“From the drifting islands“ represents the situation of Tokyo after the earthquake in Japan.
Since that day, surprising disperse from the authorities and the center is silently going on in the depths of this big city. We no longer believe in any official authorities.
On the other side, it seems that people now feel that things after ’3.11′ are different from what they were before, although we are leading as quiet a life as before. We, perhaps, have a bad premonition that full-scale calamities will start to fall on us in no distant future. Although the tragedy of ’3.11′ is still under way, we have been threatened by the shadow of ‘x.xx’, which is the date of another disaster that will hit Tokyo some day in the near future. For the time being, everything seems to remain as it has always been, yet we cannot deny the intuition that something is different. In this pending situation, we have started to drift with no stable center.

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Toru Ukai graduated from the University of Tokyo, the faculty of literature, Japanese literature studies.
In 1998 Toru was awarded with the encouragement prize in 7th “New Cosmos of Photography”. In 2000 he took part in the photography exhibition “LOVE & POWER Borderless World” in Tokyo, Hiroshima and Sendai.
From 2002-2006 a series of Toru’s photographs and essays were published in the magazine of NHK Publishing, Inc. In 2005 Toru’s work was shown in the solo exhibition “From the Terminal Station ～ Guangzhou Railway Station ･ 1997″ in Tokyo, and 2011 in the solo exhibition “TOKYO/SHANGHAI Between heaven and Earth” in Shanghai.

For more of Toru’s work please visit
☞ www.flickr.com/photos/toru-ukai-new

“A world of revenge, honor and glory. Enter the vision of José Luis Abalo. A native of Venezuela, he devoted his photographic efforts to the documentation of Lucha Libre – Mexican and South American wrestling. His photography manages to be humorous, dark, and startling in the same moment.
His photo-book, Luchadores, will be a ticket to the front row of a wrestling match that will surprise you in its ferocity.”
—Donovan Ortega

By pre-ordering the “Luchadores“ photo book, you can support the publishing process of José Luis Abalo.

LUCHADORES by José Luis Abalo from GHOST PRESS on Vimeo.

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José Luis Abalo was born in Caracas, Venezuela in 1959. Both of his parents are from Spain and as a youth he traveled to the country often. As a result of these trips he developed a strong connection with Spanish customs and culture, a bond that would later reveal itself in his photography. Abalo completed an undergraduate degree at Bolivar and Garibaldi College in Venezuela and then began a graduate engineering program. It was at this juncture in Abalo’s life that he was introduced to photography and quickly realized it was his passion.
Abalo dropped out of the engineering program and enrolled at the Design Institute in Caracas where he studied under the famed photographer, Jose Sigala.
His experience with Sigala and the rest of the professors at the institute emboldened a passion Abalo would pursue the rest of his life.

Having worked extensively in America, Sigala identified parallels between Abalo’s work and American photographers like Gary Winogrand, Lee Friedlander, and Robert Frank. In these early days of Abalo’s photography, Sigala was a mentor to him. Abalo attributes the time spent with Sigala as a vital part of his progression as an artist.

Before moving to Spain in 1986, Abalo participated in two exhibitions in Caracas. The first was called “More Than One Hundred,” and the second was named, “A Week in Caracas.” Both were well received.

In Spain he began displaying his work both individually and collectively in the cities of Vigo, La Corunna, Barcelona, and Madrid. He also worked for five years as a photojournalist for the newspaper, La Voz de Galicia.
More recently, Abalo has devoted himself to exposing some of his earlier work in a book called Our Earth.
In 2006, he presented photographs taken of the Prestige oil tanker disaster and the volunteers dedicated to its clean up in Buenos Aires. In 2009 he released his last book called, Vigo-Cangas Cangas-Vigo. The photographs focus on passenger vessels on the Vigo River in Galicia, Spain. GHOST PRESS, a social publishing company, will release his next book in the fall of 2012. The photo book is an artistic exploration of South American professional wrestling entitled, Luchadores. Abalo lives in Spain.

For more of José’s work please visit
☞ www.joseluisabalo.com

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GHOST PRESS | Social Publishing | New York–London–Cologne

GHOST PRESS was founded by iranian photographer Peyman Azhari as a way to merge his business and artistic talents to create a situation in which artist and consumer engagement builds the platform of the business concept.

From the GHOST PRESS Manifesto:

There are thousands of talented artists in the world, but only a handful will ever have their work read or viewed by more than a few hundred people. Their creations will sit in a closet or a hard drive or some abandoned studio apartment to decay and be forgotten.

