December 2009 Archives

28 Camera Drawings by Christine Berrie

Photographer's Dilemma by Tatsuro Kiuchi

Tuesday greetings, collectors, and a very happy first day of December to you! It's Youngna here today in complete disbelief that we are in the final month of 2009, heading full speed towards the bustle of the holidays. Today also kicks off the very first of our 12 Days of Festivus: that's twelve consecutive weekdays of new editions embedded with extra-special deals just for you. If you did not pick up a print (or two or three) during yesterday's 200-minute-Cyber-Monday sale, do not fret, we have lots more opportunities coming your way starting right now with another very-limited-200-minute-special:

Take 20% off your first $50 print 'till 6:45 EST this evening!

Enter 20x50x at Google checkout to apply the discount code. As usual, you, our newsletter subscribers, get early access to this Festivus code and only after you've had first dibs on your favorite $50 prints, will we start spreading the word 'round the internets (at 3:25 p.m.).

Today's two new editions Photographer's Dilemma and 28 Camera Drawings come from two international illustrators: Tatsuro Kiuchi, who makes his home in Japan, and Christine Berrie, who resides in Scotland. Though neither of these artists are shutterbugs themselves, their affection for the nobs and bolts that comprise cameras—and the memories these instruments capture—manifest in chromatically rich representations of the photographer's beloved tool.

For Christine, whose previous editions Industrial Part 1 and Industrial Part 2, colorfully articulate the inner-workings of switches, wires, sockets, pipes and electrical boxes, her typology of these twenty-eight vintage cameras further speaks to her love for deconstructing gadgets and gizmos down to each lever and dial. She also acknowledges both the collector and nerd in each of us, selecting to depict models like the Polaroid Land Camera 1000 whose trademark rainbow stripes emanate from beneath the lens and the Ilford Sprite 35, a boxy, cheap 35mm model of the 1940s that came with a distinct and propriety snap-on flash gun.

Besides, who among us did not rejoice when learning that The Impossible Project, the organization formed to fire up an old Polaroid factory and restart production of instant film succeeded in garnering enough support for their mission? The idea of losing these sentimental tools tugs on real heartstrings. And, even more than physically wanting to have these old cameras and packs of film in our hands, we want to know that they are still available to us.

Tatsuro, whose In the Ballpark you saw here during the Yankees' victory in the World Series, depicts a photographer buried beneath rubble with camera in hands. His photographer faces a crisis of seeing, separated from the context of what the camera is aiming to shoot. The arm reaches up, aiming blindly, hoping to catch a beautiful frame. The photographer may or may not capture the imagined shot, but as always, the proof is in the pudding.

Whether you are a collector, artist, typologist, photoblogger, gadget-lover, vintage electronics expert, Flickr fiend or friend of any-of-the-above, look no further for the perfect collectibles in 2-D brought to you by Tatsuro and Christine.

Before we take off for the day, we want to remind to you stay tuned every day this week for brand-new editions and lots of art-fully fresh steals and deals. And, tell your friends; they're missing out!

Las Vegas, Nevada, November 2000 by Mike Sinclair

Greetings, collectors! It's Youngna here once again on Day 2 of our 12 Days of Festivus with Las Vegas, Nevada, November 2000, our third photograph from Hot Shot Mike Sinclair. Jen is down in Miami, where she and Associate Director of JBG, Jeffrey Teuton, have traded Mike's evergreens for palm trees and are busily setting up the gallery's booth at the PULSE Miami Contemporary Art Fair. Paintings by Sarah McKenzie will be on view, so if you too are in Miami, then stop by Booth I-107 at The Ice Palace to say hello! The fair opens with a VIP preview at 10 a.m. tomorrow, December 3rd, and remains open through Sunday, the 6th at 7:00 p.m.

For all of you here in newsletter-land, we have another 200-minute special, right here and right now:

Refer a new collector to 20x200, and he or she gets 20% off his or her first purchase of $50 or more. YOU get a $20 gift certificate for sending a friend our way! The offer ends at 8:05 PM EST tonight!

For more details, click here.

Las Vegas, Nevada, like Mike's other two editions Fourth of July #2, Independence, Missouri and Rodeo Stars, Strong City, Kansas, is a celebration of American rituals. He observes the unusual solitude of a Christmas tree lot on a dusky winter's day, free of the hubbub of families prodding over which tree to strap onto the station wagon. The lot is centered around a pole emanating with twinkly lights that act as a veritable canopy of stars above the evergreens. An inadvertent path of parched grass forms in between the trees, leading directly to the vision of a rising subdivision in the background.

The dusky clouds are a saccharine backdrop to the trees, imbuing the image with a distinctly Western aspect. I am reminded of the 2009 MoMA exhibition, Into the Sunset: Photography's Image of the American West, a collection of 150 photographs dating back to 1850. In that show, the West's mythic history acts as a catalyst for unprecedented expansion and a frontier for discovering America's natural beauty. At the same time, we are confronted by the grimmer realities of the imprint of man, forever changing the landscape.

Mike writes of Las Vegas, observing that even in this captured moment of stillness, it too is ever-changing:

The town was growing like crazy—its population almost doubled between 1990 and 2000. It was changing so fast I feared much of what we saw would be gone by my next visit. Not only were the old casinos being replaced with new ones but on the perimeter of town new subdivisions were starting to replace the small ranches, trailer homes and Christmas tree lots.

But, Mike also follows suit with an optimistic note—that this transformation is a blend of both old and new, and that the pink-blue sky, forever swirling, is a portal into the beautiful and unknown.

With that, we'll be back tomorrow with two new prints from a 20x200 favorite that are very beautiful indeed. Hint, hint: think books!

Both Jen and Jeffery are down at PULSE in Miami, which officially kicks off with a VIP preview this morning. They're showing off the work of our fabulous artists in Jen Bekman Gallery's booth, but this isn't the only place at the fairs to find your favorite JBP artists.

Jason Polan, who has done more editions than can be counted on one hand, will be presenting two-books-worth of new drawings called Pick Pleasure at Melanie Flood Projects's booth.

Pick Pleasure
Opening Thursday December 3, 3009 from 4:00pm to 7:00pm
Melanie Flood Projects
at The Tropics Hotel
Miami Beach, Florida

Five-time edition-maker Juliane Eirich will also be showing works from her Korea Diaries and Hale Kula series as part of a group show called NEXTBERLINGENERATION. Gallery Schuster writes that Juliane is "a young photographer who has recently been granted various awards and found her way into major collections and art magazine publications."

An inspiring group show of young and upcoming artists from Germany’s art capital. This show will present a mix of all media, including sculptures, objects, installations, photography, video and also painting. Contributing artists will be Benjamin Dewor, Xenia Fink, Julia Freisleben, Gerit Koglin, Marcel Kröner, Juliane Eirich, Lina Faller, Andreas Geisselhardt, Karen Irmer, Jangyoung Jung, Florian Langmaack, Oliver Pietsch, Marek Schovanek and Kestutis Svirnelis.

NEXTBERLINGENERATION
Berlin Meets Miami at the new Gallery Schuster
From Dec 3rd through 6th, 2009
Gallery Schuster Miami
2085 B NW 2nd Avenue / Corner 21st Street
Miami, FL 33127

Site* by Sarah McKenzie

Last but certainly not least, we're in booth I-107 with paintings by Sarah McKenzie as well as works by Ian Baguskas, Mara Bodis Wollner, Christian Chaize, Beth Dow, Joseph O. Holmes, Gregory Krum, Holly Lynton, Carrie Marill, Brad Moore, Hosang Park, Colleen Plumb, Jason Polan, Kent Rogowski and Carlo Van de Roer.

