Web Desinger Needed

I'm searching for a creative and honest web designer to create and build a new website for me. I am able to pay a minimum fee however would prefer to trade photographs. If anyone is interested please contact me at info@sarahsudhoff.com

Limited Edition Prints

I have decided to sell through my blog a limited edition of prints from my Organic series. I began this series in 2002 while living in New York City. This series marks my transition from working and thinking as a journalist photographer to creating a more conceptual body of work. Each images includes two photographs. The first part I used slide film and photographed in and around my Brooklyn neighborhood capturing images of pine needles, berries and trees. The images of organic matter were then projected on to the female form. Two models including myself became the canvas for this series.

I am selling four images from this series at a cost to you of $250 per image plus $10 shipping. Each image is printed in the darkroom on luster paper at 16 x 20 inches. Each print will be signed and numbered. For your convenience there is a paypal buy it now button in the well on the left hand side of the page. If you prefer to pay by check please contact me directly at info@sarahsudhoff.com. Please specify in your paypal order and email which image you are interested in. I have the following quantities available:

Pine 8
Berry 9
Web 3
Limb 4

If you would like a larger version emailed to you please don't hesitate to ask. Thank you for your support and I look forward to sharing this work with you.

End of the semester

Its the last week of school here at Stephen F. Austin. Myself and my students are more than ready for summer break. I'm leaving for a quick vacation and then back on the job hunt. While I applied for several teaching positions and was a finalist at the University of Houston, I am nevertheless unemployed. However, this is not unfamiliar territory. I worked as a freelancer for several years in New York. I was not always sure where the next paycheck was coming from or if there was even one. I am in the mindset to work on my own art however I don't have the financial means to do so yet the list of ideas keeps growing.

If anyone wants to share their winning lottery ticket with me I'd be most grateful.

Even so the semester ended on a high note. My first student exhibition opened without too many snags and was a huge success. Thanks to Gallery Director Christian Cutler for donating the posters and to Professor Gary Schott for assisting us with installing 32 photographs in a most challenging environment.

Installation Shots

I finally made time to do a few installation shots of the New Art in Austin: 20 To Watch exhibition. If you haven't made it out, the show is up through May 11, 2008. The show then travels to four more spaces: Blue Star Art Space, San Antonio, Oct 4-Dec 28, 2008; The Grace Museum, Abilene, Jan 24-Apr 19, 2009; DiverseWorks, Houston, May 1-Jun 12, 2009; The Art Gallery at UNT-Denton: pending Fall 2009.

I plan to attend each opening so I hope to see you there!

Perfect Strangers

Just this week I received two separate emails from perfect strangers who after seeing my work in the New Art in Austin: 20 To Watch exhibition at the Austin Museum of Art felt compelled to write me. I have excluded their names and personal info yet included short statements from their emails.

Thank you for your kind, encouraging and honest responses to the photographs.

"Today I spent my afternoon at the Austin Museum of Art soaking in all that the current "20 to watch" exhibit has to offer. The final works that I saw were your photographs, and I was so moved upon seeing them that my legs felt weak and I spent the entire bus ride home blinking back tears. I came home and looked up your name on the internet, found your site, found your blog. I am relatively new to Austin and have seen few pieces of art (music, plays, and dances included) that have shaken me to the core like I was this afternoon at the museum. Thank you."

"I just visited "20 to Watch" at AMOA. I would like to share with you my response to your work. Of all the work in the exhibit, I made the strongest connection with yours and Baseera Khan's paintings. I am a quiet, introverted, thoughtful man. I read the information about your work, as well as seeing what you had to say in the video, so I understand what the conscious, or intentional, theme in your work would be.

However, I was drawn by the intimacy of the photos. You appear to share both your body and your emotional state so openly and intimately, showing great trust and courage in a vulnerable position. That's the message I came away with. I saw a beautiful young woman, frightened and saddened by her situation, choosing to honor and take care of herself and others by sharing her experience with beauty, dignity, and kindness. Anyway, I feel inspired, so thank you for sharing."

Student Show

Please join me this Friday April 18, 2008 at the Yoga Studio Gallery in downtown Nacogdoches from 6-8pm for the opening of Decisive Moments–my advanced photography classes exhibition.

