When in Sydney... /  by Claudia Phares

I went to Sydney for the day on Friday to check out Annie Leibovitz’s exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art. The show featured her works done between 1990-2005. There were portraits of her family and celebrities, as well as lanscape and reportage works. I wasn’t familiar with her reportage projects and I was intensely perturbed by one photo of bloody footprints on a wall entitled ‘Traces of the massacre of Tutsi schoolchildren and villagers on a bathroom wall, Shangi Mission School, Rwanda 1994’ .  It was a such a simple shot, yet so evocative! Overall, I really enjoyed the exhibition. Leibovitz is very skilled in her composition and in her artistic direction. 

I dropped by the Australian Centre of Photography to check out Polixeni Papapetrou’s ‘Tales from Elsewhere’. Her large scale prints are, once again, beautifully shot and impeccable.

Lastly, I popped in Blender Gallery to check out the Diana exhibition and the lomo shop. I only brought 2 cameras on my trip: digital point-&-shoot and, of course, my Diana!

Diana F+ vs Holga /  by Claudia Phares

As I promised, I was going to compare prints between the Diana F+ and the Holga. I shot 3 rolls with my recently purchased Diana F+. I deliberately made several double exposures, something I hardly did with my Holga up until recently. Since I shot with the smallest frame available on the Diana F+, the resulting prints had a nice black border. I cropped it a bit after scanning the prints.  There is a softer effect with the Diana shots. The Holga prints appeared sharper. Since I didn’t shoot the same thing with both cameras at the same time, it is difficult to give a fair comparison. I used both colour (Fuji PRO400) and black/white film (Kodak T-MAX 400) with both cameras. I found winding with the Diana a little harder, like there was more resistance which is the complete opposite with the Holga. I haven’t shot a roll with flash on the Diana yet. I’m currently working on it. In the end, I really like the Diana and just as much as my trusty Duct-taped Holga! Check out my Flickr, to see more of my recent lomography. 

02/02/2011 /  by Claudia Phares

Review of the ‘Naked Face: Self-Portraits’

Francesco CLEMENTE
I 1982
colour woodcut
36.0 x 51.0 cm (image); 42.7 x 57.1 cm (sheet)
ed. 84/100
Purchased, 1986
© Francesco Clemente

Last week I went to check out ‘The Naked Face: Self-Portraits’ at the Ian Potter Centre. I felt right in my element since the whole show was on self-portraiture. I was impressed with the variety of selected works of different media ranging from Renaissance until present. The exhibit, curated by Vivien Gaston, follows 6 key ideas explored about the human persona: identity, performance, myth and psyche, scrutiny, empathy, touch and trace. I was pleased to see one of the American photographer Cindy Sherman’s ‘Untitled 183-A’ from the ‘History Portrait Series’. I love the theatrical feel and the humour in the photo. I discovered unfamiliar artists such as Francesco Clemente; the multimedia artist Julie Rrap; the surrealist painter Peter Booth; the performance artist Stelarc and the artists Max Klinger and Stacha Halpern. They say you can’t judge a book by its cover. But if an artist produces a self-portrait, would it be a definite reflection of who they are? I find that knowing about the artist’s background helps better understand their self-portraiture works. Think of the self-portraitist icons Van Gogh and Frida Khalo. The exhibit is worth seeing and runs until 27 February 2011.  

12/01/2011 /  by Claudia Phares

On my 2nd day in LA, I was out on Santa Monica Blvd and serendipitously found myself standing in front of the LA Lomography Gallery Store. I walked in and felt like a kid in a candy store: there were cameras everywhere and of different colours; a wall covered from floor to ceiling with lomo prints! I was greeted by Satomi, a virtuoso herself in the art of lomography. (She’s got a profile on the lomo website worth checking out.) Satomi kindly went through the different models of lomo cameras. I mentioned I owned a Holga. We shared our love for the dreamy effects of pinhole photography. I wasn’t expecting to leave with a camera, but Satomi’s passion for lomography was seriously contagious! Mind you, no one twisted my arm plus, I am a self-confessed camera gear head! I chose the Diana F+ with flash. It comes with 3 extra apertures on top of the pinhole if you compare it to the Holga. There’s also an option for long exposures. I have yet to develop my Diana rolls to see the results.FYI, there are Lomo Gallery Stores in all the major cities around the world. Check out their websites for news, workshops, competitions, etc. 

10/1/2011 /  by Claudia Phares

 A few good things happened since my last log entry. In November, the launch for the Ladies Bicycle Calendar turned out to be a success in spite of the intermittent downpour. We managed to do a massive group portrait with all the attending women with their bike in between showers. Last year, I made a decision to take my artistic journey to another level. I decided to apply for a Bachelor in Fine Art (photography) at both RMIT and VCA. That meant I spent October and November preparing my portfolio. I made it to the interview stage for both universities. I found out in mid-December that both universities have offered me entry. That was excellent end of year news! 

