A Quick Glance Back

from Discarded Delights © Jane Tam

2008 was a good year for Nymphoto. We gained an invaluable new member: Jane Tam, connected with some other great people in the community, laid the ground work for new Nymphoto Projects and we started the Nymphoto Conversations series.
We are excited about 2009 and much pleased to start of 2009 with a conversation with the formidable Amy Stein. The conversation will publish at it's usual time: 12:01 AM EST Thursday on this blog.

We all wish you a fantastic 2009 and thank you for your support!

Thoughts on Catherine Opie and Motherhood

The day after Christmas, I finally made it to the Catherine Opie show at the Guggenheim (with the husband and son in tow, of course). I was impressed and surprised by the amount of work included. Some of the images I had seen before, others I had only read about. As is the case with many exhibits, I responded to some series more than others. But what captured me most, in the hour or so that I was there (...because Jasper, my energetic 2 year old, can only handle so much museum time) was the variety and breath of the work that Opie has created over the course of her career. I found it refreshing and inspiring. In grad school, the dictating consciousness was to find your niche, and stick with it. But with Opie, she finds her niche, creates a strong body of work, and then moves on to the next challenge. I could sense a further shift after she became a mother, her work becomes more introspective and self-revealing, which got me to thinking...

As a mother and an artist, I am constantly in a struggle with being both selfish and selfless. After reading too much Virginia Woolf in college, I learned that in order to create work, you need to be selfish. The art making process is extremely selfish, there is no denying that. Once I had Jasper, I was confronted with the opposite: there was no me, at least not the me that I developed into and had grown to know. Parenthood teaches you things about love, patience, and selflessness that I never knew I could truly comprehend. Now that Jasper is no longer an infant, and is as willful as the rest of them, I need to re-learn the "me". I need to start re-introducing the selfish back into my life and into my work. Motherhood and Artist are two difficult notions to reconcile. They both want you 100% of the time. So, thank you, Catherine Opie, for making the two cooperate and for opening my eyes to the possibility.

Feature Shoot

Photographer and photo editor, Alison Zavos, runs a new photography resource called Feature Shoot. It showcases new and upcoming, as well as established photographers with interviews to give insight on photographer's intent and process. It is a great resource for peers as well as photo-professionals seeking new talent.

One of my favorite interviews and work thus far has been with Kate Kunath. (I have an affinity towards rabbits and animals.) Alison has also showcased many women working in photography on the website including Sarah Wilmer, Sarah Stolfa, Emily Shur, and many others. Good to see more resources out there!

Portfolio Reviewer's Advice

This isn't particularly just for women in photography but for all photographers that attend portfolio reviews. Andrew Hetherington of Whats the Jackanory interviewed photo editor/consultant, Stella Kramer about what to expect out of reviews.

It's always a great to hear criticism from an outsider's point of view whether it sometimes is helpful or not. I've come away with some good and bad reviews, and the worst are when reviewers have nothing to say. So, be sure to speak up and ask!

Upcoming Exhibition: Stella Kalaw

From the press release:
Over the last fifty years, the Filipino diaspora has altered the landscape of families and the relationships that bind. Kalaw, having left the Philippines over ten years ago, returns to show Family Spaces, a series of photographs of her immediate family members' homes all over the world. Continents apart, each home is a glimpse of interconnectedness through objects of the everyday Filipino. Worn tsinelas on a stair landing, a tabo floating in a balde, the Sacred Heart of Jesus--all markers of Pinoy identity, they are umbilical cords to the familiar. The color photographs present cultural identity through markers that belong to one extended family, but stand in for any Filipino family anywhere in the world.

Stella Kalaw will have a solo exhibition on Family Spaces at Silverlens Gallery in Manila, Philippines starting January 8 through February 7, 2009.

Studioscopic of Zoe Strauss by David Kessler

Studioscopic: Zoe Strauss from David S Kessler on Vimeo.

Zoe Strauss talks about her work process, the I-95 installation, and her thoughts on why she works in this video by David Kessler. Studioscopic is a series of videos on artists by Kessler.

A Conversation with Yijun (Pixy) Liao

Yijun (Pixy) Liao, originally from Shanghai, China, chose fine art photography for its freedom from commercial obligations of working previously as a graphic designer. Her "Experimental Relationship" series focuses on the performative tension of ethnic and age differences between herself and her boyfriend, Moro, a Japanese student five years younger than Pixy. The stereotypical roles placed on heterosexual couples are a conflict for this series and confront such issues.


Relationships work best when each partner knows their proper place, © Yijun (Pixy) Liao

As a woman, I used to think I can only fall in love with someone that I adore, who is maturer than me, older than me, a protector, a mentor. Then I met my boyfriend, Moro, who is 5 years younger than me. I felt the whole relationship changed all the way around. I become the person who had more authority and power. When I told my male friend about my new relationship, he said, "How could you choose a boyfriend the way we choose a girlfriend?!" I thought "Damn right. That's exactly what I'm doing, but why not?!"

Nymphoto: Tell us a little about yourself.

