Personism

jb in SL

We are feverishly preparing for the opening of Photographs from the New World, which opens tomorrow @ 6pm. The real world work is looking fantastic. The prints are absolutely yummy. James and I just spent a few hours tearing each other's throats out debating the best way to hang the show and the final result is going to be awesome.

In other news, thanks to huge efforts by Nic Musolino and our Second Life hero, Cyrus Bryan Campen we'll have a jen bekman gallery in SL too. We're still putting the finishing touches on it, but it'll be live in time for the opening tomorrow. Cool? So cool.

The image above is the most recent version, and it looks an awful lot like the gallery does in person, exposed brick and all.

See you all tomorrow Wednesday November 1st, from 6pm - 8pm:

jen bekman
6 Spring Street
(between Elizabeth + Bowery)
NYC 10012
Phone: +1.212.219.0166
Email: info AT jenbekman DOT com

Oh, the Hotness!

Hey! Are you a Hot Shot?, originally uploaded by msjenbee.

Our new poster for Hey, Hot Shot! - so swell.

(And yes, so much better bigger)

As previously mentioned:

This is the last round of Hey, Hot Shot! before we decide on this year's Ne Plus Ultras.

We have some great Guest panelists including:

- Joerg Colberg (of Conscientious)

- Eileen Gittins (of Blurb)

- Amit Gupta (of Photojojo)

Time is running out, so why not apply now?

The Week That Was (Oct 23)

A few years ago I was at dinner at Jones with my good friend Dana and her mom and stepfather who were visiting from Oregon. Judy and Huff are free-spirited artists who live in a small town and make art and have a nice but not extravagant life. At dinner that night, Judy mentioned that Dana and I were so fortunate to be here in NYC with so many opportunities for interesting things to do at every turn, and while I have a hard time remember the specifics of it now, it was that conversation that made me start saying "Yes!" to a lot of invitations I'd previously turned down because I was feeling tired, or not social or simply unable to resist the siren call of my TiVO. WWJD? Judy would go out. And so since then, I've been going and feeling lucky to do it. The Week That Was is going to be an effort to document all the going that I'm doing, with commentary.

Monday
Out with the inimitable Lux and intrepid intern Alice. First stop: The Strand where Stephen Elliott read from his new collection My Girlfriend Comes to the City and Beats Me Up which is funny and touching and, omg, dirtier than you could ever possibly imagine. No, really.
Next up: Unbeige party @ the pleasantly suprisingly better than not bad Manahatta where I finally got to meet Unbeige 3.0, Alissa Walker, face to face, missed Michael Bierut (alas!), said the briefest of Hi-how-are-yous to Adam Greenfield and met up with Miss who was easily goaded into a spirited defense of the cultural relevance of Godard. Alice, Miss and I shared Mexican Sopas (recommend) and we enjoyed Alissa's last moments of coherence before collapsing into a "I can't believe I've been talking to people non-stop for three hours straight" stupor.

Tuesday
Hours spent at Beth Schiffer labs in spirited debate with James Deavin regarding print size, image selection, etc. for his upcoming exhibition, Photographs from the New World. Each of us had the dark, I want to kill you moment that inevitably preceeds any exhibition, but overcame it quickly and with great results. Exhausting, emotionally draining - knocked me out for the day.

Wednesday
Lunch with AVC at Veselka. Free-floating pre-show anxiety. A million small disasters diverted at the gallery. More debates about print sizes. Cut to: really excellent and relaxing dinner with John Glassie of Bicycles Locked to Poles fame, members of his clan: his fresh-faced freshman at the New School nephew Max, his brother Don and Don's biz partner John, who hosted our gathering at their hotel: the Park South, which is entirely civilized and cozy. We sat by a fire and had cocktails while sitting in velvety chairs. Dinner conversation included but not limited to: jazz knowledge, Miami in December and mancations. Stayed out too late, ate too much steak and drank to much champagne. (And loved every minute of it.)

