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LouPop Collection

Posted on May 19, 2012

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Editor’s Note: To learn more about the life and times of LouPop and the collection of vernacular photography, go to the search bar at the top of the page: enter name and click the green icon.
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Photo: Courtesy of The Estate of Anthony Colagreco.

Luciano Ruiz: Instagram

Posted on May 19, 2012 by Luciano Ruiz

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……….New York City – 1965. 231 East 47th Street. Andrew Warhola, known as Andy Warhol, revolutionized the way in which people look at art. His emblematic technique has become an icon of modern art. As the 50th anniversary of his famous Factory studio approaches, it seems proper to explore the not so conventional aspects of his artistic career.

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Luciano Ruiz: Instagram

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Some of his earlier works show deliberate preparation through photographic images and sketches. Warhol’s “organized mess” took much more than simply selecting contrasting colors and backgrounds to create the perfect design. By taking photographs of the objects he was drawn to, Warhol anticipated the shapes and patterns he would later recreate.

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Luciano Ruiz: Instagram

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His final works do not resemble his initial sketches in any way. The use of color and contrast was purely Warhol’s own creation. Additionally, he developed his own movement by venturing into techniques never seen before. However, without his photographic eye for design, his creations would have never been the same.

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Luciano Ruiz: Instagram

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By examining several of Warhol’s filmstrips, it is evident that he was drawn to peculiar characters. His interest in high fashion provided him access to avant-garde ideas and techniques. Although not commonly exhibited or explored, these filmstrips provide an insight into one of Warhol’s main inspirations.

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Luciano Ruiz: Instagram

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As his interests expanded into other sectors of society, Warhol began using political and social agendas as inspirations for art. Controversial political events and social movements began to spark an interest in Warhol. Terrifying political figures soon took the form of colorful characters, revolutionizing the way in which people looked at them.

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Warhol Exhibition

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Throughout Andy Warhol’s career, he created numerous works of art that express diverse interests and subjects. Anything from fashion to current events caught the attention of this artistic idol. Through skillful preparation and innovation, nowadays his works are amongst the most renowned in the world. Five decades later and Warhol continues to surprise us all.

About The Author: Luciano Ruiz is a Candidate for Bachelor of Arts, University of Pennsylvania – Class of 2013

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Editor’s Note: To access additional articles by Luciano Ruiz, go to the search bar at the top of the page: enter name and click green icon.

Photo: Bennett Lee

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Bennett Lee

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PHILADELPHIA, PA–Coatings capable of completely repelling water could raise the bar in the near future.

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……….A new startup, Nelum Sciences, has developed a transparent superhydrophobic coating based on silica nanoparticles to help surfaces repel water as well as other liquid nuisances.

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Photo: Bennett Lee

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Superhydrophobicity, also known as the “lotus effect” gives a water contact angle over 150°. a superhydrophobic coating causes drops of water to bead up and roll right off. In addition, surfaces become self-cleaning, since the rolling droplets can carry with them any dirt or other unwanted particles. The technology was created through research done by Prof. Shu Yang at the University of Pennsylvania and is currently patent-pending.

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Photo: Bennett Lee

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The technology is fun to watch with several demonstrations available on Youtube, including one where drops of water are seen accelerating right off of a pair of safety goggles.

Photo: Bennett Lee

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Prof. Yang sees vast potential in the technology with the potential for it to be applied in everything from car windshields, safety goggles, optical lens, and any other application that needs to quickly repel water to maintain clear sight. Other applications could even include solar panels, which could repel accruing materials that block sunlight and inhibit efficiency.

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Photo: Bennett Lee

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Nelum has gained traction and already acquired an SBIR Phase I grant and is currently in the process of further developing this technology.

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Photo: Bennett Lee

About The Author: Bennett Lee is enrolled in The Jerome Fisher Program in Management and Technology – The Wharton School | School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, University of Pennsylvania Class of 2013 – Copyright 2012
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Editor’s Note: To read more articles by Bennett Lee, go to the search bar at the top of the page: enter name and click green icon.

www.PhiladelphiasDentist.com

Editor’s Note: May 17, 2012 – To contact Dr. Jeff for consultation: 215-592-4747. Sponsored in part by Dental Health Care Group.

