- zonezero.com
fotografen -
- neue
folge
Die
Website »www.zonezero.com« wird in Mexiko City gemacht. In
einem
- Land
der »Dritten Welt« also. Aber das beeinflußt die redaktionelle
Politik
- der
Site nur am Rande. Zwar werden hier mehr Fotografen aus Mexiko
- und
dem erstlichen Lateinamerika publiziert, als hierzulande. Aber man
- findet
bei »zonezero.com« ebenso viele Portfolios von Fotografen aus
an-
- deren
Weltgegenden wie den USA, Europa, Australien etc.
Wie
das Fotorama ist »zonezero.com« eine Art Portal für zeitgenössische
- Fotografie,
mit integrierten Galerien und einer Zeitschrift - siehe das Menü
- der
Site durch Klick auf das Thumbnail gleich unten.
Sorge
für den weltoffenen Geist und die thematische Breite der Site sorgt
- ihr
Chefredakteur Pedro Mayer, ein erfolgreicher und weitgereister Bild-
- journalist
mit Wohnort Mexico City.
Vor
Jahren hatte ich die Gelegenheit, Pedro Mayer persönlich kennenzuler-
- nen.
In Graz, als es noch die Fotosymposien von Camera Austria dort gab.
- Mayer
hatte einen Vortrag darüber gehalten, wie der amerikanische Markt
- für
Fotokunst funktioniert und warum er »eurozentrisch« orientiert
ist und
- Künstler
der »Dritten Welt« kaum Chancen haben, auf ihm zu reüssieren.
- Es
war das erste Mal, daß ich mit dieser Fragestellung so direkt konfron-
- tiert
wurde. Das war vor 20 Jahren . . .
Mit
ähnlicher Klarsicht hat Pedro Mayer die Bedeutung digitaler Fotografie
- und
deren digitaler Vermittlung schon sehr früh erkannt. Denn »Zonezero«
- ist
schon seit 1996 online. Seitdem hat man dort über 400 »Galerien«
publi-
- ziert.
Ob solchem Fleiß kann man nur den Hut ziehn. Siehe die Menüseite
- der
Galerien durch Klick auf das Thumbnail gleich unten.
Unseren
Respekt für die Arbeit bei »Zonezero.com« wollen wir ab
jetzt in
- der
Form zollen, daß wir in unregelmäßigen Abständen
auf die neuesten
- Galerien
auf der Site aufmerksam machen. Die Linkliste gleich unten ist die
- erste
Folge dieser Serie.
Die
Kommentare zu den einzelnen Galerien, die wir mitpublizieren, sind die
- originalen
von »Zonezero« - daher in Englisch.
There
has been no exhibition that we have published in ZoneZero which
- has
given us more pleasure to publish than the work of Rafael Goldchain
- from
Canada. The depth of the idea of photographing himself as the various
- members
(male or female) of his family along several generations, was ter-
- rific.
However, if this project would have been tried by someone with less
- craft
than that of Rafael, the outcome might not have been as successful
- as
it has. His artistic explorations will probably land these portraits along
- those
of other great masters of photography.
Rafael
Goldchain -
- Familial
Ground
- (Canada-Chile)
»Familial
Ground is the product of a process that started several years ago
- when
my son was born. I gradually realized that my new role as parent in-
- cluded
the responsibility to pass on to my son a familial and cultural inheri-
- tance,
and that such inheritance would need to be gathered and delivered
- in
a manner appropriate to his age. My attempts at articulating histories,
cul-
- tural
and familial, public and private, made me acutely aware of how much I
- knew
of the former, and how little of the latter.." - Rafael Goldchain
Start
»Familial Ground«
I
suspect that we will see over time how the publication of personal diaries
- over
the internet, will gather a strong momentum. It seems like an ideal me-
- dium
for this genre. There is the intimacy of the reader with his screen, much
- like
in a book, but how many books are being published that are diaries of ba-
- sically
unknown people? Not many you have to admit. How many publishers
- are
willing to invest in the production and distribution of a book that does
not
- have
an assured wide audience to begin with? In addition, the internet will
- allow
us to add »intermedia« (various media that interact with each
other, I
- am
tired of the term multimedia because it stems from an era when the media
- were
actually considered to be separate from each other, something that no
- longer
is the case). Stephan Childs from the USA, brings us such a personal
- diary,
in his » Jacob Wrestling«. We will be bringing you more such
diaries
- over
the coming months.
