306,846,939 People Can't Be Wrong

A Good Quote

"I was out walking the dear dog and I saw 500 things that made me want to make art."

- Maira Kalman

A Cotillion Of Clouds Take Their Time, But Hurry Up

Like A Brain Through A Bread Slicer

The Paralyzed Cyclops In The Democratic Jungle*

Everything is changing…

… how we take photographs, manipulate them, share them, store them — even how we pose for them. Our tools are mutating quickly, promising ever faster, clearer, brighter and cheaper pictures. Meanwhile telephones become cameras, desktop printers morph into mini-printing labs, and high-definition screens threaten to dislodge the venerable photographic print from gallery walls. And the eyes of the whole world are only a click away on the computer keyboard.


Where are we all heading?

During photography’s entire history, the amateur and the professional have represented distinct and often contrary approaches to photography, each battling for supremacy. Has the digital revolution tilted the field of battle irrevocably in the amateur’s favour? Or has it swept this traditional rivalry into the dustbin? Can anyone say?


And what about your photographs?

Why not share one or more of your photographs with the festival’s visitors? They’ll be projected in the public arena, with your name clearly visible in the corner of each image. And afterwards, you’ll get back proof in the form of an email -- your photo as it appeared on the festival screen!

Sincerely,

William A. Ewing
Curator
New York Photo Festival '09
Director, Musée de l'Elysée, Lausanne
















*taken from a lecture given by Alec Soth on 4.16.09

You Cannot Concieve The Sensation Of Cutting The Air

Or: A World Of Places And Materials --> A World Of Representations And Information, Of Vastly Greater Reach And Less Solid Grounding

Or: The Legacy Of A Good Man

The Duration Of Life As Summer Camp

About The Capacity Of A Brain

Erica Prince in New American Paintings

I recently photographed the work of Philadelphia artist Erica Prince. Check out some of her latest drawings, published in New American Paintings (Issue 81, the Mid-Atlantic issue, released in April 2009).

Pha- Pha- Pha- Phaidon

My old pal Alex Da Corte, who is currently finishing his first year in the graduate sculpture program at Yale, has been included in the publication coinciding with the New Museum's current exhibition, entitled "The Generational: Younger Than Jesus". One of my photographs- done in collaboration with Da Corte- is included in this new Phaidon publication. To order or learn more, go here.

Nine To Five

Visual / Motion Studies

More info on my departure from photography later.

The Strongest Zeitgeber Mesmerizes Us All Still

Some News And Such

Okay, first and foremost, thanks to all the wonderful friends and strangers that came out on Valentine's Day to my opening. It was amazing. Thanks to all the kind and talented individuals behind the posts and write-ups that helped spread the word. And thanks to Nancy, Kat, and everyone at B2 for taking care of so many details that allowed me to just relax and have fun.

I didn't take any photos from the opening, but i know my mom did- and i would be psyched to post her photos once she has them developed. Here is a photo documenting the exterior, and the 4 dozen balloons that i ordered and tied to the stop signs out front:



and when it snowed giant snowflakes for a short spell just after 8 o'clock:







I wasn't going to post about it just yet- but my website is finally being updated! A guy named Luke Strosnider caught the change, and wrote a nice little piece about it on his blog, Touching Harms The Art.

Mike Fleming’s work hones in on those little visual bits that, depending upon your disposition, are either dull or sublime. (I find they fit both definitions, which complicates matters infinitely.) They’re quiet, goofy, honest, and odd; all embodiments of Arbus’s notion of “a secret about a secret.” Mysterious and obvious. Heart-wrenchingly ridiculous. Great.

His website fits the work perfectly. “Choose your own adventure” through his photography: start by clicking an image on the big grid. Do it again, and again, travel deeper into the grid, and watch as the juxtapositions reveal and obscure possible meanings and tweak a host of emotions. With images like Mike’s, this is what it’s all about.


Ryan Hinkel is the awesome talent behind the transposing of my photographs and all they embody into the world wide web language and architecture. More work will be added soon.





"The Wind Is A Creature With Many Heads Like Those Of A Dog" is the title of a book that I made last year that contains photographs from my travels through 5 countries in Central America in 2006. This book is in a limited edition of 16, and I still have some left. They are $30.00




I have a couple copies of Vague Vagaries lying around that didn't sell at my opening. I want to mail them off to some prospective publishers- does anyone have any suggestions?

And, lastly, another day at the library:

Don't Forget About My Opening On Saturday!

Oh, The Artist Statement

Charles Flowers writing about Elliot Erwitt:

"...[he] does not like hoity-toity, artsy scirbbling about his photos. That's neither faux naivete nor an inability to recognize aesthetic issues. Rather, it is his choice to engage the viewer as human being- without reference to trends, techniques, or historical elements in photography. In a sense, the less one knows about such things, the more immediate will be the response in the story of his kind of photo."

I don't like talking about my work. How do you talk about your work when it is about all of life and living and being alive? It's a bit overwhelming.

A small thought that i wrote in an email to a friend:

"all humanity is kinda like a team!....as individuals, we know we can't do it all, can't experience it all....so we need eachother to fill in those blanks and spaces that we ourselves- alone- will never fill....art is what we use as currency to give to each other; it is the mortar we pack into those empty spaces...i guess the object of the game, the goal, is to simply experience life and all it's beauty to the fullest extent...."

Padlock Turns Five

The Padlock Gallery- where I lived for two glorious and fruitful years- will be celebrating it's five year existence as South Philly's finest diy living room art gallery. Drop by and check out the show!




Here are some photos from the show!

Show Teaser

Here are twenty-five of the fifty-two prints that will be on view at my upcoming show. All prints are 8x12 Pigment Inkjet Prints. Many gracious thanks to Jeffrey Stockbridge at Stockbridge Fine Print for all his help and support- and his superb prints.

Limited Edition Portfolios For Sale

Thanks to the multi-, multi-talented, and smartest person I know-- Richard S. Banister, Jr-- I present to you "So Much Better Than A Book- 50 Photographs By Mike Fleming." Enclosed in the beautifully constructed, letterpressed envelopes are fifty 4x6 prints. All of the images are from my book, Vague Vagaries. It is an edition of 25, and the cost is $150. If you are interested in obtaining one, please send me an email at mikeflem[at]gmail.com

Postcard- ✓