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| © Stephen A. Scheer, Supermarket Parking Lot, Beeville, Texas, 1984 |
fototazo has asked a group of 50 curators, gallery owners, blog writers, photographers, academics and others actively engaged in photography to pick two photographers that deserve (more) recognition - the underknown, the under-respected as well as not-appreciated-enough favorites. A little more information on the project is available in the first post in the series here.
We began the series with responses from Nicholas Nixon and Matt Johnston. Today we continue with responses from Blake Andrews and John Edwin Mason.
Respondent: Eugene, Oregon-based Blake Andrews is a photographer and member of iN-PUBLiC. He runs the photography blog B. He is also involved with the Portland area photography groups Lightleak and Portland Grid Project.
Selections: Faulkner Short and Stephen A. Scheer
The one photographer who comes to mind immediately is Faulkner Short in Portland. Unfortunately he doesn't have a website. He has a few photos on Flickr but it's not really representative.
He is quite an original photographer. With most photographers I can trace some influence or style. But Faulkner's show none that I can tell. This is possibly because he's not connected online, or with the mainstream fine art community. He just shoots in his own way which I think is fairly visionary. He uses many different cameras but mainly a Minox, a pinhole and a Leica. Strictly analog.
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| © Faulkner Short |
The other name that comes to mind is one from the past, Stephen A. Scheer. He achieved some notoriety in the 80s, [and was] featured in Aperture and two of the Sally Eauclaire color books. But then for whatever reason he's dropped out of sight. But I think his photos are great. Streety color shots of urban areas and backyards. It would be nice to see him get a round of new recognition.
Respondent: John Edwin Mason is an historian and photographer who teaches African history and the history of photography at the University of Virginia. He runs his own blog and is very active on Twitter. In May 2010 his documentary photography project on the Cape Town New Year's Carnival entitled "One Love, Ghoema Beat" was published in South Africa by Random House Struik and in the United States by the University of Virginia Press and is available here.
Selections: Lauri Lyons and Chris Ledochowski. Two established photographers, in the midst of highly creative careers. Both have produced powerful books of documentary photography that, in many ways, demonstrate the strength of their visions.
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| © Lauri Lyons |
Lauri Lyons is an African-American commercial and editorial photographer. Her book, "Flag: An American Story," had the misfortune of being released in 2001. It was overwhelmed by the events of that year. In the book, Lyons asked Americans of all classes and colors to pose with the flag and to write their thoughts about the country in her journal. The result is a remarkable collaboration between the photographer and her subjects. The photos and texts reveal a complex mixture of joy, pain, pride, anger, amusement and a host of other emotions.
Chris Ledochowski is a white South African documentary and fine art photographer. As a member of the Afrapix agency, he documented the struggle against apartheid and contributed to a number of path-breaking publications. His book, "Cape Flats Details: Life and Culture in the Townships of Cape Town," is the result of decades of building relationships with the people of the African and "Coloured" townships of the Flats. The photos are quietly beautiful and often very intimate. The depth and complexity of Ledochowski's exploration of township life has rarely been equaled.
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| © Chris Ledochowski |