Thank You for selecting my image that tried to replicate the streets of early 20th century Paris at the Santa Ana, California train station! I haven’t seen a list of previous artist challenges, but I think my choice will give you plentiful opportunities to photograph the life-styles and emotions of individuals, with the only constraint being that they should be posted in Black and White. Over my years on 365 I’ve seen so many wonderful images, I know this will appeal to a large number of you…
My selection is to be inspired by the work of the 1955 MOMA show, The Family of Man. https://designyoutrust.com/2016/01/the-family-of-man-503-images-by-273-photographers-from-68-countries/
I chose the following paragraphs that I think represent the outcome of the show, and why people are still talking about it:
“…The American Studies Program (Georgetown University, Sept 2013) : Dr. Professor Gerd Hurm will be visiting (from the University of Trier in Germany). He will give a talk, entitled “Demystifying "The Family of Man" - The Epochal MoMA Exhibition Revisited.”
"The Family of Man" figures as one of the most contested and benignly neglected photography exhibitions of the 20th and 21stcentury. The travelling exhibition is now on permanent display at a museum in Luxembourg - the native country of the show's curator, the Luxembourg-American photographer Edward Steichen. The talk will look critically at the various reasons for the rejection of the exhibition in the past (among them Roland Barthes's devastating critique of its apparent mystification), and will argue for its renewed significance and relevance for the 21st century…”
I thought members of 365, living around the world, might contribute some current images in the B&W styling of the many shown here. There’s such wide diversity in the images and photography, it should be possible for everyone to find their muse.
When I was in high school, one of my teachers handed me a copy of The Family of Man and said to me that, of her students, she felt I’d most enjoy and appreciate it. So sadly, I don’t recall her name, but that insight into my artistic nature always filled me with appreciation for having been singled out. Through the years I often leafed through this book and once made a pen&ink rendering of the children walking into the wooded light.
Personally, I’m looking forward a great deal to see what each of you might enter! During this time, I plan to join in and challenge myself as well, though I won’t be a part of the vote. So Go and Get Started!
The Challenge:
+ STARTS July 17, 2018 (all time zones considered)
+ ENDS July 31, 2018 (all time zones considered)
+ TAG: ac-FoM
+ Only photographs taken on or between these dates will be chosen for voting by your peers. Take a photograph that is in the artist's style, or emulate a certain work, or simply be inspired by his work. You may process your photos to emulate the artwork or stay true to your own style of processing.
+ You may enter more than one photo. In each case, however, I would appreciate very much if you would include a link to the photograph(s) that inspired yours.
Also, I encourage you to post your entry/ies in the comments section below to keep this discussion active and to inspire others. To do so, simply click on the button on the right of the star button at the bottom right of your photo’s narrative, copy the Embed Code and paste it on your comment here.
@kali66 I wasn't familiar with that U2 Youtube video, and it's marvelous in that it covers so many of the photos so beautifully! Seeing this as a compilation, I realize how "exotic" some of the pictures seem, but in the capable hands of our 365-photographers, I can envision so many settings with people, singular or plural, or the spaces they occupy. The second , I saw when setting this up, but it was a bit brief. Both, certainly good additions, and I do hope our photographers will be interested in taking part in this!
This is inspired by China, Dimitri Kessel, for Life. I'm sorry I couldn't find the link to the original photo that I saw in the book. I think I bought the book several years ago and I have treasured it since. There are so many inspiring photos
@caterina Caterina, this is wonderful! I hope your post here will inspire others to join in with a photo inspired by the book! I checked the tag ac-FoM and was so pleased you've left two wonderful photos as well!
@Weezilou glad to hear you appreciate contributions also from the book. I love this challenge. It is so important these days to underline that men are all equal and we are a family. Especially with what’s happening all over the world in terms of migrants. W I propose that you’ll repeat this theme every eeek for a year😀
Anything I post won't be in the group for voting, but I always loved this photographic exhibit and wanted to add something to it. Caterina @caterina suggested this could be an interesting subject to pursue for a year, and I would agree...but I'm not open to hosting it! I wouldn't mind reminding people who shared an interest in this by sending a reminder once a month to tag their qualifying images and together it will build into a nice compilation. Also, adding your photos to this link will keep it alive to be noticed and to entice others to join in! Thanks, Caterina, for the nice suggestion, and let's see if any enthusiasm for it is generated! Meanwhile, here's one I staged and had Ken take before we left Lunenburg for a few weeks...
When I began my teaching career that exhibit was already considered a classic. For an end-of-year gift, one family gave me the book which was a collection of photographs from that exhibit. I still see some of those amazing pictures in my mind’s eye. A worthy subject for your challenge.
What a wonderful inspirational theme, Louise! I love the idea. Not sure if I'll manage to participate, as I'm already late to the party, but I'll be thinking about the possibilities!
@Weezilou Hi Louise, only today I read about this challenge. But I post this not to complain but to thank you for the link that you posted about the family of man. My parents had this catalog when I was a child and I looked through it many times. When I looked at the photos on the link I recognized a lot of the images. (What a strange and wonderful thing a brain is) the book was long gone though. After I read this i’ve been looking on the internet If it was possible to find a secondhand copy of this catalog and I found one. So good memories coming my way.