This semester I created a topic specific course for my advanced photography students at Stephen F. Austin State University. I explored three specific themes: Self-Portraiture, Domesticity and Performance and the overlap that can occur between them. I introduced more contemporary artists such as Elina Brotherus, Nikki S. Lee, Trish Morrissey, Jen Davis, Elinor Carruci, Todd Hido, Amy Stein and others. I challenged my students to create one body of work for the semester incorporating one or all of these themes. It was my intention to have my students think how their images work in a series and inform one another rather than make single isolated works.

If you are in the East Texas area please stop by. The show runs through April 24.

Grant/Funding Needed

I'm in the process of looking for grants for artists and/or photographers in order to continue my Repository series. I've recently applied for several artist-in-residence programs allowing me time to focus on this specific project. In addition, I am in the process of extending my photographic exploration into other medical conditions which involve, alter or compromise the female reproductive organs.

If you come across any art, science, medical or humanities grants you think are appropriate, please send them my way.

Opening and Recent Review

The Kinsey's annual juried art show opens this Friday April 11 from 5-7:30. The show runs April 11-July 25. If you happen to be near Bloomington, Indiana please check out all the work on view.

Also just out in this week's Austin Chronicle is a review of the recent New Art in Austin: 20 to Watch exhibition. Yours truly is featured. So please check it out.

Art Alliance

My advanced photography student, Angela Duncan received second place for photograph No. 6 from her series titled, Inside in the annual Stephen F. Austin State University Art Alliance student contest. The show was curated and judged by artist Roger Shimomura.

I created a topic specific course this Spring semester covering Domesticity, Self-Portraiture and Performance. Angela investigates through photography her evolving relationship with her husband while successfully incorporating all three themes in to her new and challending body of work.

The show runs April 7-12, 2008 located in the Art Department Front and Back Galleries.

Clean 2 Video Screening Museum of Fine Arts Houston

Please join me this coming Saturday, April 5, 2008 at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston at 7pm in the Brown Auditorium for "Imagining China" and "Transformations". My performance video, Clean 2,(2006) will be viewed in conjunction with Fotofest and the Southwest Alternate Media Group.

I created the video during my last months of graduate school. I had access to a morgue in Texas and did a series of self-portraits as well as two performances in the space. For me the act of bathing or cleansing one's self alludes to a metaphorical rebirth, a new beginning. The video was made exactly two years after I had first been diagnosed with cervical cancer at the age of 26.



WINNERS

ADULT - Transformation
Basic Wire and Cable - by Chuck Ivy
Clean 2 - by Sarah Sudhoff
Environmental Justive in the USA - by Tammy Cromer-Campbell
The Fall - by Adam Cruces
Lover of the Lord - by Jack Otis Moore
Mitosis Remix - by I-AoI
Reveal - by Travis Reed

ADULT - Imagining China
Chinaaah! - by Jeanie Low and Stephanie Saint Sanchez
China Hot: Factory 798 - by Quin Matthews

YOUTH - Transformation
Andrea and Ann Present Farggeano - by Andrea Wistuba & Ann Henson
The Buggie - by Katy Bogar, Sophie Creede & Caroline Galliano
The Green Transforming Blob - by Rick Gordon, Adarsh Nednvr, Sydney Tidwell & Justice Magourick-Baker
Mix and Match - by Brea Aikens, Imogen Van Der Werff & Taylor Russo
Origami - by Christian Behrend
Siddhartha - by Kate Montgomery
Solved - by Boe Kim and Corey Martin
The Walking Water - by Dylan Siemann

YOUTH - Imagining China
Bridge to Dragonithia - by Maddy Lopez, Maryanne Sapon, Athena Rodriguez, Acara Turner, Mary Margaret Worley & Cory Summers

Is Bigger Really Better?

As I drove in to the parking lot at the university I teach at two days a week in East, Texas I was greeted with the most bizarre site. Three Barbie-like seven foot legs were strapped down to a trailer–two legs straddled the side of the trailer while one was supported with a 2x4 pointing straight up. The piece titled "Fecundity" is part of a larger series titled Spiders by artist Joni Younkins-Herzog. The image of the legs strapped to the trailer reminded me in many ways of my own work as far as content and form are concerned however this was not the original intention of the artists–to have their female spider-like figure displayed in such a vulnerable and violent manner, yet this is how I now saw the piece.


