Hilla & Bernd Becher

If you are in San Francisco check out:

Bernd & Hilla Becher
A Survey: 1972-2006
Fraenkel Gallery
7 May-3 July 2009

Annie Leibovitz: Nothing Left to Hide

Last year Cathy Calvin wrote a compelling piece about photography legend Annie Leibovitz titled: "Annie Leibovitz: Nothing Left to Hide" for TIMESONLINE, you can find it by clicking here.

Tonight: Humble Fund Raising Party at Eponymy

from Humble Arts Foundation:

In an attempt to further meet our fundraising goals, Humble Arts Foundation, in collaboration with Eponymy, is hosting a Spring Cleaning Sale and Art Party. Details are as follow:

Date: Friday, May 29, 2009
Time: 6pm – 10pm
Rsvp required: rsvp@shopeponymy.com

20% off storewide sale*

30% - 50% off Humble limited editions
Eponymy
466 Bergen Street (Park Slope)
Brooklyn, NY 11217
http://shopeponymy.com

We are also pleased to announce that Eponymy, a supporter of emerging artists, will also debut its Spring exhibition at this event. Participating artists include: John Andrew, Melisa Beveridge, Gerald Edwards III, Ann Woo, Peter Riesett, Jon Feinstein, Samuel Morgan, Emiliano Granado, Tema Stauffer, Mikael Kennedy, Yeni Mao and Athena Waligore.

Attendees of this event are welcome to join our neighbors at Melt for drink specials between 6pm – 10pm. http://meltrestaurant.com

*DISCOUNT APPLIES TO REGULARLY-PRICED, CLOTHING, SHOES, CANDLES, COSMETICS, AND VINTAGE JEWELRY ITEMS

A Conversation with Klea McKenna

Klea McKenna produces beautiful images that convey a direct message about the earth and nature, something that many of us have lost connection with. I find her work refreshing because of its earthy essence. It makes me want to get out of the city and explore the grounds nature has provided. She is rooted in the process of art-making and reminds us all of what is really important: life, family, health, love and nature. We are pleased to present this interview with Klea McKenna.

23 Flies Collected From Home © Klea McKenna

Flight Patterns © Klea McKenna

Nymphoto: Tell us a little about yourself.

Klea McKenna: I grew up in rural Northern California and Hawaii in a very, shall we say “bohemian” family. It’s strange because I grew up in very rural places, small towns, but despite the local culture, my parents instilled in me a thirst for the big, complicated world out there. I love to experience unfamiliar places. I’ve lived in a few different countries, working, drifting, but I struggle with it because I also think that putting down roots and investing your self in a particular location and community is really important. I guess the idea of place, of being placed, is relevant for me right now; I think about it a lot. I currently live in San Francisco, and am finishing my MFA here, which is right for the moment.

Taxonomy of my brother's garden © Klea McKenna

West of the highway, our side of the river © Klea McKenna

NP: How did you discover photography?

KM: I came to photography around age 13. I had always done creative things - art and dance, but then photography just took hold of me. Sometimes, I feel frustrated that it never occurred to me, to actually think it through and make a choice about what I would do. I just kept making photographs as though it was the only possibility, and photography may not be the wisest career choice. Mostly, I just feel grateful that I never floundered, that I always knew what I wanted. I’ve been very lucky that way.

Untitled (pool) © Klea McKenna

NP: Where do you find inspiration?

KM: My most generative projects seem to come from found material, whether it is actual physical material (as it was in The Butterfly Hunter), or just people’s stories and lives. I think there is a part of me that always wants to collaborate in some way, to be an interpreter rather than a maker. I think that the medium of photography is really suited to this. Making a photograph is almost always, in some way, a collaborative act. I am consistently inspired by people’s relationship to nature, I mean that in the broadest sense, it seems to be the thread that runs through all my work.

Untitled © Klea McKenna

NP: How do your projects come about?