Have a great time at the fairs, hope to see you there!

*There is just ONE 30"x40" edition of Site left before it is completely sold out! Get it now!

Ideal Bookshelf 5, TRE by Jane Mount

Ideal Bookshelf 6, GW by Jane Mount

Happy Thursday, our third day of Festivus at 20x200! It's Sara (it's Day One at PULSE Miami!*) with two new prints from Jane Mount: Ideal Bookshelf 5, TRE and Ideal Bookshelf 6, GW. Jen gave Jane a deservedly glowing introduction way back when we first started working with her and now, you can see all of the prints we've produced with Jane since, including the original works she created with Jason Polan.

Jane has offered to create a new original painting for one lucky collector, which brings us to today's 200-minute special:

One of the first twenty collectors to make an order of $200 or more by 6:35 p.m. EST (200 minutes** away!) will have his or her own ideal bookshelf painted by Jane.
**Newsletter readers get an hour jump!

From the first twenty to collect $200 (or more!) of art today, we'll randomly select one and Jane will turn her pencils, brush and palette onto his or her top tomes, just as she did in both of these bookshelves—the latest in a series that we rolled out in August. While that first shelf served to gather her favorite books from childhood, this time around she's put her paintbrush on the most cherished books of two friends, Tina Roth Eisenberg, mother, designer and blogger, and George Weld, a chef and restaurateur in Brooklyn.

In Ideal Bookshelf 5, TRE, Tina, aka swissmiss, collected her daughter's most sought-after reads. Among the allocations are a stash of Dr. Seusses, animal and alphabet tales, and the classic This is New York by Miroslav Sasek.

In Ideal Bookshelf 6, GW, Jane documented George's favorite cookbooks. A darn-good chef in his own right—I'll second Jane's notions about Egg—George's shelf reflects a hearty respect for those who came before him and continue to raise the gastronomic bar for restaurants across the country: the venerable Alice Waters of Chez Panisse, Marcus Samuelsson of NYC's Aquavit and Thomas Keller of French Laundry.

Now that you know a little more about the mysterious TRE and GW, you should be aptly prepared for an exclusive little easter egg hunt we've put together for you dear newsletter readers only**: the first 20 people to answer both of the following questions correctly will get a $10 20x200 gift certificate:

1) Where is the farm that Egg sources their ham from?
2) What was the first 20x200 edition that swissmiss blogged about?
As always, email us at easteregg AT 20x200 DOT com with the correct answers as quickly as you can! We'll announce all the winners, including the taker-home of one of Jane's original works in tomorrow's newsletter, so stay tuned.

Jane's earlier sets of shelves, as shown in Bookshelf 20 and Bookshelf 29, offer no clue to the identity of the owners aside from the books themselves. The books here were painted as they were found, in-situ (ala Mickey Smith). The subjects of these paintings did not have the opportunity, as Tina and George did, to put their best face forward and curate their selections. If we are what we read, we might think that the owner of 29 has regularly drawn, doodled or diaried into dozens of Moleskines and 20 is a fan of great architecture and design but beyond that, our ability to read them as portraits is greatly influenced by our own relationships with the books that Jane found on their shelves. And as Jane points out, there is joy in finding things that you love among others' things, an instant kinship of sorts.

So, I have to say, if you know bookish types—parents, foodies kids- or cooks-at-heart, what better gift than a print that blends the things you both love? Good art and great books!

* Jen's still down south proudly presenting the work of Sarah McKenzie. Yesterday, we wrongly cited the body of work that JBG is showing as Site. Site is actually the title of Sarah's super popular edition—there's only one print left—based on the original that was exhibited in Worlds Away at the Walker Art Center. Apologies to you all for any confusion and huge apologies to Ms. McKenzie! Jen'll be back to share some beachy bliss with you tomorrow!<

**Hey blog readers! Don't miss out on another chance for a gift certificate and other deals like this one. Sign up for the newsletter!

Untitled by Gary Petersen

Edition-maker Gary Petersen, whose painting Mixup is currently hanging in Mixtape at Jen Bekman Gallery, is included in a group show called Casheesh Two! which opens tomorrow at the Geoffrey Young Gallery in Great Barrington, MA. The show is up for just two weeks up, so if you're in New York, take a scenic drive three hours north and check out the show!

Casheesh Two!
Reception: December 5th, 5:30 - 7:30pm
Gallery Hours: Friday - Sunday, 11 - 5
Geoffrey Young Gallery
40 Railroad St.
Great Barrington, MA 01230

Or perhaps you'd like to take a hop across the pond, in which case two-time edition-maker Luke Stephenson* will be exhibiting photographs of puppets from his series Stanelli's Super Circus at Exit Gallery in London.

Stanelli's Super Circus
December 12, 2009 - January 16, 2010
Exit Gallery at Claire de Rouen Books
First Floor
121-125 Charing Cross Road
London WC2 0EW

*Luke has just one last print available on 20x200 before his edition is completely sold out, so grab it while you still can!

Praia Piquinia 06/08/09 14h01 by Christian Chaize

Praia Piquinia 27/08/09 15h17 by Christian Chaize

Sunny greetings from Miami, collector friends! It's been a whole week since we last met on the interwebs. We're all heading into a busy weekend but I have a 20x200-minute special (that's 4000 minutes for all you mathematicians out there) to last you till Monday. Read on for details! While I do appreciate our virtual relationship, there's nothing like meeting face-to-face—if you happen to be here at PULSE, stop by booth I-107 in The Ice Palace. Sarah McKenzie's paintings adorning our cove are gorgeous and we have some treats stashed away in the flat files too. Among the eye-candy are two exhibition prints from Mr. Christian Chaize. I can't urge you strongly enough to come see them! Like today's stunning send-ups, Praia Piquinia 27/08/09 15h17 and Praia Piquinia 06/08/09 14h01, to the two editions we released last year, the photos we have on hand are exquisitely produced c-prints, a process that lends them exceptional lusciousness.

These prints are entirely DISARMING; even my most art-critical friends have fallen for them. If it sounds like I'm gushing, I may be, just a bit. I've been living with one of Christian's prints in my own home and fall in love with it a little more every day. And, I want all of you to have this same experience. I'm tireless in saying 'live with art, it's good for you!' because I mean it.

So today, I'm offering the opportunity to collect all four of Christian's 24"x20" editions for the price of three. Really! That's $2000 of art for $1500! While I have room for just one of Christian's prints in my tiny abode, with this series, the more the merrier. Check out the installation shots from Chaize's show at the gallery to see what I'm talking about.

You'll have the entire weekend to take me up on this extra-special special—officially, 20x200 minutes or until 9:50 a.m. EST Monday morning*.

For all of you back in the bleachers, today's 20x200-minute special:

Collect all four of Christian Chaize's $500 24"x20" Praia Piquinia editions, for the price of three, until 9:50 a.m. EST Monday, December 7th*. Enter code 4for3xCC at Google checkout.

Why am I making such a big deal out of these prints AND offering such a great deal on them? Because even as I'm here in Miami, jogging on the beach with Ms. Sarah McKenzie and soaking in the real-life ocean views (truly enjoyable, even for non-athlete me!)—they pale in comparison to Christian's vistas—I miss seeing my Chaize print! He's translated his own intimate knowledge of this particular stretch of seaside in Portugal so fluently that I feel as if it could be part of my own personal history, even though I've never been there. After having this art on my wall for nearly a year now, it has, in a different way, become a part of my life and my story. Praia Piquinia conjures that oft-referred-to sense of nostalgia for something I've never really known. And although I can't put my finger on it, it's actually something I do know—I know this place, or this sense of place, because, as I wrote last year, Chaize's photographs are less about humanity and more about being human.

