Cleavage managed to get a mention in a right wing gossip column in the UK this past week. .. this came about because of a sculpture of mine that was included in a show that is part of the Campaign for Wool. The campaign is to promote all the uses of wool and the opening was last week in London and I went, and so did Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla and I met them and gave them a copy of Cleavage...which then got a mention here:

London was fun and the short amount of time was just fine too, I went to the Tate Modern, the Saatchi gallery, all around on those double decker buses through neighborhoods, went to a giant food market near London Bridge, walked over the Millenium bridge, saw St. Paul's, ate delicious Indian food in Hackney....I didn't get to everything, but I will probably have a stopover there again I imagine .     

     The opening night had paparazzi because of the Prince and Duchess and Colin Firth and Viviene Westwood and whoever.. I had a terrible pair of shoes that did not want to stay on my feet , so I made my paparazzi entrance hobbling along through the entrance with rained on wind-whipped hair... Once inside, us exhibitors were corralled into a side gallery where the Prince and Duchess came to meet us one by one.  I did hand a Cleavage book to the Duchess and she giggled at the title. It was not opened on the spot, they had to move right along, but I'm pretty sure she held onto it for later!

So I guess the woman who was trailing the Duchess was the informant to the gossip column because she asked me a couple things and and was writing notes.

Anyway, for those of you who have their cleavages in my book, you are now housed with royalty! Put that on your modeling career CV!

Cheerio!

Bethany

I'm proud to announce that Cleavage is now available through http://www.phillipsdepury.com/

They took some books today. Also in the near future, Cleavage will be going to Paris. I will be too, but I think my book will get a head start. I'm talking with my gallerist about a show in the fall and possible art residency in the south of France. Sounds good to me.

That's the update-a-roonie for now.

cheers and Happy Summer,

Bethany

Hi, I know its been awhile, but I just thought I would send an update about what has gone on this year with Cleavage. Early in the summer there was some blogging frenzy starting with Coolhunting.com, going viral to Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish, Jezebel.com, Bust.com, and more. Just google Bethany Fancher Cleavage and see what happens :) Also this summer, Russell Steele sold my book out of his shop, where Richard Prince saw it and told me to bring it to his gallery's store in the city, the Gagosian Shop on 77th st. and Madison, and also suggested Harper's Books in Easthampton. I proudly announce that Cleavage is on display in both shops, soon to be added to their online venue as they revamp their websites. What else? There is more brewing, trying to find celebrities that will pose and donate a print of their own cleavage for a charity auction of their choice. Anyway, I have my wishlist!
Hope you all are happy with your books,
xo
Bethany

The book part is finished and looks great. I'm waiting for the slipcases to arrive and not sure of the exact date, probably 2 weeks. So , I apologize for saying they will be done in time for holiday gifts. There were technical issues to be worked out along the way that took up lots of time. Send me an email if you would like the book to be sent now and receive the slipcase later. I'll post more info as it comes.

Thanks, Happy Holidays!

Hello ,

The books are in print right now. What I did not foresee , is the book slipcases are taking longer...looks like the end of November/beginning of December. Once I am sure of a date, I will be requesting mailing addresses if you haven't already submitted them. Sorry for the delay. Again, thanks for pledging, and feel free to contact me .

Bethany

Thanks to all who have pledged. I'm in the home stretch and will be campaigning until the end. I know there's folks who have waited that will rally, so that is exciting. .... Cheers
Bethany

Bethany Fancher’s Cleavage series has been a grass roots endeavor from the start. Housebound for weeks with a (foreign) illness, the artist stuffed her own ass into a bra and took a photograph. Despite its mischievous inception, this folly of self-examination managed to successfully disguise one fêted body part for another.

Fancher began recruiting friends, family members and eventually casual acquaintances, who would willingly give her the opportunity to play trickster with their body parts in exchange for an Artist’s Proof of their own “ass cleavage” portrait.

The tableaus are accessorized to reflect the personality of its subject, adding a layer of intimacy to each portrait that diverts the viewer from a hoax that might otherwise be overt. As the accordion pages of this book unfold, the body parts - which vary in shape, size and color, become more and more suspect. What in the first image appeared to be an admirable bosom will in the end reveal itself as an ass blatantly mocking it’s equally sexualized counterpart.

