For those in the NYC area..

[grantray]

Silverstein Gallery has an amazing show up now of Marcus E. Newman's work from the fourties and fifties. Not only a devout Leicaphile, he also happens to be a master printer of small, intimate images. Needless to say, I was blown away, as I had never heard of him previously.

http://www.silversteinphotography.com/artist.php?id=8

-grant

 

[grantray]

I should also mention that the images on the website suck in comparison to the the actual prints. The website images are WAY too grey, whereas the prints have an inky, almost graphite, feel to them on pure white backgrounds.

-grant

 

[ch1]

I should also mention that the images on the website suck in comparison to the the actual prints. The website images are WAY too grey, whereas the prints have an inky, almost graphite, feel to them on pure white backgrounds.

-grant

Regardless of the web imaging issue - what I found interesting was the use of over-highlighting together with over-contrasting to "create" near abstract shapes out of common street objects (e.g. the wastebaskets and manhole covers).

60 years ago this was "darkroom art". Now it is a simple PS technique.

Sometimes make you wonder if it is possible to really create any "new" imagery today versus just using software to recreate effects that were long ago explored and perfected?