Rob Larsen

If you're in New York, you should check this out and if you're not, at least you get the chance to see some of this remarkable photography on the web.

Which is better than not seeing it at all.
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During the 1980s, photographers Martha Cooper and Henry Chalfant captured the environment and the imagination of a generation, documenting the trendsetting street-art movement for the very first time. Now, after 25 years, Subway Art is available in a large-scale, deluxe format to heighten the visual impact of the graffiti captured within. With 70 never-before-seen photographs, all-new introductions, and a contemporary afterword, this collector's edition explores the prolific and sometimes tension-filled rise of graffiti from gritty train yards to galleries worldwide. With more than half a million copies sold, Subway Art is the definitive book on street-art from its inception as a "social plague" to its role as a sounding board for young urban voices and up-and-coming artists.

"70 never-before-seen photographs?" Sweet. It's also 11-1/2 x 16-1/2 in, which is significantly larger than the original version (which is, according to amazon, 10.7 x 8.1 inches.) the gatefold section will be HUGE! I can't wait.

For those of you wondering about such things, Subway Art is, without question, one of the most influential publications in my life. It helped shape the trajectory of my life from the moment I first got my grubby little hands on it, all the way back in 1984.

Photographer Elena Dorfman examines cosplay:

Statement of Purpose

Elena Dorfman’s prior body of work, Still Lovers, focuses on the relationship between silicone sex dolls and their owners. Explorations of identity through portraiture are at the forefront of Dorfman’s work. In her most recent series, Re-Anime: Photographs of Fandom, Dorfman explores the pop-cultural phenomenon of "cosplay." Cosplayers dress up in costumes that represent characters from video games, animated films, and the Japanese graphic novels. This exploding subculture, adapted from the Japanese “geek” craze, flourishes at convention centers, college dorms, private clubs, and homes across the country, every day of the year. It is a private world that continues to grow.

I've seen a lot of that stuff from the front lines. I could dig up literally dozens of photos I've taken from behind the table at comic shows of people dressed up as everyone from Spider-Man to Naruto. For me, sitting behind a table slinging my comics wares it actually livens up the day. Sometimes the costumes are stunningly good, other times they're stunningly bad or just ill-conceived (think skin tight costumes on "fat flash", "fat green lantern", or "fat wonder woman.") Regardless of the way they go they're always interesting.

Anyway, the photos in the above link are fascinating to me because they separate the cosplayers from their environment. Which brings a different feel to them. It's one thing to see Sailor Moon or Naruto or whoever in a convention hall filled with 60,000 geeks. It's quite another to show them completely stripped of context like they are in the photos. There's something about it I like a lot both visually and intellectually (although it'll take me a bit to clarfiy what exactly)- hence me linking to it.