Gone Fishing...!

Ruben Natal-San Miguel

Well folks, it is that time of the year and one of my favorite for several reasons:

1. Miami Art Basel 2009

2. Is that I am lucky enough to be showing my work @ + Kris Graves Projects , AQUA Art Fair (nervous but very, very excited!)

3. The chance to see great works ,catch up and socialize with friends and colleagues from the art business.

4. The weather, the real coffee, food, the warm smiles, the hot bodies, the sensuality that Miami offers.

5. A Swimming Pool and the Ocean...Yes!

6. December 6, 2009 birthday !

Blooging will be very light during Dec 1-10. Looking forward laying on that beach chair in front of the Atlantic Ocean by the Delano Hotel (shown above)...Ah...yes, let ''La Vida Loca'' begin!

ARTmostfierce Affordable Print Pick of the Week

Photos by Ryan Pfluger


Yes folks , right before I board that plane for Miami, here is a great sale!

Photographer Ryan Pfluger is having a great holiday print sale . At only edition of 10 for the images shown above are only $65.00!!!

Ryan Pfluger was part of the UNSEEN show I just curated and his 11 x 14 prints were $1,200.00 so, you have an idea of the quick bargain you are getting . They will go fast!

So hurry up , after all today is Cyber Monday and shop!

http://ryanpfluger.blogspot.com/2009/11/limited-edition-holiday-poster-prints.html

Happy Thanksgiving!

Brooke Shields by Francesco Scavullo, 1984 Vanity Fair
Yes, I always loved this cover!

It has been a rough year but, there is still a lot to be thankful for. I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving Holiday with your loved ones , family, friends and pets!

H A P P Y T H A N K S G I V I N G !

Best wishes,

Always,

Ruben

A few words with Gina LeVay about Sandhogs

Photographer-Gina LeVay


Gina LeVay- Courtesy of the artist

Tomorrow 11/20/09 at The Powerhouse Arena in Brooklyn, DUMBO, photographer Gina LeVay unveils her new book tilted Sandhogs published by Powerhouse Books. I am totally fascinated by this Photo - documentary work series and decided to ask Gina a few questions about it.
Gina LeVay- Courtesy of the artist

Ruben Natal-San Miguel- Gina lets start by asking you a very simple question. What is a Sandhog? Is this type of work being done only in NYC? Please explain

Gina LeVay-Sandhogs are miners who are 800 feet below the streets of Manhattan, tunneling bedrock to create the largest
capital project in NYC’s history–the 60 mile long City Water Tunnel #3. The future of Gotham depends on the
efforts of these unseen miners. This new water channel will supplement the two existing, decrepit tunnels and
prevent a catastrophic water shortage in the city. Their imminent completion of the tunnel will ensure that fresh, clean water continues to flow to every resident of the city. Excavation of CWT#3 began in 1970.
Gina LeVay-Courtesy of the artist

RNSM- What got you interested in documenting this type work occupation? Why?

GL-After the infamous blackout of 2003, I began thinking about the infra-structure of the city and wanted to explore. When I found out about Sandhogs and the water tunnel, I was completed shocked that after 9 years of living in the city I had no idea that they existed or this massive excavation was happening below our feet. This simultaneity of their underground reality and my above-ground city life inspired me to explore and embrace the city for what it is–a living, interrelated structural body.


Gina LeVay
CWT #3, 2004
from the "Sandhog Project" on display at Grand Central Terminal, 01.08 - 01.14.2006
Signed, dated, and numbered, verso
Digital C-print
30 x 40 inches
(Edition of 15)
$2,400.00
20 x 24 inches
(Edition of 15)
$1,500.00
16 x 20 inches
(Edition of 50)
$800.00

RNSM-What do you expect (reaction) from the public by publishing your book? Your intention?

GL-Throughout the five and half years of creating this project, my
goal has been to introduce the pubic to this vibrant and intricate subculture by bringing the rich and unique
imagery to the surface. I endeavor to ask the public to reflect on their daily experiences–what is our role in and relationship to the city?


Gina LeVay- Hog House- Courtesy of the artist

RNSM- Your Exhibition at grand Central Terminal was in 2006...what was the public reaction then to the large scale Sandhogs photo and video installation?

