Artist Shen Wei joins me to talk about his book, A Season Particular (TBW Books). We talk about Shen's mixing of body and flora as representative of his own cultural identity and exploration of desire and intimacy. Shen and I discuss the process of editing and making this book with Paul Schiek as well as what Shen had learned when he worked with Lesley A. Martin on his first monograph, Chinese Sentiment (Charles Lane Press). We also talk about Shen's suggested assignment in The Photographer's Playbook (Aperture) which involves self-portraiture in a hotel room.

https://shenwei.studio https://tbwbooks.com/products/a-season-particular

This podcast is sponsored by the Charcoal Book Club Begin Building your dream photobook library today at https://charcoalbookclub.com @charcoalbookclub

Shen Wei is a Chinese-American artist based in New York City. He is known for his intimate self-portraiture and contemplative images of people and nature, highlighting the understated beauty of his surroundings. He also works in painting, sculpture, and video.

Shen Wei’s work has been exhibited internationally, including at the Museum of the City of New York, the National Portrait Gallery in London, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Power Station of Art in Shanghai, China, La Triennale di Milano in Italy, the North Carolina Museum of Art, and the Morgan Library & Museum in New York. His work has been featured in The New York Times, The Guardian, The New Yorker, Aperture, ARTnews, Paris Review, ArtReview, Financial Times, and The Burlington Magazine.

Shen Wei’s work is included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Getty Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Photography, the Library of Congress, the Carnegie Museum of Art, the Morgan Library & Museum, the CAFA Art Museum, and the Ringling Museum of Art, among others.

He holds an MFA from the School of Visual Arts, New York, and a BFA from Minneapolis College of Art and Design.

Reuben Radding | Heavenly Arms

Photographer and educator, Reuben Radding, joins me to talk about his book, Heavenly Arms (Red Hook Editions). We cover the entire process of producing this book beginning with selecting and sequencing the photos, working with a publisher, crowdsourcing funds, and finally, how the process will impact Reuben's future work.

http://www.reubenradding.com ||| https://www.redhookeditions.com/books-1/heavenly-arms

This podcast is sponsored by the Charcoal Book Club Begin Building your dream photobook library today at https://charcoalbookclub.com

Reuben Radding is a photographer, teacher, writer, and musician based in New York City. His photographs are made from a mix of street wandering and discovered moments from his personal life, which intentionally provoke unanswerable questions in his viewers' minds. Since 2019 he has published 14 limited edition 'zines of his photographs, including the three-volume series Corona Diary. Radding’s first book of his photographs, Heavenly Arms, was published in October 2024 by Red Hook Editions. Radding's work has been exhibited internationally in galleries, and in publications like Hamburger Eyes, The New York Times, Rolling Stone, The Washington Post, The Sun, The New Republic, Downbeat and many others. Radding is on faculty at the International Center of Photography, and since 2017 has been leading his own popular series of street photography workshops from his Brooklyn studio throughout the year. Radding has also been a guest speaker at New York University, The School of Creative and Performing Arts, Marble Hill Camera Club, and others, as well as having been a guest on many podcasts and vlogs. Reuben Radding has also had a long career as a bassist and composer, performing around the world and appearing on over 100 recordings. He graduated from Goddard College with an MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts in 2019.

Here are the final recordings I made at the 2024 Chico Review with the wonderful attendees who come to Chico to share their work and their stories with incredible reviewers. I had the opportunity to spend a short amount of time with over 20 attendees. These conversations come from our first interactions for me and the guests with each other and I did not see the work before the recordings. That meant the description of the work had to be fine tuned just as it does for a portfolio review. So what you will here is similar to a portfolio presentation. I’ve also linked to the guest’s Instagram and Websites so you can see the work. One last note, I was recording in a variety of spaces at the beautiful Chico Hot Springs resort so there may be a number of different ambient sounds across the recordings.

The Chico Review is the country’s premier Photobook Retreat. Organized by Charcoal Book Club, The Chico Review takes place over six nights at Chico Hot Springs Resort, near Livingston Montana. Sixty-four applicants will spend the week with over twenty of the most influential and creative photographers, book makers, gallerists, museum curators, and photobook publishers in the industry.

https://chicoreview.com ||| @chicoreview @charcoalbookclub

Dom Marker: 01:10 https://dommarker.com ||| @dommarker

John Bonenberger: 08:30 http://www.johnbonenberger.com |||

Judson Womack: 16:40 @judwomack

Justin Gibson: 25:10 @justinlgibson

Mariana Mendoza: 32:05 https://www.marianamendoza.com ||| @marianamendozam

Mike Hazard: 37:25 https://www.mikehazard.org ||| @mediamikehazard

Sarah Mei Herman: 43:35 https://www.sarahmeiherman.nl ||| @sarahmeiherman

Susan Weiss: 50:25 https://www.susanweissart.com ||| @susanweissart

Tejasvir Singh Rekhi: 56:40 https://www.tejasvir.com ||| @tejasphotos

Todd Cooper: 01:07:40 https://jasontoddcooper.com ||| @toddcooper