Stockland Martel » Volkslivin

“For Artists, Even Paid Jobs Should Be ‘Personal’” (excerpt)

Kristina Feliciano — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 14:20:05 +0000

Photo by Kwaku Alston, from his series "Volkslivin." Click image to see more.

In a new column for Agency Access‘ The Lab, creative consultant Louisa Curtis of Chatterbox Enterprises talks about the importance of personal work to a photographer’s growth, success, and happiness. “I think it’s a shame that photographers have separated what they love from what they do for a living,” she writes. “I met a photographer once who was so busy ‘working’ he had not shot anything for himself in years, literally years! That was very sad to me.”

She goes on to spotlight a number of photographers who avidly shoot for themselves: Chris Buck, Chris Crisman, Landon Nordeman, and Kwaku Alston. “Kwaku is known for beautiful celebrity portraiture, but he is also a social documentarian,” Louisa notes, “and it was important to him to hit the streets and document something that was close to home – literally. In his case, that was Venice Beach, California. Kwaku really wanted to show something from his ongoing personal project ‘Venice,’ and I loved it so much, I used a second image in my article – a red Volkswagen van…who doesn’t love a VW van, right?”

For the full version of her column, go here. And to see some of the many personal projects by Stockland Martel‘s photographers, go here.

The New York Times profiles Kwaku Alston

Kristina Feliciano — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 13:37:45 +0000

Click to read the Lens blog's feature on Kwaku Alston.

The New York Times Lens blog yesterday featured an interview with Kwaku Alston that looks at the award-winning editorial and advertising photographer’s quest to rekindle his personal passion for photography—specifically, by shooting images on his own in his Venice, California, neighborhood.

“The Venice community is a remarkable mix of people and cultures,” Kwaku explained to the Times‘ David Gonzalez in an email. “The gang member, the surfer, pot smoker, artist, hipster, young family member, indigent or trust funder, all living in these 2.3 square miles, creating something so unique.”

The Lens feature, titled “Kwaku Alston’s Rebirth in Venice,” includes a 17-panel slideshow of Kwaku’s photos. Click here to access it. The images, by the way, inspired novelist Trey Ellis to rhapsodize about “Why I Miss Venice Beach” at The Huffington Post.

For more of Kwaku’s personal work, see Kwaku Alston captures Venice Beach’s Horizon Court, Volkslivin, On White, and the Life Project.

International Photography Awards winners announced

Kristina Feliciano — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 15:53:10 +0000

.The jurors of the 2011 International Photography Awards have named their selections for subcategory and category winners, and we’re ecstatic that Kwaku Alston, Matthias Clamer, Nadav Kander, and John Offenbach are among their favorites. Our congratulations to them and to their fellow winners. Well done!

“Category winners,” the IPA’s site explains, “will move on as finalists competing for the Photographer of the Year (professional) and the Discovery of the Year (emerging) titles, as well as that of Deeper Perspective Photographer of the Year.” Those winners will be announced at the Lucie Awards on October 24 at Jazz at Lincoln Center.

Till then, here’s a look at the winning entries from our photographers. For the full winners’ gallery, go here.

Entry Title: " Volkslivin." Name: Kwaku Alston, United States. Category: Professional, Other_S, 2nd place.

Entry Title: "Rufus Wainright." Name: Matthias Clamer, United States. Category: Professional, Personality, 3rd place.

Entry Title: "Pet Circus." Name: Matthias Clamer, United States. Category: Professional, Portrait_P, 3rd place.

Entry Title: "Yangtze - The Long River." Name: Nadav Kander, United Kingdom. Category: Professional, Fine Art, 1st place.

Entry Title: "Jean Rochefort." Name: Nadav Kander, United Kingdom. Category: Professional, Personality, 1st place.

Entry Title: “Werner Herzog III.”  Name: Nadav Kander, United Kingdom.  Category: Professional, Personality, 2nd place.

Entry Title: " London Eye Pod 2" Name: John Offenbach, Category: Professional, Other_ARC, 3rd place.

