Well
and truly time for a BIG shout out to all those LomographicAmbassadors
out there. The people are busy creating LomographicHistory, redrawing
the LomographicAtlas and stretching the geo-political frontiers of Lomography:
Respect. ...Chapeau.
This newsletter may be looooong, but it just gives you
the basics on a sample of everything that is coming up and going down
in Lomodom. We are talking excellent projects, new embassies, major presentations
and incredible amounts of energy....
Dubai The ambassador who never sleeps
and the Lomography Dubai Launch
Chile The Lonely-Lomo-Ranger celebrates
one year of Chilean Lomography
Columbia Bogotá & Medellín
and their ambassadors
Nancy The lady, the comedian and the
cook
Frankfurt Lomo@home,
the Russian project at the book fair
Sydney Karen's new Just Shoot Lomography
Shop Gallery
LomographyWorldLeague2003 competition events
Zurich, Taipei, Brussels, Lisbon, London, Rio De Janeiro & Barcelona
| A
few months ago we got a letter from Dubai: Shehab Hamad
and his team of young ground-breaking individuals are looking into
what it takes to start a LomographicEmbassy, a process that is moving
ahead at an incredible speed, helping us to find out more about this
mysterious country and its truly multicultural population. And the
result is a mind-blowing plan for a fast forward Lomography
Dubai adventure. Shehab is the ambassador who never sleeps, a man with a dozen professions and even more vision, and he is dedicating his life to the cultural enterprise of Dubai: a place between the desert and the ocean, a place of extravagant modernity and fine tradition. "The area around Sheikh Zayed Road up to Defence Roundabout is a bit of a visual metaphor for life in Dubai. A row of buildings on each side thrusts upwards, teasing, titillating, though not quite scraping the sky. Behind these are dirt, sand, desert. It's all surface and no depth. Like Dubai. Like us. Which is not a bad thing. We're shallow, materialistic, and flashy, and we've each got ten middle fingers for anyone who doesn't like it. It's time to celebrate this - with a party that's all trash, glam and punk art. For ourselves, and others like us." He and his friends, fashion-designers, musicians, writers and architects have started combining their different projects with some striking LomographicAction; they know how to create, but most of all they know how to party. The first gathering of the emerging Lomographic community will be held at the: FLASH Lomography Dubai launch event M-Level (Hilton Dubai Creek) Thursday, October 9. Alongside a LomographicExhibition (LomoWonderland, which toured Asia last year), the FLASH event is featuring DJs Tiga (Montreal) and Scud B (Dubai), fashion by Saadia Zahid (Dubai) and Fidel (Montreal), artists Neo and Chadiyo (Dubai) etc. The launch event will be followed by extensive LomoShoots, and the results are going to be presented in a major LomographicHappening schedlued for mid-December, which we are working on turning into a LomoTrip to Dubai - so expect more soon, make a note in your diary and check the events section for possible news on a Lomography Mini-World-Congress in Dubai, December 2003! [ details ] |
| When
Leonardo Simonetti, copywriter and art-director,
heard about Lomography in 2000 he was fascinated by the LomographicRules,
and has adapted them to govern his emotional approach to his own life.
He felt he really was a true Lomographer at heart, and his mind exploded
at the prospect of getting involved in all the LomographicProjects
he was about to initiate in Chile. He went totally haywire when he
received our letter welcoming him as the Chile LomographyAmbassador.
And from that moment on he couldn't focus on anything but his LomographicMission.
"I was talking about Lomography all the time, but I was a lonely-lomo-ranger." His first LomographicProject was to build a LomoWall at The Gam Group; the audience was interested but didn't really understand the concept of Lomography. Leonardo continued to talk. And - with the support of his sister, an anthropologist - impatiently worked on more projects, such as the 'Making of' of the Matucana Non Stop event, a Lomographic view providing an insight into the festival. Then the worldwide crisis caused by the incidents in Iraq made it impossible to continue evolving the Lomographic process in Chile. But wars end, the world doesn't disappear, the economy looks up and a yearning for cultural content returns. The ambassador is adopting his diplomatic duties (activities) again, the LomoHomes of the Chile community are growing from day to day; one of the best Lomographers in the country is setting up the Chilean Lomography website; an exhibition to celebrate One Year of Lomography in Chile at Vitamina is in the preparatory phase (starts on October 2, 2003), special guest: Pinky Jose ...Leonardo now says "Well, now I don't feel like the lonely-lomo-ranger anymore!" [ lomo.cl ] |
| "Lomo
was always on our minds; when we first discovered Lomography we were
immediately hooked, as it seemed to embrace all we had ever dreamed
of in terms of Photography!" Matias Jaramillo
and Juan Felipe Castano, two friends, obsessive photographers
and web-content developers, started doing Lomograpic diplomatic work
for both cities about a year ago. Matias studied art in San Francisco
and Cologne and has always been maniacally snapshooting his daily
life; hence, his approach to Lomography is to see Snapshot-art as
the ultimate form of individual expression. Juan Felipe, who has a
degree in international business studies, is dealing with the commercial
foundation of the embassy. He knows how to overcome bureaucratic problems
and to realise creative ideas with professional project management.
