Expose Yourself

35mm Magazine is a locally produced & published 'zine that appeared on the local art scene a few months ago. I saw what I assume to be their first issue in the bohemian caffeine dispensary down the street from my studio a while back. A couple of weeks ago I received an invite from one of the Art Hash Harrier gals (it seems she will be writing columns or something for the mag in future issues) to attend a gathering at the new Paia Contemporary Art Gallery being held for the magazine.

First, a word about the gallery... this is a beautiful space right on the main drag of Hana Highway in Paia. Owned by abstract photographer Ken Briner & Argentina born painter Alejandro Goya, the gallery, in addition to these two artists is also showing the paintings and mixed media works of Brad Huck & Akira Iha. If you haven't been in yet, go check them out. The space is clean, white and minimal with an urban lofty feel to it. The work filling the walls is, at least in my opinion, some of the most interesting work being shown anywhere on the island. There wasn't a single painting of whales sailing thru space, no hula dancer photographs with applied photoshop® watercolor filters in the whole lot. What there was in abundance was lots of abstraction and vibrant color. Good luck guys... may your endeavor be successful and an inspiration for anyone wishing to produce something outside of the standard "condo decor" which is so prevalent in almost every commercial gallery on Maui.

OK... back to 35mm. Magazine...

Published by Cynthia Pegolo (how does she do it? The current issue contains 35 pages and only 9 advertisements to visibly support it.), 35mm is clean  and minimal in design and the current issue features work by 7 photographers (legendary surf photographer Erik Aeder being the only one I know or have heard of), 5 of them featured editorially. Overall, my impression of the featured work in this issue was mostly... well, let's just say underwhelming with a few notable exceptions. Just because you carried an 8x10 view camera into the forest (as one featured artist claims) doesn't necessarily define it as art. A story on Bali, a place I am intimately acquainted with and is perhaps, to my mind, one of the most photographic places in the world, was illustrated with amazingly lackluster images (the text was informative and mostly accurate). Still, I applaud the effort and most of all I applaud the focus on photography as craft & art medium.  In addition the the work of the features artists,  included in the current issue are tutorials on cyanotype printing & the making of photograms.

35mm Magazine is holding a Photo Contest.   Click on the link to the left for submission guidelines. Artists may send up to three individual entries, there is no entry fee and first prize is a full spread & 1/4 page ad in a future issue. Second place wins a full spread and $100 gift certificate from Maui Digital Imaging in Lahaina. Here's a chance to expose yourself, potentially see your work published, there's no rights grab so typical of most photography contests and it costs nothing other that a postage stamp or a little time uploading images via the web. I eagerly await the contest results and hope they publish a large number of the submissions that don't make it across the prize finish line. OK... there you have it. Get off your ass, grab that crusty old Nikormat and Expose Yourself.