Tuesday, April 23, 2019

EXHIBITION: BOB GOMEL


Black Muslim Leader Malcolm X Photographing Cassius Clay Surrounded by Fans After He Beat Sonny Liston for the Heavy Weight Championship, Miami, February, 1964


 Opening reception with LIFE magazine photographer Bob Gomel

Friday, April 26  5-7 pm


The triumphs and tragedies of the 1960s provided photographer Bob Gomel and his LIFE magazine colleague’s extraordinary opportunities to advance American photojournalism. "LIFE was the world's best forum for photojournalists. We were encouraged to push creative and technical boundaries. There was no better place to work in that extraordinary decade." The exhibition includes images of presidents John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, The Beatles, Marilyn Monroe, Malcolm X, and sports figures such as boxer Muhammad Ali, baseball legend Sandy Koufax, and golfer Arnold Palmer. Several unpublished images - including one of 90 heads of state gathered around the catafalque at the Kennedy funeral and another of John F. Kennedy emerging from America's first space capsule at the Johnson Space Center in Houston - are in the exhibition.



Also featured is Gomel's perhaps most known photograph: of then 8 - year old John F. Kennedy Jr. standing solemnly at the funeral ofhis uncle, Robert Kennedy, in front of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York. This photograph appeared in a two-page spread in the June 1968 “Special Kennedy Issue” of LIFE magazine.



Bob Gomel was born (1933) and raised in New York City. After serving four years in the U.S. Navy, he was promptly offered a job at the Associated Press. But by then, he had changed his mind about what he wanted to do. “I just felt one picture wasn’t sufficient to tell a story,” he explains. “I was interested in exploring something in depth. And, of course, the mecca was Life magazine.”He turned down the offer from AP, and began working for LIFE in 1959, producing many memorable images. When LIFE ceased being a weekly in the early 1970s, he began making photographs for other major magazines. Also in the 1970s, he branched out into advertising photography. Among other accounts, he helped introduce Merrill Lynch’s Bullish on America campaign.



Bob says, “Each time I raised a camera to my eye I wondered how to make a viewer say, “wow.” What followed were the use of double exposures to tell a more complete story; placing remote cameras where no human being could be; adapting equipment to reveal what could not ordinarily be captured on film. My goal with people was to penetrate the veneer, to reveal the true personality or character. The ideal was sometimes mitigated by circumstances, a lack of time or access. But more often than not what the mind conceived could be translated into successful photographic images. Life Magazine in the 60s sold 8,000,000 copies a week. It was a great honor to be a part of that information highway.”

Thursday, April 4, 2019

Two years on: a photographic tribute to Standing Rock

Two Dine woman hold strong in sovereignty, only speaking their 
ancestral language at Turtle Island, Thanksgiving, 2016


Via HUCK Magazine
April 3, 2019

Two years on: a photographic tribute to Standing Rock
‘The fight isn’t over’



Photographer Ryan Vizzions looks back on one of the largest protest movements in American history: what’s changed since, and what he hopes will come next. (click for full article)



Photographs from Ryan Vizzions: No Spiritual Surrender: A Dedication to Standing Rock will be view at Monroe Gallery during The Photography Show presented by AIPAD (April 4–7). He will be signing books on Friday, April 5 at AIPAD. A second signing will be held April 12 at Monroe Gallery in Santa Fe.


Saturday, March 30, 2019




Monroe Gallery at the AIPAD Photography Show 2019



Ryan Vizzions: A church flooded by Hurricane Florence stands silently in its reflection in Burgaw, North Carolina, 2018




Santa Fe— Monroe Gallery of Photography will be exhibiting 20th and 21st Century photojournalists and documentary photographers in Booth #706 during the 2019 AIPAD Photography Show. 


Highlights include Ryan Vizzions dramatic photographs from the Dakota Access Pipeline protests at Standing Rock in 2016-7; Vizzions will be signing copies of his new book documenting the protest movement “No Spiritual Surrender: A Dedication to Standing Rock” in the Monroe Gallery of Photography booth on Friday, April 5, 5-7 pm alongside his photographs.


Vizzions photographs of the aftereffects of Hurricane Florence in North Carolina will be also on view together with Stephen Wilkes’ large-format color photographs documenting Hurricanes Sandy and Katrina. These hauntingly beautiful photographs draw the viewer into the larger story of climate change. 


Several photographs of the American civil rights era are coupled with contemporary images from the Black Lives Matter movement, Neo-Nazi protests, and President Donald Trump.


