Real Photo Show with Michael Chovan-Dalton

Eric Kunsman and I talk about his work, Fake News Archive Project: A Historical Archive of the Donald J. Trump Presidency. Eric is looking for people interested in the next election, and any archive enthusiasts, to search through his screen captured collection of news headlines from the past almost four years and to highlight, through your own social media, the stories that were impactful to you but, because of the overwhelming news cycle, may now be lost to history. Here is his description of the work: This is my approach at recording history in the tumultuous times we live in and a historical approach to looking at the Presidency of Donald J. Trump and his claim of “Fake News.” These images are to serve in a historical context and not as a political statement. This project started the day after Election Day and will continue until (TBD.) I started by imaging only CNN due to the President’s verbiage and quickly realized I needed other major news sources as a comparative measure. The use of multiple news sources serves as a barometer and allows the viewers to view this in its historical context. You can learn more about this work at: https://www.fakenewsarchiveproject.com Share the Fake News: UnGlued Re-Broacast News Event here: https://fb.me/e/1DTe7wR2b Eric's Website: https://www.erickunsman.com Eric's Email: eric@erickunsman.com Eric T. Kunsman (b. 1975) was born and raised in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. While in high school, he was heavily influenced by the death of the steel industry and its place in American history. The exposure to the work of Walker Evans during this time hooked Eric onto photography. Eric had the privilege to study under Lou Draper, who became Eric’s most formative mentor. He credits Lou with influencing his approach as an educator, photographer, and contributing human being. Eric holds his MFA in Book Arts/Printmaking from The University of the Arts in Philadelphia and holds an MS in Electronic Publishing/Graphic Arts Media, BS in Biomedical Photography, BFA in Fine Art photography all from the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York. Currently, he is a photographer and book artist based out of Rochester, New York. Eric works at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) as a Lecturer for the Visual Communications Studies Department at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf and is an adjunct professor for the School of Photographic Arts & Sciences. In addition to lectures, he provides workshops on topics including his artistic practice, digital printing, and digital workflow processes. He also provides industry seminars for the highly regarded Printing Applications Lab at RIT. His photographs and books are exhibited internationally and are in several collections. He currently owns Booksmart Studio, which is a fine art digital printing studio, specializing in numerous techniques and services for photographers and book artists on a collaborative basis. Eric’s work has been exhibited in over 35 solo exhibitions at such venues as Nicolaysen Art Museum, Hoyt Institute of Fine Art, Los Angeles Center for Digital Art, and numerous university galleries. His work has also been a part of over 150 group exhibitions over the past 4 four years including exhibitions at the Center for Photography, A. Smith Gallery, SPIVA, San Luis Obispo Museum of Art, Spartanburg Museum of Art, Atlanta Photography Group, CEPA Gallery, Site:Brooklyn, Colorado Photographic Arts Center, Philadelphia Photo Arts Center, and many more. Eric was named one of 10 B&W photographers to watch of 2018 by BWGallerist, B&W Best Photographers of the Year 2019 by Dodho Magazine, and won the Association of Photography (UK) Gold Award for Open Series in 2019, Finalist, Top 200 Critical Mass 2019, Top 15 Photographers for the Rust Belt Biennial. His Project Felicific Calculus was also awarded a Warhol Foundations Grant through CEPA Gallery in Buffalo, NY. Eric’s work has also been published in magazines such as; LensWork, Dodho, B&W Photography, All About Photo, Dek Unu along with online articles by Analog Forever Magazine, Catalyst: Interview, Texas Photo Society, and others. He is currently represented by HOTE Gallery in Los Angeles, CA and Malamegi in San Daniele del Friuli (Udine), Italy.

