Zoe Strauss

Interested in what me and my lady were doing last night? Me too! While watching videos of the awesome South Philly celebrations, I noticed that I was in this one. You can see my lady slapping hands at 25 seconds and me waving a towel at 30 seconds, I am wearing a homemade top hat. A bonus of Colin just indicating how #1 the Phillies are. Thanks to Lakota Theas, the youtube poster who made this video!

As usual, not a tremendously strong documentation of the event, the event being PHILLIES ARE WORLD CHAMPIONS!!!!!! I'm not really sure why, considering my professional demeanor and detachment from the event.






Oh, here's LB and Col on Broad St. Whatever, we would have been as happy staying at home and watching a rerun of Mad About You.

These guys didn't know each other.





































This guy and I sang a dead serious rendition of "We Are the Champions"




Max! Our produce guy at the Acme!




Alan and Elizabeth

Please let all of our votes count.

Voter Suppression.net


Sense of Unease in Some Black Voters

Florida's flawed "voter-cleansing" program

David Morris: Voter fraud? No, voter suppression.

GOP Busted for Voter Suppression

The Kinks - People Take Pictures Of Each Other

Directed by Phillip Rodriguez / Image by Claudio Rocha / Audio by Jon Oh / Associate Producer: Jennifer Craig-Kobzik / Produced by City Projects / Images courtesy of Artist Zoe Strauss

Rain Delay
by Marah
from Lets Cut The Crap And Hookup Later On Tonight


There's just so many hours in a day
Of the week
Should we stay?
Shall we throw the balls
Or put them all away?
Should we stay...or should we leave?
It does appear that the clouds are
A million miles away from me today
Or it's a rain delay
It's a rain delay
It's a rain delay
I'm sorry okay
A Sunday shower
A beach towel giveaway
Mom gets drunk
Daddy pays
An autograph or a baseball
Holiday in the Shibe or in the Shea
There's just so many hours in a day
But anyway
It's a rain delay
Rain delay
Rain delay
I'm sorry okay

I am working on We Love Having You Here and losing my mind about it because there's been some shifts that had to happen and I'm adapting as best I can to a shift from the original presentation. The biggest shift is budget, because I had planned for a show that didn't take into account America's recent slide into a depression. This is ok with me... I am truly adaptable, but it's a lot of last minute work for me. One thing that's sure, I don't mind working. I actually love to work and I like to have everything reflect the moment. After all, this show is called "America:



Ah, the promise, the regret, the fear, the anger, the desperation. Whatever, friends. We will be OK! You know as I've gotten fancier and shit... as much as I wish I was a millionaire... I find myself becoming more and more filled with disdain for "business." Don't people usually get less radical as they get older? I feel like I'm ready to start yelling, "Over the top, Wimmin!" taking over a nuclear munitions plant. What the hell?

I find that everything is everything for me...and I have less and less separation between my diametrically opposed interests and beliefs.

Go Phillies.
And Go Reds, Smash State.
Here's to a new Democratic President!
And here's to the fall of our false two party system!
Here's to all of us... Russell my Republican neighbor, I love you while I wish for the complete disintegration of your party of divisiveness and out and out evil. And to those who think Obama is the second coming, man, I can't wait for him to win but I don't expect the change that you're all touting... I expect a slowing, and hopefully, a stopping of America's plummeting into the morass that the corrupt and evil Bush administration has engineered.

Here's to us all! With love and exuberance!

It's possible that the Phillies could win the World Series. It's possible. Now, I don't know if people outside of Philadelphia know what that means. I can say that if the Phillies win the World Series it will be one of the greatest moments in my life. For real.

Here is a message that my brother received when the Phillies won the NL championship a week and a half ago....
"cops just chased a snowmobile the wrong way up 4th street. sparks were flying everywhere. they weren't even trying to catch him, they were yelling GO PHILS!"

-----

Ain't No Stoppin Us Now!
We're on the move!
Ain't No Stoppin Us Now!
We've got the groove!

There's been so many things thats held us down.
But now it looks like things are finally comin' around.
I know we've got, a long long way to go,
and where we'll end up, I don't know.
But we won't let nothin' hold us back,
we're putting our selves together,
we're polishing up our act!
If you felt we've been held down before,
I know you'll refuse to be held down anymore!

Don't you let nothing, nothing,
Stand in your way!
I want ya'll to listen, listen,
to every word I say, every word I say!

Ain't No Stoppin Us Now!
We're on the move!
Ain't No Stoppin Us Now!
We've got the groove!

Ain't No Stoppin Us Now!
We're on the move!
Ain't No Stoppin Us Now!
We've got the groove!

I know you know someone that has a negative vow,
and if you're trying to make it they only push you aside.
They really don't have, no where to go.
Ask them where they're going, they don't know.
But we won't let nothin' hold us back,
we're gonna put our selves together,
we're gonna polish up our act!
And if you've ever been held down before,
I know you'll refuse to be held down anymore!

Don't you let nothing, nothing,
Stand in your way!
I want ya'll to listen, listen,
to every word I say, every word I say!

Ain't No Stoppin Us Now!
We're on the move!
Ain't No Stoppin Us Now!
We've got the groove!

Ain't No Stoppin Us Now!
We're on the move!
Ain't No Stoppin Us Now!
We've got the groove!

------


Rest in Peace McFadden and Whitehead.

Tragically, John Whitehead was shot dead, whilst working on a vehicle with another man, in Philadelphia on May 11, 2004. He was 55.

The killer fled after shooting John in the neck and then shooting his friend, who was rushed to hospital after the incident. This was a devistating loss for Philadelphia and one that reenforces just how difficult things have become within the last couple of year... John Whitehead shot and killed, what the fuck?


Gene McFadden was diagnosed with liver and lung cancer in 2004 and died at his home in the Mount Airy, Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on January 27th, 2006.

I have been so annoyed today... this whole week really... but I just woke up to the Phillies winning game 3 in the bottom of the ninth and that is really all right, my friends. It's 2AM and people are out on the corner yelling and cars are honking. My lady was at this game, AT A PHILLIES WORLD SERIES GAME!, and I'm waiting for her to get home. I have to say, I can be annoyed and miserable (And it's about real things, too. Not invented bullshit) but almost always joy and love trump all else for me and that's most certainly true tonight. People are still yelling outside and cars are still honking, I am so close to asleep on the sofa.

