Gangbangers With Pit Bulls?

I just returned home from a very lovely and positive celebration with family and friends and then made the mistake of reading the New Yorker's review of Pieter Hugo's show at Yossi Milo. I quickly soured on humanity and the young year's promise of a more perfect world. The magazine that is typically a bastion of progressive values referred to Pieter's subjects as "merely exotic versions of U.S. gangbangers with pit bulls." Seriously? If that isn't straight up racism it's as close as you can get this side of a locker room at the Augusta Country Club.

Wishing You a Hopeful and Happy New Year!

© Amy Stein

My Pro-Taco Agenda

© Patrick Romero

Staying true to the lessons I learned during Miami, I spent my holiday week in Sunset Beach enjoying the company of my husband and in-laws instead of focusing on photography. I did not go to a single museum or gallery, I left the Blackberry behind and I shot only one roll of film over the entire seven days. This was a remarkable achievement for someone who has been eating, breathing and drinking photography for the last four years.

While it was not top of mind, I did make the time to meet two photography friends. While we were in Santa Barbara we went to La Super Rica for tacos with Liz Kuball and talked for a good two hours or so about everything under the sun. Liz lives in paradise and I couldn't be more jealous of her ready access to so much beauty and so much tasty wine.

Patrick Romero was nice enough to drive down from Los Angeles to meet me at Taco Surf in Sunset Beach. Patrick has a life outside of photography as a camera operator for television, but has had more time of late to focus on photography because of the writer's strike. He shared some of his new work with me as we mowed down the salsa.

Those two meetings aside, I really enjoyed my brief time away from my career and my camera. I am not a big fan of New Year resolutions, but in 2008 I definitely want to continue to make time for things in my life that have nothing to do with my chosen profession. Oh, I would also like to eat more tacos.

The Most Disturbing Thing I Have Ever Seen

Sleeping Rat Baby © Anne Geddes

I am back in New York after seven sun-soaked days lazing around the beaches of Orange County. I am mildly resentful, but ultimately happy to be back home. The OC is all about excess. Shiny expensive cars, big hillside mansions, Botoxed and pulled faces and everyone wearing Ugg boots for one more season. Over the course of a week the gross parts become part of the perverted whole and it's hard to be moved to comment by any single excessive fragment. But, amid this ocean of excess one thing managed to rise above and hover like a grotesque surfeit island of beautifully useless swill. I speak of the Anne Geddes flagship store.

After a day spent at Disneyland (don't ask) waiting in mind-numbingly long lines to ride their latest cross-promotional brand experience, I was not to be easily aroused by marketing clutter. But, as we walked through the chilly streets of Downtown Disney I saw the Geddes store in the distance and I became transfixed by the sheer totality and audacity of her vision. Inside the store were the typical cringe-inducing photos of her Doctor Moreau-like flower and animal babies, but that was just the beginning of the Geddes merchandise empire. There were baby clothes, hats, t-shirts, maternity kits, books, and most disturbing of all, a series of plushy dolls that resembled the hybrid monsters in her photos. These dolls were all around you, eyes closed and sleeping. Or were they dead? After a few moments I began to imagine that the local Union Carbide plant had sprung a leak and these babies lay peacefully departed, the casualties of a terrible industrial accident.

Then it hit me like a store full of dead plushies; Anne Geddes is a genius and my new inspiration for pimping dry every last bit of my art to maximize exposure and profits. Now, when I close my eyes I don't just see my work hanging on gallery and museum walls, I see my own flagship store hawking the Amy Stein logoed line of hats, t-shirts, golf tees and mouse pads. I see a line of plushy deers and coyotes playfully chewing away at plushy garbage. And, I see a touring ice-show featuring a bear and a little girl tensely skating to "The Final Countdown" around a chain-linked enclosed swimming pool. The sky and my own sense of decency are my only limits.

Thanks, Anne!

