If you are in the Austin area, don't miss the opportunity to hear Mary Ellen Mark speak at the new Austin Center for Photography tomorrow.
from Austin Center for Photography
Thursday, March 12, 7pm – An Evening with Mary Ellen Mark
This is the kick-off for the 2009 Icons of Photography lecture series which is the cornerstone of ACP entry into the Austin arts scene. ACP is proud to bring Mary Ellen Mark to Austin for this exciting event.
From Mary Ellen's web site: "Mary Ellen Mark has achieved worldwide visibility through her numerous books, exhibitions and editorial magazine work. She is a contributing photographer to The New Yorker and has published photo-essays and portraits in such publications as LIFE, New York Times Magazine, Rolling Stone, and Vanity Fair.
Date: Thursday, March 12th,
Time: 7pm
Where: Blanton Museum Auditorium | University of Texas | Austin, Texas
Cost: Members Free | $10 General Admission | $5 Students | Tickets at the door
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Tomorrow: Mary Ellen Mark lecture at ACP
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Writers Wanted
Nymphoto is looking for additional contributors for its Op-Ed Series. Don't be shy, apply!
What is Nymphoto Op-Ed?
Nymphoto Op-Eds are written by artists, curators, bloggers, collectors, historians,critics and students; the Op-ed pieces share the reflections and opinions of its authors relating to & about photography. We are interested in a broad range of opinions & experiences and are encouraging everyone involved in the arts to submit.
If you you would like your op-ed published on the Nymphoto Blog please submit it via submissions(at)nymphoto.com along with a CV and a link to your web-presence (if you have one).
Please note that we are primarily looking for op-eds written by women in photography or by men writing about subjects relevant to women artists.
You can find the Nymphoto Collective's Mission Statement at: www.nymphoto.com.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Kudos to PDN
When PDN announced their 30 this year, we were pleased to see that they listed MartineFourgeron amongst their selection. Not just a woman, but a middle aged woman!
Martine Fougeron observes and documents the life around her, photographing family and friends.
Find out more about her and her work at: www.martinefougeron.com.
And to read more about the experience of women in the arts visit Ellen Rennard's very eloquent blog "Quintessence" and re-read recent Nymphoto Op-Ed pieces.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Susana Raab in PDN
Fastfood © Susana Raab
This month's issue of PDN highlights the work of Susana Raab in PDN's Exposure Section.
Take a look at this feature here.
And re-visit our conversation with Susana here.
Congrats Susana!
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Ewa-Mari Johansson: Mama Maasai
If you are in Stockholm, you can see the work of photographer Ewa-Mari Johansson at the Museum of Ethnography in an exhibit titled "Mama Maasai"
Ms. Johannson travelled to Tanzania in 2006 to document the lives of Masai women.
Museum of Ethnography
Djurgårdesbrunnsvägen 34
Stockholm, Sweden
www.etnografiska.se
- until March 15, 2009
Friday, March 6, 2009
Next Wed: Stein & Hetherington @ Apple Soho
from Stranded © Amy Stein
Photographers Who Blog: Andrew Hetherington and Amy Stein
APA/NY Apple Image Maker Lecture Series
Apple Store Soho Theatre
103 Prince Street
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
6:00-8:00 PM
You can revisit our conversation with Amy by clicking here.
WIPNYC - Lightside Individual Project Grant
Women in Photography, co-founded by Amy Elkins and Cara Phillips in June 2008 to showcase the works of female fine art photographers, is pleased to announce their first project grant, funded by Lightside Photographic Services/ and co-sponsored by LTI. The $3,000 grant award will provide funding to one photographer to support project costs.
GRANT: $3000.00. One grant will be awarded
APPLICATION PROCESS OPENS: Wednesday April 1, 2009 12am
DEADLINE: FRIDAY, MAY 1, 2009, 12AM
GRANT ANNOUNCEMENT: JUNE 10, 2009
Grant announcement will be made at evening event at the National Arts Club, Grand Gallery. There will be a reception for the grant winner and a slideshow presentation of their work. The Grant winner's work will be featured in a wipnyc.org online solo showcase opening on 6/16/09.
APPLICANT ELIGIBILITY
Applications will be only be accepted from photographers who are at least 18 years old, and who are NOT currently enrolled in any full-time or part-time degree program.
PROJECT ELIGIBILITY
Projects submitted for consideration can be new or ongoing. Applicants should submit no more than one proposal in support for one project.
REVIEW PROCESS
WIP’s curatorial staff, Amy Elkins & Cara Phillips will review projects for visual & conceptual strength, rigor of purpose, and clarity of stated project goals.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
WIPNY will only accept online submissions.
Applicants must submit exactly five images. Each image must be:
JPEG format
72dpi
sRGB
650 pixels wide
Contact Info
BIO (Under 200 words)
CV
**Please direct all grant submission questions to the email address which will be made available as APRIL 1, 2009**
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
Describe the project in 300 words or less* ( IN PLACE OF ARTISTS STATEMENT)
Please include: Project start date, or in progress staus. Estimated finish date?*
Please provide a detailed list of expenses. Itemize each expense and provide a dollar amount.*
Please list any estimated income or other funding sources.*
--
co-curated by Amy Elkins and Cara Phillips
WIPNYC is a Humble Arts Foundation project.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
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.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Tomorrow: Opening Reception Night Moves @ Farmani and Safe-T-Gallery
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
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 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