KM: In different ways, sometimes I plot and plan for months or years in advance. I have a sort of index in my mind of possible future projects. Of course many of these will get ditched along the way. Occasionally, they come in a flash with a kind of ruthless urgency, and those are the good ones. For me, the struggle isn’t in coming up with ideas, but rather in manifesting them and in being open to detours and changes. It can be hard to let go of that initial vision and let the work lead you. I do always work in projects though; I compartmentalize things more than I’d like to. I think excessive schooling has reinforced that.

Untitled © Klea McKenna

Untitled © Klea McKenna

NP: What's next?

KM: I’ve been making work lately that has been largely constructed, or more about making than about looking, and I’d like to go back to looking for a while. I’m really interested in the way people adapt when they are uprooted, and that’s happening to so many people right now because of our current economic situation. I think that this shift makes us relate to place and nature in unlikely ways. This becomes visible in the summertime because we inhabit space differently when the weather is warm, so I am looking forward to summer.

Untitled © Klea McKenna

NP: Thank You!!


Too see more of Klea's work, please visit www.kleamckenna.com

Artist Reception Tomorrow

We hope to see you tomorrow at the artist reception for Nymphoto Presents @ Sasha Wolf Gallery.




© Corinne Vionnet, Lizzie Gorfaine, Katrina D'Autremont

Nymphoto Presents @ Sasha Wolf Gallery
Sasha Wolf Gallery
10 Leonard Street
New York, NY
May 23 - June 6, 2009
Artist Reception: May 28, 6-8PM
Download Press Release >

The exhibit features work from artists who entered our first call for entries:

Jennifer Boomer, Livia Corona, Katrina d'Autremont, Jen Davis, Lizzie Gorfaine, Victoria Hely-Hutchinson, Megan Maloy, Tiana Markova-Gold, Debora Mittelstaedt, Beatrix Reinhardt, Anna Skladmann, Malou van Breevoort, Corinne Vionnet, Sophia Wallace and Susan Worsham

As well as works from Nymphoto members:

Nina Büsing Corvallo, Rona Chang, Candace Gottschalk, Maria Passarotti and Jane Tam

Reminder: Artist Reception Thursday @ Sasha Wolf

© Tiana Markova-Gold

NYMPHOTO PRESENTS @ SASHA WOLF GALLERY
10 Leonard Street
New York City
Artist Reception Thurday May 28, 6-8 PM

The exhibit features work from artists who entered our first call for entries:
Jennifer Boomer, Livia Corona, Katrina d'Autremont, Jen Davis, Lizzie Gorfaine, Victoria Hely-Hutchinson, Megan Maloy, Tiana Markova-Gold, Debora Mittelstaedt, Beatrix Reinhardt, Anna Skladmann, (Malou van Breevoort), Corinne Vionnet, Sophia Wallace and Susan Worsham

As well as works from Nymphoto members:
Nina Büsing Corvallo, Rona Chang, Candace Gottschalk, Maria Passarotti and Jane Tam

Download Press Release Here

And Congrats to Sarah Wilson & Colby Katz as well!

© Colby Katz & Sarah Wilson

Sarah Wilson's work was recently highlighted by PDN and she also has a show coming up at Foley Gallery in conjunction with fellow NYU alumni Colby Katz.

Sarah Wilson, Blind Prom & Colby Katz, Beauty Pageants

May 28 - July 31

Opening reception, Thursday May 28, 6 - 8pm

Foley Gallery
547 W 27th Street, 5th floor
New York, NY 10001

A big fat congrats to Juliana Beasley

Trainer as James Dean Rockaway Park, NYC, 2003 © Juliana Beasley

Juliana Beasley received an Individual Photographer's Fellowship grant from the Aaron Siskind Foundation. Very awesome news and very well deserved Ms. Beasley.