Together they have been active starting projects all over the country
and have now built-up an enthusiastic LomographicCommunity in Columbia. They have just launched their Columbian Lomography website at the Encuentro Comumbiano de Fotografia. Right now they are working on two Lomography Launch Parties in Bogotá and in Medellín, on the first big Columbia Lomo-exhibition and on the planning for some exciting LomoTours. [ lomo.com.co ] |
| France
has been home to many exciting Lomographic projects in the past couple
of years. Peter Boesch, LomographicAmbassador (and
twin brother of Heinz Boesch at the Lomography headquarters
here in Vienna!) is constantly on the lookout to support LomoAddicts
with their Lomographic initiatives. He is now working with the new
NancyEmbassy crew on a big LomographicEmbassy launch
event. Linda, the graphic designer (they call her
'boss'), Alfredo (the comedian) and Massimo
(the cook) all originate from Italy but their love of Lomography is
as cosmopolitan as they are themselves. Linda first discovered the
LomoWorld on a hot afternoon in Bangkok last year: "I saw this
beautiful LomoWall and when I found out more about the Society I got
addicted to its spontaneous and popular concept. I love sharing opinions
on art and finding new forms of communication with everyone."
She has been travelling between London and Paris, meeting the ambassadors
and cooperating on LomographyProjects; she won the Artazart Lomography
competition in Paris. This summer she and her partners at Sweet and Toys finally started realising their LomographicVision for her home town of Nancy, supported by the cultural department of the city. Linda, Alfredo and Massimo have already initiated LomographicShootings with, as they say, "a devoted and curious Lomographers Community in Nancy"; from September 18 to October 2 they are organizing the La Vie En Rose competition during the Le Livre Sur La Place international book fair; the launch party is being held there too: starts at 5pm on September 18. The results of the first Nancy shoots as well as the images entered in the competition will be on exhibit in the City Hall from October 23, 2004. More projects, Lomography&Music, the Urban Chef Lomography project etc. are in the pipeline. |
| The
Lomographic Society International has been invited to participate
in the Frankfurt International Book Fair with a LomographicProject:
October 8-14. On the occasion of this year's focus on Russia at the
fair we will be presenting the Lomo@home exhibition. The title was
chosen because of its double meaning: The Lomo LCA camera is taking
snapshots at its home (in Russia), as well as snapshots in the homes
of Russians. Our concept - a lomographic insight into Russian life
by Russian eyes with Russian lenses - is as simple as Lomography itself
and the approach to obtaining the final artwork: In cooperation with
Steffi Weber (St. Petersburg ambassador) and Joachim Trapp
(Berlin ambassador) we have assigned Russian personalities from all
social and cultural spheres (writers, artists, mothers, politicians,
homeless people, farmers, intellectuals, workers, journalists) to
shoot their daily lives in Russia (St. Petersburg, Moscow, Siberia,
Caucasus etc.) and elsewhere. They have all been equipped with Lomo Compacts and loads of films and were asked to snapshoot their homes over the summer, their daily life at work, on the street, travelling, their nights, their weekends, their families and friends - needless to say, in accordance with the famous Ten Golden Rules of Lomography. 50 to 200 pictures were to be taken during a period of 1 to 7 days. We will be showing a diverse, authentic, controversial, colour- and powerful image of Russia in summer 2003, in a vast exhibition of photographs at the Lomo@Home Lounge in a 500sqm space in the main media hall 4.0. The Lomography Lounge will feature a special programme every day from 5pm to 7pm, details to be announced in the event section soon. |
| Karen
Boudakian is another Lady Ambassador of genius, restlessly
committed to the huge Australian Lomographic Community which she initiated
a couple of years ago. She never stops bringing people and ideas together,
she is always looking for new ways of amassing LomographicArt. And
now she has started a Lomography Shop in Sydney Just Shoot 327 South Dowling Street Darlinghurst NSW 2010 A community meeting place as well as an exhibition space for Lomographers' work. Just Shoot will be stocking Lomographic products and other artists' work, and offering a whole range of services and devices which will be regularly announced on the local LomographicWebsite. The current exhibition, a rotating presentation of LomographicImages by the community, is the first to be held at the new Lomography Shop Gallery. "Our aim is to function as a lomographic co-op", she says, and is excitedly waiting for concepts and ideas of Lomographers. Karen is also organising the Lomo Beyond What You See exhibition, the works of five selected local Lomographers on exhibit at the: Photo Technica 1-7 Wellington Street Chippendale NSW 2008 October 25 to November 22. [ lomography.com.au ] |