Oscar Peterson RIP

Going Back to Cali

Los Angeles (Blue Mustang). © Adam Bartos

I am heading west tomorrow for my annual holiday break from all things New York with my wonderful in-laws, John and Sue, at their fabulously beachy home in Sunset Beach, CA. You really can't top Christmas at the beach. I will be spending most of my time relaxing, but I have my radar out for "can't miss" art and music shows in the OC or Los Angeles. Let me know if you are in the know.

Met Scores Big With Arbus Archive

Woman with a Veil on Fifth Avenue, N.Y.C. © Diane Arbus

Today's NYT reports that the estate of Diane Arbus has gifted her massive personal and professional archive to the Metropolitan Museum of Art:

Now the photographer’s estate has presented this intimate chronicle of Arbus’s life — her complete archives — to the Met as a gift, along with hundreds of early and unique photographs; negatives and contract prints of 7,500 rolls of film; and hundreds of glassine print sleeves that she personally annotated before her death by suicide in 1971.

This is a huge coup for the Met whose contemporary photography offerings have been minimal to date. Congrats to Jeff Rosenheim, curator of the Met’s department of photographs (and my MFA thesis adviser), on this great gift.

What's the Story Here?

Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images

The photo above ran with a story today in the NY Times about Bill Clinton assuming a higher profile role in Hillary's campaign. I love this photo and I hate this photo. It manages to pack more narrative into a single image than all the other photos in the NY Times combined. But, it triggers so many negative visual codes that it make me uncomfortable. Do you find this image as provocative as I do? What does is say to you?

Battle Photo: I Love Lucy!

Lucy/Georgia 1968 © Fred Herzog

vs.

Battery Park, New York, 2000 © Hiroshi Watanabe

Thank You Science!

From the Huffington Post:

Three Turkish Angora cats were born in January and February through cloning with a gene that produces a red fluorescent protein that makes them glow in dark. One died at birth, but the two others survived, the ministry said.

The ministry claimed it was the first time cats with modified genes have been cloned.

Scientists from Gyeongsang National University and Sunchon National University took skin cells from a cat and inserted the fluorescent gene into them before transplanting the genetically modified cells into eggs.

A Good Deal Just Got Great

Perry, Route 80, Kentucky 2005 © Amy Stein

Humble Arts Foundation is currently offering 20% off the price of their limited edition print selection. That means you can now get an even better deal on already ridiculously low priced prints by some great photographers. And, you will be supporting the fabulous work of the Humble Arts Foundation in the process. If you've always wanted to buy one of my photographs, now all you have to do is pony-up $300 for Perry, Route 80, Kentucky from my Stranded series. You better hurry and buy now, there are only three left!

UPDATE: Perry is now sold out, but photos by great photographers like Rachael Dunville, Dina Kantor, Corey Arnold, and Sarah Sudhoff are still available.

Post Miami High

The carpetbaggers and scalawags are slowly making their way back from the sunny sands of Miami Beach to the cold hard concrete of New York and they are telling gripping tales of excess and art. My stories are tepid at best. Miami was lucrative for me in many ways, but it's true value was the clarity it provided on many professional fronts. Spending time in a sausage factory definitely helps you appreciate the wisdom of a healthy diet and my time in South Beach helped me glean insights that will guide many of my career decisions moving forward. For that reason alone, I am happy I made the trip south.

Miami Bound

Wednesday morning I will be leaving my New York ice cave and flying to the Sunshine State to luxuriate in the four day art bender that is Art Basel. My time will be perfectly divided between getting my winter tan in order and searching for as many free drink opportunities as I can. Oh, and I will probably look at some art, too. If you are going to Miami and want to see my work in person (and buy a piece or twenty) be sure to stop by Paul Kopeikin's booth at Pulse.

See you at the beach!

