as seen: curio

main street window © kjm

as seen: belt

as found in an arkansas hotel room © kjm

I'm used to them being in the drawer.

within reach: unwrap

tape from a package of c-prints © kjm

[within reach is a series of photographs examining the environment of home in detail]

within reach: skin

uneaten pear © kjm

[within reach is a series of photographs examining the environment of home in detail]

within reach: unfiltered

© kjm

A few weeks ago, I took down the plastic insulation from my front window. I had been pleased that it had lasted so long (5 years), because it was difficult to install, since the window is so large. Recently, though appearing smooth, the plastic started casting strange textural patterns on the wall. But it got a bit trashy looking from the outside, and it occurred to me one day that the unexplained texture/shadow thing might be some cancer-causing property, and maybe I was being off-gassed slowly to death. So off it came, in just minutes, and the result is quite dramatic (brighter!), even if this particular photo doesn't show it.

[within reach is a series of photographs examining the environment of home in detail]

nyph09: plus

© kjm

Collective: A little face time with the Redux folks, both in the office and at NYPH. The American Youth book is so gorgeous, and I'm sad that I missed the launch party. But it was great meeting some of the agency photographers for the first time, if for only briefly: Eros Hoagland, Darcy Padilla, Gina LeVay, Brad Swonetz, Michael Rubenstein, Andy Cutraro and Ben Baker.

Pages: I had my first visit to Dashwood Books, escaping alive and with just one small Jeff Brouws book - but also with some things for the wish list, including Jason Schmidt's Artists and What Still Remains by Jennifer Backhaus.

Old & new friends: It was great to spend time with Phaedra Singelis (of msnbc) and Craig Ruttle, both of whom I've known since our greenest days of newspaper work. Andrew Hetherington was ever-present at the festival and shared some face/beer time. After having a great conversation about art education with Ber Murphy on Saturday night, I was able to see some beautiful prints from his Sleeping Giant/11101 Rezoned project at FXFOWLE. Got to know fellow Midwesterner Greg Ruffing and his girlfriend Jenny - both charming, and who will soon be coming to Milwaukee on vacation (those last 5 words are rarely used in that particular order, so I'm excited). Met up with Doug Adesko too briefly, but with a promise for a rain check.

Say cheese: And lastly, just before heading to the airport, I took Jonathan Saunders up on an invitation to sit (well, stand) for a portrait at 1RN, his photo booth/living space/office/ship's galley that I'd heard so much about. I wasn't disappointed.

nyph09: pictures

© Tim Hetherington, Elaine Duigenan, Kevin Newark

Some highlights from this weekend at NYPH09:

Words: I love Corey Arnold's work, so it was nice to see prints in person at Caption Gallery. But the writing in his wall text was what made the show, for me. Some tidbits: There's an octopus wrapped around the toilet. Crabs for breakfast, crabs for lunch. Sleep. "You've got a piece of gut, or maybe a gill in your eyebrow." Coast Guard instructions on the radio: Place the fingers in a ziploc bag and put them on ice immediately.

Details: Kevin Newark's plastic bags in William A. Ewing's All Over The Place! exhibit, and Elaine Duigenan's hairnets at Klompching.

Presentations: A great talk by Tim Hetherington, the highlights of which were a fascinating/disturbing video of American soldiers, and then photographs of some of the same subjects sleeping in their bunks. A multimedia display of Alessandra Sanguinetti's project, The Adventures of Guille and Belinda and the Enigmatic Meaning of Their Dreams.