Photo: Bob Shell

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Bob Shell

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……….Nothing new to report on my case. But I really don’t expect to get a ruling from the court until around the middle of the year. Courts move at their own speed, and the general rule seems to be the longer the better, because that means they are actually considering everything. My case generated a massive amount of paperwork, and the court must go through all of it to consider my claims.

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I got a letter the other day from one of the models who worked with me on the bondage book back in 2003-04. She said she got to wondering about what had happened to me and did a Google search and found out where I am. Like every model I ever worked with, she knows that I am not guilty. I told her about TWS and suggested that she post here about what it was like to work with me, so maybe she will.

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One lawyer I know made the point that the cops and prosecution had from June 2003 until my trial in August of 2007 to search for any model I worked with who would say anything negative about me. They couldn’t find anyone. If I really had been the serial molestor they portrayed me as being, they ought to have been able to find at least one of my earlier victims, but they found no one. That should have meant something to the jury. I don’t think they really thought things through and simply voted with a knee-jerk reaction.

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I also don’t think the jury understood how sentencing works. Not one of the sentences they gave me was very long, and I believe they assumed that all of them would run concurrently. Indeed, running sentences concurrently is the norm. But in Virginia the judge makes that decision, not the jury, and the jury can’t even be told that they have the option to recommend concurrent sentences. My judge ignored the VA sentencing guidelines and ran my sentences consecutively. The guidelines called for 1 1/2 to 3 years. But the Virginia guidelines are merely recommendations, they carry no force, and judges routinely ignore them. I don’t know why they even bother to have guidelines.

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If the jury in a state of Virginia case asks the judge if sentences will be run concurrently or consecutively, the judge will tell them that it is none of their concern! The jury is not allowed to know!! But the law requires that jurors be fully informed prior to their deliberations. None of this makes any sense, since a jury can intend a light sentence and a judge can arbitrarily convert it into a very long sentence. The more research I do on this, the less sense it makes.

About The Author: Bob Shell is a professional photographer, author and former editor in chief of Shutterbug Magazine. He is currently serving a 35 year sentence at Pocahontas State Correctional Center, Pocahontas, Virginia for involuntary manslaughter for the death of one of his models, Marion Franklin. He is currently working on his appeal.
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Editor’s Note: To read more letters from prison by Bob Shell, go to the search bar at the top of the page: enter name and click the green icon. To learn more about the case log on to www.BobShellTruth.com.

LouPop Collection

Posted on May 15, 2012

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LouPop Collection

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LouPop Collection

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LouPop Collection

Editor’s Note: To learn more about the life and times of LouPop and the collection of vernacular photography, go to the search bar at the top of the page: enter name and click the green icon.

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Photos: Courtesy of The Estate of Anthony Colagreco

Wedding Dress

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Natalie Franke

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INTRODUCTION

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……….It all began with a question, “If I don’t like the way I look in my images, you can make me skinnier – right?” The bride looked at me questioningly across the table, with an insecure and completely serious stare. She did not hesitate in asking the question, she was not joking nor would she take my response lightly. As a professional wedding photographer, whether or not I am willing to digitally alter the human form has become an issue of increasing concern for my clients. My ability and desire to make these virtual alterations has a direct impact on which weddings, and how many of them, I am able to book each year. Sitting across from this bride to be, I was suddenly I faced an issue much greater than I was ready to understand.

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Wedding Day

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For me the question was not whether I could manipulate her images to make her resemble her bridal magazine covers – airbrushed, nip-tucked, and perfected in Photoshop – but whether I should. A trend that flourished across the magazine and advertising world was now filtering down into the wedding industry and was affecting soon to be brides on a deeply personal level. I couldn’t fathom why a young woman wouldn’t want to be herself in her wedding photographs, let alone where she would find the audacity to ask her wedding photographer to sculpt away her arms, waistline and all of the “imperfections” that make her uniquely beautiful.

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What happened to cause this cultural and societal mentality? At some point in the feminine race for the ideal, natural beauty was no longer enough. Teaching young girls to simply love themselves was traded for an increasingly scrutinized and virtually plastic portrayal of womanhood. Why do women feel the need to deceptively change themselves in the digital darkroom rather than accepting themselves, embracing their unique and natural beauty?

