Zoe Strauss

My life savings of 100 dollars is safe! Was nervous there for a little bit!

click to enlarge

Don't miss this show.

I don't understand this, but while I am an atheist and an opponent of many facets of all organized religions, including Judaism, I am still totally a Jew. Go figure!

So L' Shana Tovah, everyone! Here's to a great new year for all of us: happy, healthy, prosperous and filled with love.

While she is most often categorized as a solely a children's writer, I submit that Judy Blume is one of America's most important and influential writers because of her books geared toward children.


Highly Recommended-

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. 1970
Then Again, Maybe I Won't 1971
Freckle Juice 1971
It's Not the End of the World 1972
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing 1972
Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great 1972
Deenie 1973
Blubber 1974
Forever 1975
Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself 1977

Judy Blume is a genius. And Judy Blume is also one of the most consistently censored authors. These books have been in print since the 70s and the massive censorship push was in the 80s, so you can see there's been a battle to keep kids from reading these books for a looooong time. Harry Potter is also up there right now with most censored books, but there's no way witchcraft is going to make the religious right more mental than they'd be about masturbation or menstruation.

Judy Blume on censorship.

Click above to read an article about banned books. My friend Tom Devaney was quoted a few times in it.

"Banned books tell stories about society that make people anxious enough that they wanted to censor them," (Tom) Devaney said.

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Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2007

1. And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson/Peter Parnell. Picture book. Reasons: anti-ethnic, sexism, homosexuality, anti-family, religious viewpoint, unsuited to age group.

2. The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier. Youth novel. Reasons: sexually explicit, offensive language, violence.

3. Olive's Ocean, by Kevin Henkes. Youth novel. Reasons: sexually explicit and offensive language.

4. The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman. Youth novel. Reason: Religious viewpoint.

5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain. Novel. Reason: racism.

6. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker. Novel. Reasons: homosexuality, sexually explicit, offensive language.

7. TTYL, by Lauren Myracle. Youth novel. Reasons: sexually explicit, offensive language, unsuited to age group.

8. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou. Novel. Reason: sexually explicit.

9. It's Perfectly Normal, by Robie H. Harris. Youth nonfiction. Reasons: sex education, sexually explicit.

10. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky. Novel. Reasons: homosexuality, sexually explicit, offensive language, unsuited to age group.

I've read 5 of these and plan to read the other 5 this year.

So a while ago I posted something about how I included two tender photos in America, neither of which were my favorites in the series of photos that were made in those moments. Frankly, they while they made it into the tight edit of the book they might not make it into I-95.

I mentioned that this was a difficult and painful part of putting the book edit together; including work that I know isn’t my strongest in order to tell the story best.

Jonathan Lipkin asked me, "If it tells the story, how is it not your strongest work?"

Here's the answer! All of my work comes back to being the images working autonomously and as a grouping, and sometimes the ordering of the photos means that images that I prefer don't make it in whatever grouping I'm showing.


For example, check out the spread from America below. The portraits in these spreads are not my favorites, but they are the strongest images for the narrative that I wanted to tell about America. I felt that I needed a subtle gang reference and that the man drinking Olde English provided it.  In addition, that photo was made on the Lao New Year just a few blocks from my studio, and so for me there's a connection to immigration, as well as the modifications and adoption of American culture, something I'm really interested in here in the neighborhood.




The spread below includes a image of a woman kissing a baby that I highly doubt that I'd include in I-95. But for America I needed it.




I needed three kisses in the book, romantic, parental and ideological. Below are the 3 that made it.







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Also, I would have loved the Econo Lodge image and the Refrigerators in Lot image to be in a spread with blank pages on the left, but it was an imposibility to place them opposite blank pages without losing two images in the book, and that wasn't going to happen. The images that have blank pages on the left indicate a new "chapter" of photos, and sometimes indicate a shift in theme. Many of the singular images are confusing or dense and needed to be on their own, so they started a new chapter or grouping of photos.

For example...






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Here's to thinking! Thinking about seeing! And thinking about America! Holy FUCK, I can't believe how lucky I am to have been able to work on this project!

Looks like we're all in a lot of trouble. That free market capitalism ain't working out too great right now.

Worthless Money!



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Banks Fail!



"It's our view that regulators are expecting 100 to 200 banks to fail" over the next 12 to 24 months, says Jaret Seiberg, a research analyst for the Stanford Group.

(as an aside, I really like the "But I have more than $100,000 in my bank account. Will it be protected?" question in that article. However, I was hoping for an answer to my banking needs, "But I have about $100 in my bank account. Will it be protected?")

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Stocks Plummet!



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"Hello? Hello? Is Ken in? When? A natural death? Only 64? Yes, that is quite a shock!"

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Bailout Package Fails As Dow Plunges


"...Chief McCain strategist Steve Schmidt said yesterday on Meet the Press, 'What Senator McCain was able to do was to help bring all of the parties to the table, including the House Republicans, whose votes were needed to pass this.' And this morning, McCain backer Mitt Romney told NBC that 'this bill would not have been agreed to had it not been for John McCain....this is a bipartisan accomplishment, a bipartisan success. And if people want to get something done in Washington, they just watch John McCain.'

Instead, members of McCain's own party voted 133 to 65 against the measure. Democrats, on the other hand, voted 140 to 95 for the bill..."

If people want to get something done in Washington, they just watch John McCain! And then they go shoot wolves from a plane!


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You know what? Fuck it, it's not really the apocalypse, it just feels like it. A horrible hangover makes you feel like you're dying, but you're not. You just have a hangover. Of course you could get alcohol poisoning and die. Then when Putin rears his head and flies over Alaska... wait, I'm mixing metaphors here.

