Michael Famighetti

"Aperture" is a sophisticated guide to the world of contemporary photography that combines the finest writing with inspiring photographic portfolios. Presenting fresh perspectives accessible to the photo practitioner and the culturally curious alike, each issue examines one theme at the heart of contemporary photography, explored in two distinct sections: Words, focused on ideas, interviews, and debate, and Pictures, offering an immersive photographic experience of artists' projects and series. Columns include Studio Visit, The Collectors, Dispatches, Object Lessons, and What Matters Now. The Summer 2015 issue, "Tokyo," will be researched onsite in that city and will feature a selection of vital contemporary photography, while exploring Tokyo's role in narratives of Japanese photography.

Aperture 219: Summer 2015

Published by Aperture in 1986, Nan Goldin's The Ballad of Sexual Dependency, with its fresh, unflinching portrayal of the photographer's circle of friends, dramatically changed the course of photography. Decades on, the series retains its searing power, influencing new generations of artists. Goldin herself remains a bold, singular force in our culture. Recently, she has taken on the Sackler family, shining a light on its role in creating America's opioid crisis. Goldin's trenchant activism is a reminder of the artist's power to effect social change. The Ballads issue of Aperture magazine is organized around the themes contained within the original ballad--intimacy, friendship, community, love, sex, trauma, music--while also honoring the urgent role of the artist as a force for cultural and social change.

Aperture 239

Ballads

More than two million people are currently incarcerated in the United States. While the country accounts for 5 percent of the global population, it is home to 25 percent of the world's prison population. How can photography help us understand this vast system, and the lives shaped--and disrupted--by mass incarceration? From a reflection on the origins of the mug shot to stark aerial views of supermax prisons to recent projects focused on everyday life in New York's Riker's Island, Louisiana's Angola Prison, and California's San Quentin Prison, this issue considers the visual record, and human toll, of a national crisis that is often removed from public view. Prison Nation is organized with contributing editor Nicole Fleetwood, author of the forthcoming book, Carceral Aesthetics: Prison Art and Public Culture.

Prison Nation

Spirituality

Aperture 237

Melissa Harris

Why did Henri Cartier-Bresson nearly have a posthumous exhibition while still alive? What led Stephen Shore to work with color? Why was Sophie Calle accused of stealing Vermeer's The Concert? And what is Susan Meiselas's take on Instagram and the future of online storytelling? Aperture Conversations presents a selection of interviews highlighting critical dialogue between photographers, esteemed critics, curators, editors, and artists from 1985 to the present day. Emerging talent along with well-established photographers discuss their work openly and examine the future of the medium. Drawn primarily from Aperture magazine with selections from Aperture's booklist and online platform, Aperture Conversations celebrates the artist's voice, collaborations, and the photography community at large.

Michael Famighetti

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