Stephan
Childs -
- Jacob
Wrestling
- (USA)
»Jacob
Wrestling is a series of images conceived as an allegorical narrative.
- It
involves elements of personal experiences, memories, as well as imagined
- characters
and settings. The text excerpts are drawn from the novel Demian,
- written
by Herman Hesse.« - Stephan Childs
Start
»Jacob Wrestling«
Some
time ago we presented the work of the Argentinean photographer Os-
- waldo
Ancarola, who followed with great dedication the events in the life of
- his
wife, in an essay » My family has Cancer«. We are very saddened
by the
- news
that his wife has died very recently, and would like to point you in the
- direction
of a last goodbye that Oswaldo wanted to share with all those who
- responded
with so much empathy to this diary.
Visit
Obituary
Start
» My family has Cancer«
Julian
Gallo also from Argentina, has impressed us greatly by sending us an
- essay
done under his guidance, by a group of working professionals, amidst
- the
economic and political crisis we all know that has been going on in their
- country.
But in particular we have to admire their effort, as it is one of the very
- few
examples, where the work submitted to us, had already been assembled
- in
a digital format by the time it was delivered to us. This, up to now, has
hap-
- pened
very rarely. For the most part it has been our designers and program-
- mers
in ZoneZero who have had to put together the work we have published.
- We
welcome the fact that these Argentinean photographers made it their prio-
- rity
to present the work both in English and Spanish as a finished piece of
work.
- Julian
Gallo, the team leader and teacher, sent us the work the same day he
- had
been laid off from the newspaper he had been working for, thus joining
- the
ranks of the hundreds of thousands of unemployed without a safety net.
Destination
Lujan
- Various
artists
- (Argentina)
»A
group of journalists followed this procession of believers during seventy
- kilometers
to show through photographs and direct testimonies the motivations
- that
drive this heterogeneous crowd of nearly one million people, where faith,
- devotion
and promises are mixed with alcohol and sport fanaticism. We have
- explored
the possibility that a journalist should think and at the same time be
a
- narrator,
a reporter, a cameraman, a sound person, and editor and a director.
- In
short, we have shown that the task of a journalist is much broader that
is
- believed
today.« - Julian Gallo
Start
»Destination Lujan«
About
Pinhole Photography
- Various
artists
No
one can deny that at ZoneZero we have always had an open mind when it
- comes
to publishing work that wasn't necessarily done with the aid of new tech-
- nologies.
We are showing this time, for a second occasion, pinhole camera pho-
- tography.
One could easily argue that this style can be duplicated using digital
- cameras
and computers. I am sure that in time this will increasingly come to hap-
- pen,
notwithstanding the present day arguments that the cost of doing it one
way,
- does
not compare with the other. Another argument on the side of the pinhole
en-
- thusiasts
is that there is a great pleasure in doing it that way, as the computer
is
- still
been perceived as a »cold« medium vs. cardboard and tape, as
being »warm«.
- We
certainly have nothing to argue against using pin hole cameras for creating
- such
photographs, otherwise why would we publish these fine photographs?
- Nevertheless,
I am a strong advocate of always questioning what we are doing
- if
for no better reason than to reaffirm what has been done. The photographs
- that
make up this exhibition were presented in the context of the First National
- Encounter
of Pinhole Photography, held in the city of Veracruz, Mexico, during
- the
month of July 2001.
Start
Pinhole Photography
- Gallery
We
believe that the work of Ines Ulanovsky from Argentina, is a very important
- reminder
to all of us especially now as the clarions of war are blasting at full
- strength.
At stake are not only the lives of many innocent people, but also the
- very
notions of a world ruled by laws other than the might of the powerful.
It
brings to our attention among other issues what it means when those who
- are
in power, take the law into their own hands, and murder 30,000 innocent
- civilians
solely to advance their own ideology, and do so under the total com-
- placency
(and some would even say complicity) of US foreign policy.
The
power of this work is that the images themselves with just a few words
- become
an impossible discourse to forget. Their humanity is what brings all
- of
us together.
Nearly
3,000 innocent people were murdered on September 11th, in New York,
- and
the world has done the right thing by mourning them, and in their memory
- show
them their due respects and solidarity. However, ten times that many,
- thirty
thousand, were murdered alone in Argentina, also by terrorists, state-
- terrorism,
and the world has not yet mourned them accordingly.
