Nueva Luz Vol 2 Issue 2

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p l)o t o $ r a journal Spring Issue 1988

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WDEVA LUZ VOL 2 NO. 2, 1988

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pboIo£rapl)ic j o u r i) a 1 Editor Charles-Biasiny-Rivera Managing Editor Kitty Dawson Designer/Art Director Frank Gimpaya Translator Amaldo Sepulveda East Coast Distributors Total Circulation Services West Coast Distributors Cornucopia Typography Ortiz Typographies Printing Expedi Press

Nueva Luz (ISSN 0887-5855) is a photographicjour­ nalpublished by En Foco, Inc. 32 East Kingsbridge Road, Bronx, New York 10468, (212) 584-7718. Single issue price is $4.00, yearly individual subscription is $12.00 in the U.S. In all other countries, yearly subscription is $18.00, institutional subscription is $30.00.

Portfolios of at least 15 unmounted prints or copy slides may be submittedfor viewing. Ifmailed, the prints may be no larger than 11" XI4". A self-addressed stamped envelope and appropriate packaging must ac­ company all mailedportfolios to insure proper return. We do not assume responsibility for unsolicitedphotographs or manuscripts sent by mail. Photographers wishing to deliverportfolios in person must call our office to make ar­ rangements. For advertising rates and distribution contact En Foco, Inc.

Copyright © 1988 by En Foco, Inc. All Rights Reserved Nueva Luz is made possible withfunding by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Bronx Bor­ ough President, Fernando Ferrer, New York State Council on the Arts, Bronx Council on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

Editorial Pa £ e ft

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think it was back in the late '60s when practic ally every one that rode in the New York City subways became aware of TAYA 183, scribbled in large letters, which seemed to appear on the walls of every other subway station.

For months people were guessing the meaning of this cryptic message. I personally thought it was a clever promotion for a new movie soon to open. You have to remember this was the pre-graffiti era and while dirty words were occasionally encountered on station walls, enigmatic writing on such a scale was still a few years away.

Eventually the New York Times broke the story; ap­ parently a teenager whose street name was TAKI, and lived on 183rd street in Manhattan, had been casually making his presence known throughout the city. Iffor only a short time, fame had come to TAKI simply by scribbling on walls.

Photography has its own share of scribblers, mini­ mum efforts designed to appear novel and trendy, stylistic endeavors that often go no further than their gelatin sur­ face.

As photographers and artists we are really grappling with a shapeless essence that represents our total sum. Its the one opportunity to address the greater world with our own greatness. As such we're forced to look upon our countenance to see what our truth is and possibly risk turning to stone. That kind ofcourage is seldom acknowl­ edged but, without it, fine work seldom surfaces.

^ ue a fines de la decada de los sesenta que JL practicamente todo el que servia de los sub­ ways de la ciudad de Nueva York tomo conciencia de TAKI183, signo garabateado con grandes letras que parecia sorprendemos en la gran mayoria de las estaciones subterraneas.

La gente se paso meses tratando de descifrar elfondo de este enigma. Yo, de hecho, pense que era un tipo muy listo de promocion para la premiere de una pelicula. Conviene recordar que estabamos en la era pregraffitti, y aunque uno encontraba obscenidades de vez en cuando en las paredes del subway, no se habta dado aun una escritura enigmatica de semejante escala.

El New York Times eventualmente lanzo la noticia: parecia ser que un adolescente cuyo sobrenombre callejero era Taki, y que vivia en la calle 183 de Man­ hattan, se habia dado a conocer de este modo casual. La fama, con todo y ser breve, se volcaba en Taki, nada mas que por encargarle su firma a las paredes.

La fotografia cuenta tambien con sus propios garabatistas, esfuerzos mlnimos que pretenden la novedad y la moda, o empenos estilisticos que buscan a menudo algo mas que la superficie gelatinosa.

Como fotografos y artistas estamos, a decir verdad' luchando a brazo partido con una escencia informe que representa nuestra suma total. Se nos presenta la oportunidad de dirigimos a un mundo mayor partiendo de nuestra mayoria de edad. De ahi que nos vemos obligados a miramos a la cara para dar con nuestras verdades proprias, asumiendo el riesgo quizds de volvemos piedra. Pocas veces se reconoce este tipo de determinacion, pero sifalta es muy dudoso que emerja la obra duradera.

