I am not someone who has a problem admitting they are wrong. Part of the open environment of the blog, it is it is not always easy to tell to what is going on each person’s blog. So to be fair I must correct my mistake at mis-attributing a quote in my previous post on the Catherine Opie & blog comments.

The actual quote by Ruben is

Let the fireworks begin before July 4th !

As far as I know everything in ART is done by now and there is nothing wrong with re-interpretation, reference or being influenced by another artist’s work as long as there is an individual interpretation of it.

Judging an artist by their looks comes across rather shallow. If the work is not your style and not pleasant to your eye …don’t buy it or look at it.Then again if the work and the artist is causing such reaction and emotion…something must be working!

Ok, Miss Fire-Crackers…chill out and enjoy the ho ho holiday!

The quote I accidentally attributed to him, was actually posted by Art Old Spice. I am very sorry for the mistake and in no way meant any harm. So Ruben please accept my apology.

We are a few days into our upstate trip and already adventure has ensued. Last night while I was sleeping, my boyfriend saw what he thought was a small bird fluttering through the house. It was late and dark, so he let is be for the moment. But when he heard loud banging upstairs he rushed up to make sure the bird was not attacking me. Turns out it was bashing itself against the window. He grabbed a ruler and a pillow case hoping to catch it and take outside, but then it turned and flew right at him. At that point he only saw tiny little fangs and freaked! So he swung the ruler at it to keep it from flying into his face. It dropped to the floor, and then he saw that it was a bat!!! How it got into the house is a mystery, but as beautiful as it is here in upstate NY, having a flying rodent in your house a 2am is not fun. I am sure there are a lot of kick ass ladies out there who would have stepped up to the challenge, but this is once instance that I am glad my boyfriend had to deal. He is completely traumatized as he does not hunt or routinely kill animals.

Hopefully we have some relaxing on the way…

Our late night visitor.

I will be leaving tomorrow for most of August for a much needed break. I am not sure how much I will be blogging, there is internet where I am going, but I may decide to spend time with the 4 novels I bought at the Strand instead. This year has been amazing, I still can’t believe this time last year I had just finished my very hard won BA. So it definitely feels like a moment to rest a bit, and recharge my batteries. There is so much coming up in September, October and November, I fear this will be the last break I get for some time.

So I hope you all enjoy the last bit of summer. And thank you all for the overwhelming response and support with the donations! It means so much. Keep em’ coming!

Summer getaway upstate two years ago…

One of my favorite artist’s is up now, I am a big fan of both Lisa and her work!

After the lovely response from my last post, I have decided to appeal to the lovely and generous blogging world to create my own grant system. I was recently accepted to a very cool and exciting art event called Art in Odd Places. While they are generously taking care of the permits, press etc, they do not have the money to fund individual artist projects. So I must raise the money myself. So there are two ways you can help me make the event a reality, one is to click on the button at the bottom of the page and donate through paypal, $2, $5, $10, $25, $100, $1000, whatever you can afford to donate.

If you would like to have your name credited as a sponsor simply email me, and I will include you on the sponsor list, there is no need to include the $ amount. And one lucky person will receive a limited edition 16×20 print from the project, drawn at random. Or if you prefer, you can got to the Humble website, and purchase a lovely Cara Phillips limited edition print. If I sell out my edition, I have 1/3 of my budget.

When WIPNYC was born, what was so exciting about it to me, was the way that the internet is allowing artists to bypass the incredible amounts of red tape that go into getting even small amounts of money to support their work. I think that this is the next frontier in fostering exciting fresh ideas in photography to thrive. We spend money so readily on food, clothes, and gadgets, why is spending money on art so hard to justify? So I hope that between GG, and the generosity of my vendors I will be able to make this project a success. For more detailed info please contact me directly.

About the event:

For the past three years, thousands of New Yorkers have experienced Art in Odd Places (AiOP) intentionally and by chance. Art in Odd Places is an active exploration of the city’s public spaces, placing installation and performance art in unusual locations. The event brings art to a hugely diverse audience-and it’s free.

