Carl Strüwe: Microcosmos

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Carl StrüweCourtesy Steven Kasher Gallery, New York

Carl Strüwe: Microcosmos showcases more than 50 black and white photos from the photographer’s archive. They’re a fascinating blend of art and science—despite the fact that Strüwe didn’t consider himself a scientist. A self-taught photographer, he worked as a graphic designer for most of his life in Bielefeld, Germany. In the waning days of World War II, a bomb fell on Strüwe’s studio and destroyed most of his prints, but the end of the war saw his career to take off. He had solo shows in the US and Europe and in 1955, published a compilation of his micrographs in the book Formen des Mikrokosmos.

Carl Strüwe: Microcosmoswill be on show from April 15 – June 4 at the Steven Kasher Gallery in New York.

http://www.wired.com/2016/03/designer-peered-microscopes-saw-high-art/

Just Me and Allah: A Queer Muslim Photo Project

The most rewarding thing about this photography project is getting emails from LGBTQ Muslims from around the world who are finding out about the exhibitions via this Tumblr. It’s really, really restoring my faith in social media. Trying not to get too emotional about this but it’s hard not to.

The idea of doing a photography exhibition featuring queer Muslims came to me a couple of years ago. I wanted to show everyone the creative and brilliant LGBTQ Muslims I identified with the most and would hang out with at art shows, queer dance parties and Jumu’ah prayer. So I picked up my camera and decided to photograph what I was witnessing. In the words of the brilliant Dali (who I shot for this project), “we have always been here, it’s just that the world wasn’t ready for us yet.” I hope you love the photographs as much as I loved taking them.

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Photography and interview by Samra Habib Who: Samira, Toronto

I was born in Tehran, Iran. I have very faint memories from that time, some I would like to erase and some are irretrievable. I can tell you however that there were always people over at our house and there were always lively debates happening, usually centred around world affairs and politics. My parents ingrained in me a deep appreciation for social and political justice; from a very young age. … http://queermuslimproject.tumblr.com/

Virgenes de la Puerta and Fatherland

TW: descriptions of vicious, horrible violence below. Take care. Also, links are NSFW.

Andrew Mroczek and JuanJose Barboza-Gubo

© Andrew Mroczek and JuanJose Barboza-Gubo

Today we are featuring two series by collaborative artists Juan Jose Barboza-Gubo and Andrew Mroczek. With these projects, the artists hope to increase dialog and promote awareness and positive change for LGBTQ communities, especially in Peru, where transwomen are targets for violence, rape, and murder, and have been forced to lead lives on the fringe of Peru’s society with minimal opportunities, limited access to education and healthcare, and no laws to protect them.

For the first series, Virgenes de la Puerta, many of the images in the series were captured with an 8×10 view camera.

The second series, Fatherland, examines haunting spaces and landscapes throughout Peru, both rural and urban, where murders or violence against LGBTQ people have occurred.

Joel Arquímedes Molero Sánchez, 19 (Gay, Murdered, 2013) Joel was tortured by having his genitals, fingers, and toes cut from his body. He was beheaded and burned on a straw mattress beside a landfill. His body was identified by the bracelet he wore on his right hand. Rodriguez de Mendoza, Chachapoyas, Amazons, Peru, 2015

Joel Arquímedes Molero Sánchez, 19 (Gay, Murdered, 2013)
Joel was tortured by having his genitals, fingers, and toes cut from his body. He was beheaded and burned on a straw mattress beside a landfill. His body was identified by the bracelet he wore on his right hand. Rodriguez de Mendoza, Chachapoyas, Amazons, Peru, 2015

The McClain Gallery in Houston, Texas is presenting both series in an exhibition titled, Canon, which will be in conjunction with the FotoFest 2016 Biennial, opening March 19 and running through May 14, 2016.

This work has also been featured in The Advocate. The images at the links are not safe for work. NSFW.

Broken Light: A Photography Collective

Photo taken by contributor Kyle Anderson, a man from Saskatchewan, Canada. Kyle is a health care professional in his forties who has battled depression and addiction for most of his life. He escapes by letting the camera become his mind’s eye, and hopes that each photo he takes allows others to see the world as he sees it, even for a split second. About this photo: “Selfie. Who is the one that is really seeing a distortion? Is it you or I?”

Photo taken by contributor Kyle Anderson, a man from Saskatchewan, Canada. Kyle is a health care professional in his forties who has battled depression and addiction for most of his life. He escapes by letting the camera become his mind’s eye, and hopes that each photo he takes allows others to see the world as he sees it, even for a split second.
About this photo: “Selfie. Who is the one that is really seeing a distortion? Is it you or I?”

The Broken Light Collective, the online photography gallery for people affected by mental illness. Broken Light’s main goal is to create a safe and accepting environment where photographers of all levels who are affected by mental health issues can display their work, as well as inspire one another to keep going and keep creating, despite the dark or scary places in which they may find themselves.

I think it’s important to remember that art has an important place in helping people cope with serious illness and problems. Myself, I know how much focusing on photography can get me through very bad times with PTSD, and how much art work can help in not focusing on every day physical pain. There are times when the physical pain I deal with is enough that I just want to stop altogether, because pain is my whole landscape. Those are times when channeling all that into art is the only thing that saves me. Life is a struggle for so many, and art can ease that struggle a great deal.  Being involved in art work, especially with others who are coping with illness can provide strength and a necessary social connection, as well as helping to fight off the internal and external stigmas of mental illness.

Beautiful Science

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council photo competition allows researchers and doctoral students to share their work in pictures, with winners from categories ranging from eureka to weird and wonderful. Award winning images of science in action. Thanks to Opus for the heads up.

A rotating jet of a viscoelastic liquid, which won first place in the weird and wonderful category Photograph: Professor Omar Matar/EPSRC/PA

A rotating jet of a viscoelastic liquid, which won first place in the weird and wonderful category
Photograph: Professor Omar Matar/EPSRC/PA

Grackle!

The Grackles are back. I look forward to this every year, I’m very fond of grackles. They are astonishingly beautiful birds, with a metallic rainbow hidden in that black. They can look wonderfully fierce and raptorish, but they are endearingly clumsy, and there’s that fabulous puff ‘n’ whistle business. Grackles are always shy at first, as they tend to be high on the enemy list here in farm country. The last couple of years, there’s been an increase in leucism in grackles. There’s one leucistic grackle in particular, I call Pye, and I hope he is back again this year. (The last shot is Pye, from last year). Click for full size.

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