I hate having to write a bio. I generally go with "Zoe Strauss is an installation artist and photographer from Philadelphia."

And I can't fucking stand an artist's statement... I'm not saying that it's not necessary when applying for a grant, or for when folks can't see someones art work in person, but it's abhorrent to write. I remember for the Leeway grant I just wrote "Please see slides," which is ridiculous but I genuinely felt that I couldn't add anything more.

So my new thing will be to just submit the series of the following photos when a bio is requested.

FYI: Philadelphia, Pa is the greatest city in the world!



From one of Philadelphia's finest Sunday morning local programs.... Al Alberts Showcase!

This is a pretty good joke, but I still support
"What's in a honeymoon salad?"
"Just let-us alone"

as the greatest joke to ever be told by one of the teenyboppers.

I am a really big Eileen Neff fan, so of course I went to the opening for The Key of Dreams.

Here's a review of the show... "totally great!"

So, while I was up there I ran into Brent, who I love. Bizarrely, I ran into Brent pretty much in the exact same place the last time I was in NY.

Then when I was talking to Beth, Roberta Smith came into the adjacent gallery and I had to run over to her and tell her how much I appreciated her review of my last show. However, I was babbling like a totally moron because I am so STAR STRUCK by Roberta Smith. Christ, it was like I was Marsha talking to Davy Jones. Then she came back into gallery to ask something about Eileen's great piece and I told her that I loved her, and said it in a high voice. Seriously. Yes, I do love Roberta Smith but I don't know her so I should probably keep that in, huh? You would think at some point I would just get SOME professionalism. Looks like no for that.

Then I saw someone who I actually know and love, Ms. Paula Marincola. I wish we both didn't work 900 hours a day, because I miss seeing her.

And I saw, Dick Torchia who is not just handsome but so generous... I will never forget the help he gave me with my Pew application.

And the awesome William Pym, who I can't wait to work with.


It was a pretty great day but the highlight was yet to happen. A few years ago, somehow Eileen and I figured out that her brother was my dentist in 1976. OK, I don't know exactly why this IS SO AMAZING AND EXCITING TO ME but I managed to tell every person there that it turned out that Eileen's brother was my dentist when I was 6... and I totally told this like it was a story! "Listen to this, Eileen's brother was my dentist 30 years ago!" I don't care that people aren't interested! I think it's amazing! Later in the evening I was reunited with my pediatric dentist, Dr. Louis Prusack, DDS. I don't really understand this, because I had only seen him once or twice in 1976 or 1977, but I recognized him immediately. Louie, thanks for a masterful job with my teeth.


Dr. Louis Prusack, DDS

I don't work in a vacuum, no artist does, and I look to always pay homage to works that have had a significant impact on my life... and by default, my work.

I am a huge William Eggleston fan. Man, I could look at his photos all day, every day. He is a quintessential American photographer, who's impacted American photography from both sides of the camera... he changed the way many make photos and changed the way people look at America.



William Eggleston
Red ceiling, or Greenwood, Mississippi, 1973.

Red Ceiling has always been one of my favorite photos. Of all photos ever made.

-----

Here's a photo I've included in America...




When I saw this room with red carpet walls and a mirrored ceiling, I was pretty sure I had entered the promised land. The idea that I could present an image like this including a mirror to talk about reflection... I could barely take it.

Here's to you, Mr Eggleston, I love your work more than you will know. This photo was included in tribute to how you've impacted my life and my way of seeing. I have nothing but respect and reverence for your work. Thanks.


---


Red carpet played a big roll in America, and my hope is that the metaphor is obvious without being overpowering. The red-carpet treatment, to roll out the red carpet and to sweep something under the carpet... all idioms I thought about a lot during the ordering.


Cover


Homage to Eggleson




Ah, now here's a photo I can barely look at. It's the floor where my friend had shot himself, taken the day he was found. I barely remember making the photo. It was made at the end of the day, after his body had been carried out. That was one of the worst days of my life. Why would I show this when it not just causes me a tremendous amount of pain, but so much pain to LB and Tina? I have checked with them and discussed it ad nauseum to make sure it would be ok with them. They both know why, and the meaning and importance of this photo, of pain and memory and anger and regret, but I still have a bit of trepidation in including it. But I would most certainly be remiss if I opted to ask strangers to show me intimate, and often painful things, and I wasn't willing to show my own intimate and painful moments.

In the spirit of full disclosure, my father committed suicide. In America I've placed the photo above across from an image of the Circus Circus parking lot, where my father worked right before his death. There's many secret placements in America.


------


Back to the importance of directly referencing influences...

I show my slideshows with music... with love and respect for Nan Goldin's slideshow format, which was groundbreaking.


-------



Cy Twombly
Untitled
1970



Scratches... with love and respect for Cy Twombly's work

-------


Anselm Kiefer
Seraphim
1983-1984


The United States Penitentiary Terre Haute, Timothy McVeigh Execution Site... with love and respect for Anselm Kiefer's work.


-------



My biggest influence is Bruce Springsteen, no doubt about it. Bruce Springsteen and Lisette Model have both talked about a working model of showing the specific to get at the universal, and I'm all about that.

Diane Arbus said, "My teacher Lisette Model... finally made it clear to me that the more specific you are, the more general it will be."

But, honestly, I was long into my commitment to that idea before I had any idea that Lisette Model had a method of teaching based around that maxim. My desire to work like that came more from "Candy's Room."



Here's the greatest musician in the world performing a cover of Dream Baby Dream.


------


Dream Baby Dream
lyrics and music by Alan Vega and Martin Rev


dream baby dream
dream baby dream
dream baby dream
forever,
and ever

keep those dreams burnin' forever
keep those dreams burnin
forever...
and ever..

dream baby dream
dream baby dream
forever

dream baby dream
dream baby dream
dream baby, dream baby
dream baby dream
forever

dream baby dream
come on baby you gotta keep those dreams burnin'
keep those dreams baby
dream baby dream
dream baby,dream baby,
dream baby, dream baby
forever...

keep that flame burnin'
keep that flame burnin'
forever

dream baby dream
dream baby dream
forever, and ever
forever, and ever

yeah, those dreams keep you free
keep holding on yeah..

dream baby, dream baby,
dream baby.
forever and ever
dream baby dream

i see that smile on your face
yeah
yeah, makes you free
i see that smile
huh...
oh..

dream baby dream
dream baby dream
dream baby dream
dream baby dream
forever ...


