Summer Fun

I have been trying to get to the beach as often as possible but this Summer it seems more of a challenge lately. I started shooting some beach images with a Holga a few years ago and have recently begun putting them together. Working on multiple projects is good because it keeps me busy but sometimes I get too busy to keep up with the work and things sit for a long time. So I thought it would be a good way to dust off this long dormant blog by posting an image i shot last Summer. Working on some new ones that I hope to have up before next Summer.

Home, Away from Home Solo Exhibition

I am so excited to announce that I will be exhibiting new work from my Home, Away from Home series at the Homefront gallery in Long Island City. I am very thankful to the Queens Council on the Arts for giving me a grant to produce new work from the series and help make this exhibition possible.
Please join me at the opening reception on November 12th from 4-7pm.

The Homefront Gallery
26-23 Jackson Avenue Long Island City, NY 11101

PDN Top 30!

I am so honored to be selected as one of PDN's Top 30! Much love to my fellow 30 especially Matthew Kristall, Susan Worsham, Will Steacy, Rachel Barrett, Katrina d’Autremont and David Black!

Check out PDN online for the complete list and don't forget to pick up the April issue.

Major Funding Cuts to the NEA!

This morning, the U.S. House of Representatives approved, by a close vote of 217-209, an amendment to cut an additional $20.5 million from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in the FY 2011 appropriations package. The amendment offered by Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) would reduce the NEA budget to $124.5 million, turning the clock back four years to its FY 2007 funding level. Considering the fact that the House Appropriations Committee had already cut the NEA’s budget by $22.5 million before it even got to the floor, this additional cut aggravates an already difficult situation. The NEA has not seen this kind of deep cut in 16 years.

To see how your member voted, please visit our Roll Call link by tomorrow at 3pm ET. For a quick preview of key votes, see the chart below.

Republicans Voting AGAINST NEA Cuts		Democrats Voting FOR NEA Cuts
Bass, C. (NH-02) Biggert (IL-13) Buchanan (FL-13) Dent (PA-15) Dold (IL-10) Gerlach (PA-06) Gibson, C. (NY-20) Grimm (NY-13) Hanna (NY-24) Lance (NJ-07) LaTourette (OH-14)	McKinley (WV-01) Meehan (PA-07) Platts (PA-19) Schock (IL-18) Shimkus (IL-19) Simpson, M. (ID-02) Stivers (OH-15) Tiberi (OH-12) Turner, M. (OH-03) Walden, G. (OR-02) Wolf (VA-10)	Boren, Dan (OK-02) Cardoza (CA-18) Costa (CA-20)

Members Not Voting: Boehner (OH-08); Giffords (AZ-08); Green, G. (TX-29); Diaz-Balart, M. (FL-21); Matheson (UT-02); Sullivan (OK-01) ; Wittman (VA-01); Young, D. (AK-AL)

Two Amendments Withdrawn:
The two amendments to zero-out funding to the National Endowment for the Arts by Reps. Scott Garrett (R-NJ) and Connie Mack (R-FL) were in effect withdrawn. The grassroots arts support rejecting these amendments was clearly effective. Advocates sent more than 62,000 messages to Congress within a three-week period.

Next Steps:
Congress will begin a 10-day recess on February 18. When they return, the U.S. Senate will begin consideration of their own version of the FY 2011 funding legislation as early as February 28. While members of Congress are back home in their districts, we encourage you to inform your local media about the devastating impact the House appropriations bill would have on the arts in your community. Americans for the Arts has set up a Media Alert through our E-Advocacy Center to help you quickly and efficiently send your opinions to the local radio, TV, and newspaper stations in your area. We’ve already matched up the media contacts for you based on your zip code. You just need to customize the article’s talking points and hit send.

We need the Senate to reverse the potentially devastating effects that could be caused on the arts that the FY 2011 appropriations bill passed by the House today. Our customizable Media Alert is a fast and easy way to communicate your support for the NEA to local media outlets and help show your U.S. Senators why the NEA is an important grant-making agency in your state.

Help us continue this important work by becoming an official member of the Arts Action Fund. If you are not already a member play your part by joining the Arts Action Fund today -- it's free and simple.

