Gabriel Benaim

Solo Show Opens at Ha Midrasha School of Art

2010-10-20T05:45:00.000-07:00

I'm pleased to announce the opening of my first Israeli solo show, "Tel Aviv 2008-2010" at Ha Midrasha School of Art's Photography Gallery. The show will run from October 21 to November 21, and is comprised of 22 silver gelatin 8x10 contact prints selected from my "Tel Aviv at 100" project by curator Noa Ben Shalom.

Here's a translation of the curator's text for the show:

"Tel Aviv 2008-2010"

Gabriel Benaim

By Noa Ben Shalom

“The process of a city’s physical construction is embedded in its process of cultural structuring. Controlling this cultural structuring process of the space is perhaps deeper and more effective than any political government or party platform, because the hegemony, in contrast to all the visible configurations of government, is present in everything but also invisible to the eye-it hides behind the ’common sense’ of both rulers and ruled, their accepted opinions, what they take for granted, what they find inconceivable, their stories- and ultimately it constructs what we call ‘the normal’.

Similarly to how Peepers’ Beach (Hof Metzitzim) came to be so named after the movie that was made about it, sometimes a city can change just from the fact that it’s looked at differently, that its story is told differently.”

Sharon Rotbard, from White City, Black City

Gabriel Benaim doesn’t have an agenda to change the city of Tel Aviv. The motivating force that drives him to go out to photograph and explore is essentially visual: “For me, the visual is primary, and I expect any work of art, especially my own, to stand on its own visually, without recourse to an intellectual or even conceptual scheme… The act of framing transposes a commonplace object into a work of art, if done successfully, and this transposition is for me the point of photographing. This, then, to come without preconceptions and leave with a new way of seeing something old, summarizes my approach to photography” G. Benaim

At the same time, his photographs narrate his process of getting to know the city, and propose-both in his choice of format ( a large format 8x10 camera which makes possible careful observation on a large frame, while inviting one to work slowly) as well as by his use of black and white film, and certainly in his choice of locations- a different story about a city that enjoys a reputation as a tolerant, cosmopolitan and culturally rich metropolis.

Dates: 21-10-10 til 21-11-10
Hours: Sun-Thurs 8:30-20:00, Fri 10:00-12:30
Phone: 09-747-8730
Email: Photography@beitberl.ac.il
Gallery’s Website: http://www.beitberl.ac.il/academic/art/

Recent Shows at Art of Photography and Griffin Museum, and Merit Award in B&W's Portfolio Issue

2010-09-22T09:04:00.000-07:00

My work was recently included in a couple of juried shows in the States, as well as featured in Black and White Magazine's Portfolio Issue. Here are all the details, and thanks to everyone who's taken an interest in my work.

"The Art of Photography Show" ,

Lyceum Theater Gallery

August 28 to November 7.

Juried by Natasha Egan, Curator of the Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago.

Honorable Mention for "Hayarkon Park", from "Tel Aviv at 100". You can read an interview with Mrs. Egan here about how she selected 111 images out of a pool of almost 14,000.

The Art of Photography Show
Lyceum Theater Gallery
San Diego,CA.
(619) 825-5575

"16th Juried Group Show",
Griffin Museum of Photography

June 30 to August 29.

Juried by Joerg Colberg, editor of the blog Conscientious.

"The best of contemporary photography amazes us by asking questions, by challenging us, to transform us into different persons," writes Joerg Colberg about the exhibition. "For me, that is the essence of contemporary photography. I am very excited to see the 16th juried exhibition reflect this." Please click here for the press release.

Colberg selected 60 images for the show from more than 2,000 images submitted by 300 photographers. Two images from "Tel Aviv at 100", "Gordon Beach #2" and "Azorei Hen #1" were included.