Collect them all I say!

Before I bid you all adieu for the weekend, I have the names of the lucky winners from yesterday's easter egg and original art giveaway. Drum-roll please!

And the winners of a $10 20x200 gift certificate are: B. Mack, Nate Lipscomb, Reid Draeger, Philip Nathan, Eliza Thomson, Denise Wong, Clare McParland, Tom Cole and Chris White. Congrats! And dum-dum, da-dum-dum, dum-dum-dum-dum-dum-dum: Jeanine Brennan's bookshelf will be painted by Ms. Jane Mount! Ms. Kika Gilbert will be emailing you all with the details about your prizes.

* Due to limited quantities, this offer is available to the first 20 collectors, or for as long as prints are available.

To live with you alone, Red Boiling Springs, Tennessee by Taj Forer

Blind Spot, the tri-annual journal of photography, is holding their annual benefit auction next Tuesday, December 15th at the X Initiative space in Chelsea. If you're not familiar with Blind Spot, they're a wonderful non-profit whose mission is to present new photographic work by living photographers in a context unhindered by commercial or editorial content. In the spirit of Blind Spot, I'll refrain from rambling and get to the point. Check out this jaw-dropping list of photographers whose work is on the block:

Michele Abeles, John Baldessari, Davide Balula, Lawrence Beck, Richard Benson, Walead Beshty, Mark Borthwick, Marco Breuer, Jane Rule Burdine, Peter Coffin, Lois Conner, Sam Contis, Reuben Cox, Moyra Davey, Tim Davis, Constance DeJong, Wijnanda Deroo, Dru Donovan, Barbara Ess, Roe Ethridge, Sam Falls, Robert Flynt, Taj Forer, Brendan Fowler, Jason Fulford, Chris Gentile, Jim Goldberg, Daniel Gordon, Bryan Graf, Amy Granat, Gary Green, Janice Guy, Hans Haacke, Estelle Hanania, Christina Hejtmanek, Corin Hewitt, Katie Holten, Peter Holzhauer, Susanna Howe, Whitney Hubbs, Gemma Hart Ingalls, Jodie Vicenta Jacobson, Ron Jude, Matt Keegan, David La Spina, Zoe Leonard, Jonathan Lewis, Miranda Lichtenstein, Matt Lipps, Catherine Maloney, Tanya Marcuse, Glynnis McDaris, David Melrose, Richard Mosse, Katherine Newbegin, John O, Boru O'Brien O'Connell, Arthur Ou, Ted Partin, Isabel Penzlien, Bradley Peters, Matthu Placek, Matthew Porter, Mariah Roberts, Amanda Ross-Ho, Hanna Sandin, Noah Sheldon, David Benjamin Sherry, Stephen Shore, Susan Silton, Roman Signer, Colin Smith, Rebecca Soderholm, Matthew Spiegelman, Elaine Stocki, Joe Mama-Nitzberg, Marc Swanson, Josh Tonsfeldt, Michael Vahrenwald, Sara Vanderbeek, Catherine Wagner, James Welling, Angela West, Ida Weygandt, Hannah Whitaker, Grant Willing, Katherine Wolkoff, Brenna Youngblood, Wintergarten LTD, and more!

Among some of the world's most renowned photographers, you might recognize our own 20x200 edition-maker Taj Forer. In fact, Taj's print being auctioned is from the same Threefold Sun series that we pulled his two 20x200 editions* from.

If you haven't already rushed off to buy your ticket, a preview of the lineup is available online. And even if you can't make it to New York for the sure-to-be-show-stopping live auction, you can register ahead of time to bid online or by fax. Word on the street is that Ms. Jen Bekman herself, who is serving on the benefit committee, will so be there.

Blind Spot 2009 Benefit Auction
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
7:00-9:30pm: Cocktails, Hors d'Oeuvres & Silent Auction
8:00pm: Live Auction
X Initiative Space
548 West 22nd Street NYC 10011

*Most sizes of Taj's two gorgeous editions To live with you alone, Red Boiling Springs, Tennessee and Boots and raincoats, San Diego, California are available on 20x200.

Residential Web by Amy Casey

Happy Monday, collectors! Jen is just getting back to NYC from PULSE Miami, so it's Sara today. Residential Web is painter Amy Casey's 20x200 debut and I'm super excited to share her work with you. Her paintings work beautifully when they're reincarnated as prints, as you'll see for yourself. In keeping with the intimate scale of her original, we're releasing this edition in 10"x8", 14"x11" and 20"x16" sizes only.

We're also happy to introduce gift packaging, which makes giving (not to mention getting!) 20x200 art that much sweeter. Starting today, you can have prints 11"x14" and smaller* sent in our spiffy new gift packaging—we're rather smitten with the custom-embossed blue portfolios and their accompanying gift cards, and we think you'll be too! We'll also enclose a personal message from you printed on a 20x200 card. Today's 200-minute special is devised to ensure that lots of you get a taste of this gifting good-life PDQ and for free! After you've picked your prints, add gift packaging to your order, then enter 200xPORTFOLIO at Google checkout.

Enter 200xPORTFOLIO at Google checkout for FREE gift packaging until 6:05 p.m. EST tonight.

We're only extending this offer to the first 200 collectors (one free portfolio per collector!) and as usual, all of you newsletter readers have the first chance to get your orders in! So hop to it! Everyone else will be given the heads up an hour after you get this notice in your inbox.

And as always, you're among the first to see this print by Cleveland-based Ms. Casey. The houses in Residential Web appear to be flying through the air, signs of disaster and general chaos, touching on a very personal feeling of helplessness in the grand scheme of the universe. As Amy writes: "Feeling a small, useless painter, I created an alternate world that I can menace with difficulties while simultaneously trying my best to stick it back together and rebuild communities and connections."

As artists and as individuals, it's easy to question the ability we all have to affect change and make things better. But, unlike Dorothy's flying home in the Wizard of Oz, these houses are all connected. So when the wind stops blowing and the dust begins to settle, these little lifelines will guide a return to order and safety. The communities that we build, both literally—in our towns and cities— and metaphorically—with friends, family and neighbors— are what saves us. As you're out and about re-connecting with friends and family far and wide over the next few weeks, you may also have the chance to see Amy's work in person. Her work is currently on view in Zg Gallery's Office Space in Chicago through December 31st and will be on view at Michael Rosenthal Gallery in San Francisco beginning January 16th. If you're neither here nor there, rest assured, we'll continue to bring fresh art through the ever-connected internets! Six more days of Festivus left!

* All prints in a single order will be included in the same portfolio. You can give one or several prints to the same recipient!

Our very own iPhone sketcher Jorge Colombo, whose eight 20x200 editions have become instant classics, recently placed second in TIME Magazine's top 10 magazine covers of the year!

Of Jorge's iconic New Yorker cover, Arthur Hochstein writes,

No homage here — this cover is a true original. New Yorker covers are often topical, and they are known for their wit and keen cultural timing. But several times a year, they just run covers that capture the New York–ness of America's greatest city. This cover found a groundbreaking way to do that, featuring a piece by illustrator-designer Jorge Colombo that was created on an iPhone applicaton called Brushes. If it had been done just for novelty's sake, it would be noteworthy but not significant. But this illustration meets the impeccable standards of New Yorker covers — an accomplishment in any medium.

But that's not all! After a year spent drawing city landscapes for 20x200 and for The New Yorker, Jorge will be embarking on a new project: creating digital sets for an Off-Broadway ballet called Nutcracker: Rated R on his iPhone. "It's the first time I have done this kind of thing," he writes. "My projected images will dance along with the performers, and I can only hope it all works out -- the whole process is being created from scratch." We're crossing our fingers for Jorge here at 20x200!