"...rock and roll's never been about giving up. For me, for a lot of kids, it was a totally positive force. . . not optimistic all the time, but positive."

Bruce Springsteen
1978 Time interview

That's something I hope to have in my work, a strength to keep plugging away and an underlying positivity. Positive, but not unrealistic.

Bruce Springsteen Interview with Nick Hornby

------

Here's a little digression...I know that I wrote somewhere about this before, but I just abhor the idea that we have to be so confined by what we think should effect us based on our identities, as opposed to what genuinely does impact and move us. I am a lesbian feminist and I am an pinko commie...and I don't mean light, sisters and brothers. That's who I've been for all of my adult life and a lot of my childhood. But I am also a professional sports fan. I'm a lavender menace and a fan of cock rock. I am both opposed to patriotism and a proud American. I watch America's Next Top Model and I love it.
But why can't I have it all, and fold all the things that I am into my work? I can, and no one can tell me that I can't. I am most certainly a hypocrite, and I have no problems with it. I want to be the phlebotomist and the transfusion recipient!


Here's from another huge influence in my life, Audre Lorde.


A LITANY FOR SURVIVAL
Audre Lorde

For those of us who live at the shoreline
standing upon the constant edges of decision
crucial and alone
for those of us who cannot indulge
the passing dreams of choice
who love in doorways coming and going
in the hours between dawns
looking inward and outward
at once before and after
seeking a now that can breed
futures
like bread in our children's mouths
so their dreams will not reflect
the death of ours:

For those of us
who were imprinted with fear
like a faint line in the center of our foreheads
learning to be afraid with our mother's milk
for by this weapon
this illusion of some safety to be found
the heavy-footed hoped to silence us
For all of us
this instant and this triumph
We were never meant to survive.

And when the sun rises we are afraid
it might not remain
when the sun sets we are afraid
it might not rise in the morning
when our stomachs are full we are afraid
of indigestion
when our stomachs are empty we are afraid
we may never eat again
when we are loved we are afraid
love will vanish
when we are alone we are afraid
love will never return
and when we speak we are afraid
our words will not be heard
nor welcomed
but when we are silent
we are still afraid

So it is better to speak
remembering
we were never meant to survive


From The Black Unicorn

------

"dream baby dream
dream baby dream
dream baby dream
dream baby dream"

My lady has always worried that I shouldn't "show my whole hand" and that I should hold back some of my work, and some of myself. And I do, because I have to sit with some things before they go out. But not that much. My drive to not rest on my laurels is intense, compulsive even, and to put so much out there for anyone to see means that I have to move forward and produce new work. For me there's a constant need to produce the strongest work I can... I'm not looking for just OK, I'm looking to knock the ball out of the fucking park and break a car window in the parking lot with the hit. I have committed myself to the I-95 project and in some ways I've moved through the last 8 years with a framework that hasn't really allowed a lot of introspection due to my commitment to allow folks to see the whole thing as I move toward 2010, all the workings of this 10 year project including the missteps... trying to live my life and balancing what should and shouldn't be shown, and told. Later I'll have time for introspection, right now I think my best move is to go, dog, go.

I live with very, very few regrets and I know I will have no regrets when 95 is done, but I can't help but wonder if some of my priorities now are ones that I'll think were misplaced. The biggest issue is not having a child, not that it's out of the question, but I think I'm too old to start the process to become pregnant at this point. And not carrying a baby, man, that's going to be one of those few regrets even though I'm certain that I've made best decisions for myself all through my 30s.


----


I am working on the printing of We Love Having You Here and having some difficulty, primarily because I have to decide on the images prior to the show and lock them down. I almost always make the images and then arrange them at the site, with the exception of I-95 where I move images around in my studio all year to make certain of the order. I have to see the images next to each other to be certain of their connection... even the best laid plans, as they say.

Working on this show has been difficult for a few reasons... working on a show is always hard, but I've struggled with presentation issues. Silicon, my most awesome printer, oh my god I love those guys best printers ever, made a BEAUTIFUL print of "Stay Alive" face-mounted on Plexiglas. Holy fuck, it's spectacular. But I'm not 100% about it. Although it's so beautiful and adds a sculptural quality to the print (which I love and is akin to the way I sometimes mount onto wood to nail into telephone poles), it has a sort of fetishistic quality to the print, which is something I look to avoid at all costs. I wish I had more time to sit with all the implications of this shift in presentation, but I've got to get right the hell on it. There's a lot to consider in presentation, especially with portraits, and I am hyper-conscious of the importance of presenting photos of strangers and the way they can be read in different venues. Slick is very seductive for me, particularly because I love for the portraits to be presented with great dignity. Photography is voyeurism, someone is looking at a static image, but I will be damned if I don't work my ass off in hopes to make some one looking at the photo feel connected to the image, not just "looking at" the image. That's perhaps my most ambitious reach and one that I can't control by any stretch.

------

For America I included brief captions and the place where the photo was made under the photo. This meant that I had to change the name of some of photos from my original description. For example, I changed the name of this image from "Mummer in Blackface" to "Mummer in Black Facepaint." This kid clearly had no idea about the implications and history of black face and not only was it unfair to categorize him as a racist, but I wanted viewers to make their own connection to black face in this image, and the underlying absence of historical context in this guy's beautiful smiling face. I think there's an air of menace in this photo, but I hope to leave it up to the viewer to feel and see what they want.