Griffin Museum of Photography
67 Shore Road
Winchester, MA 01890
(781) 729-1158

Black and White Magazine, Portfolio Issue

Black and White Magazine runs a portfolio contest every year, and the winners are published in a special portfolio issue. My series "Wall Art" received a Merit Award, and selections from it were published as a two-page spread in their 2010 Portfolio Issue. Please click here to see the feature.

Installation Views of "Tel Aviv at 100" Solo Show at Walter Keller Gallery, Zurich

2010-07-07T02:58:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos of my recent show at the Walter Keller Gallery for those who couldn't make it to Zurich. Thanks to everyone who came by.

Installation Views of "In Review", Gallery 339

2010-06-25T03:56:00.000-07:00

For those of you who can't make it to Philly this summer, here are some installation shots of my work in the "In Review" show at Gallery 339, which will be up through September 4.

If you are in the area this summer, here's all the info to get you to the gallery:

Gallery 339
339 South 21st Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
215.731.1530
215.735.2839 (fax)
info@gallery339.com
Martin H. McNamara
Principal

HOURS:
Tuesday- Saturday, 10:00 am-6:00 pm

Show Opening this week at Gallery 339, Philadelphia

2010-06-12T15:29:00.000-07:00

I'm very excited about taking part in an upcoming group show at Gallery 339 in Philadelphia. I'll be showing 8 images from my "Tel Aviv at 100" series, in conjunction with 9 other emerging photographers, including Philip Toledano, Kyohei Abe, Isa Leshko, and Joel Lederer. The show opens Friday, June 18, and will run through September 4. Please be sure to stop by if you're in the area.

From the Press Release:

"Over the past six months, Gallery 339 has had the opportunity to participate in a series of portfolio review sessions, which introduced us to the work of many artists from around the world...The work that we saw suggested a dynamic and inventive landscape, where artists are making creative use of new and old technologies and are exploring ideas and subject matter that are both current and substantive. We, of course, are now applying our own filter to present an exhibition, yet our intent is to preserve a sense of the depth and variety that we saw, ranging from Phillip Toledano’s compelling and unsettling explorations of beauty to Isa Leshko’s affecting portraits of older animals to Gabriel Benaim’s layered views of Tel Aviv. Collectively, the works of the ten artists in In Review suggest a medium that is engaged in a lively, complex, and intelligent dialogue about meaningful issues."

Gallery 339
339 South 21st Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
215.731.1530
215.735.2839 (fax)
info@gallery339.com
Martin H. McNamara
Principal

HOURS:
Tuesday- Saturday, 10:00 am-6:00 pm

Solo Show Opens at Walter Keller Gallery

2010-04-30T00:30:00.000-07:00

I'm thrilled to announce the opening of my first solo show at the Walter Keller Gallery in Zurich. I've been looking forward to this for some time, so it gives me great pleasure to have my work shown in such a great venue. Here's the press release for the show, and I'll have some installation views coming soon.

GABRIEL BENAIM
TEL AVIV AT 100
An exhibition of photographs
April 29 - June 12, 2010

I am very proud to announce the first exhibition of Israeli photographer Gabriel Benaim(*1969). Choosing his series inspired by the city of Tel Aviv for his first international solo exhibition, Benaim presents us with emotionally intense, rigorously composed images that capture the unique light and fascinating architecture of this “white city by the sea”. The unpretentious simplicity of Benaim’s Tel Aviv images appealed to me from the get go. Somewhat to my own surprise. Why was this? Am I developing a new conservative view on photography, as a consequence of having seen too many fervid large-size C-prints? No. The desire for discovering skillfully composed works, laden both emotionally as well as aesthetically that only the medium of photography can produce, has always been there. I am taken by the alertness, the quiet attention to detail of the images. Strolling, leisurely meandering like a flaneur, Benaim captures this city that was founded 100 years ago. Using a large-format camera, Benaim presents us near perfectly produced silver gelatin contact prints. And this in itself is a breath of fresh air given the current confusion within the production of contemporary photography. Almost like a moment of silence in the midst of a noisy performance, Benaim’s images are calm, unhurried; photographs that pull the brakes on the race that is our urban life.