Minor Cropping May Occur

The artists participating in Minor Cropping May Occur (selected diaries 1962-2011), come from a diverse range of backgrounds and geographic locations: Mike Brodie (USA), JH Engstrom (Sweden), Carl Johan De Geer (Sweden), Janine Gordon (USA), Nick Haymes (USA), Hiromix (Japan), Takashi Homma (Japan), Keizo Kitajima (Japan), Daifu Motoyuki (Japan), Walter Pfeiffer (Switzerland), Jacob Aue Sobol (Denmark), Nick Waplington (UK), and Rona Yefman (Israel). Most of the works featured at Lombard Freid Projects will be premiered in the United States and many of them presented for the first time outside their place of making.

Don't miss the highlights of the exhibition both Nick Haymes's and Daifu Motoyuki's work both dealing with family.
"In Nick Haymes photographic series ‘Zoloto,’ there is a brutal honesty that challenges the cliché portrayal of family life in picture perfect photo albums. Photographed daily over a period of over nine years by imploying a diverse range of cameras and techniques, the series exists as a veristic diary that combines both the high and lows, the picturesque and perverse, the sublime and the banal. ‘Zoloto,’ the Russian word for gold (observed by Haymes through his interactions with his Russian in-laws) reflects his affections for his family life-however unhinged it may appear."

Tokyo based Daifu Motoyuki’s intimate family portraits present us with an idea that runs counter to the stereotype of the average Japanese family. Captured over four years, the photographs detail an honest account of the sprawling chaos associated with his large family’s daily life (five siblings and two working parents under one roof). Often hectic and unkempt, Motoyuki’s scenes are candid portraits of a working class Japanese family capturing the endearing dysfunction within.

Memory and Mortality

I will be speaking this Sunday January 31st at B&H as part of their Artist Lecture Series. I will be speaking about my work and process and also share my professional practices and experiences, namely how residencies and grants have shaped my development as an artist, as well as defined my work and career.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/find/eventDetails.jsp/id/896
Please join me on Sunday afternoon from 1-3pm.

The B&H Event Space is located on the second floor of our Super Store, located at 420 9th Ave, New York, NY 10001.

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

Check out Danelle Manthey's Christmas USA at Jenkins Johnson Gallery opening tonight from 6-8pm. 

"A childhood family ritual served as inspiration for Danelle Manthey’s series of photographs entitled Christmas USA; every holiday season, her family loaded into the car and traveled around their South Dakota area, looking at houses covered in Christmas lights, much to the chagrin of Manthey, who would have preferred to be at home opening presents. When visiting her family as an adult, the renewed tradition sparked curiosity within the photographer, causing her to wonder about the people behind the lights. Manthey, who has twice been selected as Chashama’s Artist in Residence, began documenting the families of these decorated homes in front of their masterpieces in December of 2003, and continues to do so each year at Christmastime, shooting in South Dakota, upstate New York, New Orleans, Florida, and New York City, among others. As Manthey states, her “images are but a glimpse into the world of [her] subjects. Identity and the question of individuality are the themes”that are pervasive within the series”; her ultimate goal is to communicate something about the subject and have it understood through the portrait process."

Christmas USA will be on view until January 8th.

Jenkins Johnson Gallery

521 W. 26th St

5th FL.

Things and Time

CARIBBEAN IN AMERICA: THINGS AND TIME

Photographs by MADELEINE HUNT –EHRLICH

On view for a limited time at L.E.S. GALLERY AT THE CLEMENTE SOTO VELEZ CULTURAL & EDUCATIONAL CENTER 

107 Suffolk Street, New York, NY 10002  

A project made possible by THE LOWER MANHATTAN CULTURAL COUNCIL  

Opening Night Reception & Fundraiser to benefit the Lambi Fund of Haiti 

Friday, December 3rd 6:00-8:00pm

Join in for a special evening of music, food, dancing, and fundraising in celebration of Madeleine Hunt- Ehrlich’s photography exhibition, Caribbean in America: Things and Time. A series of related works will be on display, curated by Legacy Russell (CONTACTPROJECT.NET, Bruce High Quality Foundation), the infamous DJ Deadly Dragon Sound System will spin classic Reggae, Pastry Chef Hannah Sullivan (Baba Restaurant, Brooklyn) will be offering styled bites, and a set of limited-edition prints will be for sale. All profits will be donated to the Lambi Fund of Haiti, a Haitian-American non- profit working to rebuild the city of Port Au Prince. Event is free and open to the public.

