Survey Says....

This topic has been coming up a lot lately amongst friends and photo peers.. so I am just going to toss the question out into the wind and see what comes back. Answer honestly in a comment and please feel free to comment anonymously and with as much or as little detail as you would like.

Of those who currently call NYC home:

A) How many of you love living in New York and want to call it home for good? (satisfied with cost of living, population, job availability, artist community, etc)

B) How many of you enjoy/like living in New York for now but feel obligated to stay for career reasons? Why/how? Where would you rather live?

C) How many of you are unsatisfied with living in New York, but feel it would impact your career/be too difficult to find employment if you moved away? Why/how? Where would you rather live?

D) Do you feel you have to live in New York to make it as an artist/photographer? What other cities do you feel have similar potential, if any?

E) What is most important to consider when looking at cities to live in? (ie: career/job potential? quality of life? cost? cleanliness? ability to network? accessibility? public transport?)

F) For those of you considering a move to New York in the near future, what is the main reason for wanting to move? How long do you plan on staying?

Monday lethargy

found image

Two years ago I was fortunate enough to be included in the Humble Arts exhibition 31 Under 31, featuring the work of 31 female fine art photographers under the age of 31. This show occurred during Women’s History Month and spawned a lot of action, blog posts, articles (Gallerinas), panel discussions and new friendships. As many of you know, Women in Photography (a site curated by myself and Cara Phillips) went live shortly after in hopes to continue celebrating and sharing the work of female photographers year round. Not only have Cara and I have had a great time curating these online solo shows; we were fortunate enough to receive funding and give away our first grant as well as participate in PPOW's Young Curators New Ideas II and speak at Aperture. It's been a great time and I look forward to the future of WIP.

In the spirit of Women in Photography and the desire to support and showcase female photographers I wanted to acknowledge HAFNY's efforts to continue also supporting the work of female fine art photographers (dropping the age limitations to boot) with their upcoming exhibition 31, opening Saturday, March 6.

The exhibition includes photographs by Erica Allen, Amelia Bauer, Claire Beckett, Gilda Davidian, Jessica Eaton, Naomi Harris, Carmen von Kende, Anna Krachey, Yvonne Lacet, Erika Larsen, Jessica Mallios, Alison Malone, S. Billie Mandle, Paula McCartney, Rachelle Mozman, Yamini Nayar, Sarah Palmer, Kristine Potter, Heather Rasmussen, Justine Reyes, Lisa Robinson, Irina Rozovsky, Sasha Rudensky, Victoria Sambunaris, Robin Schwartz, Emily Shur, Brea Souders, Rachel Sussman, Kirsten Kay Thoen, Carson Fisk-Vittori, and Ann Woo.

Black is the Day, Black is the Night is a new project I've been working quietly on for a while now. It is definitely a work in progress at this point and I have much to think about. It is a huge stretch away from portraits that I normally make, yet feels connected in terms of what draws me in to make the work. Wallflower being an investigation into masculinity, gender and stereotypes looks at young men in New York and New Orleans sitting still before a staged environment, Black is the Day, Black is the Night is looking at masculinity and stereotypes as well, but in regards to men serving life and deathrow sentences in some of the most hardcore maximum security prisons in the US. All of the men I have been in contact with have served over 13 years in confinement, going in as young as 13, 15 and 18. Our only contact is the letters and drawings shared back and forth. Here are some of the images I have made so far. For more info you can read the entire statement here. I was fortunate enough to be able to display an installation from this project at The Carnegie Art Museum in Southern CA, which remains open until Feb 21, 2010.


The Real May Never Equal the Imagined, 2009 / 16x20



13/32 (Not the Man I Once Was), 2009 / 16x20



36 Months out of a Life Sentence, 2009 / Varying sizes



"Serving time on the River" game spinner, 2009 / found object



108 Months out of a Life Sentence, 2009 / varying sizes



26/44 (Not the Man I Once Was), 2009 / 16x20



Let Life and Death be the Spear Point of our Days, 2009 / 16x20



Food Tray, 2009 / found object

Slow edits

The Inspiration Network, 2009 from the series Where I Found You.

and sometimes..

sometimes..

Naked Scanners

I'm going to officially boycott flying if this goes through.



The scanners "work by beaming electromagnetic waves on to passengers while they stand in a booth. A virtual three-dimensional image is then created from the reflected energy." "The authorities say it will speed up security checks by quickly revealing any concealed weapons or explosives. The full body scans will also show up breast enlargements, body piercings and a clear black-and-white outline of passengers' genitals." I'm creeped out beyond belief.

Playmobile offers a range of educational toys for tots including: Security Check Point featuring Airport security station, metal detector and scanner. Safe Crackers (Thieves)set featuring scrubby bearded men and full safe cracking accessories. Modern Living Family Yacht fitted with a modern kitchen, a toilet, shower and toy yuppies. Asian Family featuring touristy camera around neck. And of course the doctor with incubator set featuring mobile incubator and preemie baby. No offense... but these toys both creep me out and make me laugh.

Daily

Every... single... day... another day comes.

02/22/08 - 01/04/10

wanderlustagraphy

Looking for contributions for wanderlustagraphy 2010! Please send your work along!! We are coming upon the 3rd birthday of the site and would love your lovely images to join the party. Check the link for additional information on what/how to submit. Thanks!

Hiatus

"Away, away and always away. What is it that remains when one is away?" -fc


Pacific Ocean, 2009

Been away for a few weeks.. away from computers, crowds and the cold. Have to say, I didn't miss any of it all that much. I'm still acclimating to steady internet connections, subway rides and work. Blech.

BUT! Good news is, NYC isn't all bad. While it's freezing, there are reasons to love the place. Tomorrow eve, I am excited to head over to Daniel Cooney Gallery and check out my pal Tim Briner's solo show and hanging out for a bit before heading over to Hous Projects for the group show, VERSUS, that Ruben Natal-San Miguel curated (I'm excited to be in it... but also psyched to see work by some amazing folks like Hank Willis Thomas, Mickalene Thomas, Brian Ulrich, etc, etc. full list below)

Hous Projects Gallery
31 Howard St. 2nd Floor
OPENING night: Thursday, Jan 7th | 6pm- 10pm

Brian Ulrich vs. Alex Leme
Mickalene Thomas vs. Nadine Rovner
Hank Willis Thomas vs. Cara Phillips
Amy Elkins vs. Molly Landreth
Matthew Pillsbury vs. Kris Graves
Phil Toledano vs. Elizabeth Fleming
Zoe Strauss vs. Ruben Natal-San Miguel
Jen Davis vs. Eric Ogden
Michael Wolf vs. Gina Levay

Happy Holidays!

VERSUS - Save the date!

Excited to be a part of this one.. so many great artists in the show!


VERSUS- Curated by Ruben Natal-San Miguel
Hous Projects
31 Howard Street
SoHo, NYC
www.housprojects.com

Opening January 7th

Artists include: Mickalene Thomas, Brian Ulrich, Cara Phillips, Zoe Strauss, Hank Willis Thomas, Matthew Pillsbury, Amy Elkins, Molly Landreth, Eric Ogden, Alex Leme, Kris Graves, Jen Davis, Gina LeVay, Phil Toledano, Ruben Natal-SanMiguel, Michael Wolf, Elizabeth Fleming and Nadine Rovner.

Hope to see you there! (After heading over to see Timothy Briner's Booneville solo show at Daniel Cooney of course!!)