New Yorkers, I agree it is quite crappy outside with all the rain and such but have you seen Our Greatest Hits yet? If not, Saturday is your last day! So drop by and check out artwork from all represented artists.

The Spring Hot Shots have interviews posted on the HHS blog, so get some incite from the winners! Remember the reception is June 7th, 6-8pm!

One of the disadvantages of photography is the weight and bulkiness of equipment. I’m a petite girl and do not have much patience to carry tripods with large format cameras. Mobility is key for me! This is where Kipp Wettstein, former artist that exhibited in one of our infamous Pin-Up shows awhile back, steps in.

In the May issue of American Photo Magazine, writer Jay DeFoore, interviews Wettstein on his process in creating a portable 4×5 film camera. The traditional large format cameras require a lot to set up, with a tripod, film holders, focusing, etc. Wettstein explains his design:

“The beauty of the design is that it is built around the elegant form of the image cone produced by the lens. Not only does this design yield an attractive camera but it is extremely accurate. The lens and film planes have a parallel accuracy within the fractions of a millimeter. The designs have no perspective-controlling movements. They are small, lightweight and extremely accurate.”

He has a great 360 degree view of the camera as well. This is not something you can create in any basement. Wettstein estimates the cost of producing one camera can range from $5000 to $12,000. As all my photo professors have said, “If you’re thinking of entering into photography, money should never be a problem. Pretend you’re rich.” As much as I would like to have that mentality, I’ll stick to my 35mm for now. Or if you want to feel like you’re carrying nothing at all, make yourself a paper pinhole camera!

Photography by Donna Alberico

If you haven’t noticed, the new Hey, Hot Shots! were announced yesterday. Head over to the blog to read the artist’s statements and other info. I’ve compiled a flickr set with the photographs that the Hot Shots submitted. The gallery is currently very busy making this show happen, so remember to join us on Wednesday, June 7th from 6-8pm for the reception. The show will be up from June 7 to the 11th. There will be more posts leading up the the big opening with artist interviews so be sure to check the blogs!

In the meantime, come to the gallery to see Our Greatest Hits, works from all our represented artists. It will be up until June 3rd.

I’m very excited about Meditations in an Emergancy, exhibition featuring our represented artists interpreting one of Frank O’Hara’s prose poems. The date of the show is scheduled to open mid-June. More details will be revealed soon!

chip’s drawing of a robot from outer space, 2005

It’s that time again – We’re very excited to announce the finalists for the Spring ‘06 Edition of Hey, Hot Shot!.
The Spring Edition Showcase will open with a reception for the artists on the evening of Wednesday June 7, 2006, from 6-8pm. The showcase will be on view Thursday June 8 from noon – 8pm and Friday June 9 – Sunday June 11 from noon – 6pm.
Without further ado, we present to you the Spring 2006 Hot Shots:

donna alberico

ian baguskas

andrea chu

alison grippo

raul gutierrez

michael itkoff

casey kelbaugh

andrea longacre-white

stefan simikich

sarah small

Special thanks go to our awesome, fabulous and excellent panel for their insight humor and hard work. And the other people who help make it happen: Jesse Chan-Norris and Jeff Kirsch for their technical prowess, Antony Van Couvering for hosting our panel meetings, Lauren Cerand for PR support, and also just for being her amazing self and last but not least the Spring intern crew: Anna Wolfgang, chief Hey, Hot Shot! blog editor, Christine Dillion (editor of the jen bekman News Blog) as well as recent arrivals Sophie Lvoff + Jane Tam.
It’s always tough to narrow it down to the final ten, so we’re also happy to include a list of great photographers in our honorable mentions category:
Keliy Anderson-Staley, Dave Barry, Michelle Bruzzese, Sylvie Buchler, Samantha Casolari, Jessika Creedon, Eric Ray Davidson, Amy Eckert, Bethany Fancher, Rachel Hawthorn, Brandon Herman, Simone Lueck, Sara Macel, Jeremy Mazzenga, Liz Nielsen, Leah Oates, Pascal Shirley, Don Simon, Joanns Simpson, Michelle Westmark, Jen Williams and Shiigeki Yoshida.

The Morning News recently interviewed Peter Haakon Thompson, who was in the
Best Midwestern group show at jen bekman in the summer of 2004.

The interview is about Peter’s (so far) eight-year process of self-examination; he’s been recording his “private relationship to places that are essentially public.” He uses the tangible nature of his surroundings to evoke that which is intangible: emptiness, invisibility, aloneness. Along with his interview, the Morning News also created a new gallery with 20 of Peter’s works called Essentially Public, which can be seen here.

Peter’s also involved in two non-photographic undertakings; “the A Project, which is an effort to create solidarity among artists in their neighborhoods through the use of window signs with a large red ‘A,’ and Art Shanty Projects, a public art community/gallery existing for five weeks on frozen Medicine Lake in suburban Minneapolis that is based on the tradition of ice fishing and ice fishing houses.”

Photography by Katie Murray

jen bekman is pleased to present Our Greatest Hits, work on view from represented artists, through June 3. The show is packed with over 40 pieces in different types of media. Almost all the work up now has been shown in previous shows but it’s great to see how certain images from different photographers work together in the same space.

Also, the Hey, Hot Shot! winners will be announced this Tuesday the 23rd, so cross your fingers, you just might be picked! The Spring Edition Showcase is June 7 – 11, 2006. There will be an opening reception on Wednesday June 7, 2006 from 6pm-8pm.