Walter Keller
For more information, please visit our website or contact the gallery
Walter Keller Gallery
Oberdorfstrasse 2, 8001 Zurich Switzerland, T: +41 (0) 43 268 53 65
info@kellerkunst.com / www.kellerkunst.com / Facebook: Galerie Walter Keller
Thursday & Friday 12 am - 6 pm, Saturday 12 am - 5 pm, Other weekdays by appointment.
For images of the exhibition please visit our website as of April 30.

An artist's talk will take place at the gallery May 24.

Article in Photonews Magazine and Book Launch for Portfolio Showcase at C4FAP

2010-04-30T00:03:00.000-07:00

I'm pleased to announce that Photonews Magazine, Germany, has published a selection of my "Tel Aviv at 100" images in their current May issue, together with a short essay by Anna Gripp on my work (in German, will have a translation up shortly).

In other news, a selection of images from my "Tel Aviv at 100" series was included in the Center for Fine Art Photography's Portfolio Showcase Vol. 4. The Showcase includes both an online and a print component, and the launch of the book will take place May 7 at the Center in Fort Collins, Colorado. The juror for the Showcase, Kate Ware of the New Mexico Museum of Fine Arts, wrote in her statement about my work:

"Stepping back from the urban flow, Gabriel Benaim views his city from above, revealing the sinuous lines and muscular patterns that form the armature of life in contemporary Tel Aviv."

I had the pleasure of meeting Ms Ware last month at Fotofest in Houston, and spent some time showing her the actual prints of the work she'd chosen online. It was a real treat to make a personal connection with someone who knew me only through an online submission, and I'll write more about the whole Fotofest experience later this month.

Thanks, gracias, grazie...and a couple of shout outs.

2009-11-06T23:07:00.000-08:00

So, my Tel Aviv series has been getting a lot of coverage lately online, and I wanted to thank the various people who've taken an interest in my work. First up is the grandaddy of all photography blogs, Conscientious. As many of you know, Jorg Colberg ran his own portfolio competition earlier this fall, and as part of the benefit of participating he's been featuring selected portfolios on his blog. Check out also the interviews he did with the 3 winners, Bradley Peters, Lydia Panas and David Wright. Excellent work all around.

Next up, the Italian site Urbanautica. This site regularly showcases new work dealing with the landscape as a social construct. In their own words, it's "a research project on photography and human landscapes. Dealing with studies on urban and industrial sociology lead us to the idea of a website, without commercial purposes, that tries to bring back people’s looks on the “ways of doing” territories. A sailing by sight, a trip around ideas, people, and what makes them part of nature, and the world." It's run by Steve Bisson and Andrea Filippin, and they publish their short essays and interviews in both italian and english. Lots of good urban landscape photography to look at, much of it from often overlooked parts of the globe.

Alejandro Cartagena is a Mexican photographer whose work has been getting lots of recognition recently (Critical Mass Top 50 and Book Nominee, Lishui Festival, Fotofest International Discoveries, Aperture Portfolio HM, and probably a couple more I'm unaware of: see this blog post over at Flat File for more details). So, first of all, FELICIDADES ALEJANDRO!!! Wow, what an impressive run of achievements. Anyway, I met Ale through facebook and he was kind enough to write a short piece about my Tel Aviv series on his blog. I love the Joe Deal and Lee Friedlander photos he chose to 'hang' next to mine, so we're definitely on the same wavelength. Oh, it's in spanish only btw.

Just a couple more thank you's, first to Exposure Compensation for the nice write up, and to the italian blog click_blog_it for the same. I loved their 'poetica dell'asfalto' description of my work, "Poetics of Asphalt" indeed.

