John Steck Jr.

Artist Book: This is The.....

2012-01-24T11:36:00.000-08:00

This Is The ~~Baby~~ Book of ~~John Joseph Vicario~~ John Barry Steck

The second of three artist books I made as gifts this past winter. This book was made for my oldest friend, Tony. Like the book in the previous post that I made for my friend Filip, I wanted to use images that were particular to Tony and I. Certain memories we shared or places that were meaningful to us.

The theme throughout this book is related to the title. The title page is a scan from my baby book as a child. As you can see, I could of not been John Steck Jr. This haunts me in many ways, and one day I hope to have a project revolved around that whole idea. As of now, I do not have the mental energy to tackle such a thing. This book was a just a starting point to adress such a topic/idea.

I thought I would include images that obscure our identities, or show some sort of change in who we are. Such images as Tony's head inserted in a wood cut out of a German man with a pint of beer, or an image of me sitting indian style on a bed, but my tattoos are no longer there (oh photoshop!). These images mixed with several older ones of my childhood home, a place where Tony and I spent a lot of time growing up, create a weird sense of nostalgia and slightly interrupt the memory banks.

This Is The ~~Baby~~ Book of ~~John Joseph Vicario~~ John Barry Steck

Made in 2011/2012
7.25 x 9.25 Cloth Bound Hard Cover. Tipped in Photograph on Cover

Made with Moab Exhibition Luster

Artist Book: You Scratch My back, And I'll Scratch Yours

2012-01-13T12:56:00.000-08:00

I made this book for my friend Filip who lives in Chicago. This is one of three artist books I made this winter as gifts to my closest friends. For my two oldest friends in Chicago, I geared each book to our particular friendship and upbringing. A handful of images ended up being in both books, being that Filip and Tony are also very close. We have all known each other for some time now.

The idea for the book I made for Filip, You Scratch My Back, And I'll Scratch Yours, is based on some of our influences from our late teens to early twenties. Since we were both skateboarders and graffiti writers, I wanted this book to have a diy/zine look to it. I also wanted to portray us in a slightly more rugged way than we actually were. I have seen at a lot of movies, books and magazines about graffiti and skateboarding, and it seems that the people involved are portrayed in a very particular kind of way. There is a very punk rock/troubled youth kind of feel to them and they often contain nudity, bad behavior and at times, some sort of crime. Filip, Tony and I never grew up that way. I feel we have always been fairly clean cut in what we were involved in. The worse we ever did was graffiti on some industrial buildings and rooftops. Other than that we were pretty good boys.

I feel this book is still pretty clean cut compared to others I've seen, but for me it's just a first draft. There are plenty of images that still need to be scanned. I would like to actually include more images from when we skated and did graffiti. As of right now, it is mainly images from our time together, mixed with some other random images I have taken throughout the last 10 years. The book layout was heavily influenced from some of the books by Ed Tempelton, particularly Drinking The Kool-Aid.

You Scratch My Back, And I'll Scratch Yours by John Steck Jr. 2012

8.5x5.5 stab stitched artist book. 16 pages.

Handmade with Museo Cotten Paper

Artist Book: In My Horizon

2012-01-11T16:03:00.000-08:00

During my first term at SFAI I had a class with Ian McDonald called "The Return to Craft." For this class, we had a group exhibition at the Swell Gallery in the graduate campus. Every student made a piece for the show, related to the show theme which was "Hand-Eye Coordination." This is the piece I made for this show.

In My Horizon is a large scale artist book (16x20) that was inspired by Rebecca Solnit's A Field Guide to Getting Lost. These images explore some of the desires of what we see but cannot grasp. Places we may or may not long to be, but where we can never go.

I used the large scale book form to create more of a physical interaction. The use of large to small scale images allows the viewer to move forward and back while flipping through the book, playing with the idea of the hand to eye coordination.

In My Horizon by John Steck Jr, 2011

16x20 Hard cover cloth bound book.
Handmade & Printed on Exhibition Luster.

Artist Book: Repose

2011-12-19T15:45:00.001-08:00

New Artist Book set I just finished. Repose consists of three books, Repose in Red, Repose in Blue and Repose in Yellow. Handmade with hard cover, cloth bound and slipcase. Made in an edition of 5, For purchasing details, please check out the Make Book Blog.

Seascapes

2011-12-01T18:26:00.000-08:00

Monolith Spottings: Jamaica Plain, Chicago and San Francisco.

2011-10-09T11:35:00.000-07:00

Golden Gate Park

2011-10-08T14:13:00.000-07:00

Window Light

2011-10-06T22:30:00.000-07:00

Three Trees: San Francisco

2011-10-05T19:33:00.001-07:00

Crowd Watching Fireworks in San Francisco: 5 Minute Exposure

2011-10-04T22:19:00.000-07:00

30x40 Photogram, 2010

2011-09-30T16:41:00.001-07:00

Brookline Tree, May 2011

2011-09-20T16:03:00.000-07:00

Threefold: Selections from the Indie Photobook Library

2011-09-19T11:12:00.000-07:00

I am honored to be in this amazing exhibition of artist books at the Photographic Resource Center at Boston University. The exhibition Threefold: Selections from the Indie Photobook Library, is curated by Larissa Leclair, Shane Lavalette and George Slade and will have many great books by photographers from all over the world. This is the first exhibition of books from the IPL. The books will be displayed in a manner that you can pick them up and look at them.

The PRC is located at 832 Commonwealth Ave in Boston, MA. The exhibition will be on display from September 13th to November 12th with an opening reception on Wed. September 21st from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Scan: Leaf on Recycled Notebook

2011-09-09T21:24:00.001-07:00

San Francisco: Light Blinding Light

2011-07-06T16:17:00.000-07:00

Found Piles 5: 35mm from San Francisco

2011-06-28T19:26:00.000-07:00

Night Landscapes

2011-06-24T20:10:00.001-07:00

Some night landscapes from earlier this year. Some of these are a part of a smaller project called X-Deco that I work on a little each winter. I'm curious to see how San Francisco decorates, if at all, for the holidays. Never really thought about how that works out here.

Car Windows

2011-06-23T18:56:00.001-07:00

These two images were taken back to back, though I was unaware of this coincident until I contacted the roll. Taken in April in San Francisco, CA.

Scan: Leaf on Moleskine

2011-06-22T19:10:00.000-07:00

Vases

2011-06-21T22:05:00.000-07:00

Some things you just cannot hold on to forever.