Yijun (Pixy) Liao: I grew up in Shanghai, China. I have a bachelor degree in educational technology which I had no interest in at all. So I spent most of my time playing around with Photoshop. After graduation, I became a graphic designer. After 3 years of freelance work, I was so fed up with my clients & decided to go abroad & study some other major that I'm truly interested in. I applied for graphic design & photography at the same time. University of Memphis photo program accepted me. So here I am, 3 years later, finishing up my MFA in photography.


Your lover should always be your best supporter, © Yijun (Pixy) Liao

I have always doubted the stereotype of a man-woman relationship. Why should a couple be a man and a woman? Why does man have to be a certain way? Why should woman be a certain way? I feel relationships are far more complicated and always changing, and it has lots of possibilities. So I began to think about the meaning of this relationship and experimented with it.

NP: How did you discover photography?

YPL: When I was a graphic designer, I watched a movie called "Blow-up". It's a story about a photographer's involvement with a murder case. I said to myself, "That's the job I want. It has so much more freedom than being a graphic designer." (The photographer in the movie simply walked out his studio in the middle of the shoot, because he's bored with the models.)


Intimacy will improve your relationship, © Yijun (Pixy) Liao

I also express my frustrations in a relationship, like the impossibility to find a soul-mate, the feeling of isolation and disconnection; because my boyfriend is Japanese, and I am Chinese. The project sometimes also describes a love and hate relationship.

This project is an experiment to me, not a real document of our real relationship.

NP: Where do you find inspiration?

YPL: I guess from everything I experience in daily life and I mix them up in my daydreams.
Before I fall asleep, I lie on my bed, half-asleep, half-awake, and all my ideas will come to me at that time.

NP: How did this project come about?

YPL: Moro, my boyfriend, is my muse for this project.
The project began after I dated him for one year. I met Moro in Memphis. He is Japanese and 5 years younger than me. The experience of culture shock and age difference within this relationship inspired me.


How to build a relationship with layered meanings, © Yijun (Pixy) Liao

NP: What difficulties did you encounter while working on this series?

YPL: Sometimes, Moro is not willing to work with me. He'll pull a long face & complain about being used. But I'll manage to take the pictures anyway.


Food and nature are two secrets to a successful relationship, © Yijun (Pixy) Liao

NP: What's next?

YPL: I just moved to Brooklyn & reunited with my boyfriend. (He graduated & moved half year before me.) I’m excited about continuing with this project and adding my new insights about relationship.

NP: Thank you, Pixy!

Yijun (Pixy) Liao is currently a Hey, Hot Shot! for the Fall 2008 edition. Her other series, "Stills from Unseen Films," will be presented in a group show at Jen Bekman Gallery starting January 30, 2009.

Also, happy holidays from all of us at Nymphoto!

Last minute gift ideas

While reading Amy Stein's blog, I was reminded of the great print collections in the Library of Congress, Museum of the City of New York, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The prints are affordable at $28-$125 and they would make gorgeous gifts (for any time of the year). I own a good number of the ones from the Met (I helped produce some of them) and I think they are top notch. I'm sure other museums and institutions offer prints sales as well. It's a great way to support them.

Photography Now 2008: PQ

The Center of Photography at Woodstock has announced the artists for Photography Now 2008: PQ, their annual members' publication call for entries, juried by Jen Bekman of Jen Bekman Gallery, NYC.

Ms.Bekman reviewed over 3,000 images, making it a serious challenge to select only 6 artists! The photographers selected are: Colin Blakely, our own Rona Chang, Stacy Arezou Mehrfar, Chris Mottalini, Eric Percher, and Saul Robbins.

Stacy just recently made a new website, so be sure to see her work.

The CPW is an integral part of helping photographers with showcasing work, making work, and funding work. Be sure to check their websites for their photography opportunities!

Wager # 2

©April Gertler

Head over to www.wager-avg.blogspot.com to see the newest work posted by April.
I love this collage. Collage has been a strong trend in Europe, April has a wonderful examples on her website www.aprilgertler.com and Ruth Van Beek does as well.

More Juliana Beasley Prints for sale

More of Juliana Beasley's prints are up for sale on her blog.

I love this one from City Heat:

Schmatta ©Juliana Beasely

And this one from Eyes of Salamanca:

Maria ©Juliana Beasely

For the full selection and more info, check out Juliana's blog.

On view at CPW: Converging Margins & Angle of Repose

from CPW:

CONVERGING MARGINS
curated by Leah Oates | Station Independent Projects.

artists: Juliana Beasley, Paul D'Amato, Rachael Dunville, Lucas Foglia, Richard Gary, Lauren Greenfield, Miles Ladin, Deana Lawson, Stacy Renee Morrison, Stephen Schuster, and Ed Templeton.

ANGLE OF REPOSE
a solo exhibition of work by Toni Pepe

on view thru January 11, 2009*.

CPW's galleries are free and open to the public, Wednesday - Sunday from 12 - 5pm and by appointment.

*Please note CPW's offices and galleries will be closed from December 23, 2008 - January 1, 2009.