Tickets to Nutcracker: Rated R, which opens on December 17th, are going to sell out fast so head over to Jorge's site to reserve yours today.

Dandelion Clothesline, Santiago, Chile by William Lamson

Icicle Intervention, Victor, Idaho by William Lamson

Hello collectors, Sara here on this blustery, wintery day! We're well into the holiday season; white lights are strung up 'round the city and the chilly air is laced with the earthy-sweet smell of pine trees. The warm, languorous summer days we spent planning today's editions are long gone. But in these two photographs, Brooklyn-based artist William Lamson presents a bit of both seasons. The ethereal Dandelion Clothesline, Santiago, Chile and clever Icicle Intervention, Victor, Idaho also represent Lamson's ingenious sense of fun—and playful attitude towards art making.

Also fun!? Our 12 Days of Festivus! We're onto day eight which means that our two-plus weeks of great deals and fresh art in your inbox are coming to a close soon—next Wednesday to be exact. And SUPER fun? Our Artist Gift Guides! We're unveiling three today from Jane Mount, Mike Monteiro and Jorge Colombo! Check them out to see what art these guys love to give. Then, move on to today's special where the giving and getting get even better:

Be one of the first 200 collectors to purchase both 11"x14" Lamson prints in the next 200 minutes and get a $10 gift certificate. Offer ends at 5:05 p.m. EST.*

Both photographs are from his series Interventions, where in addition to stringing dandelions over a taught line and affixing a balloon to the end of a dagger-like icicle, he's defied gravity and authority by: obstructing a security camera with a balloon, vertically balancing two cut trees stump to stump, wedging an upright mattress into a tire, constructing a ladder from bananas and hoisting shopping carts overhead so that they are kissing in an alley. Lamson's also created short videos of some of his projects. My favorite films several sunken balloons as they emerge from a hazy horizon and float out into space.

It makes sense that Lamson is the same guy who staged the fanciful scenes in No. 13. 3/11/2006 (plane lifted by men) and No. 6. 8/6/2005 (plane) that we featured here (and are nearly sold out!) way back when. From Sublunar, these images examine the lure of flying for mere mortals. As Will wrote, "The pursuit of flight, no matter how flawed or hopeless the attempt, places the amateur in the heroic position of trying to transcend his place on earth."

Unlike Sublunar, Will's interventions are all about making the most of our time here on earth—exploring, playing and pushing the most visceral aspects of our experience. And, with humble materials and earnest smarts about physics and mechanics, he often eclipses the everyday. Together, Dandelion Clothesline, Santiago, Chile and Icicle Intervention, Victor, Idaho serve to remind us there's still fun to be had out in the snow. The shortest, darkest day of the year is just around the corner and long, sunny days will soon return.

In the meantime, there are plenty of inside-of-doors activities and festivities:

Lamson's solo show, Time is Like the East River, is on view at ArtSpace in New Haven, Connecticut 'till December 19th.

Next week, Blind Spot, the producers of the gorgeous tri-annual journal of photography, is holding their annual benefit auction on Tuesday, December 15th from 7:00 to 9:30 p.m. Order your tickets online, then keep an eye on the silent auction lots and start your bidding now! Proceeds from the auction will help Blind Spot continue presenting new photographic work by living photographers in a context unhindered by commercial or editorial content.

*Offer applies to the first 200 collectors, within the next 200 minutes only. A $10 gift certificate will be emailed to you within 24 hours of the completion of your order.

Curvilinear Time by Jessica Snow

Blustery and flustered greetings, collectors. It's Casey here, filling in for your usual troupe of newsletter-writing ladies: Jen, Sara and Youngna. It's a busy day and this newsletter is chock full of great news so I'll keep my introduction brief! I'm in art school here in f-f-frigid New York, and I've been interning at JBP since the beginning of the summer. It's a great job* that includes lots of writing about art, running around New York City and the occasional surprise challenge: writing today's newsletter!

First, I want to let you know about today's 20x200-Minute special (that's 4,000 minutes!) to ring in our 9th day of Festivus and the first night of Hanukkah:

10% off all gift certificates $100 or more. Enter code 10xGIVE at Google checkout 'til Monday, December 14th** at 9:55 a.m.

To ensure arrival of your prints and super-fine printed gift-certificates by the 25th, place your orders by our drop-dead date for holiday shipping, Thursday, December 17th.

Today, I have the pleasure of introducing Curvilinear Time, a graphic-yet-painterly edition by Jessica Snow. It's fitting, actually, because this hectic holiday season has everyone at the office wishing we could bend time, or at least tack on a few extra hours to the day. But dealing with a lot of things at once is what makes life exciting, right?

The same is true of Jessica's paintings which seek to "reconcile the conundrums of existence" and pay testament to this internal debate. Curvilinear Time is a piece full of visual and conceptual struggles, seeking to find balance. There's tension between "the immediacy of gestural drawing and the meticulous nature of painting"—the battle between freedom and routine. Jessica writes, "the mind constantly strives to reconcile these opposing states and swings back and forth, desiring one, then desiring the other." So, even if we can't actually have more hours in the day, there's something soothing about the visual enigmas that Jessica's work encapsulates.

I could keep waxing poetic about Jessica's painting but instead I'll turn it over to Jeffrey Teuton, Associate Director of Jen Bekman Gallery, who writes:

What I love so much about Jessica's work is that it draws you in to this abstract world where you feel right on the cusp of substantial change and movement. It is the point right before anything could happen, and you feel as if you get to witness this perfect thing, for a split second, before it is gone—an ebb and flow of shape and color that will never be seen again. As with Amplitude, on view in the current Mixtape exhibition at the gallery, I look at the work and feel that at any moment, the weight will become too much—the image is seconds away from disappearing. The weaving of color created by overlapping areas is a perfect thing captured by Jessica, just before it advances and never returns. You look at the work feeling you are part of it but distant enough to understand you will never be able to fully grasp the fleeting moment unfolding before you.

You probably recognize Ms. Snow's work from her previous three editions and her big and beautiful painting that is currently hanging at Jen Bekman Gallery. Like Jessica's other editions, this one is printed full-bleed, meaning that the ink runs directly up to the right edge of the page. In fact, if I press my nose up against the colorful proof I can practically smell the paint.

Last but certainly not least, I have some absolutely amazing news that arrived late last night. We want to extend a huuuge congratulations to JBP artist and 20x200 edition-maker Nina Berman and Hot Shot + 20x200 artist Curtis Mann, who will have their work included in the 2010 Whitney Biennial! In fact, both artists are Hot Shots, both have editions on 20x200 and both made their NYC exhibition debuts at JBG. Jen commented this morning:

This is one of the proudest moments in JBP history. Nina and Curtis are two artists that are taking really different approaches to dealing with the Middle East and what's going on in our culture. I'm incredibly proud that we've exhibited their work and, to me, having it shown again in this context, to a whole new audience, is really going to bring it to a new place.

We'll be back on Monday with four new Festivus editions. Until then, check out our illustrated Artist Gift Guides. We've put together a few staff picks too and there's more to come! Stay warm and have a great weekend!

*If it sounds like something you'd be interested in, check the link at the the bottom of this newsletter. Among other roles we're looking for interns!

**Apologies! We sent out our email saying the special ends December 13th, but in fact, our gift certificate offer lasts until 9:55 a.m. on Monday the 14th!

One of the very best ways to support emerging artists is to collect their work, but there are other ways you can help too, like spreading the word! Let's all take two minutes to vote for edition-maker Carrie Marril.

