Bertil Nilsson 'Undisclosed' THE LAUNCH IS COMING!

Hello faithful readers,

Just thought I could not get through a Bank Holiday without blogging! As many of you may know we have a wonderful book launch coming up this Wed 6.30pm for Bertil Nilsson's book launch. The book: Undisclosed
Images of the Contemporary Circus Artist is a marvellous insight into the complex world of the circus performer. Writing the essay was a joy as there were so many images to look at & really imaginative compositions to absorb. The finished book is beautiful, with a really wonderful print quality & inset cover. I am so pleased to have played a part in the project & look forward to seeing you at the launch. We do have limited space as there are a lot of people keen to come as the book following has gone viral online so please RSVP: rsvp@diemarnoble.com

For more details & examples of page spreads please click HERE!

Essay by Laura Noble
Foreword by Daniele Finzi Pasca
Text in English and French
28 x 24 cm / 11 x 9.5 in.
140 pages, 92 b+w photographs
Casebound hardcover
Duotone offset printing
Published by Canalside Books
ISBN: 978-0956887207
Edition of 1000
Publication date: 1st September 2011

The Fitzrovia Photography Prize & more...

Dear readers, my humble apologies for my tardy blogging. I am now on home ground & ready to blog my socks off!

So where have I been? Oslo as you know (still in shock about the horrible events there of late) then Arles for Rencontres Arles 2011, opened our show last Wednesday to rave reviews on twitter online, in blogs & in print. With 53 photographers on display upstairs there is so much to look at I am loving coming into the gallery each day to notice something new each day The 3 winners on are our website, so you can have a glimpse at the incredibly high standard of work submitted. We had so many to choose from & it was a mammoth job to judge. If the quality is this high next year we may think about expanding it to both floors to include more great photography. The proud supporters of the show John Lewis Oxford Street were thrilled upon seeing the prize become a reality. The work on display has been printed by one of my favourite printers, Genesis Imaging.

At present we have several of of our artists on display downstairs & a new photographer showing one work which I urge you to see, Jon Wyatt whose image is included depicts one of the worlds most incredible sites of natural beauty Huangshan. The 'Yellow Mountain' is in fact a range of mountains & a UNESCO World Heritage Site is actually privately owned by 'Huangshan Tourism & Development Company Ltd' which is listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Wyatt explores this site & the dynamics of ethical ownership, preservation & visual wonder in his extraordinary images in glorious black & white. They appear like Chinese ink drawings in their delicacy & subtlety. (We have the entire series in stock available to view)

I met Jon Wyatt in Arles, when we met for a portfolio review & was instantly impressed with his commitment, technical skill & passion for photography. The work is conceptually fascinating, exploring our continued disconnection from the physical landscape with masterful results. Come & see for yourself.

There were several amazing bodies of work shown to me over the course of my week in Arles & I hope to talk about them in this blog soon.

Finally, with excitement the stop-motion video of the beginning of the hang last week shows the first 9 hours of the current show being curated & hung. My Assistant Curator Eleanor Kelly, photographer Colin Coutts, Gallery Assistant Olivia Spooner & Bertil Nilsson (who kindly did the video for us) all appear in the film. Oh, & of course yours truly. The result is a rare insight into the hanging process in a commercial gallery. We were hanging till 11pm last Monday, 9pm Tuesday & completed on Wednesday, so quite a punishing schedule. However, when the crowds flooded in & the reaction to the show was so positive it was all worth it. Many of the works are for sale, starting at around £100 + VAT, so what a great way to start collecting & supporting artists! The thrill of buying your first work, knowing that there is every chance of meeting the photographer who took it & the possibility that your purchase could be the one that changes your photographic experience forever. I will talk a bit more about this in further blogs. Collecting is entirely personal to me & although I have made very sound investments, each & every image I have bought I fell in love with on sight.

Anyway, before I get emotional I will leave you for now, more very soon, I promise...

Book editing

When I wrote the essay for Bertil Nilsson's book 'Undisclosed' and helped Bertil & the designer Wayne Ford (who is also a serial blogger see his blog here) I papered my entire kitchen with the images (as seen here with my cat hogging the limelight for a change) so that I could get to know them intimately & see new things in the work every day. A great image reveals itself to you slowly. My personal favourites at first glance may then change & finding specific elements of interest & connections between the works, rhythm's & themes all surface with prolonged study.

This beautiful work documents & explores the working practice of circus performers in their practice spaces. Nilsson's black & white photograph's mesmerise as the performers display deft feats of artistry, strength & agility. With close contact to them we are seduced by the poetry of the human form without the trimmings of the costumes & glamour that usually accompany them. In doing so Nilsson strips back the practice of these individuals to their bare bones & indeed muscle. The combination of their bodies entwined with the architecture of the practice spaces & interaction with their equipment creates a visual theatre all of its own.

When we arrived the book as a first draft pinned onto the wall. It soon became clear to see the flow of the book with the layout in order across the room. Any discarded images were also out for us to look through and make suggestions. Each of us lost an image we liked in the final edit, but all agreed that they did not fit into the book. This process always takes longer than one would first think, but with 3 pairs of trained eyes it was a thoroughly enjoyable day. The camera in the corner filmed this wonderful sequence, putting all our efforts into a minute long film. Having a large space to lay or pin out the work is invaluable & a lot more effective for the final book. This can be done on a computer of course - but the book is not going to be made to view on a computer - so I find it easier to get a real 'feel' for a book by moving spreads around physically, literally not on a screen. We all worked well together, agreeing on most things which made the whole process very enjoyable.

We all left the studio with a satisfied feeling of a job well done. 'Undisclosed' will be launched in August. I will post nearer the time to remind you lovely readers of its impending arrival.