A Conversation with KayLynn Deveney

from The Day-to-Day Life of Albert Hastings, © KayLynn Deveney

KayLynn Deveney is not just an amazing and quite accomplished photographer, but she is also a great mentor. She recently successfully defended her dissertation at the University of Wales, Newport thereby earning the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Photography. Whilst studying in Wales, KayLynn met Albert Hastings, the subject of her photographic series. We're delighted to have KayLynn participate in this Conversations series.

Nymphoto: Tell us a little about yourself.

KayLynn Deveney: I live in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with my fantastic husband, Will. My funny, smart parents and many great friends are nearby. The last few years of my life have been focused, to a large extent, on finishing a practice-based Ph.D. in photography. I have been an adjunct faculty member at points in Wales, Cleveland and Albuquerque while working on the Ph.D.


from The Day-to-Day Life of Albert Hastings, © KayLynn Deveney

NP: How did you discover photography?

KD: I became interested in photography while taking a photojournalism course in college. Through that class I met working photographers who were very generous and willing to share their time and knowledge. Eventually, I went to work as a staff photographer for the Albuquerque Tribune, a well-respected afternoon daily that recently closed, as most afternoon papers have. The staff of the Tribune proved to be long-term mentors and friends. After nine years, I left the Tribune to return to graduate school to study and think about the subjective aspects of documentary photographic practice. I chose to attend graduate school in the United Kingdom at the University of Wales, Newport.


from The Day-to-Day Life of Albert Hastings, © KayLynn Deveney

NP: Where do you find inspiration?

KD: There’s no shortage of things to be inspired by in this world. I’m inspired by people, their intricate and complex lives, and their willingness to share their stories. I like to be in other people’s company and I love hearing stories. I’m inspired by my brother’s dedication to making music, my husband’s pursuit of a thoughtful life and a true integrity and my parents’ love for their families. Art, movies, fiction writing, music, a really witty person - all can be very inspirational. The list could go on and on.


from The Day-to-Day Life of Albert Hastings, © KayLynn Deveney

NP: How did this project come about?

KD: Bert and I lived in the same neighborhood in Wales. I noticed him working in the garden of the dilapidated apartment building where he lived. I stopped and talked with him one day, and the more we talked, the more I liked him and wanted to know him. Soon after that first conversation I asked Bert to collaborate on the project with me.


from The Day-to-Day Life of Albert Hastings, © KayLynn Deveney

NP: How did you go about producing this book and how does editing contribute to the book's story?

KD: From the beginning the project was a book. I taped contact sheet prints into a small notebook and Bert wrote his responses to my photographs beneath the image in the notebook. The final design of the book reflects the early template of the original notebooks.

The editing of the work was complicated. First, each image and its accompanying caption had to be successful in my estimation, either offering commentary on the cyclical nature of Bert’s days or adding something new to the narrative. Second, each image had to work in a pair. I didn’t want the book to have blank pages. I wanted to keep the story flowing and uninterrupted. (Color was a big consideration in working on the pairings.) Third, the pairings had to be sequenced in away that made sense and propelled the story forward while also allowing days and nights to arrive and pass throughout the work.

The book is designed to reflect the collaborative nature of the project. There is a deliberate attempt to have both the words and images carry substantial weight. Emphasizing the words was fundamental to the presentation of the content. Including Bert’s text expands the dialogue about his experience, but it also opens up discussion regarding the subjective nature of the photographic negotiation.

I edited, designed and bound four initial copies of the book. These handmade books were then shown to prospective publishers at portfolio review events. I met Jennifer Thompson from Princeton Architectural Press at Review Santa Fe. The publication of my book evolved from that meeting.



from The Day-to-Day Life of Albert Hastings, © KayLynn Deveney

NP: What's next?

