San Antonio Here I Come

As of next Monday I will be leaving Austin for San Antonio, Texas. Thank goodness its only an hour and a half away. I was offered one photography class at the University of Texas and one at the Southwest School of Art Craft. The work is only through May so I'm not sure if this is a permanent move or where I may end up come summer or fall. However I will be in Austin almost weekly teaching courses at Precision camera and the Austin Museum of Art as well as organizing and participating in all the Austin Center for Photography events.

If you are ever in the San Antonio area please give me a shout. If you know of any artists or great people in SA please send them my way. I'm very excited to get to know and become part of the artist community in San Antonio.

HOTMAIL Frustrations

For some reason my hotmail account is no longer working. I have just set up a gmail account sarahsudhoff@gmail.com. My other email address info@sarahsudhoff.com is now forwarding to the gmail account. Even if hotmail comes back to life I'll be making the switch. Please update your address books. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Its Official the Austin Center for Photography is here

I'm am so proud to be a part of the Austin Center for Photography. Its been almost a year since our initial meeting to create and form ACP. We have grown to 8 board members comprised of artists, photographers, educators, business owners and curators. While each of us has a different background, we all bring drive, vision and a desire to make a central location in Austin and central Texas for photographers to gather, exhibit, lecture and learn.

After moving back to Austin after living in New York for several years I was surprised to find Austin still lacked such as space. Recently I have taught and exhibited at the Houston Center for Photography and participated in shows at other non-profit photography spaces nationally. Each board member saw the same need in our community for a photo space and so we began meeting and learning the ropes of creating a non-profit.

Although we only recently became public with our non-profit we already helped sponsor a Slideluck event in Austin last month which had an attendance of nearly 400 people. We have several more events planned including a closing reception for the Salagado exhibition at the Austin Museum of Art scheduled for January 2009 and the first of our "Icons of Photography" lecture series featuring Mary Ellen Mark on March 12.

We have a website as well as a facebook group. I will be starting a blog soon reporting on our progress and upcoming events. If you would like to be contacted about future happenings please visit our website at www.visitacp.org and sign up.

Thank you to all my friends whom I contacted about starting a non-profit. Your pearls of wisdom are much appreciated.

Chris Sauter

Last night I attended a lecture given by San Antonio artist Chris Sauter at Trinity University. I was in San Antonio on assignment for Texas Monthly. After I finished my shoot I headed over to Trinity to meet with Trish Simonite and discovered Chris was speaking.

I first came across Chris's work over a year ago at his show Workshop at FineSilver in Houston. A friend mentioned there was a large scaled uterus at the gallery. At the sound of that I headed to the gallery on my next trip to Houston. It was satisfying seeing another artist use the uterus and ovary in their work in a very different context. Chris works with numerous materials. He combines painting, drawing, sculpture and installation sometimes in to one piece or for an entire exhibition.

My principal strategies are, the transformation of common objects into other recognizable objects, extreme scale shifts, and the juxtaposition of disparate materials and images.

I have converted items from the home into landscapes or sites of natural and industrial processes to show the interaction of nature, culture, and origins, and constructed models of internal organs from common materials to position these connections within the body.

The body and the home are major themes. Because we understand the world through our bodies, it is the starting point. The home is an extension of our bodies and is the primary source for the production and propagation of culture.

Chris now has a website so please check out his work if you aren't already familiar with it.

E.A.S.T.

I know its a crazy weekend filled with studio tours, slide shows and openings. Tomorrow is the last day of the studio tour.

Please come support my efforts to raise money for my solo show in the spring and purchase prints from my Sorority Rush, Repository and Hide series. All prints are priced to move. I have both framed work and loose prints in a number of sizes.

The studio is located at 3409 Werner Ave 78722. We are #138 on the east austin studio tour guide.

Slideluck Hits Austin

Finally Slideluck Potshow is coming to Austin, Texas this Friday night, November 21st. The slide show begins at 7pm and is being held at a new bar on the east side called Shangi-La at 1016 East 6th Street.

Slideluck Potshow is a New York City-based, non-profit arts organization that provides an opportunity for artists and arts-appreciators to gather around food, friends, and artwork for an unforgettable night.

I attended my first Slideluck event a few years ago in Manhattan. Once I got wind that it might be coming to Austin I quickly joined to form the Austin crew responsible for organizing the event including finding a location, securing donations, press releases and submission guidelines.

Please join us this Friday night for what's sure to become an annual event. The slide show will be held outdoors so please dress for the weather.

Parent Advisory

You know its a good show or at least one worth seeing when you are greeted at the entrance with a parent advisory notice.

I was pleased and also dumbfounded why a photograph of just my breasts cause such a ruckus when viewed within an artistic context. And in this specific case in an exhibition. I don't blame the gallery or museum I blame the public.

Its a heated topic for me and I'm sure other artists whose work is called pornographic, racy or is censored. I go round and round on how to change the public's view on nudity or partially nudity when a piece of art is being considered. Are all Greek and Roman statues now censored? I went to the Louvre several years ago but do they have a WARNING outside the entrance or before the many, many nude or partial clothed female figures which are seen covering the walls? I think the human body is amazing. Its beautiful, its mysterious, its erotic, its natural, its life giving and nurturing. The body is unique and at the same time ordinary when compared to everyone else's.

I realize my work has a specific audience. However I am always amazed by the comments I receive from perfect strangers. Last night, I met an older couple at the opening who loved the work. They did not mention the nudity and only commented on how moved they were by the work and how the women was brought to tears. This is not the first time this has been said to me about the work.

I don't usually blame the venue however, I feel its a real shame the Grace Museum in Abilene which is the next venue for the New Art in Austin: 20 To Watch exhibition is censoring the two partial/semi nude self-portraits. Unfortunately I will only have once piece in this venue. I can understand excluding or censoring work which is clearly pornographic or has specific sexual intentions. This couldn't be further from the truth with my work. So many woman have related to the self-portraits on many levels and I truly am sorry the woman of Abilene will miss the opportunity to see the images at their intended scale and final form. Luckily they will have two more opportunity's to see the work at Art League in March and at Diverseworks in May.

3 x 3

As of late I've been on the road more than I've been at home. This week is no exception. I'll be headed to San Antonio this time for the New Art in Austin: 20 to Watch exhibition which makes its next stop at Blue Star Contemporary this Thursday from 6-8pm.