Hola, jen bekman blog readers! There’s a new intern in the mix and it’s me! My name is Jane Tam, 20, 5’ 2”, single and looking. Wait, this isn’t a personal ad. Anyways, I will be contributing all things jen bekman related during this summer. First, let’s learn a little about Jane Tam.

Born and raised in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn.

I’m a Photography major up in Syracuse University, going into my Junior year this Fall.

My interests include but definitely not limited to the arts (from video to grafitti to performance), long train rides, people watching, music (from the Amelie Soundtrack to Death Cab to Kelly Clarkson…shhh!), awkward situations, the immense amount of times I’ve used the word “juxtaposition” in every art paper, fashion, bunnies, watching lots of TV, and exotic Asian cuisine.

Things I dislike include but definitely not limited to is the stench of mixing color developer, cleaning my rabbit’s cage, the black tapioca pearls in bubble tea, days when there’s absolutely nothing to watch on TV, brain farts, sounds of people chewing food, the rising cost of film and photographic print paper, and the immense amount of times I’ve used the word “juxtaposition” in every art paper.

I’m currently reading Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Johnathan Safran Foer.

Where will I be in 5 years? Hopefully I will be happy, healthy, and on a successful path of creating art while traveling the world.

For the summer, besides coming to the gallery, I plan to focus on photographing my family and my home. The goal is to shoot at least a roll of 35mm film a day, whether it be around my neighborhood, my home, or my family. Now let’s just hope my family will get comfortable in front of the camera.

I must say the introduction is the hardest to write so let’s get on with the jen bekman news. Until next time, this Brooklyn girl is signing out.

Good news for all the folks who didn’t make the Monday, May 8th, deadline.
We have extended the deadline as we have a few times in the past.
So, the new deadline is MONDAY, MAY 15TH, at NOON.
Submit your work! We’re waiting for it!

This photo, Ariella and Crow, was submitted to the competition by Sarah Small.

Christine Callahan, a photographer who was recently added to the jen bekman roster of artists, is currently showing at the ISE Cultural Foundation in a collaborative group show called, Push Me Pull You.

Christine received her BFA from the School of Visual Arts in 1992 and has exhibited her work in numerous solo and group shows since then. She has also been featured in the Village Voice and the and recently completed a show called Places at GalerieMC in Atlanta, Georgia.

You can see more of Christine’s photos on her recently added jen bekman artist page which you can check out here.Push Me Pull You opens on May 12th at the ISE Cultural Foundation, which is located on Broadway between Prince St. and Spring St.

A lot of people seem to be scrambling to get their entries in for Hey, Hot Shot! so we’re keeping the competition open for the rest of the day. You know have until 9pm Eastern Time today (Monday) to get your entries in. So, don’t delay: Apply now!

Here is a great opportunity to check out some work by jen bekman artist Dana Miller! Dana will be participating in open studio hours on Saturday, May 6th and Sunday, May 7th where the public can come in and see her photographs in person. Here are the important details:

Dana Miller’s Open Studio Weekend
195 Chrystie Street (between Stanton + Rivington)

Studio 601

The hours you can visit are: May 6th, 3-9pm and May 7th, 1-6pm. (That’s today and tomorrow!)
Stop by and say hi!

There are only a few more days to enter the competition for the Spring Edition of Hey, Hot ShotIS MONDAY MAY 8TH!!***

In the meantime, those of you curious to see what kinds of entries we’ve been getting this time around, feel free to head on over to the Hey, Hot Shot! Blog.

Anna has been updating it frequently with submissions we’ve received that she thinks are pretty neat-o (like this photo from Jen Williams), so leave us some feedback as to what you think about them. Unfortunately it’s all up to the panel to make the final decisions but we at jen bekman like comments – comments are super fun!

For all of you out there who couldn’t make it last Sunday to the Jen@Joe reception, check out some pictures we put up on Flickr. (Thanks to Antony Van Couvering for playing photographer!)

It’s getting down to the wire! Only one more week to enter the Spring edition of Hey, Hot Shot! (the deadline for entries is next Monday, May 8th).

As all of you (should) know, Hey, Hot Shot! debuts ten new talented photographers to the public four times a year with shows at jen bekman. The last show also got some great press, such as being featured in MetroNY, which you can read about here.

Remember, you can only enter via the website: www.heyhotshot.com

ALSO - remember to check out the Hey, Hot Shot! blog for updates about past and future editions of HHS!

jen bekman is featured in the May issue of Art in America. Journalist Stephen Maine’s Report from New York: Down East is a round-up of Manhattan’s Lower East Side galleries. He describes it as a “mecca for independent, highly innovative new galleries.”

Here’s a snippet from what he has to say about jen bekman:

“Hey, Hot Shot” is the name of the quarterly four day long exhibition of 10 emerging photographers that Jen Bekman mounts in her diminutive storefront gallery on Spring Street just west of the Bowery. The shows allow Bekman a highly structured way to make contact with new artists, a favorite aspect of her work. The currently popular “poetic snapshot” esthetic is well represented among the photographers she works with inclduing Tema Stauffer, Dana Miller and Eliot Shepard.

Bekman… opened the gallery in March of 2003 with an emphasis on photography and an eye on the future New Museum location. Eschewing intellectual obscurities, she takes an unencumbered, “populist” approach to marketing her artists.