Bear Smart Durango invites the public to a Calendar Release Party, celebrating the release of its 2023 “Happenings” calendar from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at the office of San Juan Citizens Alliance, 1309 East Third Ave. No. 5.
Complimentary wine will be provided, courtesy of Star Liquors. Anne-Marie Ferretti Mee will give a slideshow talk about her wildlife photography at 6 p.m. The calendar will be available for purchase at this event.
The 2023 “Happenings” calendar is intended to provide the approximate timing of happenings in nature in the greater Durango area. Some examples include: seasonal wildlife habitat closures, when deer shed their antlers, when yearling black bears leave their mothers, peak elk road crossing season and hunting dates so residents know to wear blaze orange while recreating.
Calendars may be purchased online at bearsmartdurango.org, Maria’s Bookshop and Backcountry Experience. Bear Smart Durango is asking for the general public’s assistance in making this calendar even better in future years by submitting observations, comments and suggestions on when happenings in nature occur in their area by emailing [email protected].
The photo collage app included in Samsung smartphones could mean the end of third-party apps, but it doesn’t work if you need large files as it only saves low-resolution files good for social media.
Samsung has a collage app hidden inside its smartphones… something I only discovered after a recent update. I’ve always use third-party collage apps and I have a third-party gallery – named… Gallery – that I use, so I never looked at the Gallery app from Samsung inside my S22 Ultra. It was only after a recent update that I looked at the gallery in more detail, as some of the new features interested me. To my surprise, after opening the “Create” tab, there was a Collage option. I had to check it!
The January update for my Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra prompted me to check the new features and, curious about the changes, I checked them, only to discover what others have probably known for a while: OneUI 5.0 introduced collages that move, by mixing stills and videos from the gallery. It’s something I’ve tried in the desktop app Canva but never in my phone. Just checked it and it works but need some more time to try it before writing about the feature.
For now, I want to share my experience with the collage app in the Samsung Gallery. As I noted, I’ve used third-party photo collage making apps, a whole series of them, Polish, InCollage and Pixlr being names I remember using in my Xiaomi RedMi Note 10 Pro. I never felt compelled to buy any of them and in the Samsung S22 Ultra I’ve one installed that I find quite interesting, Ribbet, which apparently also has a desktop version. I’ll have to try that someday.
A version of my past self
I am not sharing content on social media, which may be one use for photo collages, but I like to explore designs and, when needed, a suitable selection of images is much more captivating than a single photo and may help a client go ahead with a project. Building narratives with collages is a good exercise and something I always tell people to do, whether they use a conventional camera or a smartphone. With the advantage, in a smartphone, that you can capture images, edit them and share them with family, friends, your social media followers… or clients in a matter of minutes.
Last Monday, for the first time since August, I headed out for a true photo session. The illness of my cat companion and model Yellow kept me home most of the time, without any desire or inspiration to do anything beyond the strictly necessary. I had to put Yellow to sleep on December 26, and it’s now, three weeks later, I find the time and courage to search for inspiration outdoors. With Spring coming around it’s time for flowers and that means a busy period of the year in terms of photography and video.
Armed with my Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, which I continue to use as a camera, I visited one of my regular outdoor spots, only to find a version of my past self: I came across a photographer carrying a heavy and long white lens and what looked like a heavy bag. Holding my smartphone on a ShoulderPod G2 grip and with my MindShiftGear belt pack – part of the Rotation 180 – packed with a small tripod, a power bank, connection cable and little more, I could not resist to say, “that looks heavy”, to what he replied a “yes, it is” that made me smile. It really felt like looking at a version of me in the past.
Smartphones for sundials
While photographing with a smartphone does create some challenges, I find that once you understand the limitations – and the kind of work you do allows to use a smartphone as a tool – it’s “business as usual”. One of the advantages, for editorial work, if you’ve access to the Internet, is how easy it is to send a series of photos right after taking them, to share ideas about a project while you’re in the field. I remember those old days, back in the early 80s – of last century – when I would phone back, from a phone booth to the newspaper desk to discuss aspects of a shoot that would take hours, as films had to be developed and printed after the images were captured. Now you’ve everything in a small device you carry in your pocket: camera, editing tools and ways to send images directly to editors.
