James Mollison set up a mini photo studio in one of Tokyo’s canine spas and photographed a bunch of its lovely furry clients.

-courtesy MAP

Bastienne Schmidt uses self-portraits to explore female gender identity in popular culture. She photographs herself in the role of a “housewife,” challenging our visions of a domestic utopia by re-staging many disconcertingly familiar scenarios and circumstances. Working in her own home environment of Long Island, Schmidt explores suburban fragmentation and loneliness with the presentation of her housewife character as a wandering, rootless protagonist.

This exhibition was on display at the Southeast Museum of Photography in the fall of 2010 and is currently available as a traveling exhibition organized by SMP.  Her book “Home Stills” was recently released by Jovis Press. -courtesy Southeast Museum.

Related Stories in PDN: Bastienne Schmidt’s Home Stills

Olga Kravets, Maria Morina and Oksana Yushko have been working on “Grozny: Nine Cities” for more than two years. Inspired by Thornton Wilder’s book Theophilus North, they are exploring specific aspects of the aftermath of two wars in Chechnya via its capital, Grozny, considering this an important fabric of the culture. With money recently raised through a campaign on Emphasis.org they will finish the project within the year and move on to the production of a Web documentary and book.

© Maria Morina

© Olga Kravets

© Olga Kravets

© Olga Kravets

© Oksana Yushko

© Maria Morina

© Oksana Yushko

© Maria Morina

© Maria Morina

]]> http://www.pdnphotooftheday.com/2012/02/12655/feed 0 http://www.pdnphotooftheday.com/2012/02/12702 http://www.pdnphotooftheday.com/2012/02/12702#comments Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:33:38 +0000 Amber Terranova http://www.pdnphotooftheday.com/?p=12702 All photos © Rob Tringali. Above: Wes Welker #83 of the New England Patriots takes a hit from  Aaron Ross #31 of the New York Giants during the game during Super Bowl XLVI at Lucas Oil Stadium on February 5, 2012.

Photographer Rob Tringali was in Indianapolis last night covering Superbowl 46 between the New York Giants and New England Patriots for ESPN. It was his 23rd superbowl. Tringali  says, “I’ve been fortunate to be hired by clients to cover these wonderful events. It’s a combination of experience, instinct and a touch of luck that puts you in a position to make beautiful images. The challenge is to just make sure you get it in focus when it happens in front of you.”

Related Article: Pro-Football Photographer David Eulitt on Covering NFL Games.

Ahmad Bradshaw #44 of the New York Giants mugs for the camera during warm-ups prior to Super Bowl XLVI.

Chase Blackburn #93 of the New York Giants intercepts a pass during the game against the New England Patriots during Super Bowl XLVI.

Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots.

BenJarvus Green-Ellis #42 of the New England Patriots gets tackled by  Kenny Phillips #21 of the New York Giants during the game.

Madonna performing during the half time show.

Members of the New England Patriots look on dejected after being defeated by the New York Giants.

Greg Jones #53 of the New York Giants touches the Vince Lombardi Trophy after the game.

Spike Lee.

Skyward  is Kevin Cooley’s new video installation project portraying Los Angeles’ manufactured landscape and its relationship to the natural world. Presented as a projection on the ceiling, the work is a metaphysical gaze skyward – past the gridlock of street-level to the pristine blue sky promising freedom and limitless possibility.

Shot entirely in L.A. County, the work is comprised of hundreds of individual shots, presented in one continuous sequence. Cooley explains the visual narrative: ”We begin downtown near Bunker Hill and make stops through various parts of the city. Flurries of overlapping flight paths, of birds, helicopters and more, are punctuated by the brief appearance of iconic southern California structural elements such as freeway interchanges and rows of palm trees and we discover interdependent ecosystems largely overlooked in everyday life.” Cooley’s installation is on view  at YOUNGPROJECTS, a contemporary gallery for moving images, until March 9, 2012.

The actual installation at YOUNGPROJECTS

KLOMPCHING GALLERY has brought to New York, The Architecture of Space, originally curated for and enthusiastically received at the inaugural Flash Forward Festival in Toronto (October, 2010). This is an exhibition of contemporary photography exploring the perception and representation of space—the collapse between public and private, it’s abstract form and its role as metaphor. Artists’ reception is on February 2, 6pm—9pm and the exhibition continues through to March 2, 2012.

David Rochkind’s series, “Heavy Hand, Sunken Spirit” is about the social costs and consequences of Mexico’s violent drug war. In the four years since President Felipe Calderon’s inauguration, over 35,000 people have been killed and kidnappings have skyrocketed. The cartels are ruthless, leaving the gruesome nature of their crimes visible to everyone.

Rochkind explains how Mexico is a country in crisis: “The government is battling the drug cartels, the drug cartels are battling each other and there is a palpable fear across the nation. Corruption exists throughout the state and complaints of human rights abuses by the army are widespread. The line between criminals and the authorities is so blurred that the average citizen fears everyone. These photographs attempt to move beyond simple depictions of carnage to explore the stress and tension that is left in the wake of such violence and illustrate how this conflict will impact and handicap Mexico’s future.” Rochkind’s exhibition, “Heavy Hand, Sunken Spirit,” opens at Blue Sky gallery in Portland, Oregon, on February 2, 2012.

Above: This stretch of the border divides Nogales, Arizona, at left and Nogales, Sonora, at right. There has been little violent spillover into the U.S., though recently U.S. citizens have been killed with more frequency in Mexico. In March of 2010, two U.S. Consulate workers were gunned down in Ciudad Juarez. –Courtesy of Blue Sky Gallery

“Community,” February 2007. A young girl walks by a caravan of police vehicles during a security sweep looking for criminals and drug dealers. Law enforcement officials along the border say that increased border security has resulted in more drugs staying in Mexico, which has elevated crime and created a variety of social problems. The consequences of this conflict are felt, and exhibited, throughout the daily lives of many communities in Mexico.

“Security Sweep,” March 2009. Ciudad Juraez is at the center of Mexico’s violence, with more than 5,000 drug-related murders over the past two years. President Felipe Calderon has sent thousands of soldiers to the city to try to stem the violence, though after a short decrease in murders, the violence blossomed once again. Here, soldiers search young men for drugs, weapons or signs of drug use in downtown Ciudad Juarez.

“Dia de Los Muertos”

In her latest project, called Mothers and Daughters, Julia Fullerton-Batten portrays the complex and sometimes challenging relationship between mothers and their daughters. Both documentary and biographical, these images illustrate the artist’s memories of her two sisters’ and her relationships with their mother and in turn, their mother’s relationship with their grandmother.

Choosing to work with real mother and daughter pairs in their own environments, the subjects create their own world together while at the same time revive the artist’s personal memories through staging. Over the course of their lives the dependence switches from the child’s need for security and nurturing to the mother’s dependence on the daughter to satisfy emotional needs. In the adult relationship, the intimacy of the bond is established by the love, struggle and acceptance of each other.

-courtesy Randall Scott Projects.

Teenage Reflection

Changing Bodies

Custody Battle

Intimate Moments

The Rehearsal

The Party Is Over

Pretty New Thing

Forgiveness

Alone Again