A Little Background
The placement of the subject in the center of the frame is the way I normally see things. If accidents occur in my photographs, they will usually occur around the edges. This is where the tension and surprise finds its way into the image. I don’t see well around the edges, so accidents often occur. I work towards this end.The National Fatherhood Initiative is in Washington, DC and I have been doing work for them. I have been traveling from state to state photographing “Fathers” who have re-entered their children’s lives, and in many instances are now raising their children without the support of the birth mother. The dads take nor want any special credit for this. The pictures speak for themselves, I hope.
The idea of photographing ordinary objects in the landscape has been with me since graduate school in 1972. They become visually effective through their intrinsic banality. In their ultimate banality, the objects begin to take on human characteristics. This was my intent in many of the images in the “Less Than a Year” and “New Mexico” work.
People will stand in line all over the world for almost any reason. What they do while in line is both instructive and silly. People love to be photographed, especially if they think they will be considered important. I made the “Vegas and the Vatican” photos at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas and at the Vatican Museum in Rome.
“Girlie Gallery Numbers 1, 2 & 3” are figments of our imagination. Left to our imagination we can believe that these girls in the cards are real. In Las Vegas they are a very real part of the strip. Handed out by street hawkers, they are viewed and tossed. I visually explore the randomness of where they end up, mostly on the ground, in waste canisters or on and around planters and flower boxes. They are part of the sexual culture of Vegas. If you can read the phone number on the cards give them a call, and remember: “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas”, or so we think.
The “Sub-Prime” crisis has infected the banking world and our world, and has lead to foreclosures and thousands of acres of developed sub-divisions without any homes in place. The mounds of dirt are all man-made, and are in balance to the stark landscape of the mountains and desert behind them. Funny and sad at the same time. They are, in many instances, a statement of economic struggle and failure. I have given many of the piles names, and I often photograph the same ones over and over.
If you are lucky enough to be part of my “Friends and Relatives” gallery, well this is simply my way to remember you. You may be even luckier to not be part of this gallery, considering how I may photograph you. I use these images to constantly remind myself what my “Friends and Relatives” look like. Let me know if I have left anyone out, please.
I came to be involved with “The Chicago Spire” building through an old friend. It will be, upon its completion, the tallest building in America. I will document its construction, from the caissons, to the window installation on the 145th floor. The architect is Santiago Calatrava.
The people of “Rocchetta al Volturno” are part of my wife’s extended family. They are from the mountains of central Italy, where Annie’s mother Annina and father Silvio were born. I know many of these fine people, and have learned over the years, that their word is their bond. That comforts me. They have taught me to be humble and to accept myself, and to value family. I sought to photograph them all against a blank and bland back drop, allowing their strong inner character and integrity to dominate the frame.
That’s all he wrote for today... 03/03/08