In October, the fourth annual AiOP will present Pedestrian on 14th Street, Manhattan - the great divider between uptown/downtown and highbrow/lowbrow. From the East River to the Hudson River, artists of all mediums will encourage the masses of daily pedestrians to rediscover this corridor of diverse commerce, including Union Square, historical site of social and political activism. Projects will explore connections between public spaces, pedestrian traffic, and ephemeral transient disruptions. Like a scavenger hunt, New Yorkers will use a map to discover art in unexpected places along this amazing street.

Proposal:

For the AIOP Pedestrian Project, I will be taking UV photographic technology and turning the lens of the female beauty culture on a larger section of the public. I will be setting up outdoor photo studios, both in Union Square & the Meatpacking district of New York City, where I will take UV portraits of people on the street. The idea is to offer them a chance to see their possible future and reconsider the fear of flaws that pervades our society. All images would be a large format and B&W.

New York is known for having photo shoots on its streets, and for being the beauty capital of the world. I like the idea of subverting the notion of a “fashion shoot” by giving everyone their moment in the lights.

Proposed Dates:
October 17th – 18th Union Square
October 24th – 25th Meatpacking District

Budget:
Estimated budget - $3600

DONATE HERE

I have received this email twice now:

Hi Cara,

On behalf of B&H’s affiliate marketing team, I’d like to invite your blog to join our program and give you an opportunity to monetize your site.

You have a tremendous photography blog, and are exactly the kind of quality organization that B&H, the world leader in the photo and electronics industry, looks to associate with. I believe your members would find it useful if you featured a brand name like B&H on your page.

Just a quick run-down of our company, although you’re probably familiar with us:

With over 30 years of outstanding customer service, B&H has become a New York institution with a loyal local and international following. We are the largest retailer of photo, video and pro audio products. Our website features over 200,000 products and growing, with an easy to navigate user-friendly interface.

To sign-up for our Affiliate Program and read additional information regarding commissions and program details click here:Like many of our relationships with our successful affiliates, I believe this partnership will be beneficial to both yourself and B&H…and of course your readers. With the quality of your site, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t generate clicks and sales and profit from the program. Normally, we start off our affiliates with a 2% commission structure, but in your case I’d be willing to offer 2.5%. You’ll also get our “extended” cookie…meaning that if someone purchases a product after linking to us through your site within a three day period, you get credit for the sale. B&H only looks for sites with potential to align with, and we’d be honored to have you come aboard. My contact information is below, so feel free to call or e-mail me back at your convenience.

And I have to say it is tempting, but I figure I would get the occasional check for 16 cents out of it. I still don’t really understand how people make money off blogs or the internet. But if I could, I would be very happy. I have several projects I would like to begin, but all of them require $ $ $, and depressingly enough it seems that most grants got to those who are the least needy, case in point Elizabeth Peyton.

Peyton recently received over 50,000 grand from the Aldrich Museum to take snapshots of all her friends for fun. Because her Ryan McGinley fabulous NYC art life is ever so fascinating and important to document for future generations. Wow, did that sound bitter? She is certainly a very good painter, and if she was getting a grant to paint, great. When there are so many talented people out there who have amazing work to be made, and neither the resources to make it nor the outlet to show it (her images got a big juicy portfolio in the NY Times) it does seem unfair to give the money to someone with an abundance of both. But unfortunately that is how things work. I guess that is why over 1700 people have submitted to the Blurb contest, a $25,000 grand prize is a rare thing. Usually it is over a thousand artists competing for maybe a $1000 dollars, if they are lucky. It is not Ms. Peyton’s fault that the world operates this way, and all artists need support to work. And she should certainly be allowed and encouraged to make the art she wants to make. However it would be nice if they was more support for emerging artists. I am lucky to not have an outrageous amount of school debt, but I have enough. My sense is that most grants go to those in academia or who have very established names. Leaving the rest of us to be like the most Americans, crossing our fingers, and living with credit card debit. Hmmm… Maybe I will add B&H to my site, if you all click on them a couple hundred times a day and buy hundreds of thousands of dollars of photo equipment, I will have my own grant system:)

I just came across this moving post by the very talented artist, Tema Stauffer. If you can manage not to tear up reading this, you must not be a dog lover. My heart goes out to Tema and Paris. Tema’s blog PalmAire is a great read. And her post about her dog Paris, is a truly beautiful piece of writing.

