Jesse Lenz | The Locusts -Ep.125

"Like shooting in black and white it really is just trying to find a way to see all these tones of gray and to not see things so stark as good and bad or life and death…"   Jesse Lenz and I talk about his first monograph, The Locusts. It is a gorgeous book that explores childhood wonder and discovery, beauty and terror, and memory and imagination, as well as the notions of what is family and home. As you will hear in our conversation, the process of making this work was part of a turning point in Jesse's life about what home means to him.   Jesse Lenz is a self-taught photographer and multidisciplinary artist. As an illustrator he has created images for the most well-respected publications around the world, including TIME, The New York Times Magazine, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, and many others. He is the founder and director of Charcoal Book Club, Charcoal Press, and the Chico Hot Springs Portfolio Review. From 2011-2018 he also co-founded and published The Collective Quarterly and The Coyote Journal. He lives on a farm in rural Ohio.    https://www.jesselenz.com   This episode is sponsored by the Charcoal Book Club, a monthly subscription service for photobook enthusiasts. Working with the most respected names in contemporary photography, Charcoal selects and delivers essential photobooks to a worldwide community of collectors. Each month, members receive a signed, first-edition monograph and an exclusive print to add to their collections. www.charcoalbookclub.com   Call for Entries to the fifth annual Chico Hot Springs Portfolio Review and Publishing Prize are open until December 20th.

The Chico Review is typically a seven day, photography retreat at Chico Hot Springs Resort, near Livingston Montana. Hosted by Charcoal Book Club to spark relationships between artists and industry professionals in an environment that fosters community and conversation. Due to uncertainty for travel and gatherings in March, the 2021 Chico Review has been restructured into a 2-week online masterclass and portfolio review.   Submit your work now for a chance to be one of 64 artists invited to participate with Sian Davey, Alejandro Cartagena, Tania Franco Klein, Ron Jude, Susan Lipper, Christian Patterson and 20 other respected photobook publishers and contemporary photography institutions. Participating artists receive ten formal reviews by speakers and reviewers over a two week period and take part in artist lectures, panel discussions, and peer reviews. At the end of the event, one grand prize winner will be announced and their project will be published and distributed as a monograph by Charcoal Book Club.    Additionally, this year, all participating attendees will have a selection of their work published and distributed in an opus catalog by Charcoal Book Club.   For more information and to apply, visit chicoreview.com