Chinese lifestyle mag features Kwaku Alston’s “Volkslivin” project

Kristina Feliciano — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 13:33:16 +0000

The Outlook is a Chinese magazine that strives to become “synonymous to a lifestyle guide for The Creative Elite, and the new generation of creative and artistic talent of China. We believe that lifestyle and the view of aesthetics is the reflection of small personal details.” So it makes sense that the editors would find an affinity with Kwaku Alston‘s “Volkslivin,” an ongoing photo series that documents vintage Volkswagen buses wherever Kwaku finds them, many of them customized by their loyal owners. The April issue of The Outlook features a big pullout poster of images from “Volkslivin,” which celebrates aesthetics, personal details, and a specific lifestyle, modest though it may be. It’s fun to think about someone in China putting it up on their wall and being transported.

"Volkslivin" poster and the April issue of The Outlook. Photo courtesy Kwaku Alston's blog, The Art of Studio.

Spotlight: Kwaku Alston

Kristina Feliciano — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 13:38:49 +0000

Kwaku Alston.

Kwaku Alston has photographed some of the most famous faces in the world—from Hollywood luminaries and Grammy winners to President Barack Obama and the First Family—for editorial and advertising clients ranging from Crate & Barrel, Coca-Cola, Blackberry, Target, and Verizon to The New York Times Magazine, Real Simple, and Time. His portraits have a fresh, unaffected feel, yet they celebrate the extraordinariness of his subjects, striking a balance between contemporary documentary photography and classic celebrity portraiture.

Kwaku launched his career in New York City, where he moved after graduating from the Rochester Institute of Technology School of Photographic Arts and Sciences. His success was almost instantaneous, and he began shooting for major magazines and ad agencies while still in his early 20s. He now splits his time between New York and Venice Beach, California, where he has expanded his celebrity portraiture while donating his time to a variety of charities and nonprofits, including the DesignACure Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign, the Black AIDS Institute, the Smiley Faces Foundation, and the Venice Family Clinic.

Kanye West. Photo by Kwaku Alston.

Jennifer Aniston. Photo by Kwaku Alston.

First Lady Michelle Obama. Photo by Kwaku Alston. Click image to view the portfolio "Barack Obama and Family."

From the series "Volkslivin." Photo by Kwaku Alston. Click image to view more photos from this series.

Blake Mycoskie, founder of TOMS Shoes. Photo by Kwaku Alston. Click image to view Kwaku's "TOMS Shoes" portfolio.

Portraits by Kwaku Alston for a recent Crate & Barrel ad. Click image to view the portfolio "Recent Work."

In late 2009, he traveled to Ethiopia to document a shoe drop by TOMS Shoes, which donates footwear to children in need worldwide. And in 2010, he once again traveled with TOMS, this time to Argentina for the company’s one millionth shop drop. “I love making photographs,” Kwaku says, “but I also feel the need to use this creative process to teach, share, and help others by volunteering my time with the camera.”

To that end, he is currently shooting a documentary film called Feet in First, about autistic and other special-needs children learning ballet. “Ballet helps them discover the power of movement and body control,” he explains.

The movie is a logical next step for Kwaku, who has long pursued ambitious personal projects in his spare time. In 2006, he exhibited work from his “Moto Saigon” scooter-inspired series shot in Vietnam (CineVegas also screened a short film he made about the project), and in 2010 he showed images both from “Horizon Court,” which centers on a hardscrabble section of Venice Beach, and “Volkslivin’,” which comprises his “portraits” of vintage Volkswagen buses. He has also been continually adding work to his “On White” portraits of everyday people. He started the series in Venice and—after a year of shooting the “One Woman, Two Looks” feature for Real Simple’s “Style” section—has now expanded it to New York.

“I shoot people regardless of their celebrity status,” he says. “It’s about making people feel comfortable with the process of picture-making.”

Here’s a look at Kwaku’s work:

Beyonce Knowles. Photo by Kwaku Alston.

Christina Aguilera. Photo by Kwaku Alston.

Drew Barrymore. Photo by Kwaku Alston.

Mark Wahlberg. Photo by Kwaku Alston.

