Dead tools in a dead tree.
I am starting to work on my new digs in carrboro. Don’t think these implements are gonna see much action.
Back in familiar territory again.
Occupy Your Walls: I have some work in this event at VGBG, in Charlotte behind the Music Factory, and Ink Floyd has printed limited edition silkscreens of work from the artists as a benefit in association with the Occupy Poster Project. http://occupyposterproject.com/
Come on out for great art and beverage on March 17th.http://www.facebook.com/events/149888378455014/
A Political Scene: Dan Martino, outside the Republican National Convention in 1988. He is holding a painting of Jesus and a sign proclaiming “God is a Republican.”
The Photographic Book: Design, Create and Publish
Registration is open for my class at the Light Factory on Bookmaking. It should be a fun class, so sign up now if you wanna make a great book.
A Political Scene: Lindy Boggs
Lindy Boggs has to be one of my favorite portrait sessions.
A few tidbits from Mrs. Boggs extensive resume:
Boggs first took office in 1973, after the presumed death of her husband from a plane crash. The first bill that the House passed that year, House Resolution 1, officially recognized Hale Boggs’s death, opening the door for a special election, which Lindy Boggs won, running as a Democrat in the New Orleans-based 2nd District. She was reelected seven times thereafter. She was the first woman elected to Congress from Louisiana. She was also a permanent chairwoman of the 1976 Democratic National Convention, which made her the first female to preside over a major party convention. She is the mother of three, including news commentator Cokie Roberts.
In 1997, President Bill Clinton appointed her official U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, or the Vatican for those who don’t know what the “Holy See” is. She had just received this appointment when I was asked to photograph her. We met at her family home on Bourbon Street, in New Orleans. Incredibly gracious and charming, she first presented me with a series of outfits for her to choose from for the portrait. Returning to my preferred location in her home, she offered to help me move a couch to a better spot for the shot, in front of a painting of her late husband. She was 80 years old!
We had lively conversation throughout, ranging from her experience working with Jesse Helms (she attempted to dissuade me of my long standing animosity of the man and insisted he was always the perfect gentleman) to a debate over which was sexier, scars or tattoos. We both agreed it was scars.
A Political Scene: Frank Ahern, independent write-in candidate for president. Outside the Superdome at the 1988 Republican National Convention.
Northwest high school fire drill
I had a chance to give a slide show/lecture to the advanced class at Charlotte’s Northwest High School, a magnet school for the arts. Things started off with a bang, or rather a shrieking repetitive alarm… we had a fire drill.
Back inside, I was impressed with the facilities these kids have. It was far more equipped than anything I ever had in high school or even college, huge darkroom, two etching presses and more.
Their instructor, Lauren Schorr, has cultivated a very engaged group of students. I had some great conversations with many of them and was very pleased to see that over 75% of them hope to pursue some form of photography beyond high school.
A Political Scene: George H. Bush gives his acceptance speech of the nomination for President at the 1988 Republican National Convention. At the New Orleans Superdome.
1988 Republican National Convention: New Orleans Superdome
Now that the political season is in full swing, I thought it might be fun to pull some of my work out of the old vintage analog vault. Over the next few months I will try and scan and post some images I have taken over the years with a bit of a political theme. Enjoy.
1988 Republican National Convention: Young republicans do the pledge of allegiance. Inside the Superdome in New Orleans.
Photo for a rainy day. New York City.
A handful of hipstamatic images from New Orleans.
Bryce Lankard featured at Green Hill Center for NC Art This weekend in Greensboro, NC, the Green Hill Center for NC Art is hosting the Winter Show, which they describe as a comprehensive collection of work by NC artists. The Preview party is Dec. 3rd, 7-10pm and the main opening is Dec. 4th. from 2-5pm at 200 N. Davie Street. Hope to see you there.
I had a lovely time talking on WCOM radio with Molly Matlock about my work. And a visit to Chapel Hill/Carrboro is always a special occasion in my book. To listen to the podcast, click on the link.