Charles Biasiny-Rivera Editor

Table of Copteptj Editorial..............................

Albert Chong......................

Tetsu Okuhara....................

Carmen Quesada................

Commentary by KellieJones Comentario........................

---- page 1 .pages 2-11 pages 12-21 pages 22-31 . . . .page32 ■ •• -page 33

Cover photograph: Tetsu Okuhara, "Susan: Six Part Face", 1971, Silver Gelatin Print

1

Albert Cl)o

Albert Chong was bom in Kingston, Jamaica. His work has been shown both nationally and internationally.

Selected exhibitions include the Museum of Modem Art, Buenos Aires; the Brooklyn Museum, N. Y.; the Allen Memorial Museum, Ohio; the Alternative Mu足 seum, N. Y. C.; Nikon House, N. Y. C.; the Cepa Gal足 lery and Hall Walls, Buffalo, N. Y.; the Henry Street Settlement, N. Y. C. He is represented in the collection of the Catskill Center for Photography, Woodstock, N. Y.; the Schomberg Center, N. Y. C.; the Allen Me足 morial Museum, Oberlin College, Ohio; Merton Simp足 son, N. Y. C. and in other private collections in the United States and England. In 1982 he received a C.A.P.S. fellowship in photography. At present he is an instructor at the School of Visual Arts and resides in Brooklyn.

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Albert Cl)op^

Untitled’ N.D., Silver Gelatin Print

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Albert CbopÂŁ

Untitled, N.D., Silver Gelatin Print

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Albert Cl)oi)<>

Untitled, N.D., Silver Gelatin Print

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Albert Cl)oi)£

Untitled, N.D., Silver Gelatin Print

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Albert Cl?or)ÂŁ

Untitled, N.D., Silver Gelatin Print

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Albert CbopÂŁ

Untitled, N.D., Silver Gelatin Print

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Albert Cbor)ÂŁ

Untitled, N.D., Silver Gelatin Print

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Albert C\)oi)$

Untitled, N.D., Silver Gelatin Print

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Albert Cbor)ÂŁ

Untitled\ N.D., Silver Gelatin Print

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Tel?u Okufyara

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I j Tetsu Okuhara was bom in Los Angeles, California. He studied at the University of Chicago and the Cooper Union, New York. He is a Guggenheim Fellow and a recipient oftwo C.A.P.S. awards in 1973 and1973. He has recently been awarded a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship. Selected exhibitions include the Museum ofModern Art, New York; The Witkin Gal­ lery, New York; The Sebu Museum, Japan; The Canon Gallery, Amsterdam, Holland; The Princeton Univer­ sity Art Museum, Princeton, NewJersey. His work is in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art, New York; The International Center ofPhotography, New York; The Walker Art Center; The Art Institute of Chicago; The State University ofNew York. Okuhards work has appeared in the Time/Life Series on photog­ raphy; Life Magazine; The New York Times; News­ week; Artnews; and Modern Photography Magazine.

He currently teaches at The School of Visual Arts.

“As to my work, I do what I do because I must. The concerns ofmy work are of spirit, history, love, mystery, truth and curiosity. I am very thankful of this oppor­ tunity to share my work with you. ”

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Tel?u Okul>ara

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Susan, 1971, Silver Gelatin Print

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Tel?u Okul^ara

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Susan, 1974, Silver Gelatin Print

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Tel?u Okufyara

Untitled, 1976, Silver Gelatin Print

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“Novus Ordo Secclorum”, 1981, Silver Gelatin Print

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Tel?u Okufyara

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Untitled, 1987, Silver Gelatin Print

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Tel?u Oku^ara

Cheops on The Hudson, 1987, Silver Gelatin Print

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Tel?u Okufyara

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Neon Samurai, 1987, Silver Gelatin Print

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Caripep Quezada

Carmen Quesada was bom in St. Paul, Minnesota. She studied at The College of St. Benedict, the Sorbonne, and The New Schoolfor Social Research. Selected ex­ hibitions include The Susan Harder Gallery, New York; The Tort Wayne Museum of Art, Fort Wayne, Indiana; The Lehman College Art Gallery, Bronx, New York; The Bronx Museum; The Chicago Cultural Cen­ ter; Quesada is a recipient of a C.A.P.S. Fellowship.

