Marcus Photography: Transfigurations News

TRANSFIGURATIONS
— Project News —

Below you will find:
• Exhibition Dates
• Online Slide Show of Transfigurations
• Published Articles on the Project
• Project Awards
• Jana's Update - Personal notes on the project

• Your help is needed to continue the touring exhibits and creation of Transfigurations.Visit the donation page and learn more!

• EXHIBITION & PRESENTATION DATES:

Television Documentary Air Dates 2007
A 15-minute docu on Transfigurations will air on Santa Cruz Community TV channel 27. Check local listings for times.

Jan 7 - March 21, 2008
Clayman Institute - Stanford University, CA
589 Capistrano Way
Stanford, CA
Lecture: January 24 - 4:30 pm Tressidor Union
Reception: January 24 - 6:00 PM Clayman Institute/Serra House

• SEE IT:
— View a selection of the exhibit as a slide show here.
— View Jana's Lecture at Stanford University followed by panel discussion here (1/24/2008).

• HEAR IT:
— Hear Jana on KUSP Radio. Click here, then go to "Talk of the Bay" archives for 4/28/06. Once you have downloaded the program, the interview is 3/4 through the program (around 32:19).

• READ ABOUT IT:
— Palo Alto Weekly, January 18, 2008
— Metro Newspapers, January 9, 2008
— Bay Area Reporter, July 20, 2006
— ON Magazine, July 2006
— Metro Santa Cruz, May 3, 2006
— Santa Cruz Sentinel, April 28, 2006
— Good Times "Best Of 2006" Issue, April 27, 2006
— Good Times cover story, Sept. 22, 2005
— Metro Silicon Valley & Metro Santa Cruz, April 27, 2005
— Good Times, May 6, 2004
( Please note my title has never been "The Third Gender.")

• AWARDS:

— Nominated for the Rydell Visual Arts Fellowship, January, 2008

— Good Times "Best of 2006" Issue. Critic's Choice for Best Photo Exhibit.

— The International Photography Awards 2005 has given Transfigurations honorable mention in the catagory of Editorial/Photo Essay. IPA's mission is to salute the achievements of the world's finest photographers, to discover new and emerging talent, and to promote the appreciation of photography. The 2005 IPA competition received 16,648 entries from 32 countries.

— Excellence in Photography Award from San Jose State's School of Art & Design. May 2005.

— Honorable mention in the Phelan Art Awards, displayed at SF Camerawork in Nov. 2005.

— Included in Best Pictures of the Year 2005, by Photo District News of New York, for the second year in a row! The winning images were published in the May 2005 issue of PDN's Photo Annual and online at www.pdnonline.com. Click here.

— Included in Photo District News' prestigious Photo Annual 2004 Best Photos of the Year. The winning entrees for 2004 can be seen here. The 2004 Photography Annual highlights the best photography of the year in eight catagories. The winners were chosen by a prestigious jury of photo editors, gallery owners, art directors and photo academics from across the country.

— Center for Photographic Arts Awards 2004, selected by Philip Brookman, Curator of Photography and Media Arts, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. The exhibit was October 2 - Dec 3, 2004 in the CPA gallery in Carmel, CA.

• Jana's Update

• February, 2007: I just got back grom NYC where the exhibit opened at the I Gallery at 39 West 14th Street. What an amazing welcome the show received! The Gallery clocked 250 people at the opening and over 65 people at the lecture the following day! With so much to do in Manhattan everyday, I was so thrilled that so many people came to see the work. It was greatly received. At the lecture someone asked, "Who learned something by seeing this exhibit?"...and everyone raised their hands! Now that's social awareness in action! I was honored that several people in the exhibit flew to NYC to be part of the festivities and lecture/panel discussion. Big thanks for all the support from Lyle, Aidan, Beth, Kara and Leigh. None of this would have happened without the great support and hard work of the folks at the I Gallery. I thank them from the bottom of my heart...Eric, Patti and An.
Click here for photos of the opening

• November, 2006: 2007 is going to be an exciting year for the Exhibit. Two national press articles are coming out on the show! In mid-to-late January The ADVOCATE Magazine will be running a story, and in the February issue of FLAUNT (international arts & culture magazine) there will be a feature article on Aidan with the photos of his transition, plus a plug on the exhibit. What's great is that it's their quarterly "Men's Issue."