Centralia, PA

2011-06-21T00:02:00.001-07:00

When I was in Scranton, PA this March for my solo show at New Visions Studio and Gallery, I was able to spend a few hours in Centralia, PA. Me and my friend Melanie Boisseau drove down to see this now ghost town. This once thriving coal town has had a mine fire beneath the land ever since the 60's, which still burns today. It was very surreal to be in this town and see the little left behind. There are still several houses there, some of which are still occupied. I am hoping to make it back there again one day to photograph them.

Found Piles Part 4: Brookline, Jamaica Plain, Scranton, Centralia & Chicago

2011-06-18T19:13:00.000-07:00

Equivalent of Light: Part Two

2011-06-16T17:26:00.000-07:00

Farewell Exhibit at Aviary Gallery

2011-06-12T18:33:00.005-07:00

I officially left Boston two weeks ago to live in San Francisco, where this fall I will start my pursuit of an MFA at the San Francisco Art Institute. Leaving was a bitter sweet event and to say goodbye properly, The Aviary Gallery let me host a farewell party. The show was so much fun. It was a one night event where me and Amalia hung up over 125 loose prints on the wall. Everyone that came was able to take a print(s) for any welcomed size donation. Everyone was really into this idea and was able to pull the image they wanted directly off the wall. I had a lot of fun signing each print and telling the story behind each image. Amalia kept replenishing the wall with other prints, as people started pulling them off. Overall, it was an amazing time.

Exhibition: No Mirrors at Rayko Photo Center

2011-06-11T19:24:00.036-07:00

Image by Christopher Colville

I will have a piece in this group show called No Mirrors: A juried show of camera-less photography. The show will be at Rayko Photo Center in San Francisco from June 16th to August 2nd. Opening reception is on Thursday, June 16th from 6-8pm. I am not entirely sure who else will be in this exhibit except I do know that Christopher Colville, whose work I have admired for some time now, will have a piece in it. I am excited to see this exhibition. Please come out if you live in the Bay Area.

Found Piles Part 3: 35mm from Atlanta, Savannah and Helen, Georgia

2011-05-03T20:51:00.007-07:00

The Equivalent of Light

2011-03-26T19:09:00.004-07:00

The Hallway Gallery & New Visions Studio and Gallery

2011-02-23T21:17:00.006-08:00

I have two exhibitions up for the month of March.. The first one is a group polaroid show at The Hallway gallery in Jamaica Plain running from March 3-31. This show features the work of five artists who have all used the polaroid in different ways to create images. The work I have in this show is made in similar ways to the piece that you purchased. My work will be featured along side two good friends of mine, Ariele Baragona and Lindsay Metivier.

Lindsay Metivier also just opened up her own gallery/boutique in Jamaica Plain called Aviary, which is a half block away from The Hallway Gallery. They will have a permanent selection of photography books where I will have two of my hand made artist books for sale. These are two new books of mine that I have worked on for a while so I am excited to have them on display.

The second show I have is a big solo show at the New Visions Studio and Gallery, in Scranton PA from March 10th to April 5th, with the opening reception on Friday, March 11th 6-9 pm. They are a new gallery/darkroom and workshop space that a fellow classmate from MassArt opened up after graduation. This will be my biggest show yet, showcasing over thirty framed pieces. The exhibition, which is called Organic Darkroom, will consist of photograms, unique c-prints, polagrams and other darkroom/camera-less photography.

Check them out if your in either area.

Art in Everyday Objects

2011-02-16T20:00:00.007-08:00

It seems that more and more lately, I come across places, things, and random stuff that reminds me of particular pieces of artwork. Yesterday, I was driving through Vermont and stopped in Montpelier, which is the state capitol. I went to a crepe place called The Skinny Pancake to indulge in some deliciousness. While waiting for my food, I unwrapped my silverware from the napkin and the second I saw the knife and fork, I instantly thought of a few images by Karl Blossfeldt.

Blossfeldt, who was a German botanist and artist at the turn of the century, photographed different plants, flowers, stems and other small natural forms with a camera he made himself. This camera magnified the plants way beyond their actual size, abstracting them into new forms. Blossfeldt's work has been a great influence in a lot of my current work so it was no wonder that he came to mind so quickly when seeing this silverware. I instantly looked up the image it made me think of, and I recreated it with the silverware and my camera phone.

This is the fork that instantly reminded me of Blossfeldt.

Original © Karl Blossfeldt Image.

My Recreation of the Blossfeldt Image.

Sheppard Fine Arts Gallery

2011-01-12T19:58:00.004-08:00

I am very pleased to be taking part in this exhibition at The Sheppard Fine Arts Gallery in Reno, NV. The show is called MYSELF: A 66-person Survey of Contemporary Self-Portraiture. Not only is this exciting for me because of being in such a great show, but also because it was curated by Marjorie Vecchio, phD. Marjorie was actually my first color photography instructor when I attended Wright College in Chicago back in 2001. She introduced me to the idea of furthering my photographic education and suggested Boston, particularly MassArt, as a good option. What a true honor to be in this exhibition under her curation.

I will post an installation images from the show as soon as I get one. Stay tuned.

The Indie Photobook Library

2010-11-29T23:35:00.004-08:00

This fall I submitted all of the books from the Make Book Blog to the Indie Photobook Library. They are all officially on their website now, with all the info about each book. This site is a fantastic place to find a lot of self published photo books. I recommend spending some time looking at this wonderful collection and seeing what they are all about.

Check out the Make Book Blog if you are interested in purchasing any of these titles.

A Delicate Place

2010-11-08T10:36:00.005-08:00

Cell Phone Photography: Base of Vase

2010-11-06T19:06:00.004-07:00

These four images were taken in the same exact spot at my day job. They are vases of different floral arrangements we get. They were taken in August of 2009, October of 2009 and two were taken in August of 2010. Since then, they have put up a wooden ledge behind where the vases sit, which now blocks the light that illuminates through the vases. I can no longer make these images.

Self Portrait with Amalia

2010-11-04T21:17:00.005-07:00

Amalia left yesterday for two weeks in Argentina, and I miss her dearly. I honor her absence with this photograph I took of us in September.

Stony Brook. September, 2010.

New Images from Maine, Gloucester, Vermont and The Arboretum.

