drag me to chinatown

Philippa has an article in this month's DC magazine in which she highlights ten local artists to watch.

Oddly, one of them is me. Look out!

Of course I was immensely flattered...and when photographer Joshua Cogan called me to arrange shooting my portrait for the mag, I simply daubed on a little eyeliner, pulled on my fav purple tights, shimmied into whatever playful party dress happened to be lying around...and hopped onto my trusty pink scooter to meet him in Chinatown--the perfect backdrop with which to express my heritage, you see.


Hey, I am all about appropriating other people's auras and/or authority. Besides: Shouldn't every DC artist have a little "it" girl in her?

Anyway, despite the lack of commitment indicated by my visibly unshaven legs, chest, and goatee, I think I'm a bit of all right. Pick up a copy at your local newsstand to clip, pin up, and savor.


Pictured: Both of these photos are of me.

this exhibit under construction

I'm completely occupied at the moment with installing IMAGE/PROJECT, our AAC photo and video show juried by photographer Taryn Simon. See evidence of my progress (or lack thereof) below.

I would love to tell you about something entertaining and art-like, but you and everyone else will just have to wait. Check back for an update on Friday--the day of the opening reception, to which you will come, yes?

helpful post for time travellers

Okay, so I failed to prompt you to go see two terrific Photo Week shows that opened last night: One is at Pyramid Atlantic, featuring Nick and Sheila Pye, Chan Chao, and fabulous local portraitist Victoria F. Gaitan. What the heck was I thinking? Clearly I am suffering from daddy-brain. The show remains up through December 5, so go and see it, already.

And over at the Sixth and I Street synagogue, Joshua Cogan opened a show of photos of the Jewish diaspora in Ethiopia and India, as well as portraits of everyone from hip-hop artists, to Jamaican slum-dwellers, to indigenous East Africans. Again, you missed the party, but the show remains on view through November 22.

I had the pleasure of working with Josh recently on a shoot that should end up in print sometime in December...stay tuned.

this is not a photograph

Jason Horowitz is a busy man.

Recently, for Photo Week DC, from November 6 through 10, his closeup portraits of Arlingtonians were projected every night beginning at dusk in Rosslyn, thanks to Arlington public art curator Welmoed Laanstra.

Next spring, he’ll be showing a new body of work at Curator’s Office—wherever that gallery will be located by then.

And next January, I’ll be including three new pieces by Jason in Transhuman Conditions, a show at the AAC about alienation from the body via technology--radical evolution, feedback loops, and assorted related experiences.

For now, all I’ll say is that Jason’s pieces will be really, spectacularly big. Really.

But Jason also keeps busy behind the scenes—helping other artists figure out how to print larger and better, or even working with them directly to realize prints for exhibitions.

So if you’re a photographer, or an artist working in some way with digital images, and you’re looking for someone to help you figure out how to do what you want in order to do to move your game to the next level…you should contact Jason.

I can’t promise you that he’ll say yes, but based on recent conversations I've had with him, I'd say he definitely is looking for the right person or persons in need of a collaborator.

Reach the man behind the mirror ball here.

now bring us some figgy art chat

In case you missed my talk with artist Jenn Figg last Tuesday for Salon Contra, Philippa has posted a video of Jenn's presentation, our discussion, and the audience Q & A. Watch here or in the player below.

full circle

Tonight at Curator's Office (a Wednesday opening on 14th Street? Novelty!) you should attend the opening of Jiha Moon's new show, An Exact Place.

Moon is a formerly D.C.-based artist and 2005 Trawick prize winner; I reviewed her 2005 show at C.O. (mostly favorably) here.

I also did include her in my post on "that painting"--a post that seemed to strike a nerve, but did nothing to stem the tide of decorative postmodern mashup pictures, which continue to clutter galleries and stream out of MFA programs unabated, presumably just to spite me.

Okay, so she makes that sort of painting. But unlike a lot of other practitioners in the genre, Jiha makes paintings that are imaginative, playful, and exquisite...and, if you've met Jiha, or heard her speak about her work, it's hard not to sense that the work has a certain integrity.

I also tend to think of Jiha as the quintessential Curator's Office artist: producing larger pieces, too, but mostly associated with a lot of smallish works on paper--perfect for a micro-gallery--that project skill, pop culture savvy, and humor. I don't want to speculate about Andrea's future at 1515, but given Annie's departure and the escalating rents there, this show does feel oddly like it could be an appropriate end to an era--or at least an address.

saying one thing and doing another

I'm in the middle of installation this week & next. I do have things to say to you, honest, and should have two new posts up in the next 24 hours.

this is how the week ends

In case you missed my conversation with Jenn Figg for Salon Contra on Tuesday, you can read a little recap (and see pictures of people standing around Pink Line HQ) here, at ReadysetDC. Philippa promises to post video of the talk next week--at which point I may begin to seem a little less "brainy".

I'm a little distracted today because of a photo shoot that I'm getting ready to do this afternoon...the details of which need to remain top-secret, for now. All will be revealed in good time.

Otherwise, I expect I'll see you at Conner tomorrow night for Koen Vanmechelen, and for a preview of Annie's soon-to-be new space in that neighborhood. Right? Hey, it's tough for a still-newly-minted dad to get out there and see the art. I'm working on it.

last call

FALL SOLOS 2009 closes at 5:00 pm this Saturday, November 7. If you still haven't seen the show, you've been missing one heck of a strong group of artists. See some installation shots below:
Christian Benefiel:








Jenn Figg:






David Page:








Cynthia Hron:




Roxana Perez Mendez:



Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum:

oh, right--that's me

Tonight I'll be talking with artist (and PhD candidate) Jenn Figg at Pink Line HQ. We'll be screening some of Figg's short films and talking about her work--which is currently on view at the AAC through this Saturday, November 7.

Figg creates sculptures and dioramas with cut-out photographs and found graphics that she mounts on cardboard or corrugated plastic. The work is smart and simulacral, reminding the viewer at every turn exactly how far away she or he is from authentic, unmediated experience. (Okay, if that sounds a little heavy, there's food, and you can drink, too.)

RSVP here.