Then I'm headed back home to Austin for two openings on the east side. At New East Arts Gallery, Location: Body opening on Saturday 7-10pm, I'll be showing older pieces, yet not previously seen in Austin in a two person show with my partner Gary Schott. At Co-Lab, I'll be doing a one-night-only video installation so be sure to come out on Sunday evening from 7-11pm.

Hope to see you out at one of the shows.

Print Sale Saturday at HCP

I'll be participating in my first print sale this coming Saturday at the Houston Center for Photography. The sale begins at 4 and runs till 8pm. There is an open bar and prints are priced below $350. Half of the proceeds go to HCP for educational funding. All proceeds from my sales will go to help produce my solo show in March. So if you are in Houston please stop by and pick up a print.

I will be selling older work and small prints from my Sorority Rush series. Hope to see you Saturday.

Coastal Galleries

If you are headed for a road trip through Texas or looking for a reason to visit a quaint town on the coast, wood/metal/glass a new exhibition at the Rockport Center for the Arts opens this Saturday October 25th at 5pm. My partner Gary Schott is among the metal artists featured in the show.

Another coastal gallery, Design Works located in Galveston, I am happy to report is still standing. Gary was scheduled to have his first solo show there in May of 2009 however since hurricane Ike we've had no correspondence with the gallery owners Steve and Elisabeth. Luckily I ran in to them at Lawndale's annual fundraiser last night. While the gallery suffered severe damage, taking on seven feet of water, the art survived. Steve and Elisabeth plan to have a homecoming exhibition in the coming months. The show will go on.

Auction, Opening and Maker Faire

If you happen to be in Austin this Friday through Sunday there are plenty of things to do. Or if you happen to be looking for a reason to come to Austin there is no shortage this weekend. Not to mention, I'll be attending all these events.

First up is Jeff Wilson's exhibition,Cryptozoology at St. Edwards Fine Arts Gallery.
The opening reception is this Friday October 17, from 6–8 p.m.

Cryptozoology is the study of evidence that suggests the existence of creatures that have never before been recorded. Jeff Wilson’s images subtly insinuate the existence of the mythological, mysterious and unexplained in everyday life — and chart our attempts to reconcile them.

Next is the Texas Photographic Society's 14th Annual Collectors' Print Auction which is being held at Davis Gallery on West 12th Street also happening Friday night. The auction party is from 6:30-8:00 with the live action happening at 7:30. Keith Carter, Matt Lankes, Kenny Braun, Kate Breakey, Scott Campbell, O. Rufus Lovett and Sean Perry among others will have work on display and more importantly for sale at very affordable prices.

If photography just isn't your thing well Maker Faire is hitting Austin Saturday and Sunday October 18 and 19th at the Travis County Expo Center.

LEARN TO MAKE, CRAFT, DESIGN OR DEVELOP:
• Robots • Rockets • Bicycles • Alternative Energy Devices • Electronics • Crafts
• Circuit Boards • Sustainable Food • Musical Instruments • Wood Working
• Knitting • Eco Modding Cars • Kites • Special Effects • Sewing • and more...

Maker Faire is a two-day, family-friendly event that celebrates the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) mindset. It's for creative, resourceful people of all ages and backgrounds who like to tinker and love to make things. So much to see, you will need 2 days to see it all!

Collection Box: Hair

My partner Gary and I recently completed a piece for Lawndale's annual Dia de las Muertos fundraiser. The exhibition opens October 20 and runs through November 8, 2008. The gala and silent auction are on October 23 from 6-9pm. This is our first year to participate and our first real collaborative piece.

Lawndale gave each artist a small piece of sheet metal. We were asked to incorporate this metal in to the final design and creatively explore the traditional tin devotional painting practice in Mexico known as the retablo. Gary and I like to challenge ourselves to work with materials we already have on hand. Gary had the idea to use the entire piece of sheet metal as the main structure of the retablo and only adding elements which were necessary. We both noticed in past years most artist's kept the sheet metal flat and built on top of it. Gary being a metalsmith and jewelry designer wanted the piece to have a more 3 dimensional quality. Expanding on my own work I wanted the piece so be somewhat sterile looking and a container or collection device. After I turned 30, I noticed I began shedding an unbelievable quantity of hair, making me hyper aware of my already thin hair and aging hair follicles. I have over a years worth of collected hair.

So for our Dia de las Muertos piece we created a collection box for my lost hair. Rather than throw it away and lose it completely I am able to still hold on to it in a manner of speaking.

Dedicated to a Brave Woman

Its been over a week since I posted. Luckily I've been busy shooting editorial assignments for Texas Monthly and working as a contract photo editor but it hasn't afforded me the time to post.

For the last week I've also been preparing to photograph a hysterectomy which is taking place tomorrow. I was given the green light by both the hospital and the patient yet the doctor denied me access. I understand and don't want to interfere in any way in the procedure but I can't pretend I'm not very disappointed to get so close and not be able to be there when the surgery takes place.

This all came about when I was forwarded an email from another artist friend based here in Austin. The subject of the email read "Free Uterus with Tumor". I was immediately interested and began corresponding with a woman who was scheduled to undergo a hysterectomy. I found the PR contact at the hospital, had the patient fill out the release form and the surgeon was also faxed the release form. Yet this particular doctor did not understand my interest in photographing the surgery and the significance for someone, an artist, to photograph this specific procedure.

I don't doubt at some point in the future all the lights will be green and I'll be able to photograph and film a hysterectomy or cervical procedure. For whatever reason it was not meant to happen this go around. My thoughts are with this brave woman and her family. In a silly way I felt better with the idea of me being there in the operating room with her, watching over her, making sure her uterus was taken care of and looked after by someone other than a doctor.

Inspiration: Leonor Hipolito

I'm often asked who is my favorite photographer or which photographers do I look at for inspiration. I always have a difficult time answering this but not because I don't have a list of great photographers on the tip of my tongue but more because the images floating through my head at any given moment are not photographs per say but artwork which sparks my imagination.

So the best way for me to answer the question I thought would be to share my inspirations and what intrigues me so much about a specific piece.

My partner who is a metalsmith and jewelry designer is always introducing me to the work of artists in his field who share a common theme or thread with my own work.