Jennifer Williams in Pittsburgh

Jennifer Williams is in the Fellowship 2008 show at Silvereye Center for Photography in Pittsburgh PA on now until March 7, 2009. She is one of 10 honorable mentions.

And Jen is now part of the A.I.R. 2009 Fellowship program. Congrats!

A Conversation with Julieve Jubin

Julieve Jubin is a friend and mentor. We met over ten years ago and we bonded over our love for dogs (we talked about taking trips to visit relatives with lots of dogs). She is always one to point out all the doors that are open for opportunity when you are struggling with an idea or just a weedy part of life. Julieve has an infectious smile and her laughter is warming and easing. Although she has moved a couple of times since we first met, her move out of New York City has informed the way she works on her art, very much experimenting with mediums. I'm sure all the snow shoveling has had an effect on her photos!


france, 2008 © Julieve Jubin

Nymphoto: Tell us a little about yourself .

Julieve Jubin: I worked in the corporate world, The Cooper Union School of Art, Purdue University, International Center of Photography, and now am an Associate Professor of Art at SUNY Oswego, NY, where I teach and coordinate the photography area of the Art Department, and shovel snow. I’ve lived in many places both growing up and throughout my career. I travel regularly and consider New York to be my home, upstate and downstate. I love the snow and expanse of space in upstate; and the everything and more of the city.


white gown short, 2006 © Julieve Jubin

NP: How did you discover photography?

JJ: I began my interest in photography early on. I frequently carried around my Kodak instamatic, photographing everyday scenes, and had a Kodak mailer on hand for speedy turn-around no matter where I lived. I then took a black and white photography course at age thirteen at Parson’s School of Design summer program, and set up my own darkroom. The printing was such a magical experience, when the image surfaced in the developer, no matter how mundane the subject – I felt such a deep connection to my subject. In fact, most of my early pictures are of non-events, such as my father washing dishes and people sleeping.


hanger grey, 2007 © Julieve Jubin


bed 06, 2006 © Julieve Jubin

I studied literature and art in college, never putting my camera down. I studied photography later at Parson’s, and then with Phyllis Galembo at S.U.N.Y. Albany. Despite her work being very different than mine, she has been a role model as a successful woman pursuing her work in photography, as have Christine Osinski, Martha Strawn, Susan Ressler, and Joan Lyons.

NP: Where do you find inspration?

JJ: I find many sources of inspiration for my work, but most come from looking at art that’s innovative and well-done. I have a deep respect for tradition, combined with experimental approaches. I appreciate many styles of photography, but am most drawn to work that is constructed rather than found. Some early influences were of experimental art by musicians such as John Cage, Phillip Glass, and the Kronos Quartet, video artists Mary Lucier, Ken Feingold, the Vasulkas, and Bill Viola, as well as photographers Zeke Berman, James Casebere, and Vik Muniz. I enjoy photography most because of the complexity and tension between representation and abstraction.

For several years, I’ve been working on a series, Drawings from Life, an exploration of the relationship between the studio practice of drawing and photography. I continue to work with this approach while investigating subjects related to conditions and challenges of contemporary society.


bed grey, 2007 © Julieve Jubin


bed blue blanket, 2006 © Julieve Jubin

NP:How did this project come about?

JJ: I’m very much influenced by current circumstances. When I moved to Oswego, NY, I soon realized I was in a very remote area without much external stimulus compared to places like NYC. My office where I teach was a former graduate painting studio with a beautiful skylight. This space, as well as the studio activities of drawing, painting, and sculpture, surrounding me contributed to the development of this work. I can be a very solitary person, and enjoy the creative space of studio practice.


glass coal 01, 2008 © Julieve Jubin


perfume, 2008 © Julieve Jubin

NP: What’s next?

JJ: Soon I will be taking a sabbatical from teaching. I look forward to the uninterrupted time in the studio, experimentation, and enriching my life through the experiences and study of other artwork.


chair 3, 2008 © Julieve Jubin

Thank you Julieve.

Opening Tomorrow: Hannah Whitaker

from Humble Arts Foundation:


© Hannah Whitaker

Hannah Whitaker
As We Came Together We Will Go Together

On View: December 18 – January 25, 2009
Artist Reception: Thursday, December 18 from 7–10PM

The Wild Project
195 E. 3rd Street
(212) 228–1195
thewildproject.com

Gallery Hours: Thursday – Saturday from 2PM – 8PM and Sunday from 1PM–7PM

Opening Tonight: National Juried Competition Group Show

The Camera Club of New York announces a group exhibition comprising the work of 6 photographers, whose submissions were selected by renowned photographer and juror Paolo Pellegrin in the Club’s National Juried Competition. The photographers are Suzanne Révy, Elizabeth Eiten, Aaron McElroy, Thea Augustina Eck, Chad Schneider and Toni Greaves.

OPENING RECEPTION:
Wednesday, December 17, 6–8 pm

On view until January 14, 2008
Monday—Saturday 12-6 pm

Anna Malagrida: Vues Voilees

Anna Malagrida: Vues Voilees
Galerie RX
Paris, France
through December 23, 2008

Laura Letinsky @ WIPNYC

Head over to Women in Photography to see exquisite still-life photographs by Laura Letinsky.

