Four Outstanding Milwaukee Artists on the Internet

A big thank you to Mary over at CricketToes for including me in her "four outstanding artists on the internet". Check it out. CricketToes is a refreshing voice in Milwaukee for all things creative.

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CricketToes

Hello.......Farewell

Here is the fourth installment of my Book Passages Series. This book excerpt was sent to me by my father in-law, Bill Schulman. Bill is a prolific artist himself who has spent his life creating art and teaching art. So with a bit of hesitation here are the results of my visual interpretation of the passage from Speak Memory by Vladamir Nabokov.

The cradle rocks above an abyss, and common sense tells us that our experience is but a brief crack of light between two enormities of darkness. Although the two are identical twins, man, as a rule, views the prenatal abyss with more calm than the one he is heading for (at some forty-five hundred heartbeats an hour). I know, however, of a young chronophobiac who experienced something like panic when looking for the first time at homemade movies that had been taken a few weeks before his birth. He saw a world that was practically unchanged-the same house, the same people and then realized that he did not exist there at all and that nobody mourned his absence. He caught a glimpse of his mother waving from an upstairs window, and that unfamiliar gesture disturbed him, as if it were some mysterious farewell. But what particularly frightened him was the sight of a brand-new baby carriage standing there on the porch, with the smug, encroaching air of a coffin; even that was empty, as if, in the reverse course of events, his very bones had disintegrated.

As always, I enjoy hearing your critiques and observations. Please feel free to comment.

Please join in the discussion!

Please join the beginnings of an interesting dialog started by my blog friend and supporter Frieda Babbley at her blog post. She expresses her opinions on my first images for this Book Passages series. Frieda also has asked me a few questions which I answer on her blog. Thanks for your interest and I hope that you contribute and follow this exciting visual journey. Thanks!

Travels in the Scriptorium by Paul Auster

I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to this visual journey. I hope I will continue to receive submissions from you as the journey continues. Here are the images from Travels in the Scriptorium. Please take the time to vote on your favorite image and offer constructive criticism on any of the images. My professors used to rip my prints in half if they didn't like them so I can take it, you won't hurt my feelings.

The old man sits on the edge of the narrow bed, palms spread out on his knees, head down, staring at the floor. He has no idea that a camera is planted in the ceiling directly above him. The shutter clicks silently once every second, producing eighty-six thousand four hundred still photos with each revolution of the earth. Even if he knew he was being watched, it wouldn't make any difference. His mind is elsewhere, stranded among the figments in his head as he searches for an answer to the question that haunts him.

Who is he? What is he doing here? When did he arrive and how long will he remain? With any luck, time will tell us all. For the moment, our only task is to study the pictures as attentively as we can and refrain from drawing any premature conclusions.

There are a number of objects in the room, and on each one a strip of white tape has been affixed to the surface, bearing a single word written out in block letters. On the lamp, the word is LAMP. Even on the wall, which is not strictly speaking an object, there is a strip of tape that reads WALL. The old man looks up for a moment, sees the wall, sees the strip of tape attached to the wall, and pronounces the word wall in a soft voice. What cannot be known at this point is whether he is reading the word on the strip of tape or simply referring to the wall itself. It could be that he has forgotten how to read but still recognizes things for what they are and can call them by their names, or, conversely, that he has lost the ability to recognize things for what they are but still knows how to read.

I will try and do images in the order that the submissions came in. Next up is a contribution from Tea. She wrote "I'm reading Defining the Wind by Scott Huler - it's about the Beaufort Scale, so my descriptive passage is the Beaufort Scale itself: http://www.merriam-webster.com/table/dict/beaufort.htm. I need a model for this idea so I will hopefully find one and be able to still shoot and post by next week. I have a call into Bob Dylan's agent, hopefully he will call back soon?

NOVEMBER

November
by william zuback

November tree limbs creak with arthritic movements
Dry and brittle, the branches scrape together
Pointing upward like knurled bony fingers, reaching to the cold gray sky
November's bitter wind resonates the muffled tapping of an elder's cane
On a frozen sidewalk balanced by the rhythmic shuffle of heavy feet
Leaves release their grip on majestic limbs
Too tired to hold on, abandoning the muscle
Cold November days mark the change of another season
A season of contrast, of black, white, and gray
Arthritic branches hum and moan in the frenzy of fall
Burdened with the heavy weight of an early snow
Hold on to the trunk, fragile limbs
Deep roots held frozen in time

CoPA 2nd Annual Juried Show Selection

I was fortunate to have one of my images selected for the Coalition of Photographic Arts 2nd Annual Juried Exhibition. This years event Juror was George Slade.

George Slade, Artistic Director of the Minnesota Center for Photography, juried this year’s exhibition; selecting 60 photographs from 42 artists. Slade said, “These 42 artists have brought unique visions to bear on a wonderfully intriguing assortment of subject matter. Many of the photographs pose questions about representation, and many provide insights that are accessible to those willing to look closely. There are excellent single images in the show and provocative groupings that highlight photography’s inherent multiplicity and the complexity of visual story-telling. In successful cases, I was intrigued by how an application expanded my awareness of the world and enhanced my appreciation of the medium’s grasp. I look forward to experiencing the exhibition in the galleries. ”

The Exhibition opens on Friday, September 12 with an opening reception from 5-9pm at the Walker's Point Center for the Arts (WPCA).

Nearly 700 images from 150 artists were entered in this years Juried Show competition. All the information about the photographers was removed prior to Slade's jury process selection. The selection was based completely on Slade's artistic judgment. The 42 artists accepted for this years show come from Illinois (18), Minnesota (12), and Wisconsin (12).

The Exhibition runs from Friday, September 12 through Saturday October 18. There will be a Juror Reception and Gallery Talk with George Slade on Friday, October 10 from 6-8pm. The show closes with a closing reception on Friday, October 17 from 5-9pm. This is also Gallery Night in Milwaukee so there will be plenty to see around town.