2010-10-23T15:24:00.005-07:00

More Images from the several day trips that I have gotten to take the past 2 months or so. These were taken in Gloucester, Vermont, Maine and one from the Arboretum.

Found Piles Part 2: Massachusetts, Maine & Vermont

2010-10-20T17:53:00.005-07:00

Here are several more piles that I have found scattered throughout my travels these past few months. A few you may recognize from previous post, but they definitely belong in this mini series of mine.

Haystack Mountain School of Craft, Fall 2010 : Photos and Misc.

2010-10-19T15:40:00.006-07:00

This is the third and final post with work that I created at Haystack this fall. The photographs were all taken with a 4x5 camera, except for two regular Polaroids. Since my main focus this year was the Lumen Prints and the Polagrams, I didn't really have a main focus with what I wanted to actually photograph while there. I let my mind be very sporadic and just waited to find things that I felt were a little unusual.

The three greenish looking prints are something that I'm calling Chemical Transfers. Before I explain what they are, I do have to credit my new friend Julie Miller, who I just met at Haystack for coming up with the idea for these. She made about 10 of them first and I decided to try a few for myself. These are literally made from the leftover chemical residue that is left behind after I made each Polagram. The Polaroid film I used is this Fuji 100 speed film that is a peel off film, meaning I let the Polaroid develop for about 2 minutes then I peel it off the little chemical packet it is in. After peeling it away, you can still see the image that was just created on the chemical side of the packet. We would then place that chemical side down on a nice piece of thick paper and rub in into the paper for a couple minutes.

This pretty much wraps up all the work that I made there, other than a handmade coptic bound sketch book I made for Amalia, which maybe I will take a picture of and add it to this post down the road. Overall, I felt really productive while at Haystack and all these new ideas are leading me to a lot of other ideas. How wonderful. Stay tuned for some other things I have been working on the past couple months.

Haystack Mountain School of Craft, Fall 2010: Polagrams

2010-10-13T12:44:00.010-07:00

One other kind of experimenting I did while at Haystack was working with Polaroids to make photograms (Polagrams). I had only seen a few of these online before and I found instructions on how to make them. It actually ended up being a fairly easy process. Most of my time making these was spent gathering up objects from the forest, and the two minutes it took for each Polaroid to develop before I peel it off. The end results are a little similar to some of my earlier photogram/unique c-print work, but with some interesting differences.

I really enjoyed the idea of having a portable method for making photogram images, and that they would translate a little differently by being more saturated and a lot smaller in size. there is something quite elegant about these images that most common Polaroids do not possess. I for one tend to be a little annoyed with how trendy Polaroid has become these days, but it was nice to do something a little different using them.

Each Image below is a set of three Polagrams that I thought worked best together as a set.

Haystack Mountain School of Craft, Fall 2010 : Lumen Prints

2010-10-12T14:35:00.010-07:00

This is post 1 of 3 for the work that I created at The Haystack Mountain School of Craft for eight glorious days that I was able to spend there. Each post will be of the different kinds of image making that I experimented with.

The images in this post are called Lumen Prints, which is basically taking old black and white paper (in this case, Ilford Warmtone Fiber Paper) and laying objects on top of them. I let them sit in the sun light from anywhere between twenty minutes and up to two hours. I then fix and wash them, and then the end result is basically a very unique photogram.

The wonderful thing about making these prints was the fact that there were so many uncontrolled factors in how the end result would be. There was never a way to gage the proper exposure, nor could I really predict the contrast and tonalities. I also made some of them differently then others. Some were put into frames with glass to sandwich the object to the paper, giving me a sharper image. Some I made while it was raining out, and I would just leave the paper exposed to the rain with the objects on top. I would get a different texture and color with that process. A few I even made on the beach, where I submerged the paper into the Atlantic, either with sand or seaweed on top of it.

Stay tuned for a few more stories regarding particular images in this series.

The Points North: Online Single Release

2010-10-08T10:04:00.003-07:00

Jamaica Plain's very own The Points North have used an image of mine for a new single released online called 'We have Opened Up." You can download the song for free here. They are a wonderful band to see live and are always playing shows in the area. Please give em a listen to and enjoy.

The Vermont Photo Space Gallery

2010-09-22T21:23:00.007-07:00

The group shows at the Vermont Photo Space Gallery. The current one is called Managed Landscape, featuring 44 images from a lot of photographers all over the u.s. I have two images in the show. Next week opens another group show called After Dark, of which I have four images in.

The gallery is a little bit of a drive but if you happen to find yourself in Vermont within the next few weeks, pop your head in. Vermont is looking quite beautiful this time of year so I recommend the drive and also suggest stopping in Burlington, it is a lovely little town.

New Images: Gloucester, Montague and somewhere in the Berkshires

2010-08-09T17:26:00.003-07:00

I've been lucky enough to briefly escape the city a few different days this past two weeks. Twice I made it up to Gloucester, mostly near Good Harbor Beach (top three images). I also spent a day with Amalia in Western Mass. First we went to the Montague Book Mill (bottom image), then on our way to MASS MoCA, we drove through the Berkshires (2nd to bottom image). All three of these day trips had excellent sunlight and warm weather, which I feel were captured in these images. It's images I get to make on trips like this that really get me motivated and excited about photography over and over again.

New Images: Brookline & Jamaica Plain

2010-07-28T17:20:00.005-07:00

Three Similar Compositions

2010-07-21T16:44:00.009-07:00

Three Images taken in 2006 & 2007. Top one was taken in Dryden, NY on an extremely foggy day. The middle image was taken in Watertown, MA and the bottom images was taken from the Green Street Parking Garage in Ithaca, NY. I just really like the way the composition is fairly identical and how they are almost the same image, but just of different subject matter. I tend to shoot in this style when I'm using a square format camera. I personally like images where the subject matter is centered, even though it is sometimes shunned upon. As long as the space circling the subject matter is very heavy in weight and as interesting, I feel the image can work out that way. It's just a preference of mine though.

Visual & Visceral Relationships

2010-07-20T18:04:00.004-07:00

Today I scanned about thirty negatives from the past 5 years or so. I had a lot of negatives that I had c-printed before but never got a chance to get files of them. Going through some of it, I found these five images not only to be some of the more interesting ones as photographs, but also in the dialogue they have with one another. I found it interesting that these particular images, all taken at different periods of time, could connect through visual relations, along with the energy and constant motion each image holds. It's as if each image was taken with that frame of thought in mind, though I know for sure that they weren't. If anything, they were taken with the exact opposite frame of thought.