GL-This public installation received a variety of press (including features on NPR, NY Post,
Fox, ABC7, WB11, Associated Press,) as well as thousands of visitors daily from around the globe. The guest book we had there quickly became full with the public excitement and gratitude for the work.
They were amazed at this mammoth engineering marvel and the enduring spirit of the sandhogs. Most of them told me they felt proud to be a part of NYC!

Gina LeVay -Exhibit- installation at Grand Central Station, NYC, January 2006
All images courtesy of the artist

RNSM- The Sandhog work is a very high risk and dangerous job isn't it? Where you exposed to any danger while working of his project?

GL-Yes, it is dangerous and there's a daunting saying in the business, " a man a mile". For each mile tunneled, approximately one Sandhog has lost his life in a mining related accident. I never felt in danger when I was down there.
The sandhogs always looked out for me and I trusted their instincts and advice while down there working...



Gina LeVay -Courtesy of Clampart Gallery
Drill and Blast, 2004
from the "Sandhog Project" on display at Grand Central Terminal, 01.08 - 01.14.2006
Signed, dated, and numbered, verso
Digital C-print
30 x 40 inches
(Edition of 15)
$2,400.00
20 x 24 inches
(Edition of 15)
$1,500.00
16 x 20 inches
(Edition of 50)
$800.00

RNSM- Do you think that this type of work, if it is abundant and there is a strong demand for it, will help or provide enough jobs to help the economy of a city?

GL-Yes, I do. Although the sandhogs are pretty much done working on the Third Water Tunnel, they are quite busy with other underground projects for the modernization of the city, such as the East Side Access, Second Ave and 7 line extension subway.

Gina LeVay
Untitled 9, 2005
from the "Sandhog Project" on display at Grand Central Terminal,
01.08 - 01.14.2006
Signed, dated, and numbered, verso
Digital C-print
40 x 30 inches
(Edition of 15)
$2,400.00
24 x 20 inches
(Edition of 15)
$1,500.00
20 x 16 inches
(Edition of 50)
$800.00

RNSM- What is the awareness that your book is trying to raise regarding this profession or can it be consider also a way of life ?

GL-I think the sandhogs would answer that it's not a job, it's a way of life. Sure my work has raised awareness about their trade, but ultimately the hogs are not looking for praise or attention. They do it because they want to do it– Sandhoging has strong generational fibers, dedication and pride.

Photo- Gina LeVay- Courtesy of the artist

RNSM- At this present time...what kind of new project are you working or involved ? Can you tell us?

GL-Sure, but only a little as it's still in development...I'm working on a project about young military widows of American soldiers who have died in the Iraq and Afghan wars....

Photographer Gina LeVay and the Sandhogs

RNSM- Thanks Gina and congratulations !

http://www.life.com/image/ugc1012182/in-gallery/35152/in-praise-of-sandhogs
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=175770203633&ref=mf

www.clampart.com

Jeanne Claude RIP

Artist Christo lost his love and art partner yesterday. Rest in peace Jeanne Claude.
http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-jeanne-claude20-2009nov20,0,611777.story

ACRIA Holiday Sale!

Photo- Jenny Holzer

Why wait till Black Friday?

ACRIA is having a great holiday sale and before you hit the mall or try to be a snow bird at Miami Art Basel, they have plenty of art gems waiting for you at a 20% off , In addition, Friday November 20, you can go in person and shop (call Scott Drevnig first) and they will be even more bargains. They have a great selections of edition prints and original works from one of the most prominent artists now.

Shop now!

https://www4003.ssldomain.com/DomainID159845/store/store_artwork.asp
http://www.acria.org/

So upset about this horrific crime!

George Steve Lopez Mercado, RIP

GAY PUERTO RICAN TEEN DECAPITATED, DISMEMBERED, AND BURNED!

I grew up in Puerto Rico so, this hits me very, very, hard! I am so upset and sick to my stomach.

Sorry but, I want everybody to know about this disgusting hate crime to a gay 19 year old aspiring artist and fashion designer. There is a candle vigil Nov 22,2009 and I plan to attend.

No human being regardless their sexual orientation deserves this!

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=179256219695&ref=nf

http://www.towleroad.com/2009/11/gay-puerto-rican-teen-decapitated-dismembered-and-burned.html

BIO- This is who I really Am

Ruben Natal-San Miguel
"Duo" 122 Street and Frederick Douglass Blvd, West Harlem, July 2007
C-Print
From NY, NY: Concete Jungle Series

Other than my professional work life and resume, this is my other so called life involved in the arts. This all came about while writing the info for the AQUA Art Fair During 2009 Miami Art Basel which I am part of + Kris Graves Projects . I figured if some of you don't know what I am all about by now ...here is the real memo for you.

