Spanish Magazine Features My Work

If there's one constant in life and art, it's change. And I'm learning to embrace it.

After some serious soul searching, I've come to the conclusion that my work falls under one main idea - one thought - “the other”. I can't distinguish any longer between a portrait of a mentally challenged trash man in Utah or an image of a smokestack next to a (former) concentration camp in Germany. The theme and ideas are the same to me now.

To my mind, my work is about difference (I often refer to this as, "the other") and memory. It's an investigation about how we see each other and what that means in our daily lives. The memory is both personal and universal - do we learn anything from the past, or is it something we ignore and/or deny? I want my work to question self-consciousness, too. I request that the viewer think about themselves from the inside out, not outside in - a unexamined life...

I heard a comment about the words, "equal" and "the same", last night on the radio. It was Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, so it was a good time to reflect on equality, difference, and sameness.

I came to realize that I don't want everyone to be the same, but I want equality. In a perfect world, we would all be equal (rights, respect, etc.) and we would embrace one another's differences. That's in a perfect world. I suppose that's what I try to do. In a circuitous way, I try to celebrate the differences between us. I enjoy a unique face as much, or more, than a "beautiful" face, etc. etc.

I am infinitely infatuated with difference (in a good way). I think I equate difference/uniqueness with awareness somehow. I don't mean that in the sense of trends or fads, but in the sense of being who you are, fully aware of that (internally) and letting the world deal with it - not the other way around.Excerpt from 1:1's website - "War Damage".

That brings me to the intent of my blog; a Spanish online magazine called, "1:1Foto Magazine" out of Madrid has featured some of my work in this issue. You can see it here or click on the image to go to the site. They are a great group of people and actually understand what I'm doing and have done. Muchas gracias!

I'm very happy to be making work, thinking, dreaming and living more as an artist now. I will continue to work toward being more self-aware and not being disconcerted about being who I am. And I'll continue to make work in that context with the hope of teaching myself, and others, tolerance.

Thomas Huxley said, "Try to learn something about everything and everything about something."

 

Self Portrait: Collodion & DNA

I have a couple of really important goals that I want to accomplish in the next few months. One of them is to make work for my project, exhibition and book.

I thought I would get creative with my time and my commitments. We are leaving Thursday for ten days and wanted to post the October Video Podcast on Chemical Pictures before we left. I also had an image in mind that I've wanted to make for a few weeks. I thought, why not make a few plates, create an image for my project and cover the podcast, too? So that's what I did today.

These image are about numbers, labeling, skulls & sockets, history, evilness, genetics and otherness. I distressed plate #3 a little bit. I varnished it shortly after making this copy and it cleaned up quite a bit - I was a little disappointed about that but I still like the image. I look so different in each image, it trips me out a wee bit.

It took four plates to get two that I really like.

"Self Portrait #3 - Jewish DNA" - 8"x10" Alumitype - Viernheim, Germany 2009 
Self Portrait #1 With Y-DNA Sequence Backwards (written by hand)

World Wet Plate Day Book 2009

I'm most happy doing meaningful work. It's satisfying and rewarding for me. I've never understood how people can go to jobs they hate everyday. I know that a lot of people do that. It's both sad and wrong.

If there's anything I know, it's that I know we should do what are heart tells us to do. We should follow our passion. And we should pursue happiness and find fulfillment in our lives. Contrary to popular belief, those things have little or nothing to do with money and fame. We shouldn't settle for mediocrity or fall victim to fear or the illusion of job security.

I've been multi-tasking for the last couple of months, maybe longer. I've been living and breathing my DVD for a couple of years, but I've also been weaving other, smaller projects into my schedule. One of them is the World Wet Plate Day book.

I've had the pleasure (and I say that with sincerity and honesty) to edit and prep almost 80 Collodion images shot on May 2, 2009 from all over the world. It's very exciting! It's going to be a wonderful publication for several reasons. First, all of the proceeds are going for a great cause and it's the very first one of it's kind (every year we'll publish one). It should be ready in a couple of weeks! Please consider buying a copy.

