Waco

Waco, TX
December 2008

Cara Phillips is a Hot Shot

Before & After Room, Tribeca
copyright Cara Phillips
2007

Hey, Hot Shot
Jen Bekman Gallery
6 Spring Street
New York, NY

Opening Reception:
Friday January 30th, 6pm

Participating Artists:

Yijun Liao
John Mann
Cara Phillips
Park Ho Sang
Donald Weber

Today's Flak Photo

White Horse, Riverview, Florida, 2007

Thank you to Andy Adams for bringing my White Horse to Today's Flak Photo. I found this mysterious creature - the daughter of a celebrated show horse - nearly two years ago on desolate farm near Gibsonton, a legendary town in Florida's swamplands where carnies and circus freaks spend their winters.

Taking this photograph was without a doubt one of the most romantic experiences of my life. My white horse ran up and down the driveway, towards me and away from me and towards me, and what passed between us felt like curiosity and shyness and wonder and beauty all at once. For that moment, I was fully alive and present in my dream world. Breathless, stunned, exhilarated.

Milk

I celebrated inauguration day by paying tribute to another great leader who stood for hope and change - Harvey Milk. After Rick Warren's creepy Christian prayer session, and Obama's eloquent speech, I watched the documentary, The Times of Harvey Milk, at home and made it to the theatre tonight to finally see Gus Van Sant's interpretation of his life, Milk.

I was struck by the parallels between Barack Obama and Harvey Milk, who as supervisor in San Francisco's 5th District in 1977, was the third openly gay elected official in the United States. Both persevered enormous odds and rallied community support through their charisma and idealism and their ability to embrace and to inspire people in the margins. Both describe their own experiences with discrimination and talk about a message that is bigger than them - and not about them - but about us.

Watching the gay community and it's supporters celebrate Milk's victories and mourn his death brought to mind those same raw emotions that surround Obama, and I hope we are not robbed of his leadership under similar tragic circumstances. And I hope as President, Obama reconsiders his position on gay marriage, and truly realizes his promise of equality.

The Collector's Guide to Emerging Art Photography

One of my photographs - Car Skeletons, Highway 163, Arizona, 2008 - was included in The Collector's Guide to Emerging Art Photography, scheduled to be released on March 3, 2009. The Collector's Guide, published by Humble Arts Foundation, features the work of 163 photographers curated by Alana Celii, Jon Feinstein and Grant Willig with an introduction by art collector and enthusiast, Ruben Natal-San Miguel.

The Collector's Guide is an invite only, unique 180–page source book distributed to collectors, art dealers, gallery directors, photo editors, museum professionals, and independent curators. Published biennially, The Collector's Guide aims to further Humble's mission by bridging the gap between ambitious early-career photographers and often-unapproachable photography professionals and art institutions.

Ideally, the 163 photographers featured in this publication will move on to find their work in private collections, represented by reputable galleries and included in group exhibitions. The Collector's Guide will also serve as a resource for photo editors, helping to attract assignments to featured photographers.

The Collector's Guide is not a traditional consumer-based art photography book. Instead, this source book is a complimentary guide for collectors and photography industry professionals.

Complimentary copies are available for collectors, art dealers, gallery directors, photo editors, museum professionals, independent curators and press.

To pre-order a complimentary copy, please send an email to: tcgeap@hafny.org

Please include your full name, company, title, address, city, state and zip in the email.

A limited edition of 100 copies is also available for pre-order to the general public. The book retails for $49. 95 plus tax and shipping and can be purchased through the Humble Arts Foundation: The Collector's Guide to Emerging Art Photography

Crawford

Jean
Parking lot of the Coffee Station
Crawford, TX
2008


Mary, Perri and Kendall
Crawford, TX
2008

Crawford, Texas is home to George Bush's ranch, where Cindy Sheehan camped out for twenty-six days in 2005 seeking an explanation from the President of the "noble cause" for which her son, Casey, died in the war in Iraq.

The New Yorker ran a story this past October, Exile on Main Street, describing the waning popularity of the (almost former) president in Crawford. Seven gifts shops selling Bush souvenirs have dwindled to two that keep regular hours.

I got directions to Crawford from the tourist information center in Waco and drove about twenty miles west on small highways. The clerk at the information center circled Bush's ranch on a map and highlighted the Coffee Station where the President eats his hamburgers. She told me if you drive on Prairie Chapel Road towards the ranch, you reach a point where you get stopped by secret service men and you can't take any photographs. I never made it quite that far down Prairie Chapel Road, where I drove alone past fields and ranches until a pick-up truck made me a little nervous.

I did stop at the Coffee Station and ordered a BLT instead of a hamburger, and the waitress gave me an extra free pink lemonade when I paid the bill, as people so often are either exceptionally friendly or exceptionally suspicious when you have a camera. I will also venture to say that Texan hospitality goes a long way, and there is something to be said for manners and friendliness.

The Coffee Station was nearly empty, and a cheap cardboard stand-up of President Bush was leaning in a corner. I took a photograph of Jean in the parking lot outside, where she was taking a cigarette-break. Jean, who moved to Crawford from Waco to be with her partner, still seemed proud of the fact that Bush gave Crawford a claim to fame, and she had seen him on more than one occasion. She said this is not how she dresses when the President is around.

These young women - Mary, Perri and Kendall - also talked about their experiences with the President and said they had been photographed with him on more than one occasion.

Lately, I have been taking more photographs of people, and I am curious about what people think about where they are at this moment in time, and what makes that place different or the same as anywhere else.

Anyone with ideas of where I might find editorial assignments along these lines, please don't hesitate to write ...

Passages in Black & White

Untitled from Rendition
copyright Jessica Kaufman
2005

Passages in Black & White
Photographs by Jessica Kaufman and Heather Booth Weiss

January 13 - February 26, 2009

Opening Reception:
Tuesday January 13, 6 - 8pm

Susan Ely Fine Art
46 West 90th St, Floor 2
New York, NY

Emerging Photographers Auction at Daniel Cooney 2009

Nathan, Boonville
copyright Timothy Briner
2007


Morning Fog Lift in Bali
copyright Nina Buesing
2007


Untitled from Sukiyaki Western
copyright Walter Lockwood
2008


Nick
copyright Jon Feinstein
2007

Finally, I am back in the city after what felt like a long stretch of flights and car rides and bus trips and family and old friends and lots of food and freezing cold weather. My brain feels sluggish, and I am re-adjusting to that unique energy and stimulation and high anxiety that is New York City.

I looked at my first rounds of proofs at the lab today for my upcoming exhibition with Francesca Romeo at Daniel Cooney Fine Art which opens on February 19th. This month, Daniel Cooney is presenting another Emerging Photographers Auction with work by a number of friends and peers including Timothy Briner, Nina Buesing, Jon Feinstein, Shane Lavalette, Carolyn Monastra and Shen Wei.

The auction ends on January 21rst, so that means there are just a little more than two weeks left to bid on great work by emerging photographers.

Also, Daniel was recently interviewed by Photo District News and offers some interesting advice to emerging photographers about being involved in a supportive community and showing a commitment to making one's work, and how this might organically lead to opportunities for exhibitions and relationships with galleries. You can find his comments here: Daniel Cooney's Emerging Photographers Auction & Thoughts on the Fine Art Market.