I spent Christmas and New Year’s in Montreal. In between family-orientated activities, I went to see the exhibition on the German painter Otto Dix at the Musée des Beaux-Arts. I would describe his paintings and drawings as bold, graphic, and uninhibited. Some of his art depicted death, violence and grotesque. One of my favourite portraits was this one entitled ‘Reclining Woman on Leopard Skin’. This painting is very much inspired from the old Masters with the draperies and the reclining pose. I thought the woman had a noticeable feline look. Her posture and the way she’s slightly digging her nails in the fur made her very animal-like. Otto has often painted prostitutes and maybe the intent here was to show this woman as a powerful sensual predator.

I went to LA for a few days and took the opportunity to visit the Getty Museum. It’s worth checking out for its impressive architecture and landscape. There is also remarkable view of LA from the top of the building. We could see the snowcaps on the mountains on that clear day. At the time, there was an ongoing photo exhibition of the British-Italian Felice Beato. He was known for having documented his extensive travels throughout India and Asia during various wars. He used glass-plate negatives which were fragile and not easy to travel around with. Considering the means of the time, I appreciated his ethnographic works even more so. Beato carefully framed his subjects and his landscapes since long exposure times were required for his photo process. Not only was Beato a good printer but also a talented hand colourist. Overall, his photography inspired nostalgia and surrealism, as seen on the photo on the left.

Next to Beato’s exhibit was “Photography of the New China’, featuring emerging Chinese artists. I had seen the work of Zhang Huan,’Tree of Life’ (see photo on left), who conducted self-portraits involving identity, painting and culture. There was definitely a common thread between all the Chinese artists: politics, history, culture and tradition were strong concepts in the show. I liked Rong Rong ‘Wedding’ series of hand painted staged portraiture. Also worth noting are the photos of Liu Zheng and Song Yongping.

Concurrently at the Museum of Contemporary Art is showing ‘The Artist’s Museum’ where the artworks of 146 artists who have shaped the art scene over the last 30 years in LA are shown. There were artworks from Barbara Krueger, Mark Ryden, Devandra Banhart, and David Hockney. In the permanent collection, I liked the works of Robert Raushenberg, Jasper Johns and Joseph Cornell. I particularly liked how they used a variety of found objects with mixed media to construct their pieces. I also really liked the street photography of Helen Levitt and Robert Frank. Their simplicity in their depiction of everyday life is very inspiring. I do have a weak spot for black and white photography.

On the same topic of street photography, I went to see ‘William Eggleston: Democratic Camera—Photographs and Video, 1961–2008’ at the LACMA. He also was gifted in capturing the mundane in everyday life. He used dye transfer prints because he liked saturated colours. He claimed Henri-Cartier Bresson’s ‘Decisive Moment’ was a turning point for him. He was more than once at the right place at the right time and had a very intuitive eye. I watched a short doco on his life and works at the exhibit which portrayed Eggleston as a contemporary artist who revolutionized street photography with his colour photographs. Featured on the left is one of my favorites of Eggleston, ‘Near Extinct Wannalaw Plantation, Mississippi’.

The photo series of Manjari Sharma is probably the most modern photography exhibit I saw in the past couple of weeks. Two of her projects were featured” at the Kopeikin Gallery ‘Shower’ (see photo on left) and ‘Water’. In the first one, she photographed friends in the shower. It’s a simple project and it was well shot. I preferred the ‘Shower’ series over the ‘Water’ one. Her website is worth checking out, especially her project ‘Anastasia’.

28/11/2010 /  by Claudia Phares

Annika von Hausswolff
Hey Buster! What do you know about desire? 1993
Colour photograph
Courtesy of the artist and Moderna Museet, Stockholm
Part of Mortality, ACCA 2010

 Last Thursday, I went to see the exhibition ‘Mortality’ at the ACCA while waiting for my interview at the VCA. It was well worth it. I saw a similar exhibit called ‘Vanités’ in Paris last May at the Musée Maillol. ‘Mortality’ involves photography, video, paintings, sculptures and writings. This exhibition displays various works of 32 artists. Some of the Australian artists featured in this exhibition include Darren Sylvester, Sue Ford, and Larry Jenkins. Some notable international artists include Bill Viola, Tacita Dean and Fiona Tan. The dimly lit gallery made the atmosphere feel both eerie and peaceful. At times I found it too dark to be able to clearly read the labels associated with the works. My favorite piece was the ‘talking light globe’ installation in the tiny black room. I liked Fiona Tan’s video of the toddler tied to helium balloons, bouncing off the ground and giggling. I also liked Darren Sylvester’s photos which I had only seen in catalogues and books. The title of the show may not appeal to everyone for its negative connotations of dying, suffering and death. ‘Mortality’ isn’t just a show about death but also a celebration of the passage of life. The show ends today. 