Recently I discovered Leonor Hipolito–a Portugese artist whose pieces all reference the body although some more than others. Her series Transplants first caught my attention after seeing the pieces in the Lark publication 500 Pendents. While researching her online I found several of her jewelry pieces I was already familiar with and had seen online or in similar publications.

For me her ideas seem so simple yet the construction is exquisite, her forms imaginative and materials all the more intriguing. I desire to touch and wear them. Leonor's color choices also drew me to her work. Specifically the green in her piece In-corporation / Pin for the buttonhole . As well as the red used in Objects for Dreams / Earplugs/necklace. For me these pieces successfully reference the body and the medical world. Bright colors are mixed with silver or white. Epoxy is meshed with silver or silver paired with rubber. Again recalling the textures found in or on the body as well as in sterile medical environments.


I still know very little about Leonor but hope to learn more about this artist however most of the text is in Portuguese. I'd love to know where her interest lies, what inspires her and how she chooses her materials and forms.

At times I wish my work could simply reference the body rather than be the body itself. I find there is a limited audience for my work and I might increase that audience if the work was less shocking. For now though this is the vein I'm working in and as I mature and see new work I'm sure the work will change and evolve in to something smarter.

3 Openings 1 Location

Several exhibitions were due to open two weeks ago but had to be rescheduled due to Hurricane Ike making landfall near Houston. Three exhibitions are opening tonight at the Houston Center for Photography.

Sage Sohier's "Perfectible Worlds" opens this evening with a look at people´s private passions and obsessions.

Mike Osborne, winner of the 2008 Fellowship, will be exhibiting "On Location: Beijing".

Learning Curve 2 features the work of HCP's educational staff and their students. One of my new self-portraits, Antonia will be one view.

A Brief Chat with Helen Levitt and a Few Other Things

My friend and fellow Austinite, Sybil Miller recently interviewed Helen Levitt for photo-eye magazine. The short but wonderful interview is a must read.

New York-based photographer Helen Levitt reached her 95th birthday this past August and to help celebrate we are honored to publish writer/photographer Sybil Miller's personal reflections on Levitt’s life work's followed by a rare interview. In part two, Miller provides her insight and analysis of the various editions of Levitt's landmark book A Way of Seeing and her beautiful new monograph published by powerHouse Books.

Read Part One: A Brief Chat — which includes an introduction and the recent interview.

Read Part Two: A Way of Seeing x 3 — a comparative study of some of Levitt's most well known publications, particularly the various editions of her seminal monograph A Way of Seeing.

If you just can't get enough of Helen Levitt listen to Melissa Block's interview on NPR.

NY Arts Magazine Review

Women in Photography was recently featured in the NY Arts Magazine. I am so pleased to be part of this project and shown among more established female photographers.

There are more women working in the contemporary photography world than ever before. Their methods and subjects run the gamut of artistic possibility, but what unites them is the passion and effort they devote to creating extraordinary bodies of work. Women in Photography, a new online venue created by Amy Elkins and Cara Phillips, is a showcase of their work. It is a resource for photographers, editors, curators, gallery owners, and viewers alike to discover and enjoy the work of female artists. By mixing the work of emerging photographers with artists who have already achieved high levels of success within the fine art and commercial worlds, the project is designed to open a visual dialogue and create a venue to share work and ideas.

With Women in Photography, Elkins and Phillips hope to subvert the competitive and difficult nature of fine art and commercial photography. While they realize that not every female photographer faces or feels the same challenges, they acknowledge that the problems exist on a larger scale. The statistics are there. Despite the abundance of talented female photographers out there, the scale tips heavily in favor of male photographers in both the fine art and commercial fields. Rather than a cry for help or a stifled whimper about the art world being unfair towards women, the site is a proactive venture designed to draw attention to the multitude of talented female photographers and their unique visions.

With their recent launch in June of 2008, WIPNYC has already shown a tremendous amount of diversity and talent from both emerging and established artists. From their debut showcase of Elinor Carucci, whose intimate and diaristic photographs take a closer look at relationships to oneself and one’s family, they have gone on to show work by Sally Gall, Sarah Sudhoff, Ellen Renard, Lisa Kereszi and Naomi Harris. The choices and methods these photographers use are impressively unique, from Sarah Sudhoff’s beautiful and painful look at female reproductive cancer, to the technicolor world of Lisa Kereszi’s burlesque dancers and strip clubs, to Naomi Harris’ close up look at swinger parties around America.

Co-founders of WIPNYC, Amy Elkins and Cara Phillips will be speaking along with Elinor Carucci and Robin Schwartz at Aperture September 30th. Its an event which should not be missed.

I'd love to post about the event so if anyone who plans to attend would like to write a short review of the panel discussion please send it to me at info@sarahsudhoff.com

New Site Launch

For those of you who don't know I recently redid my website. Well not me but a designer out of Poland actually. Michal, the designer behind Plot 29, created websites for Kathryn Parker Almanas and Caleb Charland two artists whom I had met this past year during the Santa Fe portfolio reviews. I really loved their photography work and was impressed with they way Michal designed the website to complement their work.

I had been working with several other designers and unfortunately one thing or another prevented the site from moving along or ever being finished. As soon as I started working with Michal I had mock ups of designs within a few days. Michal worked with me on redesigns and was great about offering his thoughts on certain aspects of the site. Not to mention he delivered on time. You'd think working with someone 7 hours ahead would prove difficult but I emailed him files, uploaded videos to my site and he called me often to discuss ideas.

The most difficult thing was to create a look and feel which complimented all areas of my site. Ms. Almanas's work is very similar from one project to the next and Caleb only features one photographic project at this time. I however wanted to feature all my current projects as well as one section showcasing my assignments from magazines and contract work. I feel the overall design is clean and simple enough showcasing the work without taking away from it.

So please check out the new site at sarahsudhoff.com. Comments are welcome. You can see other designs by Michal at plot29.com

Raising Funds

I will be selling framed and unframed work to benefit my solo show happening in March. I will be selling work on my blog as well as participating in the Houston Center for Photography's Annual Print Sale November 1 along with East Austin Studio Tour November 22 and 23.

First up are three photographs from my Sorority Rush series. The image was taken from a recent show in Seattle at PCNW. Each photograph is printed at 20x24 and framed with a two inch white image border all the way around, no matte is used. The frames are custom jobs framed with plexi for safer transport. Each print is an edition of 10 for that size and sells for $700 plus shipping. Local pickup in Austin is welcome and I can deliver to Houston or San Antonio.

