July 24, 2012 - September 9, 2012
Artist’s reception: Tuesday, July 24, 2012, 7:30 p.m.

We were as green as could be, and like other Impact officers I hit the ground running with little to no knowledge of how to operate on the street. Yet we were expected to … solve family disputes, console the parents of murdered children, and entertain the neighborhood drunk.
- Antonio Bolfo

New York, NY—On July 24th, Antonio Bolfo’s photo exhibit of rookie police officers charged with patrolling a South Bronx housing project will open at The Half King. Bolfo undertook this photo project as an NYPD insider—for two years he worked in a police program called Operation Impact. With only six months of academic training, he and his confederates had to conduct manhunts, defend the helpless, and supply emotional succor to victims of violence.

On opening night, Antonio and Ed Conlon, former NYPD detective and author of Blue Blood, will moderate a slideshow and discussion of Antonio’s work.

“Antonio’s photos show domestic soldiers sent to an urban battleground with limited training and no hands-on experience,” says curator Anna Van Lenten. “By making mistakes, Impact officers learned—but not without collateral damage to their psyches and those they were meant to protect. Out of such violence and stress, Antonio has captured his fellow officers’ humanity.”

The Half King Photography Series is dedicated to showing exceptional documentary photography. In tandem with its reading series, it fosters a dialog between photographers and writers that underscores the importance of their relationship. Co-curating its photography series are James Price, photo editor at Newsweek, and Anna Van Lenten, writer and editor.

Antonio Bolfo was born and raised in New York City. He grew up drawing and painting and attended Rhode Island School of Design. For four years he did animation work on Playstation games, then left to join the police force. In 2009 he graduated from ICP’s Photojournalism program. He has published his photography widely and won many awards, most recently the 2012 Marty Forscher fellowship. He is based in New York City and represented by Reportage by Getty Images.

May 15, 2012 - July 23, 2012
Artist’s reception: Tuesday, May 15, 2012, 7:30 p.m.

At the airport on the way to La Paz, I read an article about the rapes and was determined to go to Manitoba, where the tragedy occurred. I wanted to find out how an isolated culture would deal with such an incident, especially when the rapes were by members of their own community.
- Lisa Wiltse

New York, NY—On May 15th, Lisa Wiltse’s photo exhibit of the Mennonites of Manitoba, Bolivia, will open at The Half King. Shot in December, 2009 on the very heels of the rapes scandal that horrified so many, “Bolivian Mennonites” looks at how an extremely insular, conservative society engenders, and turns away from, its own demons.

On opening night, Lisa and Anna Van Lenten, co-curator of The Half King’s photography series, will moderate a slideshow and discussion of Lisa’s work.

“The fascinating thing for me about Lisa’s Mennonites project is how it works on two levels,” says curator Anna Van Lenten. “On its own, it’s comprised of a set of endlessly compelling photos. But the images also resonate with the story behind them: serial rape crimes in what is meant to be a pure society. Her pictures are by turns contained and awkward, beautiful and off-kilter, straightforward and ominous.”

The Half King Photography Series is dedicated to showing exceptional documentary photography. In tandem with its reading series, it fosters a dialog between photographers and writers that underscores the importance of their relationship. Co-curating its photography series are James Price, photo editor at Newsweek, and Anna Van Lenten, writer and editor.

Lisa Wiltse was born in Connecticut and graduated from the Art Institute of Boston with a BFA in photography. From 2004-08 she worked as a staff photographer for the Sydney Morning Herald. In 2009 she moved to La Paz, Bolivia to pursue freelance work. She has traveled extensively, documenting everyday life in marginalized communities in such places as Bangladesh, Uganda, Philippines, Bolivia, New Zealand, and the U.S. Currently based in NYC, she is a contributor with Getty Reportage. “Bolivian Mennonites” is the first showing of this project in the U.S.

January 24, 2012 - March 13, 2012
Artist’s reception: Tuesday, January 24, 2012, 7:30 p.m.

I came here to understand the primal drive of the modern hunter and to find a people who, when the land spoke, could interpret its language. I also came in search of silence so I could begin to hear again.
- Erika Larsen

New York, NY— On January 24th, Erika Larsen’s photo exhibit of Sámi reindeer herders in northern Norway will open at The Half King. Shot from 2007-2011, Sámi: The People Who Walk With Reindeer, is an intimate look at one of the oldest nomadic herding cultures in the world.

On opening night, we will screen Erika’s 10-minute film about a Sámi family she lived with in Kautokeino, Norway. And, Erika and Sarah Leen, senior photo editor at National Geographic magazine, will moderate a slideshow and discussion of her Sámi work.

“Submerged below the surface of these photos is a second story: the years of diligence it took Erika to knit herself into another culture—working as a housekeeper for a Sámi family and learning the Sámi language,” says curator Anna Van Lenten. “Add to that the otherworldly beauty in her images—like snapshots from the brothers Grimm—and you have an epic tale.”

Indigenous to the Arctic Circle of northern Scandinavia, the Sámi (“the People”) have lived as nomads for ages. Because their livelihood is so dependent on their surroundings, the Sámi’s spoken language is rich in its ability to explain the natural world.

The Half King Photography Series is dedicated to showing exceptional documentary photography. In tandem with its reading series, it fosters a dialog between photographers and writers that underscores the importance of their relationship. Co-curating its photography series are James Price, photo editor at Newsweek, and Anna Van Lenten, writer and editor.

Erika Larsen (b. 1976) has worked as a magazine photographer since 2000. A Fulbright scholar, her photography has been included in the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery and FOTFEST 2010 BIENNIAL, among other places. Her work looks intimately at cultures that maintain a strong connection to the natural world. This is the first U.S. exhibit of her Sámi work.