Ruben Natal-San Miguel is an architect, curator, writer, art collector, consultant, blogger and photographer who specializes primarily in the art of emerging photography. In addition, Ruben is involved with non-profit art organizations such as ACRIA, Printed Matter, Aperture Foundation, AIDS Chicago, Humble Arts Foundation, Photolucida and Visual AIDS. He has also collaborated in several projects with prominent artists including Magnum Photographer Susan Meiselas for a project about the identity of The Puerto Rican Flag shown at the Museum Park de la Villette, Paris, France April 7- July 6, 2009.

Ruben is the Editor-in-Chief of ARTmostfierce, an online Art blog he founded. ARTmostfierce's main purpose is to promote emerging art, artists and photographers, and to benefit non-profit arts organizations while encouraging the art of "fast paced" but affordable collecting. Ruben wrote the introduction to The Humble Foundation Collectors Guide for Emerging Art Photography released in March 2009. Besides curating a show on line titled “Warriors” for Visual AIDS during May 2009, most recently, he also was the curator of UNSEEN: A Photographers Salon @ Randall Scott Gallery in NYC Oct 22-Nov 21, 2009. UNSEEN is a group show of 16 prominent photographers.

For the past five years during the summer months, Ruben has traveled by bicycle throughout Upper Manhattan camera in hand in search of what is like to live in NYC areas that, till most recently and for many prior many decades, had been ignored by the government and most of society. This is not the “Sex and The City” Manhattan that most people clamor and aim for. Ruben has been able to find, not only a vibrant and colorful vision of that other Manhattan but, also a happy, endearing and very meaningful life lesson of what is like when the human spirit and communities make the best of others may considered to be so little. The culmination of this 5-year survey will be shown at + Kris Graves Gallery in NYC , curated by Matthew Pillsbury in a show titled NY, NY: Concrete Jungle opening March 4, 2010.

Ruben Natal-San Miguel holds a Bachelor and Master Degree in Architecture from Boston Architectural College and Finance and Business Administration from Boston University. He works and lives in Manhattan NYC where after 16 years he continues to live "La Vida Loca."

EVIDENCE-Angela Strassheim @ Marvelli Gallery 11/19/09

• Evidence No. 10, 2009

Angela Straisheim-Evidence #11

I am so looking forward seeing this show. I am very intrigued and curious about this work series.Not the typical pretty portrait, kids or landscape photography just, different, sinister and based on real facts...right up my alley!

See you there!

Opens 11/19/09

ANGELA STRASSHEIM
Evidence

November 19 through December 31, 2009

Marvelli Gallery is pleased to present "Evidence," an exhibition of new photographs by Angela Strassheim. This will be Angelaís third solo exhibition at the gallery.

Angela Strassheim conceptualized her most recent series of images after learning of a violent crime that involved a student at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, where she was teaching at the time. Strassheim developed the project utilizing a forensic technique commonly reserved for crime scene investigation, which she learned while working on the field for the Miami Forensic Imaging Bureau. In this particular body of work, Strassheim created her pictures through the application of a specific chemical spray called "Blue Star" to the walls of rooms where violent, aggressive acts were committed.

Long after the struggles ended in these spaces, despite the cleaning, repainting and subsequent re-habitation of the rooms, the "Blue Star" solution is capable of activating the physical memory of blood through its contact with remaining proteins on the walls. Long exposures- from ten minutes to one hour- with minimal ambient night light pouring in from the crevices of windows and doors, capture the physical presence of blood as a lurid glow: a constellation of stars embedded in the walls.

Through a long and painstaking research process, Angela mapped out the exact locations where violent, often horrific crimes were perpetrated. She convinced new owners and tenants, some unaware of the violent history of their residences, to revisit the unnoticed, unseen past. Angela captures the tracing of a final struggle through the hard evidence of a violent moment, thereby revealing the silent yet omniscient memory of everyday living spaces. The physical result of her work is a series of luscious, large black and white prints, which attract the viewer like stills from a film noir with their eerie seduction and mysterious quality. Ultimately, these images are honest and true to the original space; they make visible, once again, the traces of violence and death that took place in those spaces in a forgotten past.