The Drawing Project

The first drawing available from Jason Polan's The Drawing Project

I am beginning to think that Jason Polan does not sleep. He produces amazing work at a ridiculous clip and manages a vast array of creative enterprises including the Taco Bell Drawing Club and his blog, The 53rd Street Biological Society. Now you can add The Drawing Project to his restlessly expanding portfolio. What is The Drawing Project, you ask? Jason says,

"I am starting a new project. There will be a drawing posted everyday. The drawing will be available for you to see and possibly have. The first person to request the drawing (send an email to art@jasonpolan.com with your name, the address to send the drawing, and the drawing number) will receive the drawing in the mail. The artwork will be posted on this website.Once the drawing has been claimed it will be noted within the post on the website. Each drawing on the site will be labeled on the reverse and limited to 1. There will be all different drawings (the first one is of a frog). I hope you enjoy the project. It begins right now."

Big Photography Openings

Nura Garuba and friend with their monkey, Nigeria 2005 © Pieter Hugo

Two huge photography shows are opening tonight in Chelsea and I couldn't be more excited. First up, Pieter Hugo is showing his Hyena Men and Honey Collectors work at Yossi Milo. I have been a huge fan of Pieter's work for a few years now and have seen his gorgeous prints before at various art fairs. (I even own one.) The show at Yossi is Pieter's first solo show in New York and will feature very large scale prints of his instantly iconic portraits.

Kromanns Remise 2 2005 © Nicolai Howalt and Trine Søndergaard

Next is Nicolai Howalt and Trine Søndergaard's amazing How to Hunt series at Silverstein Photography. Last night I had the pleasure of going to dinner with Nicolai, Trine and photographer Beth Block. They couldn't be nicer folks. We talked about Denmark, the photo world, our recent American Photo mention, but mostly I just gushed about their photographs. It's rare that I see work that takes my breath away, but the photos in How to Hunt are so stunning they did just that.

Do not miss these shows. See you there!

Battle Photo: Tower of Power!

This Battle Photo comes by way of suggestion from the always ambulant Timothy "Booneville" Briner.

Cooling Tower © James Rotz

vs.

Amos Coal Power Plan © Mitch Epstein

ArtWalk NY This Tuesday

Net 2007 © Amy Stein

This Wednesday is the 13th Annual ArtWalk NY benfiting the Coalition for the Homeless. ArtWalk is one of the premier art benefit auctions in New York and this is the second year I have been asked to participate by donating a print from my Domesticated series. I couldn't be more honored.

The Coalition for the Homeless has never been more necessary and deserving of your time, energy and money. According to the organization homelessness in New York has reached a new record, with more than 35,000 people, including 14,000 children, sleeping in emergency shelters every night. All proceeds from Artwalk NY directly fund programs provided by the coalition.

Here are the details:

13th Annual ArtWalk NY

Co-Chairs: Richard Gere, Carey Lowell, and Kayce Freed Jennings
Artist Honoree: Donald Baechler
Event Honorees: Arthur and Alice Kramer

Tuesday, November 27, 2007
6:30PM Silent Auction
8:00PM Live Auction

Metropolitan Pavilion
125 West 18th Street, NYC 10011

Tickets
$125 - General Admission
$250 - VIP Seating

For tickets or event information, please call 212.776.2056.

How Cool Is This?

© Robert Bechtle

Six of my Stranded photos are going to be hanging in a museum show next to works by Robert Frank and Robert Bechtle. Holy crap! Seriously, one of these things is not like the others. I will post more about this show later.

Talented Friends: Eric Percher and Matthew Baum

© Eric Percher

Last night we attended an open studio featuring the work of my dear friend and studio mate, Eric Percher. Eric was showing photographs from his Work series. The work offers an insiders perspective on the tense personal crises of conscience that play out during working hours in the glass towers that give identity to this city. The photos offer me a constant cool reminder of why I ditched the workaday fluorescent light life a few years ago to take up photography. Eric has recently done the same with much success. The photos looked great and our studio was jam-packed. Eric's work is currently featured on Humble Arts Foundation's Group
Show series and you can see it tonight at the always fun Slideluck Potshow.

© Matthew Baum

Speaking of Humble Arts and dear friends, Matthew Baum and his work are currently featured on their Solo Show. Matt's photographs look great, but are even more gorgeous in person.

