RESULTS OF YESTERDAY'S AFRICAN-AMERICAN FINE ART AUCTION AT SWANN

PRELIMINARY RESULTS OF SALE 2169, February 17, 2009:
AFRICAN-AMERICAN FINE ART
Sale total: $1,268,160 with Buyer’s Premium
Hammer total: $1,056,800
Estimates for sale as a whole: $2,011,200 - $2,901,800
We offered 169 lots; 109 sold (36% buy-in rate by lot)

Top lots, Prices with buyer’s premium

55 Charles White, Move On Up a Little Higher, charcoal and Wolff crayon on illustration board, 1961, $228,000 I
93* Hale Woodruff, Cinque Exhorts his Captives, oil on canvas, 1973, $156,000 C
45 Hughie Lee-Smith, Untitled (Rooftop View), oil on masonite, 1957, $102,000 D
85 Alvin D. Loving, Jr., Cube 27, acrylic on shaped canvas, 1970, $84,000 I
2 Henry Ossawa Tanner, Adoration of the Golden Calf, oil on canvas, circa 1895, $72,000 C
1 Tanner, The Annunciation to the Shepherds, oil on canvas, circa 1895, $66,000 C
42 Beauford Delaney, Distant Horizons (New Dimensions), oil on canvas, 1952, $52,800 C
41 Delaney, Untitled (Washington Square Park), oil on canvas, circa 1951, $48,000 C
46 Woodruff, Untitled (Girl Skipping Rope), oil on canvas, circa 1959-1960, $33,600 C
35 Norman Lewis, Fireflower, oil on canvas, 1949, $28,800 D
128* Richard Mayhew, Ascension, oil on canvas, 1982, $20,400 C
142 Jacob Lawrence, General Toussaint L’Ouverture, color screenprint, 1986, $15,600 C
49 Lawrence, Artists and Models Ball, #2, gouache, circa 1950-60, $13,200 C
43 John Wilson, Mother and Child, lithograph, 1956, $11,400 C
50 Lewis, Untitled (Three Figures), oil on paper, 1961, $10,800 C
4*, ** James Bolivar Needham, A Morning with the Yachts & Houseboats, oil on canvas, 1896, $10,800 C
24 Charles White, Untitled (Head of a Man), etching, circa 1940, $9,600 C
150 Sam Gilliam, Horses Upside Down, acrylic on polypropylene on canvas, 1998, $8,400 C
78 Elizabeth Catlett, Malcom X Habla por Nosotros, color linoleum cut, 1969, $8,400 C
135 John Biggers, The Upper Room, color lithograph, 1984, $8,400 C

KEY: * = Artist Record; ** = First Time at Auction; C = Collector; D = Dealer; I = Institution

Nigel Freeman, Director, African-American Fine Art, said, “Despite the uncertainty of the art market in today's economy, we saw strong prices for scarce modern paintings by African-American artists, with competitive bidding by institutions. We were thrilled to sell our cover lot, Move On Up a Little Higher, a majestic drawing by Charles White to an important museum. We also set a new record price for a Hale Woodruff painting – the fourth consecutive auction record for the artist set at Swann in the past four years.”


ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE, DIGITAL IMAGES & COMPLETE PRICES REALIZED ON REQUEST
Rebecca Weiss
Media Relations
Swann Galleries
104 East 25th Street
New York, NY 10010
212-254-4710, ext. 23
rebeccaw@swanngalleries.com

SOURCE: SWANN GALLERIES

Image Credit: Tyrus Rochell Townsend

5 dollar admission? Really. NO Seriously!

$5 Admission
February 18 -March 8, 2009

Had it with the doom-and-gloom of the recession? We hear you. That's why we're rewarding our email subscribers with $5 admission to the Whitney from February 18 - March 8, 2009!

To redeem the offer, simply print this email and present it at the admissions desk in the lobby. Only one $5 ticket per email subscriber. No retroactive discounts. May not be combined with any other offer.
Want to bring a friend, but not sure if they're a subscriber? Send them this link to sign up for our email list and they’ll receive info on the offer instantly:

https://www.whitney.org/www/promotion/email/

We hope to see you at the Whitney!

