Announcements Archives - Tony Ward Studio

Scarves by Rashid: Winter Collection 2024-25

Commissioned Work: Scarves by Rashid

Roberto Rashid is a Philadelphia based scarf designer who commissioned me recently to photograph his winter scarf collection. We first met in 1974 when we lived in the same dorm at what was then Millersville State College, now Millersville University in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.. We got to know each other during our college days because we were on the same floor in Burroughs Hall and our dorm rooms were just a few yards away from each other. Jenx (nickname) as he was affectionately called was and still is a dapper character with exquisite taste. He was always well dressed even in college and for some that didn’t know him way back when he was one of the colleges DJ’s. Hearing Roberto’s distinctive and soothing voice on the school radio station and in the hallways at our dorm was reminiscent of the same kind of sounds I heard on the Philadelphia radio stations like WDAS fm in college. I thought he was destined to become a radio personality but fate would have it he turned to fashion, influenced by his mother working in the textile industry when he was a young man.

I didn’t have further contact with Roberto after college until a little over a year ago. We bumped into each other on June 12, 2023 at a Jeff Bradshaw album release party hosted by none other than Patty Jackson from WDASfm at a venue in Germantown. After the event we started following each other on social media. Roberto had become keenly aware of the collaborative work I’ve been producing with KVaughn, creative director and legendary scarf designer from Philly. When he called to engage me about photographing his winter scarf collection he made it clear he wanted still lives of the product only, no models. That was a distinction with a difference as I started to plan the shoot and construct a set that would make the shoot with Roberto unique.

In general, people mainly associate my work these days with portraiture as it relates to fashion and erotica, not so much product photography per se, so this was a welcome departure for sure. Roberto put his trust in me, and a pleasure to work with on set. Knowing his musical background, we listened to a variety of tracks to stimulate our collaboration including Mario Lanza, Miles Davis and some R&B mixed in as well played on vinyl.

To learn more about Scarves by Rashid, link here: https://scarvesbyrashid.biz

Contact us for your next shoot! Call: 267-475-0828 or email: Tony@TonyWard.com.

The Photo Review: Auction

The Photo Review is a critical journal of international scope and readership. Publishing since 1976, The Photo Review covers photography events throughout the country and serves as a central resource for the Mid-Atlantic region. With incisive reviews, exciting portfolios, lively interviews, the latest in books and exhibitions, The Photo Review biannual journal has earned a reputation as one of the best serious photography publications being produced today. Our writers — including A.D. Coleman, Stephen Perloff, Shelley Rice, Peter Hay Halpert, Barbara L. Michaels, Jean Dykstra, and Mark Power — have weighed in on subjects as varied as the posthumous publication of work by Diane Arbus, women in photography, the growth of digital media, the historical movement from Pictorialism into Modernism, etc., etc. In his ongoing series, “The Censorship Diaries,” Editor Stephen Perloff was in the forefront in covering the controversy over funding for the NEA and censorship of the arts.

The Photo Review has earned a reputation for lucid and incisive writing aimed at an intelligent and informed audience, but free of the cant and jargon that infects much contemporary writing about art. Thus, both arts publications and the popular press have looked to us for interpretations of what’s happening on the photography scene. Articles have been reprinted in such publications as Afterimage, To, Photography in New York, American Photo, and others.

Editor Stephen Perloff, a respected writer, educator and photographer, has been interviewed for The New York Times, The Toronto Globe & Mail, The Wall Street Journal, the Philadelphia Inquirer, Photo District News, and the New York Observer. He has received two critic’s fellowships from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and the Colin Ford Award for Curatorship from the Royal Photographic Society.

Tony Ward's portrait of four fetish models for famous Wasteland Poster 2005 — Wasteland. Photo: Tony Ward, Copyright 2024. Available at Auction on October 26, 2024.

In The Moment: The Art & Photography of Harvey Finkle

Exhibition announcement for Harvey Winkle at the Woodmere Museum of Art — Harvey Finkle at The Woodmere Museum.