Completing the AIPAD exhibit will be a range of work by Tony Vaccaro, now 96 years old. We are especially excited to have Tony Vaccaro present in our booth for most days of the Show. After photographing WWII as a soldier Vaccaro went on to become one the most sought after photographers of his day and is enjoying a career renaissance.


The term “fake news’ is now commonplace; documentary evidence has been denied or disputed by those in power, and coupled with the US administration's attacks on the press, the work of photojournalists is a reminder that photojournalism is a vital and necessary component of a free society. For further information, please call: 505.992.0800; E-mail: info@monroegallery.com.

For more information including directions to the show, click here.

Monday, March 18, 2019

Ryan Vizzions: No Spiritual Surrender - A Dedication To Standing Rock


©Ryan Vizzions
Protesters face off with police and the National Guard on February 1, 2017, 
near Cannon Ball, North Dakota




Santa Fe--Monroe Gallery of Photography is pleased to announce the release of an important photobook by independent photojournalist Ryan Vizzions documenting the Standing Rock movement. “No Spiritual Surrender: A Dedication to Standing Rock” will be first released at a special book signing during the AIPAD Photography Show in New York at Pier 94. Ryan Vizzions will be signing copies in the Monroe Gallery of Photography booth #706, on Friday, April 5. A second book signing will take place Friday, April 12 in Santa Fe, New Mexico at the Monroe Gallery. (Books are only available for in-person sales at these event, no orders or reserves.) Monroe Gallery of Photography is the exclusive representative for Vizzions’ fine art photography. 


The 11” x 8.5” hardcover bound book comprises 5 visual chapters with 117 photographs across 166 full color pages. Vizzions’ takes the viewer inside the resistance camps, both showing frontline resistance to the pipeline and conflict with the over 50 law enforcement agencies from over 10 states, as well as the spirit and life of the camp itself. Featured in the book are writings by Joye Braun, Paula Antoine, Bobby Jean Three Legs, Waniya Locke, Jennifer Weston, and Morgan Brings Plenty, -   Oceti Sakowin women -  to provide context and history of the Standing Rock reservation.


Between April of 2016 and March of 2017 one of the largest social justice movements in American history took place in the plains of North Dakota on the Standing Rock reservation. With an oil pipeline threatening the drinking water of the Standing Rock Sioux and 17 million people downstream on the Missouri River, thousands of people ascended upon the resistance camps to stand in solidarity with the Lakota Sioux and oppose the construction of the pipeline. From early spring of 2016 to late winter of 2017, over 15,000 people camped in tipis, army tents and vehicles without the use of electricity in an attempt to raise awareness and prevent the possible contamination of Lake Oahe, the source of drinking water for the reservation. Over 300 tribes and indigenous communities traveled to the camps, as well as nearly 4000 veterans and 500 clergy, to stand in solidarity with the NODAPL movement. 


In September of 2016, Ryan Vizzions traveled from Atlanta, Georgia to stand in solidarity with the movement. Bringing his camera with him, but not intending to be a media source, Vizzions soon found himself using social media to reach over half a billion people with his photographic documentation of events unfolding over the months. With viral reach of one photograph in particular, "Defend The Sacred", Vizzions’ photography helped bring awareness around the world to the movement. Vizzions documentation of his 6 months at Oceti Sakowin camp was selected for the "Photos of the Year" by People Magazine, ABC News, The Guardian, Artsy.net; and as well his work has been featured in the Nobel Peace Prize forums, Adbusters, Huffington Post, Mother Jones, Amnesty International and many more publications as well as books such as "The Militarization of Indian Country" by Winona LaDuke & "An Indigenous Peoples History of The United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz. 


100 advance copies are being made available exclusively through the Monroe Gallery book signing events, and proceeds from these releases will be given to the Water Protectors to help against KXL Pipeline, another oil pipeline threatening the same indigenous lands as DAPL. From the total edition of 2,000 500 books are being donated to Water Protector families across the nation as a thank you for standing in support of the water. On April 1st pre-orders will open to allow the public to access the book.

Signed copies are available from Monroe Gallery of Photography.





Atlanta based photographer Ryan Vizzions first discovered his love for exploration and photography in 2010 while on a self discovery trip around the world. In Atlanta, Vizzions has been named Creative Loafing 2014 "Best Fine Art Photographer" (readers choice), 2015 Creative Loafing "Best Cityscape Photographer" (critics pick), worked alongside international brands such as Adidas and Pharrell Williams, along with local companies such as #WeLoveATL, The Atlanta Opera, Van Michael Salon, and covered many music festivals including Outkast's long awaited reunion series "Outkast ATLast". Hosting his own photo exhibition yearly entitled "Wander Never Wonder", Vizzions connects local photographers, and helps provide a platform for local artists to make money off of their craft. Ryan is also involved with the Atlanta community, often donating portions of his art sales to various local charities and foundations. 


