Award-winning photographer Kurt Tong has his first solo exhibition in London at the Photofusion gallery. Born in Hong Kong in 1977, Kurt Tong was originally trained as a health visitor at the University of Liverpool. He has worked and traveled extensively across Europe, the Americas and Asia. In 1999, Kurt co-founded Prema Vasam, a charitable home for disabled and disadvantaged children in Chennai, South India.

I have followed his work over the last few years and for me it has a certain calming effect and resonance. So I was delighted to see his first solo exhibition announced. The exhibition at Photofusion will showcase two projects of Tong’s more recent work: In Case It Rains in Heaven, and Memories, Dreams; Interrupted.

Kurt became a full-time photographer in 2003. He was the winner of the Luis Valtuena International Humanitarian Photography Award and the City of Port St. Elpidio Prize with his first picture story documenting the ill treatment of disabled children in India. He worked for many other NGOs and covered stories from Female Infanticide to ballroom dancers.  He gained a Masters in documentary photography at the London College of Communications in 2006 and began working on much more personal projects. He has since been chosen as the winner of Photograph.Book.Now competition, the Hey, Hot Shot! competition and the prestigious Jerwood Photography Award.

Kurt’s photographs have been widely published and exhibited around the world at venues including: The Royal Academy, Impressions Gallery, Abbaye de Neumunster, Fotofest in Houston and upcoming shows solo shows at Photofusion and Compton Verney.

Kurt became a full-time photographer in 2003. He was the winner of the Luis Valtuena International Humanitarian Photography Award and the City of Port St. Elpidio Prize with his first picture story documenting the ill treatment of disabled children in India. He worked for many other NGOs and covered stories from Female Infanticide to ballroom dancers.  He gained a Masters in documentary photography at the London College of Communications in 2006 and began working on much more personal projects. He has since been chosen as the winner of Photograph.Book.Now competition, the Hey, Hot Shot! competition and the prestigious Jerwood Photography Award. Kurt’s photographs have been widely published and exhibited around the world at venues including: The Royal Academy, Impressions Gallery, Abbaye de Neumunster, Fotofest in Houston and upcoming shows solo shows at Photofusion and Compton Verney.

Summary from Photofusion:

In Case it Rains in Heaven is a series of photographs of items made of joss paper to be burned as offerings for the dead. Traditionally, many Chinese believe that when a person dies, he leaves with no earthly possessions and it’s up to his descendants to provide for him in the afterlife until his reincarnation. Originally, coins and animals were buried with the dead, but when that proved too expensive for commoners, they began burning joss paper decorated with seals, stamps, silver or gold paint, as offerings to the spirits to ensure they lived well in the afterlife. In the last 50 years, these offerings have become more and more elaborate as objects are molded from the paper, some reflecting traditional culture, but many reflecting the consumer culture which is taking over China. Cars, washing machines and MacDonalds meals are made out of the paper, and entire shops have been set up selling an array of joss paper products. The exhibition showcases the variety of objects chosen to be depicted for this purpose, and will also feature a video work of the burning ceremony.

Memories, Dreams; Interrupted is a series of works which explores the concept of memories. Scientists have suggested that our memories are stored like jpegs; broken down into small pieces and put away. When we recall an event, the pieces are put back together; any parts missing are automatically filled in by our brain, thus altering our memories of the event. Tong’s photographs are taken at places where he goes with his daughters, familiar places where memories are made, but places which are constantly changing, becoming a metaphor for the interpretation of memories. He captures these places on film, using techniques which purposely degrade the film. The image is then reconstructed using digital means.

I hope to post comment on this exhibition when I visit it later next week. This exhibition is on in London until the 26th September 2010. For more information visit Photofusion’s show preview here.

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Henri Cartier-Bresson (August 22, 1908 – August 3, 2004) was a French photographer considered to be the father of modern photojournalism, an early adopter of 35 mm format, and the master of candid photography. He helped develop the “street photography” or “real life reportage” style that has influenced generations of photographers that followed.

Cartier-Bresson exclusively used Leica 35 mm rangefinder cameras equipped with normal 50 mm lenses or occasionally a wide-angle for landscapes.[6] He often wrapped black tape around the camera’s chrome body to make it less conspicuous. With fast black and white films and sharp lenses, he was able to photograph almost by stealth to capture the events. No longer bound by a huge 4×5 press camera or an awkward two and a quarter inch twin-lens reflex camera, miniature-format cameras gave Cartier-Bresson what he called “the velvet hand [and] the hawk’s eye.”[citation needed] He never photographed with flash, a practice he saw as “[i]mpolite…like coming to a concert with a pistol in your hand.”[7] He believed in composing his photographs in the viewfinder, not in the darkroom. He showcased this belief by having nearly all his photographs printed only at full-frame and completely free of any cropping or other darkroom manipulation. Indeed, he emphasized that his prints were not cropped by insisting they include the first millimetre or so of the unexposed clear negative around the image area resulting, after printing, in a black border around the positive image.

Cartier-Bresson worked exclusively in black and white, other than a few unsuccessful attempts in color. He disliked developing or making his own prints.[citation needed] He said: “I’ve never been interested in the process of photography, never, never. Right from the beginning. For me, photography with a small camera like the Leica is an instant drawing.”[citation needed]

Cartier-Bresson is regarded as one of the art world’s most unassuming personalities. He disliked publicity and exhibited a ferocious shyness since his days in hiding from the Nazis during World War II. Although he took many famous portraits, his own face was little known to the world at large (which presumably had the advantage of allowing him to work on the street in peace). He dismissed others’ applications of the term “art” to his photographs, which he thought were merely his gut reactions to moments in time that he had happened upon.