"Really my favorite thing about photography is walking around with my camera…If I could do only one kind of work for the rest of my life, I think that would unquestionably be what I would want to do."   Sasha Rudensky is an artist and an educator. She is currently the Program Director and an Associate Professor of Art at Weslyan University. She studied Studio Art and Russian Literature at Weslyan University and received her MFA from Yale University. When Sasha was young her family left Russia, just as the Soviet Union was breaking apart. We talk about the duality and tension of her insider/outsider approach to photographing in Russia and Ukraine as well as her description of people and place through fact and fiction. We also talk about teaching in-person during the pandemic and we talk about a book that Sasha has been working on that combines multiple projects into one body work. Sasha also reveals the new title of this book which we expand upon at the end of the episode. I should also note that Sasha is represented by my podcast partner, Sasha Wolf.   Sasha Rudensky is a Russian-born artist whose work has been exhibited widely including Musee de l’Elysee in Lausanne, Switzerland; Fries Museum in Leewarden, Netherlands; Macro Testaccio Museum in Rome, Italy; ArtScience Museum in Singapore, and Danziger Projects in New York. In 2010 Sasha’s work was included in “reGeneration 2: Photographers of Tomorrow Today”, an international survey of emerging photographers. Her work is held in a number of public collections including Musee de l’Elysee, Yale Art Gallery, and Center of Creative Photography in Tuscon amongst others.   Sasha received her MFA from Yale University School of Art in 2008 and BA from Wesleyan University in 2001. She was the recipient of the Ward Cheney Memorial Award from Yale University, Mortimer-Hays Brandeis Traveling Fellowship, Leica/Jim Marshall Award, and Jessup Prize from Wesleyan University. In 2013 Sasha was awarded the Aaron Siskind Individual Fellowship grant. Her work has appeared in New York Times Magazine, Der Spiegel, Cicero Magazine, American Photo, PDN and others. She is an Assistant Professor of Art at Wesleyan University, where she is the head of the photography program.   http://www.sasharudensky.com/index.html https://sashawolf.com/artist/sasha-rudensky/

"I was thinking about that lately…as far as black photographers in general, will it always be a counter-narrative…" Duquann Sweeney is a photographer and a community organizer in Jersey City, NJ. He is a founder of The Royal Men Foundation which provides mentoring services, health and educational workshops, and works with the county courts to provide alternative sentencing for people accused of minor crimes. I've posted a link to The Royal Men Foundation in the show notes. Duquann and I talk about a series he is working on following a Doula and her client, an expecting mother in Jersey City. He started this work after looking into the disparity in healthcare and lower health outcomes for pregnant women of color and their babies. We also talk about his mother surviving Covid-19 and the work he makes in his neighborhood where he was born and raised. https://www.duquannsweeney.com/ https://www.instagram.com/duquann_sweeney/ https://www.facebook.com/The-Royal-Men-Foundation-218661284952655

"When the green comes in, the grass comes back first, and then the smaller shrubs. It's always this sort of hopeful space…I always feel that nature reminds us that after trauma there's regeneration." Deborah Jack is a multimedia artist. Her current work deals with trans-cultural existence, memory, the effects of colonialism and mythology through re-memory. Deborah was born in the Netherlands and grew up in the Netherlands/Saint Martin. She went to grad school at SUNY Buffalo, NY and currently resides in Jersey City where she coordinates the photography program at New Jersey City University. We talk about how growing up on a small island with colonial heritage and landscapes altered by the patterns of water and severe weather influence her work and we talk a little about teaching in the time of corona and the limits of how much we can prepare for it. You can see the work that we discuss at Deborah's website: https://www.deborahjack.com

"There's a small neighborhood that's called Wilbur Section…It's known for crime, gang activity, drug usage, murders, unsolved homicide, and this is where I am from and this is what formed and shaped me…I want to give something back to my community. I want people to acknowledge themselves and know that they are beautiful." Habiyb Ali Shu'Aib is a Trenton, NJ based photographer who has been photographing life in Trenton since he was 9. His work is a mix of portraits of neighborhoods and portraits of people. The Covid shutdown and the Black Lives Matters marches and protests have impacted the Trenton landscape and Habiyb is processing his role as a black photographer whose work speaks both universally and journalistically about his home city. Habiyb has shown at Artworks, Roebling Wire Works, and the JKC Gallery in Trenton, and he has taught photography to young adults at Mercer County College and Artworks. Recently he was featured on a panel of photographers at the BH Photo Event Space for a discussion about Photojournalism in 2020. https://beloved1photo.com/ https://www.instagram.com/beloved1___/

Here's an introduction and a short clip from PhotoWork with Sasha Wolf, a new show that I am producing for Sasha about some of the more existential questions that artists think about but don't always talk about. Subscribe to it on your favorite podcast service or listen to it at photowork.podbean.com.

"You really have to understand the times we live in and…the things that you push against are the things that make you who you are." Martin Bough is a photographer, a teacher, and a Jazz musician. He has been photographing since 1962 but that is not where this story begins. Martin is 92 years old and he was already an accomplished saxophone player and a highly skilled printing press operator before he took up the camera. Martin is a storyteller and you will not hear me very much in this episode because he has a unique way of talking about his life and how he had to live with and overcome the obstacles of neglect, racism, and exploitation for most of his life. It is a story filled with pain and anger and you will hear some of that life-long pain when Martin speaks. We also talk about Martin's connection to Fundamental Photographs, the science stock photo agency I worked at for 15 years with Kip Peticolas and Richard Megna. Martin's sons, Quavin Evans and Bonin Bough, are currently cataloging his work and you can see the start of that effort on Instagram, linked below. Special thanks go to Bonin Ventures and Executive Assistant, Vanessa Ekin for helping me with the logistics of this recording with Martin Bough. Photo ©1968 Martin Bough | Ralph Abernathy speaking at Poor People's Campaign rally in Central Park shortly after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. https://www.instagram.com/martin_bough/ https://www.instagram.com/martinboughproject/