At GHOST PRESS, we believe the artistic output of these gifted men and women is valuable and should be given the opportunity to flourish. Today, through the abundance of social networks, people now have the ability to engage with millions at the click of a button. While this may seem like a rather disingenuous way to communicate, at GHOST PRESS we want to leverage this unique ability to empower an entire generation of artists.

GHOST PRESS artists do not compromise their artistic integrity. They are not subject to massive financial barriers. They need only be themselves—creators.

We go beyond classical publishing services. GHOST PRESS is social publishing. We offer artists a platform to display their work as well as tools to create a strong bond with his or her audience. The dialogue between creator and supporter is one of the propellants that powers what we do. Ultimately, this is what will fuel our success.

GHOST PRESS has a vision. Driven forward by their creativity, an artistic community will sprout from nothing. Our artists will appear in traditional and online bookstores. They will hold public exhibitions that act as occasions for face-to-face engagement with supporters. What will have begun as a small stream of like-minded dreamers will converge into a torrent of creativity that will change the way books are published.

This is GHOST PRESS. This is Social Publishing.
Join us.
Connecting the artist with the audience.

Learn more about GHOST PRESS at
☞ www.ghost-press.com

Opening: Wednesday 23rd May 7pm
Exhibition: 24th May – June 2nd 2012
TACTIC, Cork, Ireland

Flotsam and Jetsam, curated by Kirstie North, focuses on the found object, scrap and ephemera and the use of everyday objects and materials.

Featuring work by
Paul Chisholm  //  Simon English // Swaantje Güntzel // James L Hayes // Barry W. Hughes // Joanna Hopkins // Fiona Reily //   Anne Marie Taggart // Sam Walkerdine

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Kirstie North is currently undertaking a PhD in art History at UCC. She currently holds a Masters degree from UCC and an undergradute degree from Camberwell College of Art at the University of Arts, London. She previously held the position of assiatant curator at the Milton Keyes Gallery.

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TACTIC is an artist led space for curatorial projects in Cork, Ireland.
TACTIC aims to provide a new format space for cultural practitioners to curate exhibitions and to contribute to the creative community with a programme of challenging and exciting art. TACTIC is interested in creating a dialogue and a process of collaboration across different disciplines, areas and specialties and is committed to facilitating the development and enjoyment of contemporary art.

More infos at
☞ www.tactic-art.info

TACTIC on Facebook
☞ www.facebook.com/TACTICart

“Callum Ross’s untitled images give nothing away whilst telling us everything we need to know.
The places that feature in the West series evoke our curious desire to know where the places are:
west… west of where? The answer is not important in that these are less about places and more about the events occurring within the landscape. What is most apparent about these images is their transience of their sense of this is really one moment in an ongoing succession moments.

Such ephemeral and temporal qualities are often not those that we associate with landscape photography. This is perhaps because most images in the landscape tradition, such as those of Adams and Western operate with some pretension to the ‘timeless’ or at least the landscape as the still and silent witness to the things that go on within it. Ross’s photographs are scenes of struggle between elements, momentary clashes of natural forces. A blanket of fog in the process of erasing an entire valley; grass struggling to stay above the snow; and evergreens asserting their dominance of the winter over the skeletal deciduous trees. Landscapes, like people, change, and in either case it takes a unique kind of perception to notice them.” – Ashley Whammond

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Callum Ross is an emerging photographic artist, with a Bachelor of Photography degree, majoring in Photographic Art Practice from the Queensland College of Art, Griffith University, 2011. Expanding the conventions of landscape and portraiture, his work explores the boundaries of the external world and that of an internal one. Callum’s work has been exhibited widely throughout Australia, including his recent solo exhibition at the Queensland Centre for Photography and the UNCOVER finalist show at the Perth Centre for Photography. Callum will be moving to Berlin, Germany in Summer 2012 to continue working on his latest projects.

For more of Callum’s work please visit
☞ www.callumross.net

On May 25th + 26th 2012, C/O Berlin, International Forum For Visual Dialogues, will be presenting the C/O Berlin Book Days publishing event for the second time.

The program includes book presentations, screenings, discussions, seminars and book signings. In the courtyard of the historic Postfuhramt, more than 20 publishers will be introducing their latest publications on the subject of photography.

The C/O Berlin Book Days will take place by the occasion of the opening of the Larry Clark Retrospective and the Rafał Milach exhibition “7 Rooms“ on May 25th at 7 pm.

After the success of the first Book Days in 2011, this year C/O Berlin offers once again a platform for both young and established publishing houses to present their newest publications and encourages exchange in the field of self publishing. C/O Berlin dedicates special attention to the phenomenon of self publishing and questions the history and the status quo of this still recent trend in discussions. In addition, C/O Berlin supports five young self publishing houses with the realisation of their projects and provides their presence at the C/O Berlin Book Days. The critic and artist Joachim Schmid curates this section.