Shirana Shahbazi Exhibit

Shirana Shahbazi
CCS Centre Culturel Suisse
Paris, France
through January 04, 2009

Tomorrow: Michal Chelbin lecture at SVA

Alicia, Ukraine, 2006 © Michal Chelbin

from The Camera Club of NY

Tuesday, Decemebr 16th at 7 p.m.
School of Visual Arts Amphitheater
209 E. 23rd St. (betw. 2nd/3rd Aves.)
Free to CCNY members, SVA students, faculty, and staff General admission $10, $5 for other students with ID

Based in New York City, Israeli-born, Michal Chelbin has been shown in solo and group shows in the US and Europe, most recently at the Andrea Meislin Gallery in New York. Recent Publications include ArtForum, American Photo, PDN, NY Arts Magazine, Aperture, B&W Magazine, and LA Times. Recent editorial work includes NY Times, The New Yorker, NY Magazine, and Ten Men Magazine. Michal Chelbin's monograph entitled Strangley Familiar: Acrobats, Athletes and Other Traveling Troupes was published in April 2008 by Aperture. Her next monograph will be published by twin Palms in fall 2009.

Nina featured Michal in a Conversation back in September. Be sure to check it out if you haven't already.

Picture This

Thomas Mallon's reviewed Annie Leibovitz's "Annie Leibovitz at Work" for The New York Times. You can read the review titled "Picture This", here.

Domesticated in Philadelphia

from Domesticated ©Amy Stein

Amy Stein: Domesticated
The Print Center
December 11, 2008 – February 14, 2009
1614 Latimer Street
Philadelphia, PA

Today: Get Your Fix of Zoe!

Zoe Strauss
Artist Talk
Saturday, December 13, 2008 - 3 p.m.
Bruce Silverstein Gallery
535 West 24th Street
New York, NY

Artists for ACRIA

via 20x200:

Zoe Strauss, Dana Hoey, Holly Andres, Jill Greenberg, Lisa Kereszi, Mary Ellen Mark, Tina Barney and a whole bunch of other fabulous artists have donated limited edition prints for important AIDS research and treatment education programs. This benefits the AIDS Community Research Initiative of America (ACRIA), a collaborative and independent not-for-profit organization, studies new treatments for HIV/AIDS and related diseases, and conducts a comprehensive HIV health literacy program.

Check out the great selection of prints for a great cause right here.

A Conversation with Michele Ableles

This conversation has been removed at the request of the artist.

Please visit: www.micheleabelesphotography.com to see Michele's work.

Reminder: Bare Opening Reception Thursday

Bare
Michael Mazzeo Gallery
526 West 26th Street
Suite 209
New York, NY
December 11, 2008- January 24, 2009
Opening Reception December 11, 2008

"Bare" is curated by Joerg Colberg and features work by Rachael Dunville, Amy Elkins, Ethan Aaro Jones, Richard Learoyd, Jennifer Loeber, Hellen van Meene, Josh Quigley, Richard Renaldi, Jessica Roberts, Alec Soth, Shen Wei and Carmen Winant.

Sasha Wolf Portfolio Review

When Rona and I sat down with Sasha Wolf earlier this year for a Nymphoto Conversations, we left completely inspired. For artists it is rare to get complete access to a gallery owner and even rarer to find someone in that position with whom you can have a real dialogue without pretension.

Sasha said in the interview with us that it is important to her to be a good person, and as I said then, that struck a cord with me. It sounds so simple but it is something that people seem to aspire to less and less. True to character Sasha has been responsive to anyone who sent her work, diligently responding with real feedback, but currently there are so many submissions that she can't keep up.

Luckily Sasha is now offering Portfolio Review Appointments in exchange for a reasonable fee.

I asked Sasha if I could blog about this, because I think that this is a very valuable resource for professional artists.

Sasha, a successful filmmaker herself, understands the struggles artists face but furthermore as a gallery owner she also comprehends the other side, which - in my opinion- makes her feedback extremely helpful. She is also honest but never mean and always constructive.

Rona offered her testimonial:

"Sasha Wolf has been a mentor and friend to me over the last year. With each body of work I have shown her, Sasha has been remarkably dedicated to looking thoroughly at the images. Her attention to the work and the response she formulates is one that is critical, honest, comprehensive, and sincere. Her guidance is invaluable."

You can contact Sasha Wolf to arrange a review at: info@sashawolf.com or call the gallery to make an appointment at: 212.925.0025

You can read our Nymphoto Conversation with Sasha here.

Congrats to Hey, Hot Shots!

Your lover should always be your best supporter, © Yijun (Pixy) Liao

The new crop of Hot Shots from the Jen Bekman Gallery were officially announced yesterday. Congrats to Yijun (Pixy) Liao and Cara Phillips to be among the five winners! I have conversed with Pixy through emails just by randomly seeing her work on Flickr and noticed we had mutual friends. She agreed to participate in a Nymphoto Conversation which will be published on Christmas Eve's Eve, December 23rd, featuring her project, Experimental Relationship.