Window Photographs

2010-07-17T19:25:00.002-07:00

Two random photographs of windows taken in 2009. The top one was taken from a hallway at MassArt looking out towards the Prudential Building. The bottom one was taken in Chicago of someone's garden apartment, living room window. The glowing lights are from their television. I may have felt like a creeper.

Fellow Book Bloggers: How Awesome!!

2010-07-06T18:24:00.010-07:00

Photo © Shane Lavalette: Taken from his online Journal.

Photo © Alec Soth. Taken from Little Brown Mushroom Blog.

A few weeks back I sent out some copies of Fragments, Volume One to some other independent bookmakers as a way of introducing myself as a new comer to the photo book scene. A couple of them were very kind to include my book on their blogs about new books added to their shelves. Check out Alec Soth's book blog and Shane Lavalette's Journal to see these postings that also include a lot of other great books to look at.

Thesis Show: Unique c-Print Collage

2010-06-08T15:41:00.006-07:00

This is the Unique c-Print Collage that I exhibited at our Thesis Show last month. Though these files will never do the actual prints justice, I thought some of you would like to see what I worked so hard on my last term. Please enjoy.

Books: Fragments, Volume One

2010-05-29T17:56:00.007-07:00

This Thursday marks the debut of Fragments, Volume One, a small accordion style book that I will be publishing four times a year. This book is handmade and printed by me on digital inkjet paper. This volume is in an edition of 35, each one signed and numbered, and also features poetry by Katherine Murphy. I made this book in conjunction with my exhibition at The Hallway Gallery for the month of June. Future volumes of Fragments will consist of local and emerging artist.

My ideas for this series evolve daily, so please keep an eye out for Volume Two this early fall and see how this book progresses. Also stay tuned for some larger books that I will be producing this summer, both of mine and of other artist. I plan on doing a lot of handmade, small run editions in both book and portfolio case form. For these book ideas and for future volumes of Fragments, I have artist lined up such as:

Hot damm!

For now please enjoy this preview of Volume One and if you are interested in purchasing a copy, stop by The Hallway Gallery this Thursday, June 3rd for the opening reception. I anticipate these books going fast so stop by the gallery to pick one up, or purchase one online at the top of my blog page.

Exhibition: The Hallway Gallery

2010-05-29T17:11:00.003-07:00

Join us at The Hallway Gallery for an opening reception of my latest exhibition of photography. I will be showing ten images from an older series of work, along side paintings by Fran Majusky.

This opening will also mark the debut of "Fragments", a limited edition, accordion style book of photography that I will be self-publishing quarterly. Volume one consist of the ten images I have in this exhibition along with poetry from Katherine Murphy. Future volumes of "Fragments" will consist of local and emerging artist.

Please join us for punch, photos, paintings, books and good times.

Email me at john@johnsteckjr.com or call me at 773-704-1022 for more info or directions.

Hope to see you there.

Exhibition: Senior Thesis Show

2010-04-20T18:18:00.003-07:00

Finally, all the hard work from me and my fellow classmates will be displayed in one amazingly big show. Are Thesis show opens tomorrow, Wednesday April 21st. 6-10 pm. There will be hundreds of people there to celebrate, you should be one of them.

Show Details:

The Presidents Gallery, 11th floor of he Tower Building

Massachusetts College of Art & Design

621 Huntington Ave

Boston, MA 02115

April 20th to May 7th

Opening Reception is Wed. April 21st, 6-10 pm.

San Fran: 2009

2010-04-06T18:58:00.001-07:00

And image of the San Francisco sky in the late summer of 2009.

2005: Niagara and Chicago

2010-04-04T17:34:00.002-07:00

A few Images I took in 2005. The first one is in Logan Square, Chicago. The second one was taken in Niagara Falls. I don't take a lot of images of people interacting with their surrounding environments but I thought these two were good images exploring that idea. I also think the two work real well together as a pairing.

Clint Baclawski: 4x5 Camera Installation

2010-04-03T19:37:00.002-07:00

Recently, a friend of mine, Clint Baclawski, who is also a recent photo MFA graduate from MassArt. had an awesome installation at the Godine Gallery at MassArt. The show consisted of about a dozen 4x5 cameras and a digital projection of different landscape photographs flipped upside down. You could walk up to any of the cameras and view the landscapes right side up through the back of the ground glass. The show was visually amazing on many different levels. My Linhof 4x5 was used in this show and this is a photograph I took from it of the projections. The ghostly human figure to the left is Clint himself. Congrats Clint on a great show and I hope this idea spawns off into many other new visual experiences.

A Collection of Fences: Part 2

2010-03-24T12:41:00.005-07:00

Another round of fences from the past year or so. Most of these images in the last two postings were taken in the Chicago and Boston. Enjoy!

A collection of Fences: Part 1

2010-03-23T09:47:00.004-07:00

For the past year, I have been making a lot of images in the landscape. I have come to find a large set of fences within this work. I started shooting fences a lot when I was photographing empty plots of land for my missing teeth series, and just found myself to be really attracted to them. I respond to the different representations they have, whether as aesthetic choices, use for safety and comfort, or what it is they are trying to prevent us from seeing. Another round of fences will be posted soon. Enjoy.

20x24 Polaroid

2010-03-10T18:11:00.012-08:00

I was very fortunate enough to have a session with the Polaroid 20x24 camera that Mass. Art owns. This was a rare opportunity that many people do not get the chance to have. I purchased 5 sheets at $75 a pop. Four of them came out and I got to say, I am very very happy with them. My goal was to make images that were visually pleasing and that partially mirrored some of the photogram work that I do. The quality of the images below do not do justice to the creamy and warm quality that these polaroids possess, not to mention the fact that they lost a good amount of the soft contrast they have. I hope at one point to have them displayed somewhere for people to see in person. More to come on that down the road hopefully. I also attached my blueprint of the ideas for the shots, to see a little of the thought process and how that can change when faced with different obstacles. I also attached a photo of when I was prepping for the fruit and of the actual session itself. Enjoy.

Unique C-Print's

2010-03-04T18:35:00.004-08:00

Five of my latest unique c-Prints and photograms from my last critique. These images are not quite where I want them to be, but I was still fond of these visually and for the ideas they are starting to bring about. I'm still looking to have more layers and depth to these images, to try and create an unique concept of land and space.

