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With NEW POTT. 100 Light /100 Faces, Mischa Kuball has devised a work that examines the multicultural reality of the Ruhr metropolis in Germany. How does one go about depicting the multicultural essence of the region artistically? Mischa Kuball has opted for a participatory project: people and their families from all over the world, now living in the Ruhrgebiet, become active participants in his project. The artist gives them a lamp to illuminate their private space, converting it into a stage - a platform upon which the artist and people from 100 different countries encounter one another. They tell him their life stories and the specific reason for emigrating, as well as reflecting the twilight experience of being stuck between two cultures. In so doing, the bright floor lamps act as illuminated signs of both the encounter and exchange.

The encounters were documented photographically and filmed on video by Egbert Trogemann. Using the photographs of the participants and their respective domestic interiors, Mischa Kuball has created 100 tableaux that can be viewed both in the tradition of comparative photography as well as being read as studies on a multicultural society in transition. The exhibition runs from October 28, 2010 until April 30, 2011 in the Kunstsammlungen der Ruhr-Universität Bochum at the Campusmuseum in Germany.

A conference titled "Relational Art" will take place on January 21- 22, 2011, reflecting upon the issues raised in NEW POTT and incorporating the project into a wider artistic and academic debate. Theorists in the fields of art and letters, social psychologists and international artists will discuss forms, possibilities and potentialities of contemporary participatory art. http://kusa-rub-moderne.de/m250

Houdini: Art and Magic at The Jewish Museum 1109 Fifth Avenue (at 92nd Street) New York, NY 10128 October 29th - March 27th, 2011 Artists include, Matthew Barney, Vik Muniz, Raymond Pettibon, and also ephemera on display, which includes historical photographs and films as well as posters and original props. The audioguide is worth a listen, narrated by Neil Patrick Harris, with commentary by the curator, as well as magician David Blaine, and Vik Muniz speaking about the confluence of art, photography and magic for the entry about his piece: "Houdini, Pantheon," from his "Pictures of Ink" series. He says, "If you think of Houdini as a man of art, you have to think of him as a man of science. As most artists in the past, he is always working at the edge of technological development. He knew the latest thing that was invented in technology. That’s why I think when you see interesting magic today you have to think about films, imagination. That is the continuation of Houdini’s legacy.”http://www.thejewishmuseum.org

The Open Society Documentary Photography Project and Arts and Culture Network Program announce a grant and training opportunity for documentary photographers from Central Asia, the South Caucasus, Afghanistan, Mongolia, and Pakistan.

The grant is being offered to:

visually document issues of importance in the region; and provide training and support to photographers from the region.

Approximately 10 cash stipends in the amount of $3,500 each will be awarded to photographers to produce a photo essay on a current human rights or social issue in the region. Grantees will participate in two master-level workshops on visual storytelling through photography and multimedia. These workshops are led by internationally-recognized photographers and industry professionals who will then provide ongoing mentorship and support throughout the six-month grant term.

For more information, visit http://apply.docphoto.soros.org/.

Application deadline is Dec. 3rd.

Juergen Teller

"Calves and Thighs"

Sala Alcala 31

Madrid, Spain

June 9 – Sept. 19, 2010

Mario Testino

"Todo o Nada"

Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza

Sept. 21 – Jan. 9, 2010

A security guard politely reminded not to take photographs at the Juergen Teller Exhibition Calves and Thighs at Sala Alcala in Madrid a few weeks back. Coincidentally, and slightly ironically, I was standing right next to an 30-inch print of Charlotte Rampling and Raquel Zimmerman standing nude in front of the Mona Lisa at the Lourve. In the exhibition, which is more autobiographical than thematic, Teller stitches together an uneasy mixture of fashion, fantasy and sinicism. Generally known as a fashion photographer with a strong personal aesthetic, Teller puts himself into the middle of the narrative. Major players in the world of fashion are cast as supporting actors opposite the photographer (and his penis) as the protagonist. Teller’s mildly sexy scenes seem ridiculous, but they have strong narrative, just like any other great fashion or commercial photographs. That narrative goes something like this: There was supposed to be a fashion shoot, but something happened and the photographer made friends with the model. Then they got drunk or high or something and became “liberated.” This platonic feeling is surprising and unlike the ordinary picture of a model where we unconsciously think that the photographer (or someone involved with the narrative) has either just had sex with model or is about to. So, the images of glamour, eroticism and goofing-off are paired with Teller’s family photographs on opposing walls. The wall text didn’t really give me any clues why (it didn’t really address the exhibition with much depth) but the images reveal just how much of a joy picture-taking is for Teller. I imagine his personality behind the camera to be utterly without reserve. He doesn’t seem to let the camera get in the way of his pictures or his personality. It’s hard to explain. He can solicit the same reaction from his infant son as he can from a supermodel.

Across town at the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, piggybacking on Teller’s exhibit, was another fashion photographer on exhibit. Mario Testino’s Todo o Nada looked at two specific ways that Testino photographs beautiful women; with clothes (Todo) and without clothes (Nada). The layout of the exhibition lead it throngs of visitors through a maze of massive color and black and white prints. It started with images of women in complex wardrobes of draped, luxorius fabric and continued on revealing more and more skin until the women were naked. The light and the color in these photographs are absolutely stunning. They are photographed with extreme control and precision down to every last detail. Everyone can appreciate these images on some level, and this may explain why there were 10 million people at the museum on that Sunday afternoon. There was however, a certain emptiness to the experience and I left with a similar feeling that I sometimes have when I leave a shopping mall or fast food restaurant; kind of sluggish and a little bit depressed. It was almost like I had just walked through a Victoria’s Secret store that didn’t have any clothes for sale. The exhibition text quotes Testino as asking, “..But where does fashion photography end and portraiture begin?” Well, I think It’s fairly obvious that fashion photography ends when you stop trying to sell clothing with your photographs, no matter how little clothing is in them.

Zoe Strauss, Philadelphia-based photographer, will be speaking tonight, Wednesday November 17, at 7:00 pm EST as part of the International Center of Photography's Photographers Lecture Series. The Lecture will take place at the School at ICP and will be moderated by Phillip S. Block. Tickets may be purchased at the door for $15 or the online webcast may be viewed live at:http://lectures.icp.edu/live/

Strauss is best known for her street photographs, often of America’s marginal neighborhoods, which depict everything and anything that may pique her interest. As stated on the ICP website: “Strauss is an installation artist and photographer living and working in Philadelphia; Strauss has exhibited in the 2006 Whitney Biennial, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Philadelphia ICA; Strauss is the author of America; Strauss is represented in New York by Bruce Silverstein Gallery.”

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The School at the International Center of Photography is located at 1114 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY.