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As part of the Winter 2016 Collection in the VII Store, I'm offering this print of a Metro Attendant in Pyongyang, North Korea in 2007.
The idea that "life imitates art" takes on a whole new meaning in North Korea, where the only art on public display is government-approved propaganda. That's why I remain fascinated by the interplay between the metro attendant and the peasant farmer that she mirrors in the mosaic on the station wall. I visited North Korea twice, and both times it felt like I had landed on another planet—a place where every rule shy of the law of gravity had been remolded to the tastes of the ruling Kim dynasty.
Six other prints in this series from North Korea were acquired earlier this year by MoCP (Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Photography) for their permanent collection. This image is available in three sizes for a limited time only through the VII Store.
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EXTENDED: The Blue Sky Days solo exhibition at Anastasia Photo gallery in New York City has been prolonged until December 31, 2016. It features large gelatin-silver prints and a video installation.
The show was selected as a "CRITIC'S PICK" by ARTFORUM:
"It’s as if the world has been reduced to data. We see unsuspecting citizens but process them as targets. We see low buildings and wonder what’s hidden inside. Our territory has turned into a map. In the eerie midair silence, you almost expect to hear bombs fall… Van Houtryve has held up a dark mirror to the American government—it should take a long, hard look."
More press reviews here.
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NEW: My latest project, Traces of Exile, premiered last month at SECCA (Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art) as part of the Dispatches group exhibition which runs through February 19, 2017.
Presented as a single-channel video installation, Traces of Exile reveals how 21st century refugees are crossing Europe with their smartphones, leaving behind a trail of digital breadcrumbs documenting their exile.
The group show also includes seven prints from my Blue Sky Days project. Both projects were supported by the Pulitzer Center. I spoke in-depth about the projects during a 40 minute radio interview to NPR affiliate WFDD.
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ONGOING: The Surveillance group show at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art features two Blue Sky Days prints from the museum's permanent collection. The exhibition also features the work of Henri-Cartier Bresson, Paul Strand, Walker Evans, Miroslav Tichy, and Trevor Paglen. The show runs through January 29, 2017.
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PUBLIC SPEAKING
& EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH
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Over the past two months, I engaged in a packed schedule of paid speaking engagements, including talks at:
• SoHo House, New York
• NYU (New York University)
• Duke University
• Wake Forest University
• Kansas City Art Institute
• University of Kansas
• Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
• SECCA (Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art)
• Pulitzer Center 10th Anniversary Dinner
Contact me directly to book a paid speaking event.
In partnership with the Pulitzer Center, I also spoke with hundreds of American high school and middle school students in North Carolina about the drone war and the European refugee crisis. The Pulitzer Center's education team has built a lesson plan around Blue Sky Days which is available to teachers here.
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In response to the fake news and filter bubble scandals, I have decided to boycott Facebook until they clean up their act.
Having amassed more than 1.7 billion users (more than all adherents of Islam, Judaism and Buddhism combined), and having more influence on the filtering and distribution of news than any media organization on earth, it’s time for us to demand Facebook to act far more responsibly with the immense power they hold.
Read my full argument for the boycott here.
While I realize this is a huge inconvenience to my 5000+ followers and friends on Facebook, I hope you will make the effort to keep track of my activity on my blog or by subscribing to this newsletter. I wouldn't be taking this step unless I thought it was important. For now, I've decided not to extend my boycott to the Facebook owned product, Instagram.
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