BrooklynVegan's music photography exhibition (Tribeca)

BrooklyVegan is a famous music blog that has documented the music scene in New York since 2004. This NYC music blog focuses on international music news, live show reviews, pictures, videos..and so on..pretty much anything if it is related to music. Since it launched in 2004, the music blog has become a must-read in the indie music scene in New York. Starting from tomorrow (Aug 16) through Sep 7, BrooklynVegan is showcasing the work of a dozen photographers featuring concert photos and artist portraits. The photos of musicians, including St Vincent, Radiohead, Arcade Fire, Feist, Regina Spektor, Of Montreal, Grace Jones, Jack White..and more, will be shown in high resolution (480 pixels).

Photograph by Devan Council

The venue will be 92YTribeca, and the opening night event (@ 9pm) tickets will be sold at $12. I am so excited about this exhibition because I have been listening to indie music these days, and Arcade Fire, Feist, Regina Spektor are among my favorite indie bands. Besides, the combination of my favorite genre of music and photography (also my favorite) sounds just amazing!!

The opening night will be celebrated by Screaming Females, Hunters and Heliotropes with live music. Tickets to the opening night concert are available HERE.

Whitney Museum of American Art (8.5/10)

Last week, I went to the Whitney Museum of American Art which is on Madison Avenue at 75 Street. The Whitney museum is not exclusively for photography-related exhibitions. It was founded to support living artists by presenting their special exhibitions and installations. So, it is not a photo gallery. But I wanted to blog about the museum for those who live in New York (especially if you don't know about the museum), because this museum is worth visiting. And there are some interesting photos you can check out too!

Whitney Museum of American Art

I went to the museum to see Yayoi Kusama's exhibition. She was at the epicenter of the New York avant-garde. And now she is one of Japan's most prominent contemporary artists. I heard that her exhibition is one of the must-see exhibitions I should check out in NYC, especially her "Fireflies on the Water" installation, which I couldn't see because the tickets sold out immediately. As expected, there was an endless line in front of the museum, when I got there. Countless number of people were in line for the museum, and I had to wait for an hour to get in. When I finally got inside the museum, what caught my eyes first was a bunch of red polka dot balloons installed in the museum. When you blink, it seems like the spots flash. I also really liked the lighting of the museum.

Polka dot balloons

Yayoi Kusama's works were in a variety of media, including painting, drawing, sculpture, film, performance..etc. It was also interesting to see the pictures of her (or self-portraits) taken in early years of her career. Among all her works that were on display, I liked her paintings that featured 'eyes' the most. I liked the distinct and vivid colors she used for the paintings. And her imagination expressed on the  media she chose to use (e.g., the textures, materials..etc) was admirable. There were about 6 other exhibitions on display at the museum besides Yayoi Kusama's, so it was fun to check out other interesting exhibitions while I was there. If you are planning to visit the museum, make sure u get there early enough to get the ticket for the "Fireflies on the Water" installation. I heard that she uses real fireflies for the installation and that the show is amazing. It's such a shame that I couldn't see it. Kusama's exhibition runs through September 30, so don't miss out on it. If you see the fireflies show, please let me know how it was. :)

Reflection on the window of the gallery

Whitney Museum of American Art

International Center of Photography gallery review (8/10)

This Friday, I visited the International Center of Photography, which is on 43rd st. I wanted to visit the center for so long, and this time, I finally got around to it. If you have been reading my blog, you would probably remember that I blogged in June about Weegee's "Murder Is My Business" exhibit and Christer Stromholm's "Les Amies de Place Blanche" exhibit. I checked out those two photo exhibitions at the gallery. I went to the gallery on Friday, because admission is donation-based every Friday from 5-8 pm. Unlike my expectation, there was no long, endless line-up at the gallery when I got there, so I didn't have to wait for a long time. It was a good thing. Overall, I loved the exhibitions. Both of the exhibitions were on display on the basement floor. 

At the entrance of "Murder Is My Business" exhibit

At the entrance, there were a big gun prop and the pictures that enticed the visitors into the exhibition halls. What I liked about this gallery the most was that they displayed props, video installations, hand-written wall papers, and electronic devices that made the gallery viewing experience easier and more interesting. The little monitors you can see in the pictures below, allowed the visitors to take a look at the documents and pictures that are relevant to the exhibit at a glance. Also, the video recorded by Weegee was playing in the gallery. In the corner of the exhibition hall, was there an apartment prop that looks exactly like the one that Weegee was living in. All these little props in the gallery made the gallery viewing more fun and interesting. I was intrigued to see what New York crimes scenes looked like back in the 1930s-1940s in the eye of a renowned journalism photographer. The Murder Is My Business exhibit will be ended on September 2nd. So if you are interested, don't miss out on it. :)