I also recently became a member of an online gallery for emerging contemporary artists, Culturehall. I love the fact that it's cross-disciplinary, so you can see a huge variety of up and coming art from practically every type of media (they do video too). Membership is by invitation or application, so if you're interested definitely apply, you'll be in good company. I found out about Culturehall through Tema Stauffer's blog, an excellent photographer who's also one of their curators. Here's her write up on her most recently curated show up on Culturehall currently.

Her own photography is most definitely worth checking out too, as she's as adept at moody American landscapes as at portraiture.

Two of my favorite landscape photographers, Lois Conner and Steve Smith currently have work up on a show, Of Land, curated by +Kris Graves Projects in NYC. If you have a chance, definitely stop by, some of the most interesting landscape photography on exhibit right now. I'll be doing a review of Steve's work shortly, so stay tuned, but here's a taste of what he does.

More to come on Steve's work, and thanks again to everyone for the interest in my work.

"Tel Aviv at 100" Makes Finalists Stage on Photolucida's Critical Mass and Conscientious

2009-09-01T12:37:00.000-07:00

When it rains, it pours I guess. Two separate portfolio competitions have just announced their finalists, and my Tel Aviv project made the cut in both! Critical Mass at Photolucida is the older and more established of the two, and boasts an impressive roster of jurors this year which reads like a "who's who" of the contemporary photography world. Those who make it past the first round have their work seen by these experts, and the top vote-getters get a book of their work published by Photolucida. In addition, they also put together an exhibit of the top 50 finalists.
The second is a brand new competition, run and juried by J.M. Colberg at Conscientious. This is the first year Mr. Colberg is running his portfolio competition, and out of over 500 submissions he's chosen 25 contenders for the top 3 spots. The 3 winners will be announced later this fall, and featured with an interview on Conscientious. Congratulations to all the finalists, and thanks to the judges for all their hard work.

Review of "Tel Aviv at 100" at DLK Collection

2009-08-31T09:04:00.000-07:00

My Tel Aviv project just got reviewed at DLK Collection. DLK is a blog written by and for photography collectors, primarily, and they usually only do reviews of NYC gallery shows. I therefore feel honored that they'd write a full review of my work, and am very grateful for the spotlight. Their site is a wonderful place to get a sense of what's going on in NYC gallery-wise, and they are beginning to branch out into other locales. Do stop by and take a look.

Portfolio Review at Rencontres d'Arles Photo Festival

2009-07-22T08:46:00.001-07:00

I just got back from showing my work at the Rencontres d'Arles portfolio review, and thought it'd be a good idea to share some advice and impressions from the whole experience. I'll also be doing a few write ups on the exhibits I especially liked, books recently published, and some photographers whose work was repeatedly recommended to me at the reviews.

For now, let's concentrate on the reviews themselves. I was definitely someone with some doubts about the effectiveness of these events, having read about and talked to photographers who had serious misgivings about the very idea of a portfolio review. I have to say that, in my case at least, these doubts were wholly dispelled. I think it's primarily a question of expectations, and of how much work you put in before you show up at the review.

First off, there are basically two kinds of reviewers, those that are looking for work to use in their respective venue (gallery, magazine, collection, ad agency), and those who are really only interested in giving critiques. This is as it should be, and what you as a photographer need to do in advance is figure out what you want to get out of the review process. If you feel confident with your work and are primarily interested in marketing, look for people who are there to find new work. If you're esentially still in need of good critiques, look for that type of reviewer.

It isn't always clear of course who's there for what purpose, but if you do a little research, you can narrow it down. It's true, I had a gallerist who I thought was there looking for new work turn out to be interested mostly in critiquing, but by and large, gallerists are interested in new work (even in today's economy). But it has to be the right fit. Take a look at what the gallery is showing and has shown recently, and make an honest assessment of how well it fits your type of work.