Zoe Strauss Kicks Ass

© Zoe Strauss

How much ass can one lady kick? If that lady is Zoe Strauss then we are talking about a full time ass-kicking machine. Mrs. Strauss was just named a USA Gund Fellow for 2007. United States Artists awards $50,000 to each fellow "to nurture, support, and strengthen the work of America’s finest living artists." What a huge honor and certainly well deserved. Big congratulations to Zoe.

Humble Arts Foundation Announces Grant Winner

Claire, 2007 © Molly Landreth

Humble Arts Foundation has just announced the winner of it's first semi-annual grant for emerging photographers (GEP). Drum roll, please. The winner is the very talented Molly Landreth, for her current series, Embodiment.

I tend to gush a bit when talking about the Humble Arts Foundation, but they are just so gushable. If you are an emerging photography, and frankly who isn't, you should apply for the GEP. If you are just a fan of great organizations helping young photographers you should support the GEP by purchasing a limited edition print from some amazing photographers. My suggestion, pick up the Amy Stein (only two left!!), the Dina Kantor, or the Corey Arnold. They will make fabulous stocking-stuffers for the holidays.

Robert Adams On PBS

East from Flagstaff Mountain, Boulder County, Colorado © Robert Adams

Last night's episode of the PBS show Art in the Twenty-First Century featured profiles of four artists whose work exists at the intersection of the natural and man-made world. The subject matter and the inclusion of one of my all-time favorite photo heroes, Robert Adams, made the show absolute must viewing. In the video below, Robert Adams talks about his landmark series "The New West."More video and interviews with Adams can be found on the PBS site.

To All My Friends

Five Sour Cherries © Neil Plotkin

I am very fortunate to be surrounded by a tight group of very talented friends and family members. They are a constant source of inspiration and each seems to firing on all their creative cylinders right now. Over the past week I have had the privilege of sharing in some of their professional and personal successes.

Saturday we took in an open studio event for my very dear friend Neil Plotkin. Neil is an amazing painter and his newest work includes beautiful landscapes from a month spent in the Loire Valley and a new series called Empty Studio.

Before Neil's open-studio we attended the wedding of my printer, Carl Saytor. The ceremony was conducted with fire by the Reverend Billy and featured a joyous assembly of friends and family. The whole affair was something like the cast of Rocky Horror meeting the cast of Cirque du Soleil at Burning Man. They even had a man in a banana suit stalk the aisle! Definitely the most entertaining wedding ceremony I've ever attended.

This past Friday my cousin, Andy Guthrie, rocked Galapagos to make it the semi-finals of the 2007 Williamsburg Live Songwriter Competition. Andy performed one of his amazing new songs, It Goes On, which you can listen to here.

Last Wednesday the always lovely Jon Gitelson stayed with us while he was visiting New York showing work to some A-list galleries and museums. While he was here, Jon shared plans for his massive new public arts project in Chicago. Very cool.

It's so motivating to see their efforts being validated by others and, more importantly, by their own happiness.

New Halloween in Harlem Photos

This past Wednesday I hit the streets of East Harlem for the fourth year in a row to shoot portraits for my Halloween in Harlem series. In past years it was much easier because we lived in the neighborhood, but it was worth the trip from Jackson Heights to experience the chaos and joy of the holiday across 110th Street. Three of the new photographs are below. Check out my Web site to see more new Halloween in Harlem photos, plus photos from Halloweens past that have never been posted. Enjoy.

© Amy Stein

© Amy Stein

© Amy Stein

Battle Photo: Wind In Hair!

Southbound © Mike Brodie

vs.

Dakota (Hair), 2004 © Ryan McGinley

Confessions of a Bialy Hater

Last night we made a trip to our local supermarket to buy groceries. Not uncommon and barely worth mentioning, except that this evening the seeds of a rift in our marriage were planted in the bread aisle of Trade Fair. We usually do our grocery shopping after 10 PM because if you come earlier the supermarket is so teaming with humanity it's like trying to play Twister in the Black Hole of Calcutta. It was here that my husband, John, decided to take up Trade Fair on their three bialys for a dollar offer.

"I hate bialys!" was my response.

