Last night 'Hey, Hot Shot! 2007 Ne Plus Ultra' opened in New York, the annual exhibition of four photographers chosen from the past year's Hot Shot, a competition for emerging photographers which is run by the Jen Bekman gallery. The four Hot Shot Ultras - Nina Berman, Brad Moore, Karolina Karlic and Birthe Piontek - are showing work in the exhibition and will also be given a solo show at the gallery this year.
The 2007 Hey, Hot Shot! judges were Joerg Colberg, founder of the fine art photography blog Conscientious, Christine Collins, jen bekman photographer and 2005 Ultra, Amit Gupta, founder of Photojojo.com, Stephen Frailey, School of Visual Arts Photography Department Chair, Jenni Holder, former director of Edwynn Houk gallery, Anthony LaSala, Senior Editor, PDN, Darren Ching, Creative Director, PDN, Darius Himes, Editor of Photo Eye and Lesley Martin, Executive Editor, Aperture Books. Also on the panel this year are 2006 Hot Shot! Ultras Ian Baguskas, Kate Bingaman-Burt, Alison Grippo + Joseph O. Holmes.
If you'd like to take a look at all the Hot Shots from the past year click here.
Pfc. Adam Zaremba by Nina Berman
'I'm a documentary photography interested in the American political and social landscape. I started as a writer wanting to tell stories but found myself increasingly frustrated with the act of writing and would edit myself into oblivion. I chose instead to make images because I felt the process was inexact and I enjoyed not knowing for sure if what I felt and hoped to convey actually came through in the photograph. Now I intentionally seek the ambiguity of a photograph's meaning and welcome the conversation generated by imagery that has multiple interpretations. I have no formal training other than a dark room course long ago at the New School. I made the photographs of those injured during wartime in an attempt to explore the myths of warfare and offer images that strip the warrior of heroic sentiment.' Nina Berman
405 & Magnola, Fountain Valley, CA by Brad Moore
'These photographs were shot in modest, well-worn, suburban cities in central Orange County, California. Built in the 50s and 60s, these cities provided a new home and future to a post-war population. While southern Orange County's coastal cities flourish with affluence, central Orange County struggles. Future prosperity and civic health seem to come primarily from growing ethnic populations, which are reviving and recreating these cities for their communities.
I grew up in central Orange County. After 25 years I returned, and was fascinated by the simultaneous decline and growth. I stayed away from traditional, documentary-style photography, instead I have photographed only select buildings and the nearby shrubbery in primarily static, symmetrical compositions. Together, the buildings and foliage convey change, irony and evolution of place.' Brad Moore
Rosa Parks Blvd by Karolina Karlic
'"Why did we come here?" I asked years later. It was probably the first time my father answered any of my questions truly from his heart. "You should never abandon your home," he said. I realized his regret, in "jumping the gun", losing friends, family, and career, while gaining a life for his daughter. Just as my father built pride in his life here in America, I cherish the remarkable circumstances that the people of Detroit endure. The resulting work is my continued quest to understand how pervasively Detroit and its people have transformed me into who I am today, and have continued to push me away from where my parents came from. I continue to attempt to define myself and have a fascination with the unappreciated or those with great desires. My inspiration comes through my research on master painters of Poland whom never received acknowledgement in their lifetime and from within the writings of ethnographic studies.' Karolina Karlic
From the series Sub Rosa by Birthe Piontek
'Similar to numerous other photographers my first take on photography was rather journalistic. Inspired by artists like Jeff Wall, Stephen Shore, Anna Gaskell and the work of David Lynch my pictures became increasingly staged over the last years. In order to tell my stories, I frequently use a combination of portraits and stills, which currently constitute the lion's share of my work. Two subjects have always been of great interest to me: innocence and adolescence - both of which playing major roles in my latest project Sub Rosa. The intimate moments captured in Sub Rosa oppose the innocent vulnerabiliy of youth to otherwise rather somber settings. We are confronted with introductions and conclusions of stories from a world we once were privy to - all the while hinting at secrets and revealing none.' Birthe Piontek
Ne Plus Ultra The Hey, Hot Shot! Annual
Until 15 March
6 Spring Street
New York city 10012
T: +1 212.219.0166
www.jenbekman.com
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