KD: Making new work! I successfully defended my Ph.D. in Wales in December and have subsequently completed the minor revisions. Also in December, I received a substantial grant from the Anonymous Was A Woman foundation that will support new projects that I am starting now. In terms of exhibitions, ten images from The Day-to-Day Life of Albert Hastings will be included in an exhibition titled The Art of Caring: A Look at Life through Photographs, organized by the New Orleans Museum of Art. The exhibition will run May 16th - October 11th, 2009 at the New Orleans Museum of Art before traveling to other venues. And finally, I have been accepted to a two-week course at the American Academy of Bookbinding that will focus on the fundamentals of making leather bindings.

NP: Thank you, KayLynn!

To see more of KayLynn Deveney's work, please go to www.kaylynndeveney.com, also go here to purchase a copy of her book.

Tomorrow: Opening Reception Night Moves @ Farmani and Safe-T-Gallery

OPENING RECEPTION
Thursday, March 5, 2009, 6-8 PM

EXHIBITION DATES
March 5, 2009 - April 11, 2009.
Wednesday - Saturday 12-6 PM

LOCATIONS
Safe-T-Gallery, Suite 214
Farmani Gallery, Suite 212
111 Front Street
DUMBO, Brooklyn, NY

Op-Ed: Juliana's Secret Stash

Juliana as Amanda with Anonymous Customer, Naked City, Queens, N.Y., 1993, © Juliana Beasley

The start of March begins with a slew of art fairs and gallery openings in New York City. For this week's Op-Ed series, we're reposting Juliana Beasley's story behind "Juliana's Secret Stash." Juliana is participating in a group show at Michael Mazzeo Gallery, with an opening tomorrow, and is debuting her personal history. We're honored to have her reveal such an intimate part of her life.

Juliana’s Secret Stash

Juliana as Nico at Naked City, © Juliana Beasley

This series of Polaroid’s is lovingly called “Juliana’s Secret Stash”. I have kept this work hidden in a shoebox away from light and away from the sight of others—except for the occasional friend—for over almost two decades, until now. I will show part of this collection, in the form of larger sized scans of the Polaroid’s, for the first time at the Micheal Mazzeo Gallery from March 4th through April 11th 2009.

During the 1990s, I was dancing and photographing in strip clubs in the tri-state area and around the USA, paving the way to completion of my book Lapdancer. Stuffed away into my duffle bag of g-strips and spandex costumes, I also toted along the SX-70 and Joy Cam Polaroid cameras to photograph dancers, take portraits of myself with other dancers and self-portraits.

Throughout my career as a dancer, I often took the opportunity to be photographed with well known and not so well known feature dancers and porn stars. Feature dancers are performers who come to the gentlemen’s club for the week to perform a "special" routine on stage, bringing in elated customers.


Leah's First Night, © Juliana Beasley

I had many chances to have my portrait taken with these weekly performers. When I worked in Honolulu for half a year, I found a club where porn stars and features were a common part of the program, night and day. They would fly in just to parade their specialty, whether it was grotesquely large implants, the size of three human heads smushed together in one globule, or a bubble bath on stage. They performed several times during a shift. In one week, they definitely earned more money than I did, or at least, this is what I heard from other dancers who estimated that in a year’s worth of work, they grossed 200K and more.

Between stage shows and meeting with adoring groupies, they hid in their personal dressing rooms. The “house” club dancers wondered what they did in there? I imagine apply more make-up upon sweaty made-up faces and calculate the day’s earnings with their traveling managers.

They were the rock stars of the business. I was a supporting actress.

Juliana as Jesse with Goldi Star in Hawaii, © Juliana Beasley

Part of the fanfare was not only an effort to promote their unique performance, but also to sell their fanzines and offer a lasting memory to the customers in return for a nominal fee. After a performance, the male fans would line up in a corner of the club and pay to have a Polaroid taken of themselves and their favorite glamour queen. Instant gratification before the days of digital! The adult starlet would then scribble the customary signature on the Polaroid with something brazen such as the classic "Cum See Me". Sometimes, when they had the time, they would write something more original and address it to the customer.

