Michael Schmelling, “Video #1,” digital C-print, 2008 (Courtesy of ClampArt)
School of Visual Arts
209 East 23rd St. between Second & Third Aves., third-floor amphitheater
Thursday, February 17, $5, 7:00
www.schoolofvisualarts.edu
www.michaelschmelling.com
Atlanta has been a hotbed for indie music over the last few years, but there’s also a burgeoning underground hip-hop scene in the southern capital. New York-based photographer Michael Schmelling captured that community from 2007 to 2009, compiling his work in a new book, Atlanta: Hip Hop and the South, with text by Kelefa Sanneh and interviews by Will Welch. Schmelling, whose previous books include The Plan, The Week of No Computer, and Shut Up Truth, will be at SVA tonight in conversation with gallery owner Brian Paul Clamp, whose Chelsea space, ClampArt, focuses on contemporary photography. The bright, bold Atlanta works, of such hip-hop characters as Gritz, Keisha, and Christina as well as a chili dog and various musical images, are on view at ClampArt through March 19.