I'm having brisket tonight with my family and ringing in the new year. And I am dead serious when I say that I look forward with optimism.
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Free Falling
by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

She's a good girl, loves her mama
Loves jesus and america too
She's a good girl, crazy 'bout elvis
Loves horses and her boyfriend too

It's a long day, living in reseda
There's a freeway running through the yard
And I'm a bad boy, 'cause I don't even miss her
I'm a bad boy, for breaking her heart

Chorus:
And I'm free - free falling
Yeah I'm free - free falling

All the vampires walking through the valley
Move west down ventura boulevard
And all the bad boys are standing in the shadows
All the good girls are home with broken hearts

Chorus:
And I'm free - free falling
Yeah I'm free - free falling

I wanna glide down over mulholland
I wanna write her name in the sky
I wanna free fall out into nothing
Gonna leave this place for a while

Chorus:
And I'm free - free falling
Yeah I'm free - free falling

With tremendous thanks and love to the Flynn family and their entire extended/immediate family. You are all spectacularly beautiful.

OH MY GOD! STOP CALLING! WE ARE NOT SELLING A VAN!

Click the title to go to a site that is all quotes about photography. Here's my quote:

"I love quotes and I love photography. You can't go wrong with a site comprised of quotes about photography!"- Zoe Strauss


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Here's possibly a better quote...

"Photographs bear witness to a human choice being exercised in a given situation. A photograph is a result of the photographer's decision that it is worth recording that this particular event or this particular object has been seen. If everything that existed were continually being photographed, every photograph would become meaningless." - John Berger

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Here's a quote about that's kind of about quotes...

"'La experiencia es la madre de la ciencia. Spanish, my dears. Cervantes. Experience is the mother of knowledge.' (quoted) Mrs. Who."

-Madeline L'Engle from A Wrinkle in Time

Without Todd Oldham, America would not have been possible. Thanks, Todd! Seriously, Todd is the best.

I encourage everyone to buy any and all of the products Todd makes. Including, but not limited to...

BEDROCK CITY – PLACE SPACE SERIES #1

HOME STUDIO HOME, PROVIDENCE, RI – PLACE SPACE SERIES #2

JOHN WATERS – PLACE SPACE SERIES #3

CAMP NEST – PLACE SPACE SERIES #4


All published by the great AMMO Books!

Yeah, thanks a whole fucking lot Car Trader. You know, for the typo of publishing our phone number in an ad where apparently someone in Indiana is selling a white van!

Please stop calling us! Oh my god, we're not selling a van!

Jesus Christ!

Here's a show I'm really looking forward to seeing...

Almost Paradise
Photographs by David Graham

Sept. 19 - Nov. 8, 2008
Opening Reception Friday Sept. 26 6-8

at

Gallery 339
339 South 21st Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103

with what looks to be a beautiful accompanying book/catalog



Almost Paradise
Pond Press, publication date September 2008

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Here's Patty from last year...



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"The revolution made progress, not by its immediate tragicomic achievements but by the creation of a powerful, united counter-revolution, an opponent in combat with whom the party of overthrow ripened into a really revolutionary party."
-Karl Marx from Class Struggle in France

Oh honey, that's not the kind of party I'm talking about tonight. GO PHILLIES!

Bear with me on this...



During the presidential debate Obama and McCain had a little back and forth regarding Henry Kissingers's statements and opinion regarding preconditions of diplomatic meetings with Iran.

Here's a recap from the LA Times...

"The candidates each were right when they clashed over what former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said about the wisdom of holding diplomatic meetings with Iran.

Obama was right when he said that Kissinger, in a recent appearance with other secretaries of State in Washington, said U.S. officials should talk to Iranian officials without preconditions.

McCain, in response, mischaracterized what Obama had just said. He implied that Obama had said Kissinger approved of presidential level contacts with Iran. The Democrat did not say that.

Nevertheless, Kissinger later issued a statement to the Weekly Standard as if Obama had misspoken.

'Sen. McCain is right. I would not recommend the next president of the United States engage in talks with Iran at the presidential level. My views on this issue are entirely compatible with the views of my friend Sen. John McCain. We do not agree on everything, but we do agree that any negotiations with Iran must be geared to reality.'"

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I was shocked by this exchange. Really? You're both vying to make Henry Kissinger's words a reality in current foreign policy? Henry Kissinger is a war criminal. What the fuck?


Ask the people of any of the following countries about Kissinger's policies...

Argentina
Bolivia
Brazil
Cambodia
Chile
East Timor
North Vietnam
Paraguay
Uruguay

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Henry Kissinger/Richard Nixon Transcript regarding the bombing of Cambodia, December 9 1970

Henry Kissinger/Al Haig Transcript regarding the bombing of Cambodia, December 9 1970





The Trials of Henry Kissinger

The Case Against Henry Kissinger: Part one by Christopher Hitchens

The Case Against Henry Kissinger: Part Two by Christopher Hitchens


From PBS frontline on the US bombings of Cambodia- "...the devastating American bombing also helped fuel the Khmer Rouge's growth. Former New York Times correspondent Sydney Schanberg said the Khmer Rouge "... would point... at the bombs falling from B-52s as something they had to oppose if they were going to have freedom. And it became a recruiting tool until they grew to a fierce, indefatigable guerrilla army."

