New commission
Archival pigment print
30 × 30 inch on 36 × 36 inch paper
Edition 1/10

In 2011, photographer Tanja Alexia Hollander set out to differentiate the actual from the virtual by photographing all 626 of her Facebook friends. Since then, she has traveled the globe, setting up meetings in her friends’ homes to discover the ways in which friendship is defined, and how permission is granted into one’s private — yet very public — online life. What began as a personal documentary on friendship and environmental portraiture has turned into an exploration of contemporary culture, relationships, family structure, community-building, storytelling, class, the relationship between technology and travel, social networking, memory, and the history of the portrait.

Hollander’s exhibition of her journey, Are you really my friend? will premiere at MASS MoCA in March 2017, and she is donating a portrait sitting of your choosing — of you, your family, and/or a beloved landscape — which will be included as part of her internationally-recognized project. Portions of Are you really my friend? have been exhibited at the Portland Museum of Art, Maine, and Virei Viral, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Receiving international media attention for this project, Hollander has given a TEDxDirigo talk on the subject and lectured extensively at the University of Maryland, Clemson University, SXSW, and Facebook headquarters.

The winner of this lot receives a complimentary sitting, an edition print, a digital file for personal use, four 5 × 7 inch prints, and an invitation to the MASS MoCA opening March 4, 2017. In addition, the winner of this lot will be listed as a sponsor of Tanja Hollander’s exhibition.

Note: the sitting should take place by January 1, 2017 to be included in the exhibition. There is an additional cost if the portrait is taken outside metropolitan New York or Maine.

Courtesy of the artist and Carroll and Sons, Boston

Estimated value $7,500
Net proceeds of this sale directly support Hollander’s exhibition, which opens at MASS MoCA in March 2017 — your dollars working directly to fuel artists’ ideas.

The October 25 live auction will be conducted by Eric Widing, Deputy Chairman, Christie’s Americas. To place an absentee bid, fill out this form, and email it to Rebecca Wehry at rwehry@massmoca.org by 10am on October 25.