Installation for documents and pictures

Video viewing

Fujifilm Instax MINI 7s

Another type of camera I've yet to introduced are instant cameras. For my birthday this year, I received a Fuji Instax Mini 7S.  I've always wanted an instant camera because how cute they look and for the cool photos they produce. Unlike digital cameras where you can mindlessly take shots and delete soon after, instant photos are meant to be cherished. I like how Instax photos are instantaneous and irreversible once they are taken, like our memories. I am trying to take more photos with my Instax camera these days of the city and planning on decorating my house with them. The Instax 7S has a built-in auto flash with a high quality lense. Also, it has a little mirror in front for self-portraits, as well as a close-up lens that will allow you to as close as 13.78" (35cm) to your subject. When I was testing the camera in doors when it was really dark, I was surprised to find out that the photos come out really vivid and bright. You can select and adjust brightness of photos using this camera, and it is very easy to load films. It comes in white, brown, pink, and blue. The brown one looks like a chocolate, so it's even cuter. :)

Instax Mini 25 (left) Instax Mini 7S via photojojo

Currently, Fuji produces Instax mini 50S, Instax mini 25, Instax mini 7S, Instax mini 210. If you want to know the differences between those models, visit polaroidph.com.

Via Wantist. com

Lomo Fisheye Camera

I know I have a thing for lomo cameras. I just love their cute designs and adorable size that makes me want to carry them around all the time in my pocket. This time what  captures my eyes is the Lomography Fisheye Camera. They are called "fish eye" because they deform pictures into a spheric view. I like how you can observe the world in different angles and highlight the curves of the object using this camera.

These are the photos take by Fisheye .

Lomo Fisheye Camera via  http://aishhhaysha.wordpress.com/2010/01/03/lomo/ 

This one is Fisheye No.2. It has a 170-degree-wide angle view!! Also, it has a bulb setting for long exposures and a switch for multiple exposures on the same frame. Not only that, it has the ability to fire both a hotshoe flash and the built-in flash. By the way, while searching for fisheye photos, I found out that there is a fisheye camera app for iPhone users. For more info, visit the appwhisperer.com

Lomography lomo fisheye 2 via Lomography

Check out the video below which shows how beautifully fisheye photos can be taken.

                                

"Lunch Hour NYC" exhibition (Midtown)

A hot dog stand from the 1930s via Lunch Hour NYC

"Lunch Hour NYC" exhibition hosted at New York Library Stephen A. Schwarzman Building looks back at more than a century of New York lunches. The exhibition is organized in four categories - quick lunch, lunch at home, charitable lunch, and power lunch, each explaining how the economic development and lifestyle of people influenced on how and where people eat their lunch.

Visitors will learn about the development of the public school lunch program in New York, how streets foods such as pretzels, pizza, hot dogs..etc. developed and gained popularity, how changing fashions contributed to the rise of salads and other diet food, and how the demographics of New York's workforce influenced on the spread of restaurants including cafeterias and the Automat.

Also, Lunch Hour NYC partnered with the New York City Food Truck Association to celebrate the exhibition and will bring food trucks to Bryant Park, which is right next to the library. The food trucks participating in the event include Mexicue, Red Hook Lobster Pound, Rickshaw Dumplings, Eddie's Pizza..etc. 

I think hosting this kind of relevant event is a great way to promote the exhibition. Feeding the stomach is as important as feeding the mind :D. 

Ahh Only if they had a Kimchi-taco truck!!

Check out the video below to find more about the exhibition. For more details, visit Lunch Hour NYC.

London Street Photography in New York (Harlem)

While the 2012 Summer Olympic Games is taking over London, "London Street Photography" is taking over New York at Museum of the City of New York, which is located in East Harlem. The exhibition features 150 years of London street photography, and the images were taken by more than 70 photographers.The photographs capture the change from Victorian city to the 21st century. The museum also provides a counterpart of New York City photography. It will be interesting to compare the different street photography styles of two sister cities that have much in common. 

Curator Sean corcoran explains "New York is a much younger city so we have a lot of tall buildings, skyscrapers and there's a grid system so there is a lot of collision of people on the street corners, whereas London is a an older, lower city. So the architecture is much different and people meet in a more meandering way."

 I haven't been to London, so I don't know how the atmosphere between London and New York is different from each other. But these side by side show will highlight the differences of subject matter and style between the two cities.

Also, the New York photos will be an open call. They are going to take photos taken by regular New Yorkers or visitors. So if you are interested in displaying your photos at the museum. Email your photos to info@mcny.org

Via Museum of the City of New York