This is a mockup of the cover (all of the way open - nothing on the spine) - it's an 8.5" x 8.5" full color, perfect bound book - almost 100 pages.

The World Wet Plate Collodion Day Book 2009

Chemical Pictures - It's Finished!

Well, I didn't provide salvation for mankind, but I did finish my book, DVD, and web site.

After an inordinate amount of time, money and obstacles, the Chemical Pictures book, DVD and web site is ready for prime time (opening next week - July 20 - Summer's 17th birthday).

I'm elated, but at the same time, relieved. This has been a trying task, to say the least. While I understand that it's not perfect, I am very happy with it. If I had a couple of lifetime's and all of the resources I needed at my disposal, I could probably do a better job, but this will be fine for now. I think the users will be happy with it, too.

I'm most excited to hear what people think. About half of the content is malleable - at least the web site portion - so if users have suggestions for making it better, I'm going to listen. It's dynamic, too. I will do monthly video podcasts on a wide variety of Collodion topics. The technical forum board (yes, another one) will be active as well - but without the "noise" you get on public boards.

My biggest hope is that the students of my system will understand what I've put together here and maximize the opportunity to have access to a live, dynamic learning system. I hope that they will see the value of spending time with each video, each chapter in the book and ultimately really grasp the process and moreover, enjoy it.

The web site opens on Monday, July 20, 2009 and the book and DVD begins shipping the first week in August.

186 Steps in the "Stairs of Death" in the Mauthausen Quarry

The Mauthausen concentration camp was a Class III camp where prisoners classified as "Return undesired" were sent. It was a punishment camp where the inmates had to do hard time in a granite rock quarry. Those on the punishment detail had to carry granite boulders up steep stairs on their backs – the stairs are known as “The Stairs of Death”.

There is a sign (in German) at the bottom of the stairs that reads:

Here worked prisoners of various nationalities. With disregard of even the most primitive safety precautions, and with complete brutality, extreme work performance was demanded of the prisoners.

Here one had the best possibility to liquidate prisoners in the fastest manner. With a boulder weighing often up to 50 kg on the shoulder, while being forced to run through the quarry under constant beatings, the victim soon collapsed only to die in some corner unaided. (thanks Elke).

 

This leads into the quarry. You can see the distorted Menorah at the top quarry. This is where the camp is – to the left, is where I made the plate below. 
     "186 Steps of Death" - Mathausen Death Camp - 8"x10" Black Glass Ambrotype      

Mauthausen is a beautiful area, this absurd and evil thing takes all of that beauty away for me.

This was even more disturbing than Dachau in some ways. Being worked to death and used for profit adds a dimension of evil that exceeds simple execution. Don’t get me wrong, we walked through the gas chambers here and saw the table where they removed skin with tattoos and gold teeth, too. There were several places where they murdered the victims, hanged them, shot them, gassed them, and tortured them. Mauthausen has it all and then some. I will never look at granite the same way again in my life.

I didn’t make any photos inside the concentration camp. Only this 8x10 wet plate in the quarry and the color digital images outside of the camp.

Fallen Leaves

Today, I tried to take advantage of the beautiful weather here in Germany. It's late October and it's sunny and 16C (55F). Perfect weather for making plates.

I pulled out a new piece of black plastic (acrylic) and went to work. I mounted my Hermagis lens and stopped it down to a number six (6) Waterhouse stop. I'm going to make an educated guess here and say that would be about an f/30. Why? It's a 15" lens and the stop #6 is about .5"  - do the math.

Anyway, I decided I wanted to work on some kind of still life/landscape image. I chose to use the stopped down lens to show infinite (or close to it) depth and detail.

I chose to photograph our cherry tree. Cherry trees symbolize death, rebirth and new awakenings (among many other things including food and ornamental uses). Our cherry tree only produces fruit every other year. This year it didn't and I missed those delicious cherries (Kirschen).

Ever since I visited the Jewish Museum in Berlin, fallen leaves remind me of the faces in the piece called, "Fallen Leaves" - I did a 20 second video while I was walking on the "faces" - it was, loud and disconcerting.

