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.

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."

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.

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

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.

1000 Words: Interview with the Intrepid Art Collector

Lisa Hunter writer and art critic asked me to reveal the story behind my Repository series. Written in 1000 words, I hope I am able to share a piece of my journey and how I've come full circle as a woman and as an artist with our audiences.

Please check out the new feature "1000 Words: Stories Behind the Pictures" now on Mrs. Hunters blog, the Intrepid Art Collector.

I'm headed to Fotofest in Houston next week. I've signed up to meet with national and international curators, gallery directors and publishers. If I'm lucky I might get a solo show or book deal out of it.

AMOA: 20 to Watch Video Interview

In January, I was interviewed by Andrea Mellard, Curatorial Associate/ Manager of Public Programs at the Austin Museum of Art. It was rather nerve racking. Its been awhile since I had been interviewed let alone filmed during the process. I come off sounding as if I actually know something about my work and my self. So please checkout my video as well as the 19 other participants in the Austin Museum of Art: 20 to Watch exhibition. Don't forget I'll be giving a short artist talk on April 3, 2008. Hope to see you there.

Video Interview

New Art in Austin: 20 To Watch Opening

Despite the cold weather....yes it gets cold here in Texas, rain and tornado warnings nearly 1500 people attended this years New Art in Austin: 20 To Watch opening. I think the show was a huge success and thanks to everyone who came out that night. It was great to see so many familiar faces in the crowd.

The work is extremely diverse showcasing performance, video, site specific installation, painting, sculpture and photography. I was especially interested in the work of Jen Hirt and Scott Webel, a collaborative group known as the Museum of Natural and Artificial Ephemerata. If you haven't been out to see the show yet it runs through May 11 before heading on a two year tour through Texas.

In conjunction with the show there are two more fantastic events to attend. On Thursday March 6, the video shorts will be screened at the museum. It will provide an inside look at each artists' working process as well as their studio spaces. Throughout the month of April, all 20 artists will be giving artist talks on Thursday evenings. I am part of the first round on April 3. Hope to see you there.

Home Stretch

Three days to go till my first museum opening. Yes I'm excited. This past weekend I traveled from Houston to pick up my three prints for the show and hand delivered them to Austin and then returned the next day to Houston. Nothing can prepare you for the amount of time, energy and especially cash that goes in to getting your work seen. This year as in 2008 I've already spent hundreds on competitions, portfolio reviews etc in addition to printing, shipping and return shipping works to three separate shows happening simultaneously. Its the price of being an artist you could say and of course its a catch 22. You are poor because you are an artist however you can't get your work out there, seen by the right people unless you spend money which you know you don't have. On top of that you want to make new work because once your art is out there and people start paying attention they want to know what you are working on now. Again more money spent that you don't already have. Debt is a common word out of my moth. Credit card and student loan debt–it never seems like it will go away. I'm hoping that from these recent shows others will come and hopefully lead to sales or a solo show. As an artist as many of my artist friends know you have to stay positive keep pushing your work even when you get back hundreds of rejection letters. Eventually your work will be in front of the right person at the right time and things will snowball from there. At least thats what I have been told.

31 Under 31: Young Women in Art Photography

Humble Arts Foundation, in collaboration with Ladies Lotto, present

"31 Under 31: Young Women in Art Photography"

Curated by Lumi Tan and Jon Feinstein

On view
Saturday, March 1 – Friday, March 28, 2008

Opening reception
Saturday, March 1, 2008

After receiving more than 1000 submissions we are delighted to announce the exhibiting photographers for "31 Under 31: Young Women in Art Photography."

Exhibiting photographers:

Alana Celii
Amy Elkins
Ahndraya Parlato
Allison Grant
Ashley Lefrak
Alejandra Laviada
Alex Van Clief
Catherine Maloney
Dina Kantor
Dru Donovan
Elaine Stocki
Hannah Whitaker
Helen Maurene Cooper
Jaimie Warren
Jessica Bruah
Jessica Roberts
Ka-Man Tse
Kate and Camilla
Kelly Kleinschrodt
Manya Fox
Marta Labad
Mary Mattingly
Molly Landreth
Nadine Rovner
Rachael Dunville
Reka Reisinger
Sara Padgett Heathcott
Sarah Small
Sarah Sudhoff
Tealia Ellis Ritter
Talia Chetrit

And And So On....A Cutorial experiment in groups of 100

I was recently invited to participate in an online curatorial experiment started by Dan Halm. Dan selected two artists who then each selected their own two artists to feature 'And So On'. I was lucky enough to be selected by Amy Stein who also chose Shen Wei. I wanted to select artists other than photographers, revealing just how much other mediums can influence, comment on and re-enforce my own ideas.

