Art for Haiti: Auction Highlights

As part of our Art for Haiti Auction, we'd like to show you works that are available during this week. To learn more about the auction please click here for the press release information.


Artist: Hidemi Takagi
Title: "Untitled" from "Happie Photographie"
Date: 2001
Medium and Size: 11x14" C-print with signature on back

Hidemi Takagi was born in Kyoto, Japan and resides in Brooklyn, NY.

Ms. Takagi has been exhibited both nationally and internationally for several years. Takagi participated in the AIM program at The Bronx Museum of the Arts in 2003. The program led to a group exhibition as well as a catalogue, NYFA’s (The New York Foundation for the Arts) Immigrant Outreach program for New York-based immigrant artists in 2006-2007, and was selected for LMCC (Lower Manhattan Cultural Council) Swing Space, will participate in 2010. Her work reviewed in Time Out Tel Aviv, Time Out New York, NY Times, and Village Voice. Takagi’s latest project “Blender” was published on NYFA (NY Foundation for the Arts) Current.

Click here to bid on her work!


Artist: Michelle Kloehn
Title: "Untitled"
Date: 2008
Medium and Size: 5x7" Tintype, signed and dated on back

Michelle Kloehn received her MFA from Bard College and her BFA from the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. She is the recipient of two MacDowell Colony Fellowships and her work has been included in exhibitions at Sepia International (NY), Jen Bekman Gallery (NY), and the Milwaukee Art Museum. Her work was featured in BLIND SPOT Issue 36, Fall Portfolio and has been written about in The New Yorker, ARTnews, and New York Arts Magazine. Her photographs are in the collection of the National Media Museum in Bradford, England and in various private collections. She currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

Click here to bid on her work!


Artist: Hee Jin Kang
Title: "Slippers"
Date: 2009
Medium and Size: 11x14" Archival Inkjet Print, signed on back

Born in Seoul, Korea, Hee Jin Kang holds degrees from Yale University and the Royal College of Art. Her work has been exhibited internationally and published in various magazines. She currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.

Click here to bid on her work!

The Art for Haiti auction will be coordinated by eBay Giving Works and 100% of the proceeds will go to Partners in Health. The auction & print sale will run now through the end March 9, 2010 at 7:30 PM (EST).


Remember, you only have 3 days left of the auction! Please help us support Haiti.
Click here to see all the artwork offered in the auction and be sure to check if the reserve minimum have been set.

Today: Blender Cart in North Brooklyn

from NbPac:


Blender Cart © Hidemi Takagi

You are invited!
Support North Brooklyn Public Art Coalition (NbPac) and celebrate our upcoming project Living Objects by Jason Krugman in McCarren Park. Here are the details:

Wednesday, November 11th from 7-10pm
Berry Park - 4 Berry Street (btw Nassau Ave and N. 14th St)
Closest trains: L at Bedford or G at Nassau
$10 cover
$5 Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest beers and $5 well drinks during the event!
Cash bar only with ATM on site

FEATURING:

BERRY PARK- the newly-opened Williamsburg bar with tasty German beers on tap and amazing rooftop views. Thank you Berry Park for hosting!

LIVE MUSIC BY BABY SODA
Developed by hoboes, perfected through science... The Baby Soda Jazz Band is on the cutting edge of a new movement loosely known as street jazz; with an eclectic set of influences ranging from New Orleans brass bands, jug music, southern gospel and hot jazz. Have a listen.

Appetizers provided by LOKAL

Hidemi Takagi's BLENDER
Experience the multicolored, multicultured, gastronomic diversity of the boroughs of NYC with Hidemi Takagi's "Blender." Hidemi has been kind enough to gather some tasty treats from North Brooklyn specifically for this event!

for more about Hidemi Takagi's Blender project, revisit our Conversation with her right here.

The Blender Cart

Here's some Monday morning eye candy for you straight from Hidemi Takagi's Blender cart.


Blender © Hidemi Takagi

Hidemi Takagi on Art Bridge Blog

Spider Mac from Happie Photograpphie © Hidemi Takagi


The Art Bridge Blog wrote an intro to Hidemi Takagi's work and her ongoing work with Art Bridge. You can also revisit our conversation with Hidemi here.

Hidemi Takagi @ Chashama Jamaica, Qns

Hidemi Takagi took up a studio residency at Chashama in Jamaica, Queens to build a "blender cart" for her "Blender" series. See more photos from the series on her flickr photostream.


