The Black Man Ray

currentlyuntitled: The amazing prints of Yamasaki ko-ji....

Tue, 15 Feb 2011 22:07:02 +0700

Yamasaki ko-ji

Yamasaki ko-ji

Yamasaki ko-ji

Yamasaki ko-ji

The amazing prints of Yamasaki ko-ji. Another reason for you to come to Bandung, beside the good food.

currentlyuntitled: A package from Osaka, Japan has arrived...

Tue, 15 Feb 2011 22:06:40 +0700

A package from Osaka, Japan has arrived safely on Jan 26, 2011. What’s inside? The amazing 145 black & white prints from Yamasaki ko-ji-san. One hundred and forty-five prints! Arigatou, Yamasaki-san!

currentlyuntitled: The first batch of prints have arrived....

Tue, 15 Feb 2011 22:06:11 +0700

Dicky Juwono

Dicky Juwono

Dicky Juwono

Dicky Juwono

currentlyuntitled:

The first batch of prints have arrived. Thanks, Dicky Juwono! Here are some of my favourites.

currentlyuntitled: I think this place will look great. A coffee...

Tue, 15 Feb 2011 22:05:21 +0700

currentlyuntitled:

I think this place will look great. A coffee shop and a photo gallery. Coffee and prints, what a mighty collaboration. A perfect way to spend your afternoon with friends. I can’t drink coffee anymore though. Just give me a cup of tea and I’ll be fine.

currentlyuntitled: Last week, a friend asked me to use one of...

Tue, 15 Feb 2011 22:05:00 +0700

currentlyuntitled:

Last week, a friend asked me to use one of the wall in his upcoming coffee shop as a photo exhibition space. I said yes right away. A few emails away and a week later, I have friends from all over the world giving positive responds and ready to send me their prints. Thank you, my dear friends, for trusting me with your precious prints. I’m lucky to have you all!

Name: currently untitled gallery (you can help me by suggesting a good and catchy name)

Location: Bandung, Indonesia

Estimated time of opening: end of February 2011

Participants for the first show: Budi Sukmana, Eric Setiawan, Dicky Jiang, Primarita, Kurniadi Widodo, Karolus Naga, Thalia Kamarga, +pelican+, Khairil, Mario Rivera, Bruce Bottomley, Woody Folmer, Yamasaki ko-ji

currentlyuntitled: This is one of my favourite picture taken...

Tue, 15 Feb 2011 22:04:23 +0700

currentlyuntitled:

This is one of my favourite picture taken somewhere in 2008. The camera, a Rolleiflex SL35, was sold in 2009. I still miss that camera but no regret.

currentlyuntitled: I find it hard to select or sequence or edit...

Tue, 15 Feb 2011 22:04:00 +0700

currentlyuntitled:

I find it hard to select or sequence or edit my picture on a computer. I prefer to use prints. Yes, computer save money and time but I still love to hold and to feel the prints. It’s only my subjective preference. It’s why I wanted to do this project from the beginning.

currentlyuntitled: This is a fun new way to enjoy photography....

Tue, 15 Feb 2011 22:02:36 +0700

currentlyuntitled:

This is a fun new way to enjoy photography. Hanging hundreds of prints one by one, with paperclips on strings and others with blue-tack on mirror or wood. Sweats are guaranteed but I’m sure I will enjoy every minutes of it. Note that this is not the final prints selection. It was just a try out, a beta version, for us to see what the prints looked like hanged on the wall. All prints are Budi’s and mine.

Yes, I could be wrong but why should I pretend?

Tue, 15 Feb 2011 21:39:00 +0700

I remember it’s very early in January when a friend asked me whether I’m interested in running a small exhibition space as part of his upcoming coffee shop. I haven’t bought a new calendar for 2011 yet, but I clearly remember saying yes.

Unless you can come and see it for yourself, let me describe the place for you. It’s a small yet nice coffee shop strategically located near one of the famous university in the city. For this project, he provided me two walls. One plastered grey-colored wall with wooden frames & strings initially functioned as magazines holder. One is covered with mirror. So I will only have limited space to work with.

Then we need to come up with the concept of the exhibition itself. We wanted to show off photographs (prints), it’s as simple as that. Due to our limitation, we decided that the show must be self-funded, low-budget, have a do-it-yourself spirit, and we have to keep the prints small. One of our main inspiration which fits the description nicely is Joni Karanka’s Print Stravaganza.

For the exhibition’s material, I know we need some submission. I’ve always wanted to try open submission but refrain to do so for the the first show. Instead, I send several e-mails to my friends whose works I’ve been familiar with. Fortunately, they all express their interest and start preparing and sending me prints. I thank you all for your kindness and your faith in me.

Next come the hardest part for me. Choosing a name. For over a month, we have run with the name “Currently Untitled”. Quite straight forward, isn’t it? But I know that it will not be enough. I need a catchy name or phrase. So a few days ago, my friend came up with this name and I like it.

Why “Black Man Ray”? We both grew up in the 80s and were heavily influenced by the British band, one of them is China Crisis who sang the song “Black Man Ray”. There are several interpretation to this title. One is “Black Man” Ray which is referring to Ray Charles. Second is Black “Man Ray” which is referring to the famous photographer Man Ray. Either way is fine with us since we’re fans of both.

Now the first show will come up soon. It will be the prototype for the next show. If this is a book, then it will be the Preface before Chapter One. I will let you know the date once it’s confirmed which will be someday around end of February or early March.

With this post, I’m also inviting you to submit your prints for Chapter One. If you’re interested, send me e-mail at blackmanrayshow [at] gmail [dot] com and I’ll send you some more details.

Drum rolls, please.