R.I.P. Larry Sultan

Very few photographers I have ever seen speak had the ability to leave an audience with a greater appreciation of both the artist and the medium. Larry Sultan was one of just a few photographers I saw lecture over the years at Art Center that accomplished this. That is what these lectures should be—inspiring and informative—not about ego. I left the auditorium more enlightened and excited about the work that he had made, and reinvigorated regarding the work that I was making. Something rare, indeed.

Thanks, Larry.

Sanagan’s Meat Locker

To sum up what I have read on the internet—
Sol owned Max and Son. He was ‘son’. It was a kosher butcher shop. It had been around for ages. Sol wanted to retire. Peter bought the business. Some people pine for Sol. Some people (like me) walked by Sol’s everyday and didn’t notice. Now everyone notices Sanagan’s.

Things I have enjoyed at Sanagan’s so far :
1. One whole chicken (that I jerked & roasted)
2. Lamb, harissa and crushed fennel sausage (that ended up on a pizza)
3. Marrow bones (ended up in the dogs)
4. Sol’s old customers talking about Sol.
5. Peter & Derek

Yes, another storefront. This time it’s roughly half a lamb.

Toronto, Ontario 2009

Cliché Indulgence #001 : Storefronts & Windows

Storefronts & Windows, yes, but also reflections and some (inevitable) self-portraits. I say indulgence, though I probably mean compulsion. It is really hard not to take these photos, probably because they are simultaneously so easy and delightful (yes, admit it). What jerk doesn’t love layers and depth, especially when you have a cheap sheet of glass doing all the heavy lifting?

All images ©2009 Ross Evertson

The Gaze #102

Toronto, Ontario 2009

Vitality

“If you don’t feel that you are possibly on the edge of humiliating yourself, of losing control of the whole thing, then probably what you are doing isn’t very vital.”

—John Irving

Imply Significance for Free!

In theory, photographs are inherently interesting. The act of documenting implies significance—why would someone bother to make a photograph of something not worth photographing? This is a very loaded topic, but there is a technique that you can use to show people what is important without actually having to deal with discussions of aesthetics/surface/medium/whatever:

Step One
Go to a relatively crowded area. Specifically where is not important, but having people around to appreciate your perspective is what this is all about.

Step Two
Take your camera (or camera-like object) and start pointing it at things. You don’t necessarily have to make any photographs, but you can routinely glance at the back of your camera (or camera-like object) so your audience gets the idea that you are consuming the environment in a thoughtful and considered way. They now know you are looking.

Step Three
Determine that something is interesting and focus a lot of attention there. I mean, really, just keep taking “photographs” of whatever it is. Check the back of your camera periodically.

Suggestions of things to find interesting:
1. Storefronts
2. Piles
3. Garbage
4. Piles of garbage
5. Cups
6. Unattractive (or “differently” attractive) people (including seniors)
7. Minorities (including seniors)
8. Anything on the ground
9. The tops of things
10. Underneath things
11. Urban juxtapositions
12. Youth (be careful!)

Regardless of what you decide to pay attention to, consistency and commitment are key. Don’t break away from your original source of interest and photograph/“photograph” an onlooker—this will only intimidate your audience. You want to draw them in, not push them away.

Step Four
If you’ve done everything right, you will most likely get a fair amount of people involved in looking. In a nutshell what this means is you have bypassed all of the bullshit. All of it.

You have entered the world(s) of:
photography-as-performance
camera-as-psychological-tool
audience-as-participant
(I could not be more truthful when I say these are my favorite worlds)

Methods of Monetization
Hire an ungrad to document that shit, yo!

In Conclusion
Manipulate people’s curiosity for fun and profit!

Toronto, Ontario 2009

Statement: Stephen Shore (1982)

“Until I was twenty-three I lived mostly in a few square miles in Manhattan. In 1972 I set out with a friend for Amarillo, Texas. I didn’t drive, so my first view of America was framed by the passenger’s window.

It was a shock. I would be in a flat nowhere place of the earth, and every now and then I would walk outside or be driving down a road and the light would hit something and for a few minutes the place would be transformed.

Color film is wonderful because it shows not only the intensity but the color of light. There is so much variation in light between noon one day and the next, between ten in the morning and two in the afternoon. A picture happens when something inside connects, an experience that changes as the photographer does. When the picture is there, I set out the 8×10 camera, walk around it, get behind it, put the hood over my head, perhaps move it over a foot, walk in front, fiddle with the lens, the aperture, the shutter speed. I enjoy the camera. Beyond that it is difficult to explain the process of photographing except by analogy:

The trout streams where I flyfish are cold and clear and rich in the minerals that promote the growth of stream life. As I wade a stream I think wordlessly of where to cast the fly. Sometimes a difference of inches is the difference between catching a fish and not. When the fly I’ve cast is on the water my attention is riveted to it. I’ve found through experience that whenever–or so it seems–my attention wanders or I look away then surely a fish will rise to the fly and I will be too late setting the hook. I watch the fly calmly and attentively so that when the fish strikes–I strike. Then the line tightens, the playing of the fish begins, and time stands still. Fishing, like photography, is an art that calls forth intelligence, concentration, and delicacy.”

—Stephen Shore

Alley porn

The other night, while walking my dog, I found a pile of VHS porn in the alley. I became scared and confused, so I brought them all home. While I was picking them up I  laughed, self-consciously to myself, knowingly to my dog, and confidently to any hidden cameras.

13+ years ago I would have been pretty excited about this find—both because of my age and the relative inaccessibility of pornography (especially video, am I right?). For now I will just let my inner-child appreciate these videos, which will stand as a towering reminder of mediums-past until I can find a VHS player and some alone time.

(The other videos were not labeled, but were stopped halfway through. I have my fingers crossed for special, porn-dumping-stranger-edited treasures)

Adam J. Lerner, Ph.D.

Lakewood, Colo. 2008

I met Adam when he was the Executive Director of The Lab at Belmar. I spoke with him about land use, the civic spirit, and the future of the art museum. Not to long after, The Lab “merged” with MCA Denver, where Adam is now known as the Director & Chief Animator, Department of Structures and Fictions.