Beta issue 20

developments in photography

20 JULY

2016

BETA developments in photographyISSUE 20editor: Jeff Moorfootdesign: Penelope Annecontact: [email protected]

All content in this magazine is ©2016 BETA developments in photography and the contributing artistsand may not be reproduced with the express written permission of BETA developments in photographysave for fair dealing for the purposes of research, study, criticism, review and reporting news.All other rights are reserved

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developments in photography

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Matjaz Krivic is a documentary photographer specializing in capturing the personality and grandeur of indigenous people and places. For 18 years he has covered the face of the earth in his intense, personal and aesthetically moving style that has won him several prestigious awards. He has made the road his home and most of the time you can find him traveling with his camera somewhere between Sahara and Himalaya.

His stories of planet Earth, its temples, illusions, our efforts, needs and afflictions, which he recorded at different parts of the world, establish links with the subtlety of our parallel archetype worlds and expanding the space of inspiration, as well as our empathy and tolerance towards the known and unknown cultural space.

Matjaz’s photographs, multi-media projects and public installations have been exhibited internationally since 1999 with solo exhibitions in Russia, China, Tibet, Croatia and Slovenia, and group exhibitions in UK, Australia, Russia, USA, France, England, Ireland, Israel, Finland, Italy, Hungary, Croatia and Serbia.

Awards Include:

“World Press Photo” - Portrait singles, Second Prize 2016

“Travel photographer of the year” Amazing Places Winner 2010

“Slovenia Press Photo” Culture & Entertainment Winner 2010

“Geographical Photographer of the year” Landscape Winner 2003

“Geographical Photographer of the year” Overall Winner 2002

Shen Chao-Liang was born in Tainan, Taiwan, in 1968. His works focus on the social landscapes and life conditions and the realities of the day. He strives through photography to formulate reader consciousness while at the same time fostering dialogue.

06 URBANISTAN Matjaz Krivic

38 STAGE Shen Chao-Liang

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Soon after moving Manhattan in 1976 Jan Staller began to photograph the West Side Highway. It was there, working with a mixture of natural and artificial light, he made twilight images of desolate streetscapes against bizarrely hued skies. By the mid 80s, Staller had been mostly photographing in New Jersey. Working out of a Land Rover equipped with a generator, he would set up powerful stadium lighting to illuminate the industrial and suburban landscape.

Around 2003, Staller began photographing in overcast weather utilizing the transformative qualities of shadowless illumination and colorless skies. In 2011, his work changed again: using telephoto lenses to bring distant subjects near, details were isolated against a pure white background, eliminating context details of the surrounding landscape. Unprepossessing objects and materials, placed within the pure white rectangle of the photograph became studies of color, line, form and material. By 2013, Staller returned to photographing in Manhattan, principally the construction boom currently reshaping the city skyline. These images, his most reductive, are nominally about construction materials and implements, yet in these new images, they are akin to drawing and painting. About this time, Staller began making videos with a digital SLR camera. Currently Staller is making both still and video imagery.

Rob Walls has been a professional photographer for over 50 years. In a continuing career, he has worked on assignment for numerous Australia and international publications including Time, Newsweek and the New York Times. Since 2010 he has been working on a long term project documenting working life in Australia

64 RECENT IMAGES Jan Staller

88 FACADES Rob Walls

AL RAWI Basil #4ASFAR Hoda #2 ALTMAN Ben #19AZHAR CHE’ AHMAD #18BACON KIDWELL Angela #5 & #16BARKER Mandy #13 BECKER Craig #19BIRD Leon #11 & #16BLACKWOOD Christa #10BLANCH Alice #5BODIN John #10BOGUE Terence Stewart #6BONANNO Simona #7BURNSTINE Susan #9CAGA Jan #15CARLILE Brad #12CARTIER F & D #10CASH Neil #1CATO John #6HE Chang #15CHASKIELBERG Alejandro #16COCKBURN GARY #18CONROY Juliette #10CRAVER Neil #8CRESPO Carlos #11CRISPIN Judith #1DATTO ARKO #18DAWSON Alec #10DE MAAR Marrigje #6DECYK Slavo #1DHERVILLERS Nicolas #16DIAZ Francisco #6

