week twelve: October 25th on

Second Packet emailed on Monday with rough draft of visual culture paper. I find the De Certeau readings very challenging.  I photographed Greenville town manager John Simko on Tuesday. Thursday I attended the Univeristy of Maine at Bangor lunch and gallery talk with artist Todd Watts. He explained his inspirations and methodology for the recent works. He spoke about my faviroite piece inwhich a tree is repeated and birds fill the trees in different formations: random and grid. I keyed in on the topic given my interest in repetition and place. He spoke of how he had experienced photography from 60s Harry Callahan show in dictacted presentation to post modern installation experience of photography. At lunch I brought up the topic of Iceland because I have been reading Roni Horn's Library of Water and other works. A gentleman at the table discused how Iceland was a pure place genetically and ideal for genetic study. I was mortified by the generalization [thinking of Tibet and the assumptions placed on them] and humored by the assumption that anything is pure or absolute. Iceland is a flying hub and tourism mecca. The music scene produces amazing independent innovative work. It's history encompassed rich layers of blending build on thousands of years of the Vikings settling their booty and babes; Both were taken from throughout Europe and Eurasia. I am intriged by the colonial tone of discussion of northern remote places. I feel this in the North Maine Woods, Alaska, and in the Irish mythology and ledgends built on historical engagement with the Northern Invaders. The character of Balor illustrates the northern people. I am going to give this all thought and ponder...

week elevan: October eighteenth on

Happy Monday. I have a cold, Avis is teething and this outline has me in paralysis [paper will be written, and I will be extracting an outline]! I had a great weekend despite this cold and cranky old folk who disapprove of the presence of happy children, I digress. Saturday I drove down to Brunswick and visited my mentor, Meggan Gould in her studio at Fort Andross. Her space over looks the Androskogen river. She had just taken down her recent show from the Center for Maine Contemporary Art and the framed prints punctuated the room. The blackboards and computer screens in four or five times life size take the human gesture of personalization into iconic dimension. Our discersive spaces are facinating. I notice the items within the images that are no longer part of everyday use. It is hard to come by a book of matches today. I am projecting the human need of personalization and the gestures performed to do so. Lefebvre and de Certeau have possessed me as I tap this paper away.  I showed Meg the North Woods protraits since our last meeting. We discussed the ability to get past the smile to a true portrait. Saying dead kittens is not nice, but it works. She recommended several artists to look at, in particular Alec Soth. I love his book, "Niagara." I viewed his other works online. He offers a brief narraitve of each shoot in the end of the book. I want to present my interviews in such a way that works in tandeum for a discursive space. I also showed her my everyday and pathes project which are very much works in process. I am obsessed with the 28 miles of roads from the camps to town and back. Dorffi and I may walk it this month. There are stretches of road I know by a bumb, others by a sign, and others by a tree or open space. These transcend seasonal cycles and connect my years of passing through the space.
I stayed down country and visited the Farnsworth Museum Sunday morning. I am not a fan of traditional painting, but I felt the museum is in Maine so I should visit it. I truly visited because I wanted to see their selection of the works of Louis Nevelson. I am familar with her Dawn's Wedding Feast installation, and I wanted to see more of her works. I enjoyed studying the pieces. I took a few pictures to keep the observations accurate. The two pieces which stood out for me made use of common place materials from stationary, the post, wrapping paper, cardboard, et ceteras. The lighting was a challenge in viewing particularly her paintings. Reflections were cast by the doorways and windows; one could be concerned for the deterioration of the art. I did like the folkart rug exhibit. The New Hampshire historical society has curated similar shows which I appreicate for their celebration of the everyday. The Arnold Newman portraits in the basement were the most productive thing for me to observe. I had discussed the challenges of portraiture with Meg the previous day. I admire Arnold Newman's access to the famious and his ability to get those egos to expose themselves through his "environmental portraits." The best experience of the morning was the Emily Schiffer, "Cheyenne River" exhibit. Her installation of language and photography created a discursive space that explored and exposed the childhood space of play in the backdrop of life's love and loss.  In sum, I did not care for the museum; the woman who took our admisson was curt, uninterested in directing us and unfriendly about having a child. My assessment was echoed by my friend who felt they did not want to be open on a Sunday and did not appreciate a child talking. The museum store was friendly and my friend found several special gifts for upcoming holidays. No one likes every place and the Farnsworth is a place I do not need to return to again. Cheers!