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Henry Kissinger's portrait by Richard Avedon




Henry Kissinger
Photo by Richard Avedon



Henry Kissinger
Photo by Marion S. Trikosko


Unflattering Photos of Kissinger by Adriana Lorete caused Kissinger's lawyers to send a letter to Jornal do Brasil (a daily newspaper published in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) saying the former secretary of state would file a lawsuit for damages if the newspaper did not immediately cease and desist from selling the photos published of Kissinger at a trade conference in Brazil.

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Please lord, please let me get through the election without an aneurysm. Also, his post truly reflects the ridiculousness of my blog. Who do I think is interested in reading about Kissinger's war crimes? What is this blog? Seems like it's just me talking and talking and I'm OK with that.

I received a note from Kiki Darling today, "Sadly Ms. Kelly Harper passed September 22, 2008..."




a back in the day photo of Kelly Harper via Kiki Darling... Kiki says about Kelly, "A Philadelphia legend who's beauty was timeless! I hope she finds the peace, happiness and most of the love that she never got here on Earth. I will miss her dearly... "

Incredibly, I had the exact same sign as the woman in the top photo!



Here's my sign.

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Here's my #1 Sarah Palin quote...

"As Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where do they go? It's Alaska. It's just right over the border. It is from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right there, they are right next to our state"

"Originally published in 1981, Susan Meiselas’s Nicaragua is a contemporary classic—a germinal contribution to the literature of concerned photojournalism. John Berger praised the work for its ability to “take us right inside a revolutionary moment...Yet unlike most photographs of such material, these refuse all the rhetoric normally associated with such pictures: the rhetoric of violence, revolutionary heroism, and the glorification of misery.” This new Aperture edition is published on the thirtieth anniversary of the popular insurrection."

Click title to head to Magnum and order the book.

I am too out of it to write a long thing about this, but last night I made a few photos of people watching the Phillies game. I almost always ask someone if I can make their portrait, but these were all made with the intent of recording people focusing on an event and almost all photos were made without asking. None are intended to really get into the mix, it was just a little bit of different focus. My GOD, I love to make photos. I am not knocked out by being at a baseball game, but if I can get baseball foods and make a lot of photos, it's a winning situation, my friends.

























Actually, I did ask the guy below if I could make photos of him. Honestly, I like the connection for real, for real.





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Here is one of my most enjoyable things to do at a game...can I get the ball right in front the batter or between the batter and the catcher's glove? And what's the lowest ISO I can go down to and still have the ball visible?

And guess what? We will win.

It's important to me to reference the history of photography and art as part of the fabric of my work. Damn right! For the pushpin installation in Lectoure I absolutely needed to include a photo that paid homage to Henri Cartier-Bresson.



Henri Cartier-Bresson, "Behind the Gare Saint Lazare" (1932)

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Sage Jumping


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French Photographers

Do you think that McCain canceling Friday's debate, or attempting to cancel it, will result in a complete cancellation of the vice presidential debates?

It is just me, or does it feel a little like armageddon?

"In the spirit of artistic collaboration, The Exposure Project is pleased to announce the unveiling of a new, somewhat experimental photographic endeavor. Graphic Intersections, loosely inspired by the old Surrealist and Dadaist game Exquisite Corpse, is a project that will attempt to unite disparate artists in an interconnected, photographic relay of images inspired by one another."

Submissions due by September 30th St.

"If top [Pennsylvania] state Republicans get their way, you can forget about wearing that Obama T-shirt when you step up to cast your vote Nov. 4.

Palin pins will be off limits, too.

It's called "passive electioneering," and GOP officials yesterday called on the Rendell administration to enforce a little-known, decades-old law that they say bans such things.

'We strongly believe Pennsylvanians should be able to look to the polling place as a safe harbor, free of any type of electioneering, without any outside influences,' Robert Gleason, chairman of the state Republican Party, said at a Capitol news conference.

In past years, some local election officials across Pennsylvania - though not in Philadelphia - have enforced the provision, going as far as asking voters to turn their T-shirts inside out."

I managed to get through the last 8 years with great difficulty. When Bush was elected I thought that I could ignore it until the next election... how wrong I was. I am obsessed with this election and why anyone would vote for John McCain. I am an optimist, but when it's election time my faith in basic human decency falls like Jim O'Brien.


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I still see many of the guys who helped make "If You Break the Skin." Quite a project that was. That project is long done and I doubt anyone will see the film in the future, but it will hold on to me for a long, long time.

Phylicia dropped out of school and chipped her front tooth in a fight.
Misha had another miscarriage, she carried the baby to 7 months and now has a tattoo of her baby's name. So much for my direct edict, "DO NOT GET PREGNANT AND IF YOU DO HAVE AN ABORTION."
Meme's homeless and living on a friend's floor just a few blocks from me.
Charday is finally back from the South and is staying with her biological mom.
Tracy, although I haven't talked to her, seems great via my reading her myspace page
Meme told me Diane is doing ok
Daliyl is fierce somewhere, I'm sure


Art matters, I'm certain of it. If You Break the Skin couldn't be measured quantitatively, it's worth was in the hopes of promoting some critical thinking skills for the long haul. But when I get calls asking for cash for basic necessities and think about some of the lifetime emotional and psychological struggles and the system that most of those guys will try to navigate for years to come... I don't know if that money would have been better spent to keep some of them from becoming homeless. I think the project was valuable beyond the money, but I can't help but thinking that it seems crazy when some of these guys still hit me up for money years later.

Charday is back and looking to get into Valley Youth House independent living and go to CCP. Meme and Misha were both in that program and it's a difficult one to be in, but I'm sure Ms. Laverty can do ok in it. She doesn't like to listen to authorities (really, who does?) so it will be hard for her, but a great chance to go to school. Do it, Charday. Streets is watching.





