Have you heard the news? Or I guess more like read the news. This past Wednesday, the New York Times published a story on Nina Berman’s Purple Hearts exhibit, which is now on view at the gallery and has been receiving a lot of attention from the press lately. You can check out the article here.

I was at the gallery the other day as camera-toting TV men came in, one after another, to interview Nina. And the phones were ringing off the hook! I spoke with several war veterans from all over the country–Texas in particular, who were all itching to say a few words to the artist. With all this attention, the show has luckily been extended an extra week, until Saturday September 8th, so those of you who haven’t braved a visit to the gallery have a little more time to do so now.

Also, you may have heard through the gallery’s mailing list about the exclusive Artist Talk we’re hosting this upcoming Wednesday evening, August 29th. Unfortunately, the event is overbooked, but if you want to try to squeeze in, shoot an e-mail over to us and get yourself on the waiting list!

So, you may ask, why do I bring this information up here, on the Hey, Hot Shot! blog as opposed to the gallery blog? Well, it’s because Nina is one of our most recent Hot Shot winners from this year’s spring edition! While at the gallery last Thursday, Nina was talking about how she entered the contest at 2 AM on a restless night after hearing about it from a friend. Fast-forward just a few months later and she has to her own widely acclaimed solo show at the gallery. Wow!

It’s exciting to see what good could come out of the competition–and so soon! Meanwhile, Jen is busy curating the upcoming HHS! Summer Edition Showcase, which is set to follow Berman’s show and I must say, it’s going to be good!

New York Container Terminal, #4 by Summer ‘07 HS winner Shuli Hallak

Summer is coming to an end and it’s just about time for us to announce the winners of the Summer 2007 edition of Hey, Hot Shot! Drumroll, please…

And, the winners are:

Dan Boardman
Afshin Dehkordi
Rachael Dunville
Jonathan Gitelson
Shuli Hallak
Beth Herzhaft
Gregory Krum
Kalpesh Lathigra
Ari Salomon
Willamain Somma

Congratulations, winners! Mark your calendars for Wednesday, September 12, which is the opening night of the Summer ‘07 Hey, Hot Shot! Showcase at the jb (from 6-8pm!) If you can’t make it then, be sure to check out the show which will be up September 13 - 16, 2007.

A special thanks goes out to our lovely group of panelists:

Ian Baguskas, Kate Bingaman-Burt, Christine Collins, Alison Grippo,
Raul Gutierrez, Darius Himes, Jenni Holder, Joseph O. Holmes, Lesley Martin, Anthony La Sala, Youngna Park,
and of course, Jen Bekman, her own self.

The panelists can all tell you that it was a tough decision to make. Here are some honorable mentions:

Allison Grant, Scott Chandler, Roger Snider, Carlo Van de Roer, Thomas Birtwistle, Camille Seaman, Chris Mottalini, Mark Goldberg, Liz Kuball, Mahesh Shantaram, Justin Visnesky, Chuck Avery, Heather Sullivan, James Rotz, Chris Bentley, Shana Wittenwyler, Jim Turbert, Johannes Twielemeier, Alejandro Cartagena, Erik Hagen, Joel Sanders, Dan Sumption, Glenn Glasser, RJ Mickelson, Sarah Szwajkos, David Bowman, Ben Alper, Kimberly Max, and Patrick Simpson.

Thanks to everyone who participated and congratulations once again to all the winning photographers. Stay tuned to the HHS! Blog where I’ll be posting bundles of fun news and tidbits related to our growing family of Hot Shots!

Untitled (01) by Summer HS winner Willamain Somma

Willamain Somma
Currently residing in New York, NY

website: www.willamain.com

Work Statement
I took the first photograph in this series at the UCross Foundation for the Arts in Clearmont, Wyoming this past March. There I was in the middle of nowhere with not much aside from cattle, horses, deer and endless rolling hills. I was desperate to make some interesting pictures during my artist residency but was feeling terribly stuck in my creative process. Aside from a few other artists who were busy working on their paintings and scripts and dances there was just the endless rolling hills and highways. And then there was me. So for the first time since I picked up a camera in high school I started photographing myself.

In the past I have always photographed other people knowing that every portrait was ultimately a reflection of myself. These pictures no longer disguise that fact. They are about me in the landscape, me in the world, and me in my creative process. They are about being stuck, trying to escape, existential angst, the whole narcissistic nine yards. I hope others like them but they please me and I’ve found that ultimately, that’s enough.