Thursday
The aforementioned Artist Talk with Holly Lynton and Paddy Johnson. Photos by JCN. Beer compliments of Crumpler. (Mmm, Leffe.) Dinner afterwards @ Lure Fishbar where the burger is just as good as William says it is.

Friday
Finally made it to Raul's show at Nelson Hancock in DUMBO. (Don't miss it, it's been extended through Saturday November 4th!) Lunch with Raul himself afterwards at Superfine. Stayed in on Friday night (wouldn't you?) and ordered in from Puebla, which is some damn good takeout.

Saturday
Totally great day at the gallery. The last day of a show is always bittersweet. I'm excited about the next one, but always sad to have the existing one wind down. The artist talk was a gentle reminder to lots of folks that it was their last chance to check out Holly's photos @ the jb, so there were tons of visitors. Barry and James came by as part of their very busy downtown itinerary. Lots of regulars made it by for an extra peek. I got reacquainted with someone I knew way back when. And met some new Flickr friends and saw another one who also wishes that Jenni didn't live so far away.
Saturday night? Scrabble smackdown with Greg and Daniel and Dana and Ryan. Hightlight for me: PEYOTE, with the "Y" landing on a triple letter score and also turning "jaunt" into "jaunty". 10x better than all those Halloween parties for sure.

Sunday
Baths are divine. Especially when reading a good book. Old Devil Moon has delicious pancakes but wretched coffee. Bar Carrera is sublime, especially with good company.

Autumnal

Even serious photographers take snapshots now and then. Here's one from Holly Lynton which I happen to super love.

Autumn is my absolute favorite season, and this photo does a good job of explaining some of the reasons why.

Naturally it looks better bigger.

James Deavin | Photographs from the New World

Untitled (interior) by James Deavin, originally uploaded by msjenbee.

I'm very excited about this exhibition which is opening next Wednesday.. You can go to the gallery website to view images, or you can read the press release if you click the "read on" button at the bottom of this post.

PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE NEW WORLD November 1 – December 9, 2006

NEW YORK, NY – jen bekman is pleased to present Photographs from the New World, an exhibition of new work by James Deavin. The exhibition will be on view from November 1 – December 9, 2006, at jen bekman, located at 6 Spring Street, between Elizabeth and Bowery, New York, 10012.

Photographs from the New World documents user-generated landscapes in the online, virtual world Second Life.

Jen Bekman will host an opening reception for the artist on Wednesday, November 1, from 6:00 – 8:00pm at the gallery.

From being featured recently in Rob Walker's ‘Consumed’ market trendspotting column in The New York Times Magazine to the surprising success of insider web sites devoted to the virtual world and its inhabitants, Second Life has begun to attract the sort of real world fervor that its fans experience when they log in and assume their alter egos. A real life corporate presence is emerging there – companies like Starwood, Intel, American Apparel and Penguin Books UK are getting in on the action building virtual versions of their businesses in SL.

Deavin says, “Second Life is a place where people can live out their dreams. Some people’s dreams are to have a bigger version of what they already have. Others’ fondest wish is to be a talking elephant from Mars. Second Life is not a ‘game’ – there is no 'next level,' no 'level boss,' there is no winning or losing. Rather, characters enter into complex relationships, build things, earn and spend money. In fact, the world turns over ten million dollars a month. This money is spent in the market place and certain consumer products have become ubiquitous: grand pianos, waterfalls, boats, Japanese gardens. If money were no object, is this how real life would look?”

Gallery director Jen Bekman observes, “I am naturally inclined to be interested in a visualization of a virtual world. I have been involved in virtual communities since the early nineties and it remains a big part of my everyday life, but only as text. Many of the photographers I work with create the fantastical from the mundane. In these photographs James is documenting other people's manifestations of fantasy and uncovering their interpretations of what physical trappings provide happiness and comfort and/or signify success.”