A Dream World Glimmers In The Background Of The Soul by Carrie Marill

Carrie is competing to win a $10,000 grant and have her work added to the prestigious West Collection. To bring her work to the top of the judges' list, make sure to visit her page and give her five stars.

West Forty-third Street (Yellow Cabs) by Joseph O. Holmes

Manhattan Users Guide, a website and e-newsletter that has long syndicated the daily photographs of edition-maker Joe Holmes, is up for a Mashable Open Web Award. To vote for MUG and Joe head over to Mashable, sign in with Twitter or Facebook, and select "Manhattan Users Guide" from the drop-down menu. Voting has closed! Best of luck to MUG!

All this is especially relevant because last week, Jen tweeted a link to a pretty upsetting survey:

A vast majority of Americans, 96%, said they were greatly inspired by various kinds of art and highly value art in their lives and communities. But the data suggests a strange paradox. While Americans value art, the end product, they do not value what artists do. Only 27% of respondents believe that artists contribute "a lot" to the good of society.

"This is the thing we're trying to fix at 20x200," wrote Jen. And I think that I speak for everyone at 20x200 when I say that the most rewarding part of working here is helping to support all these amazing artists and bring their work to collectors like you!

20x200 was featured on the Today show this morning, amongst the "Best Online Picks" in their "Holiday Guide"! The wonderful Elise Loehnen, editor-at-large at Lucky Magazine said, "it's a great way to make something that is really intimidating, really accessible for everyone."

We were extra pleased to see Cascade by Jessica Snow, Golf Driving Range by James Deavin and Praia Piquinia 02/08/07 15h16 by Christian Chaize framed and on TV! Lucky for you, all three prints are available for gifting this holiday season.

Click here to view the whole segment, hosted by Natalie Morales.

Velodrome by James Deavin

Golf Driving Range by James Deavin

Climbing Wall No. 3 by James Deavin

Climbing Wall No. 3 by James Deavin

Happy Monday collectors! It's Sara. We're winding down our 12 Days of Festivus but we're not about to go out without a bang. We've still got more than a few tricks up our sleeves! To start this week off on the right track, we have four made-for-each-other editions from James Deavin: Velodrome, Golf Driving Range, Long Jump Pit and Climbing Wall No. 3. If the graphic sensibility of these prints is familiar to you, it may be because we released another edition from this series, The Games We Play, in December of 2007. Running Track was nearly sold out from the get go; just a few prints linger.

All the more reason to act quickly on today's 200-minute special:

Collect all four 11"x14" Deavin prints and receive them in an embossed, archival portfolio for free. Offer ends at 6:50 p.m. EST.

I first had the pleasure of meeting James in late November when he paid us a visit in New York but he's no stranger to the JBP family. James and Jen began working together in the summer of 2005 when James was selected in the second-ever round of Hey, Hot Shot!. Photographs from The Games We Play were selected for exhibition at the JBG when James gained representation and was named an Ultra. James' subsequent show at the gallery, Photographs from the New World, sparked lively conversations in the blogosphere, including this two-part interview with Alice Wells, about the nature of life online, and in particular, on Second Life. Remember that? Second Life offered the golden opportunity to be born again as the avatar of your dreams, to buy your own island, meet the man or woman you've been searching for and live anywhere in the world—virtually.

James' photos from The Games We Play also describe an intimate, alternate reality, one informed by the physical instead of the digital. Velodrome, Golf Driving Range, Long Jump Pit and Climbing Wall No. 3 each delineate the spaces carved out for the real-life play of cyclists, golfers, track stars and climbers. From behind the lens, James has edited out all extraneous imagery, creating a visual record that reconciles the physical and mental aspects of sports—when focused on the game at hand, the rest of the world ceases to exist for the athlete, amateur or professional.

If you're searching for the perfect gift for the athlete in your life, I think you can call it done! If you're still looking for others— sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles—we've added three new artist gift guides. See what Ky Anderson, Dustin Hostetler and Clare Grill would give to friends, family, believers in Bigfoot, photographers and geologists and someone who lives in a crappy basement apartment in Brooklyn. And you thought your list was tricky!

Till tomorrow!

ny.09#19 by Jennifer Sanchez

ny.09#20 by Jennifer Sanchez

Good day collectors! It's the 11th Day of Festivus—can you believe it? I cannot! You won't believe it's not Christmas tomorrow when you open your inbox! SRSLY! BIG! SURPRISE! On the way! I don't sleep much in any regular 24-hour stretch but it will be nothing short of a miracle if I manage to catch a wink or two at all tonight. You, my friends, can rest easy—you'll be among the first to know the big news. If you're feeling kind, remind your friends to sign up and they'll be in the know too.

All of you are especially lucky today because our last 200-Minute special is so crazy it'll only last for 20 minutes! On your marks, get set, go:

The first 20 people to collect both 11"x14" Sanchez prints will receive a $50 gift certificate.
Offer runs from noon (now!) to 12:20 p.m. EST.

My exuberant mood is a good match for today's editions from Jennifer Sanchez. If spinning, infinite energy could be captured in a painting, it'd be in these: ny.09#19 and ny.09#20. Like jubilant Jennifer herself, who always brings cheer (and chocolate!) upon her visits to JBP HQ, these prints brighten any room they enter. I couldn't agree more with Sanchez's own sentiment: "one of the best places for her art is in a baby's room."

Looking for a little more unabashed happiness? Peer down at the editions lined up below, all chosen by Ms. Sanchez herself when she took her own trip through our archives. If you didn't peek at them yesterday, browse our artist gift guides—all hand-crafted and annotated just for you. My dear foodie friend, Alaina Browne of Serious Eats and A Full Belly has also culled her own favorites. And, while we let the art speak for itself, each JBPer picked a few best-loveds as well. See what David, Jeffrey, Youngna, Jonathan, John, Raul, Kika, Jason and Sara might stow under the tree.

Whatever you fancy to give (or to get!) make sure you've ordered your prints by this Thursday, December 17th to ensure delivery by the 25th.

That leaves just two more days to wrap up your holiday shopping! In the meantime, I'll be taking my own spinning self out and about this evening to Blind Spot's Annual Benefit Auction. Care to join me? Tickets are still available! See you there and see you here tomorrow!

Flush-with-excitement Festivus greetings, collector friends! Yes, it's me again, here to wrap up our twelve-day extravaganza and give you -- our super-special-est list-subscribing collectors -- advance notice of our spectacular season finale plans. On deck for today: 20% off orders of $200 or more! For tomorrow: a fresh edition from the world-renowned and 20x200-beloved Doug + Mike Starn.

Our newsletter announcing the work will hit your inbox at 11 a.m., a full hour before it's unveiled to the whole wide world on the 20x200 homepage at high noon. (One quick note before I delve into the details: we've been very busy elves here at JBP HQ, so our newsletters haven't always gone out on time, but rest assured: tomorrow will run like clockwork.) The deliriously gorgeous prints we're releasing are sure to be a smash with our collectors. The editions we released from them in 2007, Structure of Thought 6-a and 6-b, remain our most talked about prints to this day, and for good reason. They're incredibly special and there's literally not a day that goes by where I don't take a moment or two to admire the set that hangs in my apartment.

Those prints also sold out in (literally) minutes, which makes tomorrow's advance notice to list subscribers critical for collectors. If you want to head to the top of an art-loving friend's gift list, I suggest you drop them a note and let them know that it'd be a good idea to sign up for the 20x200 mailing list.

And now for today's excitement! As with our nifty Gift Guide that you see above, our last 200-Minute Special is designed with giving the gift of art in mind. We're offering 20% off orders of $200 or more, making stocking up on our ridiculously affordable prints that much more affordable. Just think -- you can put the money saved today towards getting one of the divine prints from Doug + Mike tomorrow!

