Robert Delpire is an exceptional figure in the international photography, design and advertising world. As a publisher, curator, editor, art director and film producer, he has championed the cause of some of the most notable and iconic image makers of the last century. His career began in 1950’s Paris, as a young medical student he was presented with the opportunity to produce the school’s bulletin which led him into the world of image making. Early success transformed his journey and he never looked back. With an innate aesthetic sense and an incisive understanding of design and graphics, he championed the career of many of the world’s master photographers, including Joself Koudelka, William Klein, Duane Michals, Robert Frank, Henri Cartier Bresson, Guy Bourdin, Paolo Roversi and Sarah Moon.

Within a few years he established what became one of the most important graphic design and photography publishing companies of the time: ´Editions Delpire. Early on Delpire published the first monograph of Brassai, and several books with Magnum photographers including Cartier Bresson, who would remain a life long friend and collaborator. In 1958, when an American publisher proved difficult to secure, Delpire published Les Americains, Robert Frank’s radical and sometimes controversial photo essay. An honest depiction of American life, it was widely celebrated and considered one of the most important monographs of the 20th century. He also produced the ground breaking William Klein monographs of Tokyo,

Opening this week is the first solo show of photographer Anja Hitzenberger, an Austrian photographer, filmmaker and video artist who divides her time between New York and Vienna.

The exhibition is the culmination of a two month residency that Anja took in the fall of 2011 in Beijing. Wandering around the site of Beijing’s Olympic Park, she stumbled across a huge tent that housed an immense food court. Inside she found stall after stall of fast food that had been created to appeal to the masses of impending visitors to the area.

Struck by the contrast of the saturated visual displays of food and the seeming apathy and disinterest of the respective employers Anja felt compelled to record it and the project “Take Out” was created.

Hitzenberger is an artist whose work is primarily based on the relationship of the body and its relationship to architecture and space. Her projects have taken her throughout the world, and she often depicts the local populace as part of her work. The “Take Out” project continues this theme, and offers a visual insight into a culture that is full of flux and complexity. Take Out is on view at Underline Gallery, 238 West 14th Street, New York, through May 13.

Slideshow

WIthout is the new feature film written and directed by Mark Jackson, with cinematography by Jessica Dimmock and Diego Garcia. Hauntingly shot in lush, luminous color, the film has a gritty realism that is softened by a sensitive performance by newcomer Joslyn Jensen, whose intense portrayal of a girl on the edge of an emotional breakdown has drawn comparisons with a young Isabelle Huppert.
     The story centers round a teenage girl (Jensen) who takes a job as a caretaker for a near catatonic elderly man on a remote Pacific Northwest Island. With no internet or cell phone access, she is almost completely cut off from the outside world and struggles to maintain a daily routine. As the days pass, she begins a slow progression of mental and emotional disintegration, all the while grappling with her own issues of loss, guilt and sexuality.

Iranian artist Shirin Neshat’s latest curated show, The Mask and The Mirror, is a thoughtful and timely collection of self- portraits from a provocative and diverse group of contemporary artists. Featuring works by Marina Abramović, Matthew Barney, Paolo Canevari, Feridoun Ghaffari, Ramin Haerizadeh, Lyle Ashton Harris, Y.Z. Kami, Shahram Karimi, Robert Mapplethorpe, Youssef Nabil, Nicky Nodjoumi, Bahar Sabzevari, Cindy Sherman and Shahzia Sikander, the self-portraits provide an intimate, emotional insight as well as a social documentary reflecting cultural, political and religious issues. Through costume, disguise and illusion the artist creates a world that is both fantastical and highly personal.
     Shirin Neshat has always been interested in the idea of the capturing of identity and self expression and how this has been shaped and influenced by Western culture. In 1993 she created the photographic self portrait series Women of Allah. For her, more than being autobiographical, the self portraits allowed her to provide a personal narration of other people’s stories. She used her own body as a vehicle of political and cultural expression. 

Click for Slideshow

Kalpesh Lathigra is an award winning documentary and portrait photographer known for his luminous images of forgotten communities and spaces. His work has taken him to Afghanistan, the Soviet Union and India. His current project, State of Grace, was inspired by and shot during frequent trips to the US during the Obama elections. The images are honest and elegant, an outsiders view of the country and its current state. He is also producing a book of images from Lost in the Wilderness, a culmination of his own US journey and the experiences of life on the Pine Ridge Reservation of the Lakota Sioux. Taking inspiration from classic American color pioneers such as Stephen Shore, Mitch Epstein and Joel Sternfeld, the project is a quiet yet powerful reflection of the people of the area. PLANET° recently caught up with Kalpesh in New York.

Click for slideshow