photography Archives — bd-studios.com

Somewhere between Hungary and Japan (or, the update I meant to write last year)

The last time I posted an update—well over a year ago—I said I’d be sharing stories from Japan, where I hoped to shake off the post-pandemic malaise of middle age. That didn’t happen as planned. But I did spend a good part of the summer in Central Europe.

I did a lot of photography while I was there—including AURA, a conceptual photo-text work made from images I shot in Vienna and ideas I worked through while living quietly in Hungary, reading Walter Benjamin and thinking about how we see and remember art.

A woman browses a rack of clothes outside a yellow boutique with mannequins and a display table near the entrance. — A shop in Szombathely, Hungary

cyberspace and the sea

I had gone away to spend some time out of the city. We booked a house near the sea because it seemed like a relaxing spot. The goal was to disconnect for a while, spend less time looking at screens all day. I took some creative supplies with me, markers and pencils and such, with the vague idea of, should inspiration strike, being creative in an analog way. And, of course, making photos. But I had no grand plan. I didn’t intend to develop a new project. So this is definitely a case of the work finding me instead of me finding it.

The drawings, poems, and photos I made essentially describe my experience that week. I’m literally talking about hanging out by the beach for a few days, trying to recover from a stressful time. On the surface, it’s not so profound. But it’s the mundanity that makes it relatable. I used that simplicity to tap into the subconscious.

After I got back home and realized I had created all this stuff, I wondered what I might do with it. I put together the video art and designed an experience meant to be seen in person, projected in a dark room with surround sound. I even set up a small screen prototype. The work created exactly the immersive and meditative environment I was going for. But given the pandemic, trying to plan an in-person exhibition didn’t feel right. So I began to consider what I could do digitally.

Three monitors showing the seaside magic video art by luke kurtis are the only source of light in the room. — small screen *seaside magic* video installation prototype

I’ve always been more comfortable in cyberspace, so it’s sort of odd I never did a digital exhibition before. But the pandemic has changed the ways we connect. Besides, I’ve always been somewhat reclusive and find it challenging to communicate with people in person, making digital spaces more effective. So, I hope other people are more open to this way of connecting than they might have been in the past.

It would be easy to think of an online exhibition as an inferior substitute for something else. But I don’t feel that way about this at all. In fact, I’m excited that I can beam this work into your home, no matter where you are in the world.

Please join me and explore seaside magic from your corner of cyberspace. I hope you will approach it with intention and feel the same sense of calm that I felt while making it.

Photography helps bridge the social distancing divide

Rodger Kingston and his wife Carolyn are sheltering in place. “We’re doing well here,” he told me. “We’ve got systems arranged for such things as grocery shopping, going to the pharmacy, post office, bank, etc.” The Kingstons, both in their late 70s, take social distancing very seriously whether running errands or taking walks around their neighborhood in Belmont, Massachusetts. “We feel as if we had targets on our backs and are being very careful,” he said.

Rodger has been a photographer for over four decades. Throughout those years, he’s worked on numerous documentary projects. Given the nature of the coronavirus pandemic—and his need to be extremely vigilant due to his age and health status—he is not able to document what’s happening on the front lines of this war the way he once might have. But those now-systematic errand runs and socially-distanced neighborhood walks allow him to focus his lens in a more personal way.

“In many ways this is a strange project,” he says, “What there is for me to document is the quiet, almost silent restructuring of our world.”

Specialty Selections, Star Market, Cambridge, MA March 2020

I’m so excited to announce the newest publication from bd-studios.com. Puertas Españolas is something a little different than anything else you’ll find in the bd Library. It’s a suite of short poems by Josemaria Mejorada and May Gañán paired with a set of photos I took of various doors while traveling in Spain. Doors are a very interesting part of buildings. I encountered so many unique doors wandering around the streets of Madrid, Toledo, Segovia, and Seville. I decided to publish the images as a set of postcards–but I wanted another voice to work with the images as a counterpoint. Josemaria and May’s poetry is the perfect accompaniment. The poems are not about the images, but, rather, they exist as another layer, providing a glimpse into another world. When we pass through doors, we enter new places, new spaces, and new environments. Josemaria and May have helped me transform these Spanish doors into portals to a realm of poetry. I hope that you will open each door to discover the worlds that await you. The set is very limited. Contact us if you are interested to obtain a copy.

bad skin in Exposed: The Contemporary Nude

Saturday, 24 May marked two important milestones for me as an artist. It was both the exhibition debut of my bad skin series and also my Los Angels debut at large. Exposed: The Contemporary Nude opened at 1650 Gallery. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to make it out for the opening. But I’m glad to show work in LA. And it seems very appropriate that bad skin–a body of work about looking beyond the perceived imperfections of one’s body–had its exhibition debut in a city known for it’s superficiality.

