Photo: Penelope Umbrico (detail).
The longest-running art fair in Los Angeles, photo l.a., returns for its 26th season, January 12-15, 2017 at The REEF, located in the historic LA Mart building. Bringing together over 10,000 attendees from the global arts community, photo l.a. has blossomed into an unparalleled global showcase of photographic art since its inception in 1991. Showcasing works from the history of the medium, the fair features more than 80 exhibitors including Crave faves Monroe Gallery of Photography, the Lucie Foundation, and the School of Visual Arts.
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The 2017 edition launches with an opening night benefit gala honoring Weston Naef, founding curator of photographs at the J. Paul Getty Museum on Thursday, January 12, from 7-10 p.m. Naef’s appointment ushered in a new era for photography in Los Angeles, as acquired the stellar collections of Sam Wagstaff, Arnold Crane, and Andre Jammes for the Museum. During his 25 years at the helm, Naef supervised more than 100 exhibitions and 50 publications, many of which he authored.
Bruce Hall, Sun Spots, 2014, courtesy of Blind Photographers Guild
In a major show of support, the Lucie Foundation has moved the Month of Photography Los Angeles (MOPLA) from April to January to align with photo l.a. Together, they will present “Converge,” a series of 11 days of featured photographic programming. The first four days will be hosted by photo l.a., with dozens of programs, lectures, seminars, and panel discussions on subjects such ranging from National Park Service Artist-in-Residence grants for photographers to the development of Snapchat as a form of photographic art.
Highlights from “Converge” include “All Kill No Fill,” a conversation with skateboard photographers Craig R. Stecyk III , Greg Hunt, Mike O’Meally, Ryan Allan, Sam Muller moderated by Boyz Bieber “The Female Gaze: A Conversation Exploring Women’s Identity in Contemporary Photography,” featuring egan Steinman, independent curator and Director of The Underground Museum checks in with artists Kandis Williams and Chloe Aftel; and artist Penelope Umbrico in conversation with Eve Schillo, Assistant Curator, Wallis Annenberg Photography Department, LACMA.
©Penelope Umbrico
“Our mission is to continue engaging and supporting the international community, which shares our passion for photography, while cultivating new audiences through distinctive programming across creative disciplines,” says photo l.a. director Claudia James Bartlett. “We are proud to now have over 80 exhibitors, who foster an ongoing dialogue about the changing landscape of photography and its important role in the art world at large.”
And of course, there are the photographs, which will include works by some of the greatest artists ever to wield a camera including Andre Kertesz, Ansel Adams, Bert Stern, Daido Moriyama, Diane Arbus, Lisette Model, Louis Faurer, Ralph Gibson, Robert Capa, W. Eugene Smith, Weegee, and William Klein, among others.
©Tony Vaccaro: Hitler’s Window, Germany, 1945, Archival Pigment Print, 17 x 22. Courtesy of Monroe Gallery
Not to be missed are the special installations made exclusively for photo l.a., including All Kill No Fill, a comprehensive cross-section of skateboard photography over the past forty years; In and Out of Order: TV’s from Craigslist and Bad Display, Penelope Umbrico’s mesmerizing meditation on the space of the screen and its technologies; and Handmade!, recent work by Luther Gerlach and Jacqueline Woods that explores the “natural magic” of the medium.
In total, photo l.a. is not to be missed by anyone who enjoys collecting, conversing, and perusing the realm of the photographic arts.
Carly Simon: Cover shot for ” Playing Possum” 1975, vintage gelatin silver print, printed by Keith Williamson. Courtesy of Norman Seeff Vintage Prints
Opening Night:
To Benefit John Wayne Cancer Foundation and The LUCIE Foundation
Thursday, January 12, 7pm – 10pm. Buy tickets here.
Public Hours:
Friday, January 13, 11am – 7pm
Saturday, January 14, 11am – 7pm
Sunday, January 15, 11am – 6pm
Location:
The REEF/LA Mart
1933 Broadway
Los Angeles, Ca 90007
Miss Rosen is a New York-based writer, curator, and brand strategist. There is nothing she adores so much as photography and books. A small part of her wishes she had a proper library, like in the game of Clue. Then she could blaze and write soliloquies to her in and out of print loves.
