Image from Nina Berman's Homeland series

20x200 documentary photographer Nina Berman (and former Hot Shot! and Ultra) has work up in the gallery as we speak. Nina was kind enough to take the time to answer a few questions for us for this week's interview.

As a participant in 20x200 you must be interested in making art available in affordable ways, what is your philosophy on this?
I'm mystified by the valuation of art. When I go to galleries, I often walk out wondering why something is valued at $30,000 instead of $3,000 or
$300. It seems to me based on hype and what the market will bear and so something like 20x200 which flies in the face of all of that, is a breath of fresh air.

Image from Nina Berman's Purple Hearts series

How has participating in Hey, Hot Shot! furthered your art career?
I had shown my Purple Hearts and Marine Wedding pictures at many venues in the U.S. and Europe, but hadn't had the opportunity to show in a gallery space in New York. Hey, Hot Shot! allowed me to do that very quickly.

Image from Nina Berman's Marine Wedding series

Do you have a favorite painter?
Francis Bacon and Gerhard Richter

Photographer?
Ray Metzker

Musician?
Miles Davis, Patti Smith and Antony and the Johnsons.

Author?
Franz Kafka and Junot Diaz. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is spectacular. Read it.

Image from Nina Berman's Under Taliban series
How do the above influence/inspire your art (if at all)?
They mainly influence me by showing me what brilliance looks and sounds like.

Top 20x200 artists?
I like Andrew Hetherington, Colin Blakely, Laura Levine and Amy Park.

Do you collect art?
I have a few photographs taken by friends, and two paintings, one I bought at a NYFA auction and one I purchased at a residential facility for people with mental illness.

Image from Nina Berman's Megachurches series

Describe a perfect day:
Taking a picture I had never imagined in a place I had just encountered, and then finding somewhere near there a place that had really good ice cream.

When did you first feel a calling to be an artist?
When I realized that the journalism world was too straight for my tastes.

What would be the first thing I'd notice upon entering your studio?
Chaos and clutter in a cramped space.

What are you working on now?
I'm working on moving my Homeland exhibition around.

What are you looking forward to?
A New York City real estate crash.

Wouldn't that be nice?!
Thanks, Nina!

If you're in New York, swing on by the gallery to see images from Nina's Homeland series. The show will be up through November 15th.

Also be sure to read more about Nina on the The NYMPHOTO Blog.

Nina's website
Nina's 20x200 editions:
9-11-02
G.I. Goat
Nina's images on JenBekman.com