The opening reception of the Hey, Hot Shot! (volume iv, edition ii) Showcase will be on Friday, January 30th, 2009, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Jen Bekman Gallery @ 6 Spring Street, NYC. Work will be on view until Saturday, February 14th, 2009.

April Gertler: Wager

Born in Germany, raised in California and now again based in Germany, artist April Gertler recently started a new projected titled Wager. Prompted by the global economic meltdown, April through this project, questions the value of (her) art.
The value of one's contribution haunts most artists at some point in their career.
Artists today have more options than ever before as to how to show and sell their work. Wager prompts discussion. Find out more about Wager at www.wager-avg.blogspot.com.


First Work for Wager: The Economy Inn © April Gertler

We are proud to note that April participated in the 1st and 2nd Nymphoto exhibits.
You can see more of April's work at: www.aprilgertler.com.

Photocentric Blogs Powered By Women

20x200
amy stein
amy elkins
brea souders
ground glass
hee jin kang
i heart photograph
jane tam
juliana's lovely land of neurosis
liz kuball
look underfoot
marketing photos with virgina swanson
my four eyed fantasy
nina corvallo
nymphoto
palmaire
photo attorney
pink elephants
plum and lion
quintessence
rachel hulin
wan.der.lust.ag.ra.phy
zoe strauss
zoum zoum

We are sure we forgot someone, so post your suggestions!

Print Sale: Rona Chang, Juliana Beasley

Two outstanding photographers have print sales going on right now:

First up is Nymphoto's Rona Chang's "Breathing in Series" - I love this series and I think it reflects much of Rona's creativity & personality and also connects to her larger body of work. These open-edition prints are a steal; you can find Rona's store at: www.plumandlion.bigcartel.com. Make sure to check in frequently as Rona will continue to update the selection.


Granny's Rowboat & Calendar ©Rona Chang


Next up is award winning photographer Juliana Beasley who is offering 4 limited edition prints from her series "Last Stop: Rockaway Park". All images are printed on 18" x18" paper (14.5" x14.5" image) as a edition of 15 with 2 APs. Her pricing is also very reasonable - and allows you to own prints that are already in important collections! You can find the print sale at: www.julianabeasley.com/holiday_sale.htm.

Juliana also has joined the blogging world, to check out her journal, head to: www.julianaslovelylandofneurosis.blogspot.com


Frieda & Last Stop Diner ©Juliana Beasely

Opening Tomorrow: Ignition

For those in Montréal:

from Galerie Leonard & Bina Ellen:

The Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery presents IGNITION, the annual exhibition of selected works from Concordia's Graduate Programme in Studio Arts. This year, IGNITION features six artists whose practices include photography, video and sound installation, painting, drawing, and sculpture. The artists are Miriam Sampaio, Meera Margaret Singh, Mark Igloliorte, Malena Szlam, Amélie Guérin, and Steve Bates.

Opening: December 10, 2008
5:30 - 7:30pm
December 10, 2008- January 17, 2008
Curated by: Michèle Thériault an Susannah Wesley
Galerie Leonard & Bina Ellen
Montréal, QC

Aperture Presents: Tina Barney

from Aperture:

TINA BARNEY
Artist’s Talk

As part of the ongoing lecture series hosted by Aperture and presented by the Department of Photography, Parsons The New School for Design, Tina Barney will show and discuss her work. Since 1975, Barney has been producing large-scale photographs of family and friends, many of whom belong to the social elite of New York and New England. Working with a large format camera, Barney became one of the first artists working in the 1980s to carefully stage her photographs. Barney's subjects are often seen in complex photographic compositions that invite intimate study of the behavior, social class, and notions of privilege suggested by the clothing, picturesque environments, and luxurious settings they inhabit. Barney explains the coolness of the relationships depicted in her work: "When people say that there is a distance, a stiffness in my photographs, that the people look like they do not connect, my answer is, that this is the best we can do. This inability to show physical affection is our heritage."

Tina Barney (b.1945, New York City) has widely exhibited her work in galleries and museums around the world and is held in numerous collections including the Museum of Modern Art in New York; the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston; the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College in Chicago. Barney's photographs have appeared in the acclaimed books Tina Barney: Theater of Manners (Scalo, 1997), and in The Europeans (Steidl, 2005). She is represented by Janet Borden, Inc., New York.

WHEN AND WHERE:

Tuesday, December 9
6:30 p.m.

Aperture Gallery
547 West 27th Street, 4th floor
(between 10th and 11th Avenue)
New York, NY
(212) 505-5555
www.aperture.org

Subway: C, E to 23rd Street and 8th Avenue or 1 to 28th Street and 7th Avenue

FREE

Photolucida: And the winners are.....