A year ago, photographer Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich began working in Little Haiti, the well-known Haitian-

American immigrant community in Miami, Florida. Soon after she began this work, an earthquake devastated

the city of Port au Prince in Haiti. Families were displaced, and one of the cultual capitols of the Caribbean was

left in ruin. The struggle to rebuild Port au Prince has been followed closely by people around the world, and

as we near the anniversary of this tragic event, there is still much work to be done.

Titled after the classic Reggae riddim, Caribbean in America: Things and Time considers cultural memory in Caribbean-American neighborhoods in New York and Miami. An excerpt of this project was published by the Studio Museum in Harlem, and the complete work will be on view at Clemente Soto Velez for a limited time. This project was funded by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.

F.L.O.A.T Gallery Opens

A new gallery is opening in Brooklyn this week. Check out the opening this Friday night:

Things Fall Apart

I'm heading off to Berlin tomorrow. Next week will be the opening  of Things Fall Apart, Curated by Amy Stein at Pool gallery. So excited to be apart of this show which also features the work of Robin Schwartz, Zoe Strauss, Amy Stein, Juliana Beasley, Lisa Kereszi and Stacy Mehrfar. I can't wait! Will also be stopping by Paris Photo next weekend.

Where I'm Calling From

is pleased to present Where I'm Calling From featuring videos by Dale Hoyt, Jan Peacock,  Anna Shteynshleyger, and Regina Clarkinia and photography by Justine Reyes Reception for the artists, Friday, November 5th, 5-9 exhibition on view October 29th-November 27th "I won't raise my voice. Not even if she starts something. She'll ask me where I'm calling from, and I'll have to tell her. I won't say anything about New Year's resolutions. There's no way to make a joke out of this."                   -Raymond Carver, "Where I'm Calling From" "Where I'm calling from" until relatively recently was a static notion; the phone you were using was stationary, and more often than not you were phoning from home to someone else in their home. Now, the cell phone's mobility, and our general mobility as a society, has shifted that reality and the question of where you are calling from becomes more literal, just as it obscures the surety of notions of "home." Each of the video works in this exhibition employs the phone as the potent, elliptical tool that it is and explores its simultaneous relationship to both place and placelessness, home and distance from home. The photography by Reyes makes palpable the honest yearning of place through her revelatory portraits of her mother and uncle in their home and in hotel rooms in various locales from her series "Home, Away From Home." www.krowswork.com/calling.html Krowswork Gallery 480 23rd St. Oakland, CA 94612

Foto Week DC

I am proud to have my work included in 100 Portraits / 100 Photographers

Selections from the FlakPhoto.com Archive Produced by Andy Adams and Larissa Leclair

Statement

As an added fine art component to the NightGallery projections, this screening features 100 dynamic portraits from an exciting group of contemporary photographers in all stages of their careers, each selected from the digital archive on FlakPhoto.com. Our decision to highlight work from this website celebrates the role that a thriving online photography community plays in the discovery and dissemination of work produced by significant artists in the Internet Era. Contemporary photo culture is marked by a continuous flow of images online, and our aim is to take a moment to recognize some of the noteworthy photographs published in this ever-expanding archive over the past four years. In this context, projected several times larger than life, these portraits look back at us and embody a louder voice in the discourse of the gaze.