“When I was a kid, I told my mom when I grew up, I wanted to marry a dog.

Me too Tema, especially one as beautiful as yours:)

From Conscientious, by way of Geoff Smith.

Quote from Hilda Becher:

HB: What is an artist? Calling yourself an artist does not make you one, that’s for others to decide. It doesn’t make any sense to say: I am an artist!

One of the great mysteries of blogging is why people use it a place to spill out all of their darkest and ugliest mental bile. I rarely read comments sections on blogs, but when I do I am often shocked at how people act out. For instance I came across a post about Catherine Opie’s upcoming show at the Guggenheim on MAO. Several of the comments mentioned her looks, here is a sampling.

Posted by:Art Old Spice |

I know it was a cruel remark, but I just can’t stand obese women…it’s probably something Freudian, but I value them less as human beings…something about having no will power and/or respect from themselves - and it’s unhygienic. So shoot me……Looking at that big Jabba the Hut mound of carved flesh holding the baby is as horrific as any nightmare scene Clive Barker could have come up with

Posted by:Art Brute |

If I said she was an acne-scarred golem-like homunculus, but damn is she a GREAT photographer, then I doubt you’d think my critique of her appearance negates my opinion of her art. And I’ll admit, if she looked like Lara Logan I might enjoy her art more (though I’d keep the derivative comments to myself). Mona Kuhn stinks too, but she’s hot! Opie’s mainly gotten a free ride in the art world because she’s an LGTB poster child/fave of other gay/lesbian art critics, curators and boosters such as Tyler Green, etc. But don’t worry, my opinion of her will have no affect on the art world machine that’s already in place. Heck, Jerry Saltz has been trying to kill off Marlene Dumas’ career for years to no avail.

Also fascinating is the claim that she “stole” Brian Finke’s football images. Now nothing against Brian, he is clearly a talented photographer, but his football work is to me a more editorial/commercial project, after all he gets hired to do Nike ads. And let’s be honest, he could easily be accused of ripping off Collier Schorr (who is my personal fav in the group) And while there is a similar idea in all the work, I doubt Nike will be hiring Collier or Catherine anytime soon, but they would probably do amazing campaigns! Brian’s does capture the more romanticized idea of the High School football team.

In the end all of this seems silly, and it is blatant hostility to the idea of a women artist achieving that level of success. How many living female photographers have gotten solo shows at the Guggenheim? Whether you like all of Opie’s work or not, it seems pretty unacceptable to me to say a women is successful because of her looks, or on the flip side that she does not deserve to be successful because of them.

There were also may voices of dissent on the blog, but in the end it makes me sad to see people still thinking that way. It is human nature to be jealous, and everyone has the right to hate work, or to think an artist’s work itself is undeserving, but the personal attack stuff is something else. As bloggers, I guess we must decide which comments we allow, and how much free speech, we want to encourage.

And kudos to the Guggenheim for showing challenging and new work!

Catherine Opie

Brian Finke

Collier Schorr (I apologize for the low quality Gallery 303 has her tiny jpegs restricted, these are screen shots)

Here’s a site that can help you, just enter some info about what you don’t like about yourself, and how much you will pay to fix it, and the computer will tell you what can make you all better:) Hmmm… do they have therapy sites like this?

You don’t want to be the only one left frowning?

I have been thinking for some time about adding interviews to GG, however there are already so many blogs doing this well, I was a bit unsure what else I could bring to the process. But recently, I started thinking about all of the people who have become a part of my life lately. Not only are many of them smart, interesting and talented, but they have also been an incredible support in my photographic journey. Through GG, I have met some fantastic people, who have proved themselves to generous and inspiring.

The art world is full of insecurity, so it is not surprising that people often struggle to extend themselves. Especially when you are not secure in your career, it can be even harder to take time out to help someone else. But one of the great growth experiences in life, is when you detach from envy. Neurosis seems to go hand in hand with creative process to some extent, but that does not mean you have to give in to it. I will admit that I still struggle to be secure enough to never let this stuff bother me. I would love to say I am past it, but much of my life has been about learning to overcome the trap of comparison. I am sure a huge part of why WIPNYC is so satisfying for me, it is an opportunity to experience being a positive force. So I wanted to start a feature in my blog where I get to thank and give kudos to those who have given to me. Every few weeks I will post a new “Person of the Week.” The idea is to let the rest of the world get to know that there are people out there, even in the art world, who are forces of good!