Enter code Festivus20 at checkout for 20% off your order of $200 or more until 6:50 p.m.

Well aware as I am that it's the busiest of seasons for most of you, I humbly suggest you mark those calendars and maybe even set your computer to go beep-beep-beep today and tomorrow. Here's a quick recap to make it simple, and remember: we're on Eastern Standard Time here at 20x200.

TODAY
Wednesday, December 16th
6:50 p.m.: Our final Festivus 200-Minute Special ends!

TOMORROW
Thursday, December 17th
11:00 a.m.: List subscribers receive advance notice on our new edition from The Starn Twins
Noon: The Starn Twins edition debuts on the 20x200 homepage
11:00 p.m.: Shipping deadline for delivery by Christmas Eve!

I'm off to set some reminders myself, so that's all for me today -- see you tomorrow at 11 a.m.!

Netted is a cool daily email newsletter put together by the same folks who started the Webby Awards. It covers "good digital stuff" and promises to bring you one brilliant idea every day. Boy, were we happy to hear that yesterday's brilliant idea was our own 20x200!

"The only thing 20x200 won’t do is hang the art on your wall," their newsletter jests, but trust us...we're working on it!

You can read the whole newsletter online at Netted's site and then subscribe to get more great ideas in your inbox.

alleverythingthatisyou sno7.1_003 by Mike + Doug Starn

Today's-the-day greetings collectors! I've been giddy like a kid on the night before Christmas all week long in anticipation of releasing today's edition, alleverythingthatisyou sno7.1_003, by Mike + Doug Starn. But first, an important announcement:

Today—Thursday, December 17th—is the very last day to place your order if you want to receive your prints in time for Christmas!

Now back to the Starn Twins and alleverythingthatisyou sno7.1_003. Some notes about the edition:

- We're limiting collectors to two 8"x8" prints each, and only one per collector for prints 16"x16" and larger.
- This edition is not eligible for any discount or promotion.
- We reserve the right to refund purchases if we determine that a single collector has acquired multiple prints or used a discount code.
- The quoted image dimensions include a generous white border which is part of the artwork and not a printing/printer mechanical artifact.
- When framing your print, floating it on museum board with its full dimensions intact is recommended. (No trimming!)

Now on to the part where I gush about the work and the men who created it. We're all so thrilled to have the opportunity to work with them again, and I couldn't think of a better print with which to end our holiday release spree. As always, the planning part was a pleasure. Mike and Doug are just wonderful, and everyone in their studio has been terrific, most especially Gaudéricq Robiliard. (And I'm not just saying that because he's also my friend!)

A bit over a year ago, the brothers Starn picked up and moved their operation to Beacon, NY. This is no small feat, mind you—their studio is quite a production! But it was for good reason, as they had an incredibly ambitious and outsized project in mind: Big Bambú. Jonathan, Sara and I spent a magical morning up there in mid-October, which is when we first started a conversation about collaborating again.*

When I say magical, it's not hyperbole. Big Bambú is epic and moving and completely disarming. Built of bamboo and constantly evolving, it has expanded to entirely fill the triple-height football-field-sized former factory that's now their studio. I've never seen or experienced anything like it. A feat of engineering bound up in climbing rope, it marries the organic with the man-made, resulting in a seemingly chaotic structure that's incredibly stable. It was hard to put complete faith in its stability, and yet there we stood, 40 feet off the ground with only a mesh of slender bamboo stalks between us and the hard concrete. Terrifying! Exhilarating! And so totally Starns.

Big Bambú is a stunning example of what a thing—a humble yet sturdy, clattering stalk of bamboo—can become when intertwined with other things like it. The alleverythingthatisyou series that today's edition is from illustrates the fragility and transience of a thing—a miraculous, beautiful snowflake—on its own. For mere mortals, it's impossible to contemplate the microscopic snowflake without thinking of how countless millions of them come together to form snow. Likewise, the constantly-evolving sculpture that sits in a warehouse 100 miles to the north of me is something that most of us could not conceive of, much less create.

That artists pursue grand ideas which sometimes might seem to defy logic is something I am deeply grateful for, and I fervently believe that supporting them in their pursuits is vital to human culture. 20x200 is about the idea that many instances of small support can come together to form a grand thing of its own: one that's comprised of millions of unique individuals, finding its stability in its variability.

A small thing on its own—what a million small things might become when united: the constant contemplation of these things is something I have in common with the Starns, and I think it's why they've always felt like such kindred spirits.

*I'm delighted to say that it looks like our collaboration will be ongoing! Yes, that is a hint.

Choire Sicha, co-founder of The Awl (anointed by internet-famous Rex Sorgatz as one of the year's best blogs yesterday), and VIP-of-20x200 selected six editions sharing the theme of "not pretty."

Dinner. Village of Zorin, Exclusion Zone, Chernobyl by Donald Weber

He writes of his selection:

I picked six great things that are considered "not pretty," on those merits, which means that they are not plagued by cuteness. Cuteness is the hyper-kitsch of our time. It is kitsch without irony.

...here are six great things by artists that look at the opposite of cuteness, which is consumption and waste and the unpleasant. There's nothing cute about our trash, or our purchasing, or our engagement with environmental disaster, or you know, our impending deaths--or our overwhelming forced involvement with capitalist superstructures and brands. The cute things? They are what beg us not to think about these things.

Other than looking towards balloons or birds or rainbows of color, Choire takes a truly fresh look at our not-cute editions. Included amongst his picks are Dinner. Village of Zorin, Exclusion Zone, Chernobyl by Donald Weber and Bar Tender | San Antonio, TX | 1-Person Household | Goes to sleep at 8AM and wakes up at 4PM daily by Mark Menjivar. Click here to see the rest of his choices and our other VIP and staff picks.

If you're looking for great art this holiday season, we've definitely got you covered. However, if it's design you're after, then you won't want to miss out on 33 Gifts @ 33 Bond, a pop-up gift shop running through the end of December. This shop-within-a-shop, which can be found inside Vitsoe's beautiful showroom at 33 Bond St, features a "joyfully considered selection" of thirty-three gifts for your most design-savvy friends. In fact, the shop was curated by our own edition-maker Gregory Krum, who by-day serves as Retail Director for the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum.

The unique selection of gifts has already garnered the attention and praise of editors at Lucky Magazine, Cool Hunting, and The Scout as well as that of Ms. Jen Bekman, who counts herself among the fans of Vitsoe's legendary Dieter Rams-designed shelving system.

The Scout writes:

On our visit, we had the pleasure of meeting Michael Vince who described to us the level of care and painstaking precision involved in the production of their components: the exact alignment of pins, the secure shut of a cabinet, and the strength and simplicity of its aluminum tracks—features that have been perfected and remain for over 50 years. At this moment, it is easy to see why Vitsœ endures. It is simply, good.

If nerdy design details like these get you as excited as they get us, then take our word for it and head on over to 33 @ 33 to spread some art + design cheer!

Recognize anything about the video above? It was created for FUEL TV by edition-maker Dustin Hostetler (a.k.a. UPSO) who says it was "partly inspired by his 20x200 prints."

Color Study #4 by Dustin Hostetler

The animation, which started airing last week, is part of FUEL TV's Signature Series IDs, a group of 100 artist-designed interstitials inspired by iconic skateboard decks.

About his animation Dustin writes,

I wanted to show the excitement I get out of things like riding bikes with friends. When life gets too crazy or stressful, it's things like friends and fun that get me out of my funk. It doesn't matter if it's paintbrushes or snowboarding, it's all about expressing yourself. I've always been amazed by the support action sports gives art, from skateboards to t-shirt designs and shoes, it all comes full circle.