Hours and Location:

Whitney Museum of American Art
945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street
New York, NY 10021
General Information: (212) 570-3600

Hours
Wednesday–Thursday: 11 am–6 pm
Friday: 1–9 pm (6–9 pm pay-what-you-wish admission)
Saturday–Sunday: 11 am–6 pm
Monday & Tuesday: Closed

Image credit: Glasgow International

Real Talk: 02.18.09

Believe it or not, I can actually draw.
::: Jean Michel Basquiat :::

WHO SHOT YA!-PORTFOLIO 1: SUEKWON

SOURCE: PAPERMAG

Confection Art Exhibition Recap

Over the holiday weekend, Pres Rodriguez curated a one-of-a-kind charity bake sale art exhibition in Miami. The show featured over 20 of Miami’s top artists including: Jim Drain, Michael Genovese, Jason Hedges, Nick D. Lobo, Justin Long, Hugo Montoya, Jonathan Thomas and Kyle Trowbridge amongst others. The show was a success beyond anyone’s expectations, raising over $10,000 for charity and providing the feel-good moment of the year for Miami, amidst this crazy recession. Its main room was transformed into a giant Krispy Kreme donut with over 1,000 sprinkles on the pink “frosting” walls. Bert Rodriguez, a Miami based 2008 Whitney Biennial artist, alongside Leyden Rodriguez-Casanova contributed a double toilet seat server which had people eating chocolate pudding and rice pudding out of the bowls. With over 2,000 people coming through, it might have been the party of the year. Further information and images regarding the event can be found at Oh-wow.com.

Beyond the Frame: African American Comic Book Artists

January 24, 2009 – April 26, 2009
Beyond the Frame: African American Comic Book Artists
Temporary Exhibition Gallery
Sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts

Beyond the Frame: African American Comic Book Artists presents the work of African American artists working in commercial, self-published, and web-based comic book and graphic novel genres. The exhibition will reflect a cross-section of artists, some well established, others emerging and active in new areas of publication, such as Internet-based web comic art.

Beyond the Frame explores the styles and subject matter of artists working in the commercial sector, as well as those whose work emphasizes culturally relevant themes of racial identity, family life, hip-hop culture, and African American history. Organized by the FIA with assistance from veteran comic book industry artist Robert Stull, and John Jennings, Professor of Art and Design at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the exhibition will be presented in coordination with educational and art school programming at the Flint Institute of Arts.

Stacey Robinson
American, 1972
Abraham
digital print, 2008
Courtesy of the Artist

SOURCE: FIA

Word Press 2008 Photo Winners

The winning photographs for the 52nd World Press Photo contest have been revealed. Taking the prize for Photo of the Year was US photographer Anthony Suau whom captured a shot of a Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department armed officer moving through a home in Cleveland, Ohio. The photograph came after an eviction, resulting from a mortgage foreclosure. To continue reading the article as well as view more winning photographs, click here.

Stoneface Photography Shoots Converse Print/Digital Campaign in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Stanley Lumax, known for shooting brilliant pictures of people of color, has just completed his latest photo print campaign with famed director Danile BenMayor and will be ran in Latin America as well as Myspace Latin America. Be sure to check out this campaign as well as others at stonefacephotography.com.

Photo credit: Stone Face Photography

National Black Fine Art Show-13 Turns Out To Be A Lucky Number

Please make sure to check out my very first published review(courtesy of AroundHarlem.com) for the 2009 National Black Fine Arts Show which was held in New York City from February 12-15, 2009. I was allowed access into the Preview Reception and had the opportunity to talk with participating galleries as well as artists that were present at that time. To read the article in full, click here.

The Art of A Fashion Label- The Scramble to Survive

Back in September, menswear label Five Four sold out of a new $325 peacoat in one week. Buoyed by strong orders from retailers, including Macy's, designer Andres Izquieta ordered luxurious fabrics from an Italian mill.

"I was thinking we were going to have a new category of $300 to $500 coats for fall 2009," says Mr. Izquieta, 28 years old. His co-chief executive, Dee Murthy, also 28, was confident, too; indeed, he had splurged on a new Aston Martin Vantage sports car for himself in March.

Alas, when world markets crashed the following month, consumers snapped their wallets shut. Many of the retailers that sold Five Four's trendy, casual jackets, shirts and other heavily detailed pieces canceled orders or backed out of payments.