Unique c-Print's

2010-02-25T13:01:00.006-08:00

Three new Unique c-Prints that I made this past Monday. I like that they have a Japanese print style to them. I'm hoping to start making more images like the third one below. Images that have more depth and illusions of dimension in them. I want to create environments that don't exist with this work.

Unique-c-Print

2010-02-24T16:18:00.003-08:00

Another Unique c-Print from the Fall of 2009. I have always been drawn to this image on multiple levels, from it's seduction of color, to the fluidness it displays. It hold a strong sense of motion or some sort of act, but an indescribable one.

Unique c-Print

2010-02-23T17:16:00.004-08:00

This is a new Unique c-Print I made in the fall of 2009. It doesn't quite fit in with my thesis project, but I still feel it has an interesting representation of the landscape, or at least the idea of what the landscape really is. Enjoy this loner dootie.

Haystack Mountain School of Craft: Fall 2009

2010-02-18T17:59:00.020-08:00

I got to spend several days again at the Haystack Mountain School of Craft in Deer Isle, Maine in October of 2009. This time around I concentrated strictly on photography as opposed to the poetry installations I worked on last fall. This year I wanted to take a few different approaches to making images here, especially since a lot of the images I see come out of Haystack are fairly traditional landscape photographs. I wanted to make something a little different then that. While some of these images are on the more traditional side, others explore different means of the idea of a landscape photograph.

The images with the pure white backgrounds are a new idea I am looking to explore extensively in the near future. I originally wanted to be able to take photographs that imitated my unique c-print series. I wanted the viewer to not be sure if they were looking at a photograph, a photogram, a unique c-print, or something completely different. I still like this idea of blending different kinds of imagery, but for this particular method of photographing, I started to find other interesting aspects to it. One thing I was trying to do was to single out certain parts of this landscape. I remember when I was there last year, there were particular things I wanted to shoot without the rest of the forrest taking over the photograph. It was hard to just take an image of a certain kind of flower without other distractions in the image.

I toyed with the idea of the title and location of the photographs to still play an importance to these white background image. Though the images seem like specimens, I wanted their location to still be relevant. I thought maybe I would let the title of each image be of the location it was shot in, or at least of the area. I feel this would allow the viewer to purely focus on the object I singled out, while imagining what the rest of the scene may look like. Mixing reality with fantasy a little bit. I'm looking forward to seeing where this idea may go down the road. Please enjoy what is here thus far.

Happy Valentines Day

2010-02-14T14:26:00.004-08:00

A little something for the "holiday" spirit.

This was a bite I took of this delicious breed of an apple/pear in the Fall of 2009

One of the first unique c-Prints I ever made, sometime in the Late fall of 2007.

Project: X-Deco

2010-02-04T18:37:00.011-08:00

These are images from a small series I plan on working on every winter holiday season. The images are about Christmas decorations and the esthetic choices they represent from the individuals who put them up. I'm interested in the different approaches people take to the idea of decoration and how that translates visually in the areas they are in. I plan on shooting for this project each season and seeing how it accumulates over the years.

Found Piles

2010-02-02T17:37:00.007-08:00

A lot of my recent landscape work has developed into smaller individual series. I will be posting a lot of these series up in their current states, though I am adding to them as I find more of these scenes. So far I have a good set of fences, unmarked paths, views of the Prudential building, empty plots of land and found piles. The Views of the Prudential can be viewed here and the rest will be posted within the next week or so.

As for these found piles, there are several things that have attracted me to them. One of my interest in photographing the landscape is finding scenes that imply recent modification, or that show the shorten evolution of a space. I instantly respond to things that I know will soon be gone, or that will no longer be part of that particular space. I am fascinated with these piles, knowing that they are probably gone now, thus creating a different perspective of the scenes I found them in. I also like to think of these piles as sculptures of removed earth. Though temporary, they represent the strength and foundation of the land we engage with.

Of all these smaller series I have, the piles have tend to be the weirdest in terms of exposure, color and other photo related characteristics. Each image has some sort of strange color shift, light leak, or blown out highlights that have added a strange but wonderful feel to these photographs. I also c-Print these images 4x6 on 8x10 paper, just slightly bigger than the 4x5 negative size. I like that printing these massive piles of earth down to a smaller scale gives them a different life and allows a more elegant experience with them.

Found Pile: 1, Needham, MA. 4x6 c-Print

Found Pile: 2, Boston, MA. 4x6 c-Print

Found Pile: 3, Jamaica Plain, MA. 4x6 c-Print

Found Pile: 4, Jamaica Plain, MA. 4x6 c-Print

Found Pile: 5, Brookline, MA. 4x6 c-Print

Waiting Days: A Gift From Tina Garvin

2010-02-02T13:54:00.007-08:00

A couple months ago I received a small package in the mail from one of my closest friends, Tina Garvin. In this package was a letter and a receipt pad. In the letter she told me she recently quit her waitressing job, the one she had ever since I met her a few years back. When I pulled out the receipt pad and read what she wrote on it, I instantly felt like I was holding some sort of relic. I felt so much history and character in this simple object. I also found it interesting how it was her departure from being a waitress that made this piece so characterized. I don't think it would have the same effect on me if she was still working at this job, especially since I can totally feel her disconnect from that part of her life when I hold this object.

It would be Tina's piece that would initiate the idea for this project in general. I knew there was an importance to holding onto the other objects in this series, but I wouldn't know that reason till I opened her package. Though I am not fully sure how this project will keep developing, I do feel very strongly about the work in it thus far and would love some feedback and ideas for it. Feel free to comment and start a conversation about these ideas with me.

Three Color Receipt Book, Front. Tina Garvin's Retirement Note, 2009

Color Receipt Book, Back. Tina Garvin Passes the Baton, 2009

Waiting Days: The Seven Books of Orders, Schedules and Notes.

2010-01-21T18:52:00.014-08:00

I'm a person who has a hard time throwing things away. I have held on to these seven notepads I used for work for the last couple of years or so. I knew one day they might have some sort of relevance to them. The concepts for this series started to developed as I started to look at most of these pieces as sculptural objects. I started to see a lot about myself in this work, about my habits, personality, moods, and secrets. I feel these pieces can give you a strong sense of me the same way we get a sense of an artist by looking at their work.

Please click on the images for better reading and viewing purposes.