1. Vanessa: PHILADELPHIA, PA
2. Twin Beds on Cantrell St.: PHILADELPHIA, PA
3. We Love Having You Here: OCEAN SPRINGS, MS
4. Carport: LAS VEGAS, NV
5. Two Women: CAMDEN, NJ
6. Trampoline: TERRE HAUTE, IN
7. Top of Highway 80 and Highway 81: CONYNGHAM, PA
8. Daddy Tattoo: PHILADELPHIA, PA
9. If You Break the Skin: PHILADELPHIA, PA
10. Mummer Toasting from RV: PHILADELPHIA, PA
11. Rims: PAHRUMP, NV
12. In Bed Smoking: PHILADELPHIA, PA
13. Wearing Green Hood Under El: PHILADELPHIA, PA
14. 9th and Snyder Lottery Tickets: PHILADELPHIA, PA
15. Let’s Roll and Anxious: PHILADELPHIA, PA
16. Mattress Flip: PHILADELPHIA, PA
17. McDonalds: BILOXI, MS
18. Kelley: LAS VEGAS, NV
19. Linda: PHILADELPHIA, PA
20. Scratches: WESTERN/CENTRAL INDIANA
21. Sticker Removed: CAMDEN, NJ
22. Together We Make Dreams Come True is True: TERRE HAUTE, IN
23. West Virginia: ATLANTIC CITY, NJ
24. Man Sitting in Front of Soccer Fans: CHICAGO, IL
25. Two Police Outside Norman’s Annex on 2st.: PHILADELPHIA, PA
26. Two Escalades: PHILADELPHIA, PA
27. Cinderblock Corner: NEW YORK, NY
28. Rollercoaster: WILDWOOD, NJ
29. Money Drying on Floor: GULFPORT, MS
30. Woman with Cherry Water Ice: CAMDEN, NJ
31. Cinderblocks: CHICAGO, IL
32. Salt Pile: CAMDEN, NJ
33. Everything is Not One Dollar: PHILADELPHIA, PA
34. Posing With Christmas Present: MUCKLESHOOT RESERVATION, PACIFIC NORTHWEST
35. Metropolitan Hospital: PHILADELPHIA, PA
36. Fist with Cash: GULFPORT, MS
37. Titanic: PHILADELPHIA, PA
38. Refrigerators: OCEAN SPRINGS, MS
39. Lao New Year South Philly: PHILADELPHIA, PA
40. Women Kissing: BEATTY, NV
41. Pardon Our Dust: LAS VEGAS, NV
42. New Tattoo Jorge: PHILADELPHIA, PA
43. Equitable Reflected Outside Hotel Room Window: ATLANTA, GA
44. Giant Mouth: LAS VEGAS, NV
45. Satisfaction Guaranteed Removed: LAS VEGAS, NV
46. Gunshot Wound: PHILADELPHIA, PA
47. Mattresses: CAMDEN, NJ
48. Smoking Crack: CAMDEN, NJ
49. Christine: CAMDEN, NJ
50. Uniform City: CAMDEN, NJ
51. Fire Alarm: LAS VEGAS, NV
52. Cell Phone Palm Tree: SOUTHERN NEVADA
53. Adam and Eve Room: LAS VEGAS, NV
54. Father and Son Outside Greyhound Station: LAS VEGAS, NV
55. Woman at Cabrini Green: CHICAGO, IL
56. Tonya: CHICAGO, IL
57. Everything: PHILADELPHIA, PA
58. Bulletholes: PHILADELPHIA, PA
59. Woman in Salmon Shirt: CAMDEN, NJ
60. Get Back Up Again: LOS ANGELES, CA
61. Circus Circus From Parking Lot: LAS VEGAS, NV
62. Lights: LOS ANGELES, CA
63. Presidential Nominee Supporter: SCRANTON, PA
64. Virginia: LIMERICK, PA
65. Your Future Starts Here: LAS VEGAS, NV
66. Taken Down Posters: PHILADELPHIA, PA
67. Kaia: MUCKLESHOOT RESERVATION, PACIFIC NORTHWEST
68. Photo of Carlos’s Parents on his Bed: EL PASO, TX
69. Allied Forces: LAS VEGAS, NV
70. Billboard with Vinyl Blown Down: BILOXI, MS
71. PA National Guard Soldiers Killed in Iraq: PHILADELPHIA, PA
72. Marines Billboard: PHILADELPHIA, PA
73. Sign: PHILADELPHIA, PA
74. Two Guys Outside South Philly Dress Store: PHILADELPHIA, PA
75. Man in Wheelchair: MIAMI, FL
76. Mom Were OK: BILOXI, MS
77. Blown Out Venetian Blinds: GULFPORT, MS
78. Man’s Back: PHILADELPHIA, PA
79. Three Smokestacks from Train: NORTHERN NEW JERSEY
80. Victoria’s Hysterectomy Scar: PHILADELPHIA, PA
81. Woman at US/Mexico Border: EL PASO, TX
82. Report Suspect Activity: NEW JERSEY HIGHWAY
83. Man Walking Up Stairs, No Trespassing: LAS VEGAS, NV
84. Keep the Fuck Out: PHILADELPHIA, PA
85. Doors in Open Structure: PHILADELPHIA, PA
86. Car Accident: AUBURN, WA
87. John at Home: MUCKLESHOOT RESERVATION, PACIFIC NORTHWEST
88. Shot Appliances: SOUTHERN NEVADA
89. Dawn: PHILADELPHIA, PA
90. Half House Pink: POTTSVILLE, PA
91. Half House on Boulevard: PHILADELPHIA, PA
92. Standing Under El: PHILADELPHIA, PA
93. Vikki, He Should Just Disiper…: CRYSTAL, NV
94. Balloons by Judy’s House: DENVER, CO
95. Holding Crack: PHILADELPHIA, PA
96. TV on Second Floor: GULFPORT, MS
97. Mask on Back of Head: PHILADELPHIA, PA
98. Paris in Jail: PHILADELPHIA, PA
99. Man with Swastika Tattoos: PHILADELPHIA, PA
100. Brothel Museum Wall with Moose: CRYSTAL, NV
101. Mummer in Black Facepaint: PHILADELPHIA, PA
102. Boys Wrestling on Stage: HONEYBROOK, PA
103. How Do I Look: PHILADELPHIA, PA
104. Paula’s Union Hall: PHILADELPHIA, PA
105. Eric Coming from Work, World Trade Center Subway Station, 9/11/07: NEW YORK, NY
106. Yani Leaving Work, Outside Wynn: LAS VEGAS, NV
107. Melissa’s Handstand: PHILADELPHIA, PA
108. Bed With Pillows: LAS VEGAS, NV
109. TVs Under Tarp: PHILADELPHIA, PA
110. Man Shot in Leg on Gurney: PHILADELPHIA, PA
111. Friday Is Payday, No Exceptions: PHILADELPHIA, PA
112. Security Guard: PHILADELPHIA, PA
113. Vincent: BILOXI. MS
114. Cars: PHILADELPHIA, PA
115. Food Market: PHILADELPHIA, PA
116. Leo’s Mantle: PHILADELPHIA, PA
117. Red and Blue Motel: ATLANTIC CITY, NJ
118. Woman Kissing Baby: SOUTHERN NV
119. Econolodge: NORTHEAST EXTENTION PENNSYLVANIA TURNPIKE
120. Woman Behind Balloon: SCRANTON, PA
121. Stage: HAZELTON, PA
122. Dollar Magic: PHILADELPHIA, PA
123. Putting Makeup On: TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES, NM
124. Don’t Drink or Sit Deleted: PHILADELPHIA, PA
125. Bunny: PHILADELPHIA, PA
126. Art Showing Loaded Revolver: CRYSTAL, NV
127. “Freedom Homes” on Cinderblocks: PAHRUMP, NV
128. Coal Billboard: CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA
129. Mummer Outside Lukoil on Broad St.: PHILADELPHIA, PA
130. Casino: LAS VEGAS, NV
131. Two Pregnant Women: PHILADELPHIA, PA
132. Merry Christmas House: PHILADELPHIA, PA
133. Happy New Year Blazer: PHILADELPHIA, PA
134. Fireworks at Eagles Game: PHILADELPHIA, PA
135. The United States Penitentiary Terre Haute, Timothy McVeigh Execution Site: TERRE HAUTE, IN
136. Sincere’s Arm: NEW YORK, NY
137. Woman Throwing Box From Window: CHICAGO, IL
138. Red Carpet Walls, Mirror Ceiling: ATLANTIC CITY, NJ
139. Refl ection in Drive Through Window: DENVER, CO
140. Dorthia: POTTSVILLE, PA
141. Bail Bonds: CAMDEN, NJ
142. Jehovah’s Witnesses: PHILADELPHIA, PA
143. Clothes in Lot: GULFPORT, MS
144. Showing Sternum Scar: PHILADELPHIA, PA
145. Pillars: LAS VEGAS, NV
146. Red Carpet: PHILADELPHIA, PA
147. Shirts and Pants Hanging: BILOXI, MS
148. Most We Feared: SOUTHERN NEVADA
149. White Trash Whorse and I Love You: CAMDEN, NJ
150. Flag with Full Moon: MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST
151. South Philly Illegal Fireworks: PHILADELPHIA, PA
152. Firefighters: SCRANTON, PA
153. Monique Showing Black Eye: PHILADELPHIA, PA
154. Stay Alive: ATLANTIC CITY EXPRESSWAY, NJ
155. Ken and Don: LAS VEGAS, NV
156. Light Switch and Thermostat: PHILADELPHIA, PA
157. Man in Do-Rag: PHILADELPHIA, PA
158. Sage Jumping: MUCKLESHOOT RESERVATION, PACIFIC NORTHWEST
159. Oil Refinery PHILADELPHIA, PA
160. Drive In: AUBURN, WA
161. Martin Luther King Day Parade: BILOXI, MS
162. Power/Ower with Flash: EL PASO, TX
163. Power/Ower No Flash: EL PASO, TX
164. American Face Paint Making Out: PHILADELPHIA, PA
165. We Will Win: LAS VEGAS, NV

