Tree Tops, from the series Somewhere in Israel, by Curtis Mann

Good Wednesday, collectors. I am rushing off to a jam-packed day so I'm going to keep my introduction to today's edition relatively brief. (Shocking, I know.)

Treetops from a series by Curtis Mann called Somewhere in Israel, is another body of work that explores the idea of photographs as objects . (Last week's edition by Kent Rogowski dealt with similar themes, producing an entirely different result.) Curtis does a great job of explaining what he's up to in his statement, so I'll let him speak for himself:

...found photographs of unfamiliar and conflicted places throughout the Middle East and Northern Africa are subjected to a process of selection and erasure. By simply painting on enlarged color photographs with clear acrylic and then bleaching the image with household Clorox bleach, a new and abstract meaning is being forced out of these family snapshots, travel photographs and casual documentations.

The photograph is physically and contextually altered; as a result, the work has the ability to oscillate between image and object, photography and painting, real and imagined. I am constantly trying to force the medium to function outside of its initial utility and use its malleable nature as a way of coming to an ulterior understanding of the complex and the unfamiliar. This new reading attempts to shift and expand the limits on how we perceive and understand the fragmented world in which the photograph attempts to represent.

Today is a big day for Curtis; in addition to making his 20x200 debut, he's got a big opening in New York tonight. The Ubiquitous Image, curated by Aperture publisher and Hey, Hot Shot! panelist Lesley Martin, includes several images from this series. The show is one of the four main exhibitions that are the centerpiece of The New York Photo Festival.

Tonight's opening is the first of a flurry events happening over the next few days, including the aforementioned Curating 2.0 panel that I'm participating in on Friday. Curtis is a Hot Shot who first showed with me back in Fall 2005 and is, as of this writing, a 20x200 artist. In other words: he's a perfect example of my 2.0 curatorial practice. I couldn't think of a better day to introduce his work to all of you!

Having introduced you, I'll take my leave till tomorrow. That's right tomorrow! In case you've forgotten (or didn't read that far) we're doing a special bonus edition tomorrow to benefit SFJAZZ. This means even more art for everyone, and that should be music to your ears.