April 27th, 2008
With all this art school drama, I still want to make the best out of it. So I created a website with a sampling of work from the rest of our classmates in relation to our exhibition this coming Saturday night.
So check out our hard work.
www.janetam.com/star
The show is one night event (sadly) and will be on from 6-9pm, this coming Saturday, May 3rd. I’ll take installation shots during the show. All work going up for the show will definitely be for sale.
and yes, prints are still for sale. and i dearly need some funds!
April 22nd, 2008
Art School Series by Matthew Monteith
There will be over achievers and there will be under achievers.
I am a self-diagnosed workaholic. Therefore being in a typical big university, I fall into the crack of never having a “life”, always in studio, and never able to get “shitfaced.” There have been moments where I wish I were sitting out in the sun and just enjoying the time.. but I also really enjoy being in studio. There’s two weeks until May 3rd, the big night of the senior photo majors, the big shebang a la Delavan Art Gallery.
I’ve been preparing my series for basically for the past year and a half and for some people in the class to pull (pardon the french) shit outta their ass in two weeks, makes me fume. Every hour awake, I’ve been thinking about the show, in the darkrooms, in the labs, in front of computer screens, and working away. They say, “Jane, you should get some sun. But wait.. can I waste half an hour of your time repeating something you’ve repeated many times before in Photoshop?” Right, I sound like a complete bitch now. Lending a hand is what I do and like to do.. holding a hand is not what I do.. especially if I explained something more than five times.. They should be the ones shitting their pants with the work that’s ahead of them…and don’t tell me how to feel.
Sure we all have different work ethics.. but if someone complains to me one more time about how much work they have to do, they should realize that hours spent at the bar or sunbathing could be put to better use.
This probably all due to stress but certainly something that’s been pent up for years here in college. People don’t know how to troubleshoot anymore.. experimenting to find solutions seem like a thing of the past. It’s all about fast and easy solution.. no hard work to deal with. Do people not want to learn anymore? Does it take that much brain power? Where’s their drive?
On the happier note, after consulting with every professor and mentor.. I came up with my own edit of 15 images for the show. It feels good to have made some decisions.. now onto coming up with a good title.
April 19th, 2008
Noel from We Can’t Paint has big news for his blog.
Back in December 2007 I started a blog called We Can’t Paint, a project that has since grown both in scale and in readership. I’ve enjoyed the continuing discourse between fellow bloggers and those of you who have submitted work and ideas. Not only have these past months been extremely interesting but they have opened my eyes to a whole new avenue for the examination and promotion of photography.
By September 2008 We Can’t Paint will no longer simply exist as just a blog, it will also be an online magazine (a future print version is in the works) and online gallery (as is a physical space). This was ultimately my goal from the beginning (the expansion of We Can’t Paint), to build upon a promotion of emerging photographers and those select few Canadian’s who often go unnoticed. I truly believe in the artists I showcase and I respect all of you who continue to produce interesting and thoughtful projects both in and out of school.
We Can’t Paint Magazine and We Can’t Paint Gallery will become extensions of my blog, permitting both a lengthier viewing experience and a broader forum to contemplate issues concerning the medium. For me these two new additions are not replacing the We Can’t Paint blog, but they are natural progressions of expanded ideas and collaborations. That being said, I’m hoping that you can post a notice on your blog and pass along this e-mail to those who may be interested in submitting (you included) writing, ideas, and photographs to We Can’t Paint Magazine and Gallery. I have temporarily set up a hotmail account specifically for submissions. Here is the info:
Send all work and writing to wecantpaint@hotmail.com
All work should include a brief bio (one or two sentences).
PHOTOGRAPHS
Send a selection of 5 – 8 images:
- All images should be 72 dpi
- Sized to10 inches on the longest side
- Saved as a .jpg file and labeled with no spaces or punctuation like this:
your_name_here_1.jpg
- In the body of the email you may list the titles but only if they are absolutely relevant
- No image should be over 5mb
Note: A link to your work is also accepted but strongly discouraged.
WRITING
All articles and/or essays should be 500 – 1000 words in length.
Send a brief summery and intent of your article/essay in the body of the e-mail with the actual article/essay formatted for Microsoft Word.
BOOKS AND ZINES:
If you would like We Can’t Paint Magazine to review your publication, please contact noelrodo@hotmail.com for more information on where to send your “review copy”.
For future details please visit:
http://wecantpaint.com
April 15th, 2008
Over the past week, I’ve received gigantic amount of traffic from a couple of blogs (Conscientious and NYMPhoto) linking my gallerina post. While I hope many people can understand the problems, I also wished there was a discussion formed from the post. But being completely unaware I had a buggy problem with comments, no comments were posted. Anyways, it’s all fixed now. So, if you have any thoughts, please leave me a note.
I do find it interesting how some prominent female photo bloggers are not initiating into the conversation.
Let me get back to some head-scratching decisions. Edit thumbnails down to 15 images for my thesis show.
