

Buy Tickets Online

Photo L.A. will be open to the general public on Friday, January 15th, and Saturday, January 16th, from 11 am to 7 pm, and Sunday, January 17th, from 11 to 6 pm. Tickets are $20 for a one-day pass, $30 for a three-day pass and $10 for lectures. All exhibition, lecture and opening night benefit reception tickets are available for purchase in advance or at the door. For additional information on Photo L.A. 2010, including the opening benefit reception and advance ticket sales, visit http://www.photola.com/ .


Buy tickets for regular admission.

Portions Copyright © 2010 I Photo Central, LLC


MONROE GALLERY OF PHOTOGRAPHY
112 Don Gaspar
Santa Fe, NM 87501
505.992.0800
505.992.0810 (fax)
info@monroegallery.com
http://www.monroegallery.com/
Blog: http://monroegallery.blogspot.com/

HAPPY 2010!

John Phillips/Time Inc: New Year's Eve Celebration, Times Square, New York, 1941

On the one hand, the year 2000 seems like eons ago, and on the other, it is hard to believe ten years - a decade - have passed. We wish everyone a wonderful start to a new year and a new decade.

Sidney and Michelle Monroe

http://www.monroegallery.com/

http://monroegallery.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/Monroegallery

http://www.facebook.com/monroegallery

PEACE

Eddie Adams: Shepard, Bethlehem, 1970

'TIS THE SEASON

Sidney and Michelle Monroe wish you a joyous Holiday Season and a New Year full of happiness. We graciously thank you for your kind support and encouragement.

As the Holidays are upon us, we are pleased to share with you a selection of our favorite seasonal photographs. Enjoy! (Update: Thank you for your feedback! It has inspired us to install a special exhibit in the gallery, on view now through January 3.)

Bill Ray: Three Santa Clauses leaving Downtown IRT Subway, New York, 1958

Martha Holmes: Dean of Santas giving a lecture at the Waldorf Astoria Santa Convention, New York, 1948

Mick Rock: Truman Capote and Andy Warhol, New York, 1979

Alfred Eisenstaedt: Truman Capote, Rockefeller Center, New York, 1959

Alfred Eisenstaedt: Ice Skating Waiter, St. Moritz, 1932

Jacques Henri-Lartigue: Doudy de Cazalet,  Megeve, 1933

John Dominis: Robert Redford,  Sundance, Utah, 1969

Eddie Adams: Hill and Gully Riders New Kensington, PA, 1958

Ralph Morse: Tug-of-war during snowstorm at Timberline Lodge Ski Club, 1942

John Dominis: Southern Pacific Engine Donner Pass, California 1949

 Alfred Eisenstaedt:  Trees in snow, St. Moritz, 1947

Verner Reed: Trees in Snow, Stowe, Vermont, 1971

Verner Reed: Maine Morning, Pemaquid, ME, 1978

Alfred Eisenstaedt: Central Park after a Snowstorm, New York, 1969

Ida Wyman: Wrought Iron in Snow, New York, 1947

Ruth Orkin: White Stoops, New York, 1951

John Loengard: Henry Moore's Sheep Piece, Hertfordshire, England, 1983

Shepard Sherbell: Nentsy Family, Siberian Arctic, 1992

Kendall Nelson: Tired and Weary, Spanish Ranch, Tuscarrora, Nevada, 1999

Eddie Adams: Shepherd, Bethlehem, 1970

John Phillips: New Year's Eve Celebration at Midnight Welcoming 1942, Times Square, New York

Also, in time for the holidays, see our current exhibit On The Town, featuring classic photographs of celebrations and merriment.

© All Photographs Copyright by Respective Copyright Holders.

MONROE GALLERY OF PHOTOGRAPHY

112 Don Gaspar

Santa Fe, NM 87501

505.992.0800

505.992.0810 (fax)

info@monroegallery.com

http://www.monroegallery.com/

NEW YORK: DAY INTO NIGHT, WASHINGTON SQUARE PARK. Photograph by Stephen Wilkes

This photograph is in the current issue of New York magazine (although somewhat obscured by "10 Reasons To Love New York" text!). It continues Wilkes' experimentation of changing time withing a photograph.

In a recent interview with F-Stop, Wilkes explained:

"Changing time in a single photograph is a very interesting concept. The genesis of this idea really happened many years ago when I was working for Life magazine on “a big picture”. They hired me to photograph Claire Danes and Leonardo Dicaprio as Romeo and Juliet, and I had an opportunity to photograph them along with the entire cast and crew in Mexico City where they were filming. We spent about four days waiting to actually get the entire cast and crew into this one photograph and Life had asked me to create a panoramic gatefold. When we got to the set, I realized that the set was actually a huge square. So I decided to take the square and break it apart, ala David Hockney, using individual images. I ended up shooting over 250 images that I pasted together by hand. The interesting time aspect came into play when in the centre of the photograph is where the stars are, Leonardo Dicaprio and Claire Danes, they

literally in a moment of embrace when everybody else, cast and crew, is surrounding them. To the right side of the photograph is a huge mirror, probably 20 feet in height. I asked them to kiss for the reflection image. So the reflection does not match the centre embrace, they are kissing in the reflection. When you look at the photograph quickly you think the image in the mirror is a reflection. But then you realize that the reflection is a time change and a completely different moment. That idea stayed with me for a while. "