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Be Near Me When My Light Is Low

Lord Alfred Tennyson

Be near me when my light is low,
When the blood creeps, and the nerves prick
And tingle; and the heart is sick,
And all the wheels of Being slow.
Be near me when the sensuous frame
Is rack'd with pangs that conquer trust;
And Time, a maniac scattering dust,
And Life, a Fury slinging flame.

Be near me when my faith is dry,
And men the flies of latter spring,
That lay their eggs, and sting and sing
And weave their petty cells and die.

Be near me when I fade away,
To point the term of human strife,
And on the low dark verge of life
The twilight of eternal day.

Independence National Historical Park
From Walnut to Chestnut between Third & Fifth Streets


Through September 27 2008

Drawing Dock Creek is a temporary outdoor art installation by Winifred Lutz that marks the path of a historical tidal stream buried long ago under the streets of Philadelphia.



Detail Drawing Dock Creek

Click above to watch the trailer for the new Michael Moore movie entitled "Slacker Uprising". You can download the entire movie for free by signing up at http://slackeruprising.com.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's hometown required women to pay for their own rape examinations while she was mayor, a practice her police chief fought to keep as late as 2000.


Former state Rep. Eric Croft, a Democrat, sponsored a state law requiring cities to provide the examinations free of charge to victims. He said the only ongoing resistance he met was from Wasilla, where Palin was mayor from 1996 to 2002.

"It was one of those things everyone could agree on except Wasilla," Croft told CNN. "We couldn't convince the chief of police to stop charging them."

Alaska's Legislature in 2000 banned the practice of charging women for rape exam kits -- which experts said could cost up to $1,000.

Palin's town charged women for rape exams

Dow Falls More Than 370 Points

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Revive the Victory Garden

Homesteading

PhillyFreecycle- The free online materials exchange in Philadelphia.

Philadelphia Craig's List

1914
Clean Up Week Parade. Parade of Street Cleaners-Broad Street-City Hall in View

The City's photo archive contains over 2 million photo records that date from the late 1800's. This web site contains a growing collection of those photos. All archive photos may be searched by keyword and date. Archive photos which have been assigned a geographic location are also searchable by proximity to an Address, Intersection, Place Name, or Neighborhood.

Click title to check it out. Phillyhistory.org is great.

My friend Ms. Kate Ware is leaving the Philadelphia Museum of Art for the New Mexico Museum of Art in Santa Fe. "Bummer" is an understatement. Kate Ware, I love you and will miss you and wish you great joy out there. Ms. Ware has been appointed Curator of Photographs at the New Mexico Museum of Art in Santa Fe. The whole Southwest will most certainly benefit from having her there.



Bitter Herbs

Now... who, who, could possibly take the job? Who could get in there that I'd love? A someone I'd love personally, for the PMA, and for the city of Philadelphia?

Oh my GOD, it's Peter Barberie! He's the new PMA Curator of Photographs! Rejoice, my friends! Mr. Barberie is no joke and we couldn't be any luckier to have him here!



milk and honey

1500 people showed up to demonstrate against Sarah Palin's reactionary politics.







Women Against Sarah Palin

Check it out...

Report by Jacob Hellman

Report by my friend Albert Yee




Collage by Anna Knighton and James Knighton- I love this collage.

This was a super day because I saw both Alex Mechanick and Brian Mechanick. Below is a photo of me and Alex on the sofa when I forced Alex to watch an episode of Star Trek with me. Apparently, I am alone in my love of Star Trek.

Regardless of whether or not one is a fan of Jill Greenberg's photography, I really don't see what the big deal is with the photoshopped images of McCain (click the title to read a summary of the fray). She got hired by someone and then posted manipulated photos, which were actually her own work. She got in trouble for the conflict of interest issue, making images for the Atlantic Monthly and then using, and manipulating, the images she made while shooting for the magazine to express her own opinion about McCain. Of course, if she's making images for the Atlantic she is a representative of the magazine and they have a right to be pissed off that she used the work that she made while working for them in a manner not representative of the magazine's opinion. But the photos are her work and she should be able to do whatever she wants to with them. The reaction to the images is really bizarre to me, but in some ways it shows the power of image and representation. If they really didn't matter at all, there'd be no discussion and certainly no "to-do" over it. Oh, the intersection of business and ownership of one's own images!

Jesus H. Christ we're living in a terrifying time if her images are the cause of any consternation or dismay for any reason.



Jill Greenberg


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Also, I am very sorry that I wasn't hired to shoot McCain, so I could have punched him dead in the fucking face after delivering a long diatribe listing the ways he will destroy America. And as an aside, how anyone in good conscience could make a "heroic" shot of John McCain at this juncture in the election is out of their mind.

I have to say my life is incredible. Above is an shot of the Lectoure installation... you know, from when I was in FRANCE!

please watch this

Natural Remedies for Anxiety ... and as an old stand by, unless you are in recovery, you can also try alcohol.

Mister, we could use a man like Herbert Hoover again...



Hoovervilles

On October 25, 1929, a day after what is now known as Black Thursday, Hoover declared, "The fundamental business of the country, that is the production and distribution of commodities, is on a sound and prosperous basis."

Stock Market Crash Chart 1929


Wall Street in crisis (2008): 'This rivals 1929'




"The Fundamentals Are Strong"

Nan and Petey
2008



Mary Cassatt
Caresse Maternelle
1902

Philadelphia, PA representing... Cassatt was living in Europe when Caresse Maternelle was painted but she was still holding down a Philadelphia feel.

