In 1951, Joan Liffring-Zug Bourret was fired from her job as a photojournalist at the Cedar Rapids Gazette. The reason: she was pregnant. She responded by photographing the birth to her son — an audacious proposition at the time. The photos — mostly shots of the doctors, nurses and newborn Artie from her POV on […]
Photography
Posted inArts & Entertainment
This Des Moines food stylist can get any dish ready for its close-up
Cellphone cameras and social media have made amateur food photographers of us all. In any high-end restaurant on any given night, you’ll see diners snapping pics of their plates. Of course, the quality of those images varies. Try as we might, most of us don’t have the skills or know-how to capture photos as drool-worthy […]
Posted inRecreation
Contact Buzz: Recreation is renewal
“A period recourse into the wilds is not a retreat into secret silent sanctums to escape a wicked world, it is to take breath amid effort to forge a better world.”—Benton MacKaye (1879-1975), American forester, planner and conservationist “The intellect must not be kept at consistent tension, but diverted by pastimes…The mind must have relaxation, […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Des Moines artist Brittany Brooke Crow rips and rearranges self-portraits to explore form and vulnerability
For her new new exhibition, artist Brittany Brooke Crow turned her camera on herself, tearing photos printed on Hahnemühle Pearl paper and rearranging the pieces. Test Stripping — on display through May 5 at The LiFT bar in Des Moines’ Court Avenue District — depicts Crow’s battles with her fear of intimacy and vulnerability by […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
80/35 adds a photography fellowship this year to help young photographers bridge the experience gap
Young adults aged 16-21 have a chance to gain free experience in photography alongside established mentors while photographing the 80/35 Music Festival this year. This new fellowship offers more than just an opportunity to learn how better to work a camera. Those involved will have access to workshops, mentorship, info on how to get into […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Book Review: ‘Driving a Table Down’ by Barry Phipps
Recently, I did one of those frivolous lists one makes on social media — “My Ten Favorite Things You May Not Know About Me” — and I listed “dreaming and planning of road trips.” Like many, I had resentfully cancelled my 2020 holiday plans as the COVID-19 pandemic stretched further than anyone imagined. Barry Phipps’ […]
Posted inUncategorized
‘This is a moral moment for the world’: Images from the protests in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City
“Understand the largeness of this moment,” Stacey Walker told the people gathered in Greene Square Park on Saturday, June 6. “These will be the pictures our kids see in the history books. We know in our hearts, in our souls, that this is a moral moment for the world.” More than 2,000 people had come […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Review: ‘Between Gravity and What Cheer’ showcases Iowa’s quirks and charm
Shot over the course of four years, Barry Phipps’ new book, Between Gravity and What Cheer: Iowa Photographs (published by University of Iowa Press), is a lovely 112 page book with 105 color photographs showcasing the quirks and charm found in small towns across the state.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
American Hustle: Iowa City photographer Justin Torner never stops moving
Having left the corporate world behind a few years ago to follow his dream of building his photography career and business, Justin Torner tells me, “If you are…
Posted inCommunity/News
Abandoned Iowa: One blogger’s search for the long-forgotten
Rural flight is defined as the movement of young people from rural areas to urban areas. This has phenomena has plagued small Iowa towns since the…
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Photo gallery: BUSTLEWORSHIP’s vintage creations
“Playing dress-up should be an everyday occurrence,” says Jensina Endresen, Iowa City’s queen of vintage furs and proprietress of BUSTLEWORSHIP. Born in 2012, BUSTLEWORSHIP’s mission is to breathe new life into closets everywhere through the re-use and re-design of vintage materials. “I have a deep commitment to artisanal restoration and reuse,” says Endresen. “And I […]
