DHC Art presents six artistic visions of videography

DHC Art, the Montreal-based Foundation for Contemporary Art, will present an international exhibition, "Re-Enactments," with six artists whose work uniquely and brilliantly reassesses the mediums of film and media. Artists include Nancy Davenport, recipient of DHC's very first production grant; Stan Douglas, whose "Inconsolable Memories" draws inspiration from the Cuban film classic "Memories of Underdevelopment;" Harun Farocki, who will dissect the 2006 World Cup Final (with the infamous headbutt) using a dizzying number of perspectives; Ann Lislegaard will present a reenactment of daily life reflected on floorboard surfaces; Paul Pfeiffer melds the popular identity of Michael Jackson with the star's infamous run-ins with the law; and Kerry Tribe will simultaneously reinvent and pay homage to the TV masterpieces of Jean-Luc Goddard. The exhibition runs through May 25, 2008.

From DHC-Art:

"The aim is to generate new meanings and fresh relevance from this source material, often by reiterating its value in the form of homage or deflating its claims with critique, but always by rerouting it to mysterious and unexpected places. By vividly addressing politics, spectacle and subjectivity these re-workings of cultural texts or events of the past pose compelling questions about the present."

Click here to visit DHC's website.

Image: from Inconsolable Memories, ©Stan Douglas

Guggenheim Museum Announces Shortlist for the Hugo Boss Prize 2008

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and Hugo Boss AG have announced the shortlist for the bienniel Hugo Boss Prize for 2008. Established in 1996 to recognize significant achievement in contemporary art, The Hugo Boss Prize is juried by an international panel of museum directors, curators, and critics. The award has become an integral part of the Guggenheim's contemporary art program, acknowledging talented artists who push past the ordinarily conceived barriers between mediums.

From The Guggenheim:

"The finalists for 2008 include Swiss artist Christoph Buchel, for Installations, as well as film, sculpture, and printed materials; American photographer and performance artist Patty Chang, for performance, photography, video, and sculpture; American photographer Sam Durant,for installations, photography, sculpture, drawing, and video; Palestinian photographer Emily Jacir, for film, photography, installation, performance, video, writing, and sound; Danish photographer Joachim Koester, for installations of film and photography; and Swiss artist Roman Signer, for sculpture, installations, and films."

A publication featuring work and essays from all six finalists will be released in June 2008. The winner of $100,000 The Hugo Boss Prize in 2008 will be chosen and announced in Fall 2008, followed by a Spring 2009 exhibition of the winner's work at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Click here to find out more.

Now Online: CameraArts Holiday Gift Guide

Running out of ideas for the photographers on your Holiday gift list? Here's a list of our own, what we hope will be a helpful series of recommendations. Click here to visit the CameraArts website and see some Yule-time hints for books, videos, subscriptions, and workshops. Merry Christmas from all of us at CameraArts!

Lensbabies Goes to the Movies

Lensbabies, creators of the one-of-a-kind Lensbaby 3G for digital and film cameras, have added to their catalog the PL Mount Lensbaby 3GPL selective focus lens for movie and video cameras. Announced at this year's PhotoPlus Expo, The Lensbaby 3GPL will work on any 16mm or 35mm PL camera. A PL adapter (for the 3GPL or SLR mount adapter (for the regular Lensbaby SLR 3G) is required for all video cameras. The current retail price for the 3GPL is $490.

From the Lensbabies web site:

"Dream sequence, hallucination, drunken reverie, fading memory—the creative possibilities are endless with the Lensbaby 3GPL...like its still camera predecessors, Lensbaby 3GPL allows filmmakers to bring one part of their frame into sharp focus; a ‘sweet spot’ surrounded by gradually increasing blur. You can move the sweet spot of sharp focus anywhere in the photo by bending the lens."

Lensbabies has some glossy film clips available as examples on their site. Many are advertisements for other organizations and services that utilize the Lensbaby in assembling transitional shots. Yet another example of a relatively simple piece of technology opening up new creative possibilities.

Net Neutrality: 4 days left!

There are only four days left before the FCC closes its inquiry into the state of Net Neutrality. This is your opportunity to tell the story of how open, equal bandwidth has helped you or your business. For those of us who do business online, and do not have the benefit of corporate sponsorship, this issue is of paramount importance.

Phone companies like Verizon, AT&T, and others are lobbying to put an end to Net Neutrality, pushing instead for a "two-lane" system in which large corporations enjoy faster bandwidth, while everyone else is relegated to the "slow lane." Tell the FCC that all websites are created equal. Click here to submit your story and join thousands of others who have united for this cause.

There's another fine video here. Also, Tim Anderson has given his two cents in the pages of CameraArts Magazine. Check it out.

Making of a Canon Lens

Following up on our post about the making of camera lenses is this excellent video demonstration by Canon. Like the final product, every step of the process seems elegant and refined, even when molten glass and men with large sticks raking through the newly-cooled material are involved...

Save the Internet!

There are new updates on the fight for Net Neutrality. This video not only puts the issue in plain terms, but also demonstrates people-powered communication (via YouTube) in action. You can read Tim Anderson's article on Net Neutralty right here, then go to www.savetheinternet.com to take action!