Books 1 to 3: Blue, Green and Black Penway Memo Books. 2007/2008

Books 4 to 6: Blue, Red, Black and Green Mead Memo Books. 2007/2008

Books 7 and 8: Gray and Blue CVS Memo Books. 2007

Passages From Books 1 to 3:
Left: Smudged Blue Ink Orders. Center: Four Colored Pen Orders. Right: Six Day Work Week.

Passages From Books 4 to 6:
Left: "Do You Ever Just Want to Steal Old Peoples Cains..." Center: End of a Shift Orders. Right: Poetry & To Do's.

Passages From Books 4 to 6:
Left: Martin Munkacis & Henri Cartier-Bresson. Right: One Blank Page.

Waiting Days: A.M./P.M. Shift

2010-01-20T14:59:00.006-08:00

Waiter by day, artist by night. Well, sometimes an artist while waiting tables. Some time ago at work, I volunteered to work a double. I don't do a double often, in fact I can't even remember when this was exactly, since the different cups of coffee I serve as a waiter all blend together to make one large cup. A very large cup. When handing in our receipts and cash at the end of the shift, we do so in these envelopes. I also use them to write my orders down. This is a doubles worth of orders.

"A.M./P.M. Shift" Pen on 41/4 x 91/2 White Envelope, 2009

Upcoming Group Show

2010-01-19T19:45:00.005-08:00

I will be a part of this group show along with a bunch of other talented MassArt students. The show will be held at:
Caturano and Company, 80 City Square, Charlestown MA.

Some of the artist (and good friends of mine) on display are:
Bret Woodard
Rebecca Buonopane
Lara Morgan
Corey Oberlander
Ross O'Donohue
Xareni Penichet
Cole Swavely
Natalie Rose
Elizabeth Hayes

The opening is Wednesday, January 27th from 5:30-7:30. The opening is going to be pretty big so you should stop by and support local art.

Exhibitions: Khaki Gallery

2009-12-03T15:46:00.005-08:00

The Khaki Gallery In the South End is having a big group show for the month of December and I will be showing two older pieces in this show. The opening is Friday December 4th (First Friday's) from 6-8pm. Please stop by if you happen to be in the area. Khaki Gallery is located at 460 Harrison Ave. in the South End. As most of you already know, there are a lot of great galleries in that area along with Khaki Gallery so please support the arts by stopping in and seeing the great work that is up this month.

Thanks and happy travels.

Current work: September to November 2009

2009-11-30T15:53:00.009-08:00

Here is a long overdue post of some recent work. I have been working really hard this term on this current project and have produced a lot of new images. Here is a selection of just a few of those images. Below is my current artist statement for this project, though the statement changes week to week as the work evolves, it will give you a good understanding of what is going on in the work. Stay tuned for more images and more info.

This project represents my curiosities about the landscape and spaces I surround myself by. It’s about stepping forward and examining the reoccurring patterns and common human interaction with the land. I’m interested in finding scenes that imply recent modification, redevelopment, or the shortened evolution of a space.

Though I am stepping forward for my examinations, my interest is about stepping back and using the details that accumulate to create a whole environment. Through these images I search for beauty within cities that envelope once natural landscapes. I am interested in letting the juxtaposition of positive to negative spaces lead from one image to the next, to show the relationship of things we normally wouldn’t perceive. Within that relationship I am also interested in creating a link from the abstract images to the more concrete ones.

As a photographer, collector and image sculptor, my goal is to create a conversation with the different processes I use. Through the use of a camera, a darkroom and at times even a computer, I try to let the intersection of nature and constructed objects meet in my images. I let certain photographs I make lead me to preconceived ideas of my own darkroom creations, in hopes that those ideas along with the surprising elements of my methods speak in my work.

The Photo Archive Blog

2009-10-16T21:25:00.008-07:00

A fellow friend and classmate Rebecca Buonopane has recently started an excellent blog called The Photo Archive Blog. This blog is centered around Photography Majors at The Massachusetts College of Art, and the current thesis projects we are working on there. I have a few of my new images on the blog with an interview about the work. There is also great work on there by my classmates so please take the time to see what kind of work is being produced by the senior class. She will be updating the blog several times a week with new artist so make sure to check in from time to time. Congrats to Rebecca on a great start.

The images below are a few samples of the work you can see on the blog right now.

Exhibitions: Lowerdeck in San Francisco

2009-10-15T23:55:00.008-07:00

The Lowerdeck in San Francisco is have a great group show starting next week called Familial Ghost. The Show is about different interpretations of family stories/traditions by different media based artist. I will have 15 images in this show from an older series of mine called Was Home. Normally these images are large color c-prints but The wonderful crew at the Lowerdeck had asked me to take slides of the images so that we could project them big on the wall. I was really into this idea because I like the thought of using an old school projector to interpret the stories in my work just as a family would use a projector to show slides that tell their own stories.

If you happen to know anyone in the San Fran area please pass this info along to them. For more info on the show please click the link above. The images below are several that will be in the show. Please enjoy.

The Hallway Gallery in Jamaica Plain & The Starwell Gallery at The New England School of photography

2009-09-22T15:46:00.004-07:00

I mentioned these shows before in my blog but now that I got two sided postcards made for them I thought I would post it up here for a more appropriate look at the show. Click on the thumbnails below to see the details for the show. There will be no opening for the Stairwell Gallery at NESOP but there will be a banging opening for the Hallway Gallery show. Expect live music, wine and crackers, a great audience of people and great art.

I realize that the opening reception for the Hallway Gallery is the same night as Alec Soth's show at Mass Art, which believe me, I almost want to not attend my own show for his haha. But just so everyone knows, the Hallway Gallery usually lets it openings run way later then most places would. We will probably be there till 10-11 pm. So after the Soth show please make your way down to JP, it will be well worth it.

View of the Prudential

2009-09-21T09:50:00.002-07:00

These images are from a smaller series idea I have been working on that sort of fall in with some of my other landscape work. When I was shooting the empty plots of land for the Missing Teeth series I had noticed that within different neighborhoods of Boston, and even outside of the city, I was still able to still see the Prudential building. I found that to be interesting to me since the Prudential is not quite that big of a building. I'm keeping this in mind with the fact that I grew up in Chicago with some of the worlds tallest buildings, and how easily the view of downtown Chicago could be obstructed.

