Migrant Community, Shanghai 2006 by Spring HS Daniel Traub

Daniel Traub
Currently residing in New York, NY

website: http://www.danieltraub.net

Work Statement
City’s Edge

I am drawn to the peripheries of China’s cities - the strange and nebulous region where urban and rural China meet. This landscape is emblematic of China as a whole: unresolved, abrasive , contradictory. Here, the wealthiest Chinese live in ‘Mc Mansions’ - cookie-cutter villas beside migrant workers who can only afford to erect shanties on temporarily vacant land. We see manicured lawns and golf courses extravagantly watered next to parched farmland and polluted dumping grounds.

There is a stage-set quality to the built environment. The architecture seems two-dimensional, garish and impermanent. There are plastic palm trees, Greco-Roman columns, billboards showing American football players, advertisements for dazzling new apartment complexes, bunkers left from WWII and ancient tombs. The people with their gestures seem theatrical, as if eager to appear in step with these new backdrops. Others seem absorbed in their thoughts, lonely, stunned by this new world that has suddenly appeared.

In photographing this phenomena, I ask certain questions: what will develop from this mix of cultural traditions and symbols? Will something distinct and authentic emerge? I search for awkward moments and juxtapositions, scenes in which elements coalesce to offer a glimpse of something new and undefined. Photographing this environment becomes a way of gazing back into history as well as a method of decoding the future, with its possibilities and dangers.

Bio
Daniel Traub is an American photographer and filmmaker that has been based in China since 1999. As a photographer he has been engaged with long term projects including a body of work entitled Simplified Characters which explores the transformation of China’s cities through street portraits and urban scenes and the large format series City’s Edge which looks at the border region where urban and rural China meet. His images have been exhibited in Asia and the United States and have appeared in various publications including the New York Times Magazine, Telegraph Magazine and Wallpaper*.

Traub received a BA from Sarah Lawrence College in 1994 and received an MFA in Photography from School of Visual Arts, New York in 1998 where he studied with Joel Sternfeld and Raghubir Singh.

Businessman, Jamaica Plain, MA, 2007 by Shane Lavalette

Today I offer up two aspiring Hot Shots, not just to make up for lost moments or because Spring HS’s will be announced tomorrow, but because hopefuls Shane Lavalette and Greg Wasserstrom make a pretty perfect pair. Both are staple stop-offs in the web’s wide world of photography, have great names, are young and talented, and they star in a show that opened earlier this month in our nation’s capital.

You are probably familiar with Shane, I spotlighted his work last edition, and even then mentioned the fact that it would be an impossible task to ignore Mr. Lavalette––he’s everywhere. He keeps a beyond read-worthy blog and he can often be found lurking in fellow friends’ comments. Just like yesterday’s Maria Passarotti, Shane is engaged with nature’s role in the modern landscape. He says:

It’s not simply the untouched or, conversely, the artificial landscape that I look to address in my work but the subtle ways in which every-day modern life and nature come together. I recognize that I am largely disconnected from the natural environment, and struggling – in my recognition of man’s pervasive presence, a presence that is largely overlooked – to re-define my relationship with what is ultimately home.

Untitled (Star Maps) by Greg Wasserstrom

Greg too has quite the photosphere presence. If you’re a fan of his work and want to be a friend, take a look at his Amazon Wish List––also good for a tempt towards a little splurge. This edition Greg submitted from his series La Brea, a body of work produced while on stay in LA. In his words:

I try to resist taking anything too seriously and attempt to make images that, while hopefully a tad bit provocative, avoid the trap of popular or predictable political narratives. Rather than make a distinct point, I want my pictures to stimulate free-association.

If you find yourself in D.C. this month, do check out Take Us Anywhere, But Take Us Now with Shane Lavalette, Greg Wasserstrom, and Bryan Schutmaat.

Take Us Anywhere, But Take Us Now
May 12 - 31 @ Warehouse Gallery, Washington, DC

Forest by Maria Passarotti

The clock ticks, winners will be announced on Tuesday, the anticipation is agonizing, and I am slacking in my spotlighting––but an excuse I do have. Yesterday I finished off four fun filled years in pursuit of my BFA, today I find my brain a bungled mess. Allow me to pass the mic to aspiring Hot Shot Maria Passarotti.

I have always been intrigued by the intersection of man and nature. Growing up in suburbia, I became aware of the imprint individuals leave on their land, nature’s undeniable presence, as well as the abundance of iconic architectural elements that fill our landscape. As an artist, I’ve turned to the urban and suburban landscape as my subject and inspiration. Using photography as a medium I try not to document this landscape but to create magical interpretations of everyday, mundane spaces. I look for beauty in the combination of man-made and natural materials seeking images where these elements peacefully coexist or one aggressively dominates the other.

Stay tuned.

Security Envelope 1 (salt print on handmade linen paper) by Kate Copeland

Aspiring Hot Shot Kate Copeland’s practice is an amalgam of artistry, science, metaphysics, and simple curiosity. Recent bodies of work include charting the marks made by insects’ footprints and capturing the patterns made by the vapor of breath. For this edition of HHS! she submitted work from a series of salt-prints made of security envelopes. On the project she says:

I investigate the tactile beauty and semiotic frailty of both subject and medium. I am interested in the formal qualities of the envelopes, as well as the many anonymous hands that produced them. By deconstructing these common forms, I aim to draw attention to labor and beauty that is typically unseen and ignored.

Unfortunately, Kate does not have a website, but we will keep our eyes peeled.

