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SPE Regional was absolutely fantastic, especially being my first photo-conference. There were some great constructive criticism that I very much needed. Lots of awesome people to meet. Thanks to everyone for all their support and congratulations.
Syracuse has been going through some tough art politics lately with the surprising dismissal of Astria Superak from Syracuse University funded gallery, The Warehouse Gallery. Astria was appointed gallery director a year ago, almost instantly curating an Art Video Festival at the local art space, Spark. Many are outraged at the sudden firing and overwhelming confused on the bad decision made by the Coalition of Museums and Art Centers's Director, Jeffrey Hoone.
Some speculated the decision was due to the current exhibition up at the Warehouse Gallery, titled, "COME ON:Desire Under The Female Gaze." The CMAC heads were not too keen on the subject matter and how it would be perceived by the Syracuse public. Here is a the description of the show from the gallery website:
The Warehouse Gallery of Syracuse University launches a bold new exhibition, COME ON: Desire Under The Female Gaze, which focuses on the psychological, social, cultural and political dimensions of desire, subjectivity and pleasure. ... COME ON reveals what is not represented in popular culture and provides a counterbalance to the ubiquitous imagery of sexualized female bodies created for mainstream heterosexual male sensibilities.
The art community in Syracuse have been growing at a fast rate thanks to Astria's influence and connections with the art world. This scuffle throws the growth back 10 steps in making Syracuse a city with a quality art community.
The backlash has succeeded in receiving many supporters for Astria as well as a blog, titled "Syracuse Loses Again." From there you can read the many many letters and press coverage about the situation. You can even read the obvious art censorship argument between Astria and Jeffrey Hoone in their email exchanges. Another interesting blog is Keep Astria.
Everyone knows Summer in the city is filled with many events. (Somehow I missed everything due to advanced arrangements :( Anyways, this week is one of the most eventful having Magnum hold many festivities such as reviews, openings, and drinks; also Blindspot celebrating their 35th issue; and of course, there is Jen Bekman's co-curated show with Jörg Colberg, A New American Portrait, opening tomorrow night. I'll have to stop my jb another time to see the well-publicized show.
Besides all that goes on in the art world, there's many other free events... courtesy to Freenyc.net, there's free outdoor movies, music concerts, parades, everything..... man.. I'm going to miss the Mermaid Parade this year too (Saturday starting at 2pm). :(
The Spring edition ofHey, Hot Shot! winners were announced today! Be sure to head down to the gallery on Wednesday, June 13 for the opening reception. It'll sure to be a blast and I promise to make it there this time around.
One of my favorites among the talented list of winners is Pavel Romaniko. His Russia series contain soft and intimate images of his home. He focuses on the banal and uninteresting moments; moments that you only recognize after long periods of time away from home. I love seeing other artists who use their home as inspiration since it is what I am most focused on at the moment.
Park Slope is one of the hippest and trendiest parts of Brooklyn, with many artists, musicians, and performers working/living/and performing there. This weekend many artists are opening up their studios and apartments to showcase their artwork in the 15th Annual Park Slope Open Studio Tour. I will be specifically heading to my high school teacher's studio, Ann Currier, to catch up on old times and thank her for inspiring me with photography. Her studio will be open for Sunday visitors so do drop by!
The opening show for Renwick Gallery, one of West Soho's newest additions, features Meredith Danluck's twelve minute video installation of her encounter with the King of Pop himself, Michael Jackson. Unable to get one on one with the idol, she posed as a fan among the thousands in Japan, who paid $3400 for 30 seconds with the man. No video cameras allowed, she used her newest digital camera which allows her to shoot 24 frames per second, same ratio used in film.
When I first came upon Shane Lavalette's photographs was from Alice's blogpost on his Hey, Hot Shot! submission. His website has a large impressive cohesive body of work, and well, his blog is definitely worth reading. What surprised me most was that he is only 19! His eye is very mature partially due to his deadpan way of shooting. From his blog, you can tell this guy does his research and feeds off every inspiration that presents itself to him. Very admirable considering some graduating seniors here lack his professionalism.
If you've been living under a rock, the Hey, Hot Shot! winners were announced on Monday. It's exciting to see such great work every time. The lovely opening reception is Wednesday, March 7 from 6-8pm. The showcase will be up from March 8-11. I will definitely make my way back to the gallery to see the show and say hi to the lovely Jen Bekman.
It is still awhile to my 21st birthday. Yes, I can officially and legally go out and get myself drunk and be a fool, though that will highly not happen. I love presents; who doesn't? However, I know I am quite difficult to shop for. So... here's a wishlist. I'd very much rather have books than clothing, jewelry, toys, and all that nonsense.
Thank you and continue on with your day now that I've totally made myself a prick for telling you to buy me presents. haha. Snail mail will be just as or even better.. just 39 cents for a stamp.
I'm going to slowly recap my SE Asia trip since I'm bound to forget everything within a year. It was an experience and was very eye opening.. some Law and Order shit going down at times.