Photographers

Amy Elkins /Amy Stein / Andreas Laszlo Konrath / Anna Bauer /Ben Handzo / Ben Huff /Betsy Schneider / Birthe Piontek / Bob Shamis / Bradley Peters / Brea Souders / Brian David Stevens / Brian Ulrich / Bronek Kozka / Caitlin Teal Price / Carl Wooley / Carrie Will / Chris Verene / Claire Beckett / Clayton Cotterell / Daniel Ramos / Daniel Shea / Darin Mickey / Dave Jordano / David Griggs /David Maisel / David Wright / Deborah Mitelstaedt / Dina Kantor / Dorothy Deiss / Doug Dubois / Elijah Gowin / Elizabeth Fleming / Eric Ogden / Eric Weeks / Finn O'Hara / Gloria Baker-Feinstein / Graham Miller / Hector Mediavilla / Jacob Koestler /Jaimie Warren / Jane Tam / Jason Florio / Jason Hanasik / Jen Davis /Jesse Burke / Jessica Todd Harper / Jon Feinstein / Joni Sternbach /Jorg Bruggeman / Justine Reyes / Justyna Badach / Katrina d'Autremont / Keliy Anderson-Staley / Lara Pannack / La Toya Ruby Frazier / Lydia Panas /Manjari Sharma / Mary Amor / Maureen Drennan / Mickey Kerr / Mikael Kennedy / Mikhael Subotzky / Molly Landreth / Mona Kuhn / Monika Merva / Myra Greene / Nadine Rovner /Nathalie Bothur / Noah Kalina / Philip Dembinski / Phil Toledano / Rachael Dunville / Rafal Milach / Sage Sohie / Robin Schwartz / Sage Sohier / Sara Code-Kroll / Sarah Small / Sarah Wilson / Shane Lavalette / Shawn Gust / Shen Wei / Simon Roberts / Sophia Wallace / Sophie Jacobson / Steffanie Halley /Stella Kalaw / Steve Giovinco / Stewart Simons / Susan Worsham / Suzanne Opton /Tamara Dean /Tealia Ellis-Ritter / Todd Hido / Victor Cobo /Wang Yi Fei / Will Steacy / Zoe Strauss / Zwelethu Mthethwa

Foto Week DC  Nov 6th-13th 2010

2 Shows, 1 Building. Opening Tomorrow at 111 Front St

Klompching Gallery presents Jim Naughten’s first solo exhibition in the United States, featuring photographs from Re-enactors.

In this body of work, Naughten has photographed some of the thousands of people, who step out of their daily lives to transform into historical characters from the First and Second World War.

Naughten has investigated the phenomena of re-enactment culture with a formal photographic rigour, that contributes to the role of photography in reinventing history. The portraits, themselves, are mostly three-quarter profile, from the legs up and with a stark, neutral backdrop. The striking detail of each image draws attention to the exactness of the costumes being worn and to the expressions of the subjects. Titled only with reference to nationality, unit and rank — nothing of the real lives of the individuals is revealed. The viewer is compelled to look and to wonder about who chooses to play a WWI Gunner, a US Medic or an SS Officer?

Inspired by Richard Avedon’s In The American West, Naughten has stripped away the context of the participants, heightening the sense of artifice. These flawless digital prints — that include tanks and battle scenes — chromatically echo photographs of the past, yet are undoubtedly contemporary.

Jo Ann Walters  Vanity + Consolation at Kris Graves Projects

Jo Ann Walters has been practicing photography since the early 1980's. This selection of exquisite color photographic portraits from Walters' series Vanity + Consolation were made between 1985 and the present. She has been described by seminal photographer William Eggleston as "one of the few independently original photographers working in color today.” These original color prints have never been exhibited in New York. Walters uses her small blue-collar hometown, Alton, Illinois, as her continuing inspiration. Approaching her subjects through the eyes of an insider with all of the ambiguities and contradictions this implies. Walters observes the intimate moments of the women, girls, children, and families pictured within the confines of the domestic space, Walters examines the complexities and forcefulness of inner life.

Both shows run November 4th - December 18th. Join me at the openings tomorrow evening from 6-8pm.  Click here for directions.

Senate Arts Vote

Did you ever make the Honor Roll as a student? Being recognized for being in the top of your class – what an accomplishment! Well, our U.S. Senators brought home their grades and although they weren’t graded on their paintings or musical scales, some managed to make the arts Honor Roll.

