Famous Artist #30

Mark Bradford

American artist known for his large-scale abstract paintings that often incorporate found materials and explore themes of race, identity, and the urban environment. Born in Los Angeles, California in 1961, Bradford grew up in a tough inner-city neighborhood and was exposed to a wide range of social and political issues from a young age.

Bradford began his career as a hairdresser and salon owner, but he always had a passion for art and began creating his own paintings in his spare time. In the late 1990s, he began to gain recognition for his bold, abstract paintings that incorporated materials like newspaper, posters, and advertising flyers that he collected from the streets of Los Angeles.

Over the years, Bradford's work has continued to evolve and he has become known for his large-scale abstract paintings that often explore themes of race, identity, and the urban environment. His work often incorporates text and imagery from popular culture and incorporates a wide range of materials, including everything from hair and glitter to burned paper and acrylic paint.

Today, Bradford is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential artists of his generation. His work has been exhibited in galleries and museums around the world and has been the subject of numerous books and articles. He continues to push the boundaries of abstract painting and is known for his unique, thought-provoking approach to art.

Famous Photographer #26

Sheila Metzner

Renowned American photographer known for her striking images of nature and the human form. Born in New York City in 1939, Metzner grew up with a passion for art and photography. She studied photography at the School of Visual Arts in New York and later at the Rhode Island School of Design, where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

After graduating, Metzner began working as a commercial photographer, creating images for advertising and fashion clients. She quickly gained a reputation for her striking, evocative photographs that often featured natural elements and the human form.

In the 1970s, Metzner shifted her focus to fine art photography and began creating more personal, experimental images. She became known for her surreal, dream-like photographs that often featured elaborate sets and props. She also became interested in the concept of time and began creating long exposure images that blurred and distorted the subject matter, giving her photographs a unique, otherworldly quality.

Over the years, Metzner's work has been exhibited in galleries and museums around the world and has been featured in numerous publications. She is widely regarded as one of the most talented and innovative photographers of her generation, and her work continues to inspire and challenge viewers today.

Famous Photographer #28

Sally Mann

Renowned American photographer known for her striking black and white images that often explore themes of family, childhood, and the American South. Born in Lexington, Virginia in 1951, Mann grew up in a household filled with art and creativity. Her father was a doctor and her mother was an amateur photographer, and from a young age, Mann was exposed to the art of photography.

Mann's career as a photographer took off in the 1980s, when she began experimenting with large-format cameras and black and white film. She quickly gained a reputation for her striking, intimate portraits of her children and the landscapes of the American South. Her first major project, "Immediate Family," was a series of black and white photographs of her children that explored the beauty and vulnerability of childhood.

Over the years, Mann has continued to push the boundaries of photography, often using controversial subjects and techniques in her work. She has photographed everything from decomposing corpses to the landscape of the American South, and her work has been exhibited in galleries and museums around the world.

Despite the controversy that has sometimes surrounded her work, Mann has remained true to her artistic vision and continues to create thought-provoking, evocative photographs. She is widely regarded as one of the most talented and important photographers of her generation, and her work continues to inspire and challenge viewers today.

Picker - Treasure Hunter - Sourcer

I have been around antiques and old things for a long time since my dad is a dealer. When I was younger I would go to auctions with my parents, I would hang out at my dad’s store, and go to antique shops a lot, as well as other people’s houses.

One of my styles of work is taking old paintings, items, and photos and making them new I love going to sales and getting stuff for a good deal that I can turn around and add my modern twist to it. More recently I have been a picker for other people which is fun. Seeing what other people like and look for/need. I have even gotten stuff for my dad before.

For me, it’s the hunt for things most people glance over or finding things for myself to use or even give stuff to other people. In a previous post I ( click here) I talk about helpful and useful info on sales from a seller and buyer’s POV. I like helping people sell or find what they are looking for. some of the sales are overpriced and I walk away and a large majority of sales are kitchen and or child stuff. I like estate sales the most, going through the whole house and finding stuff, while yard sales are already picked through items and sometimes people have more inside. With estate sales you can see inside of other houses which for me is fun, seeing how other people live. I am not a reseller so it’s all for art and or other people.

Sourcing

I also love to source things for people as well. From helping fill airbnb’s to tools people need and other things as well. I go to sales very often and always look online for things for people. Besides items, I also source houses online and in person for my friends at LVLgroupnyc and for other people as well.

There is always stuff I source for myself art-wise- vintage photos, vintage paintings, anything camera, and art-related, ephemera, and things like that.

Here’s a handful of things I helped source for this Airbnb - 1-2 pieces of art and some decor on the shelves, 2 the Picasso and the chair, 3 all the art on the wall and some of the books, 4 the bench/trunk. I also “designed the art and the chair. just some quick examples.

Photos by Alon Koppel + me

Playing Around with Dall-E 2

As a creative/artist I like to try things out and see how they work. See what different applications and platforms work to see if I like them. I messed around with digital collage and NFTs a bit and I tried it and was not really my thing but maybe I can go back to it. I used to make a ton of videos- I don’t make as much as I used to. I have been messing around with different kinds of Ai tools. The first tool I used was a free app called wambo dream ( i’s an app) where you type something in and pick a style and it generates an image that does not exist anywhere. The next tool I used was midjourny its a discord server its free to use a few times then it costs a fee. for me, it was an upgrade from wambo since it’s a bit more free range as in creative type than wambo. There are a ton of ai tools like this out there but these are the bigger-name ones.

1776 painting of political figures signing an important document for the united states in boston ma inside of a federal building with important people

bright neon red chair living room in a vintage house

richard avodon portait of his out west series in the style of andy warhol

a vintage photograph BW of a old home shack 1930's with a family in front of it

These four images above have been making using the most “realistic” ai tool out so far or at least what I have used. They give you credits just like midjourny but they give you a handful for free the first month and the next month they give you a few more and you can always buy more credits. This is also a prompt ai generator and this is all free range, you put in exactly what you want and it will make it. I been having a blast with mixing artists together as well as seeing if it creates something I come up with. Underneath the 4 images are the prompts i put in to get that image. All these ai tools are 100% made up, a few friends and I typed in the exact prompt and we all got different results. The other downside to dalle2 is that there’s a waitlist and it’s randomly picked at the moment.

Here is my POV with all these ai tools out there and new ones to come. For me I am using dalle 2 at the moment to gather resources and source material for fututre works. Maybe i will try and recreat them in my own way or print them and do a collage. I am not sure yet what I will do with them but i will deffinitly use them in the future. Ai and new tech that comes out is always going to disrupt every industry but to me its the arts. look at the camera for example when they first came out people called it lazy art since all you do is click a button and your art is made, or when the digital cameras came out and made it so you can take as many photos you want with your card can take. For me ai is going to disrupt the illustration, wall paper, backdrop industries just to name a few.