Today’s images are good examples of how versatile a smartphone can be for outdoor photography and to show nature around you in detail. The focal range of the S22 Ultra, which goes from 13 to 230mm (with 13, 23, 70 and 230mm optical lenses) does help a lot. I’ve a lady friend who photographs sundials all around the country – some on top of church towers – for a book and some other projects. Since I told her about the S22 Ultra she stopped using her Canon cameras most of the time, and she is happy with the results… and not having to carry too much gear. But I digress… let me get back to the collage app.
Samsung’s photo collage app
From the photographs created last Monday I picked six to create collages that illustrate this period of the year, Winter and the first signs of the coming Spring. These examples, from which I specially like the mushroom on a tree trunk, with the detail on the underside, show how smartphones are good for close up photography – and I am not talking macro – and to show textures, light and color. The resulting collages easily captivate viewers, with their boldness.
Workflow was simple: a quick edit in Snapseed, which, despite not begin updated in a long time, continues to be the app I prefer, even more than Lightroom, to edit the RAW images from the S22 Ultra, followed by a selection of the images for different collages in Samsung gallery. The app is simple and does not offer the options of most third-party apps, but I felt I had enough there to create the photo collages I wanted. It even has an option to adjust freely the size of the different containers within the collage, something not always present in this type of software.
I was so fascinated with the options that I grabbed multiple screen shots of the interface and a variety of layouts, to show the app, and saved some of the resulting collages. Then I decided to open them to see how they looked, and reality hit me: the collages from Samsung’s Gallery app are all low-resolution, good to share on the web but not usable for much more.
Third-party software is better
One example: the mushroom collage made using Ribbet has 3000×3000 pixels size and 4.79MB while the one from Samsung’s app has 2880 x 2880 pixels but only 0.97MB. Pixlr, another photo collage app I’ve used, goes even further: it allows you to define the size of the final collage. I opted for 5000×5000 pixels and got a final mushroom collage image with 12.47MB.
Ribbet also allows you to define the format to save the file – JPG or PNG – and the quality ( up to 100) besides offering the option to save the project, which generates a larger file (sometimes 40MB or more, depending on originals) and accepts RAW directly to the collage, something not possible with Samsung’s app. Another limitation is that Samsung’s apps only allows you to use up to six photos – and videos – per collage. So, despite all my initial excitement with Samsung’s collage options, I’ve to tell those interested that they should remember the app is only good for social media posts.
The files created with Samsung’s collage app are good enough for smartphone viewing and easy to share, but if you intend to do more with your collages – even open them on a computer screen – you may be better of using apps like Ribbet or Pixlr. Now you understand why they have a subscription model if you want more than the basic features. But even with the basic features, they do offer more than Samsung.
Showing at the Royal College of Physicians Museum, London, from 23 January 2023, photography exhibition ‘Unfamiliar’ frames clinical objects from the museum’s archives in a compelling new light.
‘Unfamiliar’ at Royal College of Physicians Museum
Photographer Theo Deproost’s take on the historic clinical tools carefully selected by physician associate Debbie Jegede brings art and science into one common realm, and places unlikely objects at the core of an exhibition. The photographs see snuff boxes, stethoscopes and items unidentifiable to the clinically uneducated eye suspended in an otherworldly cloud of colour and contrast.
(Image credit: Photography: Theo Deproost)
The original objects, from the museum’s clinical and fine art collections, are displayed alongside the images. As co-curators, Deproost and Jegede have ensured they ‘honour the historical significance of the objects whilst also transporting them to a realm beyond any specific time period’, says Deproost. In doing so they have created ‘a new, undefined space for the viewer to study and re-interpret the items’.
‘This exhibition presents something very different for the Royal College of Physicians Museum,’ says Lowri Jones, senior curator of the museum. Using the unfamiliarity of the items as an obvious starting point, Deproost’s photographic style introduces further layers of intrigue.
(Image credit: Photography: Theo Deproost)
Jones considered the unique nature of the exhibition in comparison to previous shows at the museum, valuing the chance to be able ‘to bring together Debbie and Theo’s contrasting medical and artistic backgrounds’. She adds that the exhibition ‘demonstrates how effective collaborations between the arts and sciences can be’.
On where the show sits in relation to his other projects, Deproost says, ‘I have photographed museum collections before, but the collaborative contributions […] have added so much depth and clarity to the final outcome.’
‘Unfamiliar’ is showing from 23 January – 28 July 2023. A selection of works from the exhibition will also be available to view online.
Royal College of Physicians, 11 St Andrews Place, London, NW1 4LE
INVERNESS Camera Club president Owen Cochrane’s wife Evelyn took him on an African photo safari to celebrate a big birthday – and was bitten by the photography bug to the extent she is now also winning prizes for her pictures.
