Increasingly it seems we live in an Edward Hopper painting. We are always alone, even in busy places. Whether we have surrendered to the glowing screen in our hand or staring down at the ground, too much of modern life is profoundly isolated and isolating.
Lately I have been inspired by the long-exposure photos of Alexey Titarenko. I think his “City of Shadows” is beautiful and haunting. To be sure, some of my fascination comes from my fascination with 1990s St. Petersburg. Nonetheless, I find the images lovely. So I thought I would try some long or, in this case, […]
I recently finished another book project, “Fragments Red.” This volume will be the first of a seven-volume project, each pairing photographs with reflections of different sorts. A handful of drafts, each with a number of changes. Then there was the layout and design issues, where to put gatefolds, how to bind them, solving pagination issues. […]
Postcards are great, little fragments of life that somebody felt like sharing. Or brief well wishes. Amazing photo or bad, it doesn’t matter. They’re all great. I like sending postcards, sometimes to people I know, sometimes to random addresses where I hope somebody lives to receive it. Sometimes people send me postcards, which always makes […]
Consistency is important. Consistency not in the sense of making the same thing or even the same type of thing, but in the sense of making something. Doing something with my hands. Anything. Lately, I have occupied my hands and my mind by using books as an inspiration for a type of drawing, something called […]
You need a concrete goal, as well. The longer you keep to these basics, the easier the act of writing will become. Don’t wait for the muse. As I’ve said, he’s a hardheaded guy who’s not susceptible to a lot of creative fluttering. This isn’t the Ouija board or the spirit-world we’re talking about here, […]
I make things. I often use tools other people have developed, e.g., hammers (some people forge their own hammers, I don’t) and screwdrivers and saws; cameras (some people make their own cameras, I don’t) and printers and developing tanks; ovens and baking pans and measuring cups. But in the end, I use those tools to […]
Empty love of pageantry, stage-plays, flocks and herds, jousting, a bone cast to lapdogs, crumbs thrown into a fishpond, the toil of ants carrying their burdens, skurryings of scared little mice, puppets moved by strings: amid such environment therefore you must take your place graciously and not “snorting defiance,” no you must recognize the fact […]
I find physical books comforting. Each one is a statement, somebody somewhere saying “I was here. I made this.” Books are human. By almost any measure they are less convenient, take up more room, and weigh more than digital versions. They require shelves. They collect dust and boring insects. It’s not difficult to take one […]
Dante is a witness, who sees and feels on behalf of the reader Karl Ove Knausgaard, “At the Bottom of the Universe,” 152