He claimed that bialys were the missing link between bagels and English muffins and that most people outside of New York hadn't yet discovered their deliciousness. I said they are a dead bread and that America has spoken loud and clear on the subject. Am I crazy? Do I have bialys all wrong?

It should be noted that I have been so busy scanning and printing of late that my blog posts have fallen off a bit. Sorry about that. I will post some new Halloween in Harlem images a little later today.

Happy Halloween

© Amy Stein

New Stranded Photos Added to Google Map

Lori and Ron, Interstate 5, Oregon © Amy Stein

I've added some new photographs to my Stranded Google map from my most recent road trip through northern California and Nevada, southern Idaho, and Oregon. I really believe there are some winners here.

I am thinking about making another Stranded trip in the next couple of weeks. This time we may be hitting the highways of the Midwest looking for broken down motorists. I will keep you posted.

"I’m Just a Photographer"

© Tuol Sleng Museum of Genocide/Photo Archive Group

Fascinating story in today's New York Times about Nhem En, the man who took the pictures that serve as chilling evidence of the killing fields of Cambodia. Nhem En was the staff photographer at Tuol Sleng prison, the torture house of the Khmer Rouge.

From the NYT:

He had a job to do, and he did it supremely well, under threat of death, within earshot of screams of torture: methodically photographing Khmer Rouge prisoners and producing a haunting collection of mug shots that has become the visual symbol of Cambodia’s mass killings.

You can see more of these chilling photos at the Center for Holocaust & Genocide Studies.

Lori Nix at Randall Scott Gallery

Great Hall 2006 © Lori Nix

This Saturday Randall Scott Gallery will be holding an opening reception for a solo exhibition of work by the very talented and delightful Lori Nix. I recently paid a visit to Lori's studio and it reminded me of Gepetto's workshop if Gepetto kept sheets of extruded foam and tiny boxes filled with improvised tools and miniature model odds and ends. You can get a sense of Lori and her work environment by watching this video of her on Coolhunting.

Also on display-and just in time for the holiday-will be a few photos from my Halloween in Harlem series. Think of it as a seasonal show-let.

If you are in DC this Saturday you definitely need to be at this opening and see Lori's photographs.

Here are the details:

Lori Nix: The City
October 27 — December 8
Opening Reception: October 27 7PM - 9PM

Randall Scott Gallery
1326 14th Street NW
Washington, D.C.

Nan Goldin Photo Ruled 'Not Indecent'

I have been following this story for a while and it looks like more rational heads have finally prevailed. Some would say this type of event is good because it advances public discourse about acceptable community standards, but I never find police raids and confiscations to be an effective opening statement in any debate. My question is does ruling something 'not indecent' mean it is in fact decent?

Elton John's Seized Goldin Photo Is `Not Indecent,' BBC Reports
Oct. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Elton John's photograph of two girls by Nan Goldin, seized by police from an art exhibition last month, "is not an indecent image," the BBC said, citing the U.K. Crown Prosecution Service.

The photo, "Klara and Edda Belly-Dancing," was seized by Northumbria police from the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Newcastle, England, while on loan from the singer-songwriter. John said on his Web site that the work had been published around the world "without any objections of which we are aware" and auctioned twice by Sotheby's.

Goldin's 1998 picture, which had the title "Edda and Klara Belly-Dancing," sold for $3,000 in 2004 after failing to sell in 2002, Sotheby's said in an e-mail.

John, an art collector, owns thousands of photos by artists including Man Ray, Richard Avedon, Irving Penn, Diane Arbus and Ansel Adams, according to his Web site. He bought Goldin's picture as part of the ``Thanksgiving'' series at London's White Cube gallery in 1999, he said.