Tuesday, March 12, 2019

Finding Beauty, an Interview with Photographer Tony Vaccaro



Via Dressed Podcast






Finding Beauty, an Interview with Photographer Tony Vaccaro
March 12, 2019


Hubert de Givenchy photographed by Tony Vaccaro, France 1961
Tony Vaccaro / @Tony Vaccaro Archive


This week, we talk to the photographer Tony Vaccaro about his prolific seventy-plus year career photographing fashion, celebrity and World War. His subjects include Dovima, Verushka, Hubert de Givenchy, Pablo Picasso and Georgia O'Keefe. Click to listen (Interview starts after brief commercial)







Monday, February 18, 2019

New Chicago Work: Photographs by Steve Schapiro





Via Gage Gallery at Roosevelt University


Opening Reception and Q & A with Steve Schapiro and WBEZ’s Jason Marck, Thursday, February 21st, 5-7pm. (Q & A begins at 5:30). Exhibition continues through May 9, 2019

Free and open to the public

This is the second of two exhibitions showcasing the historical and contemporary work of internationally acclaimed photographer Steve Schapiro. The first exhibition that closed on December 22, 2018, was devoted to his contact sheets from the civil rights era. This second exhibition highlights his current photographs from the Black Lives Matter and anti-violence protest movements in Chicago. A smaller exhibition featuring his photographs from Chicago’s Misericordia Heart of Mercy home will also be on display.

American photojournalist Steve Schapiro has documented six decades of American culture, from the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the presidential campaign of Robert F. Kennedy to Andy Warhol’s Factory and the filming of The Godfather trilogy. He has published a dozen books of his photographs, has exhibited his work in shows from Los Angeles to Moscow, and is represented in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian Institution, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the J. Paul Getty Museum, among others.

Sponsored by The College of Arts and Sciences, Roosevelt University with generous financial support from Susan B. Rubnitz, and Elyse Koren-Camarra, along with a donor who wishes to remain anonymous.

A companion exhibition, “Activists and Icons: The Photographs of Steve Schapiro”, is on display at the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center in Skokie through June 23, 2019.

The exhibition features iconic as well as never-before-seen photos of the Civil Rights Movement and cultural and political change-agents of recent history. For more information, visit ilholocaustmuseum.org.


Thursday, February 14, 2019

HISTORY IN PICTURES

Carl Mydans
Female French Collaborator Having Her Head Shaved During Liberation of Marseilles, 1944



February 15 - April 7, 2019

“History In Pictures” is a gripping selection of images that brings home the power of visual storytelling. These unforgettable images are imbedded in our collective consciousness; they form a sort of shared visual heritage for the human race, a treasury of significant memories. Many of the photographs featured in this exhibition not only moved the public at the time of their publication, and continue to have an impact today, but set social and political changes in motion. Several of the photographs in the exhibition are consistently referred to as among the most influential photographs in history; they shaped the way we think, changed the way we live, and some were turning points in our human experience.


Looking at the pictorial documentation of such extraordinary events we often get the impression that we are feeling the pulse of history more intensively than at other times. Although often not beautiful, or easy, they are images that shake and disquiet us; and are etched in our memories forever.

View the exhibition on-line here.

Saturday, January 26, 2019

PHOTO LA FAIR 2019



Monroe Gallery of Photography is very pleased to exhibit at the Photo LA Fair January 31st - February 3rd, 2019, in The Historic Barker Hangar, Santa Monica, CA.

Monroe Gallery will be located near the front entrance of the fair in Booth #A01.

We are especially excited that Tony Vaccaro will be in attendance during the Fair January  in the gallery’s booth. On Friday, February 1, Photo LA will screen the HBO documentary “Under Fire: The Untold Story of Private First Class Tony Vaccaro”. The film tells the story of how Tony survived the war, fighting the enemy while also documenting his experience at great risk, developing his photos in combat helmets at night and hanging the negatives from tree branches. The screening will be followed by a Q & A with Tony Vaccaro. (Seating is limited, tickets required from the Photo LA Fair). Also in attendance will be Ryan Vizzions, and we will be exhibiting his photographs from the forthcoming book “No Spiritual Surrender: A Dedication to Standing Rock”, in addition to selections of his other work.

Rounding out our exhibit will be important civil rights photographs and historic examples of photojournalism.