Throughout the series, Fancher pokes fun at our culture’s affinity for tits and ass. Using both male and female models, the images distort the gender specific sexualization of these particular body parts and perhaps ask the viewer to reconsider the glory of cleavage in all its forms.

Bethany Fancher’s work, from traditional painting to performance art, consistently strikes a precarious balance between opposites. She arms her earnest idealism with an exacting humor, poking holes in our cultural stricture and allowing us to laugh at ourselves, and perhaps more importantly, our played out instincts.

I went to a party sponsored by the Jen Bekman gallery who does the Hey Hotshots competitions last night. The founders of Kickstarter were there! Nice fellas. Invitees brought a photo to swop, including me , so I went with a photo of a horse jumping over the Gates in Central park and left with a photo of a deer with a gay flag stuck on it's antler. Not a bad trade.
So, this project is halfway through it's alotted time, but I am not up to halfway financed. Ahem. Please post this to friends! If you are on facebook, go to my profile , Bethany Fancher , and there is a video posting that you can repost to your own facebook network, just click on 'share' . Go GO GOOOO!
or just email this link: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1687549355/cleavage-volume-1
Good things are happening, offers to have a show in Missoula and New Orleans ....and dare I say, possibly being represented in NYC ! SHHhhhhh.
These things will definitely not be as cheap after this fundraiser, that's for sure....
thanks everyone who has already pledged!

Timothy D. Bellavia :
I freakin LOVE this! Awesome!

bethany:
I must be crazy thinking I can raise $8500. in less than a month, but I'm going for it. The kickstarter website is pretty cool if you have projects. Anyway, thanks for looking. If you know anyone that would be interested, please forward it.

Stacey Camilllo:
That is just amazing - I'm just bummed that my ample jugs didn't make it in this edition. Maybe when it goes coffee table size.

bethany:
but you understand they are all butts?

Stacey Camillo:
Okay, put me in the corner with the pointy hat. . .

Timothy D. Bellavia :
I seriously can see Chronicle books publishing this. They are in San Francisco and publish really fun, edgy and quirky titles full of pictures!

Bethany:
Chronicle was one of the first places I sent it to. Publishers seem to have a problem putting my book in a category. One publisher told me they thought my book was very commercially viable, but basically they didn't know what category to put it in for marketing.... and they couldn't seem to even have a conversation about it . Also, design wise, I am making it an accordion style so it opens a particular way with the photo spread across what in a normal book would be the gutter. If printed like a normal book , the cleavage sometimes gets lost in the gutter....heh heh. But, there is the possibility of making a consumer version as a board book, images don't get lost in the gutter and it is a sturdy little book. I will look into that more later, but first, the boutique version . And hopefully I just don't plummet into debt in the meantime. :)

Timothy D. Bellavia :
Publishing is for types that go to Yale or Princeton or if you are on the cover of TIME for the Battle of Fuliga (my kid brother got 600,000 for his heroic efforts). Bitter, table for one. Why Chronicle Books wouldn't publish your book is probably you dont have the signifyers they are looking for, yet. If Penny Arcade did this or Judy Chicago they woiuld publish it. And it wouldn't be as good as yours. I really applaud you if you go indie with this. Consider ... print on demand! I see webinars and video blogs on cleavage, do you have cleavage envy? on and on ...
Urban Outdfitters would carry this? No?

bethany:
I need to figure out how to approach urban outfitters. I have gone indie because I was sick of waiting on lamos, I can't wait around til I get blue chip status... once I have my book printed I think it will turn heads better.

Timothy D. Bellavia :
Hope so ... but take from a indie go with print on demand at first. It is MUCH cheaper and easier than it was ten years ago ... otherwise you will get stuck with thousands of books and lots of debt!

bethany:
For this particular book, print on demand doesn't work unfortunately because it is an accordion fold out. But I am doing a smaller run, 500 books. It is still expensive to make though, that is why I am doing the kickstarter fundraiser/pre-order. ..hoping I reach the goal in time.

Stacey Camillo:
I've got some well-heeled SF friends checking their Rolodexes (do people even use that term anymore?) for publishers.

bethany:
That would be excellent. I'm still pushing to reach the goal and get it printed, it's already underway, but would be great to have a publisher pick it up.