Star Trek actor George Takei has boldly walked down the aisle with his long-time boyfriend, Brad Altman. Stars of the classic sci-fi TV series looked on, including best man Walter Koenig who played Chekhov and matron of honour Nichelle Nichols who starred as Uhura.

excerpt from The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction by Walter Benjamin (1936)



"...With the different methods of technical reproduction of a work of art, its fitness for exhibition increased to such an extent that the quantitative shift between its two poles turned into a qualitative transformation of its nature. This is comparable to the situation of the work of art in prehistoric times when, by the absolute emphasis on its cult value, it was, first and foremost, an instrument of magic. Only later did it come to be recognized as a work of art. In the same way today, by the absolute emphasis on its exhibition value the work of art becomes a creation with entirely new functions, among which the one we are conscious of, the artistic function, later may be recognized as incidental. This much is certain: today photography and the film are the most serviceable exemplifications of this new function.

VI

In photography, exhibition value begins to displace cult value all along the line. But cult value does not give way without resistance. It retires into an ultimate retrenchment: the human countenance. It is no accident that the portrait was the focal point of early photography. The cult of remembrance of loved ones, absent or dead, offers a last refuge for the cult value of the picture. For the last time the aura emanates from the early photographs in the fleeting expression of a human face. This is what constitutes their melancholy, incomparable beauty. But as man withdraws from the photographic image, the exhibition value for the first time shows its superiority to the ritual value. To have pinpointed this new stage constitutes the incomparable significance of Atget, who, around 1900, took photographs of deserted Paris streets. It has quite justly been said of him that he photographed them like scenes of crime. The scene of a crime, too, is deserted; it is photographed for the purpose of establishing evidence. With Atget, photographs become standard evidence for historical occurrences, and acquire a hidden political significance. They demand a specific kind of approach; free-floating contemplation is not appropriate to them. They stir the viewer; he feels challenged by them in a new way. At the same time picture magazines begin to put up signposts for him, right ones or wrong ones, no matter. For the first time, captions have become obligatory. And it is clear that they have an altogether different character than the title of a painting. The directives which the captions give to those looking at pictures in illustrated magazines soon become even more explicit and more imperative in the film where the meaning of each single picture appears to be prescribed by the sequence of all preceding ones.

VII

The nineteenth-century dispute as to the artistic value of painting versus photography today seems devious and confused. This does not diminish its importance, however; if anything, it underlines it. The dispute was in fact the symptom of a historical transformation the universal impact of which was not realized by either of the rivals. When the age of mechanical reproduction separated art from its basis in cult, the semblance of its autonomy disappeared forever. The resulting change in the function of art transcended the perspective of the century; for a long time it even escaped that of the twentieth century, which experienced the development of the film. Earlier much futile thought had been devoted to the question of whether photography is an art. The primary question – whether the very invention of photography had not transformed the entire nature of art – was not raised..."

"A study coming out (this week) from scholars at Columbia, Harvard, Purdue and Michigan projects that 20 million Americans who have employment-based health insurance would lose it under the McCain plan."

McCain's Health-Care Proposal, Business Week

Journal Disputes McCain’s Health Care Claims, NYT

McCain Plan to Aid States on Health Could Be Costly, NYT

McCain’s Radical Agenda, NYT

2nd from the top seems to be the one, but to be honest maybe none of these. The two bottom photos are definitely too sentimental and won't end up in my mix.

I knocked on the door of this house and these were two of the people who lived there. The amount of love happening here was incredible.

"Sure politicians occasionally stretch the truth or exaggerate, but willful and conscious lying is something else, which makes the stream of fabrications from the McCain campaign over the last week that much more shocking."

By Kurt Vonnegut,
from Armageddon in Retrospect

Gov. Sarah Palin's church is promoting a conference that promises to convert gays into heterosexuals through the power of prayer. Maybe you shouldn't waste your time praying for me, and instead pray to not be such an imbecile.

I will be hosting a workshop on September 18th from 7pm-9pm. What is this workshop, you ask? A long talk about contemporary photography? Fuck no! This is a art and crafts hang out night where people are welcome to come to make collages. That's right, just fully relaxed making collages with no pressure. I have a ton of magazines and other amazing things for collage and encourage people to bring their own stuff to share... bring outdated calendars, photographic prints you're throwing away, paper bags, whatever. Kids are invited! I have no idea how many people might come, so bring your own scissors if you want to insure that you don't have to share. I will have everything else, so get ready for good times.

This is not a photography workshop! It's just making collages!

Megawords Storefront- Zoe Strauss workshop
1125 North Cherry Street
9/18
7pm-9pm

"Billboard along the march suggesting that King attended a communist training school" by Spider Martin

Can you fucking believe that anyone has to take John McCain and Sarah Palin campaign seriously? I guess we do, because if George Bush was falsely elected twice we all have to pay attention to this idiocy. I am particularly struck by Sarah Palin. I just CAN'T BELIEVE that she was chosen to run for vice president.

In my search for why, WHY, anyone would even contemplate voting for these assholes I have found many statements that people think Sarah Palin is a regular lady and that makes her appealing. WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE? Why would they ever want someone "regular" to be heading up the Executive branch of the United States? I want someone 100,000 times smarter than me. Hearing Sarah Palin speak actually makes me think she is actually much less adroit than I am. Um, that's not what I'd like in a vice president.

No, we don't need regular, we need great. That's just mental to want average. Can people give it a rest with embracing mediocrity? Here's to meritocracy!

The layouts above are important to the America and tell a lot about what I saw while traveling. The top photo on the right, Circus Circus from Parking Lot, is one of the most important photos in the book.