Owen has been club president for seven years, and ordinarily enjoys photographing nature, landscapes and rugby.
But for his landmark 60th birthday, Evelyn helped him celebrate with a Pangolin Photo Safari on ther River Chobe in Botswana.
As part of the trip, Evelyn received expert photographic tuition, and on her return joined Inverness Camera Club – winning first and second place prizes for her images.
She said: “I wouldn’t say I was a photographer just yet, but I enjoy the creative aspect of the camera.
“Two of my African images won prizes as well another on the theme of power where I took a shot of a battery made from two limes. It’s probably not that good technically, but it was a bit off the wall.
“I think we have been bitten by the safari bug as we are now planning a third African trip.”
Owen, a global IT leader for Johnson & Johnson, said: “My parents gave me a camera for my 21st birthday, but it was only when we came to live in Inverness 10 years ago that I really took up photography seriously.
“Evelyn has always referred to herself as a ‘photography widow’ and has been known to sit in the car with a book while I go out taking pictures. But thanks to this trip she now loves it, and is taking some amazing photographs.”
In Botswana the Cochranes were able to get close to animals such as baboons and giraffes on the Chobe River including one encounter that was just a bit too close for comfort.
Owen said: “An elephant decided to wander in our direction. The guide told everyone not to move, but I had my camera trained on the elephant in silent mode.
“The elephant came closer and closer to the Jeep, to the point where it was so close that my camera could no longer focus about a metre away.
“The elephant nudged the vehicle a little bit, enough to make it move, flapped its ears and wandered off. We could all breathe again!”
Tusker gets close…Closer…A bit too close…
Following the couple’s first trip in June, they again travelled to Botswana to attend the Chobe Birding Festival.
Owen added: “Since the first trip I have done lots of presentations at different camera clubs, and have recommended this experience. We were treated so well and the tuition was exceptional.”
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Passed away peacefully with her family by her side early afternoon Monday, January 16th, 2023. She is predeceased by her loving parents, Georges Poitras, Françoise Gagné, her stepfather Eugène Gagné, sisters Lucie, Pauline, Annette, Carmen, Simone, brothers Paul, Maurice, Henri, Raoul, Gérard.
She leaves behind her loving husband Richard Gummerson, daughters Samantha Smith (Shayne), Laura Pollock (Logan), Allison Smith (Shawn), Leahan Gummerson (Daniel), stepson Ryan Gummerson, sisters Michelle Lawrence (Larry), Diane Bourgon (Reynald), Judith Rouleau (Jean-Guy), and her grandchildren, Shea, Iris, Leo, Charlie, Ella, Scott, Marshall, Myles and Georgie and many beloved nieces, nephews and cousins.
Rachelle was a teacher for 20 years and formed many lifelong friendships during her career. In the last few years she was able to enjoy a short but fulfilling retirement with her husband, in their dream home in Southampton. She loved walking on the beach collecting rocks and was passionate about nature photography. Her daughters share many fond memories of camping trips, beach days and loud singing in the car. She always enjoyed playing games, especially Trivial Pursuit with her twin sister and their husbands. She was always exploring her creativity through watercolour painting, colouring, drawing and textile art. She took pride in turning houses into warm and welcoming homes. You could often find her gardening, caring for her houseplants, reading, or cooking from her favourite recipe book.
She will be fondly remembered as a mother, wife, sister, grandmother, friend and teacher. She shaped the lives of those around her with her kindness, empathy, and big heart. She found a friend in everyone. She is deeply missed.
The family wishes to thank the incredible staff at Southampton Hospital, and her oncology team in Owen Sound for their outstanding care, compassion and support.
Family and friends will be received at the WALL-CUSTANCE FUNERAL HOME & CHAPEL, 206 Norfolk St., Guelph, Sunday January 22, 2023, from 1-4 pm. A private funeral service will be held in the funeral home chapel.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations on Rachelle’s behalf to the Breast Cancer Society of Canada, or the Saugeen Memorial Hospital Foundation.
A tree will be planted in memory of Rachelle Gummerson in the Wall-Custance Memorial Forest.
LONDON (Reuters) – Zambia received a ‘debt-for-nature swap’ proposal as part of its $13 billion restructuring discussions, a move that while complex to secure and not part of current talks, could set an eco-friendly precedent for other debt crises if eventually included.