Here's about this logo... a few people have asked me about it in the last week. It's a purposely "difficult to figure out" logo, a woman holding something, a field hockey player or a gardener.



Here is the photo that was the source of the design.



The photo above was taken of me about 20 years ago in Nicaragua and I'm holding an AK-47. I believe the exact type type of AK I'm holding is an AKMS on a Type 4B. In the uncropped photo I'm standing next to the "comandante" who was in a wheelchair having been shot in the war.

By the ballot, the bullet, or the photo, sisters and brothers. I'm just glad what I use for shooting is a D-300 vs. an AKMS.

John McCain mocks women's health... this is really a topper. The two videos above are the same, but it was so shocking that I felt it should be shown twice. Unbelievable and yet really happening. Please make sure to vote.

Because I am actively involved in the celebration. How can I be taking photos when I'm waving a towel and high-fiving? I can't, and that's why I'll never have great photos.

In the middle of full blow celebration, something extra awesome happened.


Here's Broad and Dickinson last night... take a look at the guy's hands hanging out of the car.



Here's a photo of his tattoos from 2006. That's my neighbor from up the block. South Philly.

Midnight at Broad and Tasker!

Um, the disaster of laissez-faire capitalism is in full effect right now.



I think the best thing to do is invest in artwork by Zoe Strauss. It's just going to increase in value! That paper money ain't going to be worth a plugged nickel in a few years. But rest assured that if you had an archival ink-jet by Zoe Strauss as your nest egg...you'd be sitting pretty.

I was amazed to read this statement today..."Representative Artur Davis... said race was no longer the automatic barrier to the White House that it once was. (But conceded) 'There is a group of voters who will not vote for people who are opposite their race,' Mr. Davis said."
From In Voting Booth, Race May Play a Bigger Role, 10/15/2008, NYT

I am always interested in how both race and gender have been constructed, and the language that we use to describe these constructions. "Opposite" is a pretty strong word to describe the invented categorizations of race, but it's a staple and used without a thought to the meaning being unclear. "The opposite sex" is still in full effect as a descriptive term. I just wonder about the entanglement of language, as a way reflecting our constructions, and wondering if language actually causes how we see the world in order to fit the words we have.
That's all.

------


from The Bizarro Jerry, Seinfeld-episode 137

Jerry: Yeah. Like Bizarro Superman. Superman's exact opposite, who lives in the backwards bizarro world. Up is down, down is up. He says "Hello" when he leaves, "Good bye" when he arrives.

Elaine: Shouldn't he say "bad bye"?

Jerry: No, it's still goodbye.

Elaine: Does he live underwater?

Jerry: No.

Elaine: Is he black?

Jerry: Look, just forget the whole thing, all right.

This photo didn't make it into America, but not from lack of trying. I wanted this one in so bad I couldn't stand it. But I couldn't place it next to a portrait and I found it impossible to balance it with a landscape. It could have started a new section, but the implications of the word "drugs" were too literal to start a chapter.

My first book will be released coming up in November 2008; America by Zoe Strauss. So that’s pretty great.