She has taught at The School ofVisualArts and headed the photography department at Marymount Manhat­ tan College. She is represented by the Susan Harder Gallery.

“The photographs in this portfolio represent work made between 1973 and 1978. At the time 1 was work­ ing only in black and white and using a 33 mm camera.

I began to notice relationships between neighboring negatives on my contact sheets. TRAIN TO NAPLES, 1973 was my first attempt to print what I saw. The train windows, receding into dark distance suddenly bring the eye back close up, to the present. I see these pairs of consecutive negatives as one image, not a diptych. The black line between the two pictures is the space be­ tween the two 33 mm frames and to the eye it serves as the transition from one perspective to the next. At times, it is a hard edge separation between the two frames, at others, it blends into the darkness, its edges never really defined. (WEDDING PARTY, 1978) Making the negatives is always spontaneous and in­ tuitive. The shots are never planned. By 1980 I was working mainly with color negative film. As with black and white, I made the prints myself. The simplicity of these early printsforms the basisfor all my work. Rather than being confining, the format opened an entirely new perspective for me. ”

Carrier) Quezada

Train to Naples, 1973, Silver Gelatin Print

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Caripep Quezada

Harlequin, 1978, Silver Gelatin Print

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Carrier) Quezada

Sheep Meadow, 1978, Silver Gelatin Print

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Carrpep Quezada

Castings, 2977, Silver Gelatin Print

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Caripcp Quezada

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Carn>cp Quezada

Wedding Party, 1977, Silver Gelatin Print

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Carrpep Quezada

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Rue de Rivo/i, 1978, Silver Gelatin Print

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Caripcp Quezada

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he three photographers featured in this issue o/Nueva Luz — Albert Chong, Tetsu Okuhara and Carmen Quesada Burke — are concerned with the concept of memory, the process of evoking the remembrance ofa feeling, mood or idea through associated images. Their methods vary. Repetition ofform, shape or picture reinforces our understanding ofsome works; in others, reoccurrence causes us to question what we see.

Re-use ofan image is not necessarily repetition; at times the dif­ ference between an earlier and a later incarnation is so vast as to be barely recognizable, the sentiment and tone reversed. Use of multipartite formats challenge both the eye andpsyche; tension is created between perceiving the image as a “whole, ” and consider­ ing each, perhaps disjunctive, part.

Tetsu Okuhara's large, at times mural scale, works are com­ posed of numerous smaller photographs. Depending on viewing distance, a piece may be perceived as a highly patterned object or a collection of multifarious scenes. Though he may juxtapose abstract with figurative elements, all are integrated, manipulated in the interest ofa unified whole. Yet each separate photograph is invested with its own individual potency and symbolism. Bringing together diverse images, fragments ofboth the natural world and the human body, Okuhara creates a larger vision, one that is cosmic and universal in scope. Most often Okuhara's compilations add up to a standard rectangularform; however, he also has a fascination with crosses, theirformal power as well as their spiritual, historical and symbolic resonance. One cross-shaped work is composed almost completely of body parts, miniature hands, eyes, feet, arms, lips and noses which are obsessively, though strategically, repeated. In selected areas, certain features are enlarged to the correct scale of human anatomy. Here Okuhara creates a contemporary crucifix. Sprouting from the horizontal endpoints of the form are hands with stigmata; below the horizontal/vertical axis is a man's chest, further down an ab­ domen. Though so different from the archetypal religious symbol bordering on blasphemy (in some circles,) the work is yet recognizable as a crucifix, bringing to mind suggestions of spiritual love and redemption.

In the early eighties, Albert Chong began working on a series he called “I Traits." Allegorical in nature, these photographs were envisioned as homages to his African heritage and explorations ofits contemporary, particularly AfroCaribbean, spiritual legacy. In many ofthese pictures, Chong combines his expertise both behind the lens and inside the darkroom to achieve an array ofstriking images. He is able to set dramatic mood andframe ofreference using the staged scenes of tableau vivant; applying multiple exposures, he further builds a

mystical and ethereal tone. Chong himselfis often the principal actor in these dramas, his nude figure frequently appears visceral and ghostlike against burlap backdrops along with symbolic elements including a tree, a spear, coconut shells, a bible, eggs andfish. Going from tableau vivant to nature morte, Albert Chong's recent work employs the method of “re-photography” — the photographer will take a past print and reshoot it as an object in conjunction with other elements. These are strange and mysterious stillifes containing objects as diverse as feathers, nails, dead birds, skulls ofsmall animals, dolls, dried shrimp and flowers, which may be arranged on a photograph ofa nude preg­ nant woman, for instance. The resulting pictures are photographic altars with their offerings on display. Often printed up to 40 x 30 inches, the large scale ofthese prints has the effect ofenveloping the viewer in their ritual.

