Contact High by Jeff Lewis | Untitled (Let's Get Lost) by Shaun Sundholm | 87 Suns from Flickr - 29 Visible by Penelope Umbrico | 79 Moons from Flickr - 51 Visible by Penelope Umbrico | The Drive with Christine by Chad Muthard | Squeeze by Gary Peterson | Shill by David Corbett | Globe by Rachel Hulin

Happy *hot* Tuesday collectors! It's finally feeling like summer around here but thankfully our second guest curator, the brilliant Lesley A. Martin, publisher at Aperture Books, has selected a gorgeous set that's all about getting away. Like she said as we were chatting it up last week, wouldn't we all like "a few more sunny beautiful 'lost days' before this summer ends"?

We get into deep (deep space!) conversation about her selections—and you can read on below and check the blog for the full conversation—but first, some news of note for you dear newsletter subscribers.

[Oops! Sorry, if you didn't get full details about the discounted editions in your inbox, make sure you're signed up for the 20x200 newsletter so you'll get the scoop on list-only specials and new guest curator selections next time. Don't miss out again!]

You'll also see that if you do the math, we're offering Lesley's entire set for a steal— snatch up all the prints for $2,500! While you're stocking your home with art, check out Aperture's site as well: their Summer Blockbuster Sale is in full force, offering 15% off limited-edition photographs and already-reduced books. Just enter APADV9 at checkout.

And, without further ado:

Lesley: Hola!
Jen: Hi there, long time no IM, or talk at all! How are you? I was really pleased by your selection because it was totally unexpected.
Lesley: Really?
Jen: I mean I did expect the Umbricos, of course. But I love the other selections you made and how they look together.
Lesley: I'm glad. I thought the selections might be somewhat expected but I couldn't help it—they all fell together pretty naturally and followed a nice thread—in my mind in any case.
Jen: I'm curious about the Let's Get Lost inclusion.
Lesley: That image resonates for me on several levels. First of all, I really, really wouldn't mind a few more sunny beautiful "lost days" before this summer ends. Second of all, how can I resist the Chet Baker reference? It's slightly paraphrased, but still... And well, in this case, it's a nice double layering of places where jazz and photography overlap. The Bruce Weber film, Chet Baker and a cool image that kinda brings these things together in a way that makes me think: yes, please, why DON'T we just get lost. It is the jumping off point for the rest of the selection.
Jen: You jazzy lady, you. That is true. What I really love, and what reinforces my feeling about it being a good idea for CURATORS to make selections from our archives, is the rosy glow you coaxed out of them.
............
Jen: Let's talk about the non-photo selections.
Lesley: Sure.
Jen: So Gary Petersen—who is a super nice guy by the way—and David Corbett: they're both working in/out of strong traditions, building on abstract-expressionism and minimalism. But also, there's a really clever interplay between the two and in an odd way, now that I look at it, Jeff Lewis's work is sort of alike.
Lesley: I love the way David Corbett uses the frame.
Jen: They all have that curvature in common, and yet: three totally different treatments of the surface...
Lesley: Curvy and roundness, yes—but the motion within each image pulls the eye in unique ways.
Jen: I moved ahead in my head, and started looking at all the orbs. Jeff leading me to Rachel, and back around to Penelope's and then putting Chad's piece in there.
Lesley: I got into it. Really, the theme is, in fact, escape. But yeah, the orbs were a key visual motif. This is one of those things that I had to work against, truth be told...
............
Jen: Well, this imagery is certainly celestial, literally and figuratively. But the inclusion of Chad makes it about light rather than shape, in my mind, maybe light AND shape, but when I start or end with him, it's more about that—light.
Lesley: What I like about the mix of the photos and the other mediums, is that the non-photographic material contributes movement and dynamism—the shape and motion thing. And then, for me, the photo-based work contributed an underlying narrative. It truly is about escape.
Jen: Dreamy and kinetic—all at once. You're a freaking GENIUS I say!
Lesley: Aw shucks, I just like to read the tea leaves.
Jen: Yeah, it's a little weird for me to ask people to go through what I've selected and re-sift them.
Lesley: It felt really good to me, to be able to manifest a particular mood based on the possibilities. There are a lot of possibilities for interpretation—I could have gone in several different directions. I started out thinking along the lines of a tech-driven theme—Mark Richards, for example.
Jen: Right. I like that you went for something abstract, and I like how every time I look at it, I notice some different interplay.
Lesley: Yay! I'll also add that some of my other favorites, the Rogowski and the Mann, were on the blog last week, so I didn't pick them. But they're my two favorites not within my theme of inter-planetary escape!
............
Jen: So, what do we listen to on the intergalactic Lesley Martin trip? Any particular track or album?
Lesley: Sun Ra! Sun Ra Visits Planet Earth + Interstellar Low Ways.
Jen: Nice.
Lesley: Space is The Place. Ok. Back to reality though. This was fun!