This book comes from a year of traveling, a year of making new photos, and year of culling from my existing body of work to find photos that best reflected the tenor of the past year in the United States. This book is really good and I highly encourage you to check it out. Seriously, it’s really, really good.

Here’s some of the places I made photos that were included in America...Philadelphia, PA; Camden, NJ; Las Vegas, NV; Rural Southern Nevada; Terre Haute, IN; Biloxi and Gulfport, MS; Chicago, IL; New York, NY; Muckleshoot Reservation, Pacific Northwest; Atlanta, GA; Los Angeles, CA; El Paso, TX; Miami, FL; Denver, CO; Truth or Consequences, NM. Although I must admit that the book is really Philadelphiacentric. I visited many, many places where I made photos that didn’t make it into the book. But those places impacted what photos were chosen for America, and how I structured the narrative.

For more information on America, please contact Jason Mitchell at AMMO books, jason@ammobooks.com
For more information on the upcoming show America: We Love Having You Here, please contact Elizabeth Shank at Bruce Silverstein Gallery, elizabeth@brucesilverstein.com





Hardcover: 192 pages
Publisher: AMMO Books (November 7, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1934429139
ISBN-13: 978-1934429136

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In a mind-blowing instance of irony, America was printed in China and the printing press censored the book and refused to print 2 nude photos. Correct, that is 100% nuts.


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This one is in the book, and will be in America: We Love Having You Here.

Opening Nov 1, curated by the one and only Brent Burket.

Here's 3 painters whose work I love-

or is it "who's work I love?" Hello, grammar help here!


Anselm Kiefer

Mark Bradford

Julie Mehretu

click above.

Email is totally busted today. Now I'm waiting for the Martnet server people to get back to me. And Apple was like don't worry, it will all come right back... I think anyone can guess what happened with that and I lost the last 2 days of email, so hold tight if you need me.

Email is busted, so if you need me, call me!

Thanks for pointing out this masterpiece Brent.

The Flyers ownership came up with a douche-bag move of having Sarah Palin drop the first puck at the opening game. Right, fuck you. While I can fully understand that elected officials are a staple for opening sports seasons, someone who is in the middle of campaigning for office doesn't seem like an appropriate choice, it then seems as if the organization is endorsing that candidate.

How did Flyers fans respond?

The booing was so loud that they had to crank up the music. Let's take a look at Sarah Palin on the ice.



Now let's take a closer look at the Flyers fans in the stands behind her.







PHILADELPHIA, PA: GREATEST CITY IN THE WORLD

OK, as I worked on the book one HUGE problem came up. Not a little problem. A problem that could have prevented this edition from being published at all. The book was censored by the printer. Not the publisher, but the actual printer refused to print two nude images. So the book is complete, and about to go on press and I get a call that they refuse to print the two nude images. Not an editorial decision with the publisher, but the actual printing press that's been reserved for printing will not print the two nude photos. This presented a tremendous dilemma, because if the publisher, AMMO, moved it to a different printer, the book would be pushed back 6 months... which was actually a big, big problem for me because I wanted to book to be out right around the election, the timing was central to the publication of the book and was a part of the working process in the production of the book and how I was thinking about the image choices.

If you know me, you know that I WAS LOSING MY FUCKING MIND. First of all, refusing to print a photo of a penis is what was happening. ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? I was, and am, furious. There's no need delve further into what's wrong with this entire situation, it's obvious. There's approximately 150 million men in the United States and I'm going to venture a guess that the great majority of them have penises... but the 3 penises that were visible in the book were 3 too many for the printer.

Not just the flow, but the meaning of the book was going to be changed if the two photos came out. And who the fuck is anyone to tell me what's in my book? Unfuckingbelievable. Even typing this now, I am filled with tremendous anger... and genuine bafflement. And in truth, it's not just the principle that was making me ready to kill, the ordering was laid out in a way so that each photo weighed a lot, and the two nude photos are very, very important in the creation of a narrative about America.

You can't imagine the extraordinarily difficult and painful deliberation as I went over every fucking scenario during the two day period when the decision had to be made. After all was said, and believe me you, there was A LOT said, I decided that the first edition could be published to coincide with the election, without the two nude photos, and that I would make the photos available at full size, high resolution, for people to download. I will send out the hi-res photos to my email list and I hope to make them available on my gallery's website and encourage all to print them out and keep them with the book. I went over and over and over the order without the photos and felt very strongly that the book was rock solid and should get out at election time, and have hopes that the ensuing discourse regarding the censorship will be important to my process, as well as to the understanding the human body is regarded, how the male body is regarded and how the male nude is still considered taboo. Friends, while I am familiar with the patriarchal structure of the Western art canon I am honesty shocked that a pecker is consider so offensive that a Chinese printing press REFUSES TO PRINT A MALE NUDE. Seriously, shocked.


Part of what made me make peace with the idea of the first edition being published without the photos is that I hope people will see that this book is a detail of I-95 just as the individual photos are. And that it's a part of my big project, something that's a wider scope.

Here's what I said in the introduction

"...I’ve incorporated some of the stories of the people I have photographed in the book. I was a
little hesitant to include text about how these photos came about because I want the viewer
to make their own narrative about these images without any descriptive text; the images
are really meant to be seen without captions. But the more I thought about the importance
of transparency in the project, along with my interest in demystifying the process of how
the photos are made, and how in so many ways this book is a work in progress, it seemed
appropriate to talk about the images."


Ironically, the one photo I discussed in the entire introduction is one of the censored photos. I did a last second rewrite to reflect the absence. Of course, during the multitude of discussions of what I could do, my preference was to have text on the pages where the images was removed with something like "THIS IMAGE CENSORED BY PRINTER." This would have changed the tenor of the book, but would open up a completely new discussion of what imagery is found "indecent." The printer refused to have any acknowledgement or reference to their censorship.

Here's from the intro...

"...I made a photo that came from a second meeting that I was unable to include in this book, of two
guys showing their tattooed penises. One of the men in that photo was someone who I had
met the year before on Broad Street at the [Mummers] parade, and he showed me that his
penis was tattooed with the Harley-Davidson logo and I made a few photos of him. I saw him
the next year at the parade and was super excited and thanked him for letting me make his
photo. I told him how great it was that he would let me make such an intimate photo of him
on the street, and then he blew my mind by telling me he was with another guy in the brigade
who also had his penis tattooed with a Harley-Davidson logo, which led to a photo of both of
them showing their tattooed penises. It was great moment, and one that told a lot
about America."

