Untitled (Black Blocks), by Todd St. John

Happy New Year to my 20x200 collector pals! It's been a while, hasn't it? I must confess: I didn't exactly pine for my weekday morning newsletter deadlines, but it's certainly true that I've missed the art, the writing about the art, the all-around 20x200 hustle and yes, of course, you collector people too. Thanks for all the "When are you coming back? You are coming back aren't you?" emails - we love to feel loved and yes we are back.

Today's edition, Untitled (Black Blocks), is an original drawing created exclusively for 20x200 by art + design renaissance fella Todd St. John. The prints are created using archival pigment inks on 100% cotton rag paper and are available in three sizes - it's up to you to decide just how much woodgrain goodness you need in your life. (If you ask me, I say: Too much of a good thing can be wonderful.)

As previously mentioned, I have a bit of a preoccupation with woodgrain, but Todd's interest far outpaces my own. Explore his site and you'll see that he's done all kinds of clever things with woodgrain: rugs, magazine racks, installations, skateboard decks. It's woodgrain heaven!

He also makes cool things out of actual wood, as evidenced in this awesome video, Circle Squared, recently commissioned by T, the uber-hip New York Times Magazine style supplement.

Todd's one of those people who sits comfortably at the nexus of art + design, which is quite a feat as that's normally quite a precarious perch to occupy. There's a tendency to want to put someone in the design box or the art box, to which Todd says: "I'll take your box and make art out of it!" Or put art in it, or design a fabulous ad-campaign around it.*

Apart from artful design (or is it art by design?) what I find appealing about Todd's work is his consistently inventive exploration of the various intersections of humans, nature and machines. (If I had a crack design staff at my beck and call, I'd include a cool Venn diagram here, a la VSL. Alas, I do not.)

Todd contains the uncontainable with humor, insight and originality. His work is playful without being twee, and cool without being cold. He puts precise edges on the undulating curves of nature. He squares circles the way normal people cross their t's and dot their i's. I always feel a little smarter and cooler for getting what he's up to, but the truth is that his whole approach makes some high-minded ideas easy to get.

So yes, in case you were wondering, I am a fan and I am most pleased to have an edition from Mr. St. John here on 20x200. Speaking of fandom, tomorrow I will bring you an edition from a photographer who's got fans world wide, via the web. Until then, I bid you adieu.

*Ed note: Todd himself is more of a soft spoken guy, not prone to such bold proclamations. I can't say I've ever actually seen him use an exclamation point in writing, nor utter a sentence where one might transcribe it with ! at its end, but this is how the work speaks to me, a person who is in fact prone to both proclamations and exclamation points.

Untitled (LA20070805), by Noah Kalina

Unseasonably warm and drizzly Wednesday greetings from New York City, where my butt continues to be kicked by jetlag. (3am is the new 8am. Have you heard?) I'm very excited to announce today's photography edition by Noah Kalina.

Untitled (LA20070805), a moody interior shot last Summer in Los Angeles, is available in three editions. All the prints are printed on 100% cotton rag paper, using archival pigment inks.

Seeing as how Noah is fine photographer, and is practically the poster child for the definition of internet famous, you'd be well-advised to put some hustle in your bustle and buy your print now, as it's selling awfully fast.

Having known Noah since way back in 2005 - when he was a tadpole of a a photographer, a recent SVA grad taking pictures of stuff - I can assure you that internet fame has not gone to his head. I like to call him the Woody Allen of photography.

Things can be totally super awesome and we'll still be having these sad-sack IM conversations in the middle of the night about what's good, if anything's good at all, and what do people really think and what does it all mean. I do enjoy having another self-doubting misanthrope insomniac to keep me company in the darkest hours. (And actually I don't think either of us are actual dyed-in-the-wool misanthropes, it's just that things often seem a little gloomy at 3am.)

IM also played a big role in our getting this edition off the ground. Aside from Noah stopping by the studio to sign a gajillion certs, our 20x200 dealings have been entirely virtual.

Because I am SO NICE, and also because I knew we could work it out over IM, I indulged Noah's "But I hate writing statements!" pouting and we cobbled something together from last night's conversation.