Watch the slide show here:
http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2009/11/angela_strassheim.html

Marvelli Gallery

526 West 26th Street, 2nd Floor
New York, New York 10001
http://www.marvelligallery.com/

Two exhibitions exploring Chicago’s past and present Michael Wolf: The Transparent City Barbara Crane: Private Views

Chicago takes over NYC @ The Aperture Foundation. Do not miss the combined exhibit of these two extremely talented photographers Barbara Crane and Michael Wolf , giving us a true feel and view of the Windy City.

There is several events around the exhibit so let me give you some pointers so, you can take advantage of it all.

1.November 10, 2009-Michael Wolf: Artist's Talk and Book Signing

Tuesday, November 10, 6:30 pm

2. November 11, 2009-Barbara Crane and Barbara Hitchcock

in Conversation + Booksigning

Wednesday, November 11, 6:30 pm

3. November 12, 2009-Opening Reception:

Thursday, November 12, 6—8:00 pm

4. Right now!- A very Limited Edition of only 2 Barbara Crane prints per image available for sale now!

Unframed - Edition #1 is $400.00 Framed $475.00

Unframed - Edition #2 is $500.00 Framed $575.00

See below some samples of a selection of images for sale . Remember the edition is of only two! Very exclusive. I had seen them in person and they are quite stunning and printed with top high quality. The print size is 8 x 10 inches and they seemed bigger because the images are very strong and their color richness. Again only 2 of each only...you snooze ...you loose!

For additional info please contact Kellie McLaughlin , Director of Prints @ Aperture Foundation. kmclaughlin@aperture.org

All Photos below by Barbara Crane and Courtesy of Aperture Foundation

Barbara Crane
Untitled, 1980-1984



Aperture Gallery

Two exhibitions exploring Chicago’s past and present

Michael Wolf: The Transparent City
Barbara Crane: Private Views
Opening Reception:
Thursday, November 12, 6:00–8:00 pm

Exhibitions on view:
November 7, 2009 – January 21, 2010
Aperture Gallery is pleased to present two simultaneous exhibitions exploring the city of Chicago from different vantage points and periods in history. While Michael Wolf’s large-scale color photographs of downtown Chicago’s buildings and their inhabitants examine public versus private space in the context of 21st-century urban life, Barbara Crane’s intimate Polaroids from the 1980s hone in on private human gestures performed in public at Chicago’s summer festivals. Both bodies of work reveal private moments that were intended to go unnoticed, each eliciting very different visceral responses from the viewer while evoking the voyeurism that permeates our culture today.

Michael Wolf: The Transparent City
Chicago, like many of the world’s great urban centers, has recently undergone a surge in new construction, grafting a new layer of architectural experimentation onto those of past eras. Bringing his unique perspective on changing urban environments to a city renowned for its architecture, Michael Wolf chose to photograph Chicago’s central downtown area, focusing specifically on issues of voyeurism and the contemporary urban landscape in flux. His first body of work to address an American city, Michael Wolf: The Transparent City opened at the Museum of Contemporary Photography, Columbia College Chicago (MoCP), in November 2008. The show at Aperture marks the second U.S. venue for the exhibition. The work, which is accompanied by a book of the same title copublished by Aperture and MoCP last fall, was created as part of the Chicago-based U.S. Equities Realty Artist-in-Residence Program, in collaboration with MoCP.

Whereas Wolf’s prior series concentrated on the “architecture of density,” this most recent work invites the viewer to examine the transparency and fluidity of the new American cityscape. Juxtaposing humanizing details within the surrounding geometry of the urban landscape, fragments of everyday life—digitally distorted and hyper-enlarged—are snatched surreptitiously via telephoto lenses. Think Edward Hopper meets Blade Runner. In Michael Wolf: The Transparent City, Wolf’s work resonates with all the formalism of the constructed, architectural work for which he is known, and emphasizes his ongoing engagement with the idea of how modern life unfolds within the framework of the ever-growing contemporary city.

Michael Wolf

The Transparent City

> View related book
Please view Limited Edition prints available for sale:www.aperture.org/catalogsearch/result/?q=Michael+Wolf&x=0&y=0

Michael Wolf (born in Munich, 1954) grew up in the United States. Wolf attended UC Berkeley, and later studied with Otto Steinert at the University of Essen in Germany. Two previous books—Sitting in China (2002) and Hong Kong: front door/back door (2005)—feature his much-acclaimed photographs of China. Wolf lives and works in Hong Kong and Paris.

