Fraction of a Second

The concept of Fraction Magazine was born in 2007 in a coffee shop on Route 66 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. At the time, there were many websites dedicated to showing work from New York, Los Angeles, and other major cities. Fraction was initially created to showcase the photography of artists who lived in New Mexico. 

New Mexico has long history of attracting photographers. Paul Strand, Edward Weston and Ansel Adams all spent time photographing in the Southwest. New Mexico continues to attract great photographers and cultivates a rich photographic community; master photographers Joel Peter Witkin, Thomas Barrow and Edward Ranney all reside in the state and continue to make work.

The first issue of Fraction made its debut online in May 2008, and featured four New Mexican artists. Starting without any paid advertising, the Fraction audience grew through word of mouth and through the virtual version of that – social media – reaching a global audience. With that growth in traffic came a widening of the scope of the magazine to include artists from outside the region and then outside the United States.

Currently, each issue of Fraction Magazine showcases carefully curated portfolios from four artists, as well as book reviews and show reviews by artists and writers in the field. Fraction Magazine began as a way to showcase quality photography that not only deserved to be seen, but might also be considered under recognized amongst a wider audience. That impulse still guides the selection of every photographer featured.

Fraction has featured photographers who represent a wide spectrum of notoriety, including some very established photographers such as Robert Adams, John Paul Caponigro and Debbie Fleming Caffery.

Fraction often showcases photographers at the beginning of their careers and many of them have grown to become well-known names in the field. The artists who Fraction has been privileged to show produce interesting, challenging, and important work on a variety of subjects. Richard Renaldi’s Touching Strangers project investigates assumptions of personal space. David Taylor's long-term project on the US/Mexico border, Working the Line, was featured in July 2010. Brian Ulrich's Dark Stores, Ghost Boxes,and Dead Malls, featured in February 2010, examines the repercussions of the economic downturn. Fraction encourages viewers to look beyond the single image and explore each photographer’s vision and story by viewing full portfolios of photographs.

Over the past seven years, Fraction has shown the portfolios of nearly 350 photographers from around the globe. The diverse nationalities and backgrounds of the artists add to the rich content offered to viewers each month. Even now with its inclusion of international artists, Fraction maintains its strong connections to New Mexico.

Fraction of a Second, the multi-site exhibition at 516 ARTS and the University of New Mexico Art Museum in Albuquerque, is an important part of the magazine’s aims of cultivating and supporting photography locally and bringing a personal connection to the viewing experience. The photographs included in this exhibition and catalog represent over 100 individual images that are so powerful they must move beyond the computer screen to be viewed in person.

Regardless of the accessibility and wide reach of an online venue, nothing replaces the experience of seeing a beautiful image up close and in person. The object is supreme. Our photographic community in New Mexico and beyond is fortunate to experience this work first-hand, and I am honored that Fraction Magazine is able to play a small part in sharing these images with you. Many thanks to 516 ARTS and UNM Art Museum for hosting the exhibition Fraction of a Second, and showcasing it as the inaugural exhibition for the PhotoSummer collaboration.

David Bram
Curator, Fraction of a Second
Co-Founder & Editor-in-Chief,
Fraction Magazine

Read Michele Penhall's essay, A Place for the Eyes to Rest
Read James Elkins' essay, Photography and the Uninhabited World

Buy the catalogue here

There are 30 photographs on display at the UNM Art Museum.
There are 94 photographs on display at 516 ARTS.