Zambia has become a test case for the G20-led ‘Common Framework’ restructuring vehicle launched during the COVID-19 pandemic, but differences with some of its main creditors about the debt relief required means progress has been slow.
The government confirmed to Reuters on Wednesday a previously undisclosed detail – that the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) provided a blueprint last year on how conservation pledges could be part of the deal.
In their simplest form, debt-for-nature swaps replace expensive bonds or loans with cheaper financing, usually with the help of a credit guarantee from a multilateral development bank.
It is an approach that helped both Belize and Seychelles secure writedowns that put tens of millions of dollars into ocean protection and conservationists see Zambia, known for the iconic Victoria Falls, as an obvious candidate.
Its vast swathes of national parks are home or migration routes for some of Africa’s most impressive wildlife including lions and elephants. Their habitats, though, are under increasing threat from climate change and deforestation.
“The Ministry of Finance and National Planning has received a proposal from the World Wildlife Fund regarding the consideration of debt-for-nature swaps,” the ministry said in an emailed response to whether it was looking at a swap.
The idea has not been factored into the International Monetary Fund’s current debt sustainability analysis but that wouldn’t prevent it being added later, especially if creditors made it clear that they might back it.
“We will be considering all debt restructuring options that are in the framework (G20 Common Framework)which falls within the DSA (debt sustainability analysis) parameters… and that are acceptable to all parties,” the ministry’s response added.
GRAPHIC: KAZA conservation area https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/zjpqjeoxqvx/Pasted%20image%201674043715091.png
COMMON FRAMEWORK
WWF’s Zambia country head, Nachilala Nkombo, told Reuters that the most recent talks with the government took place last month.
While some of Zambia’s private sector bond holders are expected to be open to the idea, it is not known where China, France and other key ‘official sector’ creditors stand, given that talks have already dragged on for two years.
Sri Lanka, another Common Framework restructuring country, has said that it would like to do a debt-for-nature swap and with Zambia still hoping to wrap up its deal this year it would likely set a precedent.
IMF head Kristalina Georgieva will visit Zambia in two weeks. Her trip will coincide with the country’s rationing of electricity supply to mining firms due to critically low water levels of the country’s hydroelectric dams that provide most of its power.
The Victoria Falls, the country’s main tourist draw, have been reduced to a trickle at times in recent years. Farmers have see crop yields plunge, poaching remains a scourge and deforestation rates are among the worst in the world.
“That is somebody’s job, somebody’s food and that is the country’s future at risk,” Nkombo said.
Linda Vaughn (left), Jane Jackson, center, and Freda Scott, look at Storms of Gold, by Diana Al-Hadid which is one of the art pieces featured at the 2020 FOG Design + Art fair in the Fort Mason Festival Pavilion. Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle
Over the past decade, the third week of January has become an unofficial art week in San Francisco. Anchored by the Fog Design + Art fair at the Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture, the multi-day showcase has grown since the first fair in 2013 to now include scores of gallery openings, events and pop-ups taking advantage of the international crowd who come to the city.
While the fair itself attract art lovers to the Marina District venue, the Dogpatch neighborhood will be a major draw for activations and events at the Minnesota Street Project as well as the new Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco, which opened in October. Galleries and art spaces downtown and South of Market Street will also be opening new shows.
The festivities officially kick-off Wednesday, Jan. 18, with the Fog preview gala benefiting the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, with events through Sunday, Jan. 22. Here’s a guide to the Fog Design + Art fair, plus other shows and happenings throughout the city.
La Seine by Cesar is one of the art pieces featured at the FOG Design + Art fair in the Fort Mason Festival Pavilion. Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle
Fog Design + Art
The Fog Design + Art fair returns to Fort Mason’s Festival Pavilion for its ninth edition. The fair will include 45 booths featuring 48 galleries from around the world, ranging from local favorites like Crown Point Press, Fraenkel Gallery and Rebecca Camacho Presents to celebrated out-of-town dealers like David Zwirner of New York, Modern Art of London and Galerie Chantal Crousel of Paris.
After postponing the fair in 2021 due to the coronavirus, the event came back in full force in 2022 with a packed schedule of artists talks and panels led by art world experts as well as the same high caliber design and art it is known for. This year’s no different.