From left to right: Open House, Senior Portrait, First Period

If you are interested in these pieces please contact me directly. My email is info@sarahsudhoff.com

Safe

Lots of people have called and emailed today. All my family is thankfully safe. I've contacted several friends in Houston and along the coast and it seems everyone is well enough. We are still waiting to hear from friends in Nacogdoches where I was teaching last year. While not on the coast the eye of the storm did past over.

I waited up last night until the hurricane made landfall. My mom works for the city of Houston and was activated–meaning she was up all night working at the emergency services center for Houston. I heard from her this morning at 8:30am. She was safe and said they had been busy all night and that there were some deaths reported. Not much has made the news other than flooding and power outages.

For images and video go to msn for coverage from Ike.

I'm hoping to volunteer either here in Austin, Houston or Galveston once they let people back in. It could have been so much worse than it was. I am so thankful the storm surge they predicted didn't happen nor did the winds reach over a category 2 hurricane.

Thanks so much for everyone's concerns.

Hurricane Ike

Like so many others I was on the road yesterday trying to make it back from Houston to Austin before the hurricane hit. Several gas stations had run out of unleaded regular and prices were way up. It was stop and go traffic for most of the way. I can't imagine what the roads look like today with Ike projected to make landfall tonight.

My father, grandfather and one brother live in Corpus. They boarded up their homes and are sitting tight. Luckily the hurricane changed course and will be north of there. My friend John evacuated Rockport on Wednesday. He decided to store several pieces of art work from the Rockport Center for the Arts at his home a mile away from the shore since the art center is located right on the water. My mother and her husband live just north of Houston. Last I heard they were staying put. Other friends were given mandatory evacuation from Galveston and surrounding areas.

On the road I saw several lines of ambulances headed in the opposite direction as well as trucks filled with blankets for evacuees at shelters all around Texas. I'm glad to be situated further inland and hope where ever Ike lands and how ever strong the storm is most if not all residents are gone.


Austin is projected to receive high winds and I'll be keeping an eye out for tornado's.

Cornelia Hediger at KlompChing Gallery

As if I didn't hate missing art openings in New York, I'm totally depressed I can't be at Cornelia Hediger's opening tomorrow night, September 10 at KlompChing Gallery in Dumbo. My friend Darren Ching and his wife Debra opened the gallery less than a year ago and thus far they have picked some amazing photographers to debut with. I first came across Cornelia's photographs a few years ago in a catalog from the Center for Photography at Woodstock. I agree many photographers have used this technique of piecing multiple images together employing the grid to create a larger more complete whole however few if any photograph themselves. In addition Hediger infuses her photographs with an aspect of performance further drawing me in to this other world of hers and contemplating my Doppilganger.

KLOMPCHING GALLERY is pleased to announce the exhibition Doppelgänger, by the Swiss artist Cornelia Hediger. There will be a reception for the artist on September 10, from 6pm to 8pm. This is the artist’s solo gallery debut at the gallery and in New York City.

In this richly colorful series, the persona of the artist is the central figure, performing a psychological struggle with her doppelgänger — a fictional ghostly double of a living person, widely understood as sinister and a harbinger of bad luck. These striking images will amuse, challenge, intrigue and captivate the viewer.

Each image is constructed from six to nine photographs, employing a device which is increasingly prevalent in contemporary photography — that of the tableau-vivant, in which a pictorial narrative is carefully choreographed into a single image. Through the presentation of different characters, Hediger explores notions of the uncanny, the conscious / unconscious and moral ambiguity — perceptively juxtaposed with a fine-drawn level of dry humor.

Hediger’s photo assemblages present stories that are also fascinating for their obliqueness, enabling the viewer to invest some of their own narrative interpretations. Her storytelling demonstrates more than a hint of literary and psychological theory, and it is this that makes her photographs all the more compelling. These internalised depictions of illusory spaces and scenarios oblige us to draw comparisons to the work of Claude Cahun, Francesca Woodman and even Hans Bellmer.

12 x 2

My partner Gary Schott and I recently started a new collaborative project together called 12 x 2. Each month we select one word taken from 12 words in total and create a project based on our interpretation of that word. We each selected words we liked or thought might produce interesting results.

I wouldn't say that the ultimate goal is to make masterpieces, but more of a fun creative exercise as a break between our professional pursuits.

We will be documenting and posting each month’s response at the end of the month.

August- sequential
September- ephemeral

Openings and New Project

It seems this week/weekend everyone is having an opening.

Thursday:
Last night Counter-Photography–Japan's Artists Today opened at Blue Star Contemporary Art Center in San Antonio. I was lucky enough to be in the area this week and was able to see a preview of the show. I fell in love with two artist's work–Hiroko Inoue's “Absence” and Tomoko Yoneda's, “topological analogy”.

Hiroko Inoue took a collection of photographs of the outside world as viewed through the windows from the inside of mental institutions. Most of the works are of iron-barred windows. She collected the images as she traveled and talked to the staff and patients of each mental institution she visited. She explained the reason for taking the photographs and persuaded them to give her permission. Her aim is not to create the typical visual world of people who live in confinement due to their sicknesses. Rather, she recomposes the scene viewed from the window – normally seen by the patients -- through her own eyes. Therefore, after the process of printing the images directly on cloths, the windows which appear on light-boxes, are not the windows viewed by the Other but are those viewed with her own eyes. Her work is similar to having a dialogue with the other’s visual world, but also contains the artist’s memory and physical nature.


Tomoko Yoneda takes photographs of the wallpaper of a room after the resident has moved out. In the empty room, she retraces the past time of the former resident. The wallpaper acts as the phase of the border in order to be led to retrace the time. Nothing specific about the former resident can actually be perceived from her photographs, such as the documentation on his/her life in the room, physical existence and thoughts. In other words, she excludes the substantial elements normally found in a person. What is important for the artist is the fact that a certain period of time had accumulated in the space. Her work tells the story that the accumulations of time had steadily been stored in different rooms, and that a room exists in parallel with other rooms, and all in a similar fashion. The viewers are led to realize that what they feel from her work is the essence of existences.

The show runs through October 19, 2008 so make sure to make your way there.