Photo LA 2019


Opening Night to Benefit Venice Arts
Thursday, January 31 (6pm - 9pm)

Public Hours
Friday, February 1 (11am - 8pm)
Saturday, February 2 (11am - 8pm)
Sunday, February 3 (11am - 4pm)

 Tickets available here
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Tuesday, January 1, 2019

Lists of Lists: The 2018 "Best" Photograph Lists


Right or wrong, love them or loathe them, the end of the year brings everyone's photography "Best of" lists. As 2018 comes to a close, below is what has become an annual tradition: our compilation of what the web selected as the "best" of all things photography 2018; photobooks at bottom of list.

Opinion/The Washington Post: What the year in pictures really showed us


BBC: 2018 in pictures: Striking photojournalism from around the world

BBC: Ten Powerful pictures from 2018, Ken Mainardis of Getty Images picks his favourite images of 2018

Reuters: Pictures of the year: Oddly

Telegraph: 2018 Pictures of the Year

The Guardian: The best photographs of 2018 – and the stories behind them

Global News Canada: Best photos of 2018

BBC: Striking photojournalism from around the UK

BBC: Readers' pictures of the year 2018

New York Times Lens: 13 Stories That Captured Photography in 2018

The Guardian: Wildfires, border chaos, protests: the photos that captured America in 2018

British Journal of Photography: Selected Best of 2018

The Verge: 2018: A year in photographs

Sputnik News: Sputnik's Best Photos of 2018 (Part 1)
                                                                          (Part 2)

Surfer Magazine: The Best Surf Photos of 2018

Navy Times: Best Pics of 2018

Town and Country: The 52 Most Remarkable Photographs of 2018

The week UK: The best photos of 2018

Magnum’s 2018 Pictures of the Year

Farmers Weekly: 2018: The farming year in pictures, part one
                                                                                      part two 
                                                                    Part II

Metro USA Year in review: The Best photos of 2018

British Journal of Photography: Best of 2018: Sean O’Hagan, The Guardian

VOX: 2018, explained in pictures by women and nonbinary photographers

The New York Times: The Year in Pictures 2018

The Independent: 2018 in pictures

NBC News: The Year in Pictures

Bloomberg: Year in Pictures 2018

2018: A year in photographs on The Verge
The Atlantic: The Most 2018 Photos Ever

Sports Illustrated's Best Photos of 2018

Business Insider: some of the most stunning science and nature photography of 2018

AP: The Year in Photos: Middle East

The Best New Yorker Photography of 2018

The Wall Street Journal: The Year in Photos 2018

Business Insider: Here are some of the best photos capturing the people and events of 2018's year in politics

Nature: The best science images of the year: 2018 in pictures

Vogue: The Best Street Style Photos of 2018

Best of 2018: Paper Journal

Women Photograph: 2018 Year in Pictures

W: 2018 in One Photo: 17 Photographers Capture the Year in a Single Picture

The Guardian: Agency photographer of the year – 2018 shortlist 

The Guardian: Top 10 photography shows of 2018

New York Times: Our Best Fashion Pictures From 2018

The Sun: 2018’s best wedding photos

Forbes: Travel Photographer Of The Year


TIME: The Top 100 Photos of 2018

Washington Post: What the Year's Best Photos Tell Us About 2018

The Atlantic: 2018: The Year in Photos, Part 1
                                                                  Part 2
                                                                  
The Atlantic: Top 25 News Photos of 2018

AP: The Year in Photos: Sports

USA Today: Best sports photos of 2018

USA Today: Best celebrity photos of 2018: A royal wedding, powerful performances and award show fun

Washington City Paper: The Best Photo Exhibits of 2018

GEEK: Year in Photos: Best News, Science, and Tech Images of 2018

Reuters: Pictures of the year 2018

Reuters: Pictures of the year: Fashion

Reuters: Pictures of the year: Sports

Outside: The Best Outdoor Photography of 2018

Reuters: Pictures of the year: Natural disasters


The Guardian: Historic Photographer of the Year awards – in pictures






Photography Books

1000 Words: Top 10 Photo books of 2018

TIME's 25 Best Photobooks of 2018

The Eye of Photography: Best Of 2018 – An Autobiography of Miss Wish by Nina Berman

Elizabeth Avedon: BEST PHOTOGRAPHY BOOKS OF 2018 : ROUND-UP PART I
                                                                                                         Part II

Photo-Eye: 2018 Favorite Photo Books

PDN: Notable Photo Books of 2018

NY Times: Luc Sante on the Year’s Best Photography Books