Artists who have contributed to the FUEL TV Signature Series IDs include Dalek, Andy Jenkins, Saiman Chow, Chris Yormick, Trevor Graves, Andrew Pommier, Yogi Proctor, Dean Bradley, The Clayton Brothers, Todd Francis and others.

Dustin's edition, Color Study #4, still has prints available. To see his 20x200 favorites make sure to check out his awesome illustrated gift guide!

Fragmented cities, Santa Catarina from the Suburbia Mexicana Project, 2007 by Alejandro Cartagena

The Hey, Hot Shot! crew has announced the 2009 Second Edition Hot Shots:

Marisa Aragona
Leah Tepper Byrne
Alejandro Cartagena
Jessica Eaton
Justin James King

These five outstanding photographers will each be awarded a $500 honorarium and participate in a group show at Jen Bekman Gallery. The 2009 Second Edition Hey, Hot Shot! opening reception and exhibition will be in March 2010. As the exhibition approaches, we'll be lining up 20x200 editions with Marisa, Leah, Alejandro, Jessica and Justin, as well as many honorable mentions and contenders, who you may, or may not have seen over on the HHS! blog. We're looking forward to sharing all of the great new work we've seen with you over the coming year.

These five photographers are now under consideration for Ne Plus Ultra status, along with the five Hot Shots selected in the 2009 First Edition competition. Ultras join ranks with other JBG-represented artists, including 2008 Ultras Hosang Park and Collen Plumb.

Selecting just five artists from an amazing array of contenders couldn't have been done without Jen Bekman and the dedication of our brilliant panelists: Christine Collins, Dana Faconti, Caterina Fake, Stephen Frailey, Raul Gutierrez, Darius Himes, Jenni Holder, Whitney Johnson, Julia Leach, Nion McEvoy, Lesley A. Martin, Kent Rogowski and Stefan Ruiz.

There were also a few honorable mentions to note:

Erica Allen
Jeremiah Ariaz
Magda Biernat
Adam Caillier
Carrie Chalmers
Philip Cheung
Davin Ellicson
Nicole Hatanaka
Rebecca Horne
Alex Leme
Stacy Mehrfar
Monika Merva
Graham Miller
Sharon Montrose
Annie Marie Musselman
Landon Nordeman
Paccarik Orue
Thomas Prior
Tait Simpson
Aline Smithson
Lacey Terrell
Sonja Thomsen
Kipp Wettstein
Ian Whitmore
Xiao Xiao Xiu

Interested in getting your photography out there and seeing it on 20x200? HHS! is the only way we review work for editions. Keep an eye on Hey, Hot Shot! on Facebook, Flickr and Twitter for news about the 2009 Second Edition Hot Shot Showcase and notes and news about the next round of competition!

We can hardly believe it's the Monday before Christmas and our 12 Days of Festivus have already come and gone. There were lots of brand new editions hitting your inboxes these last few weeks, so we wanted to remind you of all the great art here for you on the site that you can still order in time for Christmas*.

What now seems like a long time ago, we kicked off our festivities with two editions for the shutterbugs among you: Photographer's Dilemma by Japanese artist Tatsuro Kiuchi and 28 Camera Drawings by Ms. Christine Berrie. From there, we introduced a photograph of a dusky Nevada tree lot by 2009 First Edition Hot Shot Mike Sinclair. The quietude of lights above the trees offered a moment of pause before the forthcoming holiday hubbub.

28 Camera Drawings by Christine Berrie

We were back the following day with two new Ideal Bookshelves from 20x200-favorite Jane Mount—one, a collection of cookbooks and foodie favorites from Brooklyn chef George Weld; the other a selection of children's book standouts from Ella, the daughter of design blogger Tina Roth Eisenberg (aka Swiss Miss).

From there we hit the beach—Praia Piquinia in Portugal to be exact—where Christian Chaize has photographed this pristine parcel of land at all hours of the day and seasons of the year. His two newest 20x200 editions Praia Piquinia 06/08/09 14h01 and Praia Piquinia 27/08/09 15h17 have us wishing for warmth as the days get colder (but at least after today—longer!).

Amy Casey's intricate tangle of houses in Residential Web started off week two of Festivus, before switching gears—literally—with four new images from Joseph O. Holmes' Custom Machinery series. Capturing working spaces full of seasoned machines (and the men who operate them), Joe's serene portraits of age-old spaces captures a moment of New York that may soon be lost.

Book-designer Stefanie Posavec helped us tap the collective literary nerd within with her infographically luscious Walter Benjamin: A Literary Organism Analysis. Words, lines, sentences and paragraphs were broken down with intricate care; Stefanie both reads between—and creates—literary lines.

Icicle Intervention, Victor, Idaho by William Lamson

We next saw two images from Will Lamson's whimsical and nature-drive Interventions. Dandelion Clothesline, Santiago, Chile and Icicle Intervention, Victor, Idaho are both ethereal and whimsical. As Sara wrote just over a week ago, "Will's interventions are all about making the most of our time here on earth—exploring, playing and pushing the most visceral aspects of our experience."

We introduced Curvilinear Time by Jessica Snow, another 20x200 veteran on Day 9, her "graphic-yet-painterly" lines filling the page with a sense of perpetual—yet encapsulated—motion. On the opposite spectrum, the four images from James Deavin released the day afterwords: Climbing Wall No. 3, Golf Driving Range, Velodrome and Long Jump Pit, are exercises of extreme restraint. The abstraction of sporting grounds is contained within a calculated frame and the playing fields are at an absolute stand still.

We followed with the release of ny.09#19 and ny.09#20, two cheerful and energizing paintings by Jennifer Sanchez.

alleverythingthatisyou sno7.1_003 by Mike + Doug Starn

And then! Just when you thought we were all done! We were back with an utterly gorgeous snowflake print (and it seems you all thought so too) from the Starn Twins' series alleverythingthatisyou to really round out our holiday spree.

Now if you still haven't found the perfect print amongst all these, there are featured sets, artists gift guides, newsletters, staff and VIP picks to help guide your way.

Happy Holidays; we hope it's filled with art!

*Order single prints and 20x200 gift certificates of $200 or more, and we'll give you an instant upgrade to FedEx Overnight Delivery!

Happy Monday-before-Christmas, collectors! It's Youngna here, full of holiday anticipation. We're knee deep in snow in NYC—frosting on the cake to top off these exciting last few weeks at JBP HQ. We're all looking forward to a few days of R+R as we head home to our own families and friends but first want to remind you of all the great art that has been dancing like sugarplums through your inboxes. Because there was a whole lot of new-ness in our part of the interwebs (head over to the blog for the full 12-day wrap-up), we wanted to recap our latest offerings and remind you that it's not too late to give the gift of art!

Single prints and 20x200 gift certificates of $200 or more* will be upgraded to FedEx overnight delivery for free!**

That means you can order our most excellent gift certificates + prints all the way until 3 p.m. (EST) on Wednesday, the 23rd (crazy, right?!) and they will arrive on Christmas Eve, in time for placing right under the tree.

If you're one of those love-waiting-till-the-very-last-minute types, you'll still be able to order digital gift certificates on the 24th, and they'll be emailed straight to your gift recipient's inbox.

Though we're taking the rest of the week off from new editions, we will be filling your inboxes next Tuesday and Wednesday with news just before the New Year. We've also got big plans to kick off 2010 with a bang (a rather delicate one), so stay tuned and resolve to tell your friends to sign up for the mailing list!