Here are some snippets that didn't make it into the statement, but are germane (and amusing! and at times embarrassing for both, or either, of us!) nonetheless:

noahkalina: This was in the house that I was staying in, I was attracted to the light and the total bareness of the room.
noahkalina: The blinds created this wicked shadow though
Jen Bekman: (See this isn't so hard...)
noahkalina: Okay mommy
Jen Bekman: Ok, so I would say that there is something specific about your lighting
noahkalina: :)
Jen Bekman: Whether it's portraits or interiors or landscapes
Jen Bekman: It's always kind of cinematic
noahkalina: Yes
noahkalina: People describe it as cinematic and i agree
noahkalina: I like to tell stories with my photos, and that is how I relate people and place
noahkalina: Set the mood and tone for the overall story
Jen Bekman: And in this case it's just the existing light, not a flash/manipulation right?
noahkalina: Yes, all existing light
Jen Bekman: Right one of the things i like about this photo is that it's got a strong narrative feel without having people in it.
Jen Bekman: Which is something I generally like too
Jen Bekman: Man, this photo totally gives me a creepy San Fernando Valley porny feeling
noahkalina: Totally
Jen Bekman: Did you know that I have an irrational fear of mattresses? That exposed box spring seriously makes my skin crawl
noahkalina: It's too bad sex didn't just happen there
Jen Bekman: Is this the room you were staying in? That'd make it a self portrait of sorts.
noahkalina: I mean, it could be, I am not about telling the truth with photos
Jen Bekman: Heh
Jen Bekman: Who is really?
--
Jen Bekman: One of the reasons I like this photo is that is relates to the stuff you showed w/ me for HHS
Jen Bekman: Before you were Mr Internet Famous
noahkalina: haha
noahkalina: OG shit
noahkalina: (original gangsta)
Jen Bekman: lol
noahkalina: I obviously have different styles, different personalities
noahkalina: I am Noah, noahk and Noah Kalina
Jen Bekman: who took this one?
noahkalina: Noah Kalina
noahkalina: haha
Jen Bekman: Which one takes photos for curbed?
noahkalina: Oh
noahkalina: That is Kalina
Jen Bekman: So there are really FOUR of you
noahkalina: Yes
Jen Bekman: So many that you're not able to keep track
noahkalina: Pretty much
Jen Bekman: So noahk is everyday
noahkalina: Identity crisis every day
noahkalina: Yes
Jen Bekman: Which pix are Noah?
noahkalina: That is just me when i am like not holding a camera
Jen Bekman: oh so boring
Jen Bekman: ;)
noahkalina: haha
noahkalina: If you put this chat up I am going to look insane
Jen Bekman: I would edit it heavily*
Jen Bekman: But yes, we'll both look insane
noahkalina: That's kinda cool then
Jen Bekman: Sane people are boring
noahkalina: True that
Jen Bekman: Do you get the newsletters?
Jen Bekman: For 20x200 i mean
noahkalina: Yup
Jen Bekman: So you know what you're in for...

*Ed. Note: In fact, and much to Mr. Kalina's panicky dismay, this transcript has not been edited - the fact that we both sound like dorky teenagers is a hazard of the medium. No. Really.

Color Study #4, by Dustin Amery Hostetler (UPSO)

Sniffling-sneezing-coughing-aching-but-I-can't-rest greetings, collectors. I am all flu-ish and fuzzy-headed today, and yes, it's true, I'm feeling a little sorry for myself. I had big plans for the day and I'm now trying to reassess how many of those plans might be executed while lying on my couch, sipping tea and sniffling. Sniff.

One thing that can be achieved for sure is this here edition announcement, announcing a cheerfully bright and vaguely creepy (in a good way!) original piece by the amazingly multi-talented artist + illustrator Dustin Amery Hostetler aka UPSO.

Color Study #4 is available as a limited edition exclusively through 20x200 and is available in 3 sizes. The prints were made using archival inks on 100% cotton rag paper.

Dustin is shockingly prolific; he's an artist (with a solo show coming up: i will miss you when im gone opens at Wootini in March), an illustrator, a designer, an art annual publisher, a maker of cool t-shirts and I think maybe a music mogul as well. In other words, he's clearly not a fan of the sleeping.

I have a fairly voracious and indiscriminate appetite when it comes to art + design, but my knowledge of the t-shirt, toy, snowboard/skatedeck realms is admittedly limited. Dustin submitted his work to 20x200 and thereby broadened my horizons. (OK, first I felt a little old and square, and then I broadened my horizons.) Broadened horizons aside, Dustin and I have an important thing in common: we both really believe in this whole "art for everyone" idea.

Color Study #4 fits nicely with the other illustration + design-oriented editions we've done so far: Last week's Black Blocks by Todd St. John, Linzie Hunter's Say Goodbye and Boundless spam-lines drawings, Optical 01 by Mike Perry. But to be a bit of contrarian, to hell with what goes with what! I hope that 20x200 collectors are open to having their horizons broadened as well, which is why we've shown a diverse array of styles and mediums in our short history.

We'll continue to show more, and more after that. In fact, I have more to come tomorrow, in the form of a super cool (practically freezing in fact) photo. For now, I'm back to my sipping and sniffling.