Still no publisher for the book format, but I predict that will definitely crack wide-open this year. All of the 2007 exhibit venues will be very high profile with not only an artist's reception, but also a trans awareness day with lectures and panel discussions.

This is all exciting news--not just for me--but for the transgender community! It's extensive visibility and awareness that will be spreading on a grand scale. Everyone involved in the show has made this possible, and I thank all of you from my heart for sharing your lives and yourselves with me over the last three years.

This East Coast tour does not include the new work photographed at Gender Odyssey this past September. You all know how much time it takes to edit and write new work. But, discussions are in the works to premiere the work at the upcoming Gender Odyssey in Sept. 2007. I'll keep you posted.

Meanwhile, I wish all of you a very happy Thanksgiving and lovely upcoming holidays.

• October, 2006: There's a couple of East Coast shows in the works...possibly Chicago in June 2006 and Philadelphia in the near future. If you know of a venue in your area and would like to host an exhibit drop me an email! Thanks to everyone for all the support!!

• September, 2006: I just returned from Gender Odyssey, the national annual FTM conference in Seattle. What a great time! A very generous, yet anonymous, sponsor sent me to the conference where there was a wonderful electronic display of the exhibit, and Ace and I had a fabulous studio set-up at the conference where we photographed 34 people for inclusion in the project in a 24 hour period! There was also a workshop hosted by several of the guys in the exhibit, talking about community responsibility, privacy, exposure, and other interesting topics around being in the touring exhibit. I was very moved by their generous words in my favor, the warm welcome I received, and the love and support that was present everywhere at the conference. I had a great time and met so many wonderful people! Thanks to everyone!

As usual, lots is happening right now: the CEPA show in New York opens Sept 29 in Buffalo and displays to the end of the year. Then we are off to Manahattan, opening at the I Gallery on 14th Street.

Transfigurations finally has a literary agent and is being shopped to publishers as I write this! Hopefully we will have good news to share by the end of the year! (The publishing review process is a long one!)

I must mention that the July opening at Good Vibrations in SF was a lovely gathering and the store folks said alot of people were coming in constantly to see the exhibit who had never been to the store before...the show keeps knocking people out...yippy!!

• July, 2006: So I tried to start a blog for this site, because i was getting so many letters from around the country, but it was more trouble than i bargained for. Yahoo blogs kept crashing my system and entrees were not showing up. I'll try to do a new one in the future.

The Santa Cruz show was really phenominal. Hundreds of people walked through the 2-month-long exhibit, and the response was amazing. I am humbled by the whole expereince. My goal is to just keep the work touring...AND...the work is finally getting shopped as a book! I'll keep you posted as things develop.

Don't miss the opening of the SF exhibit on July 10 sponsored by Good Vibrations. It should be a wonderful evening. I'm doing a press conference with Jamison Green at 7:30, and this exhibit includes the much talked-about-but-seldom-exhibited nude series of post-surgery bodies. See ya there!

• May 14, 2006: Today I went up to the Attic Gallery/SCICA for the first time since the opening. Several of the people who work there told me there has been tons of people in to see the show on a daily basis, really taking the time to read everything. The best story they told me, that really got me, was that a transgendered teenager took their mother to see the show and have breakfast at the cafe on Mother's Day, feeling that it was a safe space and wonderful opportunity to have their mother understand them better. That is, to me, what this is all about. If it makes a difference for one person...well...who could ask for more?

Don't miss the trans-fabulous band Frootie Flavors playing at the Attic on June 7!

• May 6, 2006: The new exhibit is up and on display!! With much help from Kirby Scudder of the SCICA. The new work premiered May 5, to huge, wonderful crowd. The reception went 4 hours in length with a constant stream of gallery viewers and well-wisher. It was great--but what is really great is that people are so moved by the work. As a documentary photographer, that's what we strive to do: to move people. It has been amazing to see the constant response of learning and compassion that happens when people view the work.