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Vincent Van Gough is arguably the most well known artist on the planet, crossing divides in class and culture. You do not have to be an art snob or from the middle or upper classes to have heard of Vincent. He appeals to us because not only was he extremely talented and different in his approach to his art but he was a lost soul. Vincent needed to be accepted, loved and informed of how talented he was. Unfortunately he never received the positive attention he so craved from anybody that mattered and this led to his meteoric downward spiral and eventual death.

As well as being a creative genius who was slowly self-destructing, Vincent was a man who was painfully aware of the poverty that surrounded him where ever he traveled and at one point seriously thought of becoming a missionary. He wanted to help the poor and make their existence at least tolerable.

Could you imagine a man of this intensity, passion and creativity with digital technology at his fingertips? The haunting images of the poor and the harrowing portrayal of his life in his darker moments would have been captured for eternity.

Vincent would have gloried in the fact that the common man could afford to capture moments or events in their lives and talk about the images over a drink.

The fact that these images could be printed on canvas would have made him chuckle. Or would it have made him mad? Vincent worked for days and weeks to make sure his colours were as near as possible to the image he was portraying. How would he feel about a process that takes minutes to go from image to canvas? Alas we will never know.

One thing that is certain Vincent would have attempted to stamp his mark all over the digital world. What a rollercoaster ride that would have been.

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American Pop Art icon Andy Warhol, famed for his canvas work, was shot 40 years ago this week. A disturbed woman who blamed Warhol for having too much control over her life, Valerie Solanas, walked into Warhol’s Manhattan studio and shot him after he had lost a manuscript of hers.

Incredibly Solanis was actually praised by women’s rights activists for this attempted murder of one of modern arts most celebrated sons.

Ti-Grace Atkinson, president of the New York chapter of the National Organization for Women applauded Solanis for her actions, calling her:

the first outstanding champion of women’s rights.

Although Andy Warhol survived the attempted assassination, his work was never the same again and he told friends that he felt he had died long before his eventual death some years later. Even though Warhol would go on to create some important works, such as the famed portrait of Mao, his works paled in comparison with his earlier work.

Solanis was jailed for just three years for the attempted murder of Warhol, and outlived the artist by over a year before dying herself in squalor.

Warhol was famous for his canvas paintings, films and photography. He was the complete artist.

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Because of his work with Band Aid and the Make Poverty History campaign, U2’s front man Bono is recognised the world over, more so than the average rock star. He’s chatted with US Presidents, taken tea at 10 Downing Street and met the Pope. It’s a wonder when the singer actually gets time to sing.

Now Bono has been immortalised on canvas in a Pop Art painting in the style of the great Pop Art master himself, Andy Warhol. Warhol was famous for creating works of art of some of the greatest icons of the twentieth century, such as Marilyn Monroe and Wayne Gretzky; Bono, with his global fame, certainly fits into that category.

The painter responsible for painting Bono on canvas is Steve Kaufman, one of Andy Warhol’s prodigies. The painting itself a 2-panel work that was painting in Kaufman’s California studio. As with all great paintings it’s been given a very literal title, ‘Bono 2 panel painting’. The painting shows two images of Bono, one in portrait and the other in profile; naturally sporting his trademark sunglasses.

Kaufman met Bono when he came to Dublin recently for an exhibition entitled ‘Pop Art Ireland’.

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Andy Warhol’s portrait of the former communist leader, Mao Zedong, is set to become the artist’s most expensive ever work. Auctioneers Christies are hoping to net $120 million for the giant 14-foot tall painting.

Rather than being part of an auction, Christies are selling the painting in Hong Kong, in a private sale. Christies are hoping that Olympic Games in Beijing will prove a suitable draw to enable them to sell a painting such as this for a new record amount.

Asia has recently emerged as an improving market for the American pop art icon.

As we approach a new season of art auctions in New York, Christies are hoping that the profile of this painting, and its subsequent sale, will improve interest in the art world amidst recent price drops in the market. The New York art shows will be featuring some interesting work, which includes a mix of impressionist, modern and contemporary art.

There is a lot riding on the sale of Andy Warhol’s painting at the moment. Especially as many art experts are pessimistic about the upcoming New York art shows. They believe that the slow down in the market will result in much of the art remaining unsold.

Prices have recently dropped by 7.5% in Q1 2008, which was surprising, as the art world had benefited from consistent rises over the last few years.

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The Grand Palais in Paris had recently been promoting an art exhibition where they were hoping to display a painting by the famed Haitian painter; Herve Telemaque. His 1964 painting ‘Escale’ was used to promote the exhibition on the gallery’s posters that were displayed prominently around Paris. However, attendees at the art gallery were shocked to find that the painting was in fact nowhere to be seen.

What was the reason for this? The owner of the painting had promised the work to the Grand Palais for their exhibition, however the painting is currently residing within the vaults at Christies Auction House. The reason being that the buyer, despite purchasing the painting in December 2007, has yet to pay for the work.

As a result, Christies have refused to let the painting out of their possession.

The painting sold for 180,250 Euros at auction in December, and until the debt with the auction house is settled, the owner of the painting cannot claim his work, nor can he ‘loan’ the painting to the Grand Palais, even though they merely want to exhibit the painting for the art lovers of Paris.

A spokesman for the Grand Palais said:

There was a setback with the art collector and we only found out about it a week before the opening.

We spent a lot of money to advertise this exhibition with the promotion centred on Telemaque’s painting.

The exhibition is scheduled to run until July 13th, even if the debacle over the Telemaque painting isn’t resolved.

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