The City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program announced How Philly Moves this week. I am thrilled to be working with Mural Arts on this project, and honored to have this amazing opportunity to celebrate the city’s amazing community of dancers on such a monumental scale. This has been in the works for quite a while, and I’m excited to be able to finally go public with it.
To generate more imagery for this project, photo sessions will be held on March 5th, 6th and 7th. Dancers of any sort are encouraged to sign up to participate in the project. Participants must signup by 5pm on Feb 19th to be considered for one of the 60 slots for the March shoots. Info on the project is at http://www.HowPhillyMoves.org
Please come join me to celebrate on Saturday, Feb 13 at the Spiral-Q Benefit, where, among many other fun things, I’ll be receiving their ‘artist activist’ award. Info is at www.spiralq.org.
A significant update to this website is in the works – in the meanwhile, have a look around, and make sure to signup for updates – the form was broken for a while, so if you had tried to sign up but didn’t get the announcement about How Philly Moves, please give it another shot now.
I’m hoping to have a serious update to this site up very soon, but for now, just trust me that there’s big news in the works.
Please join me on Tuesday morning for a big announcement at City Hall. 10am, but maybe get there a few mins early – in the Mayor’s Reception Room on the 2nd floor . (Bring ID to get past security, and be ready to dance, just in case you should be moved to.)
If you can’t make it then but would like to join in the celebrations, there’s WPO on the 11th, a house concert on the 12th, and I’m getting an ‘artist activist’ award at the Spiral-Q benefit on Saturday the 13th. Please help make sure that that last one sells out.
It is striking that selections like these don’t include images of human joy or celebration of life. (other than two images from the Olympics, but this isn’t something that everyday people can engage in-> They’re just another thing that we passively watch on TV.) The only images that have some true beauty are three NASA images, which are inspiring, but still unattainable perspectives for the average viewer.
You and I can’t win the olympics, nor can we walk on Mars. So instead we watch the media, and what does it tell us is important? Pain, destruction, pop stars. Take a good look at image #24 – ignore Paris Hilton, and instead pay attention to the pack of photographers. Why are they there? Is she really that important to you and I and our communities? Why does the media market so value this type of celebrity as to justify a pack of fifty photographers? Is this the type of stuff that I should strive to photograph?
Just as I was thinking about this, I saw this short video for Raj Patel’s new book. I met him in Florida earlier this year, and he’s pretty great. The video features a few of my images and has a great message; it’s well worth two minutes to watch it below.
There is a great deal of pain and hardship in the world. Many journalists out there have undergone great hardship themselves to raise our awareness of the suffering of others, and this is valuable and important. It’s important that we know about it. But it’s even more important that we do things about it, that we cultivate alternatives and bring about positive change in the world.
When the general public watches the news, they see a choice: focus on the pain and act on it (this is *hard* for most people to do) or choose the alternative presented (the superficial pop stars, which are far less challenging to deal with) – so we have a lot of people who see stories of war and injustice and say “oh that’s horrible”, but then devote most of their brainpower to the celebrity idols to distract themselves.
What if we gave them other options?
Where are the images of joyous action, of real celebration, of engaged citizens? Are there none out there, or is it just that big media corporations are worried that it won’t sell? I believe that the media has a responsibility to tell good news alongside the bad. We need to hear stories of positive communities to inspire us.
There is joy amidst this pain. It is rarely reported on. It is rarely celebrated. But it is everywhere and there are millions of people who are aching for these stories, although they may not be conscious of it. Positive energy can be just as contagious (if not more) as negative energy. The media needs to start valuing it, so as to give their audiences some other choices, so that we can all move towards a better world.
Below’s a little animation from a recent joyous demonstration in Florida with a soundtrack by the amazing Son Del Centro. My goal for the new year is to do more of this; to devote more resources to my community projects, helping to celebrate the work of activists and artists, because even if the mainstream media doesn’t yet think that it’s very valuable, I do. I hope that you’ll join me in this in whatever way you can; let’s make 2010 a year for great positive change.
I’m slow as always in updating this site, but there’s been a lot going on… There were some big developments in August, but that story is going to have to wait for a bit later… so let’s just say I had a nice quiet month with some lovely time on assorted beautiful farms, both shooting Alfred & Jenny’s wedding in upstate NY and spending time with friends and family in the most beautiful part of Normandy where my mom’s from. It was good to have a bit of rest, because things are getting crazy again…
The Philadelphia Live Arts Festival and Philly Fringe are in full swing, and just yesterday I went back to re-photograph “Urban Scuba” by Brian Sanders’ JUNK – since I still haven’t yet developed the abilities to stop time, teleport, or just levitate invisibly, it took another pass to get the overhead views of this performance that I wanted. A remote camera clamped into the lighting rig, and voila!
Today I took care of prepping some framed pieces that will be included in the Bread and Roses Community Fund’s 2009 Tribute to Change. I’m quite honored to be included in this tribute to the most excellent documentary photographer Harvey Finkle.
Speaking of framed prints and documentary photography – I just put up some of my photos of the CIW’s work for farmworker justice at the White Dog Cafe in West Philly, just in time for their Dance of the Ripe Tomatoes event. Do you know where your tomatoes come from? The prints will be up until Nov 5th.