© Hidemi Takagi

Dream Sequence on view now

courtesy of Hidemi Takagi:

Dream Sequence explores in the form of sequential images the themes of identity, socialism, sexuality, and the unconscious state of dreaming, in the form of comic books, drawing, illustration, painting, photography, sculpture and video. Participating artists include Richard Ackoon, Gary Camp, Momo Felix, Ray Felix, Ruth Fernandez, Dmitry Gubin, Marcus Jones, KAZ, Rene Iatba, Ivan Monforte, Ed Mouzon, Elena Petersen, David Quiles, Wanda Raimundi-Ortiz, Timothy Ryan, Jean Rosa-Segarra, Luis Sierra, Hidemi Takagi, Chris Torres, Arlen Schumer, Bedel Tiscareno, Ed Traquino and Ivan Velez.

Dream Sequence
The Longwood Art Gallery@ Hostos
450 Grand Concourse at 149th Street, Bronx, NY 10451 718-518-6728
Directions to Hostos: Hostos is located at 450 Grand Concourse at 149th Street and is easily accessible by subway #2, #4, and #5 to "149th Street/Grand Concourse.

Closing Receptions & Trolley: May 6th,2009 @5-9pm
The Longwood Art Gallery@ Hostos
450 Grand Concourse at 149th Street, Bronx, NY 10451

Opening Tomorrow: Hidemi Takagi- Happie Photographie in First Exposure

image courtesy of Hidemi Takagi

"ArtBridge 2009: First Exposure"
Artbridge is an organization created by artist and designer Rodney Durso, to develop, curate and showcase works of large format art for public display and enjoyment. Through Artbridge, artists have the opportunity to exhibit their work to a wider public audience including the casual observer and art enthusiast alike. All projects are large scale, sometimes taking artist and viewer into unfamiliar territory and bringing new and interesting influences to communities. Please see visit: www.art-bridge.org

FIRST EXPOSURE, the debut exhibition of ArtBridge, presenting works of 26 artists in painting, photography and digital art affixed to 470’ linear feet of scaffolding on West 23rd Street bet 9 ave and 10 ave.
The art work will be up there for 6 months - up to 1 year.

Opening Receptions: Thursday, March 19th, @ 6pm - 8pm
London Terrace Gardens, Chelsea
425 West 23rd St. btwn 9th & 10th Ave. NYC
(then proceed to concierge area)

Hidemi Takagi who we had a Conversation with last year is showing images from her Happie Photographie series for this show.

A Conversation with Hidemi Takagi

Hidemi Takagi is one of the brightest and colorful personalities that I know and her work is a reflection of her optimism. Her Blender project takes a closer look at the products available in different ethnic neighborhoods across New York City.


Nigeria from "blender" © Hidemi Takagi
Product: Biscuits, Product of Nigeria
Store: the African Market, 494 Franklin Ave, Brooklyn, NY
Neighborhood: Bed Stuyvesant, Brooklyn (C/S train Franklin Ave stop)
Ethnic Group in Bed Stuyvesant,: African, Caribbean and African American

"Nowhere is there such an intersection of cultures as in New York City. As an immigrant who has lived in New York for over 10 years, traveling among the five boroughs using public transportation is still fascinating and exciting; being in this city can feel like visiting another country. People celebrate the customs and holidays of their country by wearing folk costumes on the street. Awnings with messages in entirely unfamiliar alphabets are completely common. Many of them advertise goods catering to specific nationalities and cultures, especially foods that were brought here or requested by immigrants living in neighborhoods like Brighton Beach, Jackson Heights, or Flushing. The packaging of these products is a form of art that tells stories and helps remind people that their culture is alive. In this way, immigrants in New York City can prevent the fading of identification with their native culture.


Poland from "blender" © Hidemi Takagi
Product: Baby Food/ juice, Product of Poland
Store: Jantar Deli: 66-66 Fresh Pond Rd Ridgewood NY
Neighborhood: Ridgewood, Queens (M train Fresh pond Rd stop)
Ethnic Group in Ridgewood: Romanian, People from Former Yugoslavia, Polish, Latino and German (former)

Blender is my ongoing project in which I investigate the diverse immigrant cultures in New York City. The project includes photos of the packaging of food products from various neighborhoods with a large immigrant influence accompanied by texts (short stories as well as notes on the history, culture, and trivia relating to immigrant-heavy areas), maps, and a website. I'm showing photos and presenting short texts on the New York City neighborhoods where the photographed food products can be found.The look of these food packages often has an old-fashioned feel: bright, saturated colors and outmoded designs that are rare in both Japan, where I'm from, and America, where I now live. Through this project I hope to show that art can transcend time and language even through the simplest imagery found on a candy wrapper. Blender is a lens into New York's immigrant communities and cultures."