 

I wanted to explore this idea of "fallen leaves" and yet show something resilient and strong (the tree trunk). So I setup this shot.

First, I took a jug of water and I poured it on the tree trunk. I knew it would help define the "texture/scars" on the trunk and make it dark. Water, or wet things, has/have an interesting relationship with Collodion. I really like the effect of something wet or something steel with Collodion (I think it's the reflection or sheen).

Next, I made a test exposure. It was way underexposed at 8 seconds. The next exposure, I went 16 seconds, still under and finally, after three plates, made this at 40 seconds.

"Fallen Leaves" - Cherry Tree, Viernheim, Germany

It's an 8x10 "Acrylotype" (made on a piece of black plastic). I'm happy with it. I love the light. It was early enough that this portion of my yard was still in the shade. I love how the leaves are the things that pickup, and reflect, the new morning light... and the trunk, standing tall and strong. It's surrounded with darkness and "things" coming out, or even reaching out, of that darkness. It's symbolic for me.

Jesus Was A Jew

My goal in 2009 is to really concentrate on getting my project completed. By the winter of 2009, I want to be editing images for a book. That's my goal. In order to do that, I'm going to cut back on workshops (maybe do two next year) and get my technical writing and DVD material completed this year (in the next couple of months).

It was a good day today. Sunday and Germany equals no one bothering you about "what you're doing". Any other day, or any other time, I would have never been able make this image.

I find this image both ironic and symbolic. Ironic in the sense that Jesus was a Jew. Symbolic in the sense that Jesus was a Jew (and that He represents salvation and love). I find it kind of kitschy too - that's why I made it on a piece of plastic (black acrylic, I call it an "Acrylotype"). I made the image with an old Derogy lens. It's not big enough to cover the plate (8"x10") edge to edge, so it gives it that vignette. Vignettes make me feel like I'm looking through a keyhole or seeing something I'm not supposed to be seeing. I like the effect it gives of saying (visually), "LOOK HERE".  Images of Jesus on the cross always remind me of Serrano's work too. He made an image called, "Piss Christ" that everyone took out of context and misunderstood. I'll never forget it.

You'll see these kinds of statues in a lot of the Catholic states/counties in Germany. You'll also see a lot of crosses. And every village has a Catholic church in its center with its steeple stretching toward heaven.

Jesus Was A Jew

Glasgow, Scotland

On Friday (May 2) we hopped on a flight (Ryan Air) to Glasgow, Scotland (UK). It was about an hour and forty minute flight. Too easy.

I meet a lot of people through my wet plate photography interests and this is how we ended up in Scotland. Carl Radford and his wife, Liz, (and their dog Lewis) welcomed us, put us up in their beautiful home, fed us, walked us around Glasgow and even picked us up and dropped us off at the airport! How kind is that?

We had never met Carl until last weekend. He is hosting a wet plate Collodion workshop that a Californian bloke named Kerik Kouklis is flying over to teach. Kerik and Carl have been friends for a couple of years.

It was great fun to be involved in the revival of wet plate Collodion in Scotland after 150 years of it being gone. Carl and I made the first plates in Scotland since (probably) the 19th century. It was a blast.

After the wet plate Collodion events, we wandered the streets of Glasgow and went to a great Japanese restaurant (oddly enough) called Wagamama. It was really good. It seems to be very popular in the U.K. The Radfords also cooked us haggis and traditional Scottish meals. Scottish food is outstanding, very, very good. And yes, haggis tastes excellent.Enjoy the photos (click to make them larger) and video (below)!

Bagpipes, bagpises and more bagpipes.

A wee bit more - this guy was actually pretty good.
Carl wanders Glasgow.

Carl, Liz, Jeanne, Summer and Quinn in the Glasgow subway.
Downtown Glasgow, Scotland.

"Hey, there we are!" (3D Map of downtown Glasgow)

Scottish pounds. 1 pound = $2.05 (at this time) - OUCH!

These guys were good, too.
University of Glasgow