Vincent Valdez "Strangest Fruit"

When I walked into this gallery I suddenly noticed that the viewers of the exhibition were in some ways very similar to the individuals on the eight panels on the walls.  I liked the similarity and the differences between the people and the paintings.  This is another powerful work by Vincent Valdez called "Strangest Fruit."  The Strangest Fruit depicts contemporary Latinos contorted as if hanged from trees while also appearing as rising up like ascensions. The postures for these paintings refer to the lynching of Mexicans and Mexican Americans along the Texas-Mexico border, a near-forgotten and ignored history that took place in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  Really powerful and moving piece to see.

 

Vincent Valdez "Just a Dream..."

The most powerful exhibit this year during our visit at Mass MoCA was the work of artist Vincent Valdez. The exhibit takes up more than three galleries. Vincent Valdez bears witness to the world around him, chronicling America at the margins. Just a Dream… is the artist’s first major museum survey including work from over twenty years across all media.  The exhibition addresses American politics today, including topics such as boxing, lynchings of Mexican Americans, border walls, politics, greed, the Ku Klux Klan, and the failings and triumphs of society. There is something about his portraits, that hold me in their grip when I look at them.  I will show you some tomorrow.  This particular painting of a group of KKK members is an enormous canvas, maybe 25 feet wide and powerful because of the subject matter.  And it seems even more powerful because it is entirely a black & white image..  Please click on this because it is an extra large image.

 

Mass MoCA

The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art is a museum in a converted factory building complex  in North Adams, Massachusetts. It is one of the largest centers for contemporary visual art and performing arts in the United States.  The buildings that MASS MoCA now occupies were originally built between 1870 and 1900 by the company Arnold Print Works. At its peak in 1905, Arnold print works employed more than 3,000 workers and was one of the world's leading producers of printed textiles. In 1942 Arnold Print Works was forced to close its doors and leave North Adams due to the low prices of cloth produced in the South and abroad. Sprague Electric Company was a local North Adams company, and it purchased the Marshall Street complex to produce capacitors. During World War II Sprague operated around the clock and employed a large female workforce—not only due to the lack of men, but also because it took small hands and manual dexterity to construct the small, hand-rolled capacitors. In the 1980's Sprague began to face difficulties with global changes in the electronics industry. Cheaper electronic components were being produced in Asia combined with changes in high-tech electronics forced Sprague to sell and shutdown its factory in 1985.  A year later the development of Mass MoCA began and it took until 1999 until the museum opened its doors.

 

A Violin Performance

 

Last year when visiting Mass MoCA, I was moved by the exhibit "U.S. Customs Demands to Know" by the artist Gelare Khoshgozaran.  You can read about it here. The exhibit consists of illuminated boxes arranged on the floor in a darkened room.   I was pleased that the exhibit was still on display this year.  We looked at it again and went on to other exhibits.  Later we came back through this room and there was a violinist preparing to perform.  What great luck!  What an amazing venue to perform in, a darkened room with glowing boxes!

The violinist is Saba Yousefi an Iranian-Canadian violinist, educator, concert curator, and co-founder of LyreIran, a collaborative organization which promotes free and accessible educational content for music students worldwide, focusing on the Middle East. As you can see in both photographs, there was quite a crowd and the music was beautiful.  It was a highlight of our trip to Mass MoCA this year.

The Saturday Evening Program

The Saturday night program at Stellafane is held in a natural amphitheater if the weather is good. They begin by giving awards to telescope and mirror makers who have had their telescopes and mirrors judged and then prizes are awarded.  Here 3 winners receive their prizes.  This shot does not BEGIN to show you the crowd.  There are hundreds of people seated behind me on the hill, and to the left of me and another hundred to the right of me out of the frame!  There is also a raffle to raise money for the event and the top prizes are 4 shopping bags of eyepieces as the largest prizes, donated by Al Nagler and Televue and each bag is worth about $2000 or more!

By the time the keynote speaker begins his presentation it is dark and it looks like this.  Some sit in beach or camping chairs, and others sit on blankets in the grass.  Stellafane is such an amazing event with a history going back to 1920.  This was my 35th year in a row that I have attended.

 

They Start Them Small, at Stellafane

They start them small at Stellafane!  Believe it or not, Stellafane takes pride in being a family place.  There have been so many three-generation families that have come to the Stellafane convention over the 100 years of its existence.  I saw this father walking with his daughter and followed them for a minute or so trying to get a good shot.  The daughter is 20 months old he said.  And she is cute beyond belief with her little white sun hat.  The dad was completely focused on her her and would put his hand out and take her hand to help steer her to follow him.  I only wished I had asked him for his email address and said "Would you like me to send you a copy of the photograph if I get anything good?"  But I didn't think to do that, unfortunately.  I bet he would love this shot.