Friday:
Opening tonight in Houston is Soft Head at Peel Gallery including the work of Sharon Engelstein, my partner Gary Schott and other's. Reception is from 6-9pm.

And if you are in New York don't forget about Alicia Ross's first solo show at Black and White Gallery.

Saturday:
And back to Texas for a must see show opening Saturday is Sean Perry's show Fairgrounds at Stephen Clark Gallery in Austin. Sean like myself splits his time between New York and Austin. I never had the pleasure of meeting Sean in Austin but we met last summer in New York outside Jen Beckmen Gallery. As a gallery goer if you are tired of seeing digitally manipulated prints, printed on inkjet paper, then this is the show for you. Sean still shoots and prints old school as we like to sometimes call it. I myself prefer to shoot film. There is something so magical about composing an image, working with polaroids and carefully managing how many shots you take. And then seeing the film developed and making the first print. I hate to miss this opening and see Sean. Fairgrounds runs through October 8, 2009.

New Project:
While all this is happening I will be working on a new photographic project in Texas. I am attending the annual Texas Neurofibromatosis Foundation camp with my youngest brother David who has NF 1. I hope to begin a new medical series on children and young adults afflicted by this life long disease and raise awareness through the project as well as feature the most amazing people you might ever meet. If you are unfamiliar with NF please follow the link or simply google the name. My brother like many NF sufferers undergoes yearly surgeries to remove tumors which increase in size and grow at the end of his nerves. David was born with hundreds of tumors and as he grows certain tumors have rapid growth and interfere with walking and daily activities. These tumors need to be removed and rehabilitation is sometimes needed. It is a life-long challenge. Together with the help of my brother, Cindy Hahn president of the Texas NF Foundation and others I hope to make a beautiful photographic series and book honoring everyone with NF and their families.

New Device

I'm very excited to showcase my newest medical device. The lights turn on and all the parts move. I'm hoping to collaborate with my partner, Gary Schott who is a metalsmith to create new attachments and re-purpose the piece. I found the item on craigslist and got it for a bargain today. For my show in March I proposed expanding on my Repository series as well as creating a new series of myself interacting with medical devices. I have a Swedish stomach pump, one of my Christmas gifts last year from Gary, and now this microwave diathermy piece to get me started.

I'll be sure to post images as I begin to work on them. If you happen to come across any interesting medical devices on craigslist or ebay send me an email. I'm always on the hunt for something to add to my collection.

I know I'm announcing this a week early but I know how many art happenings go on during any given night in New York City. My good friend Alicia Ross is having her first solo show, Sacred-Profane next Friday, September 5, 2008 at Black and White Gallery's Chelsea location.

I wish I could be there to see Alicia's new large scale pieces which take months to complete. So make sure to stop in and see this amazing show!

Referencing the title of Titian's 16th century painting Sacred and Profane Love, Ross investigates the wide range of media to provide a contemporary reinterpretation of proper and obscene, respectable and shameful. The work, in this contemporary context, mingles teasing innocence with erotic voracity, challenges the irony of representation of the female form with standard moral differences between sanctified love and fantastical desire.

The series of Samplers and Motherboards, Love Swing sculpture and Rockwell’s a Surrealist mixed media installation originate from images from the internet, religious texts and domestic objects – all loaded with pornographic innuendos – which Ross works and reworks using handicraft techniques, transforming them while retaining a sense of their original meaning and physical form. An interesting tension arises when pornography is integrated with handicraft, blurring distinctions between the sacred and the profane for it pokes fun at the very idea of leeway or discrepancy, and inevitably engages the viewer’s critical eye.

In the Ishihara Test Series videos, similarly-sourced imaging is fitted into the template for testing color deficiencies. Ross is savvy about her use of this scientific test for the work, aware that men are considerably more prone to colorblindness than women. Hence, Ishihara becomes an ideal mechanism with which to confound the male gaze. It becomes nearly impossible to possess that which you cannot see. Sacred_Profane draws our attention to the whimsical, the absurd as much as the tragic and to the morally significant.

Colleen Plumb on 20x200

I'm excited to report that Colleen Plumb, an artist I included in my "Super Safe" feature, will have two prints for sale on 20x200 TODAY. If you aren't familiar with this process or website please check it out. Essentially the staff at 20x200 selects photographers and other 2D artists and sells their work online at very affordable prices. The first edition of 200 for an 8.5 x 11 print sells for $20. These typically sell out quick so when Colleen's work hits today be sure to be ready to buy 1, 2 or more. I'll be shooting in a hospital today so I don't think I can benefit from the sale but maybe there is a trade in the near future, wink wink.

Transcendental Smoothie Opening Tonight

My friends Mary Magsamen and Stephan Hillerbrand have yet another opening this evening at Lawndale Art Center in Houston, Texas titled Transcendental Smoothie. They are giving an artist talk at 6:30 so be sure not to miss it. Mary and Stephan who reside in Texas have had a great run lately exhibiting in Texas most recently at the Houston Center for Photography and Big Medium Gallery in Austin, nationally as well as participating in several international video festivals including:

Cologne OFF Film Festival, Cologne, Germany
Wand 5 e.V. 21. Stuttgarter Filmwinter, Stuttgart, Germany
One Minute Film & Video Festival Aarau, Aarau, Switzerland
Videoholica 08 Video Biennal, Sity Gallery, Varna, Bulgaria

Their show at Lawndale runs August 22 – September 27, 2008 with an opening reception tonight, Friday, August 22, 2008, 6:30-8:30 PM

Transcendental Smoothie is a video installation by the collaborative husband and wife team of Magsamen + Hillerbrand. Through a playful and unexpected use of materials and camera viewpoints, Magsamen + Hillerbrand transform the John M. O'Quinn Gallery into a kaleidoscope world of cookie dough, vultures and monumental peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that bring questions and ideas of perception, identity, family and everyday pressures. “Transcendental” refers to Kant’s theory that our experience of things is about how they appear to us, but not about those things as they are in and of themselves. “Smoothie” refers to our use of food and everyday objects and the blending of many items to make something delicious.

Fear of Flying

Today I had the pleasure of completing my first photo shoot for Tribeza magazine. I was assigned to photograph two local Austin artists. One at his Lock-Away studio down south and the other outside or rather on the Federal building in downtown. I found a few moments to capture aerial dancer and choreographer Laura Cannon from Blue Lapis Light as she took time to enjoy being suspended. I must admit I previously thought the shoot would be very challenging yet Sally Jacques the artistic director, Corey Fields the rigger and Laura were amazing to work with and I can't complain about the view. It was like my own private performance held at sunset. Although I am deathly afraid of heights I'm tempted to take a workshop and see what happens.

