If you go to just one art-related even this week, make it the AIPAD Photography Show. It's that stunning. Really.
I've been to different Art Basel events over the past few years, and while I've been amused, intrigued and bored by much of the art, I've never been as blown away as I was with the Association of International Photography Art Dealers show. I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that I love photography, but still. This show, held in a large, air-conditioned tent near Midtown Miami, is breathtaking in its scope and quality.
One of my favorites: Timonthy Greenfield-Sanders, who was commissioned by HBO to take photos of disabled soldiers returning from Iraq, took a portrait of a young man who had lost both eyes. The soldier's wife had divorced him shortly after he came home. Embedded in his glass prosthetic eye was a circle of diamonds from his ex-wife's band.
Another gem: Bill Owens' work. His portraits of American life - a chiropractor, a beauty pageant, a girl in her messy room - are funny and poignant. Also check out Esteban Pastorino Diaz' panorama of a bullfight.
There are also some heavy hitters scattered throughout the show: Herb Ritts, Robert Mapplethorpe, Diane Arbus. And if all that isn't enough to lure you, consider this: from 2-5 p.m. Saturday, singer Lou Reed will be on hand. Some of his photos of New York are on exhibit.
The show is open Thursday- Saturday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. It's held in a tent at NW 31st Street and North Miami Avenue. A bonus: Photo Miami, the modern, cutting-edge photo show, is in a tent next door. --Tamara Lush