We flew from Hong Kong to Bangkok on the 22nd of Dec. There was a layover of 2 or 3 hours so we were lucky enough to chill in the Bangkok Airways lounge. Before going to the lounge, we wanted some grub and took our chances at dining at a finer ramen place. Thai people must not like my sis or I because we were (not) greeted by the worst waitress. She just stood there, no words, just with her pencil and paper, impatiently waiting for us to order. (I knew then.. that Thailand wasn't going to be good)
Anyways, we took a pathetic propeller plane to Siem Reap, Cambodia. Home to their national pride, Angkor Wat.
We had a personal Tuk Tuk driver during our entire stay in Cambodia. It was weird because we would tell him approximately how long we wanted to stay in an area. I dunno, the whole idea of having someone wait on me was a little awkward. On our first day out to see the temples on our own, our driver, Mr. Vandeth, was very much interested in chatting with us. He lives with his wife's family and owes his brother-in-law a shitload of money for buying a tuk tuk. Basically his wife's family makes the money and he has a lot to repay. Mr. Vandeth was very nice though and showed us his home and his brother-in-law's stash of alligators (worth $5k each. he had about 15). His tiny little room which houses his wife and two sons compared to his bro-in-law's massive house.
Cambodia has a way of making you feel guilty. So the first day we set out temple hopping, we didn't have a tour guide. Basically roamed about temples with our Lonely Planet, not really caring at all about the history and just sightseeing. It was enjoyable until we got to the 3rd temple and we were just thinking "ok.. and i have 2 more days of looking at temples...hmm." Besides that we just chilled on our own, took lame photos, made fun of tourists, and avoided begging children.
Oh the children of Cambodia. They are smart, that's for sure. As adorable yet sad these children are, they are intense when it comes to begging. They know how cute they are, they follow you for blocks asking for candy, money, or to buy their postcards. Some make more than their parents from begging. You help one but you cant help them all and it's a serious problem. It leads to other issues like sex with children thanks to tourists. A retired American couple who now lives in Thailand told us that prostitution of children was bad in Thailand but very much worse in Cambodia. I mean besides seeing old white men with their young Cambodian ladies, we saw old men with Cambodian families, possibly buying the whole family of young and old. You'd think this stuff only appears on Dateline and would never cross your path but once it does, it is some traumatizing sight to see.
The history of Cambodia starts off on a high note but continues to fall. It is trying its hardest to develop and keep up with neighboring countries but gets much of its help from other countries like (South?) Korea, France, USA, etc. Even the paved roads to some temples are only 3 years old and provided by the Koreans. It's good that the country is getting help but during the whole trip it felt like their culture was very much exploited and nothing was really the people's anymore.
The entry fee to see the temples go to some big hotel management. Who knows why they seem to "own" the temples. There isn't much preservation of the temples, very minimal; we've seen that many pieces were broken just from tourists/locals touching them too much or worse picking pieces up and accidentally breaking them. Our best tour guide, Sam, brought us to see Angkor Wat and thankfully we learned about the culture, how temples were built piece by piece, the stories carved on walls, why Cambodia is the way it is present day, etc. He was pretty much the only highlight of Cambodia because otherwise I would have felt just completely overwhelmed by everything I saw. Though the stories often were kind of guilt-ridden, it provided a backbone as to why you see the things you see today.
I probably will not go back to Cambodia because it's one of those "once in a lifetime" experiences that does not need to be revisited.
Other moments worth noting:
-Our hotel did not provide blankets.. so I slept with bath towels. -Angelina Jolie is like their national pride. They love Tomb Raider like it's god-given. -Naked children run amok. -There are flies in restaurants/everywhere. (only noted b/c there was nothing of this sort in Laos) -Our 2nd tour guide sucked. -Nobody can comprehend us being from the USA, likely because they don't understand immigration. -The Siem Reap airport was 99% filled with tourists. Local Cambodians don't travel much or will probably never be able to afford an airplane ticket. -Don't wear Converse Chuck Taylors if traveling in South East Asia.
Back in Hong Kong now.. Don't worry, I didn't get injured in the bombings in Bangkok. I arrived in the city the day it happened. Had dinner at a local restaurant and the owner had the news on. It was New Year's Eve so therefore everyone has the TV on. Then bombings happened while we ate and he told us what was happening. It was fine. We didnt do much in Bangkok anyways since it's not our kind of city. dirty, horny, smelly, and crowded. not that cool.
recap the trip later. Thanks to Ashley who actually watch and know about the news to send me a worry-email about the bombings. haha, I felt loved. The rest of you can die. oh I kid. mm, maybe not. Ok, really.
Bebe eating a plum on Vimeo So Bebe's been having a tough year. She was about 8 or 9 years old and her health has been on the decline; with eye infections to pooping. This past two weeks has been the worse as her eye infection took a turn for the worse, she stopped eating her rabbit pellets, stopped using her litter box, and just lost weight. During Thanksgiving, her eyes would bulge and it seems like she knew death was knocking on her door. We gave her a bath in her rear end today and her shortness of breath was evident. After the bath, her body was completely limp. Could barely sit up straight. I rushed her to the vet, knowing that the inevitable was to come. He said she probably has pneumonia and that with her age, her health will continue to decline. He said he can do some x-rays and give her some meds but it is unlikely to help since she will become dependent on the meds. The only reasonable thing to do was to put her to sleep. It was tough. She's my first and only pet. I balled like a baby.
