Fine Art Photography

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The surreal world

Dreamworks by Corey Grayhorse at AS220
Corey Grayhorse offers a style of synthetic glitz that seems to channel our society’s plastic, superficial heart.
By GREG COOK | May 20, 2010

The Maya and the Kennedys at the Peabody Essex
Some weeks back, I got to listen to Brown University archæology professor Stephen Houston pronounce the throaty, staccato sounds of Maya hieroglyphs carved across a six-foot-wide limestone panel.
By GREG COOK | May 21, 2010

Still life

Disfarmer at the ICA
Nobody knew very much about Mike Disfarmer. Even his name was a fabrication.
By MARCIA B. SIEGEL | May 18, 2010

Photos: 'The Kennedys' at Peabody Essex Museum

Photos of JFK, Jackie Onassis and family at the PEM through July 18
"The Kennedys” exhibit at Peabody Essex Museum, through July 18
By RICHARD AVEDON | May 19, 2010

An expanding world

Americans look at European modernism
Housed in two galleries at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, “Methods for Modernism: Form and Color in American Art, 1900 to 1925” presents a healthy survey of works by artists featured in the two most definitive venues for introducing European modernism to America.
By ANNIE LARMON | May 05, 2010

Passage to India

Fazal Sheikh’s ‘Beloved Daughters’ at the Bell Gallery
Activist-photographer Fazal Sheikh’s tales of women from the Indian holy city of Vrindavan are devastating.
By GREG COOK | April 22, 2010

Interview and photos: Gerard Malanga

A gathering of souls
In Walt Whitman’s notebook for the 1855 edition of Leaves of Grass , he writes, “Every soul has its own individual voice.” That notion rang true for photographer/poet/filmmaker Gerard Malanga as he put together “Souls,” an exhibit of 100 portraits spanning five decades.
By KRISTEN GOODFRIEND | March 31, 2010

Review: Visual Acoustics: The Modernism Of Julian Shulman

High modernism in high spirits
Eric Bricker's documentary celebration of America's most renowned architectural photographer is effusive in its praise, tame in its public-television-style execution.
By GERALD PEARY | February 24, 2010

Photos: Boston's Combat Zone, Burlesque (NSFW)

Images from “Boston Combat Zone: 1969–1978” at Howard Yezerski Gallery and “Henry Horenstein: Show” at Walker Contemporary
Images from Boston's Combat Zone at Howard Yezerski Gallery and the "Henry Horenstein: Show" at Walker.
By PHOENIX STAFF | February 19, 2010

Works in progress

Photography after Facebook at the PRC, 'Boston Does Boston III' at Proof, and Taro Shinoda at Gardner
Back in October, Minnesota photographer Alec Soth spoke at MassArt. "Facebook: 15 billion uploaded photos," he said. "At its busiest, 550,000 images each second being uploaded. So I've been struggling with that. How do I function as a photographer in that environment?"
By GREG COOK | January 12, 2010

Wild about Harry

Trailblazing along a narrow path
What I want to do — what most photographers want to do — is write Harry Callahan a love letter. At the very least, he deserves an elaborate thank-you note for innovating or validating 80 percent of the successful photographs we ever took.
By CLIF GARBODEN | December 09, 2009

Updike does death, R. Crumb does God, Vanity Fair does Proust

Gift books to savor
Trying to reach as broad a range of tastes and pocketbooks as possible, we this year scavenged everything from the front pages of the Onion to R. Crumb's genesis, to valedictory Updike. Stuff to read, stuff to look at, glossy pages and matte. Remember: be careful not to nick the pages or spill eggnog on them before you wrap. Happy holidays!
By PHOENIX STAFF | December 08, 2009

In focus

‘Focus on Four’ is a sharp sampler
Photography has been New England’s greatest contribution to art of the past century.
By GREG COOK | October 29, 2009

Idealist views

Three shows at the PMA explore truth
The path through my various responsibilities has led me to the Portland Museum several times in recent weeks, and along most of the floors. While passing through the Julia Margaret Cameron exhibit of photography I was struck by thoughts about templates created by dominant illusions, and how a consistent sense of an ideal world flowed through Cameron's work.
By KEN GREENLEAF | August 26, 2009

Photos: 'Seeing Songs' at MFA

An eclectic mix of work that draws on music as inspiration
Contemporary Outlook: Seeing Songs at the MFA
By PHOENIX STAFF | July 16, 2009

Water world

Surfing photos in Salem, new talent at PRC
What's the difference between art photography and fashion photography? That's the question I kept wondering about at Joni Sternbach's "SurfLand" exhibition at Salem's Peabody Essex Museum.
By GREG COOK | June 09, 2009

Make a run for the border

Edward Weston in Mexico, plus modern Mexican prints
In August 1923, photographer Edward Weston left his wife and three of his four sons in Los Angeles and headed to Mexico City.
By GREG COOK | June 02, 2009

Viva Modernism

'Vida y Drama: Modern Mexican Prints' and 'Viva Mexico!: Edward Weston and his Contemporaries' at the MFA
Long before the threat of swine flu, Mexico was the scene of an outbreak of a very different kind: Modernism.
By EVAN J. GARZA | May 12, 2009