-----

As an aside, when I heard that the book was being printed in China, I really wrestled with it. But I found that the idea behind a book of photographs about being American, that's TITLED America, being printed in China spoke directly to the absence of industry that I hoped to address... it was the reality of the two false factories I had included, the cinderblocks in Chicago and the salt pile in Camden. I actually wanted to change the title to America: Printed in China, which would have been awesome, but felt that it was too specific to the scope of photos in the book.

More later on this. For right now, feel free to click on these images and print them out at the exact size they were intended to be shown in America. Bushes in Front of Tech School Door is a diptych with Man Nude on Bed, so that one went too.

Tattooed Penises was intended to be shown next to Wildwood Rollercoaster.

Print them at 6.75" x 10.16"

Enjoy!



Click here for full size of photo above




Click here for full size of photo above





Click here for full size of photo above

Oh, America! I was having tremendous anxiety about the book...the second guessing of my ordering. But then I got it today and I think the book is tight. It was laid out in a very methodical way, with the hope of allowing multiple readings. And with the hope that some of the more accessible photos would allow people to not immediately turn away from the more difficult photos, the more formal photos, or the more abstract photos. This is not my usual style; I think that people can get the work no matter what. But many of the images are not necessarily the images folks might immediately associate with a book of photos about America and I wanted a way to snare those people with images that would prompt them to check out the book from start to finish.


--------




I love the above spread and I love each individual image. For me, the pairing of these images reflects a lot about of what I saw about America; the scratching and the wearing away to reveal the surface underneath, and the reversed colors. They follow Kellie and Linda, and add resonance to the preceding portraits. Following "Scratches" and "Sticker Removed" are "Together We Make Dreams Come True" and "West Virginia," direct text and a portrait, bringing a viewer back to images that easy to read within the frame on first glance. And, of course, "Scratches" and "Sticker Removed" are a homage to Aaron Siskind's abstract expressionism photos. I think they work on a few different levels... but if "Scratches" and "Sticker Removed" don't pull someone in, there's other images that are more direct and work to communicate the same ideas those images address.


------






The 3 spreads above are the mid-point of the book, the literal spine. I had these five images locked down before the opening image was chosen.

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Check out the above spread. I have always been on the fence about this portrait. I like it, but it's never been in my top ten. I chose it for the book for a few reasons...first, because Lynn Bloom loves it and has expressed that it's one of her favorites. And the publisher also really digs it, he wanted it on a page by itself. Lynn Bloom knows my MO, and if she feels strongly about an image, I will consider it. It ended up that this portrait filled a void I felt the book had, and I think it's placed in the right spot.

For me, I find that the gender confusion creates more weight for this portrait... you can't be certain without a caption or description whether this person is a man or a boy or a woman or a girl. The gender ambiguity, the age of the person, along with the direct, impassive gaze made this portrait an important inclusion in America. Thanks to the world's greatest lady friend, Lynn Bloom, for pointing it out.

Here's what I don't fully understand... why isn't an angry mob (complete with firebrands, pitchforks, and clubs) spontaneously forming and gathering at the White House to demand that George Bush be brought out in irons and clapped in the stocks? I would gladly join that mob!



The people above are looking for Frankenstein. Hello? Who cares about Frankenstein? George Bush is hiding in plain sight! He's got to be at the White House some of the time. Just wait outside!




Look at the empty White House lawn. It's a disgrace. Where the hell is Madame Defarge when you need her?

A easy fast to all who are abstaining today. I almost always fast, with the exception of coffee, and will be OUT OF MIND by this afternoon. Once about 10-15 years ago it was close to the end of the day on Yom Kippur and for some reason my lady and I were at the Oregon Ave. K-Mart and I was so hungry and crazy that I made her buy a 5 pound bag of nuts.

There's not really a good or reasonable answer to why I fast and there's not really a good or reasonable answer to why I was in the Oregon Ave. Kmart on Yom Kippur.

If you click above, you will be taken to something so great, you just won't know what to do.

I have said it before and I will say it again... that John Powell is a genius.

Photo by Will Steacy
From the series The Long Way Home

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In going over the beautiful photos of the Flynn extended family and I find myself interested in the top one. These photos are of Ms. Ashley Flynn's family and I made these images on a visit to her grandmothers house. I made them with the intent of showing the kinds of natural lighting available to Ashley, but I'm really into the photos of Ashley's grandmother that I made.

Ms. Flynn is one of my #1 interns and is a really good photographer. It's important to note that "really good photographer" isn't something I throw around. If she continues to work, I will have great faith in her ability to produce strong images. That Ashley is no joke.

OK, the web log writing is going to sloooowww down a lot as the book release and America: We Love Having You Hear come closer. And it looks like I'm late on figuring out my taxes so I'm going to stop typing this and get to business.

Phillies in the NL Championship Series


------------


Congratulation to the Brewers on their excellent season... see you next year, friends!


------------





Mel, here's to next year! Good game.

I'm thinking about showing my photos hung on a large format mural applied like wall paper... so the "wall paper" is hung and the framed images are hung on top.

2008


2002/2003

If you know a great large format printing place that prints and installs wall murals/ custom wallpaper in Manhattan, let me know asap PLEASE! info@zoestrauss.com

I have to say, the best signage spot where I've ever had printing done is at Fast Signs in Bellevue, WA.

For Immediate Release

Zoe Strauss: AMERICA: We Love Having You Here
November 22, 2008 – January 10, 2009
Opening: November 22nd, 6 - 8pm

Silverstein Photography
535 West 24th Street
New York, NY 10011
P: 212-627-3930


Silverstein Photography is pleased to announce Zoe Strauss: AMERICA: We Love Having You Here, an exhibition featuring works from Strauss’ last eight years of photographing throughout the United States including her most recent excursions. Many of the images in the show are also featured in her forthcoming book of the same title.




No image more popularly depicts the artist’s creative process than the famed Hans Namuth portrait of Jackson Pollock at work on his signature drip paintings. The image showing Pollock lunging aggressively toward his canvas with paintbrush in hand revealed to the public for the first time that most private and mysterious of practices: the artist at work. In the years since this image was made, incalculable others of the same subject have appeared, but beside Namuth’s portrait of Pollock, none have more definitively represented the artist amidst their creative process. Despite Namuth’s revelatory portrait, artists’ working practices and the public’s perception thereof have remained clandestine, leaving only their end result in the public’s view and keeping hidden the progression of events out of which the art was created. By maintaining total transparency in her process, her work, and even the production of her exhibitions, Zoe Strauss not only reveals her every musing and tendency, she offers the viewer a deeply personal understanding of her process as an artist - integral to the comprehension of her work.

Strauss’ transparency has been an indispensable element in her method since her first installations built inside her home were opened to the public for viewing in 1997. Shortly thereafter, Strauss began what would become a ten-year project of displaying her works in the area below the I-95 highway in Philadelphia. Like all of her exhibitions, the ‘I-95’ project continues to involve extensive awareness of and communication with her audience. While in production for I-95 and all other projects, Strauss actively maintains a blog which among other things discloses the minutiae of her art-making practices, her choices in subject matter, her editing and printing processes, and most recently, the publishing of her first book, AMERICA (AMMO Books, 2008). By making public the details of an otherwise private practice of producing art and its related projects and events, Strauss asserts her working method as a part of the art being considered, allowing the audience to see the way the work is made as a fundamental component to its understanding.

Strauss’ choice in subject matter reveals much about her life and work as an artist as well. Having gotten her start photographing the same neighborhood in which she lives, Strauss has consistently “shot what she knows” and has maintained an extremely personable approach to her subjects. This steadfast openness has become a defining characteristic of Strauss’ work and has made her a natural candidate for the subject matter on which she continues to focus. From her earliest works on, Strauss has concentrated on the overlooked in America. Whether its overlooked citizens, environments, or the objects therein, Strauss has aimed her lens at those things we cannot or choose not to see. In her latest project, Strauss has taken her camera on the road in an attempt to create an apt portrait of the United States. Driving between various locations throughout the U.S., Strauss has photographed those neglected people and places among us, creating a likeness of this country largely dissimilar to what we think we already know.

Zoe Strauss’ work was included in the 2006 Whitney Biennial and has been exhibited at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Philadelphia Institute of Contemporary Art, the Centraal-Museum of Utrecht, and the Richard E. Peeler Art Center at DePauw University among others. In 2007, Strauss was named a USA Gund Fellow, Visual Arts.

For more information on the exhibition, please contact Elizabeth Shank at elizabeth@brucesilverstein.com.

Stéphane Passet 
Mongolian prisoner in a box
July 1913

"In 1909 the millionaire French banker and philanthropist Albert Kahn embarked on an ambitious project to create a colour photographic record of, and for, the peoples of the world. As an idealist and an internationalist, Kahn believed that he could use the new autochrome process, the world's first user-friendly, true-colour photographic system, to promote cross-cultural peace and understanding.

Kahn used his vast fortune to send a group of intrepid photographers to more than fifty countries around the world, often at crucial junctures in their history, when age-old cultures were on the brink of being changed for ever by war and the march of twentieth-century globalisation. They documented in true colour the collapse of both the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires; the last traditional Celtic villages in Ireland, just a few years before they were demolished; and the soldiers of the First World War — in the trenches, and as they cooked their meals and laundered their uniforms behind the lines. They took the earliest-known colour photographs in countries as far apart as Vietnam and Brazil, Mongolia and Norway, Benin and the United States.

At the start of 1929 Kahn was still one of the richest men in Europe. Later that year the Wall Street Crash reduced his financial empire to rubble and in 1931 he was forced to bring his project to an end. Kahn died in 1940. His legacy, still kept at the Musée Albert-Kahn in the grounds of his estate near Paris, is now considered to be the most important collection of early colour photographs in the world."

-from the Albert Kahn website

Emma Goldman

Sojourner Truth

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Shirley Chisholm

Hillary Rodham Clinton

Abigail Adams

Gloria Steinem

Carol Moseley Braun

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Angela Davis


From inside and outside of the framework of the American government, all of these women worked on, or currently work on, American policy.

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President "Bobby": Mr. Gardner, do you agree with Ben, or do you think that we can stimulate growth through temporary incentives?

[Long pause]

Chance the Gardener: As long as the roots are not severed, all is well. And all will be well in the garden.

President "Bobby": In the garden.

Chance the Gardener: Yes. In the garden, growth has it seasons. First comes spring and summer, but then we have fall and winter. And then we get spring and summer again.

President "Bobby": Spring and summer.

Chance the Gardener: Yes.

President "Bobby": Then fall and winter.

Chance the Gardener: Yes.

Benjamin Rand: I think what our insightful young friend is saying is that we welcome the inevitable seasons of nature, but we're upset by the seasons of our economy.

Chance the Gardener: Yes! There will be growth in the spring!

Benjamin Rand: Hmm!

Chance the Gardener: Hmm!

President "Bobby": Hm. Well, Mr. Gardner, I must admit that is one of the most refreshing and optimistic statements I've heard in a very, very long time.
[Benjamin Rand applauds]

President "Bobby": I admire your good, solid sense. That's precisely what we lack on Capitol Hill.

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Click above to check it out!

And read this "fellow story" all about me! Written by my pen pal Susan Morgan




I love you United States Artists!





And I love you Agnes Gund!

Barbara Kruger
Untitled
1985

here's about the photo below.




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1. There was a pretty amazing rainbow, one where you could actually shake hands with Roy G. Biv.  So while my lady was in the Wawa getting iced tea, I took a photo of it. Not with any intention of including it in my body of work, but because I love taking pictures.




10. Man walking in Wawa parking lot inverted



11. My lady comes out of Wawa with the Iced Tea and some lunch meat.

greatest baseball scoreboard image ever made
Mel Trittin
2008


Well, well. Ms. Mel Trittin and I have a little wager happening. I will exhibit a "Congratulations, Brewers" sign in my front window if the Brewers take the NL East, and Ms. Trittin will exhibit a "Congratulations, Phillies" sign when the Phillies take it. Minimum dimensions, 8 1/2" x 11".

This wager is win/win. Why? Because Mel and I are both winners.

However...shlemiel, shlemazel, make sure you have enough ink in your printer out there in Liberace's home state.