Face Of The Day

UMMA fighter Jorge Herrera prepares for an upcoming fight in a photo from Nikolai Linares’ series The Fighter, The Father, which originally ran in the Danish newspaper Berlingske. Nikolai’s blog is here. The photo has been shortlisted for the 2014 Sony World Photography Awards. Alan Taylor compiled a gallery of many of the contending images:

The Sony World Photography Awards, an annual competition hosted by the World Photography Organisation, has recently announced its shortlist of winners. This year’s contest attracted more than 140,000 entries from 166 countries. … Winners are scheduled to be announced in March and April.

Face Of The Day

David Rosenberg sums up a series by Rubén Plasencia Canino:

While the power of the gaze is often admired in portraiture, there is still a mystery, or perhaps a fear, of trying to capture the gaze of the blind. In January 2013, photographer Rubén Plasencia Canino had an idea of photographing blind people, focusing specifically on their gaze, for a project he titled “Obscure.” To begin the project, he connected with ONCE, Spain’s national organization for the blind that helps create social benefits for blind and visually impaired people around the world. ONCE agreed to help out, and for two months Plasencia worked on a project he said was challenging but also one that “opened my eyes, and my heart, to a whole new world of sensations.” Plasencia said the project that forces the viewer to look directly into the eyes of the blind is similar to having an open book in front of you. “It’s an open window that looks out onto an unknown world,” he said via email. “If you look just a bit deeper, you can discover countless stories.”

Faces Of The Day

Hailey, a Boston Terrier Beagle, kisses her owner Karen Profenna ahead of the 138th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at Madison Square Garden on February 6, 2014. The Mixed Breed category brings non-purebred dogs to the event for the first time since the earliest days of the show. This is the first year for the Masters Agility Championship at Westminster, which will be held this Saturday at Pier 94 in New York, ahead of the big event – the annual Westminster Dog Show. By John Moore/Getty Images.

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A Pakistani boy holds a banner and a toy gun during the commemoration of Kashmir Solidarity day in Islamabad on February 5, 2014. It is a day dedicated to show Pakistan’s support and unity with the people of Kashmir. By Metin Aktas/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images.

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A supporter of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan unrolls a poster at a rally at Tempodrom hall in Berlin, Germany on February 4, 2014. Turkey will soon face parliamentary elections and Erdogan is vying for the votes of expatriate Turks. Berlin has the highest Turkish population of any city outside of Turkey. By Adam Berry/Getty Images.

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Justin Crowe sets the scene:

Photographer Jedediah Johnson has a phobia of making out. In a similar way that a person may confront a fear of heights by skydiving, Johnson is confronting his fear by making out with lots of people and leaving brightly colored lipstick behind as evidence.

To prep each subject for their portrait Johnson applies bright pink lipstick to his lips and places his hand gently on their neck; he then shares a strange but intimate moment kissing them. A photo is snapped following the makeout session and the evidence of the mysterious moment is documented for viewers to imagine for themselves what the actual kiss was like. Johnson explains, “The kisses vary in length and intimacy. My subjects are all aware of what I’m going to do ahead of time, but in the moment of the kiss anything can happen. The lipstick mark I leave on my subjects invites viewers to imagine the circumstances surrounding the kiss.”

A less ominous portrait after the jump:

More of Johnson’s work here.

Face Of The Day

Artist Lucy Glendinning’s “Feather Child” series explores “the allure and dangers of artificially propelling human evolution”:

Inspired by the Greek myth of Icarus, she imagines future humans treating our DNA as a medium of expression and wish-fulfillment; in the poem accompanying the sculpture, she envisions feathers like “A decoration applied with / a gene, not a needle.”

The Art Circus Review adds:

Covered from head to toe, the feathers may act as a camouflage, keeping the children hidden or they may enable them with a unique ability to survive whatever landscape they now populate They may also just be tired freaks, taking refuge in art galleries. Glendinning’s tactile sculptures are beautifully crafted, showing a very sensitive and vulnerable side to her bizarre subjects, leaving the viewer uncertain whether to take the mutant child into their care or throw them into the fire.

More photographs of Glendinning’s sculptures here.

(Photo of work by Lucy Glendinning. More here and here)

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The uncanny valley gets really, really dark:

Sara Barnes cautions:

If you aren’t careful, the video Milkyeyes by Donato Sansone might give you nightmares. The piece describes itself as “A slow and surreal video slideshow of nightmarish, grotesque and apparently static characters.” The video clocks in at just over 2 minutes and features 26 different characters, and is accompanied by music you’d hear in an old, abandoned warehouse or horror film. Some characters have faces that have been mutilated and warped to the point where they are nearly unrecognizable. Milkeyes is a name that conjures an unpleasant visual. So, it’s not surprising that this video is a visceral journey into a world of unfortunate humans. We see steam coming from their heads, stuff bubbling from their lips, and eyes floating of their head. While they are affected, the environment behind them remains static and untouched. The juxtaposition between calm and a surreal chaos makes this video both puzzling and trippy. (ViaArtnau)

Face Of The Day

An anti-government protester stands at a demonstrators’ barricade in Kiev on January 31, 2014. A bill passed by Ukraine’s parliament to amnesty arrested activists gives protesters a 15-day deadline to leave occupied streets and administrative buildings otherwise it will not be implemented, according to the text published the day before. The Ukrainian army has previously said it would not interfere in the protests, which erupted in November after Yanukovych scrapped an integration deal with the European Union in favour of closer ties with Kiev’s historical master Moscow. By Angelos Tzortzinis/AFP/Getty Images.

Faces Of The Day

Chinese opera performers pose as they wait backstage before The Beauty of China Opera show in Surabaya, Indonesia on January 30, 2014. Chinese opera is an important traditional art performance of music and drama which has been performed for over 500 years, however popularity has been on the decline in today’s modern society. It performed as part of the Chinese New Year celebrations known as the Spring festival or the Lunar New Year on January 31st, welcoming the Year of the Horse. By Robertus Pudyanto/Getty Images.