Reading view

Alec Soth & Brad Zellar fundraiser print

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Support the Immigrant Rapid Response Fund⁣

Purchase a limited edition print by Alec Soth & Brad Zellar⁣ at https://littlebrownmushroom.com

While the recent ICE surge in Minnesota may be winding down, the damage it has left behind is not. The organizations doing the long work of repair, protection, and care remain and they need sustained support. We invite you to stand with the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota Immigrant Rapid Response Fund (IRRF), a coalition of 32 philanthropic leaders rooted in communities most impacted by immigration-related harm.⁣

Produced in collaboration with Sister Black Press, it pairs an inkjet photograph by Alec Soth with letterpress text by Brad Zellar.⁣

Purchase at https://littlebrownmushroom.com

Workshop dream

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The wonderful Polish artist Karolina Wojtas on her experience with The Little Brown Mushroom Workshop. ⁣

Apply to our next workshop at LittleBrownMushroom.com

Advice For Young Artists

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An extensive reflection on the conception and construction of Alec Soth's most recent book, "Advice For Young Artists."

Come for the book analysis, stay for the balloon party!

ps. I finally figured out how to add subtitles.

Sex, Death, Etc

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A follow-up to my deleted video on Rosalind Fox Solomon in which I discuss the following books:

"A Woman I Once Knew" by Rosalind Fox Solomon
“Sex. Death. Transcendence” by Linda Troeller
"The Use of Photography" by Annie Ernaux and Marc Marie
"Suzanne and Louise" by Hervé Guibert
"My Mother, My Son" by Mary Frey
"I Imagined it Empty" by Ruth Lauer Manenti

A Workshop at Home with Alec Soth

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For info and application, go here: https://littlebrownmushroom.com/

Who: Led by the photographer Alec Soth and assisted by his family and staff, this workshop is open to photographers and visual storytellers. Eleven participants will be selected.

What: An intimate and intensive four-day workshop focusing on personal projects. Through a series of presentations and creative exercises, participants will (a) develop and deepen their projects and (b) strategize ways their personal work can find an audience. Participants will also visit Alec’s studio where they’ll learn practical tips for making, organizing, and disseminating their work.

Where: Participants will stay at Alec Soth’s historic home located blocks away from the Walker Art Center and downtown Minneapolis. We will also visit Alec's studio and extensive photobook library in Saint Paul. MORE INFO HERE: https://littlebrownmushroom.com/home-and-studio/

When: Wednesday, June 12, 2024 to Sunday, June 16, 2024.

Why: After giving workshops around the globe, Alec Soth found that the most effective location is a shared, domestic space. Formal education is great, but profound learning often happens around a kitchen table. In the safe space of the home, artists can share deeply with each other and plan the best way to present their work to a broader audience.  

How: 
Applications due Sunday, March 17, 2024.
Applicants will be notified by March 25.
Tuition is $2500.
A non-refundable deposit of $750 is due by April 1, 2024 to hold your spot.
Housing is included.
Artists from all educational backgrounds and career stages are welcome to apply.
One partial scholarship is available, please inquire at workshop@alecsoth.com.

Apply here: https://littlebrownmushroom.com/apply/

Alec Soth's 10 favorite photobooks from 2022

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After Children by Osamu Yokonami 3:27
Odesa by Yelena Yemchuk 9:47
Participation by Jordan Weitzman 15:36
My Husband by Tokuko Ushioda 18:33
Some Say Ice by Alessandra Sanguinetti 25:13
Judith Joy Ross: Photographs 1978-2015 & Tom Sandberg: Photographs 30:10
Mundo de Papel by Thomas Demand 33:16
HAFIZ, by Sabiha Çimen 37:00
Pickpocket by Daniel Arnold 42:50

Do you want to know the story behind the picture?

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Using Michael Schmidt's book "Waffenruhe" (1987) as an example, Alec Soth discusses the ways in which stories and biographical information can alter our reading of photobooks. Masahisa Fukase's book "Ravens" (1986) is also briefly discussed.

Chance Encounters

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Alec Soth discusses books that speak to Haruki Murakami's words when he wrote “Chance encounters are what keep us going."

18 by Shinro Ohtake (2002
Douglas Huebler (2002)
Narrative Art by Peter Hutchinson (1994)
Thrown Rope by Peter Hutchinson (2006)
I Walk Toward The Sun Which Is Always Going Down by Alan Huck (2019)

On Filmmaking and Photography #2 (sequencing)

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Alec Soth discusses sequencing in filmmaking and still photography using the following books:

Der Film Im Westen nichts Neues in Bildern (1931)
A Way of Seeing by Helen Levitt (1965)
Film-Photos Wie Noch Nie (1929)
The Blood of a Poet by Jean Cocteau (1949)
Close-Cropped Tales by John Baldessari (1981)
A Fine Day by Kishin Shinoyama (1975)

Ask Alec Soth anything: a TikTok compilation

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00:11 On (not) Explaining Your Work
00:56 Exhibition planning
02:03 Photo project tip
02:48 Imagined audience
04:41 Choosing the form for a project
05:55 Niagara Love Letters
07:05 Failure
08:00 Abandoned Project
10:39 Coming up with titles
11:32 Allowing a project to change
13:15 On Paranoia
14:00 Photowork burnout
15:23 The LBM Dispatch
16:57 Considering the viewer
17:44 Advice to your teenage self
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