Suddenly, Five Four found itself in free fall. "I feel like I woke up the first week of October, when everything stopped," Mr. Murthy says. The founders of the Los Angeles-based company would have to act quickly.

In the aftermath of last fall's credit crunch, the future is unclear. But as businesses like Five Four traverse the new terrain, they are creating long-lasting changes that will affect all consumers -- from where clothes are produced to their price and quality.

Marketing guru Paco Underhill predicts that the business world "will change more in the next five years than it has in the past 100." The process isn't purely destructive. "Each time something is gone, it frees up room," Mr. Underhill says. Five Four's scramble -- ranging from its rethinking of supplier and vendor relationships to an expansion into socks, rather than $500 coats -- show the evolution under way.

Knowing that only the agile would survive, Mr. Murthy and Mr. Izquieta worked quickly last fall to save their seven-year-old company. The line of $500 coats was out. They decided the new price had to be below $200.

At six o'clock one evening, Mr. Izquieta emailed the Italian mill operator to cancel the $17-a-yard fabric order. The mill operator immediately dropped his price to $7.50 a yard. "I could tell from his tone that he was under water," the designer recalls. The Italian textile industry is known for high quality and better factory working conditions, but numerous designers are fleeing its high prices.
Heard on the Runway

Trimming More Than Fabric to Stay Afloat


Mr. Izquieta, too, had to put cost-cutting first. He located a mill in India that would produce a worthy fabric for $2 a yard, reducing the retail price of the coat to $185.

Meanwhile, lenders were shutting off credit to Five Four's vendors and many of the 1,000 stores that sell its clothes. For November, it had orders worth $1.2 million -- but only about $100,000 came from retailers with sufficient credit. "We had to figure out ways to ship these customers their winter orders," Mr. Murthy says.

He called retailers, saying, "This is a vicious cycle. If you can't pass credit, I can't sell you these goods, and if I can't ship you the goods, I can't stay in business." The solution: Five Four shipped on faith -- accepting post-dated checks, personal credit-card payments, and even verbal IOUs. "They offered any terms we wanted," says Dan Kogan, chief executive of Emoda, a retailer with stores in Philadelphia, Atlanta and online.

When one over-embellished shirt style sold poorly at Atrium, a store in New York, Five Four took it back and sent other shirts. "Their price was significantly lower than most of their competitors, given the quality of the goods," says Ivo Nikolov, Atrium's menswear buyer.

Mr. Murthy and Mr. Izquieta laid off four employees, bringing their work force to 25, and cut all advertising. They pulled out of the trade shows where they had sought new retailers. They stopped using airmail to ship some goods to and from their manufacturing facilities in China. They dropped the thread count of some woven shirts to 40 from 50. When their landlord declined to renegotiate their Los Angeles warehouse and office lease, they found new space for 50% less.

The survival plan was to help keep their existing retailers in business by making extra accommodations and to drop prices 20%. Both turned out to be important measures in cementing relationships: When Emoda cut its brand portfolio to 120 labels from 280, it doubled down on Five Four.

Back when Mr. Murthy and Mr. Izquieta launched Five Four while students at the University of Southern California (deriving the name from college slang they used when saying good-bye) the fashion world seemed to offer surprise riches. The first jeans they made, five years ago, cost $14 to make and carried an intended retail price of $68. A day before the pants shipped, a friend commented, "Nobody buys jeans for $68. You should sell them for $110." The partners snipped off the tags that night -- and the jeans blew out of stores at the higher price.

But to raise cash these days, Five Four is manufacturing just about anything that will turn a buck: backpacks, wine-bottle openers and socks -- three pairs for $20. They're cutting out middlemen by selling direct to consumers on their Web site and in pop-up stores -- a trendy retailing concept in which shops open for just a few days or weeks.

Five Four's net sales wound up flat at $8 million in 2008. With widespread store closings among their retailers, the brand is being sold in 800 stores, down from 1,000.

On a recent day at Five Four's office, Mr. Izquieta said he's still ambitious. "I want to create our generation's Polo. You can't be a megabrand in the U.S. today if you're selling a woven shirt for $200," he said. "I think the concept of luxury is passé."

Moments later, the company's chief financial officer stepped into the room with more disquieting news: Their buyer at Macy's had just been laid off, leaving Five Four with no relationship at a key customer.