For the last fifteen years, Carmen Quesada Burke has been involved with the concept ofthe “extendedframe, "printing two or more consecutive negatives as one photograph. These are not meant to be read as sequential images but as a single, *unified work. Quesada usually uses the diptych format, selecting and contrasting two views ofthe same subject. The black band which physically separates the images in the negative is always integral to the piece, as either a solid dividing line or becoming part of the landscape or architecture. The resulting photographs play with our sense ofperspective, time and memory. With some of the works our eyes inform the mind that what we see is (sur) reali­ ty; with other pieces the process is reversed and our minds have difficulty convincing our eyes that whats before us is the creation of the artist. In Train to Naples (1973) — one of the first pieces in which Quesada used the extendedframe — the blurred land­ scape seen from a moving train is interrupted by a series ofwin­ dows (incorporating the black band,) which seem to both frame and squeeze the panorama. The strong verticals in Harlequin (1978) are echoed in background trees, a sequence of receding cones, a foreground of marble columns and, finally, in the now visible black band.

Okuhara's repetition ofpictures, Chong's re-use and recom­ bination ofphotographs, and Quesada's partitioning ofimages, provide us with new ways oflooking at/seeing/experiencing the world around us. Yet the key to understanding these photographs is in reaching inside ourselves, probing our own memories. For they are ultimately about remembrance in the larger sense, an abstract idea, enabling us to select visions of our past that can take us into the future.

Kellie Jones is a curator and writer living in New York. Cur­ rently Visual Arts Director atJamaica Arts Center.

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KELLIEJONES

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e X) t a r i o

os tres fotografos destacados en este numero de Nueva Luz — Albert Chong,, Tetsu Okuhara y Carmen Quesada Burke — se interesan por el concepto de memoria, el proceso de evocar la recordacion de un sentimiento, humor o idea por medio de imdgenes asociadas. Varian sus metodos. La repeticion de una forma, contomo o imagen refuerza nuestra comprension de ciertas obras; en otras, la reiteracion nos obliga a interrogar lo que vemos. Reaplicar una imagen no es automdticamente una repeticion; a veces la diferencia entre una encarnacion primera y una posterior es tan grande que se vuelve apenas percibible, y sentimiento y tono estdn invertidos. Manejarformatos multipartitos reta al ojo tanto como la psiquis; se crea una tension entrepercibir la imagen como un “todo” y la consideracion de cada parte acaso disyuntiva.

Los amplios trabajos, en ocasiones de escala muralista, de Tetsu Okuhara estdn compuestos de numerosas fotografias mas pequenas. Dependiendo de la distancia ocular, se puede percibir la pieza como un objeto de patrones considerables o como coleccion de escenas multifaceticas. Si bien elpuede yuxtaponer elementos abstractos y figurativos, la obra estd integrada y manipulada al servicio de un todo unificado. Sin embargo, cada fotografia individual estd dotada de su peculiar potencia y simbolismo. Al reunir imdgenes diversas, fragmentos del mundo natural y del organismo humano, Okuhara crea una vision mas ancha, vision de alcance cosmico y universal. La mayorla de las veces lo recopilado por Okuhara desemboca de una forma rec­ tangular establecida; no obstante, siente fascinacion tambien por las cruces, por el vigor formal al igual que la resonancia espiritual, historica y simbolica de estas. Un trabajo en forma de cruz consiste casi exclusivamente en las partes del cuerpo; manos en miniatura, ojos, pies, brazos, labios y narices se repiten obsesiva pero estrategicamente. Bn areas selectas se han agrandado ciertas facciones para confirmar la escala correcta de la anatomia humana. Okuhara concibe aqui un crucifijo contempordneo.