The Fog Talks programming series, which is free with fair admission, is slated to include discussions with designers Yves Behar and Fernando Laposse; curators Janet Bishop, Natasha Boas, Nancy Lim and Phil Linhares; museum directors Christopher Bedford of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Lori Fogarty of the Oakland Museum of California, Ali Gass of the Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco, Veronica Roberts of the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University and Monetta White of the Museum of the African Diaspora; and artists Sadie Barnette, Machine Dazzle, Ana Teresa Fernández, Trevor Paglen, Troy Lamarr Chew II and Mike Henderson, among others.
Exhibition view, “Pae White: Slow Winter Sun” at Jessica Silverman. Photo: Tony Bravo
‘Pae White: Slow Winter Sun’ and ‘David Huffman: Odyssey’
The first solo show by California multimedia artist Pae White at Jessica Silverman Gallery includes new textile works, paper-clay paintings and ceramic works that engage with her practice’s interest in the fleeting nature of California’s environment. At the center of the show are five large-scale tapestries that commemorate events in nature, like fireflies illuminating at dusk and the journey of a snail.
Upstairs at the gallery, Oakland artist David Huffman presents paintings and works on paper created from 2004 to 2009 that feel prescient of current conversations around violence against Black communities and concepts of Afrofuturism. The pieces on view notably feature Huffman’s “Traumanaut” figures ( the term is a combination of the words trauma and and astronaut) against haunting cosmic and planetary backgrounds.
10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Both shows on view through Feb. 25. Free. Jessica Silverman Gallery, 621 Grant Ave., S.F. 415-255-9508. www.jessicasilvermangallery.com
Koak, “California Landscape #1,” 2023 Photo: Koak and Altman Siegel, San Francisco
‘Koak: Letter to Myself (when the world is on fire)’
Koak’s second solo exhibition at Altman Siegel includes new paintings, drawings and sculptures by the San Francisco artist. The body of work explores concepts of disaster, panic and failure, specifically through images of landscapes and figures in turmoil.
Kija Lucas, “Misplaced (bluegum eucalyptus, English ivy, fennel, Himalayan blackberry, ice plant, morning flory & nasturtium), 2022, Photo: Kija Lucas and For-Site
Kija Lucas at the Guardhouse
The For-Site Foundation’s inaugural installation at the former U.S. Military Guardhouse at the entrance of Fort Mason features work by San Francisco photographer Kija Lucas. The pieces, which can be viewed 24 hours through the building’s windows, includes botanical photos as well as a custom wallpaper taken from Lucas’ images.
Open to public 24 hours a day, viewable through the windows, until March 12. Free. Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture, 2 Marina Blvd., S.F. www.for-site.org
‘Human Nature’
Audiences have a final chance to see Shack15 artist-in-residence Tiffany Shlain’s exhibition “Human Nature” before it closes next week. The exhibition’s 24 works include six tree rings installations as well as 12 lightbox works, photography and video art that engage with ideas in feminism, neuroscience, ecology and philosophy.
8 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Friday. Through Jan. 26. Free. Shack 15, 1 Ferry Building Suite 201, S.F. www.shack15.com
Marianne Boesky Pop-Up at Gallery 181
New York’s Marianne Boesky Gallery presents its largest showing in San Francisco yet, featuring works by international stars including Pier Paolo Calzolari, the Haas Brothers, Sarah Meyohas and Frank Stella. The works are presented against the impressive views of the city thanks to the gallery’s location at the top of the 181 Fremont building.
By appointment only. Through March 17. Gallery 181, 181 Fremont St., S.F. To schedule an appointment, call Holly Baxter of Holly Baxter & Associates at 415-350-5595 or email [email protected]. 181fremont.com/art-program
Genevieve Gaignard, ‘Look What We’ve Become’, 2020. Photo: Jeff Mclane / Photo by Jeff McLane
Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco
The Dogpatch museum’s final shows of its inaugural series will launch during San Francisco art week.
“Resting Our Eyes,” curated by Tahirah Rasheed and Autumn Breon, explores new and existing works from 20 multigenerational Black artists, while Bay Area artists Liz Hernández and Ryan Whelan’s “A Weed By Any Other Name” will look at the blackberry fruit as a symbol of the artistic community of the Bay Area.
Noon-5 p.m. Wednesday; noon-7 p.m. Thursday-Friday; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. Both shows on view Saturday, Jan. 21 through June 25. Free. Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco, 901 Minnesota St., S.F. www.icasanfrancisco.org
‘Nina Molloy: Shrine’
The first solo exhibition of New York City-based artist Nina Molloy is curated by Aleesa Pitchamarn Alexander, curator of modern and contemporary art and co-director of the Asian American Art Initiative at the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University.