EnFoco: Call For Entries

Find more info at: http://www.enfoco.org/index.php/programs/competition/

Daniel Cooney Emerging Artist Auction

Daisy's Diner, Montgomery, Alabama, 2008 © Stacy Mehrfar

Daniel Cooney is hosting another round of auctions on igavel. Some of the artists include Stacy Mehrfar, Rachel Barrett, Natalia Engelhardt, Jennifer Boomer, Debora Mittelstaedt, and Kelly Shimoda.

Upcoming: Artist Reception @ Sasha Wolf - May 28, 2009

Nymphoto Presents @ Sasha Wolf Gallery

Debora Mittelstaedt, Sunset Park, 2005

Artist reception
May 28, 2009, 6-8PM
Sasha Wolf Gallery

A group show exhibiting a compelling collection of work by contemporary women photographers from across the globe. While diverse in content, these works convey the complexity of the female gaze - the woman behind the camera. The photographs ignite a spirit by addressing a diversity of issues, which inevitably calls into question: what is feminine.

The exhibit features work from artists who entered our first call for entries:

Jennifer Boomer, Livia Corona, Katrina d'Autremont, Jen Davis, Lizzie Gorfaine, Victoria Hely-Hutchinson, Megan Maloy, Tiana Markova-Gold, Debora Mittelstaedt, Beatrix Reinhardt, Anna Skladmann, Malou van Breevoort, Corinne Vionnet, Sophia Wallace and Susan Worsham

As well as works from Nymphoto members:

Nina Büsing Corvallo, Rona Chang, Candace Gottschalk, Maria Passarotti and Jane Tam

Nymphoto Presents @ Sasha Wolf Gallery
Sasha Wolf Gallery
10 Leonard Street
New York, NY
May 23 - June 6, 2009
Opening Reception: May 28, 6-8PM
Download Press Release >

Yisook Sohn on WIPNYC

from WIPNYC:

Video: Dana Popa

I came across this video by Open Society Institute's Moving Walls series of Dana Popa talking about her photography on victims of sex trafficking.



Dana Popa's project was featured in Moving Walls 14, which can be viewed online.

Popa also had her portfolio featured in Foam Magazine's 18th issue, Displaced.

A Conversation with Talia Greene

Entropy Filigree (III) © Talia Greene

Talia Greene has been a long-standing member of Nymphoto. She participated in our second group show and continues to make inspiring images today. Talia's work exudes a three dimensionality that seduces and encourages one to consider elements of texture. When contemplating her work, I want to reach out and touch it (or squash a bug with my finger) - it's a physical response that is so rarely experienced when looking at a two-dimensional, photographic image. It's truly refreshing work. We are therefore pleased to present this conversation with Talia.

Entropy Filigree (IV) © Talia Greene

Nymphoto: Tell us a little about yourself.

Talia Greene: I grew up in Berkeley, CA, with parents who very much encouraged my interest in art. I studied art, among other things, at Wesleyan University in Middletown CT, and later went to graduate school at Mills College. I have always made my best work, though, outside of school, and some of my best teachers have been my family and friends. In many ways, I have learned the most about art making from my husband, a philosopher. Now that I have a son, I look forward to discovering how his wonder with the world might affect my work as well.

Entropy Filigree © Talia Greene

NP: How did you discover photography and the arts?

TG: My parents are very supportive of the arts. I made art, and was surrounded by it, from an early age.

I didn't begin to explore photography in my own work until graduate school. There, I began to experiment with materials and object making, but soon found that photographing the objects and pairing them with other photographs was more interesting than the objects themselves.

In all of my recent work, I have used the scanner as the image-capturing device rather than a camera. I arrange materials directly on the scanner, or arrange them on another substrate to be scanned. For my wallpaper work I create the compositions from scanned images in Photoshop. I love the tactile, dimensional quality of the scanned image, but also the creative freedom that comes with digital printmaking.