Barbara Crane: Private Views
In the early 1980s, photographer Barbara Crane embarked on a photographic project shot during Chicago’s various summer festivals. Armed with a Super Speed Graphic camera and Polaroid film, Crane waded in close to the revelers and focused on capturing the details of clothing and hairstyles, but most importantly, gesture. The images are tightly cropped and terrifically alive, viscerally bringing us into the crush of people eating, drinking, and enjoying the crowd dynamic—an incredible inventory of private gestures performed in public spaces.

The collective effect of the images in Barbara Crane: Private Views is mesmerizing and intensely compelling, creating a palpable sensuality from image to image—an astonishing document, not of a particular event or personality, but of something far less tangible: the public expression of euphoria. Barbara Crane: Private Views is a celebration of the classic 1980s Polaroid snapshot with an experimental flair; Crane’s mixture of natural light and flash combined with her use of Polaroid film highlights the primary colors of ’80s fashion, which still feels hip and contemporary today.

An accompanying book of the same title was published by Aperture in the spring 2009.

Barbara Crane
Private Views
> View related book

Barbara Crane (born in Chicago, 1928) is a celebrated American photographer known for her extraordinary commitment to experimentation and innovation, especially in exploring the themes of the human form and the urban landscape. Crane studied art history at Mills College, completing her BA at New York University in 1950. She returned to Chicago and enrolled in the Institute of Design’s graduate photography program, studying with luminaries including Aaron Siskind. Her work has been the subject of six retrospective surveys and more than seventy-six one-person exhibitions. Crane is professor emeritus of photography at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is represented by Stephen Daiter Gallery, Chicago; Higher Pictures, New York; and Galerie Françoise Paviot, Paris.

A retrospective exhibition entitled Barbara Crane: Challenging Vision is on view at the Chicago Cultural Center from October 10, 2009–January 10, 2010.

>View related events

Michael Wolf: The Transparent City, curated by Natasha Egan, is made possible by the generous support of the U.S. Equities Realty Artist-in-Residence program. The monograph Michael Wolf: The Transparent City, co-published by MoCP, Chicago, was supported by U.S. Equities Realty, the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, Kay and Matthew Bucksbaum, and Furthermore: a program of the J.M. Kaplan Fund. Wolf banner image courtesy U.S. Equities Reality, Chicago.

Barbara Crane: Private Views is made possible by Fujifilm, Lightside Photographic Services, and LTI Photographic Services. The monograph Private Views was published in association with Stephen Daiter Gallery, Chicago, and was made possible by the generous support of the Land Fund of the Polaroid Foundation, Polaroid Corporation. Crane banner image © the artist /courtesy Stephan Daiter Gallery, Chicago/ Higher Pictures, New York.

Erica Allen @ Melanie Flood Projects 11/11/09

Photo- Untitled Gentlemen #14 by Erica Allen


Exhibition Dates: November 9 -- December 2, 2009
Reception: Wednesday, November 11, 2009, 6-9pm
RSVP Required

Melanie Flood Projects is pleased to present "Untitled Gentlemen", a solo exhibit of photographs by Erica Allen.

"Untitled Gentlemen" is a series of fictional photographic portraits exploring representations and constructions of identity. Created with faces from contemporary barbershop hairstyle posters and figures from found studio photographs, this work gives new value and meaning to otherwise discarded and primarily functional photographs.


ABOUT THE ARTIST

Erica Allen is a Brooklyn based artist, originally from Oakland, California. She received her BA in Studio Art from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2003 and completed her MFA in Photography from the School of Visual Arts in 2008. Awards for her work include the Aaron Siskind Scholarship, the William Hyde and Susan Benteen Irwin Scholarship, and Women In Photography-Lightside Individual Project, runner-up grant. Her photographs have been published internationally including The Outlook Magazine and the Visual Arts Journal. She has exhibited in New York City at the Broadway Gallery, Visual Arts Gallery and the Camera Club of New York. www.ericaallenphoto.com

ABOUT THE GALLERY

Melanie Flood Projects is an artists’ salon located in her Brooklyn residence devoted to exhibiting emerging talent. The gallery brings artists and art lovers together in a space that juxtaposes the aesthetic dialogue of fine art with the haphazard and personal existence of the domestic setting, highlighting contrasts and commonalities in unexpected ways. The aim of Melanie Flood Projects is to create a fresh and informal meeting point for looking at, reflecting on, and talking about art.