Meanwhile, Mr. Murthy laments the end of his love affair with his still-new Aston Martin. It's nearly paid for, but he's convinced people give him dirty looks. "I always wanted a sports car. Now I'm like, 'What a stupid purchase. What did I think I was proving by buying that?

SOURCE: WSJ

Secret Wars= The Art of Battling

For more on this secret art freestyle session, click here.

HENRY TAYLOR @ RENTAL, February 21 - March 22

February 21 – March 22, 2009
@RENTAL, New York
Reception Saturday, Feb 21st from 7 – 9 pm


Henry Taylor’s work is happening. It is happening on boxes and cigarette packs, beer cases and canvases, too, and if you are reading this in Los Angeles in April, it’s probably happening there now. Conceived in three-parts, this exhibition presents the full compass of Taylor’s practice: in New York, his paintings; in Paris, recent sculptures and painted works on boxes; and in LA, his studio itself, transposed in its brimming, full-functioning entirety to the Melser&Hug gallery space.

If such notions of entirety or, for that matter, full-functioning ateliers seem antiquated, it is perhaps because Taylor has hewn to a practice long considered retrograde, portraiture. Taylor’s subjects are his friends and visitors, kids from the block and guys in the alley as documented by the neighborhood flâneur, and they are always colored, whether in black-and-white schematics that recall Kerry James Marshall or William Copley, or in Modilgiani-esque brushwork that implies the protean assignations of race. His paintings have a spontaneous, documentary élan that might suggest the charm of an outsider artist—and indeed Taylor was late to go to art school and quick to leave it—, were they not so involved with an insider discourse. When his paintings quote Manet or replicate Picasso’s Demoiselles, they do so only to reject aristocratic remove for wry reflexivity (the black face beside an odalisque is just as likely Taylor’s).

In an outpouring of painterly productivity, these gestures find their way to whatever surface is at hand. But boxes and cartons that fall under Taylor’s brush don’t end up baptized by it; they remain comically embedded in a world of consumer comestibles and disposable packaging. A detergent box appropriates the Tide logo to emblazon Henry as the new household name; a box of grits is whited out to read just “ITS,” followed in crude pen by “grits.” Whether on a canvas or in his studio, aesthetic space for Taylor is not an alchemist’s lair or a factory. It is another place where life goes on in all its vibrant havoc, and Taylor will bring its happenings into the white cube, even it means moving in himself.

- Joanna Fiduccia


Henry Taylor has exhibited in solo shows at The Santa Monica Museum of Modern Art, The Studio Museum in Harlem, Cardenas Bellanger, Sister Gallery and Daniel Reich Gallery. Additionally, Taylor has been featured in group exhibitions including the Rubell Family Collection, Peres Projects, Berlin, Jack Hanley Gallery, Los Angeles, Milliken Gallery, Sweden, MOCA North Miami, Samson Projects, Boston, and Ben Kaufman Gallery, Berlin. He will also be included in a forthcoming exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery in London. Henry Taylor received his BFA from CalArts, and lives and works in Los Angeles.

Henry Taylor @ RENTAL coincides with upcoming exhibitions of Henry Taylor’s work at Cardenas Bellanger in Paris from March 14 to April 11, 2009, and at Mesler&Hug in Los Angeles from April 4 to May 9th, 2009.


RENTAL Feb. 21 – Mar. 22, 2009
www.rental-gallery.com

Cardenas Bellanger Mar. 14 – Apr. 11, 2009
www.cardenasbellanger.com

Mesler&Hug Apr. 4 – May 9, 2009
www.meslerandhug.com


RENTAL
120 EAST BROADWAY, 6TH FL NY NY 10002 T.212.608.6002 INFO@RENTAL-GALLERY.COM

SOURCE: RG

MoMA Displays Iconic Reproductions at NYC Subway Station

NEW YORK, NY - MoMA Atlantic/Pacific is a large-scale installation of reproductions from The Museum of Modern Art's renowned collection of modern and contemporary art, displayed in the Atlantic Avenue/Pacific Street subway station in Brooklyn through March 15, 2009. The purpose of the underground communications campaign is to broaden awareness of MoMA’s collection and convey the affordable benefits of membership to local New York audiences.