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Photoshop

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Even more perplexing is that the majority of women who inquire about digital manipulation have, in my personal opinion, already met or surpassed conventional notions of beauty. But somehow these women, despite all attempts to make themselves fit into the mold that society deems to be perfect, are still so dissatisfied with their nautical image that they desire to be digitally altered. The drive to reach ‘perfection’ has become magnified across nearly all aspects of our visual culture and women are being affected to a degree that I find extremely concerning.

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As a professional photographer, an image-maker, and a young woman, the ethical rules governing the manipulation of images are so blurry, so undefined and debated that they are arguably nonexistent. Levels of digital manipulation vary from photographer to photographer and the expectations from clients are equally as opaque. And even with stronger ethical guidelines in place or a system of identifying images that have been altered in some way, will it do anything to stop the self-inflicted comparisons being made by impressionable young women?

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Although my brides may or may not be aware that their magazine covers and favorite fashion models undergo drastic digital alterations, this falsified perception of beauty will still have a deeply ingrained impact on body-image and perception of self. The conscious awareness that an image has been manipulated, may not stop their drive to compare, scrutinize, and compete with the societal ideal that lies before them. It doesn’t change the underlying associations between what is naturally possible and what is digitally sculpted in Photoshop.

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Photoshop Pharmacy

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All of these issues and questions initiated my search into the implications of the digital manipulation of photographic images in the media. This exploration is equally motivated by my drive to define the implications of these practices as a photographer as well as my concern over the welfare of young women, like myself. It is both a personal and professional area of importance, which has pushed me to question the very morals of my own artistic practice. Before I step forward into a career in full-time photography, before I begin this new life as a creator of visual culture, I must be aware of the impact of modern photographic manipulations.

About The Author: Natalie Franke is a professional wedding photographer based in Washington D.C. and has recently completed her Visual Studies senior thesis at the University of Pennsylvania. To learn more about Natalie Franke, log on: www.NatalieFranke.com.
Copyright 2012

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To Be Continued……….

Jean Ward

……….On July 9, 2012 my mother will celebrate her 92 birthday. Happy Mother’s Day mom and to all the mother’s in the world!

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Mom's Kitchen Mother's Day

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Editor’s Note: To learn more about Jean Ward, go to search bar at top of the page: enter FAMILY LEGACY PROJECT, and click green icon.

William Burroughs

Posted on May 11, 2012

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In 1972, Rolling Stone magazine sent me and writer Robert Palmer to London to do a feature article on William S. Burroughs. William greeted us cordially; despite his outlaw reputation, he was a complete gentleman. We stayed a week, and had a terrific time. We also met Brion Gysin (William’s closest friend), who showed us his “Dream Machine,” a revolving flicker device that caused visual fireworks in the viewer’s brain. Bob and I also enjoyed Burroughs’ awesome intelligence and his controversial ideas about addiction, conditioning, and control.

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Photo: Charles Gatewood

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Rolling Stone loved our article, and made me their New York photographer (they were based in San Francisco) later that year.
In 1975, Crawdaddy magazine asked me to photograph Burroughs and Jimmy Page as they interviewed each other. Burroughs was back in America now, and we met in his downtown Manhattan loft. Burroughs disliked being photographed, but he remembered me and was warm and friendly, even giving my camera a rare grin.

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Photo: Charles Gatewood

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In 1975, William Burroughs wrote the text for my first book, Sidetripping. I was so thrilled. Shortly thereafter, Burroughs moved to Lawrence, Kansas. I never saw him again. He died in 1997 at the age of 83. By introducing my photography to the world, William Burroughs changed my life, big time. Thank you so much, William!

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Photo: Charles Gatewood

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Photo: Charles Gatewood

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Last year I published Burroughs 23, a handmade artist’s book with DanaDanaDana, a noted San Francisco art book publisher. Burroughs 23 contains all the best photos from both my NYC and London shoots. To view the book (and the boxed set of my Burroughs prints), go to www.Burroughs23.com.

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Photo: Charles Gatewood

Editor’s Note: To learn more about Charles Gatewood’s work log on, www.CharlesGatewood.com