The participating publishers, magazines and artists are, amongst others: 1/2 Zines, ABC, ALBUM – Magazin für Fotografie, Bücher & Hefte, doyoureadme? . Ex Pose, FW:, Gloria Glitzer, Hatje Cantz, Je suis une bande de jeunes, Jung & Wenig, Kehrer Verlag, Kodoji Press, Kominek, Motto Berlin, Peeping Tom, Piece Of Cake, Romka Magazin, Self Publish Be Happy, Marcus Schaden, Anne Schwalbe and Seltmann & Söhne.

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From Photo to Book
2 Seminars on the C/O Berlin Book Days
27 May 2012 . 11 am – 4 pm

“Aside from exhibitions, book publications are the most effective and important way for photographers to present their works to the public. The series of images and the format and paper can often be assembled quickly—and thanks to modern technology, high-quality printing is affordable. But how does one get the work to the people interested in buying it? What price should one charge? Is the process of creating a book really so easy? In the two seminars, internationally renowned experts offer photographers and artists detailed guidance for planning the path to a finished publication. Both of these four-hour seminars will equip participants with enough knowledge and practical experience to successfully publish their own books.” (Press release from C/O Berlin)

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Seminar #1:
“Art Publishing Strategies” with Yannick Bouillis
27 May 2012 . 11 am – 4 pm

Yannick Bouillis is the founder of both Offprint Paris and the Amsterdam Art Book Fair, currently the two most important trade fairs for photographic and graphic arts publications. In this seminar, he will address questions of content and outline a range of strategies for print and online publications. He will place a special focus on important post-production aspects: distribution, pricing, and marketing.

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Seminar #2:
“Self Publish Your Photobook” with Bruno Ceschel
27 May 2012 . 11 am – 4 pm

Bruno Ceschel is an author, curator, lecturer in photography at the Camberwell College of Arts in London, and founder of “Self Publish, Be Happy”—an organization that promotes self-published photo books internationally. His seminar will focus on the current model of self-publishing, and will cover aspects ranging from conception of an idea to the selection of images and design of the publication.

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The seminars will take place simultaneously and are both in English.
Each seminar is limited to 15 participants.

Participation fee 195 Euro per person
Application 030.28 44 41 641 . project {at} co-berlin.com
Application deadline 21 May 2012

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More infos at
☞ C/O Berlin
☞ Join the C/O Berlin Book Days on Facebook

Image © C/O Berlin

Related articles on ACMV:
☞ Rafał Milach | 7 Rooms
☞ Self Publish, Be Happy School | Workshops

Self Publish, Be Happy is an organisation founded by Bruno Ceschel in 2010 with the aim of celebrating, studying and promoting self-published photo books through events (such as exhibitions, displays and talks), publications and online exposure.

Self Publish, Be Happy also organises workshops that help artists and photographers make and publish their own books.

Self Publish, Be Happy Shop sells a selection of remarkable and rare contemporary books.

Self Publish, Be Happy Blog features daily photography by mostly emerging artists. It also presents weekly features like posts curated by Guest Editors, Video Interviews, Graduate work, new music and naughty pics.

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Self Publish, Be Happy School is new series of intimate two day art/photography workshops – taking place in London – offering a unique opportunity for hands on experience of book-making, creative mentoring and intellectual engagement.

Location: Daniel Blau Gallery, 51 Hoxton Square, London N1 6PG
Times: Saturday and Sunday 10-6pm
Booking enquiries: spbhschool {at} gmail.com / 07906 185695
Please note that advance booking is essential as places for the workshops are limited.

Previous workshops included Self Publish Your Book by Bruno Ceschel (March 24th & 25th 2012) and Degenerate Art by Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin (April 21st and 22nd 2012).

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The next 2 upcoming, highly interesting workshops are No Dogs, No Babies, No Weddings But Print-on-demand Books by Joachim Schmid (May 19th & 20th 2012) and Make your own Photo-Zine by Claudio Pfeifer from PogoBooks (June 23rd & 24th 2012)!

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Related article on ACMV:
☞ C/O Berlin Book Days 2012 (May 25 + 26, 2012)

“On November 23rd 1980 at 7.34 P.M. the earth shook for ninety seconds in the Irpinia valley, an area of the Campania region in Italy. Ninety seconds to kill 2.998 people, tear the house away to 280.000, change the geography of the lands and produce illusions that where rapidly deluded: the area, among the poorest in southern Italy, saw suddenly interrupted the already difficult process of development. More than thirty years after the event that marked a “before” and “after” in the south of Italy’s history, Michela Palermo chose to weave her personal story with that of this land.