DINIZ Jose #4DOBSON Susan #13DUNPHY Peter #4DUPONT Stephen #16DYACHYSHYN Yurko #4 & #16ELMS Greg #5FAHRENKEMPER Claudia #6FOURNET Annette #14 GLATTAUER Silvi #17GOLDFINCH Karena #1GOLLINGS John #1GRIES Patrick #3GRIFFITH Tim #1HARDING PITTMAN Robert #9 HARMAN Amanda #19HARRIS Sam #16HARSENT Simon #15HAY John #12HEWITT Tony #6HOLLOWAY Craig #7HOPE Tim #3HORAN Keith #9JACKSON Tony #8JOREN Gerhard #1JOSLIN Russell #6KANASHKEVIC Mitchell #16KATSAROVA Boryana #16KEARNEY Tony #2KEEVER KIM #18KELLNER Thomas #16KIRKPATRICK Bear #12KOZHANOVA Mariya #11

Beta Alumni

KRUGH Kent #12KURLAT Galina #4LECHNER Jurgen #13LIPSKY Clay #3LONG Jane #16MACAK Sonia #6MACRAE Sheena #6MALEONN #1 & #5MARCIN Ben #3MARSHALL Steve #8MASON Belinda #16MASTERS Michael #8McCAIG Amber #16 MELDER Keith #17MILLER Nathan #7MILLOTT Richard #16MORAN Robert #14NORTON Michael #1O’SHEA Meredith #6PAGE Colin #1 PAINE Jeff #17 PAYNE Christopher #19PERETTI Viviana #2RANKEN Jackie #6 Ransom & Mitchell #19RASMANIS Kara #1 & #6ROGERS PRITZL Michelle #13ROPP William #14ROSS Doc #6ROTHE Frank #9RUOTED Robert #5SCHAFFER Rod #2

SCHEURWATER Hester #6SCIBELLI Anthony #9SCRIBA J #16SHAYEN Vikk #2 & #6SHEPPARD Gary #7SHERROD Judy F #5SHIM Jai Yon #2SIMONUTTI Lauren #1SMALLMAN John #17 STERNBACH JONI #18STEVENS S Gayle #5STONEMAN Emma #7 SUNDET Dida #17TACON Dave #16TADROS Ingetje #14 THOMSON Matt #17VANNIER Michéle #16VANWALLEGHEM Frederick #3VERSTEEG Greer #11VINCIGUERRA Guy #6VLASENKO Vsevolod #15VUKOBRATOVIC Rina #4WADDINGTON Rod #5WERTHEIM Andres #13WILLIAMS David A #16WILLIAMS Michelle #17WITMAN Deanna #3WRIGLEY Ben #16PANG Xiang Liang #16ZAMMIT LUPI Darrin #16ZEILON Elisabeth #6

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MATJAZ KRIVIC

URBANISTAN the story of a quiet loudness

10PREVIOUS Shugruf, Yemen Thulla, Yemen

As soon as you hear the word Urbanistan your imagination is whisked off into the traffic mayhem of Calcutta, the tawdriness of the neon sex nightlife in Bangkok, the unbelievable structuralized yet frenzied Tokyo, the suffocating and dusty streets of the (hardly) living body of the decaying Cairo, the roundabout of the hedonistic and aggressive Rio, the unstoppable narcissistic Manhattan, the global supermarket of turbo consumerism.  

However, Matjaž Krivic’s Urbanistan  is a miraculous anti-thesis to all this. It is a story from the other side – a story of the quiet loudness on the margins of total existential, religious, economic and geopolitical chaos. A

story that speaks of the indestructible spirit and the eternal search of inspiration that enables survival. It is a story of individuals and social groups who, putting aside the racket and general urban angst, keep searching for the core of existence in a different space and a different time. It is a story of survival through play, prayer, tradition, rituals, travels, socializing and especially, a special light, that the author of the exhibition sees and records so well.  

Urbanistan is a space that allows you to take a breather from the city. Any city.

