disposable parts
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Anita and I do what we do best: sit in a public place, discuss the meaning of life, and drink green tea. Yes, right. We out-sat the people around us today. That's how bored we are, but good thing we are close to a dog-park, Anita's pimp, a father pimping his son with a rubik's cube, a guy whose laugh sounds like a fart, many multi-racial couples counteracting the complete asian couples, a white snake (we kid!) with a digital SLR, many indecent exposures of skin, fashion faux pas, a young "me" but without the chubby fat, Santa Claus, men with really red cheeks, and a guy who only looks decent when he's looking down.
We (the general we) have got to quit comparing ourselves to others. But really... sometimes logic just comes into question.. why this? do you need that? but?
Ok, I need to save money.. and that means not using my parent's money either, which i rarely ever use... SAVE! All I need is one electronic device.
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fools in love
Friday, May 26, 2006
There have been days where I'm busy for 12 hours straight, either at the gallery and/or wandering the streets with dear friends. Then there comes the downtime where you can imagine me in my PJs, in my mom's bed, with a remote in hand, and not a thought going thru my brain.
People need a schedule to live by, maybe not a rigid one. Basically, I'm saying "JANE NEEDS A JOB!" The money would help compensate my dinners with my friends, subway fare for days I am at the gallery, lunches, and that white notebook that is dancing around my head.
I posted a listing on Craigslist asking for any photo/art related job and got one reply, surprisingly a week after the post went up. It's basically a photo assistant job but I'm such a picky person that I can't settle for a mediocre commercial photographer. (plus, his replies were short and shady.)
Not going back to camp. no way.
Tomorrow I shall pick up some more job applications at retail stores as well as drop some off.
Here's a list of movies I've seen since I've been home:
Memoirs of a Geisha
King Kong
The Squid and the Whale
Just Friends
Happy Accidents
Little Manhattan
Elizabethtown
The Break Up
Kamikaze Girls
Weird that Russian Dolls came out earlier this month.. 'cause I saw it on Singapore Airlines in January! I loved L’Auberge Espagnole.. and Russian Dolls is a nice sequel.
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the vanishing
Sunday, May 21, 2006
 I saw Moby on Mulberry and Spring.
Also spotted Gideon Yago on W4th and Broadway.
oh "celebrity" sightings are sooo exciting. for a mere second.
First blog post now on Jen Bekman; merely an introduction post.. there will be actual Jen Bekman posts coming.
It's frustrating to know that I need to network in order to get somewhere. So I started my summer planning quite early in the year, not realizing that there are not enough days in the week for me to accomplish them all. Also, I didn't realize that I would get so many offers. Talk about some high confidence, eh. I'm grateful for having all these choices but seriously speaking, I'm not much of a gallery person. It's important for me to learn what goes on in a gallery, how pieces are picked, why they are, why people represent certain artists, etc but it's more beneficial if I'm actually able to ask such questions. I'm really glad to be interning at Jen Bekman because I know Jen's approachable with such questions and she's able to answer them. Plus, it helps to work directly with her.
So with a packed schedule, I'm willing to turn down unpaid offers to free up my time by either getting a job or working on my photography. A job would be nice, preferably one where I keep busy and not in terms of staring at a computer screen or a file cabinet. A job can also help pay for some photo supplies and help me save for my travels.
There's a great article on Gothamist about the popularity of unpaid internships. Tis why it's another reason for me to turn down my extra gallery internship.. because well, they'll expect me to file from 10-6pm.
mm.. something that's been ticking me off everytime I say I'm from Brooklyn to most art-related people; their reaction is to say "Oh, Williamsburg?" No, my little darlings, I live in the populated immigrants area where Italians use to reside, tis Bensonhurst. Even Wikipedia knows it used to be a Mafia haven. ha! We're no punks anymore.. just a whole lotta Chinese, Muslim, and a bunch of Hispanics looking for day labor jobs along 65th street. No wars going on here.. for that, read the war between Williamsburg and Park Slope.
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approachable Jane
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
 I can't say that yesterday morning was one of my best moments because with rain brings wet feet, wet pants, messy hair, and a very annoyed Jane Tam. Once the rain disappeared and one pretentious gallery interview was over, I headed to Barnes and Nobles where I people-watched like I never people-watched before. Overhearing a high school senior get slammed by a college reviewer was one of the highlights especially since she was showing him her black and white photography portfolio. Heard things like:
"You need to learn how to look through the camera and think about what you are shooting."
