A while back my new friend Cody Hudson invited me for a dual solo show in his home base of Chicago. The time has finally come, and the opening is happening this friday March 27 at Andrew Rafacz Gallery from 5-8pm. I’ll be strolling around Chi town through Sunday so come by and say hello!
Cody’s work is fantastic. We’ve been circling each other in similar outlets like Fecal Face Dot Com and Juxtapoz and now finally get to spend some quality time in the same gallery.
Press Release:
ANDREW RAFACZ is pleased to announce FISH-WORK, a solo exhibition of photographs by Corey Arnold.
Chicago, IL, March 27, 2009 – ANDREW RAFACZ begins the spring season with FISH-WORK, photographs by Corey Arnold.  The gallery will have a reception for the artist on Friday, March 27th, from 5 to 8pm. The exhibition continues through May 9th.
Documenting his experiences as a commercial fisherman for the last 13 years, Arnold presents the viewer with images rarely seen.  The narrative that Arnold carves out might best be described in the strictest terms as ‘man versus nature,’ but by inserting humor and pathos into the frame, he subverts the fearsome and potentially hazardous scenarios into something more sublime. In Bering Sea Birthday, one is immediately thrust on to the fishing vessel in the photograph. The sea is tumultuous, and the violent motion being captured is palpable. Yet, the main subject is a lone fisherman swinging desperately at a piñata in celebration of his birthday. His perseverance in the face of the danger around him makes this a moment of extreme and triumphant humanity.
The power of Arnold’s photographs lie in the way the viewer is pulled directly into the action as it unfolds. Although many of his images capture raw emotion and drama, Arnold is not merely a documentary photographer. He also creates more conceptual works, such as Kitty and Horse Fisherman, which depicts a single figure wearing a costume horse head and holding a kitten. The fisherman is nonchalantly posing against the railing of a boat with the ocean roiling behind him, creating a work of contemporary surrealism set in the unlikeliest of places.
COREY ARNOLD (American, b. 1976) lives and works in Portland, but travels extensively. He has exhibited throughout the United States, Norway, Japan, and France. He has been featured in
The Paris Review, Juxtapoz, Artweek, and the Italian version of Rolling Stone, among others. He recently
completed a solo exhibition at Sara Tecchia Roma New York. This is his first exhibition in Chicago.
Absolutely adore all the fishing photos…especially the pinata shot! Oh, also the hanging fish in the Fish-Work Norway series.
I don’t understand why most things that make this photograph interesting are being added to the photographer’s credit. Did the photographer come up with the idea of celebrating the birthday like this on the boat? Did he insist on the pinata? Did he insist the fisherman whack the pinata over rolling seas slip sliding over ice?
There are two answers possible.
If the answer is yes, then I think the photographer deserves credit for thinking up a moment that shows us our own humanity. Yet, I am not a big fan of posed photos. But that is just my own taste.
If the answer is no, then I think apart from the technical skill involved in taking the photo and having the wisdom of being on the boat in the first place, neither of which is the chief ingredient that makes the photo interesting, the photographer has not added much to the photo.
I suspect the answer to be the latter.
I am completely stunned by the magazine writer’s misallocation of credit.
Jason,
It appears to be a no win situation for me so I hardly feel compelled to defend myself. If you’d researched or asked me directly, I’d be happy to tell you the story of the pinate.