23/11/2010 /  by Claudia Phares

I have just finished re-reading the 1st edition of ‘The photograph as contemporary art’ by Charlotte Cotton. The first time I read it was for leisure in July 2008 while holidaying in New York. This time around I was using the book as a study tool because my work at the CCP has exposed me to some serious photography that I didn’t feel like I really understood. Cotton put this book together ‘to give a sense of the spectrum of motivations and expressions that currently exist in the field [of contemporary art]’. The British author was the head of programming at the ‘The Photographers’ Gallery (London) and has worked as a curator of photography at London’s Victoria & Albert Museum. Cotton’s background as a curator informs the layout of the book which is divided into 7 chapters, each describing a different ‘category’ of contemporary art photography. The idea was to provide a sense of the main themes motivating contemporary photographers exhibiting in major international art centres like Berlin, Tokyo, New York and London. The language used is concise, descriptive and free of jargon. I found some of the titles of the chapters too abstract: ‘If this is art’, ‘Once upon a time’, and ‘Deadpan’. However, the author gave a good description of the content behind each title with supporting photographs. The 7 categories cover various styles of photography practice ranging from staged photography (Cindy Sherman) to the artistic ‘snapshot’ (Vibeke Tandberg). The small size of book is an achievement. A broad and complete overview on photography in the contemporary art world is found within 218 glossy pages. The images and the printing quality are good. Since the photographs in the book are small, I’d recommend looking up artists online as you read through. The photographs accompanying the text aren’t necessarily the artists’ most well known works, but this book was not meant to be a countdown of hits. Some artists (like Jeff Wall, Philip-Lorca di Corcia, and Andreas Gursky) are featured in more than one category, showing the various ways in which the same artist can be interpreted. The author has allocated a paragraph on selected artists in each category. 


Overall, the illustrations supported well the themes of each chapter, which makes this book a valuable resource for the price. Prior knowledge of contemporary artists may help better understand the content but it is not an absolute prerequisite. In addition to the index, the author included a list of further readings and a list of illustrations. There are about 170 photographers covered in this book. Without reading it, I doubt I would have stumbled on the works of even just half of them. I haven’t seen any other book written on ‘photography as contemporary art’ in this format besides this one. The book is definitely a good educational tool for untrained eyes like mine. More experienced eyes may find some omissions. Cotton succeeded in surveying the range of different practices of contemporary photography as an art form. One idea that grabbed me was how the ‘collective consciousness’ influences our ways of seeing photographs. Our exposure to media will determine how we will react toward art. Demographics is also major factor influencing our views. There isn’t a need for a statement or caption if the photograph is referencing what we have seen in the media. The last chapter of Cotton’s book, ‘Revived and remade’, is about photographs that make references to ‘our memory’s stock of images’. Cindy Sherman and Trish Morrissey are featured in this section. Barbara Kruger is missing from this section surprisingly. She is a great example of a contemporary artist who modifies selected photographs from magazine to make art. Nikki S. Lee is an artist I was introduced to in this chapter. Her ‘projects’ involve assimilating herself in various North American social groups. I was particularly interested in her idea of attempting to fit in a group with relevant attire. There is an element of performance in her self-portraiture which is in line with my kind of work. I picked up Cotton’s book with the hopes of becoming more knowledgeable about photography and the contemporary art world and to shape my own creative process. Second time around, I definitely had a better appreciation for the book’s content. Since my initial reading I have had the opportunity to see first hand the works of some of the artists referenced in the book like Andreas Gursky, Martin Parr, Trish Morrissey, Nan Goldin and Tracey Moffat (whose works were exhibited here in Melbourne.) Re-reading this book helped me put everything into perspective. In retrospect, learning from a book is practical and allows you to review content at your own rhythm. Would I recommend it? Definitely.

09/11/2010 /  by Claudia Phares

Last September, I went out to shoot for the ‘Northside Ladies Bicycle Calendar’ project. The past 2 years I’ve been involved with this project, I used my own camera to shoot. For a change, we shared a Rolleicord III Type 2 Medium format camera (75 mm lens) among 12 photographers. I’ve never used one before this particular project which made me a bit nervous. I wasn’t able to find a lightmeter for the day of the shoot, so I had to rely on my judgement. I was told it was necessary to get the correct exposure when using slide film. The thing was that I only had 2 rolls of slide film and I needed 2 good shots for the calendar. So the pressure was on to get it right.      