Coiffed: A Typology of Entropic Variations (Sisters I-V) © Talia Greene

Coiffed: A Typology of Entropic Variations (Sisters IV) © Talia Greene

NP: Where do you find inspiration?

TG: Things strange, yet beautiful or sensual, and things in nature that remind me of the human body: I love fuzzy flower pods, just before the flowers come out, dead leaves that are transparent and veiny, wasps nests, and the web-like nests woven by caterpillars. I often look at the photographs of the 19th century naturalist Karl Blossfeldt, who also focused on the sensual aspects of his plant specimen.

Things full of tiny, precise details and patterns, such as Indian miniature paintings.

Things Victorian: I love 19th century vitrines in science museums. There is one in particular, at the science museum in London, which is very densely packed with moss-covered branches and butterflies. It reminds me of a painting by Walton Ford (an artist who is also inspired by 19th century naturalists) in which a massive flock of birds carries away a branch. I also love Annette Message's early piece in which she dresses a vitrine of bird specimen in hand knit sweaters.

Artwork and crafts that involve hair: Lorna Simpson's series - Wigs, Victorian hair flowers, Robert Gober's Untitled (Hairy Shoe).

Coiffed: A Typology of Entropic Variations (Manzer and Luck I-V) © Talia Greene

NP: How do your projects come about?

TG: Sometimes I have an idea in my head of what the work will be before I make it, though often the final piece evolves away from the original plan. Other times new work comes simply from playing with new materials. I will often focus on a theme, and make several related series that explore the idea.

My current body of work, Coiffed: A Typology of Entropic Variations, builds on a previous series of fly beards. It also is a part of a larger body of work exploring the themes of entropy and the juxtaposition of chaos and control. This particular piece also came out of a connection with a collector of cabinet cards, who generously loaned me some of his cards for this project.

Coiffed: A Typology of Entropic Variations (Globe I-V) © Talia Greene

Coiffed: A Typology of Entropic Variations (Globe IV) © Talia Greene

NP: What's next?

TG: I am working toward a solo show at the Delaware Center for Contemporary Art in the fall. I am expanding some current bodies of work, and am working on a wall installation involving my photo based wallpaper and screen-printing.

NP: Thank You!!

To see more of Talia's work, visit her website: www.taliagreene.com

Time is Ticking: Nymphoto Conversations @ Sasha Wolf

Our exhibit featuring the work of the artists in our Conversations: Volume 1 book is coming down today. So, if you have not yet seen the show, run over to Sasha Wolf Gallery while you can.

Sasha Wolf Gallery

10 Leonard Street

between West Broadway & Hudson

Tomorrow: Michele Abeles

© Michele Abeles

A SONG FOR THOSE IN SEARCH OF WHAT THEY CAME WITH
May 21, 2009 - July 17, 2009
Michele Abeles
Raina Hamner
James Richards
David Benjamin Sherry
Amy Yao

Bellwether Gallery
134 Tenth Avenue
New York, NY 10011
212.929.5959

Please revisit our conversation with the very talented Michele Abeles by clicking here.

Tomorrow: Lauren Greenfield at The Annenberg Space for Photography

from The Annenberg Space for Photography:

“Iris Nights” Lecture Series

Thursday, May 21, 6:30 to 8:00PM, Lauren Greenfield.

The Annenberg Space for Photography
2000 Avenue of the Stars,
Century City, CA. 90067

Last Chance to see Nymphoto Conversations @ Sasha Wolf

It's your last chance to see NYMPHOTO Conversations Volume 1 at Sasha Wolf Gallery in Tribeca (it ends tomorrow). I watched the French film La Moustache the other day and it really had me thinking about Jane's Asleep at Sea series. The film starts in Paris and unexpectedly ends up in Hong Kong. The last part of the movie is shot on one of Hong Kong's islands reminiscent of what Jane has captured in the image below, which is in the show. It oozes the tranquility of the island though it hints at where it exists in the larger industrial land.