Here are the photographs:

detail

Wilkes' recently photographed The Highline using the same technique:

As Wilkes explained in the F-Stop interview:

"The shot appealed to Wilkes because of the “intimacy” it offered with the buildings. But shooting from rooftops didn’t satisfy him. “Everything was a little too high,” he said. “I was losing the intimacy.” So he shot from a cherry picker at points throughout the day, then worked with a retoucher to electronically blend the images together. He wanted to capture the floating, expansive feeling that had drawn him to the Highline to begin with, and settled on a 17th Street location. This ended up being key, as the other challenge of the shoot was finding an effective transition point between day and night shots. Wilkes picked a good spot.

Wilkes shot this image using a 39 megapixel digital back on a 4 x 5 camera. He embraces large-format photography because it gives his all-important details greater depth. “So much of my work is about levels of story,” he says. He rotated the camera manually on a tripod throughout the day as he shot tons of images of the Highline while different street scenes unfolded within his frame (“The last thing you want to do is come back to the studio and have this great picture but realize you’re missing something”). He varied his exposure throughout, keeping a constant f-stop but varying the shutter speed to allow for proper exposure as the sun set. Periodically he and his retoucher, who was in the cherry picker with him, would load images onto a laptop and start creating rough comps to make sure he was getting what he needed."

To see more of Stephen Wilkes' work, please click here. The full collection of  "New York, Day To Night" will be exhibited at Monroe Gallery of Photography April 27 - June 30, 2012

NEIL LEIFER BOOK SIGNING EVENT DRAWS BIG TURNOUT IN SANTA FE

We started to write about this weekend's special book signing by Neil Leifer of his recent book, "Guts and Glory: the Golden Age of American Football". But another blogger did a better post. See below.


What’s Wrong With This Picture?

Copyright M.G. Bralley

These are Michelle and Sidney Monroe. They own the Monroe Gallery of Photography at 112 Don Gaspar, in Santa Fe.

It features post World War II photojournalism; mostly from the age of the weekly photo magazine; the LIFE and LOOK era.

Visiting the gallery and its 10 to 12 exhibitions each year chronicle recent history through the lenses of some of the most prominent photojournalist of the last 65 years.

So what’s wrong with this picture?

As is my practice, those who make it to my blog roll, right, do so only after having had a post written about them. These are the sites I read and recommend to my readers.

In this case, Sidney started it.

In the background of the host of this site, Blogger, there is a section that indicates people who regularly follow your work. Monroe Gallery of Photography is one such follower.

He also is a good editor of the art and photographic scene. He has his twitter site on his blogspot and it is worth following.

I was first introduced to Monroe’s through a University Art Studio class visit in 2002.

The gallery had moved from lower Manhattan after the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. Though blocks away, their gallery was within what Sidney called “the zone,” the area that was without power for months following the attacks.

The Monroes knew Santa Fe and moved after 20 years.

The Monroes backgrounds as art curators stem from their work: Sidney is the economics end the business, who says he is not photographically inclined, he was the retail manager for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Michelle worked at Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Senior Life magazine photojournalist Alfred Eisenstaedt turned to the Monroes to assemble his first exhibition and then to represent the sale of his work, above.

Over the years the Monroes came to know many of the photojournalists of the 20th and now 21st century whom they would go on to represent.

The gallery is a continuously changing museum of history.

This weekend they brought in Neil Leifer, left, the renowned photojournalist, possibly best known for his years of work at Sport Illustrated, for a book signing event.

I always knew I was not a sports photographer by simply looking at Leifer’s work.

Leifer’s biography is about a young man with great eye, timing, and a true understanding of sports.

One of his favorite subjects was Muhammad Ali, me too. I shot Ali, above, while he was banned from fighting.

Saturday afternoon I went to the book signing and ran into one of the biggest sports fans in New Mexico, Governor Bill Richardson. He owns a print of the photo of Ali taunting Sonny Liston after knocking him out in their rematch. The print was a birthday gift from political friends and staff according to New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs Secretary Stuart Ashman, who was also present.

Richardson dominated the conversation, yet no one seemed to have any complaint because the Governor drew out stories about historic sporting events.

Leifer turned the tables when he challenged Richardson to identify some of the men in the photo of President John Kennedy and Vice President Lyndon Johnson during an opening game at a Washington Senators' baseball game. For the ultimate sports and political fan, Richardson was unable to aid Leifer in trying to identify the unknown people in the Presidential box.

I recognized some, but they were the major political figures of the day from Capitol Hill. Leifer believes the unknown men to have been Baseball Commission officials.