And, last but not least: for those of you in NYC over the holidays, don't miss out on Mixtape, on view at the JBG through Saturday, January 9th, 2010***. The exhibit features both original works and limited-edition prints by 20x200 artists, and is a mighty fine soundtrack for the season.

*That's for prints 16"x20" or larger!
**This offer cannot be used in conjunction with other discounts or promotions.
***The gallery will be closed for the holidays: Dec. 24 - 26 | Jan. 1, 2010

When Coudal talks, we listen. And today this Chicago-based group of designers (who run one of the most wonderfully eclectic link blogs on the web) are talking about our mutual friend and 20x200 edition-maker Clifton Burt. Their large-and-in-charge header graphic is currently beaming Clifton's take on one of John Maeda's creative haikus.

Clifton writes,

I have fond memories of my wife, Kate, Will Byrant and I digging through a Mississippi junk store in an old railroad warehouse on the rumor that there were arrow-sign letters in there... somewhere, if we could find them. Well, we did find them and I'm happy to have the opportunity to share think-make-think as a 20x200 edition.

Think-make-think completely sold out on it's first time around, but we re-released it in an edition of 500 so that those who missed out can have a second chance to collect this snippet of inspiration.

think-make-think (second edition) by Clifton Burt

There are still plenty o' prints to go around but supplies are dwindling so collect yours today!

Since 2005, Paddy Johnson's blog Art Fag City has been dishing out the web's most hilariously irreverent "art news, reviews and gossip," but what most people aren't aware of is that the site is a one-woman operation. Blogging is so accessible that nearly anyone can start a site of their own, but few can keep going at the exhausting pace of AFC while maintaining superior quality. It's a huge job to run the site but Paddy shows no signs of slowing.

Enter the AFC Fundraiser. Last year Paddy quit her day jobs and decided to start blogging full-time. With various grants and donations, in addition to ad sales, she was able to make it happen. To keep this good thing going Paddy needs to raise $8,000 by January 1st, 2010. She half-jokes that, "I just have to eat. Your support helps me do this." However, "by contributing to this fundraiser, donors are not only supporting the efforts of one blogger, but staking a claim for the value of independent blogs in a climate of mainstream media arts cutbacks."

Infographic by Miriam Katzeff and James Hoff

This is especially pertinent in light of the chart above, tallying the number of negative reviews per art critic in The New York Times, which made its rounds across the internet last week. Miriam Katzeff and James Hoff, who put together the graph, note that out of approximately 250 reviews published in The New York Times this year, only 38 are "perceived to be negative," while, "the majority of the reviews were either positive or merely descriptive."

Mainstream media, while valuable, can only provide us with so much, so it's up to us as readers to support the best independent critics. Paddy has a long way to go towards reaching her goal, but with the help of micro-donations as small as $25, she can continue to focus full-time on her blunt and honest coverage of the art world.

To donate to AFC, head over to the website and look for the big "Donate" button near the top of the page!

Frosty morning-before-Christmas-Eve greetings! It's getting mighty quiet out there, but I sense there are still a few procrastinators sweating it out before dashing through the snow to the warm homes of family and friends. A last-minute-lady myself, I consider you kindred folk. So I'm here to say, procrastinators rejoice—it's still not too late to be a hero for the holidays! We have art for everyone—even you! Here are our two on-the-wire options:

Numero Uno: Virtual Gift Certificates

Step 1. Select I would like to give a digital gift certificate. (It's the default option.)
Step 2. Choose an amount to give and purchase your gift certificate.
Step 3. Pick a design, print it, personalize it—don't forget to write in the redemption code!
Step 4. Give the gift of art! Make someone super happy.

Numero Dos: Prints (yes, really!)

Single prints of $200 or more* and gift certificates of $200 or more will be upgraded to FedEx Overnight for delivery on the 24th.
You must! must! complete your order by 3:00 p.m. EST today, the 23rd, to ensure arrival by tomorrow.

With that, dear collectors, I'm off with my team of flying reindeer and bid you adieu with much holiday cheer!

* We mean prints 16"x20" and larger! These prints ship in tubes. This offer cannot be applied to prints 11"x14" and smaller.

While we hope you already snapped up some prints to give to your family and friends for the holidays, if you're a true procrastinator (like some of us here at JBP happen to be), we still have the perfect gift for anyone on your list: Virtual Gift Certificates!

Here's what to do:
Step 1. Select I would like to give a digital gift certificate. (It's the default option.)
Step 2. Choose an amount to give and purchase your gift certificate.
Step 3. Pick a design, print it, personalize it—don't forget to write in the redemption code!
Step 4. Give the gift of art! Make someone super happy.

It's really easy—we promise! So, wait no longer and pick from one of the five holiday designs below:

79 Moons From Flickr - 51 Visible by Penelope Umbrico

Good day collectors! It's Sara, writing from Colorado on a crisp and sparkly snowy morning. Team 20x200 is scattered around the globe this week, enjoying some extended time home and away. But we haven't forgotten about you—we never do! For those who are back to the day-to-day, I bring a way to keep that warm and fuzzy feeling of the season with you. After all of the giving and getting of gifts, you begin to realize it's the giving that makes you feel good, right?

We think so! And, over the course of the last couple years, we've had the honor of working with several non-profit organizations that are doing invaluable work to support the arts, artists and creativity in our communities to create the benefit editions I've outlined below. Proceeds from these editions go to support The Art Shanty Projects, Blind Spot, SFJAZZ, 826NYC, BAMart, Creative Commons, RADIUS Books, Aperture, the Portrait Machine Project, Handmade Nation and NURTUREart. We've been delighted to support each and every one of these nonprofits but certainly couldn't do it without you, or without the artists who worked to create the editions. A special thanks goes to Tema Stauffer, Mike + Doug Starn, Mark Ulriksen, Jane Mount, Jason Polan, Greg Lindquist, Matt Jones, Michael Lundgren, Penelope Umbrico, Jill Bliss and Mike Estabrook.

We usually pair our benefit editions with a regular edition, since — let's face it — artists are most worthy of our support as well. You can be reminded of your generous deed so long as these prints hang on your walls:

White Ice to benefit The Art Shanty Projects
by Tema Stauffer

Structure of Thought 6-b to benefit Blind Spot and
Structure of Thought 6-a
by Doug + Mike Starn
(Both editions are totally sold out!)

Monk to benefit SFJAZZ
by Mark Ulriksen

Thrilla in Manila to benefit 826NYC
by Jane Mount + Jason Polan

Embers of the Maritime to benefit BAMart and
Decay of Industry, Industry of Decay
by Greg Lindquist

Get Excited And Make Things to benefit Creative Commons
by Matt Jones

Ironwood at Dusk to benefit RADIUS Books and
Yuha Basin
by Michael Lundgren

79 Moons From Flickr - 51 Visible to benefit Aperture and
87 Suns From Flickr - 29 Visible
by Penelope Umbrico

Orb 5 (Long Island, New York) to benefit the Portrait Machine Project and
Orb 3 (Blue Lagoon, Reykjavik, Iceland)
by Carlo Van de Roer

Handmade Treehomes, #1B to benefit Handmade Nation and
Handmade Treehomes, #1A
by Jill Bliss

Disaster at 1:47 in the Morning, May 4, 2003 to benefit NURTUREart and
Google: God
by Mike Estabrook

For each edition above, I've linked to Jen's newsletter so you can read a little about what each of these organizations does and why we love them so much. As always, there are also details about the making of the prints—these editions were created especially for 20x200 and these organizations. Jen'll be back at the regular time on Wednesday with a look back on the *entire* year!

More benefit editions on 20x200:

With Art for Everyone,
Happy New Year from all of us @ 20x200 + Jen Bekman Projects