Over
the recent past we here in ZoneZero, have brought you diverse bodies
- of
work that in our very modest way attempted to redress such a matter. Each
- of
the corresponding authors, some of whom we know personally, others we
- don't,
created a body of unique work that enables us to come closer to their
- feelings
of hurt.
Our
solidarity is as close to their pain as it is with those who perished on
Sep-
- tember
11th. It is not about knowing the persons who died. We are also them.
Ines
Ulanovsky -
- Photos
of You
- (Argentina)
»As
a child, pictures of the disappeared drew me in a mysterious way. When-
- ever
I saw them at a demonstration, I had the feeling that they were not dead.
- That
they were taking it all in; staring from their pictures. 30,000 photographs
- of
the disappeared belong in Argentina's picture album." - Ines Ulanovsky
Start
»Photos of You«
In
a world with all too much pain, it comes as a welcome relief when someone
- directs
their camera to look at the pleasure of life, these can be simple moments,
- yet
everlasting to the photographers gaze, such an essay or journey allows
us
- to
rest the eye of the more pleasant moments of our existence.
Diana
Blok -
- Ay
Dios
- (Netherlands)
»Ay
Dios is the result of a four-month months journey to the island of Curacao.
- This
visit led to many astonishing insights; I made the streets my place of
work
- and
allowed myself to be led through the theatre of life on the island. Rather
than
- molding
a conscious story, I let the surrounding influences help me visually cre-
- ate
what I call the 'thread of life'.« - Diana Blok
Start
»Ay Dios«
I
had met Mario many years ago, but then we lost contact with each other.
One
- day
recently, we had the pleasure of his visit in our studio, and he pulled
out a
- portfolio
of exquisite prints of a body of work done more than forty years ago.
- We
felt compelled to bring you these images as they revive an era, which for
- »political
correctness« has altogether vanished from most serious publications.
The
photographer provides us with his motivations in the essay that is published
- alongside
the pictures, and it makes for very interesting reading. However, what
- was
most important to us is that this specific world, which he depicts, has
dis-
- appeared.
It is not on any endangered species list. It simply is no more, and for
- that
we are all at a loss. No longer are the rivers as clean, or the women as
com-
- fortable
with a foreigners gaze. In it's place there is today pollution and distrust.
- This
for some reason is called progress.
Mario
Mutschlechner -
- Nundeui,
at the foot of the sky
- (Germany)
»On
glancing through my diaries of the late sixties, I found the pre-Columbian
de-
- scription
of the Lower Mixteca as "Nundeui" and its translation "at
the foot of the
- sky."
I adopted both as the title for this exhibit, because it means to be at
the en-
- trance
of the sky, from where I managed to glimpse at this tropical Eden.«
- Ma-
- rio
Mutschlechner
Start
»Nundeui«
Fifty
Mexican photographers -
- Tonantzin-Guadalupe
: A Day with Her
»This
book speaks about a urban Guadalupe from the XX century, inside our cur-
- rent
society, efficient and triumphant nowadays, granting and receiving a modern
- cult,
constellated with signs of the industrial civilization.« - Jose Joaquin
Blanco
Start
»Tonantzin«
Lauren
Greenfield -
- Girl
Culture
- (USA)
»Girl
Culture has been my journey as a photographer, as an observer of culture,
- as
part of the media, a media critic, a woman, a girl.« - Lauren Greenfield
Start
»Girl Culture«
Vee
Speers -
- Bordello
- (Australia)
»My
idea to tell the story of Bordello came about from my environment, and
using
- the
1920ies as my inspiration, gave me a more poetic and nostalgic means to
fa-
- bricate
the stylised imagery. Indeed, my interpretation is an idealistic and romantic
- view,
but nevertheless engages the viewer in more than a narcissist meander
- through
the mind's desires.« - Vee Speers
Start
»Bordello«
Jonathan
Moller -
- Our
Culture is Our Resistance
- (USA)
We
are very proud because Rigoberta Menchu Tum, a Nobel Peace Prize winner
- wrote
the introduction to this excellent and strong work by Jonathan Moller.
»Between
1993 and 2001 I worked as a human rights advocate and free-lance
- photographer
in Guatemala, principally working with indigenous Mayans uprooted
- by
that country's long and brutal civil war. I spent much of my time in rural
areas,
- working
to support Guatemala's hardest hit displaced and refugee populations in
- their
struggle for respect of their basic rights.« - Jonathan Moller
Start
»Our Culture is
- Our
Resistance«