Text: Bostjan Videmsek

11Shugruf, Yemen

12 Ihasa, Tibet

13Ihasa, Tibet

16PREVIOUS Ihasa, Tibet Fes, Morocco

17Fes, Morroco

18 Hatgal, Mongolia

19Ulan Bator, Mongolia

22PREVIOUS Dipayal Silgadhi, Nepal Katmandu, Nepal

23Djenne, Mali

24 Djenne, Mali

25Varanasi , India

28PREVIOUS Varanasi, IndiaVaranasi, India

29Varanasi, India

32PREVOUS PAGE Uramanakht, Iran Varanasi, India

33Amritsar, India

36PREVIOUS Varanasi, IndiaTaj Mahal, India

37Taj Mahal, India

NEXT PAGE Uramanakht, Iran

WEBSITES • krivic.com • urbanistan.net

SHEN CHAO-LIANGSTAGE

Since the 1970s, Taiwan society has developed its own cabaret culture which is different from those of the Western countries. In the early years, performers were invited to perform entertainment programs, often in the form of singing and dancing, in a variety of occasions, ranging from wedding banquets or funerals to religious ceremonies. In order to move conveniently around the country, they chose to perform in a simple “theater” - usually in a camp or on a truck renovated specifically for the performance. The form then became the origin of a unique Taiwanese cabaret culture.

This photographic project started in early 2005 with an intention to record the important culture of Taiwan that has witnessed countless changes as Taiwan has gradually developed into a modern economy. Among the various cabaret artists I recorded with my camera and had interviews with, most of them have other professions and different “social status” when off stage, such as school teachers, college students, or bank clerks. Underneath their colorful make-up and sexy luxurious costumes, they are only simple normal people who have their dreams and hopes for a better life. The findings present a gap from the general perception of cabaret artists in Taiwan.

At the exhibition, the presentation of the photos featuring various cabaret groups, artists and “truck theaters” is intended to be a “window” for the viewers, especially those who are not familiar with the performances, to glance and appreciate the unique part of Taiwanese culture. The “truck theaters” presented at this exhibition are either the most popular or some unique ones used in cabaret performances today; some have been re-designed or renovated several times since early 1990s. It is my hope that, through the “window” of these colorful “truck theaters” and cabaret performers, the diverse and rich elements of Taiwanese culture will be introduced to more people from around the world.

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PREVIOUS STAGE #1 Lightjet C Print雲林.台灣 Yunlin County, Taiwan 雲林.台湾 2008

STAGE #2 Lightjet C Print雲林.台灣 Yunlin County, Taiwan 雲林.台湾 2008

43STAGE #4 Lightjet C Print

嘉義.台灣 Chiayi County, Taiwan 嘉義.台湾 2008

44STAGE #7 Lightjet C Print苗栗.台灣 Miaoli County, Taiwan 苗栗.台湾 2010

45STAGE #9 Lightjet C Print

台南.台灣 Tainan City, Taiwan 2009

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PREVIOUS STAGE #12 Lightjet C Print彰化.台灣 Changhua County, Taiwan 彰化.台湾 2008

STAGE #14 Lightjet C Print苗栗.台灣 Miaoli County, Taiwan 苗栗.台湾 2010

49STAGE #15 Lightjet C Print

高雄.台灣 Kaohsiung County, Taiwan 高雄.台湾 2008

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PREVIOUS STAGE #21 Lightjet C Print台南.台灣 Tainan County, Taiwan 台南.台湾 2009

STAGE #27 Lightjet C Print新竹.台灣 Hsinchu County, Taiwan 新竹 2008

53STAGE #43 Lightjet C Print

雲林.台灣 Yunlin County, Taiwan 雲林.台湾 2008

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PREVIOUS STAGE #46 Lightjet C Print台南.台灣 Tainan City, Taiwan 台南.台湾 2009

STAGE #49 Lightjet C Print雲林.台灣 Yunlin County, Taiwan 2008

57STAGE #61 Lightjet C Print

嘉義.台灣 Chiayi County, Taiwan 嘉義.台湾 2008

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PREVIOUS STAGE #97 Lightjet C Print台中.台灣 Taichuag County, Taiwan 台中.台湾 2011

STAGE #98 Lightjet C Print台中.台灣 Taichuag City, Taiwan 台中.台湾 2011

61STAGE #103 Lightjet C Print

花蓮.台灣 Hualien County, Taiwan 花蓮.台湾 2011

62STAGE #115 Lightjet C Print嘉義.台灣 Chiayi County, Taiwan 2012

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STAGE #117 Lightjet C Print高雄.台灣 Kaohsiung City, Taiwan 2013