58 Iconic Images
The station will be the site of some 58 reproductions from every segment of MoMA’s collection, including such iconic works as: Pablo Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night, Claude Monet’s Reflections of Clouds on the Water-Lily Pond, Marcel Duchamp’s Bicycle Wheel, and Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Cans. Throughout the expansive station, subway commuters will view large-scale posters of drawings by Ed Ruscha; photographs by Cindy Sherman, Nan Goldin, and Andreas Gursky; architectural drawings by Frank Lloyd Wright and Mies van der Rohe; design objects by Charles and Ray Eames and William Morris; and media works by Doug Aitken, Pipilotti Rist, and Bruce Nauman.

The installation will be accompanied by:

• the launch of a customized project website (www.moma.org/atlanticpacific ) that includes a map and guide to the works of art
• audio commentaries on selected works and information on MoMA membership that can be accessed by a toll-free phone number (888-939-MoMA)
• a free brochure distributed at street level on February 10 and 12 that will include a coupon for free admission to the Museum or a discount on membership

MoMA Atlantic/Pacific—known as a “station domination” campaign—is one in a series of innovative initiatives recommended by a new marketing advisory committee established by the Museum in January 2008. It was conceived by Doug Jaeger, CEO, Founder, thehappycorp global, and designed by Julia Hoffmann, MoMA’s Creative Director for Advertising and Graphics.

SOURCE: AKN

RSG moves from DC to.....Brooklyn?

Randall Scott Gallery
is moving to Brooklyn

So, come join us for a moving party
Friday 13th
7pm-Midnight

1326 14th street NW
at Rhode Island

Gallery closes Feb 14th at 6pm.


Randall Scott

Purchase of the Day: Shen Wei's "HYRAMD"

Shen Wei Limited Edition Print

Hyramd, 2005

Archival pigment print | Paper: 13 x 19 | Image: 12 x 9.6 | Signed and numbered | Edition of 5
$475.00 | PURCHASE PRINT

The Collector’s Guide to Emerging Art Photography Book Launch Party

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Humble Arts Foundation Presents

The Collector’s Guide to Emerging Art Photography Launch Party
Thursday, March 5, 6 – 9 PM
VOLTA NY
7 W. 34th Street at 5th Avenue
voltashow.com

The Collector’s Guide to Emerging Art Photography After Party
Boucarou
Thursday, March 5, 10 PM until late
64 E. 1st Street at 1st Avenue

RSVP required for both events. Guest list strictly enforced. Send RSVPs to: rsvp@hafny.org.

Humble Arts Foundation is pleased to present The Collector's Guide To Emerging Art Photography, a 180-page source book for collectors, art dealers, gallery directors, photo editors, museum professionals, and independent curators. Featuring 163 emerging art photographers, The Collector's Guide aims to further Humble’s mission by bridging the gap between ambitious early-career photographers and photography professionals.

The Collector's Guide book launch party will take place at VOLTA NY, Thursday, March 5th from 6 – 9pm at 7 W. 34th St at 5th Ave. The reception will be held in VOLTA’s VIP lounge. An after party will be held at Boucarou, 64 E. 1st St. at 1st Ave, Thursday, March 5, 10 PM – until late. RSVP required: rsvp@hafny.org.

A select number of books will be available for sale.