Molloy’s richly formal paintings explore relationships between time, historical perspective and her specific experiences as a Thai American growing up in Bangkok.
2 pm.-5 p.m. Fridays- Saturdays. Through March 18. Free. 1720 Armstrong Ave. 1A, S.F. friendsindeed.art
Spencer Finch, ‘Study for Back to Kansas,’ 2014. Part of ‘Color Code’ at the McEvoy Foundation for the Arts. Photo: McEvoy Family Collection, courtesy of James Cohan.
Minnesota Street Project
The art gallery hub has several new shows at its 1275 and 1150 Minnesota Street buildings.
At 1275, check out “J. John Priola: Natural Light/Symbiosis” photos exploring nature healing post-disaster at Anglim/Trimble, Lee Materazzi’s “Nipples Pulled Through” at Eleanor Harwood body-focused photo series and “Looking at the Sky” by Davey Whitcraft investigating color through photo and video work at Themes + Projects.
At 1150 Minnesota Street, “through the electric grid promised land” an immersive media-based project curated by Cloaca Projects looks at the unstable systems that are considered the foundations of San Francisco’s cultural landscape as well as the final weeks of “Color Code” at McEvoy Foundation for the Arts.
11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, check individual galleries for hours. Free. Minnesota Street Project, 1275 and 1150 Minnesota St., S.F. minnesotastreetproject.com
Anna Kunz, “The Changing Light,” 2022. Photo: Anna Kunz and Beggruen Gallery
‘Anna Kunz: The Tide’
Painter Anna Kunz is based in Chicago but her new show “The Tide” is inspired by Bay Area environments. The relationship between light, color and human senses in nature is represented through vivid geometric scenes that represent everything from bodies of water to our regional fog.
10 a.m.- 5 p.m. Monday-Friday. Through Feb 18. Free. Berggruen Gallery, 10 Hawthorne St., S.F. 415-781-4629 www.berggruen.com
The South of Market arts organization partners with the Haines gallery to present a show of watercolor, sculpture and digital animation by the Tehran-born artist. Many of the works on view draw inspiration from traditions of Persian, Indian and Middle Eastern art and address the tumult of the artist’s early experiences growing up during the Iranian Revolution and Iran-Iraq war.
A free opening party on Thursday, Jan. 19, also feature site-specific installations and performances by multi-sensory artist Beatrice Glow, video artist Darrin Martin, interdisciplinary artist Kalie Granier, and a capsule exhibition of the upcoming grantLOVE project by Alexandra Grant.
7-10 p.m. Jan. 19. Free. Through March 31. Inquire for regular viewing hours. Saint Joseph’s Arts Society, 1401 Howard St., S.F. www.saintjosephsartsfoundation.org
Ruth Asawa and Albert Lanier holding Xavier and Aiko. Photo: Courtesy Estate of Ruth Asawa
‘Generation: The Roots of Making in the Asawa-Lanier Family’
This new group exhibition brings together four generations of the Asawa-Lanier family — the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of San Francisco artist Ruth Asawa and architect Albert Lanier — with work spanning 1965 to 2022.
In addition to works by Asawa and Lanier, the show features paintings and clay work by their son Paul Lanier; textile, collage and painting by their daughter Aiko Lanier Cuneo; origami portraits, paintings and paper construction by their granddaughter Lilli Lanier; and paintings by their great-granddaughter Lucia Ruth Soriano.
10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday. Through March 31. Free. Ruth’s Table, 3160 21st St., S.F. 415-642-1000. www.ruthstable.org
During last month’s edition of Bamako Encounters–African Biennale of Photography, as dusk arrived following a captivating artist talk by revered Nigerian photographer Akinbode Akinbiyi, southern winds carrying Saharan dust settled over Mali’s capital and clouds of bats took flight between the trees across a lavender-hued sky.
Pioneering photographers such as Seydou Keita, Abdhourahmane Sakaly, and (of course) Malick Sidibe loom large here. And at such moments, even an untrained eye can understand how Bamako is an image-maker’s paradise, and a seemingly perfect setting for a photography biennale. The city’s endlessly compelling, starkly geometric architecture—angular and curved, Sahelian, colonial, and contemporary—is magnificently illuminated by the light.