NEXT STAGE #118 Lightjet C Print

台南.台灣 Tainan City, Taiwa 2013

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JAN STALLER

Recent Images

In my photographs, structures, various objects and raw materials that I find in the environment become the stuff of sculpture or drawing. The sources of my imagery have been found most anywhere- from nuclear test sites of the U.S. Government to vacant lots. Influenced by contemporary artists working in the minimalist canon, as well as abstract photographs of artists like Callahan, Siskind and Metzker. I see my subject matter as found sculpture and drawing. I am looking at materials with the formalist concerns of a sculptor, but rather than making a construction to place in a gallery, I use photography to evince drawing or sculpture. Unlike the photographers mentioned whose black and white works tended to have a strong graphic presence, my color photographs also exploit the illusion of space found in abstract painting.

The reductive nature of my most recent-images has been evolving over several decades. But, perhaps most consistent in my work is my use of expressive nature of photography rather than its potential of accurate rendition. My earliest photographs used mixed light sources and atmospheric weather to make uncanny and theatrical images of the urban landscape. Later, when I used powerful stadium lighting in the field, it was in a manner similar to using light in the studio, thus emphasizing particular qualities that could only be done with a controllable artificial light source.

Over the years, the subject matter in my work has been consistent: Landscape featuring human activities and artifacts. Instead of limiting myself to the depiction of intrinsically interesting objects, my most effective work derives interest from parts of our world that most would pass by without notice. By employing my sensitivities to light, atmosphere and the the dynamic qualities of the photographic medium, I explore the potential of photography to change our perceptions of what our eyes see.

West Side Highway Snow, 1978

68 Spray, 2013

69Scarf, 2013

70 Mended Fence Drawing, 2007

71Twisted Fence Drawing, 2007

72 Grid Wall Culvert Tubes, 2009

73Pin Wheels, 2010

76PREVIOUS Multiform 2, 2014 Telegraphy, 2012

77After Fred Illusion, 2012

78 Black Cast Iron Pipes, 2012

79Crane Hook, 2013

80 Sonotubes, 2013

81God Squad, 2013

84PREVIOUS Wooden Spools, 2013 Giverny, 2014

85l’Observatoire, 2013

86 Electric Necklace, 2015

87Static, 2014

WEBSITES • janstaller.net/photo/recent-images • janstaller.net/video/redwhite

Long Island Water Works, 1991

ROB WALLSFacades

92PREVIOUS Corner shop, Broken Hill Workshop, Leeton, NSW

In the last six years, in photographing work in Australia, Rob Walls has covered more than 70,000 kilometres by road. Facades is a series that evolved organically from within the Working Life project.

Always fascinated by the way humans leave their imprint on the urban landscape, he realised that showing the places where people work had to be an integral aspect of the project.

But commercial facades are more than just pleasing architectural compositions. Facades both historic and modern, carry within them a subtle record of the economic and social history of a region. They tell much about the changing fortunes of the town and cities they occupy. They speak of the migration of people from the country to the big cities and sometimes the reverse; they tell of the revival of a rural community. New, formerly unimagined modern

93Miners’ Co-op Store, Lightning Ridge, NSW

businesses such as internet service providers occupy old Victorian buildings; video stores that relied for their survival on the VHS tape or the DVD, become obsolete overnight. Yet, still some businesses manage the transition to the modern era by keeping pace with commercial evolution. This is the history that is embedded in this record

94 Newspaper office, Tenterfield, NSW

95Theatre, Deepwater, NSW

96 Commercial premises, Yanco, NSW

97Patent medicine advertising, Hunter Valley, NSW

100PREVIOUS Supermarket, Elizabeth Street, Melbourne Bank buidling, Snowtown, South Australia

101Gilgandra, NSW

102 Butcher Shop, Mount Magnet, WA

103Workshop, Miling, WA

106PREVIOUS Pink Roadhouse, South Australia General Store, Rainbow, Victoria

107Fast Food, Victoria

108 General Store, Rainbow, Victoria

109Nhill, Victoria

110 Old shop, Whyalla, South Australia

111Catholic Church, Jeparit, Victoria

Op-shop, Glebe

WEBSITE thisworkinglife.wordpress.com •