Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Post-Socialist Landscapes



The work below represents the next iteration of the East/West project.  It was shot this past summer during my travels in Lithuania and Czech Republic.  For the moment, I am calling this next phase of the project Post-Socialist Landscapes.  Some of the ideas behind the work are the same, but my interests have shifted.  In looking at borders for example, I have been drawn to photograph more arbitrary "lines in the sand" type of borders (although, as you'll see, I still can't resist the architecture of checkpoints).  My approach to pedestals has also changed.  For several of these photographs I researched the location of former Lenin or Stalin statues and photographed the place as it is today, having already gone through a de-socialization.  This is truly just the beginning of this project, but I'm exited to see where this exploration will take me!


Lenin, Vilnius

Stalin, Vilnius

Lenin, Brno

Stalin, Prague

Czech-Austrian Border

Russian-Lithuanian Border

Czech-Slovak Border

Machine Gun Bunker, Parukarka Park, Prague

Machine Gun Bunker, Parukarka Park, Prague

Garden, Lithuania


See you in 2015!


Sunday, November 30, 2014

Fall Pictures


Howdy gang.  It's been a while since I put up a post.  That's because I've had my hands full with a new edition to the family.   Emilia Asher Moore was born on September 29th at 8 pounds 12 oz.  The birth was amazingly smooth (about two hours) and as you'll see from these pictures, she sleeps like a champ!















Cleo, with her new baby.







Artist studio










The shaking of the beer


Bored at DC Fotoweek (can't blame her)





Little 5 points, Atlanta


My exhibition at Arlington Art Center.  It's up until December 21st if you haven't seen it.

And last but not least, the SMILE!

I'll be back in December with new work.




Sunday, September 14, 2014

Guoda and Other Poems


Hello friends, with this post I am going to share with you a video I made during my residency in Lithuania this summer.  The title of the video is Guoda.  Ultimately, I'd like to exhibit this piece in a public space, or somewhere it can be lived with for a while.  I'm putting the video below, in it's entirety, as well as on my website, but I understand that staring at a screen for 25 minutes is not the best way for you to experience it.  Feel free to click through, or to let it roll until you have a sense of what I'm going for.





You may have figured out that the footage for Guoda was derived from a developing Impossible Project Polaroid.  Impossible Project is a lot of fun to play around with but it is also a VERY finicky film.  Once the video was complete, I used the leftover film to shoot portraits of folks I met this summer, and to document the Jewish Cemetery in Telc, CZ - the site of my East/West exhibition.  Here are some of those images. 

Simona, AKA Simba

Artist, Daniel Spangler

Aukse

Milan

The dude!


Daniela, in Croatia


Here's my perspective on the Jewish Cemetery in Telc, CZ.  I had the place to myself for a solid week so I tried to shoot one polaroid every day.






That's all for now.  If you don't know already, I will be a participant in the Fall Solos exhibition starting next month at the Arlington Art Center.  It will be the American debut of the East/West project.  The opening reception is October, 18th.  I would love to see you there!  For more info click here.







Monday, August 11, 2014

S.V. Part II: Residency at the Jewish Cemetery


Welcome back! This post wraps up what turned out to be a very long and productive summer.  It begins with a few pictures from the outskirts of Prague.









Jp came to visit and he made a new friend.


Here's me at the Ceremonial Hall of the old Jewish Cemetery in Telc, CZ.  I was given this building, and the cemetery, for a one week exhibition/residency.  I spent the entire week reading, meeting with the locals and getting to know some of the cemetery's inhabitants.  The place has no electricity and no running water so it felt a bit like living at Walden Pond, except creepier.  It was a truly unique experience and I loved every minute it.  

Here's what the exhibition looked like.  If you are not familiar with my East/West project you can see the images here.




I also had a box in the center of town where I displayed some of the Impossible Project images I made during the week.  (These will be the focus of my next blog post).

The loft with a view outside

Kitchen area


View from the sitting area outside

A moth


Professional cell phone wildlife photographer JP Widby

View of Telc


The town square - one of the best I've ever seen.


Look closely


The girls



Ghost polaroid installation


Daniela dressed in black


You guys, I'm really into mushroom photography now.  


One of the other residents


Long walks with Cleo in the afternoon




By the way, if you're going to operate a cemetery, it had been come with a skeleton key!





The state of photography today 



A fitting place to leave it might be this commy statue I found in a small town in south CZ.  The inscription reads: "We thank you and we love you"