I’m participating in a fundraiser to help support a project for the Vanderbilt Foundation. If you’re looking to collect art and participate in the fundraiser, be sure to purchase a ticket to the event. Lots of great work there! (See the huge list of photographers below)

Art from the Heart Benefit Fundraiser
Galleries at Calumet Photographic
22 West 22nd St
New York, NY
Thursday, September 10, 2009 – 7:00pm – 10:00pm

Participating artists include:

Joseph Cultice, David X. Prutting, Stephan Schacher, Andrew Frasz, J.p. Samedi, Lauren Fleishman, J. Matthew Riva, Chiun-Kai Shih, Mauricio Quintero, Daemian Smith, Livio Mancini, Jens Umbach, Troy Huechtker, Dawn Blackman, Stephen Mallon, Andrew Cutraro, Al-khabir Richman, Andrea Thompson, Benjamin Lowy, George Del Barrio, Leslie Dela-Vega, Mike McGregor, Emiliano Granado, Patrick Hoelck, Matthew Bogosian, Erin O’Brien, Keith Kliner, Robyn Twomey, Angela Capetta, June Kim, Antoine Verglas, Ian Spanier, Alex Verron, Jackie Neale Chadwick, Daniel Root, Elizabeth Fleming, Art Streiber, Kareem Black, Wesley Mann, Sarah Friedman, David Needleman, Morgan Shortell, Alaric Campbell, Jane Tam, Brian Finke, David Goldman, Augustus Butera, James Ransom, Jazzmine Beaulieu, Yijun Liao, Tony Gayle, Joe Fornabio, Nicole Civita, Adriana Lopetrone, Marc Mcandrews, Fabrice Tombert, Tait Simpson, Matt Salacuse, Donna Ferrato, Brian Bowen Smith, Larry Westler, Anak Navaraj, Ashton Worthington, Matt Slaby, Joe Budd, Danny Wilcox Frazier, Donna Alberico, Peter Stanglmayr

(from the Vanderbilt Foundation)
The Vanderbilt Foundation’s mission is to increase public awareness of critical arts, cultural, and human rights organizations. The Foundation does this by producing commercial-grade photography shoots with the industry‚Äôs most diverse and innovative working creatives. The VRF provides partner organizations renewed publicity through large-scale photography exhibitions, workshops, publications, and the World Wide Web.

This “Art from the Heart” Project is a fundraiser that will support the “Masters” project in Cambodia.

This fall, The Vanderbilt Republic Foundation (VRF), in an unprecedented partnership with Arn Chorn-Pond and Cambodian Living Arts, will devote four weeks to rigorously documenting the lives of these Cambodian performing masters in a manner their stories deserve and with an approach that honors and celebrates their significance in our world. Acclaimed large-format portrait photographer Geroge Del Barrio will lead a unique team of American artists deeply inspired by and connected to Arn and the CLA’s narrative. The team will craft life-sized portraits of the masters, their students, their instruments and the world they inhabit, all at the highest professional standard. They’ll print and present this work at life-size, to fully describe the extreme realities of these survivors‚Äîin traveling exhibitions throughout the world and internet. A higher-education lecture series, based on this body of work, is planned. And in addition, a feature-length, broadcast-quality film of the entire process will be created, focusing on the perspective of the masters as they collaborate with the American team. What will transpire is a beautiful story about the arts renaissance in Cambodia today and with your help we can make this project a reality.

A group show exhibiting compelling collection of work by contemporary women photographers from across the globe. While diverse in content, these works convey the complexity of the female gaze – the woman behind the camera. The photographs ignite a spirit by addressing a diversity of issues, which inevitably calls into question: what is feminine.

The exhibit features work by:

Jennifer Boomer, Nina B√ºsing Corvallo, Rona Chang, Livia Corona, Katrina d’Autremont, Jen Davis, Lizzie Gorfaine, Candace Gottschalk, Victoria Hely-Hutchinson, Megan Maloy, Tiana Markova-Gold, Debora Mittelstaedt, Maria Passarotti, Alex Prager, Beatrix Reinhardt, Anna Skladmann, Jane Tam, Malou van Breevoort, Corinne Vionnet, Sophia Wallace, & Susan Worsham

Exhibition opens May 23rd through June 6, 2009.

Please join us for the artist reception May 28, 2009 6-8 p.m. at Sasha Wolf Gallery in New York.

*Psst: We also have an opening reception and book launch on May 6, 2009 at Sasha Wolf Gallery for Nymphoto: Conversations Volume I.

Untitled Beauty #1, 2007,  © Cara Phillips

Get your portrait taken!

Cara Phillips is setting up an outdoor photo studio in Union Square and the Meatpacking District. She’ll be using ultraviolet lights to show the sitter what lies ahead in the future of their¬†skin-care, continuing her series, “Ultraviolet Beauties”. This is part of a NYC event, Art in Odd Places.¬†

This is her schedule and location spots:

From Cara’s blog:
Union Square

Thursday October 16th: 10:30 – 4:45 pm

Friday October 17th: 9:30 – 5pm (from 11am – noon I will be on break)

I will be either by 17th and Broadway, 14th Bet. Broadway and University or Bet. 14th and 15th and Broadway and 4th Ave. Look for the giant flash’s going off.

14th St & 9th Ave

Friday October 24th: 10 – 5pm

Sat October 25th: 10 – 5pm

Across from the Apple store.