I often went and took my place at the end of the cue to pleasantly ask the performer, “Can I have my photo taken with you?” Whatever they thought of me, I always walked away charmed and delighted with my new possession. All I wanted was a bit of nostalgia from my dancer days in the form of a celluloid Polaroid to hold onto for future days and laughs.

During the final years of working on Lapdancer, I was no longer dancing myself and traveled the United States simply to photograph. I went to Colorado, Las Vegas, Tampa, Ft. Myers and Miami. I began shooting “house” dancers with my newly bought Polaroid Joy Cam. I had an idea: I would photograph a dancer and ask her to sign the bottom of her portrait with a Sharpie just like the feature and porn actresses had done, elevating her to a higher level of stardom. Instead of the formulaic one-liners, I asked them to write what they were really thinking at that very moment while working a night’s shift at the club.


Pennie, © Juliana Beasley

Many of the dancers wrote the ubiquitous “I want to make lots of MONEY” or something close to it. However, sometimes a dancer would write very personal ironic or sad one-lined commentaries. An older dancer from Ft. Myers named Pennie wrote under her portrait, “Thanks for seeing something in me that I no longer see”.

My concept was a simple. I wanted to create a visual pun mimicking the feature dancers’ flagrant self-presentation, a juxtaposition of fantasy in relation to reality. I knew from personal experience that behind every dancer’s smile and agreeable affect are thoughts far from the external trimmings.


Wanna Dance?, Las Vegas, © Juliana Beasley

I am intrigued with this frank inner monologue within each dancer and how it compares to that of the feature dancers’ contrived scribblings upon the Polaroid’s white edges.

This dichotomy is not singular, nor a detached phenomenon existing only within strip clubs. We are all tempted to pass through life euphorically embracing the consumption of fantasy, rather than facing not only simple joys, but also the reality of pain.

For more information about the story behind the work go to:

http://julianaslovelylandofneurosis.blogspot.com/

-Juliana Beasley

We want to thank Juliana for allowing us to repost this entry. Please go see her work and say hi at the opening.

Juliana's Secret Stash at Art Fair!
Michael Mazzeo Gallery
March 4 through April 11, 2009
526 W. 26th street
NY, NY 10001

Tomorrow: Opening Reception @ Soho Photo (Tribeca)

Schimmelreiter (FerroI) ©Nina Buesing Corvallo

Soho Photo's Krappy Kamera XI Exhibition
juried by Brian Paul Clamp
March 3 - April 4, 2009
Opening Reception March 3, 2009 6-8 p.m.

Fotógrafee @ John Jay College Art Gallery

Fotógrafee
Through March 26, 2009

OPENING RECEPTION
Thursday, March 12, 6-8pm

WORKS BY
Anjali Bhargava
Groana Melendez
Bonnie Portelance
Miriam Romais
George Malave

John Jay College Art Gallery
899 Tenth Avenue
3rd Floor (btwn 58 & 59th St)
NYC
Gallery Hours: Mon-Fri, 9am-4pm; and by appointment

Click here to see the facebook invite

Nina Berman in Houston

from Homeland, © Nina Berman

Nina Berman's in a group exhibition titled "Unite and Untie" at the Houston Center for Photographer.

From the press release:
Unite and Untie
February 27 - March 29, 2009

Photographs by Nina Berman, Chris Sims, Toby Morris, Mark Bagge and Benjamin Lowy

Unite and Untie is a group exhibition addressing the civil unrest in the Middle East and its ripple effects throughout the world. Beyond the grotesque wallpaper of war imagery we are shown daily by the media are images conflict by photographers who aim to create a new version of contemporary war photography devoid of combat.

Nina will also be participating in an artist talk on March 15th where she will discuss her monograph and a documentary titled, Purple Hearts – Back From Iraq. There is also a screening of the feature length documentary too on March 14th. Not to be missed! More info at this link.