Some time ago I received an email from a lovely lady, telling me how much she liked my blog and work, with a super generous offer to help me. She probably had no idea how how much it meant to me, but she and I kept in touch online. And when the time was right, she came true on her promise and I have been fortunate to get find out what a cool chick she is in the flesh. So for my first “Person of the Week,” I wanted to thank her. She works in the most challenging of all segments of photography, fashion. There is a very short list of successful female fashion photogs, and it requires a great deal of grit and determination to deal with that industry, and she has it. More importantly she has a unique style which turns the yielding, sexual object model cliche on its head. If all women working the fashion industry were to take a cue from her, perhaps young girls would finally have some better role models. Fashion used to be about fun and fantasy, unfortunately now, more often than not, that fantasy gets held up as the reality we should all aspire to. So for reaching out to a fellow female photographer, and for making challenging work in a field which discourages it, Kristiina Wilson is my Person of the Week.

1. So, you work in probably the most competitive of all the photo world sphere’s, Fashion, how do you keep your feet (and head) on the ground?

Well, what I do isn’t rocket science or saving lives or anything that I feel is something to get too stressed out about. I LOVE my job — I work 12 hour days every day and couldn’t do that if I didn’t love it — but I rarely get stressed out or upset about anything. It just seems silly to. I also feel like true competition only makes you stronger as an artist, pushes you to further your craft — and everything else about who gets this job or that job — is just noise. As long as my team and I are happy and able to make the images we want, I don’t see where my feet and head would go!

2. Have you ever felt that being female had any affect or impact on your career? I.E., your pay scale, job choices etc?

That is hard for me to say with real authority. I only have the experience of being Kristiina Wilson, female photographer — I have never tried being Chris Wilson, dude. I have thought about masquerading as that guy, online, to see what would happen in terms of workflow, etc — but in the end I always decide it would be a sad waste of time and I want to be myself. I have heard a few times from prospective clients that women can’t shoot fashion as well as men because we aren’t as “technical,” or we can’t view women through a lens of sexuality (barf) or because we just aren’t strong enough to lift all the equipment. When I have lost jobs to men for clients like that I just chalk it up to ignorance and realize that those types of clients are not people I would want to work with anyway. But I invite them to come to the studio and have Tech Talk or join me in a workout with my trainer, who kicks my butt with painful regularity. I would also advise them that fashion doesn’t always have to be about T&A, and that many of the gay men shooting fashion probably aren’t attracted to the female models either. But you know, people are going to have their own silly preconceived notions and we just have to work around them. It is what it is.

3. Why do you think you are comfortable being reaching out and helping other people? Do you think it is because you are confident in your own career, or just how you are as a person?

Beats me! I guess I have just always been that way. It’s not like I’m Mrs. Connected Fancypants or anything at all, but if I see someone whose work I like and I feel like I know someone that could help them out, why not? I am definitely not threatened by other photographers and I wish that we could all be more friendly towards each other instead of having this weird competitive vibe, especially in fashion. I have tried reaching out with other fashion people but that has bit me in the butt a few times — I have about 2 good friends that are fashion photogs and both are men — what does that tell you? My feeling is if we are all good we’ll all get there so let’s just chill out and enjoying sharing ideas or what have you.

4. Tell us a little about your work, you have mentioned to me you like your models to look “angry” and have specific emotions. Is this how you contend with the traditional of the yielding female in fashion?

I like the women in my images to look strong, healthy and tough. I especially love it if they look scary and weird. I am definitely not into wilting, sorry looking blank hangers for clothing. My team is now familiar with me cooing over photos during the end of shoot image review that are especially “evil” looking. I also love those off moments in between poses where the model is looking off camera or doing something non-modeling related — the poor models are often slightly horrified when I put those in the story. I’m not too excited about traditional posing, but I don’t know too many current fashion photographers that are.