Don Cheadle. Photo by Kwaku Alston.

Toby Keith. Photo by Kwaku Alston.

From the "Life Project." Photo by Kwaku Alston. Click image to see view the portfolio.

From the ongoing series "On White." Photo by Kwaku Alston. Click image to see more photos.

Kwaku Alston’s “Harlem Postcard” on view at Studio Museum

Kristina Feliciano — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 17:20:24 +0000

We’re proud to report that Kwaku Alston, who has previously exhibited personal series such as “Volkslivin” and “Horizon Court” at his space in Venice Beach, California, has just celebrated his first museum show. The exhibition, titled “Harlem Postcards: Fall/Winter 2010–11,” opened last week at the Studio Museum in Harlem and also includes work by Deana Lawson, Petra Richterova, and Lewis Watts.

From the Studio Museum’s website: “Harlem Postcards, an ongoing project, invites contemporary artists of diverse backgrounds to reflect on Harlem as a site of cultural activity, political vitality, visual stimuli, artistic contemplation and creative production. Representing intimate and dynamic perspectives of Harlem, the images reflect each artist’s oeuvre with an idiosyncratic snapshot taken of, or representing, this historic locale. Each photograph has been reproduced as a limited-edition postcard available free to visitors.”

There’s also a nifty interactive component—you can send an image from the show to a friend as an e-postcard.

Here’s Kwaku’s contribution to “Harlem Postcards: Fall/Winter 2010–11,” which will be on view through March 13…

"Spring Time in Harlem," by Kwaku Alston. Courtesy of the Studio Museum, Harlem.

Bill and Maureen were there opening night to show their support of Kwaku. Here are some photos from the reception, courtesy of the Studio Museum by way of Lea K. Green, the museum’s director of special projects, and Liz Gwinn, the museum’s head of PR. (Thank you, Lea and Liz!)

From let: Kwaku Alston, photographer Derrel Todd, and Lea K. Green, Esq., the museum's director of special projects, at the opening of "Harlem Postcards: Fall/Winter 2010–11." All photos by Ray A. Llanos; courtesy of the Studio Museum, Harlem.

From left: Citigroup exec Raymond J. McGuire, artist Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, and Thelma Golden, director and chief curator of the Studio Museum.

From left: Artist Leslie Hewitt, filmmaker Bradford Young, and a friend.

Photographer Petra Richterova and a friend.

From left: Artist Jessica Rankin, photographer Dawoud Bey, Leslie Hewitt, and artist Julie Mehretu.

From left: Naomi Beckwith, associate curator at the Studio Museum, with art consultant Pippa Cohen, Thelma Golden, and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye.

• Art: Artist/filmmaker Akosua Adoma Owusu, artist Lynette Yiadom-Boakye and photographer Kwaku Alston are all showing at Studio Museum in Harlem –right now…

• Josephine and Langston and Malcolm

Kwaku Alston and “Thirty Conversations on Design” (video)

Kristina Feliciano — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 18:03:21 +0000

Last year, the Minneapolis-based strategic design firm Little & Company launched an online program called Thirty Conversations on Design to celebrate its 30-year anniversary.

“We sought out the world’s most creative professionals – architects, designers, authors and leaders of iconic brands – and asked 30 of them to record their thoughts on design,” according to the site.

They decided to repeat the experiment this year, and our own Kwaku Alston is among the 30 creative heroes they’ve asked to participate.

Click on the image below to view Kwaku’s clip, which features his “Volkslivin” personal project:

This year’s participants also include Ken Carbone of the Carbone Smolan design and branding agency; Gong Szeto, cofounder and CEO of Doxa2, a “non-partisan, web-based platform that is designed to level the playing field in politics”; graphic designer Jessica Helfand; and pro skateboarder Tony Hawk. To see all 30 videos, visit thirtyconversationsondesign.com.

Kwaku Alston’s “Life”

Kristina Feliciano — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:36:36 +0000

Kwaku has a handful of personal projects going, like “Volkslivin”…

From the series "Volkslivin" by Kwaku Alston.

…“Horizon Court”…

From the series "Horizon Court" by Kwaku Alston.