Ebay Calling

So today I was catching up on my friend Amy Stein's blog and discovered her latest post titled "I am a Secondary Market".

Amani Olu just let me know that one of my prints is up for sale on eBay. This is the first time my work has hit the secondary market and while it's only eBay, it's still a minor landmark in my career.

The print, Peri, Route 64, Kentucky from my Stranded series, was originally available for sale as part of Humble Arts Foundation's Limited Edition Print sale. The original price of the print was $375. Also notice the seller says Peri has never been "framed or displayed" which basically means the person never enjoyed it. Too funny.

I don't see this as an endorsement of my work so much as a strong endorsement of the quality of work and the amazing deals available through Humble's Limited Edition program. Unless you like living with regret you should head over to the Humble site now and pick up a print or three.

Of course I was curious and looked myself up on Ebay. Much to my disappointment I was not listed, at least not yet. I know Mrs. Stein owns one of my photographs also from Humble's Limited Edition Prints. If in the future Amy ever decides to sell my work on Ebay, maybe she'll split the proceeds with me.

Work In Progress

I thought I'd share some recent work-in-progress. It seems I never have enough time to work on my projects. I know I need to just make more time to do this. Knowing a have a solo show next year is both exciting and frightening. There is so much to plan for: making new work; scanning and printing it; figuring out a layout in the space for your work; framing and installing all the pieces as well as notifying the public about the event. It could easily be a full-time job. If I only had that much time to dedicate to it or had a staff to help. One day.

These two images are from a new series titled Finding Antonia. In this image I photographed myself in front of my abuela's grave in Texas. The whole premise is still being worked out as well as what images will make up this developing body of work. I welcome any comments.

Review: Let's Talk About Sex

Last Saturday Erotica opened at Gallery Lombardi here in Austin and was reviwed already by the Austinist. It felt great to have six pieces in the show. Four photographs inside and two videos projected outside. It was interesting watching people stop and view my figure on the big screen examining myself and bathing in the morgue sink. Friends always ask if people recognize me at these events.....often no.

The videos which were projected outside will be displayed on a monitor inside. The show runs through August 30 so stop on by.

Parsons Grads

I'm always hearing about Yale photo grads and SVA photo grads and we Parsons grads seem to have been forgotten. However I'm happy to report that several of us who graduated in 2006 from the Parsons MFA Photography department have recently been written about, interviewed, invited to residencies and given our first solo shows.

Just this week Melissa Fleming and Brigitte Lustenberger sent me recent interviews. Melissa had an interview in Double Exposure. Melissa was also selected for PhotoEspana this last year.

Brigitte had a solo show at Le Maillon/Chambre à Part in Strasbourg and her interview along with installation views can be seen on YouTube. Her work was also published in Purpose Magazine, an online publication, last fall.

The study of the gaze, the interplay between absence and presence in a photographic image, and the fact that the reading of a photograph is most often triggered by a collective memory are the main issues in my work.

I know more of us from my graduating class have been busy–so send me your news and links to new work.

Super Safe #1

I wanted to introduce you to the work of two photographers whose work explores our relationships with the natural world and successfully awakens us out of this repetitive cycle of super safe work I keep seeing everywhere. I was fortunate to briefly meet Colleen Plumb and Melissa Weiss Steele at Review Santa Fe this past year.


Melissa's project titled Earthen Bodies is a series of trans-formative self-portraits allowing her to find, understand and regain herself again following the death of her husband from cancer.


I take most of the photos with the camera at arms length. I use a simple digital camera- because it is not about the camera, as much as the process and the energy and the ritual of it. Thinking about the perfect lighting would constrict the flow. The other amazing thing is the symmetry of some of the images. I don't see well without my glasses. So there I am, naked, usually not terribly warm, shooting away furiously. Some of the photos have proportions and lines that are almost unbelievable. That is the mystery and magic and gift of it all.


Collen's series Urban Nature explores the connection and in some cases disconnect between ourselves and the natural world around us. Through carefully composed images of animals or the visual representation of them I begin to wonder exactly what impact we are having on their world and how will this, in the end impact ours.



My work explores simulation, consumption, destruction, and reconstruction. It addresses the essence of our connection, as well as our fragmentation from the natural. The series looks at points of intersection with wild in the human-made world—our coexistence—and explores notions of endurance and the reality of loss.

Thank you to these two women who shared their work with me.

If you have a body of work or an on going project which is "not super safe" and you'd like to share please email submissions to info@sarahsudhoff.com. Please type Super Safe in the subject line. All mediums accepted.

On the Road Again

I am traveling all this week for work. I just finished a food shoot for Texas Monthly Magazine in San Antonio for their September issue. Tomorrow I'm headed to Houston to teach at the Houston Center for Photography. Thursday I'm giving a short artist talk on my work at the Lawndale Art Center. Friday I'm moving in to a new house and Saturday I have an opening at Gallery Lombardi back here in Austin.



Also on the exhibition front....I was awarded Honorable Mention by juror Rod Slemmons at the Photographic Center Northwest's 13th annual juried exhibition Please Ring Bell. And I have to mention because this never happens for me–my photos are front and center! Typically I'm in the hallway or back corner. I'm not sure if its due to the subject matter of some of my work however its a real treat to see my work prominently displayed. Thanks Ann.

Other winners include:

1st Sally Ketcham
2nd Victoria Veenstra
3rd Peter Prusinowski

Honorable Mentions
Rachel Papo
Evan Baden
Marie Sauvaitre

End Game

While in Houston to teach at HCP, I made time to see the new show at the Museum of Fine Arts "End Game". It was great to see three of my favorite artists together in one show– Damien Hirst, Sam Taylor-Wood and Marc Quin. Sam Taylor-Wood's video piece A Little Death which I had seen several years before at the Contemporary Arts Museum in Houston was running on a large flat screen. I've enjoyed the piece every time I've had the opportunity to see it. For some it might not be the sort of thing you watch over and over–a rabbit as it disinegrates and bleeds out over a nine week period. If you haven't had the opportunity to see the short video its worth a look, if you like that sort of thing.

