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Assuming enough people enroll in the program, I will be in New Orleans, among other far off locales in the months of June and July. If fate takes its place, however, as it has in the last week, and especially in the last eight months, then I may have to sell souls on the side of the road to get to one or all of the desired destinations. Such a proposition is adventurous enough for me, though, and I will take on the task. I'm primed and ready for sleep deprivation, Arby's, and warmer temperatures.
Team Champagne for life.
It's looking more and more like I'll be in New Orleans from June 22nd through the 30th with each passing day. This next time, pacing myself, being more deliberate, and editing long beforehand will be a top priority. One thing that won't change, however, is the exhaustive schedule. I still plan to be at every early morning shoot and make blog posts every night. Get ready.
I'm relieved that the quarter is finally over. Now we can all rest. Or, at the very least, sleep longer at night. I have many plans for my vacation and hopefully it'll be productive. Depending on the fruits of my productivity, I'll put some more pictures up here. It feels like it's been ages since I put pictures up and I think I may need to change that. Over this next quarter, I've decided I need to focus more on what I want from photography. It's been a very long time since I've really taken some time for what I want. Sure, I shoot photos outside of school, but many of those photos are for other people. It's time, I think, to make some time for myself.
"When every expression, no matter how radical it is, can be transformed into a commodity and be bought or sold like cheap soda, how is it then possible that you are going to be able to take "art" seriously?"
I will contest until the end of time that my presentation was circling the drain from the very beginning. I was overtired, underprepared, overspastic, looking at the room that, in my opinion, was overfull, which, consequently, made me overworried that I would stumble over my words. Maybe a bit overjaded as well, if we're splitting hairs. It was over soon, however. Maybe too soon, though, to be able to get a decent grade on the whole...event.
Almost immediately afterward, though, was the beginning of the gallery show, which, contrary to the presentation, went very well. I very much enjoyed the pins that were available to purchase. I hustled all of my friends into buying at least one of them, so I figured my contribution was satisfied. Most of the people that I really wanted to show up did so as well as some very unexpected guests that made the night much better. I also got a very cool shirt.
Last night, while I was talking to a colleague on the phone, I was reminded of a site I used to visit for human interest stories that fell outside the mainstream. Many of the stories are about the prison system or religion in some way, but when I looked through the site again, it became so much more relevant. With stories about the people of the Appalachians that Shelby Lee Adams covered (found here) or Danny Lyon, when he was allowed into the Texas prison system (found here). I found it very interesting, overall, to trawl through the website again and listen to all the old stories again. Some are unsettling, like "The Execution Tapes" while others are very interesting ("My Lobotomy"). They shed light on a part of society that not many people know about. Unfortunately, many of the older programs are in RealAudio format, so you'll need something that can play those files. I would highly recommend against getting RealPlayer as it's clunky, filled with bloat, and will want to take over all of your media needs, which it does not do well. My recommendation is to instead get Real Alternative (found here).
All the Sound Portraits are available here.
Today, I finally saw the video, which will be at the gallery show, and now I have a vague idea of what all the hub bub was about. Of course, there's some B roll of Keith and I attached at the hip and some intense interrogations about some of our Arby's eating habits. But that's okay, we can take the heat. Nevertheless, the video was well done, though I thought it was pretty funny when Colleen asked what I thought of iMovie. I won't comment on how I truly feel about iMovie, but I will say that there is a reason why I use Premiere Pro.
On a vaguely related note, we finally hung the gallery show today and I must say, it looks delicious. I think I'm most excited to see what Keith's panoramas look like hung up on the wall. He and I were slaving away, trying to come up with a proper mounting solution. I'm not afraid to say that 3/16" Masonite has officially made my list. We did find a solution, though, I think. Let me just say that Gorilla Glue is a truly amazing thing, especially when nobody makes a screw for 3/16" Masonite. I'd be very curious as to how the goodly people of Digigraphics expected us to mount the damn things. Moving on. I'm very excited to see what the final arrangement will be and I hope the show will be to your liking.
And in case you were wondering, Team Champagne will definitely be representing at the gallery opening.
Team Champagne for life.
The number of trailers remaining in New Orleans and surrounding areas is quickly dwindling. According to FEMA, on September 20th, there were still 2650 trailers remaining, with 716 of them residing in Plaquemines Parish. FEMA has made it clear that they desire trailer-dwellers to seek permanent housing since June of 2007. Their optimistic stance, which is, essentially, "They can find their own housing and maybe get government assistance or help from non-profits" does not sit well with me. How, exactly, are they supposed to rely on government assistance when, over three years later, people are still without the necessary funds to rebuild? Funds that they were promised, I might add. In Jefferson Parish, 260 trailer-dwellers filed lawsuits, but now, after so many trailers have been hauled away, only 52 lawsuits remain active. It won't take much longer, at their current pace, to simply "get rid of the problem" all together.
Citing pressure from civic officials, Jefferson Parish has stepped up its efforts to get rid of the remaining trailers and sweep the problems under the rug. It seems that Jefferson Parish's president believes that governments run on hopes and dreams instead of legitimate urban planning. Without informing people where help can be found (as if it exists to begin with), many of these people will find themselves without any sort of housing and no way of acquiring any in the near future. I'm sure, in the eyes of civic leaders, having an increased homeless population will really add to their sense of normalcy that they so desperately desire. Perhaps it's to give peace of mind to those that weren't effected or had the means to rebuild. Perhaps a better use of their time and resources would be to try to get a handle on their incredibly high crime rate or, perhaps, to help businesses rebuild so people have employment. Any of the things I outlined in my last post would also be fine ideas as well. So kudos to you, Jefferson Parish civic officials, you've continued to show us that special interests are more important than human dignity.
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