Everyday Catalogue

I got a special delivery from Italy today, from Studio Blanco! They sent through the "Everyday Catalogue" which I participated in along with the press material used for the Control + C Festival. The catalogue is beautifully put together with stunning imagery from a range of extraordinary artists portraying their everyday lives. The images above are a few examples of what is inside, I have four images printed and they work really well in this format.

The print run is limited to 500 copies, but I think you can purchase a copy directly from Studio Blanco here http://www.studioblanco.it/

Spotting Inks

The images above are photographs of the front and back of an exposed piece of photographic paper with traditional spotting inks on one side. The aqua blue, slightly discolouring around the edges is so intense, I couldn’t help but be drawn to it. I found these inks in a folder, which I think has been closed for some time now and felt such an overwhelming sense of nostalgia I had to document it.

The inks are for black and white prints and reminded me of the watercolours by Dirk Stewen. There is something so beautiful about the inks, they show a very hands on approach that is now fading away, losing those imperfect traces of a human touch.

All images copyright Melinda Gibson 2010.

Turku - European Capital of Culture

“Winter may be creeping up on Turku, but Finland's former capital doesn't do seasonal gloom. Long nights just focus one of northern Europe's secret beauties on cosy daytime hangouts and heat-generating nightlife, while the city gets ready to step into the cultural spotlight as European Capital of Culture in 2011.” Norman Miller

I found this lovely article in the Guardian on Saturday the 27th about Turku, and its new found Capital of Culture status. It is a great little piece about the city, the former capital of Finland and talks about what to expect from this cold, beautifully creative city. Its well worth a read and even mentions Logomo and the year long exhibitions, one of which is “Alice in Wonderland.” I can’t wait to go!

Read more here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2010/nov/27/turku-finland-city-of-culture

Classic Post Cards

As Christmas draws closer and closer and we are reminded of how many shopping days we have left, I remembered these wonderful festive post cards that I brought two or three years ago now. What I love about these cards are the beautiful words written on the reverse, you are taken back to the early 1900's and get a glimpse into the lives once lived and share a tender moment between two people. In fact I often believe this is more interesting than the images on the front, but the top image is so lovely I had to share it with you all.

Alice in Wonderland

The artists have been released for the Capital of Culture Exhibition, "Alice in Wonderland." I am among some fantastic artists to name but a few, Christian Marclay, Elina Brotherus, Trish Morrisey, Zed Nelson and Laurel Nakadate. The exhibition opens on the 16th January for 12 months at Logomo in Turku, Finland. Visit The Finnish Museum of Photography's website for more information. I will keep you updated as and when I know more.

http://www.valokuvataiteenmuseo.fi/en

Picture Perfect

With all this hype over the Snow, I remembered this perfect picture! It is taken from Martin Parr's wonderful book "Bad Weather" which was made in 1982 and fantastically documents in 54 black and white images examples of British weather. If you haven't yet seen this book, it is a must! You can find it on Martin's website and at Rocket Gallery, details below. Enjoy your Snow Day!

http://www.martinparr.com/index1.html & http://www.rocketgallery.com/

All images Copyright Martin Parr

Fresh hell - it's damned good

“Fresh hell - it’s damned good” is the title of the article written by Adrian Searle discussing the new show at the Palais de Tokyo in the Guardian on Monday 29th November. Here is a snippet below,

“There are lots of works here about the sort of emptiness that feels full and rich: Reinhard Mucha's shadowy cabinets; David Hammon's In the Hood, a hood ripped from a sport sweatshirt and hung head-high on the wall – there's no one in it. Michael Landy's Market, first seen in a London warehouse show at the beginning of the young British art boom in 1990, is empty, too – a sprawling arrangement of grocer's market stalls, with their stacked crates and stands covered in carpets of fake grass. Landy's vacant market could be a joke about minimalism, or seen as a forerunner of today's ultra-realistic installation art; it could be a metaphor for Thatcherism or for an art market where there's nothing to buy. Art, after all, can be nearly nothing. Fresh Hell is full of good things, forgotten things, old and new things. McEwen's enthusiasm and humour and curiosity is self-evident. Artists make good curators.”

The article is very interesting and well worth a read. For me personally, works that I found very enjoyable were the video pieces by Gino de Dominicis, where he’s repeatedly trying to fly, Nate Lowmann’s dirt series and Michaelangelo Pistoletto’s “The Ears of Jasper Johns, 1966” pictured above.

Read more here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2010/nov/29/fresh-hell-paris-adam-mcewen