Bio
I am from the North Shore of Massachusetts and I went to a small high school in Maine where I spent many hours skiing, hiking in below freezing temperatures and making pictures. In 1993 I went to Bard College to study writing and literature and my last year there took a photo class with Larry Fink. The way Larry talked about photographs was thrilling to me and when I moved to NYC after graduation I began to use photography to identify the boundaries of my life and also to expand them, exploring places I never otherwise would have gone. I began a documentary project on crack addicts in the Lower East Side that taught me not only how to be a photographer (to navigate difficult subjects and grapple with all the issues inherent in documentary work) but about life and death and everything in between.

I now am a graduate of the Bard-ICP MFA Photography Program and find myself teaching others f-stops and shutter speeds and how to frame their subject. I realize that if my students can get past the technicalities of the medium to the place where their camera becomes an extension of themselves that is just the beginning. A life in photography is about letting the world be your teacher, allowing it to fill your frame in all its messiness and sadness and joy. I guess that’s what I’m getting at. My biography is incomplete. I’m still learning. Photography continues to be my greatest teacher. It has given me a way, a path, a door to understand the world and my place in it.

Table Scene (Red), October 2005 by Summer HS winner Ari Salomon

Ari Salomon
Currently residing in San Francisco, CA

website: www.helloari.com

Work Statement
18 Rue Dugommier: Reginka Cukierman Struzevska
A documentary photography series by Ari Salomon

These are images of my Great Aunt and her apartment in Paris. Regine was born in Poland, Dec 25, 1910. She has lived in Paris since 1936 — and in this apartment for more than 30 years. She is now widowed and without children or other family nearby. The images that make up this document reveal the passage of time on many scales. The everyday as it comes and goes and also as it builds on itself over many years.

They hint at both what is missing in her life and what fills it through layered compulsions of classification and arrangement. The natural accumulations that come from living in one’s home and living in one’s body. A spatial history of tchotchkes and living essentials.

•••

It is important to note that these photos are not “set up”, these are found scenes. Note also that some images document the same scenes over a number of months and years.

Bio
I was born in Israel in 1971 and raised in San Diego. In 1987, while in high school, I started using the Nikkormat my dad bought when I was born. I produced a series of black and white pictorial abstractions and some travel logs. Later, at the University of California Santa Cruz, I experimented with alternative processes, color and other, more conceptually focused forms of art. I continued my interest in travel logs with a concentration on people in the built environment and experimented with a series of abstract motion studies.

In recent years, I found that working digitally worked for me and began exploring panoramic photography.

In addition to exhibiting my art, I am a sign maker and a web designer working for a wide variety of clients including museums and art galleries. I live in San Francisco and point my camera at a certain 14 month-old very often these days.

Richard Toledo, Sundancer, Oglala by Summer HS winner Kalpesh Lathigra

Kalpesh Lathigra
Currently residing in London, U.K.

website: www.kalpeshlathigra.com

Work Statement
Alienated and forgotten communities are the subjects of much of my photographic practice. My photographs are a document to give a voice to those who have none. In my ” Lost in the Wilderness” series, I photograph the historical landscapes and portraits of the Lakota Sioux Native Americans on Pine Ridge Reservation, a quiet reflection of a community trying to survive in another America. The influences of Mitch Epstein, Mark Rothko, Robert Frank and Alec Soth prevail.

Bio
Kalpesh Lathigra born in London, England , 1971, to Indian immigrants from east Africa. I studied at a PgDiploma in Photojournalism at London College of Printing. After leaving college I was awarded The Independent newspaper photography scholarship, I spent 5 years shooting for national newspapers in UK, in 2000, awarded World Press Photo prize and switched to magazines and started to pursue long term projects. In 2004/2005 was awarded W.Eugene Smith Fellowship and Churchill Fellowship for Brides of Krishna project. The project was exhibited as part of Another Asia, Noorderlict and Angkor Wat Photofestival, 2005/2006.
My interest in photography was a chance look at Cartier Bresson’s book in India whilst studying a Law degree, which I subsequently quit to pursue photography.

Untitled (Nymphenburg) by Summer HS winner Gregory Krum

Gregory Krum
Currently residing in Brooklyn, NY

website: www.gregorykrum.com

Work Statement
Here are some ideas about the work:

It is in response…that is, in combat. Photographs that explore territories or concepts of control, organization, and security, states of sensitive, deep affection, inference, isolation, complexity, importance, insecurity, vulnerability, bliss, abyss, jouissance…in direct relationship to comfort and rational things, dualism, and our tendency to understand.

It is hopeful and painfully critical. The work wishes to slow down.

The work is at odds with irony.