The two artists I selected both use human hair as an element in their works. I am personally drawn to Victorian mourning jewelry. I am fascinated with the idea of preserving the memory of someone deceased by containing a 'piece' of them. The containment of our bodies and its parts is something I explore in my own work. When I saw Melanie Bilenker's brooches made with her own hair, I was immediately moved by her process. Langdon Graves's sculptures and installations look and feel like the physical extension of my own photographs.

I am just as curious as Dan is to see where this first round of artists picking artists leads. I hope to discover new works which will inspire my own and I hope to turn others on to my personal favorites.

Critical Mass Update

I just found out today I was selected as one of the top 150 out of 569 photographers to move in to the second round of Photolucida's Critical Mass Competition. My work will now be judged by 200 reviewers including Brian Clamp of ClampArt Gallery in New York, Joerg Colberg of Conscientious, Natasha Egan from the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago and oddly enough two of my former undergraduate professors.

The top 50 photographers will be featured on Photolucida's site and the three highest scoring photographers will have a monograph published of their work. My friend Amy Stein received this honor in 2006.

I'll keep you posted!

Contemporary Self-Portraiture

I'm pleased to announce I've been accepted in to Self Evident: Contemporary Self-Portraiture which opens at Claypool-Young Art Gallery at Morehead State University in Kentucky January 30, 2008 and runs through February 20, 2008. Clean 1 was chosen from my Repository series. Images Clean 1 and Clean 2(wet in the sink) are part of a performance which took place in the morgue. The first image was taken after several hours of setting up and trying different locations within the morgue for a self-portrait. It was my second attempt to photograph my self in this space. The composition for Clean 1 and Clean 2 was, naturally, the last placement I tried. As soon as I saw the Polaroid develop I knew this was the image. The lighting worked, not to overpowering in a room that was all stainless steel, the sink seemed to cradle my body while the hose formed a halo around my head. All elements which were hardly visible in the Polaroid. I only shot one frame of me dry showing the cable release and one frame of me wet holding the cable release. In all the other frames I tried to disguise it. In this way I feel I was very lucky in at least getting one usable image which varied. In between the making of the two images I bathed in the sink using antiseptic soap and a scrub brush which were both found in the morgue. I photographed my self dry, 12 frames with the RZ, getting out of the sink each time to wind the camera. Then I set up the video camera on the same tripod used for the photographs and proceed with two versions of a performance. Then wet and cold, got back out of the sink, transferred the RZ back to the tripod and again shot 12 frames of me wet.

Center for Contemporary Art

The traveling exhibition, TPS 16: The National Competition, Juried by Michelle Dunn Marsh (Aperture) makes a second stop in the tour! On view Dec 1- Jan 31 at the Center for Contemporary Art in Abilene, TX. Other artists on view include Rachel Dunville, Lydia Panas among others.

CENSORED

This past Wednesday, my photos titled Clean 1 and Clean 2 were draped with black cloth while on view at the Art Center in Nacogdoches, Texas. The prints are on display as part of the Stephen F. Austin faculty show which closes this week. A high school arts teacher who previewed the show before bringing her students in asked that the two semi-nude images be covered prior to their arrival.

Upon entering the gallery, the art director was asked to discuss why the images were covered. His reply...."This is censorship."

Normally I would have caused a fuss about the situation however, last year, a fifth-grade arts teacher lost her job after taking her art students on a principal and parent approved filed trip to the Dallas Museum of Art. "Parents raised concerns over the field trip after their children reported seeing a nude sculpture at the art museum."

Who could blame this teacher for wanting to keep her job but what is really going on here? What changed that made parents and teachers so nervous to show their students nude ART. Not pornography, not violent sex scenes, not blood or gore. I think most students see more damaging images on television, in the movies and in their video games. I'm not saying this should or shouldn't been allowed but how can you put art shown in a gallery setting in to the same category and censor it more than you would censor images coming in to your own home?

I suppose its too much to ask for a student or parent to see something that makes them the slightest bit uncomfortable–asks them to look at an image of a semi-nude woman and see her as more than a naked figure. Unfortunately, these students missed out on the context of the images, my story and the reason for the nudity in the first place. So did their teacher.

Humble Arts Foundation

I was recently contacted by Humble Arts Foundation regarding my image titled Sale from my "Repository" series which ran in their online Group Show No 17 a few months ago. It seems there has been a growing interest in purchasing the piece. If all goes according to plan, come mid-November my vending machine image will be for sale through Humble.

Lisa Hunter, a writer, art critic and recent fan of my work hinted in her blog, The Intrepid Art Collector, her interest in the photograph as well. Rest easy, you too can now own it.