more than photography

A couple of months ago I began painting over the surface of the "Vietnam: more than war" bamboo scrolls (a series of images photographed in Vietnam, printed on large canvas and mounted with bamboo poles) at the Wedge Gallery. Since then I have rebuilt the scrolls and done a lot of talking on how the images should be painted over considering the substrate. I always had other artists in mind, to take my creation and do their thing with it, adding a new element of interest. Finally, it was decided that I, being a multi-faceted artist, should be the one to do the deed. Ben Betsalel, a good friend and an excellent painter, was great with giving me the proper push to do so...actually throwing the first random splash of muddy water onto one of the canvases, I almost became sick to the stomach and definitely felt faint....I now see that as a growing pain...I have always been very detail-oriented and meticulous with my work, the method/process bleeding into my personal life and perspective on it. Ben's latest work, "the weather, or not..." is the anti-thesis of that, letting go and accepting life/art as it happens at the foundation of the work. So from that point on I've been having a blast throwing paint, freeing myself from anal-retentive tendencies, all the while pursuing a year-old experimental idea. In hindsight, so many doors of perception (thank you Aldous Huxley) have opened concerning my interpretation of the series and individual pieces, from juxtaposing an abstract layer of paint with the realist photographic base (finding a whole yin-yang of sorts), to seeing the positive hopes for Vietnam as a growing, peaceful, independent country contrasted with their tumultuous history (more balance), I can't remember having so much fun. Here are some images to check out, hope you enjoy!

WNC Magazine - Nov/Dec issue - Homeless Article

For this story, it was an honor to be published alongside one of WNC's finest photographers, Tim Barnwell. He was initially assigned to this story and as you can see, did a wonderful job. When the magazine decided that they needed more shots to fill out the story Tim was out of town and, fortunately, I got the call.

It was a very interesting story to shoot, an issue always of concern to me personally, the homeless and homelessness. I got to know more about these people, their stories, and a couple strands of the common thread which yield them in their current situation.

I'm very proud of this piece and give thanks to the people who continue to help the homeless, the homeless who I encountered and spent time with, and WNC magazine for giving this complex problem the attention it deserves as we all move into the coldest months of winter.

George Stuart & The Boundary End Archaeology Research Center (BEARC)

Driving out to BEARC (25 miles [by highway] northeast of Asheville, North Carolina) is beautiful, and once getting there "at the end of the road", as George puts it (the end of Dillingham Rd., where their driveway begins, is also the "Coleman Boundary" entrance to the Pisgah National Forest [I like that as a metaphor to George's comments concerning the end of the Mayan calendar in 2012, stating "when it ends, it will just begin another cycle"]), I encountered a warm welcome from George's wife Melinda. The library is of humble, but solid design, with chestnut inlays beside the front entrance and Mayan patterns across the top. Inside there is an open floor plan with two levels, appropriate for the many rows of books, numbering over 14,000 volumes. "I knew I liked books at the age of 12", says George of his collection---Makes me think of what I liked at age twelve (the obvious: art), you?