Forty years ago, manufacturing accounted for roughly 53 percent of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product. Today, manufacturing
accounts for less than 12 percent.

Ms. Julia Staples is publically showing her work from and about Iceland... in Iceland! The opening is tomorrow, Saturday the 13th at 6pm at Lost Horse Gallery.

The American Scandinavian Foundation made this project possible. They are a wonderful organization who sponsor many cultural exchanges between Scandinavia and the US.


Look out, Roni Horn! A new American ex-pat is taking over Iceland!


Luxury Views in Nordlingarhot

I met Dorthia a few months ago and made some beautiful photos of her. I always veer toward the more explicit photos, I like for things to be shown, but I chose a very romantic, longing and quiet photo of Dorthia for the book. I think this was indicative of many of the choices for America... I wanted a slow build, with different layers, which changed the whole structure and syntax of the book and left less room for those photos that might stop someone cold. Essentially, I structured the book with more quiet and nuanced things.


These photos were all in the running...








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This was the America winner...






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The bloody lip photo below was in America until the last, last, last edit and it will really be missed, but it was impossible to place it.

You know what's super depressing? Don't worry, I'll tell you! The constant "dumbing down" of America. Somehow "stupid" has come to mean "authentic" or "down-to-earth." Guess what? Simple doesn't mean the same thing as simpleton.

Here's proof of our downward spiral...

George W. Bush's 2 term presidency
Sarah Palin
The Franklin Institute having a name change to "The Franklin"

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The comic genius Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon played the great, great character of MInnie Pearl, "pure county." Minnie Pearl wasn't stupid and neither was Sarah Ophelia Cannon. When asked about the popularity of Hee Haw, Ms. Cannon explained that it took viewers to a place where there was "no war, no cancer."

Sarah Cannon survived breast cancer, and had a double mastectomy. She became a spokesperson for the medical center in Nashville where she had been treated and somewhat for cancer survivors in general. She took on this role as herself, Sarah Ophelia Cannon, not desiring the "Minnie Pearl" character to be associated with such misfortune, although a nonprofit group, the Minnie Pearl Cancer Foundation, has been founded in her memory to help fund cancer research.

Sometimes we need the real person and sometimes the character. With Minnie Pearl we needed both! It's an act that George Bush plays as the "regular guy," but it's no act that he's a total fucking moron. We just need him to be impeached now.



Sarah Cannon: Genius

Seriously, I love Cousin Minnie so much.
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George W. Bush: Idiot

This asshole needs to be impeached and thrown in jail.

September 11, 2001



September 11, 2008

Philippe Petit crossing the World Trade Towers, August 7th, 1974

“A culture of ethical failure” pervades the agency, the department’s inspector general, Earl E. Devaney, wrote in a cover memo.

The reports portray a dysfunctional organization that has been riddled with conflicts of interest, unprofessional behavior and a free-for-all atmosphere for much of the Bush administration’s watch.

I stopped in at the Allegheny Sunoco to tell Linda that she was going to be in the book... I missed her by like 10 minutes and dropped her a note letting her know how beautiful the photo came out. It was a few years ago when I made the photo and I wasn't sure if she still worked there, but Linda is still holding it down at the Allegheny Sunoco. Pictured above is the fabulous Ms. Eucie, also holding it down at the A-Plus.

I had forgotten that Linda's photo was in the Inquirer article about 2 years ago, all the workers had seen it and loved it. Thanks to Linda and all the Allegheny A-Plus workers!

Thanks to Savannah and Colin II!

What will I be doing in Alaska you ask? Well, I will be a second generation pioneer of Alaska AIR. I will give a talk, make some work, visit high schools and help jury a show. I will be working at the Anchorage Museum of History and Art and The International Gallery. I will be all around Anchorage and I will drive, or take the train, north to Fairbanks. During January it's more like the "land of the mid-day night" as opposed to the "land of the midnight sun."



"Alaska AIR is a unique collaboration between USA and the Alaska-based Rasmuson Foundation. Five Alaskan cultural institutions – Alaska Dance Theatre, Anchorage Museum of History and Art, Koahnic Broadcast Corporation, Perseverance Theatre, and the University of Alaska in Fairbanks – will host the second residencies with artists selected from the pool of 2007 USA Fellows.

Made possible by a grant from the Rasmuson Foundation of Anchorage, one of the founding supporters of USA, Alaska AIR provides opportunities for short and long-term residencies at each of the host organizations. The broad range of creative experiences available through these partnerships reflects the breadth of artistic disciplines represented by the USA Fellows program, which recognizes outstanding artists by awarding 50 unrestricted grants of $50,000 annually. The first 50 USA Fellowships were awarded in December 2006, totaling $2.5 million. “I am pleased to see this ambitious new program taking root within the state of Alaska,” said Diane Kaplan, president of the Rasmuson Foundation and a founding member of the USA Board of Directors. “Alaska AIR continues Rasmuson’s commitment to supporting arts and culture throughout Alaska, and at the same time, brings great artists from around the country into our state to enrich our institutions and communities.” “United States Artists is committed to providing new opportunities for America’s finest creative talent, both through financial support and programs that catalyze new artistic expression,” said USA Executive Director Katharine DeShaw. 'With the generous support of the Rasmuson Foundation, we have established this exciting partnership that will expose USA Fellows to native cultures, important arts communities, and dramatic landscapes unlike any in the continental U.S. At the same time, we hope the work of the USA Fellows will benefit Alaskan cultural organizations and enrich the audiences that experience these programs.'"


Here's a great Alaskan... Ben Huff

Here's an Alaskan who bites a high hard one...Sarah Palin

Here's another great Alaskan...