Head over to the Photolucida blog, to find out who the winners are: http://photolucidapdx.blogspot.com/2008/12/and-results-are-in.html

Tonight: Catherine Opie @ The Guggenheim

via Marketing Photos with Virginia Swanson:

Conversations with Contemporary Photographers

Participants: Gregory Crewdson and Catherine Opie
Moderator: Jennifer Blessing, Curator of Photography

Monday, December 8, 6:30 p.m.
While one references staged photography and the other documentary, both Gregory Crewdson and Catherine Opie address the construction of a pictorial narrative and the social dynamics of the American suburbs. The artists reflect on the medium’s complex relationship to truth, their individual contexts within its history, and the many possibilities for its future.

Lectures and panel discussions at the Guggenheim take place in the Peter B. Lewis Theater of the Sackler Center for Arts Education. Unless otherwise noted, tickets for public programs are $10 ($7 members, students). Box Office: 212.423.3587

This presentation is held in conjuction with the exhibition “Catherine Opie: American Photographer” on view at the Guggenheim NYC through January 7, 2009.

Don’t miss the the on-line video of Opie talking about of the making of Icehouses and Surfers installation that is a part of this larger mid-career retrospective of her work.

Also available on the exhibition website: a slide show (with full captions/object labels) and samples of the exhibition’s audio tour.

Jessica M. Kaufman: Panopticon

Untitled © Jessica M. Kaufman

Jessica Kaufman
Panopticon
Rayko Photo Center
428 3rd Street
San Francisco, CA
December 10, 2008 - January 10, 2009
Open Reception: December 11, 6-8 p.m.

Rona interviewed Jessica back in August for the Nymphoto Conversation series, you can find it here.

Opening Tonight: Wintersalon

© Lisa M. Robinson (check out Jane's Nymphot Conversation with Lisa)

Wintersalon
Galerie Rautenstrauch - Kunstsalon
Anja Katharina Rautenstrauch
Jahnstr. 12
Frankfurt, Germany
www.galerie-rautenstrauch.de
December 6, 2008- January 3, 2009
Opening Reception: December 6, 4-6:30 p.m.

Works by:

April Gertler
Elmar Bambach
Oliver Boberg
Motoko Dobashi
Lisa M. Robinson
Monika Romstein

Role Models: Feminine Identity in Contemporary American Photography

Still on view through January 25, 2009

"Role Models: Feminine Identity in Contemporary American Photography"

National Museum of Women in the Arts
1250 New York Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC

The Washington Post has a review by Michael O' Sullivan.

Upcoming: Bare

Greta © Jennifer Loeber

Bare
Michael Mazzeo Gallery
526 West 26th Street
Suite 209
New York, NY
December 11, 2008- January 24, 2009
Opening Reception December 11, 2008

"Bare" is curated by Joerg Colberg and features work by Rachael Dunville, Amy Elkins, Ethan Aaro Jones, Richard Learoyd, Jennifer Loeber, Hellen van Meene, Josh Quigley, Richard Renaldi, Jessica Roberts, Alec Soth, Shen Wei and Carmen Winant.

Nan's Vice - Call for Entries

Via Exposure Compensation I came across the Gender, Poverty and Power Photographic Competition hosted by Vice & Ctrl.Alt.Shift and headed by non other than legendary photographer Nan Goldin.

Head to: www.ctrlaltshift.co.uk/vice/#/Home to find out more about this competition.

Express yourself & close the gap!

Ground Glass Interview

Head over to Ground Glass for a very thoughtful intro & interview by Cara Phillips with artist Jesse Chehak.

Tonight: Barbara Bosworth & Klea McKenna

(via Marketing Photos with Mary Virginia Swanson)

PhotoAlliance presents:

Friday, December 5, 2008
San Francisco Art Institute Lecture Hall 800 Chestnut Street San Francisco, Ca (at Jones Street)
7:30 pm

Barbara Bosworth is professor of photography at the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston.

Her images concern our interaction with nature and the environment. Using a large-format 8 by 10 inch view camera to capture portraits of hunters, national champion trees, compelling extended landscapes and extraordinary moments from the every day.

“Barbara Bosworth’s photographs are graced with an uncommon elegance and intimacy,” “The expansive sweep and clarity of her prints open the landscape before us with a deceptive agility, but it is in their richness of experience and sensation that they are so compelling.” Toby Jurovics, Curator
Earlier this fall I had the great pleasure of walking through Barbara’s recent exhibition “Earth and Sky” at the Smithsonian Art Museum with curator Toby Jurovics - a complete delight - don’t miss this link to that show, and don’t miss this lecture!

The Introductory Presentation for this evening: KLEA McKENNA. who also explores the landscape in her work.

Introductory Presentation by Klea McKenna

A Conversation with Laura Napier

Laura Napier and I met during our Cooper days. She was a painter and just as she was leaving school , I started to see her around the darkrooms. Over the years, we've bumped into each other at Print Space and invited each other to shows. Laura's had a busy year showing and I was able to make it to some of her shows. I saw the following video projected on a wall in a darkened room at PS122 earlier this year and was really taken by the ethereal quality of the imagery. I am excited to share Laura's work with you. Enjoy!


