As I announced last issue, a new photography fair confusingly called the Photography Armory Show will be held at the Jacob Javits Center North Pavilion in New York City from Friday, October 25 to Monday, October 28, 2002. Due to Sotheby's extended group of auctions pushing back the entire auction schedule, this show now partially overlaps some of those auctions (Sotheby's Thursday session during dealer set-up and Phillips' Saturday session during normal exhibit hours). Over 60 dealers have signed up so far and 14 publishing houses are also exhibiting at the venue.
The organizers, who also produce the Armory Show: the International Fair of New Art (and hence the name of this show), are positioning the exhibition as "the first fair celebrating the best in photo-based contemporary art, video and vintage photography." The organizers are heavily discouraging bins and displays of other than framed photographic wall art, although some dealers may put their additional inventory in "closets" and below tables. What effect this will have on sales and overall interest in the show remains to be seen, although the organizers have softened their stance on this issue somewhat from their outright initial ban.
What the organizers term a "Vernissage", which my French dictionary tells me is a private viewing at an exposition, is scheduled for Thursday night, October 24 from 6 to 9 pm. Tickets for this special preview are $50 and are available at the door. They include a permanent pass to the fair, one drink ticket and a program. A cash bar will be available.
Besides the Vernissage, the regular public hours on Friday through Sunday will be 11 am to 7 pm, and on Monday from 11 am to 5 pm. Tickets cost $15. No catalogues will apparently be distributed.
The Javits Center North Pavilion is located on Manhattan's far West Side on 11th Ave. at 39th St., just north of the main Javits complex. Both the M34 and M42 buses run by the Javits Center, but most visitors will probably arrive by taxi. The nearest subway lines are at 34th St. or 42nd St. There are over a dozen parking facilities within walking distance.
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