One good thing about the reviews at Arles is that you get to choose who you'll show your work to, and there's usually enough time to do some research before choosing. This isn't the case with all protfolio reviews, and the usefulness of such events is, I think, diminished if you can't choose your reviewers. One should keep in mind, however, that no matter how well you pick your reviewers, the whole process is still pretty much a roller coaster ride. Some people will love your work, some won't, and you just have to be ready for both. It is definitely an experience worth having if only because you'll very quickly get a sense of where your work fits in the big world of photography. You'll also get immediate, and pretty honest feedback from people who know what they're talking about. I made notes after each and every meeting, and have started to implement some of the suggestions I got already. But in the end, you have to figure out what it is that you can take from all those reactions to your work, and make sure it helps you go forward, not back.

The other very important point that needs making (obvious though it seems) is to make sure your work is ready to be shown. Do not show the early stages of a project you're not sure about, or haven't edited down to the very best images. Take your best work, period, and make sure you know why you made it. Also make sure it's presented in its best possible way. I brought along mounted contact prints, because my work looks best in that form. Other people brought laptops, huge prints, books of their work, inkjets, etc. The point is, make sure the way you show your work is the optimal way to show it. The only impression these reviewers will have is of what you actually bring, not of what you might have brought if you'd had the time.

Having chosen the right person to look at your work, and the right project to show them in its best presentation, you still have to tell them what it's about. Reviewers are as interested in listening to what you have to say as they are in looking at your work, so make sure you can say something useful and interesting about it. I'd actually recommend practicing this, by sitting down with a few people and walking them through why and how your photographs are worth looking at. The more you do it, the more comfortable you'll feel, and you might be surprised at how much you actually have to say about your work once you try it. Definitely do not wait until your first review to think about what to say.

Finally, the leave-behinds. To some extent, I think their importance is overstated. You should definitely have a business card with all your contact info and (ideally) a recognizable image from the project you'll be showing. A CD of your current work is also nice to leave behind, but if it's on your website already, it might be redundant. Some reviewers like to carry home stuff, some don't, so it's best to just ask. The most important leave-behind is the actual quality of your work, and how well it fits what the person in front of you is looking for. That's where I'd put most of my effort.

So that's it, for now. If you're thinking of going to one of these things, I hope my comments are of some use to you in getting ready. If you think reviews are a waste of time, they're not. People are getting anything from a good basic critique of their work to gallery representation at these events, so it's basically up to you to make the most of them. Do get in touch with me if you have questions or comments, and stay tuned for more on the Arles festival.

Stuck in my mind's eye

2009-03-15T07:01:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd share with you some photographs I've been looking at lately, and thinking about when out photographing. The first three are from flickr, the rest from surfing around. There's a definite vertical theme to most of them, other than that, just stuff that has stuck in my mind's eye. Please click on the thumbnails to get a larger view. Enjoy.

Bryan Formhals

Ben Roberts

Joni Karanka

Jeff Ladd

Lee Friedlander

Lee Friedlander

"Tel Aviv at 100" featured on "Israelity"

2009-03-14T12:23:00.000-07:00

My Tel Aviv project has just been featured on Israelity, a blog dedicated to looking at everything that goes on in Israel other than the conflict w the Palestinians. Do stop by and take a look.

More Street

2009-03-12T16:50:00.001-07:00

I've been looking over all the street photography on flickr, and there's some good stuff there. I'm definitely very late to that party, nevertheless I'm getting the street bug once more. Here are a few more from my last binge:

I also ran into a street artist who calls himself Klone whose work I've seen all over Tel Aviv recently, and he's been documenting his work on flickr for some time. Take a look, here.
A couple of photographers worth looking at are Ben Roberts and Dr Karanka. There are also tribute groups for both Eggleston and Friedlander, as well as myriad street photography groups, here, here, and here. Check them out, especially if you need a change of pace from "fine art" photography, as I did.

Street Work on Flickr

2009-03-10T12:35:00.000-07:00

Inspired by the folks over at la pura vida gallery, I joined flickr and uploaded a bunch of my street photography that I shot a couple of years ago. Stop by and tell me what you think. It's quite different from what I'm doing now, but one can see the continuity. I'll write more at length soon about the similarities and differences between using an 8x10 and a 35mm rangefinder for city work.