Unite and Untie
Houston Center for Photography
Now through March 29, 2009
1441 West Alabama
Houston, TX 77006

Carrie Mae Weems at Brooklyn Museum

One of my favorite museums in the city is the Brooklyn Museum. Recently I discovered the museum started posting their lectures and artist talks online. It's a great resource and I was so happy to see Carrie Mae Weems' artist talk. I've heard Weems speak before in Syracuse and her wisdom, honesty, and eloquent language is always eye opening.



Carrie Mae Weems is in an exhibition in the Brooklyn Museum through April 5, 2009.

Burning Down the House: Building a Feminist Art Collection
October 31, 2008–April 5, 2009
Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, 4th Floor
Brooklyn Museum

A Conversation with Kanako Sasaki

Backyard and Morning, from Wanderlust, © Kanako Sasaki

My work explore my own imaginative world that is influenced from various connections such as traditional Japanese novels and Ukiyo-e paintings or my childhood memories, which inspire me to composite my own Ukiyo—the floating world. -Kanako Sasaki, from Wanderlust.

Kanako Sasaki was an artist in residence at Light Work during my sophomore year at Syracuse. The child-like dreamy quality of her images immediately drawn me to her photography. Also, the combination of childlike nostalgia with her intense interest in cultural history create surreal photographs. I'm so happy Kanako agreed to participate in this conversation.

Nymphoto: Tell us a little about yourself.

Kanako Sasaki: I grew up in Northern Japan. I decided to study journalism in the US, when I was 17. So, I went to undergraduate in US, upstate NY and received BA in Journalism.
I didn't start photography until the year 2000 or so. I realized that the real way to communicate would be in a free form, not through the mass media.
This is why I started to make images.
I have been lucky enough that I managed to visit different cities to do my project such as Bolivia, Eastern Europe, and so on. I like people and want to understand how people are in any condition of their living. This is why I started to do photography, not to forget how I felt and what I saw.



Uniform and Outcast, from Wanderlust, © Kanako Sasaki

NP: How did you discover photography?

KS: I took my first photo class by curiosity. My teacher showed us some slides including Cindy Sherman. I think her work gave me inspiration and opened up my world to photo.


Yellow Leotard, from Wanderlust, © Kanako Sasaki

As a contemporary Japanese, we hardly talk about the past, because of the generation changes and the swell of the consumerism, which have been fulfilled their desires and having the comfortable lives. I feel urgent to access our own true past so that we can prepare for the future. -Kanako Sasaki, from Walking in the Jungle

NP: Where do you find inspiration?

KS: My memories and imagination are influenced from nature, places, and novels that I've read in the past. One of my favorite authors is Soseki Natsume's novels.

Formally, I look a lot of paintings. I do care to see more than just photography.

I love film and many have inspired me. French, Hong Kong, and Japanese films have taught me the importance of small details, story telling, and how to narrate. Some examples are Jean Luc Godard's "Picnic," Wong Kar Wai's "Chungking Express," and films by Kurosawa Akira.

The act of play and humor is very important in order to reach my audience. I guess this is how I see and how I survive. At the same time, I don't want to forget my memories and sensitivities from my childhood in Japan. After traveling around, this is my defense mechanism in a way... perhaps and the way of communicating people.
I believe we are not so different from each other despite our cultures or any beliefs.



Bathing and Swing Club, from Wanderlust, © Kanako Sasaki

NP: How did your project "Wanderlust" come about?

KS: During "Wanderlust", I was seeking for my origin and also facing the question of "what is reality." Reality became imagination and the two merged. Inspired mainly from traditional Japanese novels and love stories, Ukiyo-e paintings, and my own childhood memories. Also, in order to communicate via images, I want to focus on some universal feelings, such as naiveness and innocence.

