1/2 + 1/2 = One Hole

Lightning Strikes

GOLDFISH!

I have always thought about making my bathroom goldfish themed. Maybe it's weird that I waited till this age to implement that idea, but I'm goin for it anyway. It's off to a pretty rad start. If anybody knows of any really great goldfish themed or related items that might be of use do let me know. I'm already having fun with it as you can see by these photos.

Temple Exercises, Theaster Gates

Tuesday, January 20th the MCA will host the last of three performances this month by Theaster Gates and the Black Monks of Mississippi. I came to know Theaster by photographing several of his performances. In the beginning I did not realize how much his work would mean to me and how it would change the way I look at contemporary art. Watching Theaster's work and collaborations evolve has been a source of inspiration for me. In a time where art seems so cynical, disconnected, and heartless these performances serve as the antithesis to that hollow trend. How often do you go to the MCA and leave feeling like you just saw the course of contemporary art change right in front of your eyes? Better yet, change in a positive, hopeful way? Temple Exercises urges people to look for a deeper connection to the world and one another. Make no mistake, The Black Monks are certainly addressing issues as heavy as identity, race, and the future of both, but it's done in a way that the viewer can begin to explore these things by feeling part of a whole rather than an outsider attending a lecture. Theaster offers a performance/installation/collaboration that can influence you to examine your history, surroundings, and self but through that also offers the solution of understanding and community. And the best part is that every performance brings a wide range of talent and thereby a new dynamic. Temple Exercises is ever evolving. I am grateful for the opportunity to watch Theaster Gates and the Black Monks of Mississippi start a new ball rolling. I highly recommend that everyone see one of the performances.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Tuesday January 20th 6-7pm
MCA, Main floor

Saturday, January 24th 10am-noon
Shine King, 338 N Central Ave

Monday, January 26th 8pm-2am
Sonotheque, 1444 W Chicago Ave

Sei Young

Obama, the wonder years

Featured on Time's website... photos unearthed from the basement of former photographer Lisa Jack. She photographed Obama when she was in college with him.


See Time's article here

The Last Nice Days

Summer is long over, but I have a few images from the last warm days at home. I started really thinking about what it is that I look for when I photograph my family. I guess it's fair to say that I am looking for very specific moments and exclude a lot of the interaction between family members on purpose. When I get the opportunity to obsesrve a person's 'quiet time' I feel like I've been allowed to peak into a hidden part of that person. I always wonder what is going on in their head and imagine the endless possibilities of subject matter... or perhaps lack thereof. I realize that those moments can say so much about somebody while simultaneously pointing out that I really can never know parts of them at all. Thoughts like these have made me feel at times as though we're all really loners destined to endlessly wander only our own minds. Through the photographs I make of my family I try to imagine what that moment was like for everyone else involved. I realized that by doing that I'm really only looking more and more into myself and that these pictures have at least as much to do with me as they do with my family and our relationships with one another. But I would argue that to be the case with every photograph ever made.

I'm to a point with my immidiate family that the camera and photographic process has become a part of life for everyone. For example, when my mom is sunbathing and I sneak up on her and take a photo she recognizes the loud clomp of my camera's shutter and doesn't even look up before saying "Are you really going to take a picture of me like this? Are you going to put these pictures on the internet?" I reply "of course I am" and she accepts that as a viable answer. At the beginning of my photographic career I think my family was very aware of the lens in front of them all the time. They're still aware, but have stopped modifying their behavior as much. These images have such different value to me than any of the others. Especially compared to the ones where we're all huddled around birthday cakes smiling... or lined up outside the home of whoever had Easter that year... or the church portraits (yeah, we got em). All of those photographs are valuable too, but for different reasons. I guess I have come to a place where my family project says a lot to me about my family, myself, and people as a whole. Other people who look at that work may not care about it... it doesn't bother me if nobody else cares anyway, as long as I do. It's nice to be selfish that way sometimes. A lot of people have a hard time relating to strangers, but in some small ways sometimes I feel like I'm looking at strangers too. That feeling might say more about me than it does anybody else in the photographs. I'm not really sure.

Out of the Loop

It's been awhile since I posted anything on my blog because I haven't had internet in awhile. I'm using a really slow pc to post this, so there will be no new images today. I do have things to share, so stay tuned. We're working on getting sbc or somebody to recognize our address. Aparently we don't exist, even though our apartment is in the middle of Chicago. Hmmm.... Images coming soon!