I became interested in the roll the Prudential started playing for me in my experience with the landscape. How I could be in a different neighborhood or even at a place like Jamaica Pond or the Arboretum, where you feel like your miles away from the city yet at a glance the Prudential building was still peeking at you, reminding you where you are. Not fully letting you escape. I though I would start shooting the different views of the Prudential from different areas, to show that reminder it gives us. These three images below are a small selection from this series. Please click on them to make them larger, since the Prudential is at times way in the background and barely viable with the smaller image.

Exhibitions

2009-09-10T22:42:00.005-07:00

This year I submitted several entries into the 2009 International Photo Awards competition and was lucky enough to get honorable mention in the following categories:

Fine Art: Landscape
Fine Art: Self-Portrait
Nature: Landscape

Please click on the links to see my images along with hundreds of other wonderful images form talented artist all across the world.

Also The wonderful people at The Art Of Photography Show just had a booth set up at the Beyond The Border contemporary art fair in San Diego with two of my framed pieces and a small portfolio box of my work for people to look at. I was lucky to have two images selected last year for the show. The booth they had was to market their current 2009 show and to also show the work of some of the recent names they have had in previous shows. It was a great privilage to be a part of the fair and to be a part of the 2008 show. Please check out the current Art of Photography Show here.

New Landscapes: Jamaica Plain & Roxbury

2009-08-07T20:40:00.001-07:00

Missing Teeth: Mission Hill

2009-07-18T20:24:00.005-07:00

A photograph I took last week in Mission Hill. There are several new properties being built right in front of this cliff, one of them is about five feet behind my tripod. Though at times known as a rougher area in Boston, Mission Hill still has a unique presence in this city, from its diverse community to its towering shoulders. I'm hoping that this sort of redevelopment will enhance that presence and really start to put the hill on the map.

Landscapes: Jamaica Plain

2009-07-16T21:59:00.004-07:00

A couple random night shots I took about a month ago in Jamaica Plain. Something a little different compared to my typical landscape style of shooting, but I am enjoying the break away.

Portrait: Adam Foam

2009-07-14T23:20:00.005-07:00

Tonight I ran into a good friend Adam, who I use to work with back in the day at Trader Joe's. I don't see him too often these days but I still consider him one of the greatest guys I ever met since I've been in Boston. Adam is the co-founder of The Whitehaus Family Records in JP and also plays in a band called Peace, Loving (A must see live act).

Though I photographed Adam just several months ago, when I see him I am always reminded of a photograph I took of him back in 2005 while I was a student at The New England School of Photography. This photograph hangs in my living room at this moment and will always remind me of great times. Oh the power of a photograph.

Haystack Mountain School of Crafts

2009-07-07T17:34:00.007-07:00

These photographs were taken in the fall of 2008 at the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle, Maine. I was able to spend several days on their wonderful campus and make art. Most of my time was spent doing poetry installation's but I was able to shoot of a couple rolls. My time spent there may in fact be my most memorable moment of this decade. Enjoy the images as I enjoyed taking them.

"Moon Over The Atlantic (1 Hour Exposure)" 2008

"Sun Peeking Through Forrest" 2008

"Painting With Light" 2008

"Behind The Print Shop" 2008

"Moss" 2008

"Dead Seal" 2008

"Flower Box" 2008

Boba Fett? Boba Fett? Where?

2009-07-06T19:34:00.004-07:00

Taken in New York City on Halloween, 2007. I have to give Jess Habalou credit for pointing out this photograph to me. Thanks Jess!

Six Film Stills 2008

2009-07-05T13:42:00.003-07:00

This image below is an 8 1/2 x 11 Digital Ink Jet Print. The image is made up of six photographs taken with a digital camera of my computer screen that is playing an adult film. It is from a very short series of images I made that focused on facial expression in adult films.

Older Photographs: Filip in Four

2009-07-02T21:40:00.004-07:00

This polyptych was taken in 2000 in Chicago. I leave this series open for interpretation and hope it raises many questions for you as it does even for me. The top polyptych image is how the four images should be viewed, from left to right in sequence. The bottom images are just a closer look at each individual image. Enjoy

Wild Turkeys

2009-06-29T16:07:00.006-07:00

These two wild turkeys chased me today in The Fens. There were three of them crossing the street as I passed by on my bicycle, so I decided to get off and take a closer look. Other people were fairly close to them so I thought I would be fine. I was walking my bicycle with me and I think it must have offended them cause these two guys charged right at me. I literally had to run across the street away from them. It's not often I get to run from wild turkeys, albino squirrels yes but not turkeys. They are lucky though I didn't have my bow and arrow with me, little jerks.

Polaroids: You Are Not Forgotten

2009-06-27T18:28:00.006-07:00

I just found out today that my great uncle Eddie past away. It had been expected soon since he was not recovering from his cancer treatments, but the cancer itself was not expected when he was diagnosed just less than two years ago. I didn't know Uncle Eddie extremely well, but I did know that he was a wonderful and simple person.

I only got to see uncle Eddie twice since his diagnosis, and this photograph below was from the first time. We had talked about drawing and photography for over an hour that day, and I took this photograph because I didn't want that great moment to be forgotten. Now with his passing, I don't want his existence to ever be forgotten.

These are three photographs of relatives who have within the last three years passed away. I show these photographs in the utmost respect to them as individuals and their wonderful existence. They will never be forgotten.

Uncle Eddie 2008

Grandma Walker 2008

Aunt Annie 2005

Older Photographs: A Decade of Me

2009-06-26T12:37:00.010-07:00

Last fall I got to show my self-portrait work to my friend Stephen Jacobs Beginning Color Class at The New England School of Photography. He was giving out a self-portrait assignment and had several people come in and show their work and discuss the process and different ways/styles of executing self-portraits. I normally would just show my graduating portfolio from NESOP and talk about that process, but this time I wanted to do something a little different.

I gathered up every self-portrait that I had with me here in Boston and put them in a box. when I got to NESOP I had an hour to figure out the way I wanted to show them. I scattered them all about the tables and for the first time ever in my career I saw ten years worth of my self-portraits all at once. I had never really thought about doing that before, especially since the different groupings of self-portraits were done for different assignments or projects. Some of the ideas from one grouping may have led to ideas in other groupings but they never really crossed over in my mind.

I basically laid them out in chronological order and figured it would be best to describe the different stages of the work, and what each grouping meant for me at the time and what it means to me now. The work became more related to each other than I thought and it was quite amazing for me personally to see that progression, of not only maturing as an adult in the images, but also maturing within the work as a photographer.