 

The Thing That Shall Not Be Named

We drove down to Mass MoCA as is our custom when we come to Stellafane.  There is this amazing "thing" that we were looking forward to sitting in, having seen it and experienced it before.  You go inside and sit on a bench and sit quietly and experience it.  There is a hole in the ceiling so you can see the clouds go by.  You are NOT supposed to take photographs.  That's why it is the "thing that shall not be named" as far as I am concerned, when posting on my blog.

These women came in together and were enjoying the experience together.  Then one of them started humming and another joined in and the sound reverberated throughout the interior, and it was beautiful!

This is the opening in the ceiling reflected in the tile floor with me also reflected holding my camera out to capture the scene.  Through the opening you can see the clouds, and in this instance it almost looks like the moon.

And this is what the "thing" looks like from the outside.  What a strange and wonderful thing this is to experience!  I wish you could all sit inside and have the experience of quiet and beauty.

 

International Space Station

There was a flyover of the International Space Station tonight at 9:20 PM.  So Stan and I set up our cameras to try for some photographs.  I only used a 20 second exposure so I only got a smaller streak as it flew overhead, still lit by the sun which had set already.  It first appeared in the northwest and flew directly overhead, which took 6 or 7 minutes.  It was so beautiful to watch it slowly rise in the northwest and climb up and then after passing overhead, is started descending in the southeast.  Because it flew into the shadow of the earth, you can see here where it stopped being seen, about 20 degrees above the horizon.

 

Welcome to Vermont!

On the way to the Stellafane Convention today, Stan and I stopped at the Vermont Welcome Center.  They are re-doing all the paving around the facility.  These granite posts are new and there is something wonderful seeing these pieces of stone cut like this and used to prevent cars from entering this area. And then to have the flowers in their pots right next to the stone pieces makes a wonderful contrast, since flowers are colorful and soft.

 

Guess Who Got a New Camera

You guessed correctly!  Stan bought a new camera and lens, and brought it to the Arbus exhibit to use it.  If you can see the small red dot on the front of it, you will know that it is a Leica.  But a digital Leica, not a film Leica.  We both used Leicas in our work for years and then put those film cameras aside when Digital Single Lens Reflex cameras arrived on the scene - in our case both Nikon and Canon cameras.  I still own my first Leica film camera, an M2, and I also have a beautiful M6 still.  They still work perfectly.  This camera that Stan has is solid and still has that Leica "feel", a feeling that you get with no other camera!

 

The Exhibit

I think I have some interesting photographs from the Diane Arbus exhibit "Constellation."  These are people reading text on the wall that is the timeline of her life.  Love all these different silhouettes!

This is the opening view of the exhibit.  You may see a familiar figure somewhere in this photo.

As I walked along the edge of the exhibit, going from the front to the back, I noticed a photographer with a camera around his neck.  Then I thought "He looks like me."  THEN I realized that it WAS me!  The entire rear of the exhibit is a floor to ceiling mirror that makes the exhibit look twice as large as it actually is.  And, of course, reflects the image of you as you look at it.

When I turned the corner again, there was the proof that there was, indeed, a mirror along the whole back wall.

There have been thousands of words written about the work of Diane Arbus and what she chooses as her subjects and I can't begin to describe all the portraits that were there.  Suffice it to say, she chose, in her work, to photograph many people that we would never see in our lives. So many of these portraits were stunning, and unusual and some strange.

Some were printed very dark for aesthetic reasons and I had difficulty understanding that, at times.

I cannot begin to describe the wide range of subjects in her portraits.  Also there were about 450 photographic prints on display, and many of the photographs I have never been published or displayed before.  Honestly, it was a powerful show and exhausting and thought provoking.

 

Kindness

Kathy sent me this short text the other day, which she received from a client.  I don't know when it came about, but a number of years ago I came to the realization that the MOST important thing I could as I went through my day, every day, was to be kind to everyone I met.  More important than doing my work well.  And since then I have tried to follow that rule each day.  So when I saw this, I thought that I should post it because it gave some reasons why we should behave in this way.  I never thought of these details but the minute I read them they made absolute sense.  So I pass this along to all of you, knowing that so many of you are kind as well, perhaps without thinking why, and here is the answer.  If you click on this image you will be able to read it much easier.