My Broken World (2011) is a tale told through images of a world that has crushed into pieces, of a land crossed by deep cracks and unsewn tears, of the suspended lives of who was stuck in a motionless time.
My Broken World is a view on the unexpected results of an earthquake that shook the earth like a revolution: broadening horizons, liberating energies, creating new networks, discussing certainties.
It’s the “broken world” of Michela Palermo, who was born in Irpinia in the year of the earthquake and came back in the places of her childhood to document the changes that occurred during these years.
Michela sought the soul of this remote land. She told the changing of the seasons, the different colors. The winter sleep of a haystack. The suspension full of omens of the fog.
The promise of summer in the deep blue sky.
With a dreamy and evocative register, Michela portrayed the places of the earthquake and the scars in the land, documenting at the same time her inner landscape and the burning disappointment of someone who is deeply rooted in a place where the eternal unfinished doesn’t amaze or make indignant anymore.”
– Text by Irene Alison

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Born in 1980, after obtaining a degree in Political Sciences at the University of Bologna (Italy), Michela Palermo graduated from the General Studies Program at the International Center of Photography, New York.
She received 3rd Prize for her Portfolio at the Fotoleggendo Festival in Rome in 2010; she won the Camera della Moda section of the Canon Young Photographer Award 2011, and she received a Special Mention for her submission to the “Call for Entry” section at the Rome International Photography Festival in 2011.
She is among twelve photographers chosen for the Middle Town Project, which is organised by ISSP (Latvia), GAPO (Turkey) and Trabzon Foto Forum (Turkey) in cooperation with Paradox (Netherlands). She has been working as an editorial photographer focusing on domestic issues in Italy since 2010.
Michela is distribuited by OnOff Picture (Italy).

For the entire series and more of Michela’s work please visit
☞ www.michelapalermo.com
☞ www.facebook.com/mmichelapalermo

I didn’t sign up for this is a project based around recovering from an illness. I developed blood clots on the left hand side of my body and many were close to my vital organs. I fell ill while I was on holiday in Berlin and the language barrier meant at times, it was impossible to ask for help. Whenever I would hear footsteps approaching my room, I would always think that it was someone coming to tell me bad news. Being away from home, I grew fearful of my surroundings in the hospital and this project is a result of me returning home to Ireland with a fresh outlook on things and rediscovering my environs and also my personal relationships with my partner, family and friends.

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Alex Rose (b. 1990) is a photographer born and based in Dublin, Ireland. She is currently studying for her BA (hons) in Photography at IADT. Her work mainly focuses on personal issues through the medium of landscapes and portraits. She also curates Quick Brown Fox.

Alex is currently participating and organising an exhibition called inland with a fellow curator, Jane Cummins. inland is a group show consisting of eleven photographers. The theme is based around the idea that during this tough economic climate with many people migrating and leaving their homes that we need to re-discover our identity within Ireland, on a cultural and personal level.
They are currently trying to fund this project through a Fundit page and would really like if anyone could help. Check them out here:
☞ inlandexhibition.tumblr.com
☞ www.fundit.ie/project/inland–the-lighthouse

Explore more of Alex Rose’s work on
☞ rose-alex.tumblr.com

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related article on ACMV:
☞ Quick Brown Fox

Tonight at 6 pm the second part of the graduates exhibition (classes of Eva Bertram and Marc Volk) at the Neue Schule für Fotografie Berlin is opening:

. zwei
Vernissage: Friday May 11 2012, 6 pm
Exhibition: May 12 – June 17, 2012

The exhibition . zwei shows work by Judith B-Kluge, Babett Köhler, Maria Jauregui Ponte, Laurie Schmiedt and Kirill Semkow.

Guided tours:
Eva Bertram: Sunday May 20 2012, 4 pm
Marc Volk: Sunday June 10 2012, 4 pm

Forum der Neuen Schule für Fotografie Berlin
Brunnenstr. 188-190, 10119 Berlin
Opening hours: Wed – Sun, 2 – 7 pm

Further infos can be found at the exhibition website
☞ www.punkteinspunktzwei.de

citybirches is a photographic portrait series by photographer and musician Stephan Laackman, focusing on “Alternative Rock Bands” on tour.

In 2006, when I picked up my camera and set out to give visual form to my appreciation and zest for innovative, path-breaking musicians and bands, it was the beginning of an enthusiastic long-term project. For five years, with patience and openness, I took the time to devote myself to many fascinating individuals and bands, and to piece together a detailed portrait of musicians’ everyday life on tour. Many renowned artists and young talents were enthusiastic about my idea, so that up to 2011 I was able to work together with 150 bands, including Sonic Youth, Lambchop, Explosions In The Sky, Calexico, R.E.M., Future Islands, and Deerhunter – to name just a few.