Participating photographers include: Dustin Aksland,Carlos Albalá, Kathyrn Parker Almanas, Corey Arnold, Peter Baker, Rob Ball, Gideon Barnett, Anna Bauer, Matthew Baum, Juliana Beasley, Johan Bergström, Brian Berman, Colin Blakely, Dan Boardman, Steven Brahms, Mark Brautigam, Timothy Briner, Jessica Bruah, Michael Bühler-Rose, Jesse Burke, Alejandro Cartagena, Jacob Carter, Melissa Catanese, Anastasia Cazabon, Alana Celii, Talia Chetrit, Andrea Chu, Céline Clanet, François Coquerel, Robyn Cumming, Chris Davis, Rachael Dunville, Dan Eckstein, Gerald Edwards III, Scott Eiden, Amy Elkins, Geoffrey Ellis, Tealia Ellis-Ritter, Grant Ernhart, Thobias Fäldt, Jan Fassbender, Jon Feinstein, Todd Fisher, Lucas Foglia, Manya Fox, Zack Genin, Dana Gentile, Sam Gezari, Emiliano Granado, Leslie Grant, Yann Gross, Gustav Gustafsson, Gregory Halpern, Paul Herbst, Beth Herzhaft, Susanna Hesselberg, Nicole Jean Hill, Ben Huff, Lacey Ann Johnson, Dina Kantor, Nicole Katz, Drew Kelly, Mikael Kennedy, Gunnar Knechtel, Liz Kuball, Naho Kubota, William Lamson, Molly Landreth, Mårten Lange, Shane Lavalette, Alejandra Laviada, Jason Lazarus, Bryan Lear, Ashley Lefrak, Miranda Lehman, Brian Lesteberg, Jennifer Loeber, Sophie T. Lvoff, Thomas Macker, Ashley Macknica, Sarah Madsen, Alison Malone, Jessica Mallios, John Mann, Michael Marcelle, Marc McAndrews, Andrew Robert McComb, Erica McDonald, Tammy Mercure, Nick Meyer, Chad Muthard, Wakaba Noda, Boru O’Brien O’Connell, Bob O’Connor, Grady O’Connor, Patrick O’Hare, Christina Maria Oswald, Robert Pallesen, Sarah Palmer, Lydia Panas, Ahndraya Parlato, Brandon Pavan, Eric Percher, Nathan Ellis Perkel, Regine Petersen, Ryan Pfluger, Cara Phillips, Birthe Piontek, Louis Porter, Friederike Von Rauch, Shawn Records, Justin James Reed, Reka Reisinger, Peter Riesett, Jenny Riffle, Lissa Rivera, Jessica Roberts, Carlo Van de Roer, Patrick Romero, Dalton Rooney, Nadine Rovner, Will Sanders, John Saponara, Matthew Schenning, Jennifer Niederhauser Schlup, Aaron Schuman, Stephen K. Schuster, Bryan Jacob Schutmaat, Matthew Shain, Angus R. Shamal, Daniel Shea, Matt Siber, Sarah Small, Angie Smith, Tema Stauffer, Will Steacy, Amy Stein, Parsley Steinweiss, Luke Stettner, Sean Stewart, Barry Stone, Sarah Sudhoff, JJ Sulin, Rachel Sussman, Tina Tyrell, Simon Vahala, Alex Van Clief, Kamden Vencill, Caroline de Vries, Michael Werner, Emma Wieslander, Sara Wight, Grant Willing, Sarah Wilmer, Ofer Wolberger, Jason John Würm, Wheat Wurtzburger, Jeongmee Yoon, Anoush Abrar & Aimée Hoving, Allison Wermager & Alexander M. Harrington, Inka Lindergård & Niclas Holmström, Kate and Camilla and Tribble & Mancenido.

Humble Arts Foundation is a not-for-profit organization that works to advance the careers of emerging fine-art photographers by way of exhibition and publishing opportunities, limited-edition print sales, twice-annual artists grants, and educational programming.

For additional information and press inquiries, please send an email to amani olu at PRESS@HAFNY.ORG.

###

FRANCIS BACON: Study after Velazquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X

This terrifying image, based on Diego Velazquez's famous portrait, depicts the tortured expression of a blood-spattered Pope, imprisoned in a tubular construction resembling an unpadded throne. The background, painted in dramatic vertical strokes, cruelly blurs out the screaming figure as he sits helplessly with clenched fists. While Bacon's sources and subject matter were often based on real or traditional images - Old Master paintings, newspaper photographs, film stills or X-rays, for instance - his treatment of them is shockingly perverse.

As in this painting, he highlighted the distasteful, and sometimes the disgusting, depths of the human psyche with nightmarish intensity. Although his early works have been likened to those of the artist Graham Sutherland, Bacon progressed to develop his own particular idiom, remaining best known for his often horrific distortions of the human form.

Francis Bacon. Study after Velazquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X. 1953. oil on canvas. h153 x w118cm. h60 1/4 x w46 1/2in. Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, IA

Phaidon (2001). The Art Book (pg. 23). New York: Phaidon Press Inc.