In The Moment: The Art & Photography of Harvey Finkle

About the Exhibition

The work of the Philadelphia-born photographer and activist Harvey Finkle offers an intimate view of the hardships, sacrifices, and joys experienced by members of the diverse communities and political movements he has engaged with over the course of his career. In the Moment explores photography’s ability to interrogate social inequities, arouse empathy, and inspire political action. Consisting of photographs that Finkle has taken over the past half-decade, the show surveys the multiple and sophisticated ways in which his work forges meaningful connections with its audiences. Guest-curated by Antongiulio Sorgini, categorical groupings take us through Finkle’s journey, chronicling the stories that shape our collective consciousness.

For more information about the exhibition, link here: https://woodmereartmuseum.org/experience/exhibitions/in-the-moment-the-art-photography-of-harvey-finkle

Behind The Scenes: KVaughn Summer Linen Collection 2024

KVaughn Summer Linen Collection 2024

I thoroughly enjoyed hosting KVaughn’s 100% linen scarf collection photo shoot for summer 2024. Veteran photographer Ted Kawalerski was the first to arrive driving in from Sleepy Hollow, New York. Since he was a little early we had breakfast and started to plan out his shooting strategy. He and I have been talking about KVaughn’s extraordinary work and for this shoot Ted wanted to participate because he knew there would be great fashion to photograph and amazing portraits to produce. Matt Sampson aka The Sneaker King and the rest of the crew followed shortly afterwards including KV’s creative assistant Milton White, photographer Brian Hunt drove his large van filled with camera and lighting equipment and his son aspiring model Larson Hunt enjoyed being photographed by all of the talented photographers on hand. Many thanks to my man AL B for his amazing video and still work as well as photographer Isiah from Blacklight Studios.

Stephen Mallon: Passing East

Caboose. Photo: Stephen Mallon, Copyright 2023

PRESS RELEASE

Front Room Gallery located at 205 Warren Street, Hudson, NY is pleased to present, “Passing East” a solo exhibition of photographs by Stephen Mallon. “Passing East” is the third iteration of Mallon’s work following “Passing Freight” and “Passing West.” This series of photographs captures the still active rail lines that carry freight to destinations across the country. Mallon’s industrial landscape photographs isolate singular freight cars within this iconic transportation system, which has played a critical role in supply infrastructure across the continent for hundreds of years.

Boxcar CSXT. Photo: Stephen Mallon, Copyright 2023

These trains inhabit their environment, as characters that are not visibly moving but seem completely encapsulated with the landscape around them. Within the frame of the photograph the train cars take up almost all of the composition, yet the little hints above and below them place them in a singular space. In “Flatcar CSX” a rusty line of axls runs almost the length of the photograph sitting on a flatcar at the bottom of the frame. Above the flatcar a lush forest of trees is gently changing from green to orange in the autumn weather. In “Flatcar NOKL” the car seems to be carrying huge burnt umber barn through the snowy landscape. In “Tankcar GATZ” some trickster has graffitied “$20,000…” along the side of the tank car in large green and white cartoonish letters. One wonders what they were thinking, since surely $20,000 would be a bargain for whatever’s inside the tank. In “TOFC CTLZ” a flat car is carrying a trailer that is painted the identical color of the sky, with only the white seams standing out—like Wonder Woman’s invisible plane.

Flatcar CN. Photo: Stephen Mallon, Copyright 2023

These trains are all moving, quite literally. And while they might appear to be stopped in the photograph, it is only for that split second as they pass Stephen Mallon, his camera, and his tripod. Mallon’s procedure involves many elements including the perfect location, light, the individual personality of each car, the trickiness of getting exactly the right moment, and patience. The intersection of mechanical and natural worlds, singular encounters where the trains activate the landscape are hard to predict.

Flatcar NOK. Photo: Stephen Mallon, Copyright 2023

Stephen Mallon is well known for his series “Next Stop Atlantic,” featuring decommissioned NYC Subway cars as they are retired in the depths of the Atlantic

Hopper NA. Photo: Stephen Mallon, Copyright 2023

Editor’s Note: For more information about Stephen Mallon’s exhibition, link here: https://www.frontroomles.com