5. On a side note, I know you are half Finnish, I was watching a Norwegian cooking show, which mentioned that the Swedes and the Norwegians eat tons of Rutabaga, tell me, do the Finns also eat it as well? (Kristiina’s husband, Harri Kallio, is also a very talented photographer)

Finnish people basically eat the same junk as everyone else, plus more beets. I hate beets. Yech. Finland now features US chains such as Subway, Olive Garden (WTF?), McDonalds, etc — so Harri and I can travel to Finland and never experience anything new, much like tourists in Times Square. I’m sure an Applebees can’t be far behind.

That said, yes, Finns do eat rutabagas. Plus amazing wild strawberries and blueberries that grow all over the place in summer. And chanterelle mushrooms in every forest! Those are my favorite and they grow on Harri’s parents’ island, so we just go out with a bucket every day and collect them for free. They are like $40/liter at the grocery here in NYC.

6. Let’s get a little more personal, if you were a vegetable, what would you be? Who would your vegetable friends be? Vegetable enemies?

Oh my. I don’t know. I am a vegetarian so I think all my friends are vegetables. Well, except beets. I HATE beets. Once I went to a dinner and the hostess knew I was a vegetarian so she made the whole dinner out of beets and I had to eat it all and it was AWFUL. I was very very sad. I guess she thought vegetarians only eat beets.

7. You seem to have a very balanced life for an artist, how to manage to combine quality of life with the stress of freelance and the photo industry?

Like I said, I am just the type of person who doesn’t really get stressed out easily — I have a high tolerance for crap. I just laugh at stuff — I think I get my temperament from my father, who runs a big environmental consulting company but really enjoys patting dogs and swimming in the pool. Of course, my threshold can be crossed, but it doesn’t happen a lot.

I think it’s important to have a nice working environment - we are lucky to have an amazing studio/condo setup and a nice yard to chill out in, so I can always wander around and take a few minutes to relax. Harri and I also make a point of taking walks around the neighborhood a few times a day to get a break. We have 2 ducks and 3 baby chickens and about 5 regular chickens on our block (yes, on 5th and D), so it’s nice to go say hi to them and pat dogs and also hang out with our 4 cats. I love animals and hanging out with animals always relaxes me. I think Harri and I also really check each others’ potential work craziness. It’s good that we are both in different parts of the photo industry so we can help each other out and also point out when we are each being silly and say it’s time for a break, etc.

8. You recently switched to digital, how has it effected your work or has it?

It has. I fought the digital thing for so long, I railed against it, I was all — “I’m never going to switch to digital — it is horrible!” — and then I did. My clients wanted InstantArt, and once there was a camera that I felt treated light as well (frankly better) as film, and had a full frame chip — I was in. I bought 2 Canon D1 Mark IIIs and that is it. I love them and I shoot now more than ever — because for me, shooting is now free (well, the “film” part is). So I can faff around and my team and I can play. It was much harder to do that with film, I had to budget when I could do an experimental shoot, etc. The Canons paid themselves back in a month and that was that. My only complaint is that the quality is so good it makes beauty retouching a giant pain — too much detail! ;)

9. What is your favorite place in the world?

Finland, on the frozen sea in the winter. Or in the summer, on the summerhouse dock looking out at the lack.

Alternately, the Hana-Hotel in Maui. That place is amazing.

10. Who has been the most supportive person in your life, or what is a time that someone really helped you out in your photo odyssey?

My parents have been amazingly supportive. My mom has been telling me I should do fashion since I started photography in high school, but I didn’t listen to her until a few years ago. Dumb! Mom knows best. I always show my new work to my parents right away and really appreciate their critiques — they have many smart things to say, and my mom has VERY strong and well versed opinions about clothing. And as the shoots get weirder, my parents are not at all disturbed or shocked — in fact, they don’t really seem to notice. I guess since they lived through my mega-goth phase they really aren’t surprised.