Store still open for business!!!
April 9th, 2008
I have a love/hate relationship with the Chelsea gallery scene. When I started sending my resumes out to galleries looking for internships two- three years ago, I did my research in choosing galleries I knew showed work I enjoyed. Along with the galleries, I enjoyed, there were a handful of places I was hesitant about as I either never been to the place or knew it had large spaces and pieces of pretentious art with pretentious people. Being young, I thought, “what the hell.. it’ll be a learning experience.”
Let me take you through one of my interview sessions at one such “pretentious” place.. where the walls echo.. and gallerinas’ heels click with annoyance… and nobody gives a crap who walks through the doors.
Fashion-wise, I am a t-shirt and jeans type of person and slap on a pair of sneakers and I’m good to go. Knowing I was heading the Chelsea for an interview, I snazzed it up a little bit with dress pants, a button down shirt, a pair of ballet flats, and my portfolio. Nothing too fashionable, nothing designer-made.. nothing close to what gallerinas wore on that day at that top Chelsea gallery.
The gallery was featuring a video piece that month, so after opening the huge and heavy door into the space, you get to deal with the very busy “gatekeeper” who’s usually either typing away or on the phone. No “hello, how may I help you.” Nada.
“Hi, my name is Jane Tam. I have a meeting with blah blah.”
You couldn’t see the space because there was a floor-length curtain blocking you from entering the space.
You hear the heels click and out comes your interviewer, dressed to impress, topped off with a red lip. She was wearing 3-inch heels, some fancy dress, and had perfect highlights to her haircut. From that.. I already knew.. “fuck, this place is not for me.”
When the art doesn’t impress you, and that video that was playing definitely did not impress, and the woman interviewing you seemed to spend a fortune dressing herself.. as well as the rest of the staff, not giving two shits about a new intern, please, just walk away.
Sure, I thought,” Jane, suck it up and maybe you’ll be able to expose yourself to lots of important people.” I’ve tried it. For two weeks, I tried being good and gritting my teeth while I filed for the 50th time and ran to get lunch and researched where to get concrete for some new piece going up, but I just couldn’t get over how a gallerina I worked with flirted with every guy who came in and looked like he had money, how she complained about her high heels that she wore everyday, how my black jeans and flats just didn’t look professional enough, and how every job I was given was in no way challenging. I hated how fashion was as important as the job and how fashion and trend was a priority to hiring.
Now I know interns do get all the grunt work.. but when you see the gallerina above you on a smoking break, clicking her shoes, and fondling over her blackberry, and you’re compiling the represented artists on file.. and there are 10 male artists and 2 females.. you wonder, where the hell are we?
I don’t know… I just could not deal in that environment.
(People know I interned at Jen Bekman.. and by far, one of the friendliest, most welcoming, and diverse gallery. I chose Jen over Chelsea.. just from the environment, the opportunities/responsibilities given to me, and the feeling.)
Read Cara Phillip’s “What’s a Lady to Do?”
Submit: Women In Photography contains a simple concept:
-To showcase work, news and ideas from women in the contemporary photo world.
-To create a collection of strong work by women actively creating work.
-To reach new audiences collectively.
Those interested in participating can submit as follows:
-5 jpegs from a cohesive project or a work in progress.
5×7 @150 dpi named “myname_title.jpg”
-short statement/bio
Email submissions to
womeninphotography at gmail dot com
Submission deadline for first monthly spotlight: May 1st. 2008 (11:59)
The 4 selected photographers will be given a week each to showcase a current project or a work in progress.
Psst… Prints are still for sale!
April 1st, 2008
jane tam >> the store
I’ve had the idea of selling some of my prints online for awhile. Now is the time to launch such a project, especially since finances are rough right now. I’m limiting the selection to 3 images because this is only the beginning. Hopefully, those of you who enjoy my work would be kind enough to purchase a print. Go to the store~
There is also an option to donate. Why donate?
I am currently a senior at Syracuse University, preparing for my BFA Solo Thesis Show on May 3rd. Like many college students, I am immensely in debt from the costs of film, processing, developing, and printing. Frames cost money. Mounting costs money. The space I rented cost money. This is all for a solo show featuring my photographic series on my family. I do not ask my family for money as they are a working class family who struggle enough to put me through a private university. So, any little bit will help me. Thank you! For those who donate $15 or more will receive a 5″x7″ print in the mail.
**International buyers: I set up Paypal to only accept US addresses but if you’re interested, please just drop me an email at store@janetam.com for shipping prices.
**update: I added two more images up for sale. There are also now 5×7 prints available for photo-illustrations.
**Super thanks to Herman, Nina, Jen Snow (for Jen Bekman), Noel, Kelly, and Timothy for linking my store.
**update: Added three more images for sale. Had to change prices a little bit due to the realization of the budget needed to produce my show. If my department would help a little, just a little, that would ease it up a bit but the Art Photo department in Syracuse never really did get much funding.. -_-