About the Artist
James was born in 1973 in London in the UK. He graduated from King's College in 1995, with a bachelor's degree in Classics. His earliest assignment was traveling to Bosnia at the time of the ceasefire in 1995 with an aid convoy. Since then he has had documentary and portrait work published in magazines including the London Times, Sunday Review, W, Harper's, Photoworks, 125 and Next Level. He has exhibited in various group shows including the inaugural Brighton Photo Biennial, Art and Commerce Emerging Photographers, and at jen bekman.

Photographs from the New World at jen bekman, 6 Spring Street. Hours: Wednesday — Saturday, noon – 6pm or by private appointment. For images or more information, please contact Lauren Cerand: 917.533.0103 or press@jenbekman.com.

More of Me

The Me show continues! There's been a nice run of press mentions lately, and I've neglected to put them here because I've been busy. So here's a round up of the last few weeks:

- As mentioned, Vince Aletti said said lovely things about Holly Lynton's show in The New Yorker.

- I was quoted in a recent WSJ Online article that was about how museums are using the internet to curate shows. The article, Museums Try YouTube, Flickr To Find New Work for the Walls by Andrew LaVallee, is now sadly locked away behind their subscription wall.

- I was quoted in the City Section of the NYT regarding the mysteries of 11 Spring Street. That too is behind the subscription wall, but fortunately the Schillers republished it over on Wooster Collective: Ghosts Amid the Graffiti.

- Alec Soth said nice things about how Hey, Hot Shot! is terrific opporunity for emerging photographers. I've always thought so, of course, but it's awfully nice to have someone as smart, accomplished and talented as Alec agree. (Thank you kindly.)

- Tyler Green over on must-read art blog Modern Art Notes said nice things about Personism and put it back on his blogroll. It's nice to be back.

- The long-awaited article from Inc. Magazine Tomorrow's Kitsch Today by Rob Walker finally ran, close to a year later. There's a slideshow and here's a link directly to the slide where I predict that the Honda Element is on track for kitschdom.

- Finally, for now at least, I talk about my art collection in this week's edition of ArtInfo.

This is all very nice, especially since the press represents the diversity of things that I am involved with and interested in. Good stuff, and I'm grateful for the attention.

Q + A with Holly Lynton + Paddy Johnson Tomorrow

Holly Lynton | Solid Ground : Installation Views 3, originally uploaded by msjenbee.

Holly's critically acclaimed exhibition Solid Ground closes this Saturday.

Tomorrow evening (Thursday) we're hosting a Q+A with Holly and critic Paddy Johnson, she of Art Fag City fame. The gallery is wee, so please let us know if you're planning on coming: rsvp AT jenbekman DOT com.

Artist Talk/Closing Reception
Thursday Oct 26 | 6pm-8pm
jen bekman
6 Spring St (between Elizabeth + Bowery)
NYC 10012
+1.212.219.0166

Check out more installation views of Holly's exhibition, shot by the estimable Joseph O. Holmes.

Bingo

originally uploaded by themexican.

This is the last week (already! geez!) of Raul Gutierrez's show Travels Without Maps at the Nelson Hancock Gallery... I'm not going to miss it and neither should you!
111 Front St. #204 (Dumbo)

Brooklyn, NY 11201
Gallery Open Wednesday-Saturday 11-6
Continues through October 28th. Extended through November 4th!

Are You Looking to Remove a Tattoo at Home?

Inanity Thursday continues apace here @ at Personism. Although I know plenty of people who could use this procedure, I always thought that tattoo removal was one of these don't try this at home kind of things.

Personal Tattoo Removal Laser

The Freshmaker

Behold! Finally we're freed from the babyshit green of Personism's previous template. jb hometown hero Jeff Kirsch modded up WP template Hemingway, building on some previous mods Alison Grippo made on it for her Ink Capture blog .

We're still tinkering, so if something looks funny to you, please shoot an email to person AT personism DOT com.

Also, look at how nice and crisp and legible The List is now!