If you’d like to see the full image, as well as all the other work in the show, you can do so on the gallery’s website. But remember that it is a show of artistic nude photography and therefore may be NSFW! They have included two additional photos of mine in the online annex (also NSFW). The limited edition giclée print in the show is available exclusively from 1650 Gallery. If you are interested in other prints from bad skin, you can contact me directly.

INTERSECTION in ARTWACH, Daily Citizen, and Our View

Today is the last day of the INTERSECTION exhibition at Massillon Museum. I can’t believe it has come and gone so fast. I’m thankful that it has been written about for posterity, though. Here are some great pieces about the show…

Tom Wachunas of ARTWACH wrote a very thoughtful review of the exhibition. He really took the time to delve into the undertones of what the show is all about. I appreciate it when viewers probe the work and look beyond the surface like Tom did.

Misty Watson of The Daily Citizen wrote a piece about the show as well. Her article is not a review but more of a local interest story that discusses my background in northwest Georgia. Jamie Jones of the same paper had done an article about my Jordan’s Journey project back in 2012 and Misty’s piece is a followup on that.

I also appeared on the podcast Our View with Tim and Jill. We talked about INTERSECTION as well as some other projects I’ve been working on. The episode aired in two parts, so be sure to listen to part 1 and part 2.

INTERSECTION Exhibition Website

The INTERSECTION exhibition website is up!

INTERSECTION large print proofs

Going into the INTERSECTION exhibition for Massillon Museum, I knew it was going to be lots of hard work. Even before I conceived of doing the Kickstarter to help me get through it all, I had already put in months of work on developing the show and all the things that revolve around it.

But where so much of that work was digitally (and brain) based, things have moved head on into the physical plane now! I feel like the show is manifesting, bit by bit, right before my eyes. And never more-so than when I went to pick up the proofs for the two large pieces I made–with the help of my Kickstarter supporters–specifically for this show.

As they say, a picture is worth 1,000 words… so rather than write about it, I’m going to show you. In video.

A huge thanks goes out to my collaborator, Michael Harren. I love his music for this video!

INTERSECTION no’s. 8 & 9

Issue’s 8 & 9 of INTERSECTION came out in October and November last year (2013). Busy with my Kickstarter at the time, I never posted the covers here. So here they are now!

INTERSECTION Debut Museum Show

I am pleased to announce that in March 2014 I will mount my debut solo museum exhibition. Massillon Museum in Massillon, Ohio will be hosting INTERSECTION, a show focused around my southern photography. This exhibition is a game changer in my career as an artist. But putting on a museum quality exhibition is an expensive undertaking and I need all the help I can get to successfully pull it off. This is a big step as an artist and I’m reaching out to art fans and supporters, friends and family, and fellow creatives to help make it all possible.

Field Notes: Landscape and Architecture exhibition in Portland, OR

Opening yesterday in Portland, Oregon, one of my photos is included in the new exhibition Field Notes: Landscape and Architecture at Black Box Gallery. The opening reception will be on Friday, 7 June 2013 and the show runs until 20 June. If you happen to be in the Portland area be sure to drop by. Otherwise, you can check it out online.

The photo on view in the Field Notes exhibition was taken in Subligna, Georgia. I took this photo last year while doing Jordan’s Journey research. That day I photographed and inventoried Anderson’s Cemetery (you can see that inventory and some of the photos at Find A Grave). This gives you an example of how genealogy and art have coalesced to form Jordan’s Journeys unique take on exploring the past.

the dead

Jordan’s Journey art show

I’m pleased to announce a new solo art show of my photography from the Jordan’s Journey project. It opens Tuesday, 5 June 2012, in Summerville, Georgia at the Summerville Library. I will be presenting a lecture that night at 6pm as part of the show. For those who can’t make it in the evening I am also presenting a lecture the day before at 2pm at the LaFayette-Walker Public Library. This marks the first outing for my art work in my native state (and first show under the name Jordan M. Scoggins).

I hope you will come out to say hello and check out my work.