"Drill, Baby, Drill"

Right now I'm feeling the first and second photos.

Phillip Butler and John McCain were both POWs in Vietnam.

In January 2009, I will be headed to Alaska for a month. You heard me. Alaska.

I am getting down to the wire on seeing this show, but I'm headed up there in the next 2 weeks to see it.




Buckminster Fuller said "Ninety-nine percent of who you are is invisible and untouchable." That might be true, but can you believe how hard the 1% in someone searches for the 1% in other people.

Okay, America will be arriving in mid October and my show at Silverstein will be opening on Friday November 21st or Saturday November 22nd.

Other than Silverstein (now called Bruce Silverstein), I have no idea when and where I will be having any book signings with the exception of outside the Wawa on Delaware Ave sometime in late November. I ran into Bob who's lived under 95 right by the ramp for about 4 years and I told him about the book and he was like why not set up a signing right outside the Wawa where he was asking for cash. I think Bob's on the money here and he and I will set up a guerilla signing right there. Date and time to be announced.

I am trying to figure out where else to have a book signing here in Philadelphia... I really wanted to do it at the Betsy Ross house but it's too much ye olde money.

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Unrelated, I love Silverstein. A shout out of love to Beth, Bruce, Liam, Yvonne and Luis.

The Hidden Sense: Synesthesia in Art and Science, by Cretien van Campen


Synesthesia: A Union of the Senses, by Richard E. Cytowic

Synaesthesia: Classic and Contemporary Readings, edited by John E. Harrison and Simon Baron-Cohen

"She's lucky I'm walking with the lord because I'd throw her over the fucking railing." Love ya, Lin!

There is constant debate in the world of photography regarding technology, technical prowess, process and idea. Why? That I don't fucking know, because there is room for everything. Wide-Field Planetary Camera 2? OK. Cell phone photos? OK. A constant discussion of film vs. digital (or numeric, if you're European) is presented as if one could best the other as opposed to exploring the differences...photography is a burgeoning medium and it's thrilling to figure out what technique best suits one's work. There's room for mistakes, and personal preferences. I think film is "warmer" than digital, and that the difference between "noise" and "grain" is significant, but I don't think it makes one "better" than the other. It makes one different from the other. Is process a part of the work? Is the production of the printed image important? Is the medium the work? Or is the image or the idea the work? And why isn't there room for all of it? Guess what? There is!

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One thing I've seen more than ever in the last year is people thinking that if a medium or large scale camera is used, somehow that makes the content of the photo weightier. Really, that by use of technology you can automatically make a "good" photo. Are you out of your fucking minds? Even people who should know better sometimes think this. Maybe because I know more photographers and people interested in photography I'm seeing this now, I don't know. And let me clarify that I'm not talking about the skill involved in correctly exposing a photograph, or the quality of a beautiful print, but rather the content of the image.


And conversely, sometimes people think that "lo-tech" somehow means "more authentic." I saw a piece in the last couple of months that was presented as if because the piece was primarily made of xeroxes it was intrinsically interesting, with a lot, A LOT, of talking telling viewers why that was important. Seriously, no, it wasn't important. It was actually a terrible piece with xeroxes and a tv with a black and white video of an empty road. I was thinking, "I'm pretty sure I saw this in someone's basement in West Philly in 1982." Actually I'm almost certain I saw a very similar piece in West Philly and we were like let's go see Liquid Sky again instead of looking at this crap, so we took the 42 down to the Ritz.

These things seem remarkably old to me and not even worth discussing, and yet I've had experiences in the last couple of months where these issues were presented as if they were fresh. That's crazy, right?

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For me the image is paramount, and while the technology is important because it does the recording, it really doesn't matter to me as long as the job gets done.

Here's all my cameras:



35mm Canon Rebel- I mostly used this camera from 2000 to 2004


here's a photo I made with that camera

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A 4.1 megapixel point and shoot Minolta DIMAGE S414- I mostly used this camera from 2004 to 2006



here's a photo I made with that camera

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Nikon D70 SLR- I mostly used this camera from 2005 to late 2007


here's a photo I made with that camera

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Nikon D300 SLR- This camera is my newest, and I got it about 9 months ago.


here's a photo I made with that camera

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Not pictured here, my high school camera, a Pentax K-1000

"Sarah Palin's views and values in NO WAY represent us as American women. We ask that our song 'Barracuda' no longer be used to promote her image. The song 'Barracuda' was written in the late '70s as a scathing rant against the soulless, corporate nature of the music business, particularly for women. (The 'barracuda' represented the business.) While Heart did not and would not authorize the use of their song at the RNC, there's irony in Republican strategists' choice to make use of it there."

-from the Wilson's Press Statement

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Rock Group Heart Condemn The Use of The Song Barracuda at The Republican Convention:

Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart have informed the McCain/Palin Campaign that Universal Music Publishing and Sony BMG have sent a cease-and-desist notice to not use one of Heart's classic songs "Barracuda," as the congratulatory theme for Sarah Palin.
The Republican campaign did not ask for permission to use the song, nor would they have been granted that permission.
We have asked the Republican campaign not to use our music.

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Also, how awesome is Heart? I'm a fan of Little Queen, but Dreamboat Annie has "Magic Man" and "Crazy on You" which you can never go wrong with. When I was in Bellevue, Washington earlier in the year I had an all Heart playlist while I was driving around.

The Pacific Northwest has really provided the world with a wealth of musical geniuses.

Motion after-effect is of tremendous interest to me. Really it's fatigue in seeing, causing distortion, that I'm so interested in.