Lares penatesque, or what I've lived by.

2009-03-07T00:46:00.000-08:00

Beginners

How they are provided for upon the earth, (appearing at intervals,)
How dear and dreadful they are to the earth,
How they inure themselves as much as to any-what a
paradox appears their age,
How people respond to them, yet know them not,
How there is something relentless in their fate all times,
How all times mischoose the objects of their adulation and
reward,
And how the same inexorable price must still be paid for the
same great purchase.

Walt Whitman, Inscriptions, L.G.

"Writing is about discovering things
hitherto unseen. Otherwise there’s no
point to the process."

W.G. Sebald, from Maxims collected by his students.

"All Real Knowledge is accumulated in ignorance of what it will lead to."

Guy Davenport, On Reading

Tech Notes: On Waterfalls, Hiking, and Choosing a Format.

2009-03-05T02:50:00.001-08:00

I made the move to 8x10 from 4x5 a couple of years ago, and had to change my idea of what photographing is in order to do so. My experience may be helpful to you too. At the time, I read a post by Michael Smith on photo.net about hiking and LF cameras, where he basically explained why you need not mix the two (he now uses 8x20 almost exclusively, but did 8x10 work in cities and countryside for decades). I can't find the original posting anymore, but the gist was that photography, and visual art in general, are not concerned w the subject matter depicted, but rather w the way it is depicted. It isn't the fact that you're photographing, say, a waterfall (that takes a half hour to get to on foot) which will make a photograph succesful, but rather how the waterfall (or whatever is in front of you) is seen. If this is true, there's really no need to go out of your way to find "interesting" subject matter, but rather one should be able to make an interesting photograph out of anything. I was already moving in this general direction in my thinking about photography when I found Michael's writings on pnet, but he definitely gave me the final push I needed in that direction. How does this relate to the decision, say, between 8x10 and 5x7? Simple, really, work backwards from the desired result to the means necessary for achieving it, rather than letting the means dictate the result. If you want 8x10 contact prints, get an 8x10 and work within its limitations/possibilities. If you want larger or smaller prints, ditto. First figure out what you want to see as the final result of all your hard work, then find the means to it. And given that you don't need to hike to that waterfall (something I did many times) in order to make a great photograph, the weight of the gear (within reason) shouldn't be the deciding factor.

Genealogies: The view from above

2009-02-20T04:02:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd start with a form I've been thinking about, a kind of family tree/genealogy of images. All summer long, while working on my Tel Aviv Project, I was obsessed with extreme views from above, be it rooftops, hills, whatever. It was as if I had this visual idea in my head which I had to find somewhere out there. This is one of the first photos I was happy with early on,

in that it showed me, in a sense, what I was looking for. It should be said that much of the fun and interest inherent in photographing, at least in how I do it, is the discovery of a new vision from one's own photographs. This photograph, Ayalon Highway #3, came towards the end of the summer, and certainly comes close to what I had in mind when starting out:

Later last year, once I'd begun sorting through my work from the summer, I started reading Kirk Varnedoe's excellent "A Fine Disregard: What makes modern art modern". There's lots to talk about relative to photography in Varnedoe's book, but his last chapter goes into some detail over precisely this obsession I had over the summer with overhead views. Varnedoe charts the origins of this view in modern art, beginning with Caillebotte's Boulevard seen from above, 1880 This painting was shown in the Impressionist exhibition of 1882, and one critic's response to its extreme perspective was that "such a thing is ultimately meaningless, if only because to work properly the painting would have to lie on the floor and not hang vertically". Nowadays of course we see such views on every other frame of a TV show, so are completely unaware of its initial strangeness. Varnedoe goes on to compare this critic's response to Pollock's subsequent drip paintings , i.e. of painting with the canvas on the floor! Some of the photographs Varnedoe discusses really felt very close to what I'd been looking for, and it was both encouraging and discouraging that they'd been done in the twenties. Here are a couple that stand out,