Exhibition open by appointment only, please RSVP to attend the reception!

To schedule, or for more information please contact us here:

Melanie Flood Projects
186 Washington Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11205
mfloodprojects@gmail.com

The Camera Club of New York-Special Evening Preview of Photographs 11/10-11, 2009

Amy Elkins- David, 2008



Untitled, from the series Space, 2009 © David Levinthal





Tuesday and Wednesday, November 10 and 11, 6 – 8pm

See you there!

Please Join Us for a Special Evening Preview of Photographs for The Camera Club of New York's 2009 Silent Benefit Auction
This year's auction features work by a choice selection of hot emerging photographers, a collection of vintage photographs, and exciting works by established photographers.

Participating artists: Arturo Acosta, Cara Alhadeff Judea, Erica Allen , Mariette Pathy Allen, Merry Alpern, Steve Arnold, Peter Baker, Brett Bell, Leslie Bellsey, Anita Blank, Sam Branman, Timothy Briner, David Brommer, Hunter Brown, Susan Burnstine, Christine Callahan, Eric William Carroll, Sean Carroll, Lindsey Castillo, Jesse Cesario, Jesse Chan, Megan Cump, Pradeep Dalal, Kia Davis, Emile Dubuisson, Rian Dundon, Max Dworkin, David Ebeltoft, Robert Edelman, Amy Elkins, Sean Ellingson, Smith Elliot, Lisa Elmaleh, Jon Feinstein, Hugo Fernandes, Mark Fernandes, Larry Fink, Ryan Foerster, Martine Fougeron, Allen Frame, Anders Goldfarb, Samuel Gottscho, Lorraine Gracey, Robin Graubard, Jasmine Gregory, Lori Grinker, Leonora Hamill, Marissa Herrman, Henry Horenstein, Meng Ling Hsieh, Joelle Jensen, Charles Johnstone, Jessica M. Kaufman, Salma T. Khalil, Michelle Kloehn , Anne Lai, Erika Larsen, Leigh Ledare, Ed Lee, Sebastian Lemm, Nataly Levich, David Levinthal, Sam Levinthal, Wayne Liu, Colleen Longo, Joseph Maida, Jerome Mallman, Anne Rochelle Marmorek, John Meyers, Dana Miller, Azikiwe Mohammed, Carolyn Monastra, Alex Morel, Santiago Mostyn, Walter Naegle, Kae Newcomb, Lori Nix, Nadhar Omar, Stuart O'Sullivan, Leah Oates, Carissa Pelleteri, Alexander Perrelli, Michael Rauner, Saul Robbins, Francesca Romeo, Caren Rosenblatt, Lynn Saville, Robert A. Schaefer, Abigail Simon, Aaron Siskind, John Stanley, Tema Stauffer, Will Steacy, Amy Stein, Harvey Stein, Joni Sternbach, Patricia Sullivan, Arne Svenson, Diana Teeter, Lucas Thorpe, Christina Thurston, Hugo Tillman, Sally Tosti, Linda Troeller, Lothar Troeller, Maki Ueno, Wilhelm Von Gloeden, Ellen Wallenstein, Eric Weeks, William Wegman, Susan Wides, Emma Wilcox, Amy Williams, Bernard Yenelouis, Shigeki Yoshida

Tuesday and Wednesday, November 10 and 11, 6 – 8pm at
The Camera Club of New York
336 West 37th Street, Suite 206
(bet. 8th and 9th Avenues)
New York, New York 10018
212.260.9927
www.cameraclubny.org

+Kris Graves Projects @ Aqua Art Fair- Miami Art Basel December 3-6, 2009

Ruben Natal-San Miguel- Glamour Break, 2009 from the series New York, NY: Concrete Jungle

I am very excited to announce to you all that my own street photography series

NY, NY: CONCRETE JUNGLE, will be part of +Kris Graves Projects @ Aqua Art Miami-Winwood during Miami Art Basel December 3-6,2009. My birthday is December 6 and... what a great birthday present!

