PROJECTS
The "Passages" series is about the passage of time, what things were and what they are now. The subjects of this series are essentially found objects, each one a discovery.
When we moved from Sag Harbor, NY to the Midwest we found the perfect house but I hated the pool slide and wanted to get rid of it. Who knew it would captivate my imagination and provide the impetus for my next photo project? Over time the slide morphed into an art object and became my muse and a metaphor for suburban life. Our standard poodle Mr. Red wants to be in every picture. At first I tried to get him to move along but he seemed to fit in, so I finally gave in. I realized that he's an important element.
I photograph the slide every night, all year long.
When we lived in Sag Harbor, NY, one of my great pleasures was to take the ferry to Shelter Island and spend the day exploring Sylvester Manor. The Manor is a former slaveholding provisioning planation purchased in 1651 by Nathaniel Sylvester and his family for 1600 pounds of sugar. It remained in the Sylvester family for 11 generations.
I particularly like to explore what’s left of the hauntingly bucolic overgrown garden. I find myself compelled to chronicle it’s evolving decay.
"the quality or state of being a person" – Merriam Webster
At a recent solo exhibition of my “Personalities” series in Minneapolis, a psychiatrist introduced himself and told me that he felt that I capture who people really are.
Fascinated by people’s stories, I find subjects who push convention, driven by self expression, to be especially captivating. My background as a documentary filmmaker has helped me tremendously with finding subjects and making them feel comfortable.
NYC transgender/nightlife personality Mona Marlowe is far along in the process of transformation. Like her idol Marilyn Monroe, she is very complex, striking and vulnerable. When photographing her in her single occupancy room (bathroom in the hallway) located in Manhattan’s Theater District, it became evident how her entire existence is shaped by her need to express the woman she had always felt she was born to be.
One summer day I came upon Nancy Kelly's flower fields at Hungry Toad Farm (Centerville, Ohio) and was taken with how each flower was covered with a silken net. The nets reminded me of bridal gowns, but the purpose is protection from predators.
I often find things that I consider humorous, and add them to the series.