White Ice, by Tema Stauffer

Due to severe flu conditions at 20x200 World HQ (ie: my couch), typing a coherent newsletter yesterday was deemed impossible. I'm slightly more with it today, but advance blame for typos and imprecise language goes to Nyquil. This week's photography edition comes to us from 20x200 artist Tema Stauffer and a portion of the proceeds will benefit the super-cool Art Shanty Projects.

White Ice is printed with archival inks on a substantial 100% cotton rag paper with a luster finish. As always, the edition is available in three sizes:

8.5"x11"
Edition of 200 $20/each

17"x22"
Edition of 20 $200/each

30"x40"
Edition of 2 $2000/each

The fifth season of Art Shanty Projects opens this Saturday on Medicine Lake in frosty (2°F!) Plymouth , MN. Peter Haakon Thompson, the founder of this wintry art extravaganza, was my Minneapolis host and tour-guide when I visited just before Christmas.

Everywhere we went, people were talking about their Shanty preparations. There was much speculation about the thickness of the ice, chatter about building materials and heated discussions about propane. At an art event we attended I had a long conversation about the potential benefits of baked potatoes, both as heat source and sustenance. By the end of my weekend, I was contemplating sleeping bag snowsuits, justifying the purchase of mukluks and planning a mid-February trip so I could have the Art Shanty Experience firsthand.

The Shanties engage in arty ideas in disarmingly unpretentious ways - interacting with the environment is inevitable, and its novelty engages all kinds of people in art. The community it fosters is vibrant and active, just at a time when creatures are supposed to be crawling into their caves and hibernating. It's art for everyone (you know I'm a fan!) in a public realm.

Today's edition is a trophy of Tema's from the 2005 season of Art Shanty Projects*, which I exhibited at one of the gallery's Pin-Up Shows later that same year. After the show, the print got tucked away in a flat file, but it's a photo I've thought of often, which is pretty unusual for me - I sift through loads of images all the time, which doesn't give any specific one much opportunity to take hold. This picture did though; it's oddness, color and geometry lodged in my memory.

And now, my friends, I bid you adieu till next week. The clock is ticking down to my next Nyquil dose and the cozy couch beckons.

*The 2008 Art Shanty Projects' Flickr stream has more respresentational photos of this year's shanties, and here's a clip of some Art Shanty shenanigans.

As of last night, 20x200 is bringing the international flavor in a big way. We've been shipping to the UK and Canada for a while now. Unsurprisingly, denizens of other nations want their affordable art too!

We now offer Priority and Express shipping of our small and medium prints to the following fine countries (rates vary):

Australia
Belgium
Denmark
England (UK)
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hong Kong
Iceland
India
Ireland
Italy
Japan
Malaysia
The Netherlands
New Zealand
Northern Ireland (UK)
Norway
The Philippines
Portugal
Scotland (UK)
Singapore
South Africa
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Thailand
Wales (UK)

If your country isn't on this list and you're jonesing for 20x200 prints (you know you are), fear not! Send a note to shipping at 20x200 dot com and request that we add you. We'll get right on it.

Birds of the Pacific Northwest, by Laura Levine

Greetings, collectors. It's Tuesday, the air is cold and the sky is grey, and yet: the birds are singing!

Today's fine feathered friends are hatched from the imaginings of NYC artist and illustrator Laura Levine. You might recall her fast-selling edition from the early days of 20x200, lo those many months ago. You little chickadees have been squawking for more ever since, and who am I to deny you?

Proud as a peacock, I present to you Birds of the Pacific Northwest, a limited edition print available in three fabulous sizes, exclusively through 20x200. The prints are created using archival inks on 100% cotton rag matte paper.

Is your natural habitat in a far off land? You'll be most happy to hear that our carrier pigeons are now traveling greatly expanded routes. As of last night 20x200 ships to thirty countries the world over.

I can't wait to crow about an equally delightful photography edition that's in the pipeline, featuring another noble beast from our animal kingdom. I'll be home to roost again tomorrow... until then, this bird has flown.

Panda, by Charlie Crane

As promised, I've come home to roost!

It was quite something to watch those Birds of the Pacific Northwest fly out the door. And then something else to receive and read forlorn emails from collectors who missed out on both the small and medium editions. What can I say? The early bird gets the worm! (The largest prints in the edition are still available, for now, and they're totally gorgeous.)

But enough with the birds! Today we're bringing things back down to earth, on an entirely different continent, with Panda, by widely-lauded British photographer Charlie Crane.

Panda is available exclusively through 20x200, and has been editioned in three sizes. All the prints are created using archival pigment inks on 100% cotton rag paper with a luster finish.