Tomorrow morning I’m speaking to a class at the Art Institute, and then running off to shoot a rehearsal of ‘Postcards from the Woods’ by Merián Soto/Performance Practice. Wednesday will be a bit nuts, as I’m flying to Minneapolis at the crack of dawn, hitting the ground running (or rather the ice, slipping) to photograph “Being Branded” for Deneane Richburg. I’m very much looking forward to seeing her work, but the last time that I photographed for her, a little wipeout in the ice rink resulted in a very swollen elbow for six months or so, so the goal is to not break anything while shooting.
Sadly I won’t get to hang out in Minneapolis, because I’m flying back at the crack of dawn on Thursday in order to be back in time to shoot ‘Small Metal Objects‘ – hopefully the forecasted rain won’t be too much of a problem.
Then I get a little bit of breathing room again, although not really, because I’ve got this big exciting secret project in the works… but it’s got to stay on the down-low for a little bit longer, so stay tuned, OK?
(If you’re not on the mailing list, you can sign up here for updates)
Dates worth noting:
September 20, 7pm – Photographic Memory – Film program at International House, featuring John Pettit’s documentary about my archive among other things…
October 10 & 11, 12pm-6pm – Philadelphia Open Studio Tours – I’ll only be there on saturday, as I’ve got to bop down to VA to shoot another friend’s wedding on sunday – but some friends will be holding down the fort. But come saturday if you can, I’d love to have you over.
October 15, 6pm – Tribute to Change – Bread and Roses Community Fund celebration featuring two of my prints.
To the left, you’ll see some of the crew that are involved with Lear deBessonet’s Quixote, which opened this week at Broad Street Ministry. I photographed one of their dress rehearsals last week, and was rather blown away. The performance, the music, and the cast of wonderful people involved with it is really impressive.
The first week is entirely sold out, so hurry up and get your tickets.
Trust me.
The show combines professional actors from New York with members of a community cast.
Some are local businessfolk, some are homeless, and some are students from nearby universities… and honestly, you wouldn’t know who’s who and that’s kind of the point…
Tomorrow is also the beginning of the Hidden City Festival – maybe checking it out can help you remember how many real treasures Philadelphia has already… all the more reasons not to allow the predatory gambling industry into the heart of our city.
While I frequently spend my time photographing people out there in their ordinary spaces, sometimes I like bringing them into a special space to be photographed. Something like a magic photo booth…
This Saturday, as part of Nichole Canuso Dance Company’s 1st Annual Benefit Cabaret, I’ll be running a little photographic operation that I’d love you to be a part of. I’ll setup the photo booth, but we’ll need you to help make the magic happen. The event at Johnny Brenda’s will be hosted by Emmanuelle Delpech-Ramey and Jeb Kreager, with special performances by Headlong Dance Theater, Martha Graham Cracker, Rainpan 43, Charlotte Ford and more. Come join in the fun!
For another opportunity to come out and be photographed, please come out to Casino-Free Philadelphia’s West Philadelphia Town Hall Meeting on Casinos on May 21st where I’ll be running another special photo booth, with slightly higher production values than our last improvised one. More important than the pictures of course is the future direction and sustainability of our fair city, which is why I want you to come out, learn, and get involved.
In other news, I’m continuing my zigzags back and forth to Washington DC – this week I’ll be presenting on an alumni panel at Washington International School. I’m continuing to seek out more contacts in DC in an effort to expand my work in the district, as I’m making an effort to spend more time with my father down there. My exhibit there is up through the end of May, so please encourage your friends in the DC area to check it out.
Just got back from setting up the exhibit in DC, and tonight I’ll be presenting at the University of Pennsylvania as part of ASAP ( Artist Speakers At Penn ) – info here
The very next night, I’ll be doing another presentation at Penn, this time as part of Talk20 -
In other education-related news, I just did a really fun shoot for the Philadelphia Cross City Campaign for School Reform. Check out the recap below-
This monday, I’ll be photographing in Tallahassee as the CIW bring the reality of brutal human rights violations in Florida’s fields to the governor’s doorstep. Check their website for the update!
It’s good to be out on the road again… after a good long period grounded in Philly, I’m finally feeling ready to be on the move again. There’s a few other things on the radar coming up, including a trip to the Bay area in California, a roadtrip through the south, and some time in Europe this summer. If you know someone who could use the services of an itinerant photographer along the way, drop a line…
I’ve got a print up in the 2009 Focus Philadelphia exhibit hosted by the Philadelphia chapter of ASMP. There’s a load of great work up through March 18th in the ehxibit space in Dorrance Hamilton Hall at The University of The Arts, 320 South Broad Street.
In other exciting news… you never know when a 300lb fugitive will kick in your back door, storm through your house, and trash your bathroom while trying to escape through a skylight, causing a flood. But when it does happen, you consider yourself lucky to have stepped out to run an errand. [video] - It could have been really bad, but instead it worked out fine. However, had any real damage been done, I’m relatively comfortable as I’ve got extra copies of my data a) on a shelf, b) locked in an impact resistant waterproof case in my basement and c) off site. So ask yourself-> Have you backed up your data lately?
In other news, I turned 30 in February, and we had an amazing house concert. Many thanks to all of you!
The City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program announced How Philly Moves this week. I am thrilled to be working with Mural Arts on this project, and honored to have this amazing opportunity to celebrate the city’s amazing community of dancers on such a monumental scale. This has been in the works for quite a while, and I’m excited to be able to finally go public with it.
