Week 10

I went to the Jan De Cock exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art. I liked the exhibit not necessarily because the photographs were strong but because of the installation. There were framed pieces staggered throughout the room at the oddest places so that you really had to look closely to take it all in. The photographs were both color and black and white and in each frame there was either one photograph or many staggered just as the frames themselves were. There were also random plywood sculptural modules sticking out of the walls and a large one on the floor. The installation was interesting because once you walk into the room you are really surrounded by the artwork from all angles. I wouldn't recommend going to the museum just to see the show but if you happen to be in the museum it is pretty interesting to stop by and see. 

Week 9

Yesterday I went to a gallery opening at DCKT gallery for a solo show by Josh Azzarella, my Digital Imaging professor this semester. This was the first time I have been to a gallery opening so it was pretty exciting. I have found that a gallery opening is not really the best time to look and take in the artwork but it is more for drinking and talking about the artwork and the artist. Josh takes historical images and removes important features that ultimately alternate history. Its a really strong show and I highly recommend going to see it.

Week 8

At 6:45 this morning I was woken up by a text message from an old teacher, mentor, and friend of mine, Toni Quest (see week 4). Her husband, Mark Abrams, who was battling cancer for some time now passed away yesterday. He was an unbelievable husband, artist, and friend who will be greatly missed.

Week 7

I grew up in Margaretville, a town of only six hundred and fifty people, inside the Catskill Mountain Park. Even though my family has since moved away we still receive the local newspaper The Catskill Mountain News. The headline of the most recent issue was "Margaretville goes to Manhattan" and of course this peaked my interest. It turns out that Parson's, The New School for Design, had rebuilt the town pavilion, and in a town of only six hundred and fifty people, that is a pretty big deal.

Margaretville is built on an ecologically sensitive floodplain of the Delaware River. For years the town has been plagued by terrible floods, recently they have gotten more severe and have been causing more damage. The town pavilion, which has been there for fifty years, has also been damaged in the floods. Since 1998 Parson's Design Workshop has done a non-profit project, and this year rebuilding the Margaretville Pavilion was their project. The project, the workshops largest, and most ambitious to date, was completed by eleven students in only three months. An exhibition featuring the project was held in the Shelia C. Johnson Design Center.

I thought as an exhibition as a whole was really well done. The first thing you see when you enter the gallery is a wall sized photograph of the completed pavilion. On another wall of the gallery there was a week-by-week timeline of what was accomplished throughout the project starting with demolition of the old pavilion in June. In the center of the gallery there was a scale model of the pavilion, complete even with miniature picnic tables. My favorite part of the gallery however was on the last wall there was a video compilation of the day-by-day progress that was completed. This was so touching for me because I have been to the old pavilion and I know the surrounding area so well it just brought back such nostalgia because I have not been back there in so long and I miss it.

Week 6

Jerry Friedman has been a friend of mine for the past few years. We met somehow on livejournal neither of us really remember how it came about but its most likely because we both have photography in our interests. Jerry graduated from Pratt in 2003 with a BFA in Graphic Design. When I met him he was living in Jersey but has since moved to Texas where he is a senior graphic designer at a company whose main clients are Frido Lay, Pepisco, Cadbury Schwappes, and Quaker/Tropicana/Gatorade. I know him mainly through his photography so that is what I wanted to hi-light I highly recommend you check out his Flickr page.

I was really surprised when I found out how many people I know actually read this blog and since he is one of them I told him I wanted to interview him for the blog. This is what he had to say:

What do you do with your photography, is it just a passion on the side?

"Being that I pretty much sold out my graphic design, I use it as my personal expression. I don't do very much commercial photography (but I do art direct many shoots). I find shooting for myself very fulfilling and I actually also like taking people along with me and teaching them. I'm considering teaching, actually. The output from my shoots I usually post on my flickr page, make prints, and supply to people featured in the shots if they'd like. I feel it's a fantastic trade... they work with me to get a great shot and they can take it home and show their friends : )"

Tell me about some of the events you frequent mermaid parade etc.

"Im a sucker for costumes, admittedly. I do very much like shooting fringe festivals like Mermaid Parade as it brings out many non-standard individuals that bring their diverse talents out in the open. Even though I see many people shooting at parades, I gun for moments that are more exotic than the standard documentary sideline shots that the crowds get. I prefer to work in the parade line at close range, and thankfully the police have never had any issues with me. The same applies to my street photography, I'm not a fan of surveillance. I prefer to work at closer range with shorter lenses so that my shots show the relationship between the subject and I."

Week 5

For the past three weeks I have been going to Amy Wilson's continuing education figure drawing class. Since I already have drawing from 12-6 on Fridays it was kind of like a 3 hour extension. Making Friday a nine hour draw-a-thon! I really liked going to the classes, for me figure drawing is a way for me to relax and just enjoy myself. The class was also a lot of fun, it was my first time drawing two models at once, and with the lights turned off and the music playing it really just gave the entire class a good vibe. I'm going to miss the class but now that its over hopefully it will have been the kick in the butt I needed to start drawing for myself more often. I promise more of my own drawings (and not just figure drawings) will be posted soon. 

Week 4

For three years in high school I went to classes six days a week. I was part of the Westchester Art Program which selected three students from different high schools throughout Westchester County and put them in a Saturday art class. For two of those years Toni Quest was my teacher.

Toni Quest is a self taught artist known as the Screaming Woman. After surviving a car crash there was not much else for her to do in her recovery except produce art. To deal with her physical and emotional pain she created the screaming woman series.

Toni Quest is also a published author, her poetry, as well as her award winning cover artwork, can be found in the novel View From the Middle of he Road Vol. II. Toni is so much more than a great artist, she is also a wonderful teacher, mentor, and friend.