Surprise: Lorraine Grupe's personal snapshots from WWII - a thoughtful inclusion in Jon Levy's exhibit, Home For Good.

to do: addendum

7a. Find out flight is delayed until 3:50pm. Call Redux about an assignment and find out the book launch party is actually Friday night, not Saturday night. Kick self in head for somehow having the wrong night in mind for several weeks, despite repeated chances to discover mistake. Realize that I'll miss the book launch now
9a. Read Roberta Smith's review of the Avedon show at ICP. Coffee replaces ginger ale
12a. Cab replaces shuttle - it's a gorgeous Friday and most people are heading out of town. 25 minute ride in
14a. Kinda snappy - really
16a. Sneak into awards ceremony, already in progress, and sit right next to Lauren Greenfield(!)
18a. As expected, but I would have remembered to thank the little people
19a. Free, watered down vodka tonics
20a. Check in while searching for late night food
21a. Like a baby

(Real time: 21 hours)

to do: today

1. Wake up, Albert Lea, Minnesota
2. Depart, 5:00am
3. Drive 5 hours to Milwaukee
4. Drop off assistant Michelle
5. Pay mortgage
6. Give mom's cat i.v. fluids
7. Drive to airport
8. Fly direct to LGA, 1;50pm
9. Peanuts & ginger ale
10. Arrive LGA, 4:59pm
11. Call Marilu, tell her I arrived safely
12. Shuttle to bus terminal, 42nd & 8th
13. Cab to Phaedra's, 57th & 10th
14. Change into slightly snappy outfit
15. Head to Dumbo
16. Attend NY Photo Festival awards party
17. Meet up with old and new friends
18. Call Marilu, tell her I didn't win an award
19. Drinks
20. Call Marilu, tell her I love her
21. Sleep, Hell's Kitchen, NYC

(Total estimated time: 19 hours)

I'll be heading to the festival sans laptop, and promise a report early next week!

very fast

S. 27th Street Location, #5 © kjm

Imagine my glee, when Marilu and I found not one, but two restaurants to photograph last week - on one southside Milwaukee Street. They seem to be falling from the sky lately.

within reach: cut

daffodils, amazingly, from the back yard © kjm

[within reach is a series of photographs examining the environment of home in detail]

mother's day

mom this morning, after church © kjm

art.chicago, p.s.

Map of the World (After Buckminster Fuller) © Aspen Mays

I forgot that I loved this work as well - from Aspen Mays, an MFA student at the Art Institute of Chicago.

art.chicago

© Doug Dubois, New Catalogue, Ed Ruscha, Mike + Doug Starn, Sarah McKenzie

Marilu and I spent a long day at Art Chicago and NEXT on Saturday. I haven't been able to attend in the past few years, and I have to say that I prefer the lower ceilings of the Merchandise Mart to the former exhibition hall. But man, those art fairs really knock you out, both physically and visually. A few highlights:
- The small crowd, which was nice for viewing work, but was perhaps worrisome for the dealers.
- Chatting with Jen and Jeffrey Teuton in the Jen Bekman Gallery booth, and briefly meeting Sarah McKenzie, who had lovely paintings on display.
- A photograph of a 1970's Woolworth's store by Grant Mudford.
- A Brian Ulrich sighting at the Weinstein booth
- Blank Signs by Ed Ruscha.
- Photos by Susana Raab at Dean Jensen and Amy Stein at Robert Koch.
- Harry Callahan Color Test #2, by New Catalogue
- At the Aperture booth: a lovely Kelli Connell print, Doug Dubois' book, and a talk by Chicago photographer Barbara Crane.
- Starn Twins' snowflakes.
- And lastly, an attempt at a joke: Gallerist: "Have you seen the meat flower (a photograph in his booth of raw meat shaped like a rose)." Me: "Oh, but it's been done." Gallerist: Pause. "Really?" Me: "I was just kidding."

within reach: shard

broken jar @ kjm

[within reach is a series of photographs examining the environment of home in detail]

within reach: bright

the new lamp © kjm

[within reach is a series of photographs examining the environment of home in detail]

of the times

W. Camelback Road Location, #2 © kjm

as seen: oceans

7:57 pm, Friday ©kjm

apart: Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea (Marilu); Seal Beach, Pacific Ocean (Kevin).