Intersection, 2006
color video (appears B&W), sound
duration: 5:26
with software by Zach Poff © Laura Napier

about:
Uses video footage overlooking Astor Place; a frame differencing filter has been applied that only reveals things that move through the frame (mostly pedestrians and cars). This video was installed as part of the solo show, Spontaneous Formations, at PS122 Gallery, in the Classroom, April 2008.

Nymphoto: Tell us a little about yourself.

Laura Napier: I've lived in New York City for fourteen years; I took the Greyhound bus here to go to go to college. I've lived in many places in the city, coincidentally often within a few blocks of where the marathon runs every year.

I made mostly drawings and paintings in undergrad, so sometimes when I run into someone from that time in my life they ask me about it. One of those people is Rona. Some of my work still has a stripped down quality, and people who've known me for a long time point out similarities.


scan from a sketchbook, 1997 © Laura Napier

Also, if you are in a public place and you see me and introduce me as a photographer to someone I will interrupt you and tell everyone that I am an artist, not a photographer. This can prove embarrassing to everyone.


Sixteen, Color C print, 40 x 60 inches, 1999, from the series California © Laura Napier

NP: How did you discover photography?

LN: Someone gave me a 110 camera when I was maybe eight or ten years old, the kind that used double reeled plastic film cartridges. The camera was a rectangle shape and fit into a box that originally had checks in it. I had another box like it around the same time with a fragile lizard skeleton inside. I took lots of photographs of plants and flowers in the little garden that I had planted; this was back in San Diego. I don't know what happened to those photographs, but I like to think that they are probably in a shoebox somewhere. For years I couldn't figure out what to photograph, this really started in my pre-teens when I was enrolled in a class at Southwestern College; I remember taking a photograph of some scrub oak or something, printing it in the darkroom, and wondering, why? This crisis continued in college. I was (eventually) good at learning technique, the OCD-rewarding practices of professional photography: studio work and printing work, but I still needed to find a subject or a way to work with the medium that made sense for me.

Also, for years I worked in the photography industry, at a rental color darkroom, printing for a few artists and other clients, assisting on the side, and later was employed at a university lab. I was fortunate enough to be working at a time during the transition of photo towards digital, so I am really comfortable with a variety of cameras and mediums, and also taught digital photography to total beginners for a while.

NP: Where do you find inspiration?

LN: I am a creature of comfort and love a good cup of coffee, hanging out with my cat, reading contemporary fiction, seeing friends and doing studio visits, and watching movies. These ordinary things keep me going. Also, I like candlelit dinners and long walks by the beach, in case you were wondering.

I really like to see what others are doing around me; I love evesdropping on curators who really dig artists' work, I like going to lectures at the New Museum, I went to Creative Time's Democracy in America show at the Park Avenue Armory - twice. I was really inspired recently by the work of Lilly McElroy, a friend let me know about her work and I was talking about it for at least a week.

Photography as a practice was finally redeemed to me by the book The Last Picture Show: Artists Using Photography 1960-1982 (which is a catalog of a show curated by Douglas Fogle at the Walker Art Center c. 2003-4). It shows sculptors and other artists using photography integrated into their art practices. I'd come of age, as it were, during the height of the popularity of artificial, staged, sometimes even commercial-photo-as-art in the late nineties, and I needed to see alternatives, and a history of the medium beyond the late sixties in order to work in it. For me, a photograph does not stand with integrity on its own as a 'magic window' to look into; I think any photograph has to, must, also do something else in order to deserve to exist.


Photograph of nothing #2, Color C print, 16 x 20 inches, 2004 © Laura Napier

NP: How did this project come about?

LN: I went back to school, and I was still like, what is this photograph for? I tried to take photographs of nothing, for example, which is an impossible task. But in the meantime, I spent the first summer at grad school looking at one photograph, Exchange, 2003, trying to figure out what it was that was special about it and how I could move forward. I knew it was interesting, I just had to define why. Then I brought in a second photograph, Crowd (after Kerry), 2005, the next summer - it had an unusual perspective from above. Meanwhile, to the frustration of the faculty, I was taking a long time to work things out! I believe it takes time to figure out a meaningful course of action, and you can't rush - it'll show.


Exchange, 2003, Color C Print, 16 x 20 inches, from the series Crowd Formation / Street Architecture © Laura Napier


Crowd (after Kerry), Archival photographic inkjet print, 13 x 19 inches, 2005, from the series Crowd Formation / Street Architecture © Laura Napier

Finally I decided that I was really interested in looking at constellations of people in public space; and that the strength of the project lay in how they looked staged yet weren't. So I tried to find and photograph interesting crowd formations, those formed by street architecture, proxemics, and social norms, in New York City and on trips to Los Angeles and Peru.


Express Bus Line 2008, Archival photographic inkjet print, 5 x 7 inches, from the series Crowd Formation/ Street Architecture © Laura Napier

There are places in New York City where certain crowd formations can be seen again and again, and I eventually realized that anyone could go to the same places to see them, with a little guidance. So, I made a brochure listing seven places where crowd formations predictably occur at certain times of day, week, and season. Take Me There, a field guide to crowd formations is meant to function as a self guided tour, and has no photographs, only text description. You can download one side of the brochure or I can mail a printed copy (free) to you upon request.