…and his portrait series “On White”…

From the series "On White" by Kwaku Alston.

What I like about his project “Life,” though, is that it’s not just personal but autobiographical. It’s Kwaku photographing his neighbors, his family, people’s he’s worked with, even his therapist. It’s an ever-expanding portrait of and by Kwaku Alston, told through the faces of others.

Some scenes from his “Life,” along with his captions…

“Diner Divas—The Saddle Back Grill, Louisville, Kentucky”

"Each morning," writes Kwaku, who was in Kentucky for a shoot, "I was greeted with a huge hug and smile from Pat and Theresa."

“Gallerina—Paris Chong”

"Paris runs the Farmani Gallery in Los Angeles, which specializes in photography. She's an energetic single mom with a passion for art. Her gallery openings always attract an amazing mix of vibrant people."

“Conscientious Objector—Neerad”

"Between his open heart, his brilliant mind and his distinctly unique political views, you know you will always have a great conversation when you visit with Neerad. He's been renovating a house in Venice by himself, and I often stop by to check on the progress."

“Agents Extraordinaire”

"Bill Stockland and Maureen Martel are the incredible duo behind the careers of many great photographers. If there were business superstars, these two would be legendary—Maureen as Wonder Woman and Bill as Superman."

“Writing Roommates”

"Venice is filled with all kinds of artists, writers, and bohemians. X and Y are writers who are roommates, enjoying the proximity to the beach and the community of eclectic neighbors."

“Therapy With a Smile—Elaine Fidel”

"Elaine is my go-to person when I'm working through a conflict. She has a matter-of-fact style and an uncanny ability to intuit a situation in five minutes and lay it on the table. She opens my mind to other ways of seeing life's little surprises."

“Alley Recyclers”

"The alley behind my street is an odd mix of privilege and desperation. I've seen a celebrity hiding from paparazzi with her newborn baby and homeless men suffering from drug addiciton. Here, two enterprising recyclers show me their catch of the day."

“Love—Faune and William”

"My mother and stepfather have been together for more than 30 years. They took the train to New York to visit me when I was in town for a shoot. There's nothing like an old-school diner, and there's truly nothing like family."

“Home Sweet Home—Carl Alston”

"My father recently retired and bought a new home in Philadelphia. It's a big transition, but he is really enjoying the change. He has a lot more time to focus on his kung fu practice."

To see more photos from this series, go here.

Kwaku Alston captures Venice Beach’s “Horizon Court”

Kristina Feliciano — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 22:47:44 +0000

Kwaku has been photographing Venice Beach, where he lives, for the past decade, and he occasionally exhibits some of those images at his studio on Abbott-Kinney Boulevard. Last fall, for example, he showed his portraits of vintage Volkswagen buses parked in and around his neighborhood. (Below is the invitation, and you can view scenes from the event here.)

On February 12, Kwaku will be exhibiting a new body of Venice work, called “Horizon Court,” from 6 to 9 PM at his studio (address: 1346 Abbot Kinney Blvd.). In an essay about the series, art writer Shana Nys Dambrot notes that with these latest images, Kwaku “examines a very different part of Venice Beach—the colorful, bustling, and somewhat unsavory neighborhood of Horizon Court, a walk street that meets the Boardwalk. Of a similar look and feel to the more upscale individualism and shabby chic bohemia of the Abbot Kinney scene, Horizon Court and its residents skew toward the young, the edgy, and even the criminal aspects of the Venice legend.”

And while these images are part of a personal project, they have an affinity with the portraits Kwaku promotes to art buyers.

“Kwaku shoots people against white—simply and honestly,” notes Bill Stockland, referring to Kwaku’s “On White” portfolio (which you can see here at the Stockland Martel website). “It’s people presenting themselves honestly to the camera. [With "Horizon Court,"] he did the very same thing, but he took it out to the streets.”

(Our thanks to J. Wesley Brown at We Can Shoot Too for writing about the exhibition.)

Kwaku has posted 26 of the “Horizon Court” images at his website, including these:

From "Horizon Court." Photo by Kwaku Alston.