Italy from "blender" © Hidemi Takagi
Product: Chamomile Tea, Product of Italy
Store: Mount Carmel Gourmet Food @ The Arthur Avenue Retail Market: 2344 Arthur Avenue, Bronx, NY
Neighborhood: Belmont, Bronx (4/D train to Fordham Road then #12 bus heading east OR 2/5 train to Pelham Parkway then #12 bus heading west)
Ethnic Group in Belmont: Italian American, Albanian and Mexican


Russia from "blender" © Hidemi Takagi
Product: Milk Chocolate bar, Product of Russia
Store: Gourmet Russian Market: 1911 Ave M, Brooklyn, NY
Neighborhood: Midwood, Brooklyn(Q train Avenue M stop)
Ethnic Group in Midwood: People from the Soviet Union (the largest group), Chinese, Eastern European, Estonian, Haitian, Israeli, Pakistani, Guyanese, Jamaican, Irish, Italian, Iranian, Greek, Korean, Turkish, Polish, Latvian; Lithuanian, Mexican, South American, Syrian, and Indian


Germany from "blender" © Hidemi Takagi
Product: Rusks Product of Germany
Store: Schaller & Weber: 1654 Second Avenue New York, NY
Neighborhood: Yorkville, NY (4/5/6 Train 86th st)
Ethnic Group in Yorkville, Manhattan: Former Czech,Irish, Hungarian, German, Polish and Slovak

Nymphoto: Tell us a little about yourself.

Hidemi Takagi: I was born in Kyoto, Japan. I moved to the United States in 1997. I am currently living in Brooklyn with my husband and our one year old daughter.

NP: How did you discover photography?

HT: After high school, I moved to Osaka to attend the Fashion Institute but dropped out. At the time I didn't know what I wanted to do. I held several jobs. I worked a vintage clothing store, the Think Tank Company , and then by accident I got a job as a manager of a commercial photo studio. My job encompassed all aspects of the studio. I was the studio assistant, stylist (fashion and prop), and occasionally the model for those clients with smaller budgets (laugh). My boss taught me a great deal about photography. That was the beginning of my photography career.

I liked photography but didn't know much about it. I had never thought about becoming a photographer or an artist. In general, the Japanese don't think of an artistic career as something serious or realistic.

After I moved to NY, I tried to take basic photography classes at ICP (International Center of Photography). There was only one class available, "a roll a day" with Susan Kleckner. Susan was great and I ended up loving the class. I liked the fact that she was not only a photographer but also a film/video maker and a performance artist. I was completely inspired by her. I took another class with Susan but otherwise have not had any photo school experience. At the same time, I was working for Mikael Levin (he had solo exhibition "War Story" at ICP in 1997). He had a studio near my apt. and I worked in his darkroom. One day he told me to bring my work. He picked out twenty pictures and told me to send them to "White Columns". So I did. Within a month, I received a call for a group exhibition there. That was my first exhibition in NY.

NP: Where do you find inspiration?

HT: In nature- trees, oceans, blue skies, colorful things and 50's culture. Everything that surrounds me.

NP: How did this project come about?

HT: Since coming to New York, I have used public transportation to travel to different neighborhoods. For some reason, I have never been scared. Sometimes, I just take a bus and start looking at the changing scenery, not knowing where the bus is going to take me. I started to discover immigrant-heavy areas this way. At local markets, I saw many unfamiliar imports from various countries. Some of the packaging is cute, fun, and occasionally old-fashioned. I started collecting and reading the packages. I researched the country of origin to find interesting things about each place. I'm very interested in the "blending" of cultures here in New York. People from every single country in the world meet here. My family is an example- my husband is from Haiti and I am from Japan. Now we have a daughter who is a real "blender" baby.

NP: What's next?

HT: I just started a project about "old signs" in New York. There isn't a title for the project yet. I've been in New York for eleven years. In the beginning, I was amazed that New York was the New York that I saw in photography books or movies when I was in Japan. I love what remains of old fashioned stores such as delis. They are colorful, and sometimes still have their old neon signs. Within the last couple of years, New York City has started to develop quickly with many older building being torn down to make way for modern, more boring architecture. One day when I was sitting outside a bakery in my neighborhood, I realized the deli across the street had changed their sign. It became ugly. I have decided to record these signs before they disappear.

Thank you Hidemi! Check out new additions to Blender on Hidemi's flickr page.