© Jane Tam

NYMPHOTO Conversations: Volume 1
Sasha Wolf Gallery
10 Leonard Street (bet. W.Broadway & Hudson)
New York, NY 10013
May 6-20, 2009


Work by Michele Abeles, Juliana Beasley, Rona Chang, Nina Büsing Corvallo, Candace Gottschalk, Jessica M. Kaufman, Klea McKenna, Michal Chelbin, Talia Greene, Maria Passarotti, Susana Raab, Emily Shur, Tema Stauffer, Jane Tam, Garie Waltzer & Jennifer Williams.

And if you can't stop by the show while it is up, there is the companion book/catalog is available for purchase via Blurb.

Thursday: Women Twirling

from The Getty:

Photographers Gay Block and Catherine Opie join Jo Ann Callis to discuss the works in the exhibition Jo Ann Callis: Woman Twirling and the role domesticity plays in Callis's art-making.

Woman Twirling: Jo Ann Callis, Gay Block, and Catherine Opie in Conversation
Date: Thursday May 21, 2009, at 7 pm
Location: Harold M. Williams Auditorium, Getty Center
Admission: Free. Reservation required (make reservation here)

About the Photographers

Jo Ann Callis
Since she emerged in the late 1970s as one of the first important practitioners of the "fabricated photographs" movement, Jo Ann Callis has made adventurous contributions in the areas of color photography, sculpture, painting, and digital imagery. Callis—who launched her art career after raising a family—celebrates and subverts everyday situations through her mesmerizing photographs, which present situations that are as tense as they are comfortable. "I wanted to make photographs that were scary and beautiful, sexy and tactile," she says.

Gay Block
Photographer Gay Block is known for her empathetic, telling portraits of girls and women, members of the Jewish community, and Holocaust survivors and rescuers. In 2003 she published Bertha Alyce: Mother exPosed, an acclaimed 30-year portrait of her mother in photographs, video, and words. Several of the works in the exhibition Jo Ann Callis: Woman Twirling were gifts by Block to the J. Paul Getty Museum.

Catherine Opie
Best known for her portraits of gay and transgender men and women, photographer Catherine Opie uses photography to document communities and question our view of the "normal." Her series such as Domestic, Surfers, and Football Players constitute a penetrating social-documentary portrait of contemporary American culture.

Landmarks of New York at the NY Historical Society

from NY Historical Society:

LANDMARKS OF NEW YORK
An exhibition of 83 photographs documenting some of the most significant buildings and public parks in New York City will be on view at The New-York Historical Society from April 30 through July 12, 2009, in the exhibition Landmarks of New York. The exhibition has traveled to 82 countries under the sponsorship of the United States Department of State since 2006 and is now coming home to New York for its final showing. The photographs in the exhibition will then enter the collection of the New-York Historical Society, through a donation from the exhibition's curator, Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel.

Some of the photographers include Jennifer Williams, Christine Osinski, Teresa Christiansen, and Rona Chang.

New York Historical Society
170 Central Park West between 76th and 77th Street
The New-York Historical Society is open to the general public Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m; free admission on Friday from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Sunday hours are from 11:00 a.m. until 5:45 p.m.

Meet Miss Subways @ Rush Arts

I came across Fiona Gardner's Meet Miss Subways series on the Infrastructurist. She's currently showing the series at Rush Arts.

Rush Arts
Until May 30
526 W 26th St
NYC

Gabriela Bulisova on WIPNYC

from WIPNYC:



Gabriela Bulisova's work is powerful insightful and powerful. Thank you WIPNYC for introducing her work to us.

A Conversation with Candace Gottschalk

Kirsten and Olivia (with Knife) from Women with Knives © Candace Gottschalk

Candace Gottschalk is an observant and skilled storyteller. But what distinguishes Candace from other storytellers is her way of seeing the world. Her images reflect her unique sense of humor, her reflections on the many absurdities of life, while also capturing the fragile beauty inherent in perfect moments. We are pleased to present this conversation with one of our Nymphoto co-founders.