and then shade

S. Brea Boulevard Location, #2 © kjm

uv

W. Camelback Road Location, #1 © kjm

The sun in Phoenix is unrelenting. Which is nice when you're coming from Milwaukee in January, but not so nice when you'd like to photograph things without strong shadows. Often, I'll see interesting things that I'd like to photograph, and be frustrated by the quality of harsh sunlight. This morning I got up early to shoot a Taco Bell I found yesterday. I had planned to be there before the sun actually came up, but arrived a bit later. In the end, I like the way the light hits the building, adding a bit of depth and texture.

interview: katherine kiviat

© katherine kiviat

Katherine Kiviat is a photojournalist based in Islamabad. Her book, Women Of Courage: Intimate Stories from Afghanistan, contains beautiful portraits, paired with interviews by her husband, the journalist Scott Heidler. You can read my short interview with her on the Redux blog here.

within reach: sealed

(very) aged cheddar in ziploc © kjm

I live in Wisconsin, and this might actually be considered a misdemeanor.

[within reach is a series of photographs examining the environment of home in detail]

within reach: under water

snow globe © kjm

[within reach is a series of photographs examining the environment of home in detail]

within reach: to/from

packing peanuts © kjm

Things that landed on my doorstep in just three days:

1. Pina Zangaro portfolio books and pages
2. Red River Arctic Polar Satin inkjet paper
3. Epson inks from Calumet Photographic
4. Katherine Kiviat's book, Women of Courage
5. 16' firewire extension cords
6. C-prints from West Coast Imaging
7. Huey Pro monitor calibrator
8. Black & Decker one-cup coffeemaker

[within reach is a series of photographs examining the environment of home in detail]

within reach: portfolio

© kjm

Until Monday afternoon, I'll be working feverishly on a new editorial portfolio. I've been meaning to do it for some time, and Redux is now calling my bluff. And thankfully so, since I (possibly) work best when under scary deadlines. The 5-year-old plastic insulation over my front window sometimes creates striped shadows in the sunlight, and they happened to fall on a stack of portrait pages this morning. The subject on the left is Rivane Neuenschwander, an artist that Marilu has worked with in the past.

[within reach is a series of photographs examining the environment of home in detail]

interview: frank edwards

© peter frank edwards

Peter Frank Edwards' food photos make me hungry. Well actually, this one is probably the only picture on either his website or his blog that doesn't make me hungry - but I love it, nonetheless. I just finished an interview with Frank on the Redux blog - you can read it here.

within reach: lunar

the eyeball in it's new spot © kjm

I've recently found some energy to make some small, mostly cost-free changes around the house - moving and building some shelves in my small library/gallery area, attempting to rid myself of long-held flea market finds, and generally moving things around. I have a round, plastic light fixture that has been hanging over my desk, but now looks much better in the kitchen. Marilu was with me when we found it, and we've always called it "the eyeball." From where it hangs now, it sometimes resembles the Moon.

[within reach is a series of photographs examining the environment of home in detail]

53202

© jw lawson, left, sonja thomsen, center, mark brautigam, right

Some recent local inspiration: First, a long-overdue coffee with jw lawson in his War Room space - a studio with great art history, being the former workspace of painter Fred Stonehouse. jw has a new self-published book, Southeastern View, available on his blog. And a few nights later, there was a nice meeting of minds with Sonja Thomsen and Mark Brautigam. Mark brought new work from his amazing series On Wisconsin, and Sonja showed pictures for an installation at the Amoury gallery. And her Lacuna work is in a current show at the Haggerty Museum of Art, a wonderful survey of ten of Wisconsin's best contemporary artists.

as seen: horizon line

porthole, wake © kjm

I spent yesterday on Lake Michigan, photographing some very interesting and passionate researchers as they gathered water samples to study. The water was calm, I learned a lot about my enormous liquid neighbor, and I loved how the wake from the boat looked like clouds in the sky.

hatches battened

N. Cicero Avenue Location © kjm

A recent find in Chicago.