Joni and her husband Rick took part in a two-week exhibition at the Art Center which included a visiting artist lecture which took place this afternoon in the art department at Stephen F. Austin. Having attended both the closing reception for the artists and seeing their work today, I must admit Joni's work, particularly her earlier pieces intrigued me more than the exhibition as a whole. I was much more interested in her tongue, teeth and oddities series. I realize I might be biased but art is subjective after all. I invite you to explore her work for yourself.

Critical Mass Top 50

I'm very happy to report I made the Critical Mass 2007 Top 50. Their site hasn't been updated yet with all the winning projects. A big thanks to all who voted for me. Unfortunately though my work was not selected for the book prize however my friend Bill Sullivan was selected as one of the monograph finalists.



I still feel there is a great need to publish both my current bodies of work but especially the Repository work. As I've mentioned before and repeated while attending the portfolio reviews during Fotofest, I have not found a book out there which tackles reproductive cancers through photography and/or art. There are plenty of breast cancer memoirs and documentary photo projects however nothing for those of use dealing with or recovering from uterine, ovarian or cervical cancers. I do think my project needs fine tuning and additional images to complete the project but in the meantime, I will be seeking a publisher interested in the subject and who is equally moved to publish a book on the topic. If you are out there please contact me.

Critical Mass 2007 Top 50 List

Alejandro Cartagena
Andrew Sovjani
Beth Dow
Bill Sullivan
Claire Beckett
Colin Blakely
Daniel Traub
David Prifti
Elzbieta Piekacz
Eric Curry
Fernando Klint
Frank Relle
Fritz Liedtke
Hakan Strand
Hee Seung Chung
Ian van Coller
James Soe Nyun
James Rajotte
Jane Alt
Jason Horowitz
Jenny Ellerbe
JeongMee Yoon
Jing Quek
Jon Edwards
Joni Sternbach
Karen Glaser
Kevin Cooley
Krista Steinke
Larry Louie
Lucas Foglia
Lydia Panas
Martin Miller
Michael Levin
Mitch Dobrowner
Patrick Shanahan
Peter van Agtmael
Preston Wadley
Przemyslaw Pokrycki
Rafal Milach
Rania Matar
Rosanna Salonia
Ryan Zoghlin
Sarah Small
Sarah Sudhoff
Steve Hanson
Susana Raab
Teri Havens
Tessa FrootkoGordon
Toni Pepe
Vanina Feldsztein

Artist Talk Thursday April 3

On April 3, myself along with artists Alyson Fox, Andrew Long, Baseera Khan, Jill Pangallo, and Rebecca Ward will be giving artist talks at the Austin Museum of Art in conjunction with the New Art in Austin: 20 to Watch exhibition. The event begins at 7pm.

Also opening that night is Yoon Cho's solo exhibition, Nothing Lasts Forever, opening at Women and Their Work in Austin. I meet Yoon at our recent opening at AMOA. The opening is from 6-8pm.



"Cho uses video and digital photography to examine the ways we constantly create and re-create our identities. Utilizing blurring, pattern overlay, image insertion and other digital techniques to manipulate photography and video installations, Cho trains a sly and poignant lens on the ephemeral and ever-shifting nature of human persona. If life is a stage, Cho’s body of work investigates how we get into character".

Fotofest Meeting Place: Day 2-4

The intense days of mini meetings with well known curators from New York, Texas, California, etc as well as several international galleries has finished up. Well for me anyway. There is one more week of portfolio reviews taking place in conjunction with Fotofest. I honestly had my reservations regarding attending such a costly event however when I ran in to Mary Virginia Swanson at an opening last summer at Jen Beckman's gallery she convinced me it was worth while. Although I did not have the opportunity to meet with MVS (hint hint) although I selected her everyday, I have to agree the days of prep work and sometimes exhausting and nerve racking meetings seem, at this point, to have been a good investment. I had the opportunity meet with a handful of people who seemed to be really interested in my work–either my Repository series or my Sorority Rush series. Overall, I received constructive feedback on how to improve both bodies of work and ways to continue them. I find its always difficult to put yourself out there not knowing what you will get in return, if anything. So for four days myself along with about 100 other people got the nerve to lay our cards down, meet with directors and/or curators we have only dreamed of meeting, all in the hopes that one might be interested enough to represent us, put us in a group show, publish a book of our work or show us around to other possibly interested curators, reps, magazines or book publishers.