Sam Taylor-Wood also has a show which opens Friday August 1 at the Contemporary Arts Museum right across the street from the MFA-H. I would love to attend the opening however I will be back in Austin. I wondered though do artists like Sam Taylor-Wood, Damien Hirst and Marc Quin attend their openings anymore? When does attendance stop or slow. When you've become an international success and name I wonder? If I knew she would be there I would make sure to attend the opening or preview party.

Color Correction

Last Sunday a photograph of mine ran in the New York Times Magazine. I was surprised when I flipped to the page to see the image had been color corrected and had lost its florescent green hue. I wonder if this was an intentional correction or a unknowing mistake. Its so hard to know exactly how an image is suppose to look. We have so many versions available to us: the online version; the in print version; and then the physical photograph itself. Sometimes the reproduction of an image can vary in color, saturation and contrast drastically altering the interpretation of the photograph. While most people probably didn't look at my image of the empty gynecological exam room and think WOW that's the wrong color I did. I doubt I would have had such a strong reaction to the color correction if the photograph was just a stock image of mine. However since the image is part of a larger project about cancer, women's illnesses and the relationship we have to specific medical spaces, for me the color shift alters the original intention of the piece.

So how do I prevent this from happening in the future. Do I need to send a color proof? Should I send an email stating the image is suppose to be a little green? Or does the publication have the "right" to alter the image or the color to best suit their needs? I know when I've worked in the past as a photo editor we were very careful not to change anything about the original image. Rather than crop an image to fit a layout we might build the layout around the image or find an image that worked better. I also had to color correct and remove dust and scratches from images. This makes me wonder–Did I ever accidentally change the meaning of someones image. I never heard any complaints from when I worked at Time and Texas Monthly but does that mean it never happened?

The Big Show

Please join me this Friday, July 11 from 6:30-8:30pm at the Lawndale Art Center in Houston, Texas for their annual "Big Show". Out of 407 artists 60 were chosen. The juried show required that you drop off ready-to-hang work at the art center to be judged and possibly included in the exhibition. I have three photographs from my Repository series on view–Sale, Exploratory Surgery and Clean 1.

2008 Exhibiting artists include:

John Adelman, Isela Aguirre, Dran Alessi, Ron Arena, Steven Baptiste, Johann J. Boudreaux, James Burns, Joyce Cail, Christopher Cascio, Douglas Cason, Peter Chok, Christopher Comperry, Shannon Crider, Frederique de Montblanc, Jeremy DePrez, Ben Tecumseh DeSoto, Leah DeVun, Daniel Fabian, Garland Fielder, Haden Garrett, Raul Gonzalez, Tracy Jayne Goosen, David Hardaker, Dan Havel, Daniel Heimbinder, April Hernandez, L. A. Holloman, Renate Jones, Erin Joyce, daniel-kayne, Sara Kellner, Hugh Dodd McDonnold, Linda Moore, Kia Neill, Alex Nguyen, Pam R Olson, Gay Paratore, Ryan Perry, Ole Petersen, Brian Piana, John Paul Plauché, Forrest Prince, Anne J. Regan, Allan Rodewald, Rodrigo Romero Roit, John Runnels, Cameron Sands, Louise Schlachter, Carol Ellen Scott, Gregory Scott, Robert Sennhauser, Herbert Shapiro, John Slaby, Emily Sloan, Gabriella O. Solis, Sarah Sudhoff, Kamila Szczesna, Patrick Winkler, Henry Yau, Paul Zeigler

If you happen to be on the west coast don't forget the Photographic Center Northwest's opening whcih also opens this Friday in Seattle. I also have three pieces in this exhibition but from my Sorority series. Unfortunately I will be unable to attend this opening but I'm looking forward to finding out who wins.

Two for Two

I think I can speak for most photographers and artists....that our life seems to be an uphill battle. First you have to think of an idea. Second you have to figure when and where to produce this idea or image in my case. Third you have to find the resources to take action and quite possibly get time off from work or other responsibilities. Fourth the work must be successfully shot followed by precise editing. Fifth, if you're still counting, is printing the work or uploading it to a website. Sixth getting the courage to share the new work which by this time seems old to you and has already taken up so much or your time, exhausted your funds and so forth. It seems at times the road leads no where with no end in sight. And there are days like today for me and hopefully other photographers and artists that the road, the labor intensive process of being a creative soul pays off. Not that the experience of producing work isn't fulfilling enough however gaining new recognition or recouping some of your cost is always a sought after moment.

Today I was greeted with two wonderful emails. First was from a photo editor at the New York Time Magazine who is planning to run an image of mine for an upcoming issue. I can't tell you how excited I am about this. It was just last week that I attended a lecture by Mary Virginia Swanson at HCP in Houston in which she discussed artists licensing their images for editorial purposes and the pros and cons of this decision. I had always wondered if my Repository series would find a home editorially since my other main series Sorority Rush had. I'm not sure how the NYT came across my work. Maybe it was from when I sent them my portfolios over a year ago or it might have had something to do with my second email today which was from Women in Photography. My Repository series was selected by WIP for an upcoming online solo exhibition yet I had no idea it would launch today. Needless to say it was a great surprise to see my work featured on their site. I'm not sure if one email had anything to do with the other one but somehow for one brief moment today the stars aligned for me.

So please check out the WIP online show. It is my first solo show which is very exciting. And be sure to keep an eye out for my image in the New York Times Magazine!

Super Safe

While attending Review Santa Fe I learned of a new photo blog called Flakphoto. While am happy more work from my fellow peers is being featured including 55 participants from the review overall the work on the site seems to be 'Super Safe'. I recently read photographer Cara Phillip's blog, Ground Glass which mentioned she had not been invited to Review Santa Fe this year. If you are a fan of her work you'd ask the same as me, why the hell not. Her work is gorgeous and perverse making it all the more memorable. I feel there are not enough outlets for photographers and artists like myself making work which is not the norm. In her blog, Cara mentions her own work in relation to mine and the similarities in our arduous travels as photographers pushing the envelope and making work not easily digested by the general public.

For this reason I've decided to add a new feature to my blog called 'Super Safe' which will highlight artists whose work is not super safe and strives to share something new and worthwhile with the public. As my new friend Katy Almanas says...."Beautifully Subversive is where its at."