Untitled (Maggie T.) by Ofer Wolberger

I have very little to say about the work of aspiring Hot Shot Philip-Lorca diCorcia and Larry Sultan, Wolberger’s practice was honed by spilling through his mother’s fashion magazines as a child and being an avid collager throughout his early years. Wolberger on his work:

Maggie T. can be considered a side note to a larger project called Imitation of Life. The title comes from a 1950’s Technicolor film by Douglas Sirk and the 1933 Fannie Hurst novel. I have been putting together photographs that don’t connect so obviously, letting the narrative strands relate loosely. For me photography is an imitation or an approximation of life as we live it. My photographs don’t necessarily correspond to reality. I think of them as being hyper-real.

More of Maggie T. can be found on Wolberger’s website, along with a good number of images worth your time. Keep it up!

The anticipation is eating––winners will be announced right here this Tuesday at 1PM. Until then, stay tuned for daily entry fun and more!

Oildriller by Ching Wah Lam

The Spring Edition of HHS! has reached its end. And while the anticipation eats you away, I will continue to humor your curious sides with daily entry spotlights until the winners are announced on May 22––a whole week to monitor your competition.

Last night close to 3AM I received a text message pleading that I not buy a drop of gas today. I had already received the expected chain email, filling me in on the impact a successful “Gas Out” in protest of the beyond high prices at the pump could have. A text message seemed so personal, perhaps obnoxiously so, and I will admit I forwarded it along in the wee hours––I don’t drive so this should be quite easy for me.

Aspiring Hot Shot Ching Wah Lam’s image felt appropriate. Originally from Hong Kong, he now finds himself in Los Angeles, an American citizen, but struggling with his desires to see himself as an American. In his words:

In this artificial flavor city, we’re all trying to find excuses to indulge ourselves, we shape our surroundings to match our visions and desires. Some of us succeed, most of us don’t. Disappointment and depression become our favorite words. Our environment is being distorted, our surroundings are being displaced. But nature is not disappointed or depressed. It is not the victim. I am the victim, like most Americans, but i am not American.

Good Luck!

Sally Wolffish by Elizabeth Atterbury

Aspiring Hot Shot Elizabeth Atterbury is after the magic, after the mortal, and after the mystery in each and every thing. In her words:

I think a lot about what is inside other minds. I am curious about that contained privacy. I like to believe that every object is sentient – not just people but animals too. And buildings and cars and trees and little trinkets. Everything has the capacity to deliberate and think, the capacity to feel lonely. These portraits, in a way, represent departure points for how I pursue my photographic practice.

Elizabeth’s entry is in, is yours? Deadline is TONIGHT at 11:59PM. That’s under 12 hours to mark this off your list. Get ‘em in, enter now.

Max, Recarpeting, Lena’s House, Nampa, Idaho 2005 by HS Shawn Records

Fall 2005 Hot Shot Shawn Records has come back for round two. This edition he submitted work from his family-based series La Playa. A little over a year ago we attempted to fill you in on the happenings and accomplishments of Mr. Records––the list was long and it continues to grow.

And Shawn is not the only one, Hey, Hot Shot! has done quite a bit of growing itself. Not only have fifty amazing artists graced the walls of our little Spring Street space, but the competition has turned into a major, one of a kind opportunity with loads of excitement and support making it, as we like to say, the best thing going for emerging photographers.

Last month I missed this opportunity, but today our dear blog is officially one year and one month old. In April 2006, former Hot Shot guide Anna Wolfgang kicked things off, setting the bar high for what has been a non-stop bloggin’ blast. We’ve brought you news of the endless array of amazement that is the jb. Our panel has reached superstar status, we had our first Ultra solo show, and we put together the very first of its kind HHS! Yearbook––the New Photographers Annual. The list goes on. Now we’re on the brink of Ms. Bekman’s mega-exciting-we-absolutely can’t-wait-venture, 20×200. The future is looking brighter than ever.

With the deadline for the Spring 2007 edition upon us, take tonight and/or tomorrow as an opportunity to not just enter, but to browse the blog’s archives, take a peek at our family history, and mark your calendars for one month from today for what we know will be another stellar showcase.

Untitled (Janet and Rachel) by Meredith Miller

Aspiring Hot Shot Meredith Miller, like many of us, is interested in the female form. Her photo taking days were sparked by an intro course at the University of Chicago with Laura Letinksy––here at the jb we would consider that a divine beginning if there ever was one. In 2003, she finished off a cherished MFA from Yale and now is introducing young artists to the medium herself. On her work she says, “I have always been interested in exploring women’s issues especially challenging our perceptions of femininity.”

Meredith unfortunately does not have a website, but we will keep our eyes peeled for one in the future…

Two more days until DEADLINE. Get those entries in.

Niagara Falls by Matthew Sandager

“For me, photography is like a race, things speed by and you collect a few images along the way,” says aspiring Hot Shot Matthew Sandager. It seems to be that Niagara Falls is one of many pit-stops along this way. And although I haven’t ventured there myself, I’m sure I will continue to enjoy the what seems to be endless number of unique, but often spectacular images of this near world wonder. More words from Matthew:

I pursue photographs that look at the world around me from a micro to a macro view. And I’m fascinated by that (decisive) moment in time when things turn around, unobserved before they are scared away (frogs, strangers) or simply vanish (a splash).

Matthew’s photo makes me think of space, the future, and, of course, the Powers of 10. Keep it up Matthew.

You now have today, tomorrow, Sunday, and Monday––this round will close at 11:59PM on Monday––to get your submissions in. That is approximately 4.9 x 10^3 minutes from this posting until deadline. Enter before it is too late.