Birthday Celebrations

Separated by 380 years, this week marks the birthdays of the original bad boy artist, Caravaggio, who among other things is credited with using an early form of photography in his groundbreaking work into Chiaroscuro, and the venerable Adobe® Photoshop® application, also capable of a little chiaroscuro, turns 20 years young. Lifehacker is celebrating with a list of favorite Photoshop tricks and tips.

New Gallery at The monOrchid Building

Wayne Rainey is at it again.

The owner of Holgas and MonOrchid can easily be credited as a major mover in the downtown arts scene.

And tonight he's debuting his latest art space, Bokeh Gallery, in the MonOrchid building.... Read more.

Be sure to check out the Bob Carey Opening on Friday, February 19th.

A Photo History Find

The New York Times Art and Design section writes of a recent photo find, featuring the 100 year old work of Edward Steichen, famous for his early color photographs, winning an Academy Award for best documentary, and serving as Director of Photography at New York's Museum of Modern Art. More recently, he made news when one of his early 1900's platinum prints, "The Pond - Moonlight" broke the record for photography auction at Sotheby's with a price of $US 2.9 Million.

Record Setting Nude Photo

Artist Spencer Tunick staged a record setting group nude photo in Mexico City's Zocalo Square. 18,000 people posed for the photograph, as police and no-fly zones kept the onlookers at bay. Tunick is famous for similar shoots in Germany and Spain.

And while we're delving into NSFW territory with a little nudity, here's an interesting blog submitted to me by an artist simply titled, "Sex in Art". 18 and over only, please! The site does contain some graphic imagery, and as a precaution, I'm linking to their disclaimer page.

New Artist: Irene Peña

Store 44 Reps welcomes photographer Irene Peña! Hailing from Costa Rica and schooled in Los Angeles, Irene is a fashion photographer with an eye for motion. Her work was recently featured in a group show at San Francisco's Geras Tousignant Gallery.

store 44 reps at the monOrchid

A gallery of images from store 44 reps at the monOrchid our commercial/fine art show that ran through September 2005 at the monOrchid building in downtown Phoenix. Read a review of the show in The Phoenix New Times.