 I sketched out my idea on paper and organised the outfit, the model and her bicycle for the shoot. I even sewed an obi belt to match the model’s kimono. My shoot was planned to be conducted during the early stages of sunset. I had in mind ‘eccentric’, ‘bold’, ‘colourful’, & ‘stylish’. I imagined a dark-skinned model wearing a kimono against a colourful background. I ended up shooting without really knowing how it would turn out and handed the exposed rolls, fingers crossed. I was so excited when I saw that some shots turned out OK. I was also amazed at how rich the colours came out on the slide film. I was very impressed with the outcome and have decided I will definitely use a medium format camera again. The 2011 Northside Ladies Bicycle Calendar can be pre-ordered here.     

08/10/2010 /  by Claudia Phares

For the past few weeks, I’ve been planning and conducting photo shoots for a group exhibit I’m part of, ‘Inside is Out, Outside is In’ that is ongoing at the Colour Factory. Lia Steele and Rhiannon King are the other two Melbourne-based photographers part of the show. For this exhibition, we each approached the common theme of ‘skin’ by using portraits and stills. I’m presenting a series of portraits of coloured women as my subjects where a particular trait of their personality is explored.

In preparation of this series, I spent a lot of time sifting through photo books to sketch out the sets. I had never photographed dark-skinned models before this project. I knew that not only did I have to carefully choose prop colours to enhance the skin of my models, but I also would need to work on my lighting skills. 

In terms of set designing, I realised the moment you introduce objects or props in a portrait, it creates a shift in the composition, which can easily negatively affect the overall result. ‘How did they do it?’ was the main question I had about composition. I looked at several painted portraits in order to get some ideas. ‘Simple but strong’ was my motto throughout the planning. 


Shooting Beyond was the only done under the natural light of a skylight. The effect was acceptable but diffused light may have improved the shot. I ended up softening the image and lightened the hair. The minimalism of the shot enabled to achieve the intended ethereal effect.         


Elements was done in the studio where everything was set up. I built my own flash diffuser for this shoot, which I ended up using the rest of the project. It was probably one of the highlights of the project, as it dramatically changed the overall result of my final images: the light was nicely wrapping the subject without creating some hot spots. Also the fall off was less harsh.In this shoot, I wanted to introduce each of the 4 elements of Nature. The most difficult one was ‘air’. I thought of showing some movement with a ribbon blowing in the wind. The flying ribbon on the left bottom edge was deliberately blurry. Could I have done this differently? Maybe. The speed of the shutter wasn’t fast enough but then again, it was a matter of syncing flash and shutter speed. The alternative would have been to shoot the ribbon on its own and paste it on the final image. I’m not if the effect of movement would be the same if the ribbon was still.  

I did run into a hurdle when I couldn’t locate in town a stuffed bird I needed for the 3rd image,All seeing. I phoned all the prop stores without any luck and was just about decided to make my own bird. Perseverance led me to a lovely shop owner who generously agreed to lend me the stuffed bird as long as I shot on location. The actual location was a low ceiling basement where a space was cleared for my shoot. I went down to measure the size of the space and concluded I needed a wide-angle lens to fit the final composition. I rented a 14-24mm lens which I couldn’t have imagined working without in the end. I had brought my own backdrop, some white paper as reflectors and my regular gear. The shoot went well and I chose one of the last ones of the day. Shooting in a confined space that wasn’t mine made me appreciate doing shoots in a studio where you have your own space and where you don’t have to carry your equipment. However, challenges create opportunities to improvise and to try out new equipment! 

Shooting Do the damn thing! for the project was the biggest in terms of production. My model, Maxime Banks who is also an artist, painted a canvas on site while I filmed her. The use of video added another dimension to this project and I was able to put together a short film from the footage I’ve taken. You can watch the video here. I didn’t rent a HD camera for the project, but it will definitely be something I will look into in the future. We were both pleased with the final production and I did post on the web the short film I made from this art performance and collaboration. The show ‘Inside is Out, Outside is In’ is on at the Colour Factory from 8 October to 30 October.

01/09/2010 /  by Claudia Phares

‘Timelines: Photography and Times’ at the NGV

If anyone had the chance to see these photographs, one would have certainly appreciated this selection of photographs exploring ‘time’ from various photographers from Australia and around the world . From ‘now and then’ types of portraits to beautifully hand-coloured photographs like Kusakabe Kimbei’s ‘Ritual washing for a funeral’ (c.1880) where a man’s deceased body is getting prepared for its burial following Japanese tradition. These were only a couple of examples showing the passage of time. 

Pat Brassington was showing at Arc One Gallery a few weeks ago. Her large scale images were an ensemble of what appeared to be straightforward photography with a mixture of collages. Her creations are highly abstract and surreal which may not suit all tastes. Some of the images are dreamlike and I liked how she arranges her images in an almost playful yet sometimes disturbing manner. As one of Australian few surreal artist photographer, she is definitely one to follow.