Please send small jpgs or links to work to info@sarahsudhoff.com

Erotica

I recently entered Gallery Lomabrdi's call for Erotic photography with self-portraits from my Repository series including two videos. My intention with the work was never to be erotic although posing nude seems to come more easily for me than other women. I wouldn't say I am 100% comfortable with the way I look...why do you think I'm partially concealed in the sink however I am comfortable with certain aspects of my figure.

I'm not sure how this will affect the read of my self-portraits if any. Most people associate the images with illness and cancer however a few have pointed out the "erotic" undertones suggested in some of the photographs and videos. I won't deny that its there or say that I was wholly unaware of this aspect when I photographed and filmed myself. It is definitely a direction I have thought of going as a continue the project and/or create a new series of self-portraits.

I also proposed doing a live performance at Gallery Lombardi opening night. I have never performed live although have suggested it for several exhibitions. I'm a bit nervous yet I think it will be truly exciting to perform in front of an audience for the first time. Hey I could totally bomb at it. So if you are around the Austin area come check out the opening in August. Once I have more details on the performance I'll post them.

Boonville

It is with great sadness that I learned today of the death of Kody Beasock, age 12 from Boonville, New York. Timothy Briner my friend and fellow photographer traversed the country capturing the spirit of the places and of the people he encountered in each of the Boonvilles he resided in. Tim's third stop on his journey was Boonville, New York where he stayed with the Beasock family.

I have been traveling every week this last month and so have fallen behind in my blog readings. Today I read Tim's blog and found out he was indeed back home and read of Kody's death. The kind words written by Tim as well as the comments posted on the blog by his audience are worth the time to read.

As a photographer I feel I have a certain inherent duty to chose my subjects carefully and when doing so know the responsibility as an image maker not only to myself and the audience but also to the subject–to represent the truth, to share a secret and revel something worthwhile that might have gone unnoticed if I hadn't otherwise taken an interest in it. I feel this is one of the many gifts Tim has given to us, to the Beasock family and to the photographic community. When I was working at Time magazine I thought that the most interesting photo stories came from abroad yet Tim's series shed's light on stories right here in our own backyards–connecting us to people we might have never met and reminding us all of our impact on those around us.

Photographic Center Northwest

I am pleased to announce images from my Sorority Rush series were accepted in to this years Photography Center Northwest's annual juried show. Rod Slemmons from the Museum of Contemporary Photography was this years juror. The show opens July 11, 8:45-10:00pm and runs through August 28, 2008. If you are in the Seattle area please stop by. All works are for sale.

Other artists include:

1. Aragona, Marisa, CA (BCD)
2. Baden, Evan, MN (ABD)
3. Bayles, David, OR (DEJ)
4. Breen, Andrew, IL (ABC)
5. Bross, Suzette, IL (ABC)
6. Browder, Chase, TX (AFG)
7. Burk, Jeff, IL (ABC)
8. Bush, Diane, NV (ACD)
9. Conley, Beverly, AR (BHJ)
10. Cox, Andy, WA (BFG)
11. Dickerson, Nell, TN (ABD)
12. Hagen, Erik, NY (BDE)
13. Heileson, Thom, WA (ABC)
14. Holmes, Joseph, NY (ABG)
15. Ketcham, Sally, WA (EFG)
16. Krieg, Carolyn, WA (BCD)
17. Miranda, Paolo, CA (ABD)
18. Papo, Rachel, NY (ACD)
19. Phillips, Russell, IL (AHJ)
20. Prusinowski, Peter, PA (ABG)
21. Sauvaitre, Marie, NY (CEF)
22. Small, Ellen, NY (FGI)
23. Sudhoff, Sarah, TX (FGJ)
24. Veenstra, Victoria, MI (ACE)
25. Vionnet, Corinne, VD, Switzerland (CEF)

Santa Fe

Well I survived another portfolio review session. I think I came away with the same conclusions about my work as I did after the Fotofest reviews in March: I need to photograph MORE. I was so impressed and somewhat jealous of several of the projects I saw in Santa Fe. The quality of work as a whole surpassed that of the photographs I saw during my session at Fotofest. Even more important than the feedback I got on my work were the relationships I made with photo editors, gallery and museum directors as well as photographers from all across the country. It might sound so silly however it truly is inspiring to meet the photographer behind the photographs. I too seemed to have my own fan base out there. I met several people who recognized my work when I handed them a card featuring Sale–the floral vending machine image.


I find it funny that during these type of events people tend to form little groups. I'm not sure exactly how or why certain photographers group together. Is it a common theme among the works? Is it a shared background or city? I happened to be one of the few participants not from New York. Although I still think of Brooklyn as home I was happy to be representing Texas. I found myself surrounded by several wonderful female photographers who gladly shared their work and critiqued my own. And of course there were a few male photographers who braved to look at my Repository project. One photographer named John mentioned he'd seen my work on Center's site and had grown up in a family of gynecologists. It was quite wonderful talking with a man about the work and him knowing more than me in some cases about the subject matter and terminology.

It was great running in to familiar faces such as Mary Virgina Swanson, Ann Pallesen Darren Ching and Debra Klomp Ching, Michael Mazzeo, Carrie Villines and Rachel Dunville. I also had the pleasure of meeting Sarah Small who'd I'd exhibited with and Jennifer Boomer whose work has been introduced to me by photographer Timothy Briner. This little world of ours seems to get smaller by the minute.


While I didn't have the opportunity to personally meet all 100 photographers and see their work at this years reviews I met several passionate photographers who I seemed to gravitate towards. I would say the person whose work was most closely related to my own was that of Katie Almanas. She too makes work which is extremely personal to her involving a medical theme. Yet her take is quite unexpected, beautifully composed and at times quirky. Katie's work was actually introduced to me at the review by photographer Rebecca Sitller Schrock who like Katie uses food as one of her subjects. Although looking at Rebecca's images on the website is nothing compared to seeing her large scale color photographs which are really exquisite. I do hope she wants to trade one day, hint hint!


I can't leave the boys out......I did see several great projects by male photographers such as Jason DeMarte, Eric Percher, Colin Blakely, and Ben Handzo.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to share their work with me and who were kind enough to look at and review my work. If nothing else happens which I really do hope something BIG comes from my meetings, I have one or two new projects in mind as well as some idea of how to continue current works. Now all I need is to find funding!