American Photo's Top Emerging Photograpahers

The current issue of American Photo features their selection of the top fifteen emerging photographers and I made the list. Needless to say, I am very humbled by my inclusion with such a fabulous group of talented photographers. Also making American Photo's list of the "new generation of photo pioneers": Shen Wei, Donald Weber, Mikhael Subotsky, Jason and Carlos Sanchez, Steven Laxton, Alexandra Catiere, Matt Eich, Camille Seaman, Lyric Cabral, Jehad Nga, Michael Christopher Brown, and Nicolai Howalt and Trine Søndergaard. Be sure sure to pick up a copy of the November/December issue on newsstands now. Or you can ask me for a copy. I believe I've cleaned out most of the inventory below 23rd Street.

November/December issue of American Photo

I'm also featured in an Apple Aperture advertorial in the same issue of American Photo.

Aperture advertorial in American Photo

This has been a good month for me and magazines. I was included in an October photography edition of Zeit magazin Leben. Zeit magazin Leben is the weekend magazine of Germany's largest weekly newspaper, Die Zeit. Watering Hole, an image from my Domesticated series, was featured in their "Around the World in 80 Photographs" edition that included works by twenty-five other photographers including Pieter Hugo, Hiroshi Watanabe, and Alec Soth. Good company indeed.

October issue of Zeit magazine Leben

Covers of American Photo and Zeit magazine Leben

Nice Kitty

Any time you bring a catfish, a dead chicken, a hand grenade, and a large wildcat into your home you know the results will be magical. Via Best Week Ever comes a series of surreal photos of a Russian household sharing their life with a bizarre family pet.

$623,400

Trolley, New Orleans, 1955 © Robert Frank

Sold at Christie's photography auction Wednesday.

Battle Photo: Felled Beast!

© Joel Sternfeld

vs.

© Gregory Crewdson

The End of a Crazy Week

Spectrum of Life © Matthew Pillsbury

The week behind was a little crazy as I tried to complete my Domesticated monograph. I took another trip to Matamoras to make a picture and I have been meeting with graphic designers so I can get cracking on the look and feel of the monograph. I've also been scrambling to get new prints together for a show of my Stranded work at SMoCA. It's hard out here for an imp.

Wednesday I took a break from work to attend the opening party of the HSBC Photography Foundation Award at Phillips de Pury Gallery in Chelsea. This year's winners are the always wonderful Matthew Pillsbury and Julia Fullerton-Batten. We were lucky to be in Madrid when the exhibition made its debut in May. Just like the opening in Madrid this was a top shelf affair with lots of delicious treats and fine champagne and wine. You can see the exhibit in New York through October 19. After that it travels to Lyon in December.

While you are checking out Matthew and Julia's work be sure to see the preview on display at Phillips de Pury in advance of their big photography auction this Wednesday. It is really an amazing experience to take in so much great work in one convenient location. Among the photographs soon to be sold for ridiculous sums of cash include works by Clark, Levitt, Arbus, Frank, Meatyard, Klein, Shore, Sternfeld, and Goldin. The highlight for me was seeing one of my favorite pieces by Matthew, Spectrum of Life, in the auction with so many A-listers.

I would like to think the week ahead is going to be easier, but my to-do list is far too daunting to expect a reprieve.

The White Stripes Holga

The White Stripes have partnered with Lomographische to produce limited edition cameras. The "Jack" model will be a Holga with fisheye lens and the "Meg" model will be the Diana+ with ringflash. Both packages will come with custom lenses and will, of course, be deliciously red and white. Pretty cool. They go on sale this Monday.

Take It To The Bridge

Watering Hole © Amy Stein

If you are in London this weekend be sure to make it over to the Bridge Art Fair. Randall Scott Gallery will be exhibiting work from my Domesticated, Stranded, and Halloween in Harlem series in addition to works by Julia Fullerton-Batten, Cara Ober, Nick Walker, Etsuko Ichikawa, Ryoko Suzuki, Sarah Wilmer, Alejandra Laviada.

Here are the details:

Bridge Art Fair
October 11 - October 14th
The Trafalgar Hotel
2 Spring Gardens, Trafalgar Square
Randal Scott Gallery, Room 718

Block Ice & Propane

© Lee Friedlander

Erik Friedlander is an amazing cellist whose new album, Block Ice & Propane, has quickly become my new favorite traveling companion. Erik also happens to be the son of Lee Friedlander. The new album was inspired by the many childhood road trips he took with his family in their camper. The product of those road trips happen to be some of the more amazing family snapshots ever taken. Erik has posted a few of those photos from his family album. Take a look and then do yourself--and your ears--a favor and pick up a copy of Block Ice & Propane.