The Arts Action Fund graded the members of the U.S. Senate on their support for the arts just like on those report cards that you used to bring home - except we used criteria like voting in support of the arts, joining the Senate Arts Caucus, and more. Senators had three opportunities to vote on the arts during the past two years—from including the arts in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to supporting public art along our nation’s highways to ensuring museums received federal funds. Your senators had the chance to stand up for the arts and many of them rose to the occasion.

Whether they speak out in support of the arts, are aware of the economic role the arts play and the well-being they provide in their state, or simply quietly cast their vote, each of the thirteen Senators we have featured received an A+ to B+ on their support for the arts. And they aren’t the only ones – in fact there are thirty-seven who received a B+ or above on our Congressional Arts Report Card.

Sadly, there are also many who failed in their support of the arts. You can learn more about what it means to fail the arts and who these Senators are in the Dirty Dozen feature of the Congressional Arts Report Card.

Making the Honor Roll affects more than just those Senators who find their names there. Acing the arts as a Senator means supporting the arts for the whole country. It is the support of the arts at the federal level that helps the arts in your community, and communities across the country thrive.

Take a moment to let these Senators know that while they might not receive a gold star for their A grade like they once did, their support is noticed. Share the Honor Roll via Twitter or Facebook with the links below and help get the word out. Or go one step further and support the arts year round by lending your voice to the growing grassroots movement for the arts in America.

View the grades for all members of the Senate.

View the Dirty Dozen.

View Same State, Different Story.

Happy Halloween!

20x200- Amy Stein's Halloween in Harlem

Untitled (Hulk) and Untitled (Powerpuff Girls) from Amy Stein's Halloween in Harlem series are now available from 20x200. I have seen the prints in person and they are beautiful. I'm very excited to get my copies and hang them up. This is such a great opportunity for would be collectors and art lovers limited on funds to own works by established and emerging artists. Amy's prints are selling out fast so get yours now! 

 "I am a big believer in the 20x200 mission of (limited editions × low prices) + the internet = art for everyone and was flattered when they asked me to participate. For my 20x200 edition I made the decision to offer C-prints which meant hand printing every last photo. It almost killed me, but I am in love with the final prints. Check out the 20x200 site to see (and purchase!) the editions." - Amy Stein

PDN Photo Plus Expo

Its that time of year again and PDN's Photo Plus Expo is gearing up to start tomorrow. Designed for professionals and advanced amateurs in the photographic and imaging industries, PDN PhotoPlus Expo showcases the latest advances in photography. Attendees are able to explore hundreds of exhibits and attend a wide variety of photography and imaging seminars. I will be a panelist on the Grant Writing 101 seminar presented by David Walker, Executive Editor, Photo District News with Ellen Liberatori, Author, Guide to Getting Arts Grants, Yukiko Yamagata, Associate Director, Open Society Institute,and Brenda Anne Kennealy, Photographer

Thursday, Oct 28, 2010 - 8:45 AM to 11:45 AM

Click HERE for a list of seminars.

Jacob K. Javits Convention Center
New York City
October 28-30, 2010

Inner Views- Zwelethu Mthethwa

Don't miss this exhibition on view at the Studio Museum until October 24th.

Zwelethu Mthethwa: Inner Views brings together three series by South African photographer Zwelethu Mthethwa (b. 1960). “Interiors” and “Empty Beds” document the domestic lives of migrant workers around Johannesburg, South Africa, while “Common Ground” focuses on the shared experience of natural disasters in urban areas, featuring houses in New Orleans, Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina and on the outskirts of Cape Town, South Africa, after wildfires.

After All

Laura Letinsky in Conversation with Lynne Tillman, Wednesday, September 15th, 7 pm at the SVA Theatre. On the eve of her upcoming solo exhibition, Letinsky will discuss her work with fiction writer and art critic Lynne Tillman.  Letinsky's solo exhibition, "After All," will be on view at Yancey Richardson Gallery from Sept 16- Oct 30th.

Digression

Please join me this Sunday for the opening of Digression at Hendershot gallery. I am very excited to be showing my installation Time, in Memoriam. This is sure to be a fantastic show featuring work by my fellow LMCC alums Kenya (Robinson) and Liz Magic Laser as well as Simone Leigh, Chitra Ganesh, Mary A. Valverde and Divya Mehra. Details below: