JAN 14. AMERIKA HAUS

OMG.  I just re-read the last blog update and realized I promised a sneak peek yesterday!  Oopsies!!  I was so exhausted that I literally forgot that I had even blogged that day.  Well....better late then never.  So in celebration of a fabulous exhibition that is opening today at the Amerika Haus in Munich, I present you with: 

Ashley, Jackson, MS.  2009 © Molly Landreth

Ashley was so beautiful and honest with us during our brief stay in Jackson Mississippi last June.  She welcomed us into her home and really opened our eyes to the struggle of coming out as a lesbian in the deep south.  ...stay tuned in the coming months for footage from her interview.

Not only did Ashley have great stories, she had great restaurant tips as well.   Amelia and I treated ourselves to one nice meal on our grand adventure and this was definitely the best bite of the trip.  This talky was filmed right down the street from her lovely home.  

If you happen to be in Germany, don't miss the first solo exhibition of Embodiment to include a video installation by Amelia Tovey!  Opening today, this show features 30+ photographs plus 15 minutes of video footage created on our road trip last June.  

Bayerisch-Amerikanisches Zentrum im Amerika Haus München e.V. 

 Karolinenplatz 3, 80333 München, Tel. 089-55 25 37-0

Ausstellungsdauer: 15. Januar bis 12. März 2010
Embodiment - A Portrait of Queer Life in America
Photography by Molly Landreth; Video by Amelia Tovey

Click HERE for more details!

Jan. 8 THANK YOU!

Thanks so much to all of you who came to the opening of Versus last night at the Hous Projects Gallery.  It was PACKED!!  I always get so nervous before openings thinking...OMG...Who will I talk to?  What if no one shows up?!  Do I really need to stay the whole time?!  Will I get too drunk and fall on the art?! 

 Pre-Show installation....  Almost ready!  Amy Elkins Vs. ME!

BELOW:  Zoe Strauss vs. Ruben Natal-San Miguel     ABOVE:  Hank Willis Thomas vs. Cara Phillips

But my fears are always put to rest, and last night was no exception.  The hours blew by like minutes (thanks to the seriously well stocked bar....thank you Ruben and Hous Project gallery!)  we had so much fun....AND the show looked wonderful.  I still feel giddy that I was part of such a wonderful line up of talented folks.  Photographer Jen Davis in particular has been on my inspiration list for quite some time.  Working with ideas of body image and self representation she creates images that are as beautiful as they are complex.  She was there last night and I had the chance to briefly confess my long time photo crush. I said it before and I'll say it again.  Jen Davis you are RAD.

Sister Keavy, her boyfriend Michael and my bff Jenny Riffle
 

Timothy Atticus and Chris Riffle looking cute as little buttons.

Me and the lovely director of the Farmani Gallery in Dumbo, Elizabeth Barragan discussing plans for an upcoming group show! 

Someone else who I love and I finally was able to squeeze last night was photographer extraordinare, Sean Fader.  Words can not describe the insta-friendship that has begun.  Check out his work....so freakin' great.

Molly + Sean = <3

Dec. 19 VERSUS

Happy Saturday everyone! I have decided that weekends will be for updates, not images. ;)

...And with that I am excited to announce that there will be six photographs from Embodiment on display at Hous Projects Gallery in New York for the show VERSUS. I am so honored and excited to be a part of this show which is comprised of so many awesome photographers! Don't believe me....check out their work that is all linked up below. Whoot!!


VERSUS
Opening January 7th @ Hous Projects
31 Howard Street in SoHo.

Mickalene Thomas
Brian Ulrich
Cara Phillips
Zoe Strauss
Hank Willis Thomas
Matthew Pillsbury
Amy Elkins
Molly Landreth
Eric Ogden
Alex Leme
Kris Graves
Jen Davis
Gina LeVay
Phil Toledano
Ruben Natal-San Miguel
Michael Wolf
Elizabeth Fleming
and Nadine Rovner.

Save the date!

Nov. 14 VIDEO EXPERIMENT

Thanks so much to Emily Kingan who sent us this video which she, sts and Melanie Valera created at the opening of "Queer Gaze" last week!

Nov. 3 QUEER GAZE

Yes Sir! Two posts in one day....ow ow ow! Just wanted to let everyone know about a great show that's opening in Portland this Thursday at the Fontanelle Gallery.