The work is not a stand-in for language, it is not documentary, however everything existed and nothing is made up, it is not objective, it does not wish to be an essay.

The work wants you to like it. And I think it is a little bit romantic, and perhaps embarrassed.

The prints are about 30� square.

The work seems to wonder: is a gesture of affection at least as important as a scholarly theory.

Bio
I was born in Portland, Oregon and studied Biology, Sculpture and Design there. I have a Masters in Photography from NYU/ICP. I now live in New York.

I began to photograph around 1993 after going to an art school in Italy and studying with the photographer Mark Stienmetz who I like, but who didn’t really believe in me.

Here are some more things about me, in rough chronological order:

I have washed dishes at a truck stop, I have sold sweaters, I have gone to school, I have made coffee, I have checked people’s bags, I have moved away from everyone I know, I have gone to more school, I have arranged for 38,000 people from 82 countries to travel to Beijing, I have fallen in love, I have driven across the country, I have been to my father’s funeral, I have bought millions of dollars of contemporary design, I have been on a plane once every two or three months for the past six years, I have designed an amazing store for the government, I have curated an art show.

Untitled Area Photo (One) by Summer HS winner Beth Herzhaft

Beth Herzhaft
Currently residing in Los Angeles, CA

website: www.bethherzhaft.com

Work Statement
It seems to me that my subject matter has always been the same: the mundane. I should stress, though, that it is always presented in an UN-IRONIC way. While there most certainly is subtle humor in my work, it is not a visual “one liner”….

I am currently working on a series I call “area photography�, an evolving compendium of contemporary landscapes / still life images.

The subject matter I gravitate toward is unspectacular, and the images are a mischievous reaction to “epic� photography. The ambivalence I feel regarding the “monumental� or “significant� in art creates a tension between meaning and meaninglessness that is expressed in this work.

This series is an exploration of the ephemeral, the peripheral. Questions are not answered; the story is implied but never spelled out. My choice of subject and the way I present it highlights incompleteness as the condition of everyday life. In area photography there is no “decisive moment�: what is captured is a comma rather than an exclamation point.

I work in found situations, seeking out unspecific locales. Others may see fit to “de-ordinarize� their imagery, engineering it to produce an unfamiliar or fantastical effect. I reject this convention.

The aesthetic behind area photography is ancient. It is in the overlooked and the rejected, in the margins and empty spaces. The periphery is moved to the center.

Area photography simply says, “What about this?�

It is wisdom that sees the ordinary with amazement. (Lao Tzu)

Bio
Born: 1973…. Shooting is part of the fabric of my life; it is something that is with me at all times…… My mother was a failed musician and my father, my greatest hero, escaped a camp in World War II (Is it reprehensible to forget - or remember - that your captors are also human beings?). I started investigating photography in high school after running away from home.

Some favorites, photographic and otherwise: Friedlander, Tunbjork, Hatakeyama, DeCarava, Eggleston, Herzog, Antonioni, Carver, Shigeru Ban. I am also inspired by randomness, music, modern literature, the 10 cent coffee at Philippe’s,the sound of trains in the distance, the light when there is moisture in the sky, the night landscape when it is overcast, squished pennies, Absinthe, industrial design and sad kermit. I was born and raised in Southern California, which has no shortage of the banal….

Recent cool stuff of note: Two of my images were chosen for the upcoming 2008 AP, which was juried by Kathy Ryan of the New York Times Magazine….. Twelve of my area photos are also in the current “Sin” themed issue of TOPIC mag online…… Lastly, there is a five page feature I photographed in the current Filter Mag (article is on the musician St. Vincent, who plays with Sufjan Stevens and The Polyphonic Spree)

More of my images can be seen at http://www.bethherzhaft.com

CSAV Chicago, New York by Summer HS winner Shuli Hallak

Shuli Hallak
Currently residing in New York, NY

website: www.shulihallak.com

Work Statement
I’ve been fascinated both visually and conceptually with Industrial sites since I was very young, especially cargo ships and ports, constantly amazed to think that these are the structures that operate the world on many levels. When I started the Cargo project, initially I gravitated towards the formal qualities of stacked containers. But I quickly turned my attention to the infrastructure of the cargo shipping world, photographing huge ships as they move in and out of ports and the movement of the containers. I realized that as consumers who depend on these goods that come from overseas, we have almost no understanding of how things get here.

Using a 4×5 camera and as well as a medium format camera (for those tricky, hard to access places), I spent almost 2 years photographing at the New York Container Terminal in Staten Island. In order to understand fully what it takes to move containers, I joined the M.V. Charles Island, a cargo ship, for almost 2 weeks on a trip from NY through the Panama Canal to Ecuador.