Alexander Rodchenko's Assembling for a demonstration and Moholy-Nagy's View from the top of the Berlin radio tower.
Later in the year I found Gerhard Richter's site, and went through a retrospective of his which I'd seen in 2003. Among the paintings which I'd "forgotten" from that exhibit were a number of aerial city views, done in his blurry photo-realist style:

Now these were paintings I hadn't seen or thought about in years, though I did see the exhibit several times. But the minute I saw them again this year, I realized they had been in the back of my mind this summer, forming that sense of an ideal image I had in mind when I went out photographing. At the time I saw them, I was just starting out doing serious photography, and was certainly not interested in them for their subject matter or their approach to the subject. I simply loved Richter's work, and these three were certainly among those I lingered over.
I should say that what initially got me interested in views from above was working with Michael Smith and Paula Chamlee from the rooftops of Chicago skyscrapers.

Michael had done similar work in his Toledo project back in 1980, which has been compared to Mondrian's Broadway Boogie-Woogie The allure of the high vantage point is fairly obvious, especially for anyone interested in abstraction. Almost anything looks interesting from above, if only because we're so unused to the perspective. There's a similar balance between the familiar and the unknown, as there is between abstraction and realism. This is all to say, of course, not that I went out with this prefabricated list of images and ideas but I've tried rather to relate some of what I was looking for to similar works with similar motivations. I'll let the images speak for themselves.
Postscript: In answer to some comments over at the Large Format Forum:

I limited my scope basically to my immediate sphere of influences and connections, wasn't really trying for an art-historical perspective. Varnedoe does that perfectly, and looks at Nadar's views from a balloon. I don't go into any detail in my photo essay, but Varnedoe's main point is to challenge the idea that this perspective was something new made available by technology, i.e. hot air balloons. That's a basic approach of the book as a whole, to argue that the point of such new interests in modern art has more to do with their meaning as artistic expression rather than as expressions of a new social or technical fact. As he says, anybody who went to the top of Notre Dame and looked down got the same effect hundreds of years before anyone started painting or photographing from that perspective. So the real question, the interesting question, is why all of the sudden people did.

Photographs in Onward '09 and Fraction Magazine

2009-02-19T03:21:00.000-08:00

One of my photographs, "Alexander River", was recently chosen to take part in a group show, Onward '09. This show was juried by Peter Barberie, photography curator at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and will be up til March 22 in Project Basho's Gallery, in Philadelphia. Please stop by their web gallery and take a look, there's some very good work up. You can read a review of the show here.

Also, a new online magazine, Fraction, has just put up their Apug group show and my photograph "Old Bus Station, Tel Aviv" was included. Thanks to David Bram for putting the show together, and here's hoping it'll become an annual event.

Welcome to my Blog!

2009-02-19T02:31:00.000-08:00

Hello and Welcome,

My name is Gabriel Benaim, and I'm a fine art photographer. I recently launched my own website, and decided I'd keep a blog to go with it, and to keep an online record of whatever else I'm interested in. In addition to photography, the visual arts and literature form a major part of my life, and I will be sharing and documenting here some of those interests. In a previous life I was a doctoral candidate in philosophy, and there are vestiges of that life still lingering, and will probably make an appearance now and then. At the moment, the writer Guy Davenport has resurfaced as a major player in my daily reading life, and through him I'm starting to read Thoreau's and Kafka's journals. I will be periodically introducing choice aspects of Davenport's work, together with my glosses and cross-references, in an attempt to entice new readers to try this little known master. In the plans also is a brief photo-essay of my time spent with Michael Smith and Paula Chamlee last summer, when I assisted them in photographing the City of Chicago for a commisioned project. So stay tuned, and do stop by and take a look at my website, www.gabrielbenaim.com.