Unwerth and 28 Days
I’m in a decidedly black and white mood. Winter is likely a contributing factor, but it’s more than that—an itch, a strong desire to leave scratches on my images. It can be quite close to a scream, black and white photography.
Fräulein
A couple of weeks ago, I received Taschen’s 2021 re-edition of Ellen Von Unwerth’s book Fräulein. If you aren’t familiar with her work, Von Unwerth was a successful fashion model before switching roles and becoming a highly sought-after photographer. Her images are irreverent, chaotic in the most liberating and powerful way. Yes, most of her subjects are beautiful women, usually in very little clothing, but this isn’t a man’s gaze—there’s complicity and a sense of abandon. Tons of black and white, too. And movement, like a gathering storm.
28 Days
If you happen to follow KAGE Collective, you’ve surely noticed the void we fell into for most of 2021, and now 2022 as well. Some of us—thank goodness—are busy with work starting up again, but it’s clear we were all deeply affected by the events of the past two years. The problem with lethargy, of course, is that it eventually turns into a state of being. It’s habit-forming. And one day you wake up, nothing behind you, nothing ahead, and you call it quits.
Whoa. Not so fast.
For February, we’re giving ourselves one gigantic kick in the butt: 28 days of regular content. Stories, single images, video, music…whatever springs to mind. We’ll be gathering material, basically, each on our own terms, just to see where it takes us. There’s an introduction up today, and letters of intent will appear on the site tomorrow (February 1st). You can also participate on Instagram with the hashtag#kage202202, or send us links to your stories—we’ll share these in a special post at the end of the project.
This also means that I’ll be posting a little less frequently than usual here, while I focus on new content for KAGE. (1)
I leave you with a few more BW images.
Because, you know…itch ;)
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1. Beyond what’s already scheduled for both this blog and the 1EYE Society membership.