The resulting photographs reveal an almost invisible network of human and technological activity.

For me, it’s always about the big picture and trying to understand how things work. Photography is my process of discovery and that expression of fascination with what I find.

Bio
Shuli Hallak, Born in Israel, 1977. Moved to NY in 1981. Started learning photography at the age of 15: how to use a manual camera, load film, process b&w film and darkroom printing. I loved learning the technical aspects of photography and am passionate about photography ever since.

Education
2005 School of Visual Arts, MFA, Photography
1999 Washington University, BA, Philosophy

Exhibitions
2006 Adventura, Moti Hasson Gallery, New York, NY
Cargo, Soho House and KiptonART, New York, NY
2005 Cargo, Gallery Kayafas, Boston, MA
Traffic, Exit Art, New York, NY
See What I Mean?, SVA Thesis Show, Visual Arts Gallery, New York, NY
Control is Power, W Times Square & KiptonART, New York, NY

Awards
2007 PDN’s 30
Santa Fe Prize Nominee

Publications
2007 PDN, “30 Emerging Photographers to Watch.� March 2007
2006 Emperor of Steel, Fortune Magazine, July 2006
2005 How the World Really Works, Fortune Magazine 75th Anniversary, September 2005
Fortune China, November 2005
American Shipper, April 2005

Museum Auctions:
2006 Noble Maritime Collection, Staten Island, NY
2005 DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park, Lincoln, MA

Bartender by Summer HS winner Jonathan Gitelson

Jonathan Gitelson
Currently residing in Chicago, IL

website: http://www.thegit.net

Work Statement
I started taking pictures in 1996 while studying literature at Marlboro College in VT. I have since gone on to complete my M.F.A. at Columbia College in Chicago.

My work consists of a variety of projects which focus on the minutiae of everyday life. I work in a variety of media ranging from photographs to artist’s books to videos to web based pieces.

Four people who have recently inspired me are Sophie Calle, Michel Gondry, Miranda July and Tom Friedman.

The photographs that I am submitting are from my artist’s book entitled, “Dream Job.” I scanned the local want ads and then digitally inserted my dream jobs (one per page). The accompanying photographs are meant to represent the person who would answer the imagined ad.

Prints from this series have been acquired by The Museum of Fine Arts Houston, The Milwaukee Art Museum and the Lasalle Bank collection.

Bio
I was born (1975) and raised in Mount Kisco, NY. I attended college at Marlboro College in Vermont where I majored in Literature and Photography (1997). Following college, I moved to Guatemala where I taught photography and later moved on to live in Boston and Philadelphia before moving to Chicago in 2001.

I received my M.F.A. from Columbia College in 2004 and have since worked as an adjunct professor at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Columbia College and The University of Illinois Chicago.

Since graduating in 2004, I have regularly exhibited throughout the US, Canada and Europe. I have also had work acquired by numerous institutions (most recently The Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago) and have published my work regularly (most recently in the Spring issue of Camera Austria).

I am also currently working on a public art commission for the Chicago Transit Authority which will result in a 10′ x 45′ permanent glass and mosaic mural in the Armitage Brown Line subway station.

Iran Series - Memories by Summer HS winner Afshin Dehkordi

Afshin Dehkordi
Currently residing in Woking, U.K.

Work Statement
Afshin Dehkordi studied Mathematics at University College London, followed by post graduate studies at Harvard. Following a brief spell assisting he won a merit in the Association of Photographers award. His clients, commissions and publications include, the BBC, UN, the Observer, Penguin Books, Intersection Magazine and the QSM Museum.

While producing a new body of work on Iran Afshin is at the time of writing also involved with:
“Re-loading Images Berlin/Tehran” - an exchange of young artists working with media art, design and installation between Berlin and Tehran. It will include a preliminary weblog, a workshop, seminars, a final presentation and documentation. The exchange project will take place over a period of three weeks in both cities.

“Youth in the Countryside� - a European photography project in which 25 young photographers from eight European nations will work together. Topics attend social and cultural differences and similarities as well as the chances, changes and identity of young Europeans. The project creates a European network of photographers that contribute with their work to diversity, civil society and understanding among nations. The work will be presented to a pan-European audience through a touring exhibition and book.

Bio
Afshin came to the UK at the age of three, following the Iranian Revolution of 1978. The UK has been his adopted home ever since. He started taking images in his teens, borrowing his parents Canon AE1P. Shortly thereafter he built a darkroom at home and taught himself photography and printing.