I have more been interested in creating a surreal and eccentric mood to express a dream like world than showing the womanhoods. Furthermore, I am interested in the idea of bipolar, such as innocence and aggression, loneliness and playfulness to express the extreme stage of emotion that are on the verge of formation or even explosion. Therefore, there are multiple personalities underneath in girls, which push “self” into the images. It is almost not about the issue of being a girl or living in the different culture, but just as human beings to survive in the reality, which contemplate with the idea such as loss, escape, isolation, and self-distraction in the modern life. -Kanako Sasaki, from Wanderlust

Anne Frank's Signal, Departure, and Site of Russian Army's Departure to Attack Japan 103 Years Ago, from Walking in the Jungle, © Kanako Sasaki

NP: What were some of the ideas in "Walking in the Jungle"?

KS: In 2006 I did a residency in Vienna, Austria. That was my first time living in Europe and was my first time facing so much history in the country. When I was living in London last year, I worked on "Walking in the Jungle." It was my reaction to the history in Europe, especially the history shared with Japan in the Japanese-Russian War in 1904.
I tried to understand the history, especially since my generation can't experience living in the past, and is away from the history. I thought it is very important to understand and remember the history.
In Europe, history surrounds people's lives, especially from buildings. Last year, I was mainly interested in war in history. I thought about the people who had to go through it, for example, Anne Frank.
The project was about my naive interpretation and my link of history so that I don't forget.



Termination and Time Escape, from Walking in the Jungle, © Kanako Sasaki

NP: What's next?

KS: I am working on two different projects, "Bolivia/Okinawa" a project about the immigration of Japanese people to Bolivia after World War II.

I have started the project in Okinawa village (Colonial Okinawa) in Bolivia since last year, connecting the link and gap between the people in Okinawa (Japanese Okinawans) and the people who immigrated to Bolivia after the WWII. I use visual pieces such as video, film and photographs to express their stories.

I'm also working on another project about Iceland, titled "Drifted". In both projects, I began utilizing video and photography. I think it's a good beginning.

NP: Thank you very much!


The Depth, from Walking in the Jungle, © Kanako Sasaki

I struggle, struggle not to forget, what I have felt or saw, etc. In order to do so, I make my own work and create fantastic images or space to remind the viewers to evoke the forgotten emotions and memories. -Kanako Sasaki, from Walking in the Jungle

Currently, Kanako is participating in two solo shows in Japan, both featuring brand new work from her current projects.

Shiseido Gallery
"Okinawan Ark"
Now through March 1, 2009
Ginza Shiseido Building, basement floor
Ginza 8-8-3, Chou-ku, Tokyo

MA2 Gallery
"Drifted"
Now through March 14, 2009
3-3-8 Ebisu, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan

Also to see more of her work, head to www.kanakosasaki.com.

Night Moves @ Safe-T-Gallery & Farmani Gallery

The photographic works of thirteen artists who toil under the cloak of darkness will be featured in two simultaneous exhibitions at two neighboring Dumbo galleries starting this March 5th. “Night Moves - Exploring the Horizon” will be at Safe-T-Gallery and “Night Moves - Angles of View” at Farmani Gallery. The shows, co-curated by Jill Waterman and Daryl-Ann Saunders, feature the work of photographers who understand how long exposures, unusual and distinctive light sources and the deep contrasts and colors seen only at night, bring clarity and insight to both the natural and the man-made landscape.

Night Moves - Exploring the Horizon, features works by Nymphoto's Maria Passarotti.


OPENING RECEPTION
Thursday, March 5, 2009, 6-8 PM

EXHIBITION DATES
March 5, 2009 - April 11, 2009.
Wednesday - Saturday 12-6 PM

LOCATIONS
Safe-T-Gallery, Suite 214
Farmani Gallery, Suite 212
111 Front Street
DUMBO, Brooklyn, NY

Christina Kruse @ Steven Kasher Gallery

from Reisebuch1-5 © Christina Kruse

Christina Kruse
Steven Kasher Gallery
5211 West 23rd Street
2nd Floor
New York, NY
Exhibition: February 26-March 28, 2009
Opening Reception: March 5, 2009 - 6-8pm