Let's face it, pandas are awesome. (Raul just shook his head and laughed at me when I said that out loud.) I have been bouncing on my toes with excitement for weeks now at the prospect of releasing the Dirty Panda edition, as we've been referring to it in house. It's got a certain high/low appeal that I am naturally drawn to.

High because Charlie's a fancy fella. His book, Welcome to Pyongyang was a top pick on many of the photography world cognoscenti's favorite photo book lists for 2007, and for good reason. It's a gorgeous book, put out by Chris Boot, publishers of many of photography's finest tomes.

It's low because... it's dirty this is not your typical panda photo, rather it's what I think of as panda verité. The fact is, that in spite of their mass appeal, as Charlie rightly points out pandas, are lazy slothful creatures.

I myself have spent much of my life in the throes of panda mania. When I was a kid, it was pandas or koalas. Sure some of the nature books told me that Koalas wouldn't hesitate to rip me to shreds in spite of their cute luggage-textured noses and fluffy ears. In spite of that, I was certain that I'd make fast friends with any koala or panda I happened to meet. (An assumption I never had occasion to challenge.)

Slothful or not, Charlie's panda is still awfully cute as he lounges about in the Wolong Nature Reserve in Sichuan, China. It's an image that indulges two rather opposite sides of my nature: the giggly kid who likes cute stuff (she's in there, honest) and then the cynic who likes seeing things as they are, and really appreciates Charlie's dry British humor in photographic form.

So yes, high and low. Cute and dirty. Mass and niche. It's all here in this photo, you just have to look for it.

ny.07.#34, by Jennifer Sanchez

Hello collectors and thank you for your patience. It was worth the wait, as you can see right here!

I was waylaid by a long and fruitful meeting and now am late late late for a very important date. For now, let's focus on the two most important words:

Jennifer Sánchez

Check the blog later to hear more about this lovely painting, the woman herself and 20x200 too.

Ta-ta for now!

The Office, by Rebecca Loyche

Happy Wednesday (which feels like Thursday to me for some reason) collectors! After a morning of pelting rain and wind, I'm glad about the blue skies out our window, not to mention the fact that I have a window to look out of.

The lack of exterior windows is one of the many things that gets me about today's photography edition, The Office from Rebecca Loyche. As always, this limited edition is available exclusively through 20x200. All three sizes are printed on 100% cotton rag paper using archival inks.

I initially discovered Ms. Loyche's work via Paddy Johnson, a NYC art critic who publishes her witty and biting commentary daily on the site Art Fag City. In addition to regular doses of candor, Paddy also has an ongoing spotlight for emerging artists via her In Our Masthead series. An image from Rebecca's Legs series caught my eye a while back and I liked what I saw when I clicked through to her site.

Narrative is often an important element of the photography I'm drawn to. I love it when people walk into the gallery and start telling me stories about the photos that they're looking at. Many of the photos that I live with at home have stories attached to them: from the artists themselves, or of my own imaginings, associations or memories. There's a comfort in these tales and a certain meditative quality in their constant retelling. The subjects become characters, and the tableaux become familiar in that same way there are certain houses I've visited a million times in my dreams without ever having gone their in my real life.

The Office reminds me of a lot of things that I'm happy to have left behind. Windowless cubicles, PCs, feather boas. I've forsaken all of them, oddly enough! I have my own far-fetched theories about this particular scene based upon the evidence presented and my own personal neuroses.

Our heroine has lived her adult life plagued by an irrational fear of fiscal management which manifested itself in the form of sweaty palms, night terrors, persistent low-level anxiety. (Not that I'm projecting, no not me.) Steeled by therapy and the support of good friends, she prevailed against her subconscious and conquered the demon that is Quick Books. This momentous occasion was cause for rejoicing, so she put on her red dress and went out to celebrate.

After a night of revelry and a considerable champagne buzz, she returned to her cube and feeling virtuous, decided to account for the evening's expenses immediately. Sadly, tipsy good intentions proved to be her undoing as she inadvertently deleted all her earlier hard work. She slumps to the floor in shock, and this is exactly where her coworkers find her the next morning, staring blankly into space.

I am absolutely certain that this narrative is wholly my own and has little to do with Rebecca's intentions when making the picture. I'm also absolutely certain that the inconsistencies don't matter. I've got my story, she's got hers and we're both better for having imagined them. You too are free to make up your own story: try it, it's fun!

I'll be back with more arty goodness next week, but also plan on doing some catching up on past editions in the interim. Check the blog later this week to hear more about yesterday's edition. (Which clearly speaks for itself as it's just about gone already, in spite of my being remiss in yesterday's newslettering.)