I found everyone was looking for something different and I think in the end no matter what level you were at, how finished your body of work was most people found someone their work connected with. I myself was looking for possible gallery representation, inclusion in a group or solo show and interest in publishing one or both projects. In addition, I felt that both projects could be continued and should be. I discussed the strengths and weakness of each body of work and where to go from here. Often, as those of you who have attended reviews know, often the advice can and does contradict what the previous reviewer suggested. I think, based upon all the advice, you have to find the path or next step which seems best suited for you at this moment in time.

In between the meetings and over the course of four days, I was able to receive and give peer reviews and see some amazing photography. What is most striking to me is I signed up for the third section of portfolio reviews. There had been two before mine and one after. The level of work I was seeing and most of which I recognized from recent publications, contests and exhibitions was phenomenal. It appeared that some of the most talented emerging photographers were all gathered in Houston. I ran across photographer Kaylynn Deveney whose images I had seen through the 2005 critical mass top 50 contest. It was a real pleasure to see her prints and also purchase her book titled The Day to Day Life of Albert Hastings. Kent Rogowski, another photographer I had the pleasure of meeting, also recently published a book titled Bears. Both books can be purchased online. I am planning to order Kent's book, maybe he'll sign it for me??? Other photographers I met were Rona Chang, Geoffrey Hutchinson who I knew from New York and his business Print Space as well as Jessica Kaufman and Anne Arden McDonald. On Wednesday night there was an open portfolio viewing where the general public could come view our work and speak with us. After 6 hours of reviews earlier in the day it was the last thing most of us wanted to participate in however the experience was so worthwhile. How often do you have the opportunity to meet the artist or photographer in such a casual setting and how often do we as artists and photographers get to interact with a group of people who might not be the typical crowd at our openings.

Some of these same photographers, including myself, have been selected to attend this years Santa Fe Review happening in June. Unlike the meeting place, the Santa Fe Review is upon portfolio selection only. A panel selects a small group of photographers to attend a two day review. I hope to reedit and include some of the suggestions from the meeting place before heading out to Santa Fe to do it all over again.

Fotofest Meeting Place: Day 1

I made it through my first day of Fotofest here in Houston. Unfortunately I was so exhausted after I wasn't able to check out any shows around town. I had the pleasure of meeting with several reviewers who offered insightful feedback. It was both encouraging and discouraging on some levels. Based on the first day events I'm considering reediting the current selection of images in my Repository series. I've brought along two series. Most reviewers are drawn to the medical work although a few have been more taken with my Sorority Rush series.

Reviewers questioned the themes running through my Repository series and ways to strengthen those ideas. One reviewer from Canada mentioned the possibility of separating the project in to two parts of one body while another reviewer suggested separating out the images of the photographs of me in the morgue sink from the rest of the hospital/gynecologist pieces. Nothing was a complete surprise however it gets me thinking–maybe the series isn't as strong as I originally thought. Maybe it is. Maybe it just needs refining. I have been wanting to continue with the self-portraits as well as continue shooting for the series but not sure which ideas to focus on and which themes need to be fleshed out more.

In between the intense timed reviews I was able to see the work of fellow Fotofest participants. I ran across two photographers whose images I was already familiar with. I spotted Carlo Van de Roer's Untitled (Astoria Park, Queens, New York). I recognized his image which had been shown at Jen Beckman's gallery and through her photo venture 20x200 offering very reasonably priced prints to the general public. Unfortunately this photo is already sold out in all sizes. It was wonderful being able to see the entire series and meet Carlo. Jen Beckman is attending the conference as a reviewer. I'm hoping to meet her and show her both my series and see where that leads. I'd love to be part of her gallery or at the very least sell an image through her 20x200. I also recognized the work of Rachel Papo and her series of Israeli female soldiers. Her and I were both published in the same issue of PDN edu a few years ago. Having only seen the images in a magazine or online it was fantastic to see them beautifully printed 20x24 as well as see Rachel's new series on ballet dancers in Russia.

I overheard one photographer say that while nothing transpired from his meetings with reviewers two years ago during his first Fotofest conference he walked away inspired. During the last two years he has produced two bodies of work and a book. I hope if nothing else I can walk away with a list of new contacts and the same positive outlook on my own work and future projects.