Mom (with Knife) from Women with Knives © Candace Gottschalk

Nana (with Knife) from Women with Knives © Candace Gottschalk

Nymphoto: Tell us a little about yourself.

Candace Gottschalk: I grew up in an affluent suburb of Chicago. When I was in eighth grade, my family packed up everything we owned and moved. Our new home was a block and a half away, on the same street - which indicates how insular my upbringing was. Everyone had lots of money but it was never discussed or realized. I was taught the importance of keeping my elbows off the dinner table, and to use the word glorious when describing a social event. I grew up learning to bring my food to my mouth, not my mouth to my food. If I did, I would get a squeeze under the table on my lower thigh, just above my knee. Table manners were very important.

This is not to say that I did not have an enjoyable childhood. I have wonderful memories: collecting field mice and housing them in a cardboard box amongst slices of Velveeta, eating freshly fallen snow with maple syrup, swimming so many hours that the chlorine smell became an additional layer of skin. I also have three siblings who enjoy discussing how dysfunctional our upbringing was, and laugh at our inability to truly escape it. There was a blanket of restraint, a lack of freedom that covered our town. Appearances were far more significant than honesty. I don't think I truly realized it then; I was just a child on an innocent quest for fun. Now that I am grown, however, and have more perspective, I am aware of the pervading consciousness that helped raise me.

After boarding school in Rhode Island, followed by college in Los Angeles, I attended NYU/ICP and received an MA in photography. I currently live in Brooklyn with my husband, Greg and my two-year old son, Jasper.

Mom with Mango © Candace Gottschalk

Mom with Sea Grape © Candace Gottschalk

NP: How did you discover photography?

CG: While not a photography student in high school, my friends and I were constantly taking pictures of one another. We would get the film developed and make collages on our dorm room walls. They were extremely precious and coveted; we were constantly stealing from one another, bragging about who had what picture, as if making a copy was out of the question. To this day, I have boxes and boxes of snapshots of my friends at my parent's house in Chicago. In college, I was an English and Comparative Literary Studies major. I always thought I would write. Then one summer, I took an intro to photography class. It made sense and felt right, partially because at the time, writing was becoming too heavy. Now, I can appreciate both image and text, and feel I can do both freely.

NP: What inspires you?

CG: Lots of things: my son, my memories, movies, books, other artists, feelings of déja vu, a color palette, the smell of the beach on a beautiful day. Living with a two year old is truly an eye-opening experience. Jasper finds interest in the mundane. He doesn't overlook a thing–not a stick, not a street sweeper, not a Q-tip, not a thing. I can honestly say that his incessant interest in life has encouraged me to find inspiration in things that I had outgrown, and grown to overlook. It's almost as if I am returning to childhood myself.

Mom with Eyes Closed © Candace Gottschalk

Hollyn Sitting © Candace Gottschalk

NP: How do your projects come about?

CG: My work usually begins with a childhood memory, an attempt to excavate some part of my past and family dynamic. I am a very nostalgic person–always daydreaming about the past, whether the memory emotes happiness or fear. I start by staging an image with a member from my family, usually my Mom, and go from there. There is a lot of trial and error, multiple re-shoots, time and ears. The process can be extremely personal and frustrating.

Hollyn Hiding © Candace Gottschalk

NP: What's next?

CG: In addition to redesigning my website...I have several ideas swirling around in my head; and hopefully, one will lend itself to an interesting body of work.

Olivia in Pool © Candace Gottschalk

NP: Thank You so much!!

To see more of Candace's work, please visit her website: http://www.candacegottschalk.com

Candace's work is also on view at Sasha Wolf Gallery in two exhibitions Nymphoto Conversations: Volume 1 and Nymphoto Presents @ Sasha Wolf. If you are in New York, go check it out!