Harri has of course also been super supportive. We have different visual styles in many ways, as well as different ideas about how to approach shooting, but it’s always good to get his viewpoint. He has also built me a ton of really cool equipment and gear in his metal shop — he made me a light that we named Randy, and Randy has lots of different crazy accessories and things all designed and crafted by Harri. Harri is also a great assistant and driver and has been named the one dude allowed in our team by our stylist. ;)

Funny how things always seem to be in the air all at the same time, I came across this article in the NY Times today, so I guess I am not the only one thinking about language standards in Cyberspace. I do believe that we should aim for basic standards of proper English in most forms of online communication. Spelling and punctuation are tiny, but necessary parts of maintaining a basic sense of community and a shared form of communication. If we decide to abandon them, we will no longer have a uniform language that is readable, theoretically, by all. However, I think there are gray areas in new media. As I said in my previous post, while I try to maintain these standards on GG, I do not benefit from the copy editing, fact checking and several rounds of corrections that go into traditional media. Having just worked at a magazine and seen the incredible diligence and work that goes into even the smallest article, I realize that it is unreasonable to have that same level of expectation for myself. So I suppose that blogging, as a self-generated form of media, has to be given a looser hand, as would email. A written letter, has a higher expectation for perfection. However, their is a danger that if we veer too far away from the rules of grammar, we risk losing our common language. It is an interesting subject and one that I think will continue to evolve.

New York Times

I have a new fascination with all things from the world of science after my lovely sojourn this past few weeks at Discover Magazine. In honor of the weather here in New York the past few days, (yes, it feels like you are going to burst into flames walking down the street) here are some beautiful images from the NASA database. An uneven but totally incredible resource. I highly recommend a look.

all images NASA

One good thing about photo contests is that they push you to edit, and compile your work in a coherent and intelligent manner. But the mania created by the Photography Now contest is really something. Maybe it is just me, but there is something way too myspace/facebook and wrong about the naked exposure of having the entries online and available for purchase. I mean would anyone want their college applications online to read? Or people looking in your underwear drawer? No matter how you cut it, you are either going to be the subject of ridicule or the cause someone else to panic and realize they did a shit job and are going to lose. I am now so happy that my poor boyfriend and I labored to make the hard copy entries. There is nothing wrong with the contest, but to me there are some things that should remain private. It would have been lovely to pick the top 20 and put them on the site for sale, or some thing like that, but seeing that there were 1724 entries was a little overwhelming. And that does not include hard copy entries. I actually feel really bad for the judges, because that is an extraordinary amount of work to look at. So note to self, no more contests which have horrible naked self exposure involved, unless of course that part only comes from winning!

Ellen Rennard

Funny how the web works, I got a very nice email this morning in my inbox about GG. As Andrew mentioned in his post, sometimes these little tidbits are just the thing to make you feel good despite the challenges the rest of your day. But every so often I get an email that includes grammar or spelling corrections. Someone once went as far as to attach a word doc with highlighted language suggestions and grammatical corrections. Personally I take it all with a grain of salt, however when I think about it, I would never in a million years consider sending someone an email like that. The one today was actually quite funny. Hopefully you will get why when you read the below excerpt. I always run spell check, but to me part of the blogging experience is that posts are quick thoughts and reactions, not fully edited written pieces. I do try very hard to catch any mistakes, but unfortunately I only have so much time to devote to GG. So I hope you all forgive my occasional typo and mis-spelling, I am only human after all:)

I also wanted to point out that in your list under the title ‘Art-General’ you have listed Humble Arts Foundation but spelt it ‘Fundation’. Sorry if this is fussy but I would hate it if I made a spelling mistake on a blog and no-one pointed it out to me…

Perhaps somewhere in the world spelt is still used instead of spelled, but in my world it is a wheat alternative… Hence why language and grammar are such tricky things. Besides maybe I meant that Humble is a Fundation, as in a really enjoyable, partying, cool organization…

Andrew Hetherington has a lovely post up about the struggles to be a photographer, and how one kind word or email from a stranger can suddenly make everything seem better. I think we can all relate to his feelings about existing in today’s world of photography. And with his readers sentiments, Andrew’s work is full of his own particular form of sarcasm and wit. So many editorial photographer’s seem to take the same boring shots, which makes Andrew’s individual voice so much more valuable. And my feel good moment, I came across this one Sarah Sudhoff’s blog today:

Today I was greeted with two wonderful emails. First was from a photo editor at the New York Time Magazine who is planning to run an image of mine for an upcoming issue. I can’t tell you how excited I am about this. It was just last week that I attended a lecture by Mary Virginia Swanson at HCP in Houston in which she discussed artists licensing their images for editorial purposes and the pros and cons of this decision. I had always wondered if my Repository series would find a home editorially since my other main series Sorority Rush had. I’m not sure how the NYT came across my work. Maybe it was from when I sent them my portfolios over a year ago or it might have had something to do with my second email today which was from Women in Photography. My Repository series was selected by WIP for an upcoming on line solo exhibition yet I had no idea it would launch today. Needless to say it was a great surprise to see my work featured on their site. I’m not sure if one email had anything to do with the other one but somehow for one brief moment today the stars aligned for me.