@jacqbb I can certainly put myself in your place as to how pleased you clearly were to have the old memories return and it's doubly exciting that you were able to locate a copy. Kali left a link to the MoMA bookstore that has a re-release of this book for the 60th anniversary of the show. It's too bad more people didn't see this challenge as I do think our community could make some nice contributions to the images! Caterina @caterina suggested we run this for a year, and I have to agree it would be exceptional to see whatthis membership would contribute. I'm not in a position at this time to keep it active, but anyone reading this is welcome to take this idea and present it! I'd definitely join in!
@Weezilou Sorry I have flooded you with my FoM-inspired photos. I really like the idea and we can think on how to prolong it. The main problem is that only a small proportion of the photos of the exhibition can be found in internet and therefore not everybody can be involved in the challenge. Perhaps it will be a stimulus to buy the book. Thank you again Louise and Ken for bringing this up!
@caterina Caterina, thank you for being such a great supporter of this art- compilation concept! I wonder if the spectrum was too great to capture the photographers within two weeks! I myself had a play at it before having to fly home to California for a back injury that flared up.
With regard to your family picnic while camping, the image is absolutely timeless! I have something similar (B&W, of course) from my childhood in the early 50s! You've certainly accomplished what I hoped would be entered!
@jacqbb Jacqueline said she was running too late to take part, but she's ordering the book, and if we can make this an on-going tag, perhaps she'll be inspired to see and take suitable images!
Even before I opened this for entries, I was struck by this photo taken by Allison Williams @Allie912 and how perfectly it would have fit in this group!
What I'm thinking is that to just tag a fitting photo fofm, the compilation will grow. No contest as such...just a heading under which to place these photos we think would fit. Down the road a year...maybe we can do something with the grouping then...
I added Kali's @kali66 link again to the video which I counted as it played...75 photos from the total of over 500. I would add, that those photos are often the very "exotic" ones, or taken in poignant moments by photo journalists. The picnic scene...ordinary people...ordinary day..."family"...would have fit in perfecting (I feel).
The other link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGlJG4Sdafc is for a reprint of this book from MoMA if anyone is interested in seeking out a copy (also perhaps less costly on Amazon).
I'll set up a voting booth for what's been entered here and launch the idea of keeping this show in mind when taking pictures (as in, add a tag fofm)
People still reference Vivian Maeir here since her story came to light, and I think this, too, is worthy to aspire to!
@Weezilou you did a great job and are full of great ideas. Of course I’m all in favor of both of your proposal, FoM and Vivian Maier. Excellent exercises and lot of fun. Thank you again for your commitment and wishes for your back ailment.
@Weezilou Thanks Louise for considering my picture for your collection. I do love the intimacy of this image and how it really expressed the personality of the child.
@Weezilou If this is going to be an ongoing project I’m in. It’s a wonderful idea to document the new family of man. Do I understand correctly that the tag we use for this is: fofm?
Thank you Louise for including my name in this.
@kali66 You're so right, Kali! Thank you! I'll give it it's own write up tomorrow after I post some photos for consideration for voting. It might garner more attention at that time if people wish to carry this further. Carterina, @caterina I'm delighted, too, to carry on so I can take part in it. There are many individuals who come to mind who are proficient street photographers or who work well in B&W. To my mind, based on the photos in the exhibit, they're a rare record of "exquisite moments" of interaction that will captivate the viewer or bring back memories and draw them in. We're left to contemplate the image, which then brings our own world view into play.
I'll write it a few times each time I post images... And as Kali suggests, the tag will remain
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@caterina Caterina, thank you for being such a great supporter of this art- compilation concept! I wonder if the spectrum was too great to capture the photographers within two weeks! I myself had a play at it before having to fly home to California for a back injury that flared up.
With regard to your family picnic while camping, the image is absolutely timeless! I have something similar (B&W, of course) from my childhood in the early 50s! You've certainly accomplished what I hoped would be entered!
@jacqbb Jacqueline said she was running too late to take part, but she's ordering the book, and if we can make this an on-going tag, perhaps she'll be inspired to see and take suitable images!
Even before I opened this for entries, I was struck by this photo taken by Allison Williams @Allie912 and how perfectly it would have fit in this group!
What I'm thinking is that to just tag a fitting photo fofm, the compilation will grow. No contest as such...just a heading under which to place these photos we think would fit. Down the road a year...maybe we can do something with the grouping then...
I added Kali's @kali66 link again to the video which I counted as it played...75 photos from the total of over 500. I would add, that those photos are often the very "exotic" ones, or taken in poignant moments by photo journalists. The picnic scene...ordinary people...ordinary day..."family"...would have fit in perfecting (I feel).
The other link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGlJG4Sdafc is for a reprint of this book from MoMA if anyone is interested in seeking out a copy (also perhaps less costly on Amazon).
I'll set up a voting booth for what's been entered here and launch the idea of keeping this show in mind when taking pictures (as in, add a tag fofm)
People still reference Vivian Maeir here since her story came to light, and I think this, too, is worthy to aspire to!
Thank you Louise for including my name in this.
I'll write it a few times each time I post images... And as Kali suggests, the tag will remain
ac-fom