These images here are selects from different parts of my life this past decade. Some were used in final portfolios for classes, some are out-takes, and some exist just by themselves. Please enjoy the progression as I do.

"Self-Portrait on Front Porch" 2000

"Dining Room Table" 2001

"Me as Bela Lugosi" 2000

"Dracula" 2005

"Sitting in Light" 2005

"Three Me's" 2005

"Creature Feature" 2005

"With Friends" 2005 (From the series Walk With Me)

"Untitled" 2006 (From the series Walk With Me)

"Recreating 1997" or at times "Most Content Hobo" 2006 (From the series Walk With Me)

"Untitled" 2006 (From the series Walk With Me)

"Self-Portrait At The Front Door" 2006 (From the series Was Home)

"At Filip's Mantle" 2007 Polaroid

"Changing: Two-Minute Exposure" 2008 (From a study of motion)

"Writing Filip An Email: One-Hour Exposure" 2008 (From a study of motion)

"Self-Portrait In Living Room" 2009 (From the series This Is Life)

Unique c-Prints

2009-06-25T13:12:00.007-07:00

Older Photographs: Minnesota Fats

2009-06-23T15:45:00.004-07:00

This Photograph was taken in 2005 at Sacco's Bowl Haven in Somerville, MA.

Four Photographs Taken in Dorchester

2009-06-23T14:27:00.003-07:00

These four photographs were taken in Savin Hill, an area of Dorchester where I lived. Though commonly known as a rough town to live in, I was lucky to live on a hill where it was mostly family's and young adults.

Older Photographs: Abstract?

2009-06-23T13:30:00.005-07:00

This is an image I took in 2006 that I sort of like. I also don't like explaining the image, though to some its easy to decipher, I still feel it is very abstract and can represent many other things. Take from it what you will.

Older Photographs: Super Best Friends

2009-06-22T20:52:00.008-07:00

These are six of my earliest photographs from 2000-2003 when I first started taking photo classes. The top five are from when I was at Wright Community College and the bottom one is from when I did a term at Columbia College in Chicago. They are not by any means great photographs but they do represent a part of the process for the early stages of any photographer. Not only that, but personally they represent great memories, which may not be important to most except those involved, but those few people are enough for me to want to post them. Enjoy.

Polaroids: Process of the Process.

2009-06-16T20:46:00.004-07:00

These are older Polaroids taken in 2005-2006 for self-portraits I did for my graduating portfolio at the New England School of Photography. At the time I was doing this series, it was always very difficult for me to talk about the work and to really know what I wanted to say with it. I showed this series a few time within the last 2 years, either in classes I was a teacher assistant for or as a guest speaker for classes a friend of mine was teaching. It was through those showings that I was finally able to really understand the work myself, and to figure out what it meant for me.

In the end, it was simply just about being comfortable in my own skin. Whether through metaphors or the everyday mundane situations I went through, these images show the start of someone who was slowly becoming a man. There are a lot of images to this series but I thought it would be interesting to show the Polaroids for them, since these are a major part of the photographic process, I thought they would juxtapose nicely to the idea of my process as a person.

Polaroids: Chicago 2005-2008

2009-06-13T19:37:00.005-07:00

Twenty Polaroids taken from three different visits to Chicago in 2005, 2007 and 2008. Each visit presented different kinds of monuments for me to shoot, but all relating to my own personal disconnection from my home town along with any traces I tried to dig up.

Though my recent project Learning Something New has been a new way through photography to reconnect with my past, these earlier Polaroids were an unconscious path that lead me to that idea. They lend to the concepts and visuals of my newer project, and have taught me many things along the way. Though I wouldn't quite group these Polaroids in that newer series, I would say that they represent my need for that nostalgia.

Studies in Movement: The Art of Sleeping

2009-06-11T17:12:00.004-07:00

Six photographs of me sleeping. Started off as observations of my sleeping behaviors but turned into more of an abstract representation of that. These were taken in three different apartments over the span of two years. The exposures range from 2 to 8 hours.

Two Images of Plymouth County Hospital in Hanson, MA 2005

2009-06-11T12:46:00.007-07:00

These two images were taken in 2005 inside Plymouth County Hospital, which use to be a tuberculosis hospital in Hanson, MA. It has been closed since 1992 and since then as been vandalized and photographed by many people. While photographing abandoned buildings is not my forte, I still find these two images to speak great depths of this place, haunting and yet peaceful.

Polaroids: Cambridge & Somerville 2005

2009-06-10T19:49:00.006-07:00

Select images from early 2005 taken in Cambridge and Somerville.

Polaroids: Niagara Falls 2005

2009-06-09T23:40:00.007-07:00

Four Polaroids taken during a bone chilling winter at Niagara Falls in 2005.

Short Film: A Drive Home

2009-06-05T22:21:00.006-07:00

This is a short movie made by Filip Radazowski, Tony Jaramillo and myself. It was shot in December of 2006 all in one night and one early afternoon. I picked the soundtrack and Filip did an amazing job with the edit, though looking back we all agree it could be shortened up a bit. Maybe I can talk Filip into a shortened remix :)

drive

High School Portraits: Keep in Touch and Stay Cool.

2009-06-05T18:13:00.006-07:00

I recently came across a "Senior Year" book that was optional to buy near the end of senior year high school. It basically ask a lot of questions about us and our friends, so that we can remember part of who we were and what was going on then. There is also a lot of room for decorating it with photos, and empty slots in the back for the nicer photos that you may not want to cut up or glue.

When looking through my Senior Book, I came across a lot of individual portraits that most of us all bought our senior year (and some junior year) to give out to family and friends. A number of them had something written on the back of them. I read a good portion of them before looking at the picture or the name signed at the bottom, to see if I could remember who may of wrote that. I only knew two of them and only because of particular things they mentioned, like the college they were going to or other people we both knew.

I became fascinated with these writings and how they basically become meaningless in the end. And maybe meaningless is a harsh word, cause I know at the time they were written they meant something. But from the past 12 years I have only remained in contact with one of them, and have recently got in contact with a few more through the convenience of Facebook.

These are 10 scans of some of those writings. I erased the signed names at the bottom, along with college names and phone numbers, to make them become less about the individual writings and more about these ideas of memory being lost, friendships and contacts becoming broken, and the question of what all of that might mean to us now.