The early 1960s is a long time ago. I was still playing little league. Richardson was already playing school ball. The Governor bought a copy of Leifer's book, Ballet In The Dirt: The Golden Age Of Baseball.

As much as I appreciate Leifer’s work, I can’t afford an original, a book or two, yes. However, Liefer asked that I send a picture of him with the Governor, so he has an MGB original.

About  M.G. Bralley

I am a retired law enforcement officer who has a life long interest in photography and journalism. I focus mainly on issues of local politics, though I will step off into state, national and international issues. I have a history of watching government closely with a particular eye on process. I look carefully for the unusual, quirky and any exceptions that are granted which cause unfair treatment amongst citizens or businesses. I view governmental activity first through a constitutional lens. Then I assess adherence to process, the rule of law and the rules that govern them. I look for and attempt to expose hypocrisies and inconsistencies. I also look for laws that do not forward the ideals of human rights. I will rail at bad, unenforceable, unconstitutional laws and those who create and attempt to enforce them. Original photographs, photographic and video services are available upon request.

Stephen Wilkes’ Ellis Island Exhibit at Steuben Glass Gallery

Stephen Wilkes’ Ellis Island Exhibit at Steuben Glass Gallery

All rights reserved © Bernstein & Andriulli


Steuben Glass has made functional and fine art glass products for over 100 years in New York. Their involvement in the arts has lead them to collaborate with artists such as Isamu Noguchi, Miro, and Georgia O’Keefe. The Madison Avenue flagship store houses an expansive gallery that is now showing the work of Stephen Wilkes.

For five years, Wilkes photographed the hospital complex on Ellis Island where immigrants with questionable health and contagious diseases were kept. Some eventually joined their families across the Hudson River, while others perished before they could reach their new life.

Wilkes’ photographs are of abandoned rooms with peeling paint and empty hallways overtaken by plant growth. Since his time on the island, the hospital buildings have been renovated and the signs of the past have been removed. Visit the exhibit Ellis Island: Ghosts of Freedom to get an eye-opening look into what was once the gateway to America, captured in time.

Stephen Wilkes, Ellis Island: Ghosts of Freedom

The Steuben Gallery

667 Madison Avenue

New York, NY 10065

Showing now until January 4th, 2009



Robert Nachman, Creative Director of Steuben Glass, talks about the impact of Stephen Wilkes’ work, the importance of history, and more.

Hospital extension, women’s ward

How did you first learn about Stephen Wilkes?

I first saw Wilkes’ work at Photo LA several years ago when he just started to do the Ellis Island photos and I’ve always been a personal fan of it.

What is it about Wilkes’ work that you think resonates with viewers?

I think just on a visceral level, it’s the beauty of the colors and forms… so on one hand you have the beauty of the imagery, the colors, the forms, the textures, and the light – it’s so gorgeous. But you also have this wonderful evocative equality of the history [of Ellis Island] which we all sort of know. I have family that went through Ellis Island, so knowing what that place was and seeing what it looks like now, it brings up all this emotion of this important place that’s been lost in time.

Psychiatric Hospital, wall study with light switch

How has the response been to the show?

For the people that aren’t familiar with it, there’s a two part unveiling for them where they first look at the pictures, and then when they realize what it is they are completely taken aback. For those who are familiar with it or have read the sign, they are also taken aback by the experience itself. I think that the size of the images are breathtaking and people have a strong reaction to it.

Also, everyone has their favorites which is true of most exhibits. Even though there’s a range of shots – exterior, interiors, one is just a wall – there are still wonderful details. For example, there’s this one room with a tiny mirror hanging above the sink and the Statue of Liberty is reflected in it (Tuberculosis Ward, Statue Liberty, Island 3). And then when they see it everyone goes “oh my god!” and there’s this wonderful process of discovery.

L to R: Tuberculosis ward, Isolation ward

What is the lasting impression that you think the show leaves?

I think the most memorable image by far is the cover of the book, the light is so beautiful and with the foliage it looks jewel-encrusted. The whole show evokes the imagination of a place lost in time, like Miss Haversham’s house crawling in vines in Great Expectations or when the kids return to Narnia and find everything in ruins, but the amazing part is that Ellis Island is actually real. It’s just a wonderful emotive experience that you go through when you explore the show. If you have been out to Ellis Island since the renovation, to see these images of complete dilapidation and then to learn how it has been brought back to life again, there is so much that future generations can learn.

Definitely. Ellis Island remains a living monument in American history. Stephen Wilkes’ photographs takes viewers on a journey through a past that will never be seen again. Thank you for your time Robert.
-Helen Shih


Ellis Island: Ghosts of Freedom is now on view at Steuben Gallery on 667 Madison Avenue, New York, NY until January 4th. View more work by Stephen Wilkes.

A vine covered corridor, the cover of the book (Corridor #9)

Nurse’s quarters

The Autoclave

Window Study, Isolation ward



































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