Sunday, November 25, 2007

The Assignment Continues

I started photographing this tree because of an assignment I gave to my advanced photo class sometime in 2001. The point of the assignment was to choose a subject that could be photographed over a long period of time, photograph it monthly, and if you're an advanced photo student, commit to photographing it for the rest of your life.* Well, it's 7 years later and I'm wondering how many of us are still doing the assignment. I chose a favorite place in Frostburg and the tree that stands in the center of it. Frostburg is full of hills, and houses that are close together. If you grew up (as I did) in the flatlands of Maryland, lived for a while in eastern Colorado, and came to realize that the time spent looking at fields of tobacco, the scrubby land of Delaware, and the plains of Kansas were best for you sense of being, Frostburg could be a tough place to live.

The field in the picture above abuts the Paris Glendenning Recreational Center (sounds fun!) , or what used to be known as Lion's Field. At the time I assigned the project the Recreational Center's fields were just a threat. I chose to document the tree because I was afraid it would be dozed over, and I wanted photos of this place where I had spent a lot of time with friends (and one furry pal). I'd lead them to the tree and we'd lie beneath it, talking about our existences, and how the decision to live in Frostburg was tangled into our lives in a way only people who have lived there can understand.

Happily, the tree (which is a locust) hasn't been dozed. I do my best to not only photograph it (once a year now), but to also spend some time with its furrowed bark, its neighboring brambles and ground hog dens. I try and remember all those conversations, and all that romping in the grass with Annabelle, Kim and Todd.

The other thing I do each time I'm there is wonder how many (if any) of my former students are still keeping their side of the bargain.

Anybody?

*My friend Kate says that this was a nearly abusive assignment in that I was asking the students to alter their lives for the class. I disagree with her, and wonder if this type of thinking is in part indicative of the difference b/t someone with and someone without tattoos?

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Sexytime


There's a good write up of SAMETIME 7:15 in the current issue of the Baltimore City Paper. It's worth the read if for no other reason than the job the writer did making the project seem much sexier than it probably is. Go here and scroll right to see the sex picture.

You've got to love a city that prides itself on being the home (and muse) of John Waters.

Monday, November 05, 2007


There are a number of bands or musicians that might come to mind when the word "prolific" is mentioned. Ryan Adams certainly qualifies, especially after a 2005 calendar year which brought three studio albums to store shelves. But whoever you can think of would be left in the dust, most likely, by Brad Walker, a man perhaps better known by his moniker, Some Monastery...

Read the entire Stereo Subdivision interview with my fellow SAMETIMEr here.

Thursday, November 01, 2007

The Blogger Show


I'm happy to report that I'm a part of a multi-site, multi-date show called The Blogger Show. The first leg of the show opens this Saturday at the Agni Gallery in NYC, while the Pittsburgh venue Digging Pitt (where the show originated), has an opening next Saturday. As does Digging Pitt Too, and the Panza Gallery. Finally, BoxHeart Gallery (also in Pitt) has an opening November 13th.

So here's the blurb, the raison d'etre:

The artists in the exhibits at Agni, Digging Pitt and Panza Galleries represent a range of visual disciplines and aesthetics. The one commonality is active blogging. Some use blogging as a platform for discussing issues facing visual artists while others treat the blog as a public journal. Whatever approach or combination of approaches, all have brought a level of clarity to artistic discourse. These exhibits are a reflection, in physical space, of the ephemeral blogosphere.

Thanks to John Morris, Susan Constanse for doing all the work involved.

Below is the list of artists and links to their blogs. A few of the names should be familiar and all appear worth the perusal. I really like what Eva Lake has to say about blogging.

Appearing @Agni Gallery
Nancy Baker (Raleigh, NC) - Tire Shop and Anonymous Female Artist
Martin Bromirski - (Richmond VA) Anaba
Sharon Butler (Mystic, CT) - Two Coats of Paint
Lisa Call (Parker, CO) - New Work and Inspiration
F. Lennox Campello (Washington, DC) Mid Atlantic Art News
Rose Clancy (Pittsburgh, PA) - paperWorks
Kevin Clancy (Boston MA and Pittsburgh PA) - soft soft pink pulls through the ivory void
Susan Constanse (Pittsburgh, PA) - Oranje
Warren Craghead - drawer
Mark Creegan (Jacksonville Florida) - JaxCal.org
Christiane D (Pittsburgh PA) - Christiane D
Roberta Fallon (Philadelphia PA) Fallon and Rosof's Artblog
Ann Gordon (Detroit MI) - Detroitarts
Cable Griffith (Seattle WA) - Cable Griffith
David Grim (Pittsburgh, PA) - Serendipity
Bill Gusky (Canton, CT) - Artblog Comments
Tracy Helgeson - Works by Tracy Helgeson
Stephanie Lee Jackson (Brooklyn NY) - Pretty Lady
JT Kirkland (Washington, D.C.) - Thinking About Art
Mary Klein (Minneapolis, MN) - stillifes
Eva Lake (Portland, OR) -Eva Lake
Steven LaRose - (Ashland OR) Steven LaRose
Michael Lease (Richmond VA) - Annabelle's Aspirin
Joanne Mattera (New York NY) Joanne Mattera Art Blog
Rob Matthews (Philadelphia PA) - Matthews The Younger
Jean McClung (Pittsburgh PA) Urban Bytes
John Morris (Pittsburgh, PA) - Digging Pittsburgh Arts
Loren Munk (Brooklyn NY) - James Kalm
Elizabeth Perry (Pittsburgh, PA) - Woolgathering
David Pohl (Pittsburgh, PA) - find the time to rhyme
Libby Rosof (Philadelphia PA) Fallon and Rosof's Artblog
Chris Rywalt - (Wood Ridge NJ) NYC Art
Marc Snyder (Pittsburgh, PA) - Fiji Island Mermaid Press
David Grim (Pittsburgh, PA) - Serendipity
Sophie Klahr (Pittsburgh PA) - the story of how it is
Amy Wilson New York, NY) - working