"Focus on some project long term and try to make a series. It gets tough in college and I usually expect Juniors in college to have an idea about what they want to photograph."
"Burn this." "Dodge this."
"Shoot more."
"Too busy on this side. If you want to make something confusing do it with intention."
I really wanted to whip out my 9 images in my portfolio and hear him either praise me or trashtalk me about how I am a failure. He was harsh but damn was it great criticism for the girl.
 After they left, I continued watching from the cafe, looking down on the customers. It started to get overwhelming at one point where I couldn't focus on any one person anymore, and that was when I took a napkin and jotted everything and everyone I saw down. It's the beginning of something.
Four strangers approached me today. One who was overwhelmed by the tunnels in the Canal street station and how complicated it was to get from the downtown R to the downtown N.
Another woman asked me where I bought my calendar, in which I wrote amazon.com and somehow got to chatting about ancient Chinese traditions of female foot bindings. She asked why I didn't have an accent and well, I said, "I was born here."
An old Chinese granpa had the most worrisome face on the train and started to panic to his wife about being on the wrong train. He asked me something I didn't understand because he was speaking hardcore Toisan. I couldn't help him and his wife yelled at him again telling him not to worry. Calendar lady asked me why I didn't understand and said I should learn Chinese. She left after saying that. (That kind of pissed me off.. since I know Chinese, I just dont know ALL the fucking dialects! ooh, ignorance)
Another man on the train sitting next to Calendar lady starting say how he hopes he doesn't get all paranoid when he ages. Somehow we got to talking about his wife and how he thinks he will be the paranoid grandpa very soon.
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bottleboy
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
I remember one of the first things my photo instructor told me was that I would have to think I'm rich and not be frugal with photography. It's tough to not think about money all the time especially when it is so much needed. Film, paper, darkroom time, cans of compressed air, portfolios, negative sleeves, equipment, laptops, etc. Throughout the last two years, students flash their plastic like nobody's business. I always wonder if it's either their money or their parent's and usually is the latter. Asking my parents for money was always one of those things I refrained from doing because well, I never needed it then. The guilt always settles and using their money on supplies to help me make art to express myself seems odd. Doesn't it? Using their money to make stuff to criticize how they brought you up?
Never have I realized that a lot of work I've made in the past 2 years have been a little selfish.. okay, sometimes a lot selfish. So it's always my perspective and how I feel neglected and all that bullshit but seriously, I've had it easy. They never tell me how our finances are really going, how they have the money to send me to school, how we have money for anything.
I don't know where I'm going but it's probably something good.
tomorrow's a busy day. and starts early too. ugh.
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same place same time
Saturday, May 13, 2006
yes, i'm blogging from my internship. seems good.
there's a huge line along bowery for the casting of the NBC show, "Deal or No Deal." it's sad but very humorous at the same time. Don't you want to get down with Howie Mandel?
Come to Jen Bekman. The show up now features the "Greatest Hits", work from all the represented artists. Reception is next Friday, the 19th from 6-8pm.
It's a lovely Spring day in the the big Apple. This means the trendy hipsters, boho chic, Lindsay Lohan lookalikes come prancing about with their new love for tights. Ok, sometimes tights with skirts look cute and adorable but when one, whether a model figure or worse, wears tights as pants with excessive exposure of camel toe; that's the limit for me. It's sad to see beautiful girls walk by with their sky blue tights and ballet shoes, with tshirts way too short, exposing the rouching crotch. Please chicas, cover yee camel toes. Get a longer tshirt. Wear a skirt. Don't deny it either because dear, nobody looks good w/ tights in public; maybe if you're running to your ballet class.
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i might be wrong
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
come thursday.
i hope this summer will be fun, insightful, exhausting, and filled with great experiences. although, i'm not completely sold on my great expectations. oh, pessimism.
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losing it
Monday, May 01, 2006
i am seriously fuming and it's only monday. i'm really tired of it all.
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About
Jane Tam has moved to a different domain. Please forward your links to http://janetam.com. Jane is a 21 year old Photography student placed in Syracuse University but originally from New York City. She enjoys all sorts of music but you can classify her as the stereotypical indie kid. Slightly offensive and bitter sometimes, this blog is a place to vent frustrations but also a blog to display current photo/art projects as well as encourage new talent from music to art to films; basically whatever tickles Jane's fancy.
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