She's lived a long and full life. She's in bunny heaven now, screwing around like she always wanted to, and enjoying all the food she can eat. I'm quite devastated but what can you do.
It sure was a surprise to come home to this. Tomorrow is my flight to Hong Kong.
Our show was last night. There was a great turn-out. Most were really surprised, including me, on the turn-out considering we are only juniors on the hierarchical pyramid. I'm a proud mama of my work. I think you have to be at this point. We've gone through so many critiques over the past 2.5 years; a sense of knowing "this is right" is key. The thing that hit me this semester is knowing confidence is essential. I may be a shy person but when somebody speaks of my work or I have to speak of it, the confidence exudes.
It was a great night and I know all my hard work paid off.. and would surely do it again.
This college kid has never really done all nighters. It's my junior year and I've avoided it like the plague but it caught up with me and made me stay up 4 days straight, averaging from 2 to 5 hours of sleep each day. (The 2 days I got 5 hours of sleep was due to oversleeping...bah!) Though it seems like I'm complaining, I'm very much proud of staying up so long! The digital lab has been my second home lately thanks to my lack of confidence in scanning and color correcting therefore it's probably why I'm taking just as long or longer to make prints that are analog. (plus I'm a perfectionist) It's well worth it. My work is only half way completed.. spotting is the worst! (especially if the processing lab fucks the negs up.)
Our junior photo show will be at Spark Contemporary Art Space on Friday from 6-9pm (prolly). We'll be running around like headless chicken right up to the opening. Hey, there will be free food.. as well as my awesome work (along w/ others.. ) (well, that was cocky of me).
New Delhi by Rishi Singhal
One of my "mentors" is leaving Syracuse and heading back to India. Rishi Singhal is the go-to guy for digital questions or anything for that matter; philosophy, art theory, employee gossip (i'm kidding), etc. If our Lord of the Digital Lab isn't present, most head to Rishi for help. He's great and will surely be missed from LightWork. Check out his work on Flickr. It's just a sample of his great portfolio of work. Oh, what will we do without Rishi around? you'll be missed!
I'm home for Thanksgiving break. Spent(ding) a shitload of money on photo stuff. Went to accompany the dad to jury duty. Oh yeah.. let's participate in the government by sitting in the same room for 8 hours, doing nothing, but waiting. So grand.
On a positive note, the lovely Fall Hey, Shot Hot! Winners were announced today! There is some awesome work and I think the panelists did a great job selecting. If you're in the city in December, drop by the reception on the 13th. It will be at the gallery from 6-8pm. The showcase will be up from Dec. 14-17. Don't miss it!
I came up w/ a series of photos.. projection of photos from photographers. It depicts the contrast or lack of contrast between male and female photographers. The text is from Jen Bekman'sPersonism blog, where Ken Miller speaks about the backlash from the male-dominated Tokion-organized Creativitiy Now conference. (Thanks to Cynthia for being my awesome model.)
By the way, the deadline for the next installment of Hey, Hot Shot! is approaching. Get your shit together and submit. Note: be sure to pick 3 amazing yet cohesive images.. that helps! Go to the HHS blog to see what others have submitted.
This semester has been rough but I am glad that I am slightly overworked since it gives my brain some exercise. (Ha, I just dropped my English class.. my brain couldnt handle that crap.)
Currently, I'm brainstorming for my final short assignment (due Tuesday!!), the topic being Social Transformation and forming an art collective and thinking up a manifesto that addresses a problem in art. Reading through past manifestos, I was intrigued with the Cheap Art Manifesto, written during the hippie era. "Art is not a business!", they holler. As much as I wish it weren't, and wish art can just be appreciated as is, with no strings attached; it is idealistic thinking. Art IS a business. If I do not get a job, do not exhibit and sell prints, am not represented by a gallery or whomever, where will my income to create this art come from? Don't get me wrong, you need skills to be appreciated but you'd need to sell yourself and your ideas first. It is a business.
Now the question is, how am I to create a series of images to represent this pessimistic point of view? I was thinking I might not even shoot new images and might use some found images to create some sort of collage/montage/crap/bullshit/thing. I haven't a clue. OPENED TO IDEAS!!
(I am so glad to know Blogger fixed the photo-uploading)
The art blogosphere is causing a stir; [no] thanks to Tokion's List of Male Speakers at their Creativity Now Conference. My favorite Jen Bekman addressed the lack of females issue on her blog, Personism, which now has caught on fire and spread news to Wooster Collective, Brooklyn Vegan, Art Fag City, etc. So where's the estrogen? In my entire Photo department, the ratio for female to male is like 10 to 1. There are so many of us, ladies, making art and doing our thing but why so under-represented?
Thanks Tokion, you've just lit a lightbulb to another project.
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.