No thank you Sarah. This is why Amy & I are so excited about WIP. While it has also generated a lot of great opportunities for us, it is so gratifying to know that we are actually making an impact with the project. Perhaps the Times found her another way, but there is something to be said for momentum. Amy and I have over 50 talented women on our show waiting list. And many more on our group show list. What I love most about this project is that is both bottom up and top down. There is no real hierarchy. Amy and I are slightly different stages in our careers, and we are showing work from artists at all different levels. So not only do we hope to have stories like Sarah’s, but also to give more established artists a chance to connect with a wider audience and have a stronger web presence. I am so happy to see all of these happening, in the midst of my finding out I am in a group show in the fall in Chelsea and that my proposal to do my UV portraits in October was accepted. AIOP, hosts a wonderful month long celebration of art by bringing artists out to interact with the public. I am very excited to be taking part. So yes, I have been working myself over trying to put my blurb book together, and trying to get WIPNYC on track, and putting my portfolio presentation in better form, to the point where sometimes it can pretty frustrating. But knowing that something is coming out of it, makes all the struggle worthwhile.

Andrew Hetherington

One of my favorite shows on television is the Dog Whisperer, my boyfriend and I watch it all the time. Probably because we both want a dog so much, but have lifestyles & landlords that make it impossible right now. And also because despite the shows production values and ‘cheese’ factor, Cesar Milan is a great life coach. It is fascinating to watch people be mystified as to why their dogs act out, and then casually admit to not walking their dogs or giving them any discipline. Often the person’s neurotic issues seem to have been passed on to the dog in very fascinating ways. As an artist I am endlessly interested in human behaviour. Capturing our collective neurosis is one of photography’s greatest abilities. As well as capturing the strangeness of the individual. Our relationships with our pets is a great place to explore this phenomena. This morning I came across a fascinating story in the The New York Times about new trends in medicating dogs and cats. The pharmaceutical companies are investing in what they see as a new and growing market, companion pet-meds. Considering I also just read that anti-statin drugs were recently approved for children starting at age 8, to prevent a future chance heart disease (thanks to our epidemic of childhood obesity,) I was not surprised. We are a culture of pill poppers and quick fixers. Modern society turns to science & technology to fix all of its ills. Because if we pop a pill, it is cheaper, faster, easier and it keeps us able to work the long hours necessary to keep the global economy going. Perhaps our dogs would not be chasing their tails if their owners were less fucked up, pardon my language.

So in honor of the Times article, I wanted to show Isabella’s Rozendall’s work. I came across it last week at my freelance gig and thought, wow she really captured both oddity of the culture and the peculiarity of the individual.

On Loving Animals / Graduation Project

A photo exhibition, photo book and thesis about the Dutch and
their obsessive love for animals. From the shows to the races,
from the bedroom to the backyard, from kittenhood to old age.
The animal that shares our life as part of our families and more.

People are always asking why Amy & I started WIPNYC, I will let the eminent (hence why we need new voices in the art world) art critic Brain Sewell explain for me. From an article in yesterday’s Independent entitled “There has never been a great women artist.”

But the art critic Brian Sewell pointed out that, historically, women have done better in the art world than elsewhere. Throughout the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, women artists were praised by male contemporaries. The likes of Artemisia Gentileschi, born in 1593, and her contemporary Fede Galizia were considered great painters of their day.

“The art market is not sexist,” Mr Sewell said. “The likes of Bridget Riley and Louise Bourgeois are of the second and third rank. There has never been a first-rank woman artist.

“Only men are capable of aesthetic greatness. Women make up 50 per cent or more of classes at art school. Yet they fade away in their late 20s or 30s. Maybe it’s something to do with bearing children.”

I feel sorry for Mr. Sewell’s poor pup, if only they knew what kind of master they had…