Brotan de los extremos horizontales de la forma manos con estigmata; debajo del eje horizontal/vertical estd elpecho de un hombre, mas abajo un abdomen. A pesar de distinguirse tanto del simbolo arquetipico religioso que raya en la blasfemia (segun ciertos circulos), podemos reconocer en la obra al crucifijo y sugerencias de amor espiritual y redencion.

Albert Chong comenzo a trabajar a principios de los ochenta en una serie que titulo “I Traits. ” De naturaleza alegorica, concibio estas fotografias como homenajes a su legado africano y como exploracion de su herencia espiritual contempordnea, en particular lo afrocaribeno. Chong combina en muchos de estos trabajos su maestna tanto detrds del lente como anclado en el estudio para crear una serie de imdgenes sorprendentes; logra fijar una tonica dramdtica y un marco de referenda utilizando escenas teatrales del tableau vivant; con la aplicacion de exposiciones multiples funda mas aun cierto tono mistico y etereo. Elpropio Chong suele ser el actor protagonista de estos dramas; su cuerpo

desnudo se presenta con frecuencia de modo visceral y fantasmal contra fondos de arpillera, ademds de algunos elementos simbolicos, como senan un drbol, una lanza, un coco consumido, una Biblia, huevos, pescado. En su recorrido desde el tableau vi­ vant hasta la naturaleza muerta, la obra reciente de Albert Chong aprovecha el metodo de la “refotografia” — elfotografo escoge una impresion terminada y la vuelve a tomar como objeto vinculado a otros elementos. Son naturalezas muertas de aire extrano y misterioso, y que comprenden cosas tan diversas como plumas, unas, pdjaros difuntos, crdneos de pequenos animales, munecas, camarones desecados y flores; estos, por ejemplo, pueden estar organizados sobre una foto de una mujer embarazada y desnuda.

Las composiciones que resultan son altares fotogrdficos exhibiendo sus ofrendas. La escala considerable de estas impresiones (a menudo son de 40 x 30 pulgadas) produce el efecto de envolver al espectador en sus rituales.

Durante los ultimos quince anos, Carmen Quesada Burke se ha dedicado a la nocion del “marco extendido.” lmprime, por ejemplo, dos o mas negativos consecutivos como una sola fotografia. No se trata de captarlos en terminos de imdgenes en sucesion sino mas bien como una obra particular y unificada.

Quesada se vale usualmente de la estructura del diptico en su seleccion y contraste de dos dngulos de un mismo tema. La linea negra que separa orgdnicamente las imdgenes en el negativo nunca deja de ser parte Integra de la pieza: es una de dos, solida linea divisoria o un elemento del paisaje o arquitectura. Las imdgenes resultantes juegan con nuestros sentidos de perspectiva, tiempo y memoria. Respecto de algunos de estos trabajos, nuestra mirada le informa a nuestra mente que lo contemplado es (sur)realidad.

Con otras piezas se invierte elproceso, y le cuesta trabajo a la mente convencer a los ojos de que lo mirado es creacion del artista. En Train to Naples (1973), que es una de las primeras imdgenes que muestran el manejo de Quesada del marco exten­ dido, el paisaje borroso que vemos desde un tren en movimiento lo interrumpe una sucesion de ventanas (que incorporan la franja negro); estas, podnamos decir, logran enmarcary comprimir el panorama. Las vigorosas lineas verticales que se dan en Harlequin (1978) se reiteran en los drboles de fondo, en una secuencia de conos en repliegue, el primer piano de columnas de mdrmol, y por ultimo en la linea negra que ahora se ha vuelto visible.

La repeticion de composiciones en Okuhara, la reaplicacion y recombinacion de fotografias en Chong, y la reparticion en Quesada de imdgenes nos proponen nuevas maneras de mirar, ver y experimentar el mundo que nos rodea. No obstante, la clave para la comprension de estas fotografias es que necesitamos abrir camino en nosotros mismos, sondear el terreno de la memoria.

Compartimos aqui un trabajo comprometido con la recordacion en su sentido mas amplio, como idea abstracta, como retencion de ciertas visiones escogidas de nuestro pasado que nos permita encaminarnos alfuturo.

KELLIEJONES

KellieJones es una curadoray escritora viviendo en Nueva York.

Corrientemente es Directora de Artes Visuales en Jamaica Arts Center.

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