Unbreakable? I Hope So

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Random Lake, Wisconsin- © Flavio Martín Morante_2013

Nikon D200

I took the Dahlia and Tannat for a ride this afternoon and as I drove around the lake I saw several ice fishing shacks, reason why I snapped some shots that my friend Gabriel asked me to do as he wanted to see the people fishing in the lake.

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Random Lake, Wisconsin- © Flavio Martín Morante_2013

Nikon D200

Since I was carrying only a 50mm lens and no need to say that I will not walk on the ice these pictures will have to do.

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Random Lake, Wisconsin- © Flavio Martín Morante_2013

Nikon D200

What a Night!

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Museum of Wisconsin Art © Flavio Martín Morante_2014_ Iphone 4S

Last night I attended the opening of the 2014 Wisconsin Biennial of Arts at the Museum of Wisconsin Arts where one my pieces from the work "Marinas" was selected for such venue. It was a nice night being able to see a lot of thoughtful and well created artwork from many artists of the state.

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At the Museum of Wisconsin Art with my piece from the "Marinas" serie (upper piece) © Flavio Martín Morante_2014_ Iphone 4S

Sadly as it is my luck in something that for some hidden reason of karma seems to repeat itself often, the pretty catalogue designed for the occasion has a picture on the front belonging to artist Philip Krejcare which wrongfully was attributed to me, creating a whole mix up that did extend to the interior of the catalogue where my photograph was attributed to him and vice versa. It is a minimal detail (or depending how you look at it) but it did feel really frustrating, and I hope that somehow gets corrected.

Winter Surfing Safari

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Port Washington, Wisconsin © Flavio Martín Morante_2014_ Iphone 4S

I took this picture yesterday while doing black and white photos on Port's Marina. I dedicate this one to my friend Daniel. 

Also, if people is brave enough to get on the water like this, maybe you can make it tonight to the Museum of Wisconsin Art for the opening of the Wisconsin Biennial of Arts 2014 and join me celebrating it.

Stay warm (if you are in this side of the Equator) and see you.

I Have a Dream.

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"Dream Catching" (from the series Marinas) © Flavio Martín Morante_2013

Port Washington, Wisconsin

Camera_Voigtlander Bessa R3M/Heliar 50mm

Film_ Ilford HP5 Plus 400ISO

Paper_ Ilford Multi Grade RCIV Pearl 

This year promises to be a exciting but also a busy one. I am rounding up the edition process of the work Marinas, with the main cut of photographs already decided for what is going to be the show I will be doing in June (more details to come) and the long awaited dream of publishing my first photography book hopefully by the middle of this year too.

It has been a real challenge to edit 1300 photographs, getting first down to 150 and then to the 50 for the book and the 30 for the show. And still I am keeping room for a few rolls more that I have not processed yet. 

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"Marinas" in progress at the studio © Flavio Martín Morante_2013

At the same time, the Ozaukee Magazine has published this past week a nice article written by Mary B. Boyle (to whom I am deeply grateful) on my recent and future doings which you can read by doing click HERE.

As for now I have to keep working, hoping to bring something good with all this work.

Stay tuned, more to come.

Effects of Time

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25 de Agosto, Florida, Uruguay

© Flavio Martín Morante_2004_ Nikon N80/ Kodak T-Max 400

Around 10 years ago I spent almost 4 months jumping in the trains to different parts of the outskirts of Montevideo, photographing as a social documentary study the people who uses the only few remaining trains existing in the country as a way to get to the city where their jobs are located. It has been one of the few photographic works I have done with this approach and it has been to me one that I really treasure a lot because it taught me a lot, not only about photography, but about myself and Uruguay. Somehow, it still manages to teach me a lesson.

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© Flavio Martín Morante_2004_ Nikon N80/ Kodak T-Max 400
(For some reason, this photograph has a "brown/sepia" tone on it that is not what I see when I save it on my computer (???) 

This week as I am rebuilding my portfolio website, I came across many photographs that for one or another reason (or sometimes without a real one even) did not make what all these years have been part of the folder titled "A Train of Portraits", and the question I made to myself was how on the hel... I did overlook this ones? And the answer comes basically as something that I have come to learn more and more when it comes to photos and its what some people call "marinating", letting some pictures to take time in order to acquire more flavor or to wake up those flavors that were originally there but that for some reason got turned off at the moment.

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Canelones, Uruguay

© Flavio Martín Morante_2004_ Nikon N80/ Kodak T-Max 400

These four images I am sharing today are part of that group of images that never made it out of a contact sheet in 10 years, and trying to be as humble as I can, I have to say that I just love them and wonder how they did hide on an envelope for so long. One thing for sure is that I am happy to re-encounter them.

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Canelones, Uruguay

© Flavio Martín Morante_2004_ Nikon N80/ Kodak T-Max 400

Dispatches from the Tundra

Screen shot from the web. -27 Celsius (-17 Fahrenheit)... The first time I see those numbers (without being on an airplane some thousand feet up in the air). The Academy was among the many places closed today, so I am working from home.

Speechless.

PORTfolio is back!

presents:

I am really excited that the program PORTfolio that I am conducting at the W. J. Niederkorn Library is back this year. After a short pause the last couple of months, we resume the screening schedule this January 15th for the screening of "Herb & Dorothy", a sympathetic documentary about a New York couple (*) that during the last 40 years created one of the biggest collections of contemporary art with very humble incomes. More info about the film following this link_ http://herbanddorothy.com/hd1/

(This film series is sponsored by Gallery 224 and the W.J. Niederkorn Library, both in Port Washington, Wisconsin) and coordinated by Flavio Martín Morante.

Hope to see you there!

(*) Another documentary has been made titled "Herb & Dorotht 50x50" about the 50 pieces of artwork donated to each of the most important 50 art museums in the US. Also, sadly Herb passed on 2012.

Here We Go!

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"Horizons" Acrylic painting on canvas. © Flavio Martín Morante

Let's start this one at full force.

Best wishes to everyone.