So now, this new exhibit is on the road for the next year and a half, going to San Francisco, Seattle, New York, possibly Boston, and then Portland, Maine. Thank you to everyone who has made this possible!!

• March 2006: Where does the time go? Spring is always such a crazy time. I need a business manager! There's alot of "potentials" hanging out there right now. Several award nominations yet to be heard about, 5 shows in the works yet to be scheduled, and still looking for a literary agent who can see the vision of this work. I think the most frustrating thing right now, for me, is not being able to get in front of publishers without an agent, and three NY agents have had such trans phobia they can't see past their peronal stuff, to consider if this project would be a great book or not.

This leads me to an explanation of my shooting schedule, for all of you out their who are eager to participate in the work. The gallery exhibit consists of over 50 pieces at this point. That's a huge show that most spaces can't hold in its entirety. Yet for a book, 50 pages is too small. I continue shooting in spurts so that the collectin can grow, expanding on its diveristy of multicultural representation and age ranges, and be ready to go as a very complete volume of the transgender spectrum, when a publisher picks it up. Between working three jobs, preparing for exhibits, applying for competitions and grants, it only leaves so much time for photographng and interviewing new participants. This is why, at this point, I shoot in spurts, every three months. So i can just focus on either writing the text or shooting pictures. Next wave of shooting will take place in July.

• Feb. 2006: Another busy an exciting month for Transfigurations. The Diversity Center show has had alot of foot-traffic and positive feedback. The lecture event on Feb 2 had a packed house and Lyle and Owen gave wonderful insights, sharing their personal stories. From that event came the opportunity for me to exhibit a portion of the work at a conference of central coast therapists working with trans clients. From that, came the purchase of the first private collection of this work to the UCSC Lionel Cantu GLBT Resource Center & Planned Parenthood of Santa Cruz!

Other fun news: I've been nominated for a Community Leadership Award in the Arts by Tiffany Woods of TransVision/Health Center of Alameda. If I win the nomination from the SF Foundation, it will be not only be a great honor, but money to keep this work going.

San Jose State School of Art and Design is nominating Transfigurations for the Outstanding Thesis Award for the CS campuses statewide!

• Jan. 2006: Happy New Year Everyone! I believe 2006 is going to be an exciting year for Transfigurations, as many exhibitions across the country are in the works. As soon as I have the final word from galleries I will post the info on when and where. The Diversity Center in Sant Cruz is hosting a selection of The Making of a Man with a trans education lecture event on Feb. 2. Lyle and Owen, who appear in Transfigurations, will be on hand with me to talk about their personal experiences. Don't miss it!

Meanwhile, I'm very excited about the new work, The Making of a Woman, which is coming together beautifully and will premiere in May at the Santa Cruz Institute For Contemporary Art. More soon...keep those great letters coming!

• Dec. 2005: It's only the 7th and it's been a very active month already! Thank you to all those who have contributed to raising funds for the tour of Transfigurations. YOU make it possible for this work to be seen and to continue to breakdown phobias and stereotypes in our society. We still need to raise $3000.

I've had the honor to speak and show the work at Day of Rememberance in San Jose on Nov.30. The work was also recently shown at the Gay Mens Health Summit in LA and Transgender: Uncovering the Myths at San Diego State. I love that the work is being seen by so many different people!

This week I went down to LA to photograph the final image in Aidan's transition series. Can't believe it's been a year since his surgery and last photo session. It's so wonderful to see how happy he is. I had the pleasure to photograph Dex of the LAPD and Rabbi Levi. I'm also neck-deep in the transwomen series and working like crazy...and very excited about this new work. See the new photos in the upcoming May Exhibit at the SCICA. ~ HAPPY HOLIDAYS! ~

• Nov. 2005: I attended the SPE (Society for Photographic Education) regional Conference and had Transfigurations reviewed by several note-worthy people in the photo world. I had really wanted to meet Dennis Keeley, a famous portrait photographer and head of the photo department at Art Center in Pasadena. When he opened my portfolio he stopped and looked at me. "I've seen this work before. I was one of the judges for PDN's Best Photos of the Year." He turned and extended his hand to me. "I am honored to meet you," he said, " I think you are doing some of the most significant and important work I've seen in years." I must of turned a hundred shades of red! I was so flattered...and blown away. What else can I say?

