Untitled (from Sub Rosa), by Birthe Piontek

Good morning my collector friends! Welcome to day two of my recently renewed resolve to get up early after staying up late. (I almost always stay up late, my ability to get up early waxes and wanes.) This new resolve, it's all for you! Art to the people: early and often. That's my motto.

Today's edition is an untitled photograph by the Vancouver-based artist Birthe Piontek, whom* I had the good fortune to spend lots of time with this past weekend. She and her fellow 20x200 edition-making, Ne Plus Ultra-exhibiting cohort Brad Moore came by the office for a Certificate of Authenticity signing fiesta on Saturday, which stretched into some art-viewing, beer-drinking and dog-walking good times.

I am going to skip the part where I tell you about our fine papers, ink and printers. And also the part about how the edition is exclusive to 20x200 and what sizes we offer, etc. An informal survey of two list subscribers recently revealed to me that you maybe don't need to hear about all that in every single email. The people have spoken!

I might also skip the part where I sheepishly confess that my whole bird thing might be getting a little out of hand, but hey, it's different this time! Don't all those birds hanging out on your walls need a place to live? Of course they do.

I will not skip the part where I talk about how awesome Birthe is, and how fortunate I feel to have an opportunity to work with her. I first met her last Spring at Review Santa Fe, where reviewers and photographers alike were gushing about her lush, painterly portraits and still lifes. And oh by the way, she is so smart and nice and a pleasure to talk to. This is the buzz I heard ahead of meeting her, and wouldn't you know it? Every bit of it was true. Less than a year later, I've got her photos on the walls of the gallery and in 20x200's inventory.

Raul attended Review Santa Fe with his own amazing photography , giving me the inside track to the photographers' perspective of the whole shebang. He was also one of Birthe's biggest champions and we've subsequently discussed her work a great deal.

The other (late) night we were doing the post-game analysis of the Ne Plus Ultra opening over IM (but of course!), and he hit the nail on the head, I feel:

Jen: Birthe's work looks really nice, beautiful prints.
Raul: It's very feminine which is almost foreign because so many photographers even female photographers work with a male vocabulary
Jen : it's true, but also it's not saccharine
Jen: there is some feminine stuff out there which makes me want to tear my hair out
Jen: [name redacted] for instance
Jen: i mean really
Jen: wtf
Raul: I don't mean it like that at all.... I mean it in the best way, it's just a slight shift in perspective.. holly lynton has the same thing
Jen: I know what you mean
Jen: Don't worry you're not offending my feminist sensibilities :)

And then we went on to discuss potential artist and photographers that I am considering for my late-Spring group show, Ornithology. (For serious.)

On Saturday evening over beers and hot pretzels, Birthe, Brad and I chatted about this whole feminine photography concept, inspired by our fresh viewing of some decidedly unfeminine work from a female photographer. Alas, this email is getting long and I have lots to do within the next less-than-24-hours before I take off for and art-filled long-weekend in Minneapolis. And trust me, once you get me started on women, especially women in art, it becomes a longer conversation. So this part, I'm skipping it for now.

Speaking of conversation, I'll be doing a lecture at the Minnesota Center for Photography on Monday evening (02.18) about... something. Exactly what that something will be is one of the items on today's over-long to do list. (Feel free to send suggestions my way!)

*A Who or whom? debate immediately ensued. I am forever flummoxed. Niki was confident that Birthe was the object to my subject here, thus "whom" was that with which we went.