"I can't take that (art) with me when I am gone, but I can certainly pass the message and leave behind how important art is as a tool to get better from trauma in life and just move forward." Tamara Torres is an Afro-Latina feminist artist and community activist based in Trenton, NJ. Tamara and I were going to record last year when her work was in the JKC Gallery, but she had to jet off to two more shows, one in Chicago and another in London before we had the chance. We recorded with, guest co-host and former guest, Ryann Casey in Trenton Hall, where the gallery is located, just days before the pandemic shut-down. Tamara, Ryann, and I talk a lot about who art belongs to and the class and race structure embedded in the art world including the academic art world. We also talk about the function of art as a form of expression to deal with injustice, trauma, and grief Tamara Torres is a Afro-Latina feminist international artist and community activist based out of Trenton, N.J. Growing up in Trenton, Torres survived obstacles such as homelessness, abuse, and discrimination. Her artwork has taken up the cause of social justice for abused, disadvantage, and disenfranchised women around the globe. Torres’ artwork has been exhibited in London, Edinburgh, Rome, Milan, New York City, and throughout New Jersey. Torres’ belief is, if she can change one person’s thinking through her artwork then she has done her job as an artist.. Trigger Warning: We don't get into the specifics of the abuse that Tamara faced growing up, but we do talk a little about her father's substance abuse and about Tamara moving forward from her trauma. https://www.tamaratorresart.com/ https://www.instagram.com/tamaratorresart/ This link will make sense after you listen to the show: https://news.artnet.com/exhibitions/women-in-abstract-expressionism-636611

"I can tell you stories upon stories about endless amounts of people who have come through from Roy DeCarava, Allen Ginsberg, Robert Frank, Larry Clark…all the icons of the fine art photo community…everybody…Helen Levitt and Mary Ellen Mark. Just amazing artists…my father's been in it from the beginning." Ross Kasovitz grew up around some of the most well known photographers and artists for all of his life. He is the son of Peter "Itzik" Kasovitz of K&M Camera. Ross and I talk about how he came to take over the business, how he helped transform it, and how he is working to get the business back up and running after the shut-down. Ross has some great insight into how the shut-down and social distancing will effect the downstream art businesses such as retailers, printers, and framers. We also talk about the impact on photo education and what happens with analog photography and the darkroom. Ross tells a few amazing stories from his family's relationships with some of K&M's legendary customers, including one very funny story about Joel Sternfeld. https://kmcamera.com/ Be sure to also checkout a new show by my friend and former co-host Kai McBride: Kai's Photo Topic with Ross Kasovitz and Jeff Hirsch https://lunacornua.com/camera-stores/

"My grandmother's family were all incarcerated at Minidoka, one of the WWII Japanese-American camps, and I just felt like there were few communities that stood up for them at that time and with the privilege that I have now, with being fourth generation American, I certainly can speak out on those issues that were pivotal to my own family." Emily Hanako Momohara was part of a panel talk at this year's SPE Conference titled 21st Century Family. She spoke about her work, Fruits of Labor: A Legacy of Immigration and Agriculture, which draws a connection from her own great-grandparent's history on the pineapple plantations in Hawaii to the plight of today's immigrants and migrant workers. Emily also connects her work and activism to her grandmother's incarceration at Minidoka and, as Emily will say in the show, she went from being a quiet activist to a more vocal activist because of the direction this country has taken and that she is in a position to stand up and speak for others in a way that she would have wanted communities to stand up for her grandparents and great-grandparents in their time. Emily Hanako Momohara was born in Seattle, Washington where she grew up in a mixed race family. Her work centers around issues of heritage, multiculturalism, immigration and social justice. Emily has exhibited nationally, most notably at the Japanese American National Museum in a two-person show titled Sugar|Islands. She has been a visiting artist at several residency programs including the Center for Photography at Woodstock, Headlands Center for the Arts, Fine Arts Work Center and Red Gate Gallery Beijing. In 2015, her work was included in the Chongqing Photography and Video Biennial. Emily has created socially driven billboards for For Freedoms and United Photo Industries. She lives and works in Cincinnati where she is an Associate Professor of Art at the Art Academy of Cincinnati and heads the photography major. https://ehmomohara.com/ https://www.instagram.com/ehmomohara/