The work I am doing now has to do with trying to highlight and change how people reflexively behave in public through using my own behavior. project for a street corner explores how simple actions can change the behaviors of others in busy urban public spaces. For example, what happens if one walks in a tight circle on a busy street corner for two minutes, regardless of how many people are gathering there to cross? What happens if one stands completely still or walks against the flow of a crowd; suddenly turns around or doesn't move aside when people approach; or if one lies down?

I recently got a group of high school students to form a circle with me in front of the PATH Station at the WTC site. We were out there for about twenty minutes, pushing our circle against a regular stream of commuters to try to shape them into a smaller column. Every once in a while someone would walk through the circle. The students would applaud every time.


project for a street corner, still from video document of an event, project supported by LMCC's Swing Space program, 2008 © Laura Napier

In October, I did a series of actions on 14th Street, working with a differerent partner each day, on three late afternoons for the AiOP show Pedestrian. We took photographs of each other, in order to to halt whoever was about to 'walk through the picture'; got passerby to look up towards the sky by looking up ourselves and pointing; and (for fun) used a strip of caution tape to cordon off the sidewalk so that those walking by had the opportunity to do a limbo under it. Many did. The experience of the event is becoming primary, and the photographs and video serve as secondary - documentation.


promotional image, project for a street corner, for the show Pedestrian, 2008 © Laura Napier


causing people to stop or go around by taking a photograph, still from live video feed document, project for a street corner, for Pedestrian, 2008 © Laura Napier


getting people around us to look up by looking up ourselves, documentary photograph, project for a street corner, for Pedestrian, 2008, photo courtesy J. C. Rice

NP: What's next?

LN: I'd like to expand project for a street corner, through funding, so that I can work more intensively, through commissions and other means. For example, it'd be great to collaborate with an arts institution that can help round up enough audience participants to do a series of crowd intervention events, similar to the circle recently formed in front of the WTC PATH station with twenty people. I'm also looking at funding to travel to India, as I'm really interested in the low tech new media and performance work that is going on in New Delhi and other cities, and would also like to see what behavior in public looks like there. See Raqs Media Collective, the Sarai Institute, and Blank Noise for examples.

My other big plan is to obtain a set of flat files, which I am really looking forward to.

Upcoming events:

Film screening at Brooklyn Arts Council's gallery at 6 pm tonight! (Dec. 4th)
The screening is a program associated with the exhibition Creative Cartographies in the BAC Gallery. Seven short videos by different artists. Artists in the screening: David Brody, Rob Carter, Maria Dumlao, Emcee CM Master of None, Grady Gerbracht & Claudia Vieira, Laura Napier, and Adam Shecter. Curated by Jeanne Gerrity.
Brooklyn Arts Council is located at 111 Front Street in Dumbo on the second floor (F to York Street, A/C to High Street).

122 for $122 benefit at PS122 Gallery, opens Saturday, December 13th. (Disclaimer: I am on the artist benefit committee). Worth supporting, as they often provide a first show to emerging artists; my first solo was there in April.

$10-30 Anti-Intellectual Art Sale & Holiday Party, hosted by myself and artist neighbor Blanka Amezkua, who also runs the Bronx Blue Bedroom project, Sunday, December 14th.

For more work, check out Laura's website. Thank you Laura!

Nina Buesing on Flak Photo

Our own Nina Buesing is featured on Flak Photo with the picture of the day!

Flak Photo is an incredible photography blogzine that features work from an international community of photographers and artists. The blog is produced by Andy Adams and features work from photo essays, book projects, exhibitions, and work from both emerging and established photographers.

Annie Leibovitz Lecture in Philadelphia

(via Marketing Photos with Mary Virginia Swanson)

Lecture by Annie Leibovitz: Leibovitz at Work
December 4, 2009 @ 7:30 p.m.
Free Library of Philadelphia- Parkway Central Library
1901 Vine Street
Philadelphia, PA

Alejandra Laviada in Mexico City

Alejandra Laviada
Intimidades Accesos Públicos/ Visiones Privadas
Opening Dec. 2
Palacio de Iturbide/ Palacio de Cultura Banamex
Madero 17, Centro Historico, Mexico City

Laura Napier screening at Brooklyn Arts Council Thursday

Intersection video still © Laura Napier

Film screening at Brooklyn Arts Council's gallery at 6 pm on Dec. 4th.
The screening is a program associated with the exhibition Creative Cartographies in the BAC Gallery. Seven short videos by different artists. Artists in the screening: David Brody, Rob Carter, Maria Dumlao, Emcee CM Master of None, Grady Gerbracht & Claudia Vieira, Laura Napier, and Adam Shecter. Curated by Jeanne Gerrity.

Brooklyn Arts Council is located at 111 Front Street in Dumbo on the second floor (F to York Street, A/C to High Street).

Stay tuned for Laura's Conversation this Thursday.