I will be showing with some great artists among them Jason Hanasik whose work was chosen among 700 entries for the Aperture Prize and just landed him on the top 6 with an honorable mention.Congratulations Jason!

Thanks Kris and Gravelle, directors of +Kris Graves Projects for the fantastic opportunity and support!

Also special thanks to the great photographer Matthew Pillsbury who is currently editing and curating my photo series.

This by no means will stop my contribution and support to the emerging (hate the word) photographer community. I figure this experience will make me aware of things to help others more and be able to provide better expertise.

More details to come. In the meantime...with the Yankees win and this...I am in a NY state of mind!

http://www.aquaartmiami.com/fairs/Aqua-Wynwood/150/

Artists:

Luke Abiol

Peter Baker
Michael Cardinali
Dana Gentile
Eric Hairabedian
Jason Hanasik
Caleb Jagger
Greg Miller
David Nadel
Daniel Salemi
Michael Robbins
Tricia Zigmund
Sergio A. Fernandez
Ruben Natal-San Miguel

Book Award Finalists for Photolucida Critical Mass 2009

Carl Bower

Birthe Piontec

Tony Greaves

Jody Ake

Alejandro Cartagena
Congratulations!

I voted for every single one of this talented artists! 3 of them were featured here during the pre-screening stage of the competition. Carl Bower's powerful beauty pageants series in Columbia, Alejandro Cartagena's urbanism series and Birthe Piontec's beautiful series...they are all great!

Robin Schwartz-Amelia's World: Animal Affinity 11/8/09 @ B & H

Amelia's World: Animal Affinity Presented by Robin Schwartz
Sunday, November 8, 2009 | 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Speakers: Robin Schwartz
Event Type: Photography

The B&H Event Space is pleased to present internationally acclaimed Fine Art Photographer, Robin Schwartz. Robin creates meticulously composed, disquieting portraits of her daughter, Amelia, interacting with a range of exotic animals, from monkeys to kangaroos. Her photographs are drawn from real journeys undertaken with Amelia, but also depict relationships with animals through invented worlds where Amelia and the animals not only co-exist, but also interact. The world that Robin and her daughter explore is one where the line between human and animal overlaps or is blurred.

During her lecture at B&H, Robin will discuss her project “Amelia’s World: Animal Affinity,” which displays Amelia’s remarkable relationship with animals. This body of work conveys Amelia’s extraordinary comfort level with animals, which they in turn share with her. Robin’s passion for animals and the spiritual connection she gains from photographing them inspired her to explore on a deeper level the real and fictional interspecies relationships, portrayed through portraits of Amelia. Robin has always been obsessed with animals, having a necessity for their company and always consciously working at developing relationships with them. Conversely, Amelia is oblivious to her unique gift with animals; her childlike innocence breaks down barriers with animals which allow them to interact on an intimate level that many adults could never experience. It is this special quality in Amelia that Robin strives to capture through her images.

As Amelia’s personality matures, this project will continue to evolve; Robin will explore the future of Amelia and her relationship to animals. “Amelia is my priority, my muse, my co-conspirator, my tormentor and my bliss. Collaborating with Amelia, I am able to go to any place in time.” Come hear Robin speak at B&H to discover more about her personal approach to her work, and how it has earned her acclaim throughout the world.

www.robinschwartz.net

Photolucida Critical Mass 2009 Winners!

Congratulations to this year's Critical Mass Top 50!
A great majority of you were my votes . I only lost a few. Congratulations!

in alphabetical order:


Jenn Ackerman
Jody Ake
Leslie Alsheimer
Jane Fulton Alt
Carl Bower
Andrea Camuto
Manuel Capurso
Alejandro Cartagena
Pelle Cass
Edmund Clark
Victor Cobo
Caleb Cole
Scott Dalton
Dorothee Deiss
Mitch Dobrowner
Jade Doskow
Ed Freeman
Lucia Ganieva
Judy Gelles
N W Gibbons
Toni Greaves
Alexander Gronsky
Jessica Todd Harper
Jessica Ingram
Samar Jodha
Mary Shannon Johnstone
Jimmy Lam
Laurie Lambrecht
David Leventi
Larry Louie
Benjamin Lowy
Simone Lueck
David Maisel
Sarah Malakoff
Rania Matar
Tim Matsui
Mark Menjivar
Brad Moore
Kate Orne
Ara Oshagan
Rachel Papo
Bradley Peters
Alexis Pike
Birthe Piontek
Ellen Rennard
Betsy Schneider
Peter Sibbald
Christopher Sims
David Taylor
Phillip Toledano
Will Steacy
Serkan Taycan

NY Yankees! 2009 World Series Champions!