Buddhist Offerings ©Jane Tam

I’m always plugged in and my ipod can be an extension of my body when it comes to leaving my house. Lately I’ve been so preoccupied with not being occupied while walking, I zone out and feel like absolutely no thoughts are running through my head. Happens a lot when I go out during my lunch break and take my continuous walks to get away from Photoshop. From this zombie state, I almost got in two accidents involving cars coming my way and me being completely out. Don’t worry nothing happened.

Recently I’ve rekindled my love of the New York Public Libraries and found my library card, therefore catching up on my reading. The great thing thus far has been the ability to sit in the park benches or cafes and immerse myself into these novels. No ipod turned on, I catch conversations of strangers sitting near me. In Once Upon A Tart, there were two men chatting about the politics of the economy, Bush, China, Russia, some Tourneau event in the Upper West Side, and everything about crazy McCain and Palin. One dressed in sweats and rollerblades, the other is an immaculate suit, pressed to perfection, the slickest hair and the shiniest shoes. Their world seems like it would never collide with mine.

Sitting at Madison Square Park yesterday, during my break from Enfoco’s Portfolio Reviews, so many people were out and I caught some hilarious conversations and acts. The lady next to me had some sort of a throat problem.. and her loud farts sounded like duck quacks. A woman two seats over was hollering on the phone to her girlfriend about how crazy she must be to move in with a man she just started dating last week. A St. Bernard slugglishly walking through the park with his owner, a man wearing linen shirt and pants w/ a cigar. This is what I missed from being plugged in 24/7.

From all this time looking at others, I needed to think about my goals and the potential future I want to pave. I spend a lot of time online and usually it’s because I want to be in the know, what artists are doing, what new cameras are out, what new digital editing techniques I can learn, what crazy politics and gossip is going on, just about everything. Reading Cara Philips post about the ability to take risks, have the confidence, and be able to take criticism from mentors really hit the nail on the head for me. My family always took the modesty route as ego can often lead to gossip and problems.

Adapting to that role, I have grown to help others and especially friends with info I know, from getting jobs, resumes, website building, and just plain advice. I don’t know everything but I’d like to help any way I can. I know they have the work available to be able to make it out in the art world. I try very hard to get them into the drive. But you know what, if you try and they don’t appreciate the push, I should not waste my energy. Maybe it’s because I would like to surround myself with friends that are just as motivated and have that sense of community. College is over and I’d really like to think it’s time to set some goals and don’t be afraid of failure.

Dog In the Middle, Hong Kong from Asleep at Sea ©Jane Tam

If you head over to the main website, you should see I updated the website and included (or edited) images in Foreigners in Paradise, Asleep at Sea, and Discarded Delights. Also, I finally added a mailing list form in the Contact page, so if you wanna keep up with what I’m up to, fill the form out.

Recently I’ve been honored to be asked to join Nymphoto. I jumped on the opportunity since it was my chance to have a community that’ll motivate me as well as be part of something meaningful. It’s hard coming out of college, without a job, and wondering, “so I am suppose to be doing something….” I really could not understand how artists motivated themselves to keep production flowing. After meeting the members and seeing how much I can learn and contribute to the collective and to myself, I regained my confidence to keep working. I’m seriously in great company (Nina, Rona, Candace, Maria, Margot, Talia, and Melanie). Sometimes you need that kick in the rear.

Anyways, I’m the Featured Artist this time around on Nymphoto’s main website. Check the blog for weekly conversations with fellow female photographers. I think it’s a great resource to have!

I will have one photograph shown in :

Hun Gallery: The Circular Exhibition: Term I

http://hungallery.org

Aug. 22. 2008- Aug. 28. 2008

Opening Reception- Aug. 22. 2008 (6pm-8pm)

Address: 12 West 32nd street, 3rd Floor

New York, NY 10001

If you are in the NYC area this Friday, please stop by and say hello!

The exhibition will then travel to Seoul, Korea and be exhibited at:

Gallery Ho: The Circular Exhibition: Term II

http://galleryho.com/

Sep. 11. 2008 – Sep. 20. 2008

Opening Reception- Sep. 11. 2008 (6pm-8pm)

Address: Seocho Dong 1538-4,

Seocho Gu, Seoul, Korea

[137-872]

Earliest Human Relatives, 1994 ©Hiroshi Sugimoto

I’m getting inspired looking at Hiroshi Sugimoto’s Dioramas from the Museum of Natural History. Now is the time to be a tourist in New York, look up, pay attention, and not let the city’s identity pass me by. (How will I sneak a tripod into museums?)

via PhotoShelter Blog

I interned at Jen Bekman Gallery two summers ago, when Hey! Hot Shot was building a lot of momentum and press and was before the creation of 20×200. Working directly with Jen, you can feel her ambitions for how the way the art world was run and for her gallery. It was between interning at Jen’s gallery or a major photography gallery in Chelsea that I had to choose from. Ultimately, I chose Jen because of the chance to work one on one with her and learn immensely from her drive. I truly enjoyed that summer (despite the fact that I sprained my ankle in the worse way possible that time.)
Anyways, the New York Times has a great article, “Easing the Pain of Collecting” featuring Jen and her gallery. It’s still amazing to see how far the gallery has come since last two summers ago.

Currently on view at Jen Bekman:

Ne Plus Ultra The Hey, Hot Shot! Annual
February 8 thru March 15, 2008
6 Spring Street
New York, NY 10012