Preservation Hall
Photographs by Shannon Brinkman
Interviews by Eve Abrams
LSU Press
"New Orleans jazz needs Preservation Hall… that’s the fountainhead. That’s the mountaintop. Preservation Hall is — to New Orleans __ what Carnegie Hall is to New York. (Walter Payton)
Shannon Brinkman’s new book, “Preservation Hall”, should instantly find a home on the shelves of Jazz lovers the world over, but its appeal reaches well beyond that, to those who appreciate history, culture, fine art and certainly all things New Orleans. The book is filled to overflowing with images from her 8 year project, during which time she has compiled an incredibly deep and intimate portrait of this temple of jazz, its players, its physical presence and its mystique. The images offer a glimpse into this world, from its crowded performances to its quiet off hours, that few are privileged to see.
"It’s like going to a beautiful place in sound." (Ralph Johnson)
A fine accompaniment to her work is the words of the players themselves, compiled by Eve Abrams. These rare insights into the dynamic nature of Jazz, players personal histories and influences, and the history of the hallowed hall are priceless additions to this project.
Brinkman’s photographic style seems to reflect her subject. Frequent are her improvisations with light and motion, and her irreverent diagonal framing is rewardingly fresh. The design of the book compliments this same vision and flows along in a rhythm with the narrative like a good tune. It builds up our own anticipation of entering the hall, can be dense with the energy of a live show, and then slow us down for the quiet notes, the solos, and give us a moment to reflect and absorb. From start to finish we are treated to vibrant live shots and interaction with the audience, intimate portraits of the players,and the gritty texture of the hall itself. Scattered throughout are truly transcendent images, ones with perfect pitch, that make you feel privileged to be a witness to something rare and special.
"For me, what the Hall represents is the creative community of New Orleans. It represents the food of New Orleans, it represents the art of New Orleans, it represents the lifestyle of New Orleans. You know, it’s much more than just music. This is what’s really hard to explain to people," (Ben Jaffe)
Inasmuch as it is possible, this book gives us as complete a picture of today’s Preservation Hall as can be made with photographs. Clearly a labor of love, it is easy to get a sense of the joy that surrounds this building and permeates all who seek it out. An exhibition of Brinkman’s photographs will soon be on display at the Louisiana State Museum.
-Bryce Lankard
the ‘Land of Dreams’
Blue Greenberg
Bryce Lankard’s photographs are about a place that was; the Scrap Exchange exhibition is about a new location that is. For 20 years, Lankard has looked at his beloved pre-Katrina New Orleans and celebrates it, warts and all. At the Scrap Exchange a number of artists joined a salute to its 20 years.
In these days of camera phones where the unthinkable is shot and transmitted by amateurs, Lankard’s photographs are not of the moment; they are, however, documents that situate a place in its time. Carefully organized, crafted and true to detail, in this exhibit Lankard has chosen moments in the lives of people who made up the warp and woof of New Orleans. Unasked, is the question, “Do we really want to resurrect the New Orleans of the past with its poverty, its squalor and its slums hidden behind the fantasies of the tourists?” Can we have New Orleans back as the dream world of fun and make-believe, or has the dream disappeared forever when the truth about the Ninth Ward made the headlines?
Lankard’s photographs are in stark black and white; they invite long looks, nostalgic memories, anger, shock and a longing for the fairy tale of Mardi Gras. There is the beautiful young boy dressed in his finery before the parade of the Money Wasters Social Aid and Pleasure Club; the musicians and strutters marching with the Golden Trumpets Social Aid and Pleasure Club and Native Americans on Super Sunday. And there are the masked Flambeaux and a Zulu member getting his make-up applied. In another part of town are young white girls dressed for the Mystic Krewe of St. Anne and the pre-teen princesses sitting in a circle waiting for the Krewe of Caesar to begin while the older male leaders of Caesar pose for pictures backstage before the ball.
There are also other photographs: the naked female entertainers and the women who bare their breasts, the street entertainers, a kid playing a trombone as big as he is, a saxophone player in front of the Cabildo. And there is a homeless sleeper on Bourbon Street, two kids playing with a make-believe pistol and a toddler on a tricycle that has no front wheel.
Lankard has it all, the funeral parades, the above-ground cemetery and the church with its wall of offerings of limbs and crutches to a blessed saint. In his introduction to his catalogue, the artist describes New Orleans as “Graciousness and dissolution. Squalor and elegance. It is a city that knows how to live a life fully — how easy it is to take one.” That city is gone; that land of dreams is history.
Blue Greenberg’s column appears each week in Entertainment and More. She can be reached at blueg@bellsouth.net or by writing her in c/o The Herald-Sun, P.O. Box 2092, Durham, NC 27702.