The "Queer Gaze" is a group show featuring a photograph from Embodiment along with work from fabulous artists like Lorenzo Triburgo (who was a classmate of mine at SVA!) and the legendary Tammy Rae Carland.

Queer Gaze

Group photography exhibition

November 5-28, 2009

Preview, November 4th, 6-8pm

Opening Reception, November 5th, 6-9pm

Musical Performances, November 19th, 8pm

FONTANELLE GALLERY

206 SW Pine St.

Portland OR 97204

Fontanelle Gallery is pleased to present Queer Gaze, a group photography exhibition featuring images of queer people by queer photographers. This show offers a new examination and response to theories of “male gaze”, as originally described by Laura Mulvey as the cinematic depiction of voyeurism and objectification of a female by a heterosexual male viewer. Queer Gaze explores the gaze from woman to woman or queer to queer, as well as the way that many photographers use their own visage or that of their friends to subvert traditional expectations of portraiture.

The act of taking ownership of one’s own identity and personal beliefs and how these beliefs are enacted in the public realm is a political act that helps shape modern feminism. Here we present a collection of perspectives and experiences that will be at once informative and titillating, while also empowering.

Feminist photographers exploring the theory of male gaze have often turned the camera on themselves, demanding that viewers take notice of their role of dominance in how they are presented and viewed. By utilizing elements of masquerade, role-playing and societal commentary as devices to investigate identity through self-portraiture, many photographers are able to explore their own personal politics. Clearly, the issue of self-representation is not restricted to literal self-portraiture. The issue is not what one looks like, but how and by whom one is represented.

Exhibiting artists include Sarah Baley (Brooklyn), Erica Beckman (Brooklyn), Tammy Rae Carland (Oakland), Zackary Drucker (LA) & A.L. Steiner (Brooklyn), Luke Gilford (LA), Grit Hachmeister (Berlin), Megan Holmes (PDX), Angela Jimenez (Brooklyn), Molly Landreth (Seattle),Amos Mac (San Francisco), Finn Paul (PDX), Emily Roysdon (NYC/Stockholm), Lorenzo Triburgo (PDX), and Azsa West (PDX).

July 15. HOMELAND: PORTRAITS OF AMERICA'S QUEER YOUTH

Simon and West, 9am, Seattle, WA. 2007 ...Now on view at the Leslie/Lohman Gallery, NYC.

I just wanted to write a quick plug for a exhibition that is opening tomorrow in New York that features photography from Embodiment: A Portrait of Queer Life in America. The show...HOMELAND: PORTRAITS OF AMERICA'S QUEER YOUTH, was curated by Cora Lambert and will be up at the Leslie/Lohman Gallery and Gay Art Foundation through October. This should be a really fun out door event, as the entire exhibition is a window display viewable from street level. As a result this exhibition will be open for viewing 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!!

I won't be at the opening reception tomorrow... but Amelia will, talky-blog camera in hand! If you go, be sure to find her and make a cameo appearance!

The Leslie/Lohman Gay Art Foundation
26 Wooster Street, New York, NY 10013
(Between Grand & Canal)

July 16 - October 10, 2009
OPENING RECEPTION: Thursday, July 16, 6 - 8pm

"Homeland: Portraits of America's Queer Youth is an exhibition that explores how GLBTQ youth from rural or suburban areas find and/or create community. In many locations across the United States, young gay, lesbian, and trans people are geographically isolated from major centers of queer cluture.

The work of photographers Bret Bell and Molly Landreth exemplify this challenging experience. With roots in rural Missouri, Brett Bell created a body of work that calls upon friends and acquaintances to express personal childhood experiences with longing and sexuality. Photographer Molly Landreth, in contrast, journeyed through America in serch of queer people and documented their lives.

In their juxtaposition, these images depict subjects, both real and fictional, that help create a picture of what it means to be queer in America today." - Taken from the Leslie/Lohman Gallery Website

Jalesa, aka Cruz, Columbus, OH. 2007 ...Now on view at the Leslie/Lohman Gallery, NYC.

FOR MORE IMAGES FROM THIS PROJECT GO TO WWW.MOLLYLANDRETH.COM