I Love Gifts in the Mail: Colin Blakely and Rachael Dunville

© Colin Blakely

Last week was a gift-in-the-mail bonanza. Colin Blakely sent me a signed print from his Somewhere in Middle America series. I first saw the image, The Seeming Impenetrability of the Space Between, at the Griffin Museum and promptly gushed about it on my blog. If you are in the Boston area you can still see the photo in person at the 13th Annual Griffin Juried Show. Also, be sure to check out Colin's blog. Probably the most interesting and honest take out there on the struggle to be a successful photographer.

Also in the mailbox was a signed copy of Rachael Dunville's Springtown catalogue. You can pick up your own copy at photo-eye. The Springtown show is still on display at Peer Gallery and just got a lovely write-up in the New Yorker. Not too shabby.

Big thanks to Colin and Rachael for the fabulous gifts!

© Carrie Marill

In addition to these wonderful gifts, I have also received my first two pieces from 20x200. Arriving were gorgeous prints by Amy Ross and Carrie Marill, respectively. Both prints are still available. For only $20! What are you people waiting for? Beyond the solid curating, Jen Bekman has done a wonderful job with all the identity work around 20x200. When your prints arrive it really is an impressive production.

Fascists Attack Andres Serrano Photos in Swedish Gallery

So sad that this is the state of public discourse. From the IHT:

A grainy video of four masked vandals running through an art gallery in Sweden, smashing sexually explicit photographs with crowbars and axes to the strain of thundering death-metal music, was posted on YouTube last week.

This was no joke or acting stunt. It was what actually happened on a quiet Friday afternoon in Lund, a small university town in southern Sweden where "The History of Sex," an exhibition of photographs by the New York artist Andres Serrano, had opened two weeks earlier.

I was debating whether or not to post a link to the video of the attack. I mean, why give these fascist fucks any extra exposure, right? But, I think it would be a mistake to hide from this video. It is important to expose this type of extremism for the bullshit it is.

Sold to the Lady with the Wine in Her Hand

© Rebecca Norris Webb

Saturday we drove "upstate" to Mt Tremper to visit Mathew Pokoik and finally see the Interactive Landscape show. Mathew lives on an enviable slice of paradise in the Catskill Mountains. Vegetable gardens, 150 acres of forest, a beautiful house from the 1800s nestled next to a two-hundred-year-old Sugar Maple tree; it's the type of place that makes city dwellers drool. Mathew made us a lovely meal and we sat on his porch drinking wine and talking photography. Sitting there watching the sun go down over the Catskills I actually managed to shed my city skin and achieve something very close to a relaxed state.

As night arrived we decided to make the move over to Woodstock for the Center for Photography at Woodstock's benefit auction. Before we left Mathew's house it began to rain. Given the drunken spending spree we were about engage in, we should have recognized the rain as a proper metaphorical omen and stayed on the porch drinking wine.

Before the auction we reviewed the catalog and decided on two pieces we would go after if the price was right. When the final gavel hit we ended up with the highest bid on the two pieces we wanted, an Andrea Modica print from Treadwell and an Alessandra Sanguinetti from The Adventures of Guille and Belinda and the Enigmatic Meaning of Their Dreams, plus a third piece by Rebecca Norris Webb that appeared on the cover of her monograph The Glass Between Us. For the Sanguinetti piece we engaged in a friendly bidding war with Mathew, but in the end I think we wanted it more (or had a little bit more to drink). All three pieces went for well below their estimate price, so despite spending more than we wanted, the deals were too good to pass up.

If you want to start a photography collection, benefit auctions can be a fabulous way to get some great piece by big names at a fraction of the gallery cost. Of course, I don't recommend getting tipsy before you go or you may get a little paddle happy.