THE ART OF GIVING: Yves Saint Laurent USB Heart & Tote Bag Giveway

Celebrating Valentines Day in style, Yves Saint Laurent look to giveaway looks of their Spring/Summer 2009 Manifesto Collection in a new, interactive method. The fashion house will be uploading the photoshoot by Inez Van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin onto a heart-shaped USB flashdrive. The hearts will be handed out in the streets of New York, Paris, London, Hong Kong and Tokyo alongside a Stefano Pilati designed tote bag to the first 2,000 people.

SOURCE: Secretbase

PARRA: The Best of Book

Spanish publication Vallery released a book in honor of Dutch artist Parra's work. This follows a recent exhibition and features 64 pages of his greatest works from corky to provocative. The Best of Parra is available for $9.99 at Turntable Lab.

CHILD SOLDIERS Opens at the powerHouse Arena/ February 12, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

The powerHouse Arena is pleased to announce an exhibition for

Child Soldiers:

Forced to be Cruel

Curated by Leora Kahn and Peter Mantello

Opening Reception: Thursday, February 12, 7-9PM

The powerHouse Arena

37 Main Street, Brooklyn

For more information please call (718) 666-3049

RSVP: rsvp@powerhousearena.com

Exhibition: February 12-March 8, 2009


Up to half a million children are engaged in more than 85 conflicts worldwide. As armed conflict proliferates, increasing numbers of children are exposed to the brutalities of war. Boys and girls around the world are recruited to be child soldiers by armed forces and militant groups, either forcibly or voluntarily. Some are tricked into service by manipulative recruiters, others join in order to escape poverty or discrimination, while still others are outright abducted at school, on the streets, and at home. Aside from participating in combat, many are used for sexual purposes, made to lay and clear land mines, or employed as spies, messengers, porters, or servants. Kids have become the ultimate weapons of twenty-first-century war.

This exhibition will feature the work of prominent photographers: Dominic Sansoni, Olivier Pin Fat (Agence VU), Alvaro Ybarra Zavala (Agence VU), Peter Mantello, Tomas van Houtryve (PANOS), Tiane Doan na Champassak (Agence VU), Ami Vitale, Bob Koenig, Guy Tillim, Colin Finlay, Jan Grarup (Noor Images), Francesco Zizola (Noor Images), Q. Sakamaki, Zed Nelson (Panos), Francesco Cito (Panos), Martin Adler (Panos), Tim A Hetherington, Richard Butler, Sven Torfinn, Giacomo Pirozzi (Panos), Roger Lemoyne, Rhodri Jones(Panos), Cedric Gerbehaye, Riccardo Gangale.

Child Soldiers focuses on individual stories about these children, captured by photographers and writers from across the globe. The book explores the children’s time as combatants, as well as their demobilization and rehabilitation. Included are Tim Hetherington's photographs from Liberia; Roger Lemoyne and Cedric Gerbehaye’s work from the Congo; Ami Vitale’s series on child Maoist recruits in Nepal; and other work from Burma, Colombia, the Central African Republic, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Palestine.

Leora Kahn is the founder of Proof: Media for Social Justice, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to create awareness of the issues faced by populations in post-conflict societies and to encourage social change through the use of photography and words. Kahn has served as the director of photography at Workman Publishing and Corbis, and is currently at work on global projects with Amnesty International, Participant Films, and the Karuana Center for Peacebuilding. She recently edited the Lucie Award-winning Darfur: 20 Years of War and Genocide in Sudan (powerHouse Books, 2007) in collaboration with Amnesty, and curated an accompanying exhibit that will tour the US this year with the Holocaust Museum Houston. Kahn is currently working on an exhibition in Rwanda with Aegis Trust about Hutu rescuers during the genocide.

Child Soldiers features the work of prominent photographers, who have covered the use of children in combat around the world. Contributing writers include Jo Becker, Children’s Rights Advocacy Director for Human Rights Watch, Jimmie Briggs, journalist and author of Innocents Lost: When Child Soldiers Go to War (Basic Books, 2005), Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, International Criminal Court Prosecutor, Emmanuel Jal, a Sudanese musician and former child soldier, and Michael Wessels, a professor of psychology at Columbia University.

CHILD SOLDIERS/DOCUMENTARY

HC, 12 x 9.5 inches, 120 pages, 65 four-color and black-and-white photographs,

ISBN: 978-1-57687-455-4, $45.00

To preview the book please visit http://www.powerhousebooks.com/book/428