In early December 2022, dozens of artists from across the world convened for the 13th edition of the Bamako Encounters, which runs until early February 2023. It is titled “On Multiplicity, Difference, Becoming, and Heritage,” a theme that invites the audience to consider moving past understandings of the world that focus on singularity and essentialism, creating room for movement, change, and malleability. Mali is a country with diverse geologies and geographies, inevitably yielding varying ways of living and cultures. This biennale thus explores a universally applicable theme in a place where liminal spaces are ever present.
Highlights
Spread across seven key sites, including the National Museum of Mali and a disused train station that formerly connected Bamako to Dakar, a standout feature from this edition of the biennale is its substantial inclusion of artists from across the African Diaspora.
Still from Baff Akoto, Leave The Edges (2020).
One of the noteworthy works from the biennale, Leave the Edges (2020), which won the biennale’s Grand Prix/Seydou Keita award, came from artist-filmmaker Baff Akoto, who was raised between Accra and London. The work explores African and Diasporic spiritualities, and how they have mutated and transformed across time and in different spaces, as a metaphor for a wider conversation around cultural exchange.
An exceptional and meditative piece, employing tender cinematography, subtle lighting, and mesmerizing soundscapes, Leave the Edges is a poetic movement film melding performance art and commemorations of slave rebellions in Guadeloupe.
Installation view of works by Anna Binta Diallo, both 2022. Photo by Photp by Tobi Onabolu.
Meanwhile at the National Museum, Anna Binta Diallo’s futuristic looking work explores the historical roots of folklore and storytelling. Employing a variety of maps, prints, and images superimposed onto outlines of human forms, Diallo invites us to consider what it means for humanity to exist in symbiosis with the natural environment. Concurrently, she explores concerns such as migration, identity, and memory.
Installation view of works by Anna Binta Diallo, both 2022. Photp by Tobi Onabolu.
Sofia Yala works in the same vein, but on a more personal level within the setting of her own family, questioning the notion of the body as an archive. Yala’s work involves screenprinting her grandfather’s archives—whether private notes, I.D. documents, or work contracts—onto photographs taken by Yala in domestic spaces. Through the process, she is able to uncover deeper layers of identity—a poignant exercise in the context of reconnecting with the artist’s Angolan heritage.
Installation view of works by Marie-Claire Messouma, all 2022. Photo by Tobi Onabolu.
Over at the former train station, sub-themes of magic, the ethereal, and eternity emanate through more conceptual and abstract works. Marie-Claire Messouma’s mystical, melismatic photography aims to spark a conversation about humanity and the cosmos, mixing textile sculptures, ceramics, and other materials, and evoking the feminine.
Similarly, in Fairouz El Tom’s work, the artist questions where the “I” ends and the “you” begins within the discourse of human ontology, prompting vital discussions around the interconnectedness of humanity—or, perhaps, the lack thereof, in this age of uncertainty.
Installation view of works by Thembinkosi Hlatshwayo, all 2019. Photo by Tobi Onabolu.
In Thembinkosi Hlatshwayo’s haunting works, we are invited to reflect on the legacies of human violence and the enduring trauma that comes from it. Drawing on his own past and personal experiences, Hlatshwayo has converted the tavern where he grew up—a site of intense trauma—into his studio, demonstrating a tangibly curative element within his practice.
Who Is It For?
With a high-profile curatorial team attached to the biennale under the artistic direction of superstar curator Dr. Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, Bamako Encounters is a triumph for the artists, and undoubtedly an impressive notch on any exhibition C.V. Yet the hyper-conceptual nature of “On Multiplicity, Difference, Becoming, and Heritage,” married with sub-par scenography that often attempts to emulate the white cube model, also creates a disconnection between organizers and audiences, prompting questions, the most pressing of which is: “who is this really for?”
The well-curated, robust program of artist talks and conversations was predominantly attended by the artists themselves, alongside other industry practitioners, once again creating the all-too-familiar echo chambers that the art world is known for. The same problem is felt with the text-heavy, exclusive language of art that accompanies this exhibition, often using insular vocabulary that very few people outside of the industry even understand.
In recent times, the scrutiny of these echo chambers, and the industry at large, have become well popularized by the likes of the Instagram-based account @freeze_magazine. Such critiques often touch on how the art world perpetuates harmful capitalist tendencies, whose victims include both humans and the environment; the flaws and hypocrisy of institutional spaces; and general elitism. And at points, the 13th edition of Bamako Encounters might be guilty of all three offenses, even if to only a fraction of the degree of the Venice Biennale or other biennials in the Global North, or the market at large.
Installation view of works by Adama Delphine Fawund, all 2020. Photo by Tobi Onabolu.