week ten: October elevanth on

Reading new takes on Lefebve's theories of space and identity. I worked through Rosalyn Deutsche last evening. Her critique of revitalization, genrification and public space offered valuable insights to the use of displacement and stucture of urban planning. Today I reflected on her works and compared her take to those of Solnit, Lippard and Horn. I need to get an outline on the visual culture paper to my advisor. I have made so many drafts it looks like a multi-perspective sketch. I photographed Natalie and her nephew Thrusday at the soccar game. She sits on the corner; it was an interesting perspective. I got a new scanner and scanned the eight by ten negaitves this week. The Epson V750 Pro is a dream. Fast and quiet compared to my Microtek which sounded like a dying cat.  Meggan suggested it. There is much to do before meeting Meggan for our monthly meeting this Saturday. I need to review and edit the shoots on the everyday from the camps. I have been studying the road too. Paths are an obsession. I photographed Avis' crossings on the frosted grass this morning. Lovely graceful imprint her lttle feet left by moving the grass and pushing away the forst. I am eager to see Meggan's space and the collective space of her artist community. Much to do. It was good to reflect this week and see the images on my computer as a collection.

week eight: September 27th on

The studio side of my work processes through the challenges of connecting and satisfaction of seeing the images come to reality. The rituals of setting up the camera and following my exchanges in the interview allow me to explore the idea and role of affect in my work and how all inclusive it is to life, at least mine. Roadride to Portland Wednesday. I attended the opening of "Debating Modern Photography." It offered an educational comparasion of pictorial and f64 images from early photography. The selection and educational components were well done. I always enjoy seeing a Weston [father or sons] in person. I have seen many such educational shows, so my attention went up to Anna Heapler's Makeshift exhibit on the fourth floor and in the entry. Each piece engaged the transformation of space through time. 

week nine: October 4th on

Work continues steady and I am eagerly preparing for next week's critique. This week I returned to Beaver Cove to photograph Janise Kimball-King. She is a character living along the shores of Moosehead Lake. She retired in her twenties and embraced the do anything and everything life of surviving in the North Maine Woods. She is the Jacquline of Moosehead for sure! Her ash baskets, wool rugs and tapistries are a testiment to her rich experiences and ability to spin a tale. I hope to get more portraits Friday interviews folks up in the woods. This is a matter of asking and synrodyzing the right place and time.
I continue to read and work out the outline of my research. Writing is a matter of doing and editing, but I eag and awe myself into a tissy before I succumb and write. This too closely resembles the temper tantrums my two year old throws before she gives in and falls asleep. I love the readings, but order is a challenge I struggle to address; I am and that is the first step.
Thursday evening the University of Maine Museum of Art opened the Todd Watts exhibit, String to Short to Play. The bold color and play of focal plans were a marvelously refreshing sight. The element of movement was paired in several images by the placement of birds or water. The affect of this symbolism took the architectural space from the geometric to the psychological. In the words of photographer Frank Van Der Salm, today's best architects are photographers. The earlier prints brought held graphic repetition into play while the latest work juxtaposition the graphic repetition of birds from the formation of a square to that of a circle breaks up. I, of course, thought of Lefebvre's everyday repetition and the cycles of nature versus those of human engagement. The Piece depicting driftwood and a child's orange rubber ball repeting reminded me of David Spero's work, Ball Photographs, in which he places colorful rubber balls as puctuation marks on the scene marking the still lifes within the frame. Content becomes subject. I truly liked Todd's work and I will return on my next visit to Bangor. It warms my heart and mind to see such contemporary expression in the North Maine Woods. Cheers.
The opening also included the solo exhibition of Bangor Russian Artist Llya Askinazi. Llya shoots with a classic 8x10 deardorff producing traditional black and white landscapes of cityscapes from Maine, Israel, and al. The images are beautiful: alluring and haunting. The contact printing on slow contact paper produces images that must be seen to be truly appreciated the detail and tonal beauty. Like the F64 photography of the early 20C his prints have depth and breath that must be experienced to be appreciated. I love this technical achievement. I applaud its successful achievement as the poetry of photography that it is. Cheers.