I also had the great opportuity to meet famed fetish photog Charles Gatewood, who also loved the work and gave me some very helpful feedback and networking opportunities. Good conference!

• Oct. 2005: The Good Times cover story on Transfigurations was a beautiful article written by Patrick Letellier, and editor Greg Archer did a huge photo spread (see above link). Thank you to both of them! The article prompted two more exhibits, both in Sant Cruz, which I'm very excited about. The Attic Gallery will premiere the brand new work on transwomen in May/June 2006, and we are looking at doing multi-media events around the exhibit for Gay Pride Month. Stay tuned for more details!

• Sept. 2005: The exhibit of Transfigurations at The San Fran GLBT Center is up! Ace and I have finally figured out how to hang an exhibit in 3 hours instead of 8! The 3rd floor space at the Center is so lovely for an exhibit and promises to be a great reception on Oct. 6. Hope you all can make it.

• June 2005: NASA at Moffett Field invited me to speak about my work, Transfigurations, during Gay Pride events on their campus. Jamison Green, one amazing man and trans activist, came along with me and spoke about trans issues. It was great fun and we were treated like royalty —even got plaques of services to commemorate our visit to NASA!

• May 2005: The full Gallery exhibit of Transfigurations premiered at San Jose State in Gallery 3 on May 2. The reception had over 100 people in attendence. I was deeply moved by how much his work was able to touch people, and how many people's eyes were opened to the trangender experience. This concluded my thesis work for my MFA at SJSU. Thank you to my thesis committee at SJSU and to the participants of this project. The show was a wild success!

The show was also in conjunction with the Transgender Awareness Week & Symposium I organized on campus with Dr. Susan Murray of the Sociology Dept. and Hyon Chu Yi of the Mosiac Cross-Cultral Center on campus. Hundreds people attended the week long events which included speakers, artists, performers, peer health workshops and more. We were told this was the largest college campus trans event ever thrown!

On May 27 I graduated with my MFA degree and was awarded the "Excellence in Photography" grant by the San Jose State School of Art & Design. With Grad school now complete, I look forward to continuing this project and focusing on transgender women.

• Nov. 2004: The first gallery exhibit of the work was shown at San Jose State, November 1- 5, 2004. This showing was primarily for the faculty, in preparation for my MFA oral presentation. I am happy to report the gallery was packed at the Nov.2 opening and I heard nothing but rave reviews from all that attended. Many people shared with me that they were very moved by the humanitarian aspect of the show. I am thrilled that so many people loved the photos, the words the project's participants had to say, and the overall message of the show. Yippy!! Again, i want to give my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who helped make this project happen, especially the participants who shared their lives with me, and Ace for her unending support and for hanging the show!

On Thursday Nov. 4, I gave my MFA oral presentation of the work before almost 80 people. The feedback was phenomenal. Nothing is more rewading for me then when people get the message of the work. So, I have passed my orals (double yippy!!), and in the spring I will move into my final semester at SJSU with a large exhibit of this work showing May 2 - 6, 2005.

• May 2004: Transfigurations wins its first award, Best Photos of The Year 2004 by the prestigious Photo District News of New York. Ace & I flew to New York to attend the legendary annual awards ceremony held at the Met Life building on the 54th floor. The party was a frenzy of the photo world with photogs, art directors, art dealers, publishers, etc., all dancing the night away, socializing and eating scrumptious food. We met some great folks who had also been included in BPOY from around the world. I got snubbed by my idol, the great photojournalist James Natchway, and got up the courage to introduce my self to the editor of Rolling Stone, Jodi Peckman. She was very nice (looked just like Annie Lebovitz), congratulated me on my award and told me to come visit her the following week in her office. Well, I don't live in NYC these days, so she suggested email (I've never heard from her again). All in all it was great fun and quite an experience.

If you would like to be added to the mailing list for exhibit & publishing announcements, please drop me an email.

Thank you! - Jana Marcus