“If the art only exists within institutional spaces it makes you wonder who is it really for and how is it functioning?” exhibiting artist Adama Delphine Fawundu told Artnet News, reflecting on these challenges. “I think most artists are making work that deals with subject matter that actually interrogates the institution. Therefore, what’s important about this biennale is the way that it’s documented, through the books and the text. Fifty years from now, what will people be saying about today? And if the work is not being documented at least for the future, then the biennale has to be interacting with people. How do you take it outside of the museum or the gallery space, and actually engage with real people that we see around? Because this is what we’re actually concerned about.”
And although this edition of Bamako Encounters has a central theme that relates so directly to contemporary realities in Mali, access to these conversations is largely limited to industry practitioners and socio-economic elites, many of whom were flown in specifically for the opening weekend (inevitably producing excessive quantities of carbon emissions just for the biennale to take place). In African contexts, the debate around the most effective modes of presentation and sharing critical artistic work with new audiences continues to bubble.
Nevertheless, perhaps the biennale’s biggest strength was that it became this meeting point for important, unfiltered conversations between artists and practitioners who may never have met otherwise. Indeed, amidst an onslaught of almost-farcical organizational errors, including missing baggage and overbooked hotels, the artists rallied together, evoking the power of the collective through their inter-generational and cross-cultural collaborations and exchanges. With the sheer number of artists present for this event greatly outnumbering overbearing know-it-all curators, hard-to-please institutional overlords, and opportunistic dealers, Bamako provided the platform for real connections to emerge between its exhibiting artists.
And so, despite underlying political uncertainty in Mali, fears of a global recession, and the overarching problems of the global art system, the 13th edition of Bamako Encounters emerges as a success, albeit with a plethora of concerns left to consider.
The 13th Edition of Bamako Encounters, African Biennale of Photography, is on view at venues throughout Bamako, through February 8, 2023.
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Entries for the Council on Greenways and Trails’ February Nature Art Showcase and Sale have started to arrive.
Among the original artwork depicting outdoor recreation, natural resources, and landscapes already registered, included are acrylic paintings, oil paintings, traditional and digital photography, alcohol ink on tiles, fabrics dyed with botanical items, wooden plaques, and other media.
This free public display is held in the lobby of the Barrow-Civic Theatre in downtown Franklin that Feb. 3 from 5 to 7 p.m. and Feb. 4 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
For example, Anna Applegate is an amateur artist who resides in Pinegrove Township in Venango County. She dabbles in nature photography and painting; one of her entries is shown with this article. Entitled “A Brief Pause,” the full-color digital photograph captures a female ruby-throated hummingbird hovering by an orange blossom.
Franklin’s Neal Parker had a long career in conservation and art; in the 1980s his paintings tended to focus on wildlife, but then he waited another 29 years before to returning to painting. He will share with showcase attendees the second painting he completed after that long pause; it’s acrylic on Masonite, entitled “Wood Fern.” Each participating artist may enter one or two items of any size in the seventh annual Nature Art Showcase and Sale, conducted indoors during the “Franklin On Ice” Festival.
Artist registrations are free, but they need to be received by Jan. 18 in order for the information to be included in a complimentary printed program provided to all guests. Registration packets may be picked up in person at the Clarion Area Chamber of Commerce & Industry, the Titusville Council on the Arts, the Victorian City Art & Frame in Franklin; French Creek Framing and Fine Art in Meadville, The Gallery at New Bethlehem Town Center, and Penn Soil Resource Conservation & Development Council on Conewango Avenue in Warren. Registration instructions and forms may also be downloaded from the Council on Greenways and Trails’ website www.nwpagreenways.org.
DANA POINT, CA — One Orange County photographer was visiting Dana Point last weekend when she captured a moment to remember on her camera.
OC resident Gail Lukowicz was visiting Doheny State Beach on Friday, Jan. 13 when she snapped this shot of a surreal sun setting over Dana Point.
Thank you for sharing your photo with Patch, Gail!
If you have an awesome photo of nature, breath-taking scenery, kids caught being kids, a pet doing something funny, or something unusual you happen to catch with your camera, we’d love to feature it on Patch.
We’re looking for high-resolution images that reflect the beauty and fun that is Orange County, and that show off your unique talents.
The photo collage app included in Samsung smartphones could mean the end of third-party apps, but it doesn’t work if you need large files as it only saves low-resolution files good for social media.
A version of my past self
Samsung’s photo collage app
Third-party software is better
