"Night News" - an occasional
missive from the darkness
Vol.2 No.3
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"As for myself, weak as I am, I carry on the war to the last moment . . . and,
thank God, I can look upon the world as a farce even when it becomes as tragic
as it sometimes does. All comes out even at the end of the day, and all comes
out still more even when all the days are over."
-Attributed to Voltaire (at age 73)
From "The Varieties of Religious Experience" by Wm. James (1901-2)
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"And in the end,
the love you take,
is equal to
the love
you make."
-"The End" by Lennon/McCartney Northern Songs, 1969 (www.thebeatles.com)
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(Robert J. Baskerville
November 20, 1923 - September 6, 2000)
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Darkness does come early this time of year . . . and so, the year that was "quite
a year" continues. Just a few items this time around - a more comprehensive
year end "NightNews" comes wending its way to you on New Years Eve.
WORKSHOP NEWS
Our most recent San Francisco Workshop (Oct 13, 14, 15 and 21), held at Fort
Mason - http://www.fortmason.org - and
San Francisco's Presidio - http://www.nps.gov/prsf/
- went extremely well. We were graced with good weather, except for a foggy
Presidio session. Night Photography pioneer Steve Harper attended two of the
sessions, to the delight of all the participants (not the least of which were
Lance and Tim!) with plenty of nocturnal anecdotes and advice. We hope to be
seeing more of Steve, in the future. These were both new locations for the Workshops
(Tim participated in the city-wide SF Open Studios there, as well). Staff at
both the Fort Mason Foundation and The Presidio Trust are considerate, efficient,
and most importantly, understanding of artists and the general public working
within their facilities. Hopefully this is the beginning of a long fruitful
relationship, as we plan to continue offering workshops at these sites in 2001.
The schedule for the upcoming year will be posted at http://www.thenocturnes.com/workshop
in the next few weeks. More good news - the Director of the Fort Mason Foundation
is very interested in showing some of Tim's work (from The Presidio, Fort Mason
and the Coastal areas) at the Center, as well.
Tim's recent "fact-finding tour" of the West of Ireland (with Ron Rosenstock's
group) was very productive. In addition to giving a presentation ("A Brief History
of Night Photography and some Current Practitioners") at the Castlebar Camera
Club in County Mayo, Tim attended a music session with Olcan Masterson (our
Tour Coordinator for the October 2001 Ireland Workshop) and later met with him
to discuss some logistics for the trip. We have an 8-page brochure/itinerary
available to those interested - just email me - nichols@thenocturnes.com - to
request one, and we will send via USPS immediately. Additionally, information
will be available on the Web site by the end of year. BTW, the dates for the
Ireland Workshop are October 10-24, 2001. Mark your calendar - it's a lovely
country, with friendly people, and a great trip - you might think of attending!
The weeklong Cape Cod Workshop in September with Tim and Lance went well. Some
very serious, devoted photographers were in attendance. Writer Roz Smith interviewed
Tim and Lance for Shutterbug Magazine. Look for a March publication date. Another
Cape Cod workshop is planned for 2001 - dates to be announced. Check back to
the Web site, often.
BOOKS AND ARTICLES NOTED
Tim points out that Richard Misrach's new book "The Sky Book" is "a beautiful
study of the night sky, a night photographer's 'dream book' - with lots of historical
and astronomical information. It's good to see a fellow 'Nocturnist' return
to his roots (if he ever really left)." Look for a review of this important
text in an upcoming "Night News." See comments on Michael Kenna's new book,
"Night Work" below.
EXHIBITS
"It was a dark and stormy night . . ." - our current online exhibit is up and
running at http://www.thenocturnes.com/DarkStormyNight/index.htm - and will
be up through December. There, you will also find a link to info about our next
online show, "2001, a nocturne" - info also available at http://www.thenocturnes.com/entries
If you haven't been there recently, drop by The Nocturnes Gallery and say hello
to new gallery mates Stu Jenks of Tucson and Michael Frye of Yosemite, both
award winners (Curator's Choice) in the recent "Nocturnes 2000" online exhibit.
Also say hi to Michael Pierazzi of San Francisco and self-described "accidental
nocturnist," as well as Karekin Goekjian, from Athens, Georgia.
The links:
http://www.thenocturnes.com/michaelfrye.htm
http://www.thenocturnes.com/stujenks.htm
http://www.thenocturnes.com/michaelpierazzi.htm
http://www.thenocturnes.com/karkingoekjian.htm
The San Mateo Arts Council presents "Nocturnes by Tim Baskerville" at the Manor
House Gallery for the month of December. Show opens Dec 4, 2000 with a reception
for the artist on Saturday, Dec 9, 2000, 1-4pm. 1219 Ralston Ave., Belmont,
CA.
Michael Kenna shows "Recent Works" at the Stephen Wirtz Gallery, 49 Geary, San
Francisco, from Nov 15 - Dec 23, 2000. Reception is Dec. 7th, with book signing
for his new book, "Night Work," published by Nazraeli Press and The Friends
of Photography. The book is gorgeous and Tim's published conversation with Michael
adds some insightful observations to the process of Night Photography by one
of its most illustrious practitioners. Incidentally, the Grand re-opening of
the Friends on Mission Street (with Michael's "Night Work") is supposed to happen
by year's end - there are construction delays. We will keep you posted if you
email us at The Nocturnes, asking for announcement or check the Friends of Photography
Web site - http://www.friendsofphotography.org
- for info.
Neil Folberg shows work from his latest series: "Starry Nights" through Dec
30 at the Scott Nichols Gallery, also 49 Geary, San Francisco, CA.
"Edward Steichen: A Retrospective" is at the Whitney Museum of American Art
from Oct 5 thru Feb 4, 2001. It is sure to include some of his more memorable
night imagery of the Flatiron Building and Brooklyn Bridge. 945 Madison Ave,
New York, NY.
LIBRARY NEWS
Recent Acquisitions:
Night Work, Photographs by Michael Kenna. Nazraeli Press and Friends of Photography.
ISBN 3-923922-83-3
The Sky Book, by Richard Misrach. Arena Editions. ISBN 1-892041-28-6
National and Historic Monuments of Ireland, by Peter Harbison ISBN 0-7171-1956-4
The Varieties of Religious Experience, by Wm. James. Modern Library ISBN 0-679-64011-8
Henri Cartier-Bresson, published by Aperture. ISBN 0-89381-909-3
Bystander - A History of Street Photography, by Joel Meyerowitz and Colin Westerbeck.
ISBN 0-500-54190-6
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As always, this and past issues of "Night News" are accessible at http://www.thenocturnes.com/nitenews.htm
And in closing, I'd like to mention something that Tim and Lance discussed in
their last workshop in San Francisco: "... lets just be careful out there."
Susan Nichols
nichols@thenocturnes.com
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"It's been ages since you last visited . . . "
http://www.thenocturnes.com