Hendrik Kerstens,Yankees Cap: courtesy of Witzenhousen Gallery
I think this is such a great art portrait photograph to portray NY and the Yankees team or at least, to show how happy and proud I am of calling NYC home. Since right after 9/11 as a big Yankees fan, had been waiting for the Yankees to re- surface from all the hard times that NY has suffered and endured . Tonight. I can say NY is back and so are the Yankees!

Commercial Paper-Barbara Walters Gallery @ Sarah Lawrence College 11/5/09

Amy Elkins-Kyle, New York, NY. 2006 From the Wallflower Series

Daniel Gordon- Red Headed Woman, 2008



Curated by Colin Montgomery. This group includes Daniel Gordon currently at a New Photography show at MoMA and off course one of my favorites Amy Elkins!
If you want to avoid the mayhem of shows opening November 5th here in Manhattan, here is one to see by itself.

http://www.fakespace.org/CommercialPaper.html

Rachel Papo-"Parallel Perceptions: Emerging Artists at New York City Opera." 11/6/09

Rachel Papo- Preparing for First hand Grenade Throwing, 2005


I am a big fan of Rachel Papo's work particulary, her military series. Rachel is the winner of the 2009 Lucie Award For Deeper Perspective Photographer of the Year and a current final entry for Photolucida's Critical Mass 2009. Congratulations Rachel!

20 of Rachel Papo photographs from both 'Serial No. 3817131' and 'Desperately Perfect' will be exhibited in the beautiful new David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center, together with works by Elinor Carucci, Nikki Lee, Ryan McGinley and Christopher Morris.

I am not missing this one!

Friday, November 6, 5 - 8pm (open to the public)
On view: November 5 - 22, 2009 (free for NY City Opera ticket holders)

www.rachelpapo.com

Still Life Curated by Jon Feinstein-11/5/09 @ Camera Club of New York

Stephen Sitting June 2009, © Lyndsy Welgos


See you there!

November 5th – December 19th, 2009

Opening Reception:
Thursday, November 5th from 6–8 pm

Erica Allen, Michael Bühler-Rose, Robyn Cumming,
Louis S. Davidson, John Hutchins, Lyndsy Welgos, Ann Woo

Still Life, an exhibition of photography curated by Jon Feinstein, examines a tendency in contemporary portraiture to remove the subjectivity of the persons photographed, literally transforming them into objects. Fashioning these photographs as still lifes, the artists depict people as matter rendered through light and color, with emphasis placed on their formal or cultural qualities above all others. The exhibition juxtaposes this contemporary work with studio portrait work from the Camera Club Archives, fostering a discussion about the relationship between classical idealized studio portraiture and contemporary critical portraiture.

With their bust portraits, Lyndsy Welgos and Ann Woo turn their subjects into nothing more than swatches of light color and gray tonality, and engage little with their individual identities. While their subjects are nude, the images are less about their personal sexuality or vulnerability and more about their physical surface. Michael Bühler-Rose's portraits cast western women who were raised in India, as cultural objects. Unlike Woo and Welgos' stark socially removed explorations of light and form, the women in Bühler-Rose's pictures contain heavy social and cultural signifiers, as the women are adorned with various elements of eastern and western culture. They display heavily directed gestures and costuming and pay homage to orientalist painting, but we know little about their identity below the surface cues.

Erica Allen's Untitled Gentlemen uses anonymous faces from found barbershop portraits to explore representations of identity. Appropriated and repositioned, the actual identities of the men remain as lost as they are on the walls of barbershops. The portraits comment on larger issues of gender while avoiding any appearance of personal identity. Lastly, Robyn Cumming's work addresses these ideas on the most direct level as she photographs women fused with flowers and other symbols of femininity, literally turning them into objects.

This exhibition runs from November 5th – December 19th.
Gallery hours: Monday–Saturday 12-6 pm

Please visit us at:
The Camera Club of New York
336 West 37th Street, Suite 206
(bet. 8th and 9th Avenues)
New York, New York 10018
212.260.9927
www.cameraclubny.org