Click the title above for a strong motion after-effect illusion. And check out the Journal of Vision for articles about vision...it's intended audience is "working vision scientists" so many of the articles are as dry as they come if you're not a "working vision scientist" but many articles are tremendous.

Just a reminder about how much I loved my grandparents and how much I miss them.

My grandfather was particularly content with life, happy to have a daughter and grandchildren and to sit on the front steps in the evening.

They lived in this house for over 50 years

The first woman to swim the English Channel.

Click above to read it... thanks to Colin II for sending it.

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My 2 Favorite Convention Quotes:

FORMER ARKANSAS GOV. MIKE HUCKABEE: Palin "got more votes running for mayor of Wasilla, Alaska than Joe Biden got running for president of the United States."

THE FACTS: A whopper. Palin got 616 votes in the 1996 mayor's election, and got 909 in her 1999 re-election race, for a total of 1,525. Biden dropped out of the race after the Iowa caucuses, but he still got 76,165 votes in 23 states and the District of Columbia where he was on the ballot during the 2008 presidential primaries.



FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOV. MITT ROMNEY: "We need change, all right — change from a liberal Washington to a conservative Washington! We have a prescription for every American who wants change in Washington — throw out the big-government liberals, and elect John McCain and Sarah Palin."

THE FACTS: A Back-to-the-Future moment. George W. Bush, a conservative Republican, has been president for nearly eight years. And until last year, Republicans controlled Congress. Only since January 2007 have Democrats have been in charge of the House and Senate.


Oh my GOD! Have you people had lobotomies?

As kids, we use to memorize all the K-Tel commercials and sing them.

Remember when we had that hot mess John Street as our mayor? Take heart Philadelphians! He was never as bad as Kwame Kilpatrick or Rudy Giuliani.



Bad


Worse


Worst

Although I have to say that Kwame is really giving Rudy a run for his money as one of the worst big city mayors in the last couple of years.

Bill Melendez: Peanuts Animator

Wall Street Journal columnist and former Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan and former John McCain adviser, Time columnist, and MSNBC contributor Mike Murphy were caught on tape disparaging John McCain's selection of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his Vice Presidential running mate.


PN: It's over.

MM: Still McCain can give a version of the Lieberman speech to do himself some good.

CT: I also think the Palin pick is insulting to Kay Bailey Hutchinson, too.

PN: Saw Kay this morning.

CT: Yeah, she's never looked comfortable about this --

MM: They're all bummed out.

CT: Yeah, I mean is she really the most qualified woman they could have turned to?

PN: The most qualified? No! I think they went for this -- excuse me-- political bullshit about narratives --

Sarah Palin? 100% NO.




Tina Fey? 100% YES.

Do as We Do
by Linda Hirshman from Slate

...about Sarah Palin's daughter's pregnancy

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I had an abortion as a teenager, and guess what? It was a great idea!


Visit
Planned Parenthood
and
NARAL

My lady and I celebrated our 19th year together this summer. Above is me and the Mrs.at the Commissary, in the Piano Bar. I couldn't be any happier with the Mrs. I'm possibly the luckiest woman in the world. I love you, honey.

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PS: In true ZS 1989 style, I'm wearing a Barry Manilow shirt and a pin that says "Amateur Gynecologist." My lady is wearing a shirt that I loved on her. I think it was from the Gap.

President George W. Bush joins Arizona Senator John McCain in a small celebration of McCain's 69th birthday Monday, Aug. 29, 2005, after the President's arrival at Luke Air Force Base near Phoenix. The President later spoke about Medicare to 400 guests at the Pueblo El Mirage RV Resort and Country Club in nearby El Mirage. White House photo by Paul Morse



New Orleans, August 30, 2005

Enough with this everything depressing... click above to check out visual illusions. I have recently become obsessed with basic visual illusions.



Are these lines parallel? Hello? Yes!

Hooray for optical illusions!

"Vogue India’s August issue presented a 16-page vision of supple handbags, bejeweled clutches and status-symbol umbrellas, modeled... by average Indian people....

....Nearly half of India’s population — about 456 million people — live on less than $1.25 a day, according to World Bank figures released last week...

....Marketers need to “create brand awareness” in India, said Claudia D’Arpizio, a partner with the consulting firm Bain & Company, who is based in Milan. She recommended the approach that some consumer brand companies took in China, opening big flagship stores and trying new forms of advertising like television...

....As India’s population becomes more affluent, successful luxury goods manufacturers will “create aspirations,” Ms. D’Arpizio said, and people will buy their products to show their pride in their prosperity. On the other hand, she said, would not be prudent for marketers to open luxury stores on 'streets where people are struggling for survival.'...

....(Vogue) does not even bother to identify the subjects” of the photos, said Ms. Gahlaut, the columnist. Instead, Vogue names the brands of the accessories in the captions, and says they are worn by a lady or a man."

I vote for sex-positive! Check out-



our bodies, ourselves for real information on sexuality.

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scarleteen- sex-positive sex ed site for teens.

The Coalition for Positive Sexuality- another sex-positive sex ed site for teens.


Just say yes! But for CHRIST'S SAKE practice safe sex.

You know what "Abstinence-Only" supporters? Blow me!


This includes you, Sarah Palin...

Sarah Palin response from Eagle Forum Alaska, 2006 (Wait, don't click there... they took the web page down soon after attention was drawn to the questionnaire)

Q: Will you support funding for abstinence-until-marriage education instead of for explicit sex-education programs, school-based clinics, and the distribution of contraceptives in schools?

SP: Yes, the explicit sex-ed programs will not find my support.


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kissing- photographer unknown


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