Edition Announcement #50 - Nina Berman

Tuesday Edition: Nina Berman

Tuesday greetings from the lobby of the Doubletree Hotel in Houston, Texas. (The glamor never stops for Ms. Jen Bekman, let me tell you.) Seeing as how I am very photo focused at the moment, not to mention a bit behind on my correspondence with all you fine collector people, we are going to have an all photo week here on 20x200. This seems especially appropriate considering that I'm currently at Fotofest, where I'm reviewing portfolios and hobnobbing with the photorati.

9-11-02 is from a new series that Nina Berman is developing. I started working with Nina just about a year ago when, much to my delighted surprised, she entered the Spring Edition of Hey, Hot Shot!; she submitted two photos from her internationally acclaimed series Purple Hearts, along with her stunning, heart-breaking photo Marine Wedding. It was a great honor for me to show that photo, which won last year's World Press Photo award in the portraits category; seeing it for the first time had been a defining moment for me, crystallizing my vague "war is bad, I wish we weren't there" feelings into something much more concrete.

After exhibiting the photo as part of the Spring edition of the competition, I invited Nina to show a broader selection of work from the Purple Hearts series during what is normally one of the sleepiest months in the New York art world. A rave review of the hastily planned exhibition in the New York Times, which ran on the front page of the Arts section and was accompanied by an extensive slideshow online, meant that last August was perhaps the busiest month in the gallery's history. It was also the most profoundly moving and important show I've ever had the good fortune to exhibit. Living with those portraits in my gallery for a month was intense; participating in the countless conversations about their meaning and the war's impact on our country and the world was transformative.

9-11-02, from the series entitled Homeland, explores a different aspect of the war's effect on our culture, focusing on how militarization has permeated our day-to-day lives since September 11th. It's sparse composition speaks volumes.

It's an image that's flashed through my mind often lately. All this conference going has meant a lot of airline travel. Each time I go through security check, juggling a laptop, as I try to remove my belt, while holding my shoes and trying to keep track of my handbag, there is a moment where I feel more humiliated than safe. The barking at and frisking of barefoot weary travelers seems to have a rather tenuous relationship to our national security, and continued exposure to it seems to be getting me more and more in touch with my inner radical.

What has commanded my abiding respect about Nina and her work is her insistence that we shouldn't just shuffle along, not paying attention. She shines a bright light on what shouldn't be ignored; unfortunately she has seemingly limitless material to draw upon. What she uncovers is often ugly, but pretending its not there won't make it go away.

Now it is I who must go away. I have photographers to meet, portfolios to review and coffee to drink. I'll be back tomorrow with an extremely super photography edition from one of my favorite new friends. Stay tuned.

Previous Newsletter : Edition Announcement #49 - Giovanni Garcia-Fenech