The end result is citybirches: a comprehensive, multi-faceted photography work for interested music lovers and fans.”

In order to acquaint you with citybirches and actually place this project in your hands in the form of a book, I am presently negotiating with a particularly pleasant and professional publisher, the Kettler Publishing House. This publisher shares my and your own passion for music and would like to bring out citybirches as a high-quality edition of 1,000 copies in Germany and the USA. An accompanying CD-compilation presenting compositions by the portrayed artists is planned for my label, “Haywain Recordings,” and will come with the book.
In spite of my own sizeable investments and the support of Kettler Publishing, however, I do need your help to manifest citybirches as a book and to actually get the portraits of these impressive musicians out into the world. For the complete financing of the production, we still have a deficit of €10,000.

Naturally, anyone who supports the project will be rewarded! For this reason I am initiating a Crowdfunding Drive, which will not only help me but will also provide you with a signed, limited edition of citybirches. Along with the signed book, signed museum-quality prints, on highest quality 240g/m2 fine-art-paper in sizes ranging from 4.1″ x 5.8″ to 16.5″ x 23.4″ will be included as a special bonus. Additionally, all donors who acquire “parts” for over €75.- will be immortalized as patrons in the book, where their names will be listed.

Please help to bring a wonderful project to fruition! I would be deeply thankful for any kind of backing, whether in the form of monetary donations or through spreading the word to others who may also be happy for an opportunity to financially support this project!

With best regards,
Stephan

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Please consider supporting Stephan in realising this wonderful project – and share this link with your contacts. Thank you!

☞ citybirches photography works (2006–2011) crowdfunding page: A photobook, exhibit and music compilation project
(for the ☞ german version please choose this link)

For updates also follow citybirches on Facebook:
☞ www.facebook.com/citybirches

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Stephan Laackman (*1974), a photographer and musician, touches upon moments of timelessness in the dynamic everyday lives of musicians. In his photography book, citybirches photography works, he presents a collection of pictures devoted to performing artists on tour. He focuses on the tension between their self-presentation when on stage and their self-involvement during downtime.

Laackman’s photographs, taken in the years 2006-2011, are, above all, the visual manifestation of a “musical friendship.” As a musician, he conveys this friendship through the eyes of a photographer, and melds together an intuitive knowledge of the subject and a partiality for the unmasked sensitivity of the portrayed artists. Recording spontaneous instants, he offers an unbiased view of the musicians’ personalities, but never transgresses their privacy.
Laackman observes without intruding, waits patiently in everyday touring situations, in which every minute is precious. In choosing his window of time, he has to work around setting up, sound checks, and stage set construction.

Where time is of the essence, Laackman reacts quickly and confidently. To him, the first five minutes of engagement with a person are decisive. He is fascinated by those initial fleeting moments in which intuition and sensitivity are in high gear and the photographic eye is free of analysis and artistic strategy. Whatever happens after these first minutes is of little interest or loses importance with repetition.

In spite of the spontaneity at the heart of the works, Laackman’s photographs radiate slowness and serenity. There is no sign of the stress and hectic activity surrounding performances or of the potential complications that are always a worry when dealing with technology. He spurns the slightest sensationalism and, always respecting his subjects’ boundaries, he seeks their essential natures. In doing so, he gives just as much attention to the microphone or the instrument’s case as to the individual features of the artists themselves.

Establishing a dialogue with a person and an object, he finds a sensitive balance between intimacy and distance. In this way, Laackman expresses a “friendship” that he has cultivated by admiring and becoming closely familiar with the music. Thanks to the existence of published songs and albums, he could develop his relationship to the artist previous to the actual encounter.

Laackman’s choice of materials also follows the principle of balance. He consciously uses analogue camera technology to do justice to his subjects’ unique vitality and drive, either portraying them in daylight or enveloped in atmospheric stage lighting. Without adding special effects or overlaying eccentric allures, he captures the dramaturgy of the performance under the given lighting conditions. He concentrates on the artist’s communication with the audience, on the movements of the hands, and on the music – which speaks for itself. Even if the image cannot transport the sound, the music is omnipresent and visually tangible.

In order to enrich citybirches with an immediate experience of the musical language, an accompanying compilation presents pieces by selected portrayed artists. Side by side, the photographic interpretations and the musical expressions of the artists enter into dialogue. The pieces have been made available by the musicians involved in the project and will be published on Laackman’s independent label, Haywain Recordings, and will supplement the photography book.