This Week In Photography Books – Berhnard Fuchs
by Jonathan Blaustein Waiting for the sunshine. Waiting for the sunshine. Tired of the gray days. Tired of the gray days. Oh, but it ain’t comin’, it ain’t comin’, Soon. No, it ain’t comin’, it ain’t comin’, Soon. The above text is not actually an old blues song. I swear. It’s an ironic little ditty...
This Week In Photography Books – Leon Borensztein
by Jonathan Blaustein I re-watched “Taxi Driver” the other day. My god, was New York a hell-hole back in the 70′s. Seriously. It’s no surprise Travis Bickle went bonkers. (But that happy ending…I smell studio meddling. Marty must have known he had the chops to go mainstream.) Have you seen it? Or what about “My...
You Don’t Always ‘Get’ Art, But We Still Need More Of It
Editors Note: I reached out to APE correspondant Jonathan Blaustein after seeing an old VICE article titled “I’m Sick Of Pretending: I Don’t ‘Get’ Art” making the rounds on social media. Here’s his reaction: Rob asked me to respond to Glen Coco’s article, making the rounds 05.02 in VICE, trashing last year’s Tracey Emin retrospective...
This Week In Photography Books – Pieter Hugo
by Jonathan Blaustein When I was a teen-ager, my family used to go to the Taos Pueblo each Christmas Eve. Some years, it was below zero, but so what. We braved the cold and wind, and marched along with countless other Taos gringos, to see the yearly celebration. Seriously dramatic, I assure you. How so?...
This Week In Photography Books – Viviane Sassen
by Jonathan Blaustein Sometimes, I like to watch the grass grow. It’s pointless, I know. Impossible. Still, I enjoy it. Sitting still. Listening to the quiet. Learning patience. Perhaps some are born with more patience than others. If that’s the case, I was at the back of the line. It’s been a slow process, (not...
This Week In Photography Books – William Eggleston
by Jonathan Blaustein Surely you’ve heard of Jeremy Lin? (The Knicks Harvard-educated, Asian-American point guard.) A better question might be, have you heard of him lately? Probably not. He might well be the world’s first viral athlete, rocketing from obscurity to planetary ubiquity within days. But an information-addicted global populace is in constant need of...
This Week In Photography Books – Claudine Doury
by Jonathan Blaustein Henceforth, I’ll be the guy that announced his wife’s pregnancy in a book review. There’s no way around it. That’s me now. I’m that guy. And what of it? It means I’ve decided to share details about my life with you, our readership. Why would I do such a thing? Is it...
London Art Visit – Part 2
by Jonathan Blaustein Where were we? Right. London. I loved it. How’s that for succinct? Now you don’t have to read any further. (Just kidding.) It’s a fantastic city, one of the great spots on Earth. And of course, England and the United States have a “special relationship”, (as if I could make such a...
London Art Visit – Part 1
by Jonathan Blaustein I first met Hugo in graduate school. Day one, I believe. It took me a few months to discern that he was well born. The type that neither brags nor name drops. From London originally, he was raised in Upper Manhattan, and attended the right sort of schools. (We used to laugh...
This Week In Photography Books – Rineke Dijkstra
by Jonathan Blaustein Who can remember the days of December? Not me. 2012 has been a blur, and I dispute the fact that it’s 1/4 over. (Can’t possibly be true.) It’s all been covered with film, for me, like the skin on a bowl of old chocolate pudding. Why? That’s easy. As soon as you...
This Week In Photography Books – Javier Arcenillas
by Jonathan Blaustein Let’s be honest: last week’s column was long. The week after I agreed not to mess with the format, I went and added 10 paragraphs to your reading load. Forgive me. (Even my Dad had to read it in two stages.) I thought it was worth it, as the chance to hear...
This Week In Photography Books – Donald Weber
by Jonathan Blaustein My father reads this column each week. He enjoys it, though he’d probably read even if he found it boring. He’s proud, sure, but he says that he learns things about me and my life that he wouldn’t otherwise know. I suppose that’s a solid, 21st Century definition of irony, as the...