 

The Park Avenue Armory

This is the Park Avenue Armory, also known as the 7th Regiment Armory.  It was completed in 1880 for the U.S. Army National Guard.  What a stunning building!  How have I never been here before?  That's crazy that I didn't know about this building.  This building takes up an entire city block. In 2000, the state awarded the Park Avenue Armory Conservancy the responsibility of overhauling the building, restoring the dilapidated interior spaces, and transforming it into an arts venue. 

In the 21st century, the armory is largely used as an event, exhibit, and performance space, and this is where the Diane Arbus exhibit was held.  You are NOT going to believe the inside!

I was stunned at the sight of this hall that you see after you enter the front door and look to the right.  i just was not expecting this!  There are a number of rooms in the front of the building, some by Louis Comfort Tiffany and Sanford White and others.

This is a view of the entrance hall after you walk about 75 feet and turn and look back at the front door.  Would you ever have believed that this was what the interior of the building would look like?

At my back is the entrance to the exhibition space.  That space is called the Wade Thompson Drill Hall and it is 200 feet wide and 300 feet deep and the curved ceiling is 100 feet high!  That's where the exhibit was but only a small part of the hall was used for the exhibit. and so the ceiling was not lit and it was difficult to see the ceiling.  Here is a wide-angle photograph of the exhibit.  Astounding, right?  I will talk more about this tomorrow.  There is a trick done here by the designers that is not obvious.  Please click on this photgraph to see it much larger.

 

The Look

This is hysterical!  This was not the photograph I was going to show today.  I was going to show you photographs of the Park Avenue Armory where the photo exhibit was on display. But when starting to edit the photographs I shot, this one jumped out right away, so it is my post for today. I will talk about the armory tomorrow.  Photographs were hung on a metal framework and every now and then there was a plastic mirror instead of a framed photograph.  So I stopped to photograph myself, and was concentrating on where I was in the mirror when this woman walked past on the other side of the framework and by instinct I clicked the shutter but had no idea if I got the shot.  I did, and it is so funny, seeing the woman glancing at me.  I think she could see that I was not pointing the camera at her - I think she was just curious about what I was photographing.  Thanks for making my day!

 

Rush Hour

I had an amazing day today.  Went to the city to see a huge photographic exhibition by Diane Arbus, who died in 1971.  It was at the Park Avenue Armory which I have never been in.  So I am doing this backwards - this is rush hour on my ride home and man, was Jamaica station packed.  That's where I change trains - from electric to diesel to get back home.  I left the city on a 4:25 train and I couldn't believe the crowd.  Everything ran well and I was back in Sea Cliff by 5:30.  So I will be doing this backwards, and show you some photographs of the Armory, a historic building in Manhattan.  Then some photographs of the exhibition.

 

Same Tree, Different Direction

This is so funny.  Two days before I took this photograph, I took another one, of the same tree, but from a different direction.   I posted that one yesterday!  I worked on this photograph just now, and was getting ready to put it on the blog when I suddenly realized that it was the same tree, only from a different direction!  I have photographed this scene so many tines in so many seasons, but what struck me was that I have never seen so many people standing there before.  That's because it was sunday and the park was full of people enjoying the afternoon. And I love the dark gray clouds overhead.

 

Two People, Six Geese

You have seen this scene many times before.  It is a view from where we have our Dunkin' coffee and donuts when it is not too hot or cold to sit on the beach.  After I left the pool after taking photographs of Vivian swimming I walked about 50 feet and saw this scene.  I couldn't believe my eyes, seeing four geese walking from left to right into my photograph!  They are not evenly spaced, but close enough which is what makes this photograph work.  Quite a day of photography!

 

Edward Albee, My Favorite Photograph

When Edward Albee died in September of 2016 at age 88, I remembered that I had taken this photograph of him on the beach in Montauk, down below his home.  I quickly looked everywhere but had no luck because my files of 41 years of my work are not well organized.  I was going through some color transparencies more recently and found a color portrait of him with a background of trees that was taken after this assignment.  So I posted that portrait on the blog on March 27, 2025.  Then recently I found a print of THIS portrait, the one I had been looking for all these years!  I was thrilled beyond belief!  The portrait is all that I remember it to be, with him surrounded by the sea and the sky and grasses, leaning on a fence with the driftwood in the foreground!  I think this is a perfect portrait of him!  I did mention that he couldn't have been nicer both times that I photographed him, in spite of him looking like this for the portrait.  It is the face he wanted to present to the public and I let him do that.  Please click on this image because I posted it in a much larger size.

 

The Little Mermaid

When Amy and Vivian first got here, before going to Montauk, Kathy took them to the Tappan Beach pool, because it is only for residents and she had her ID.  When she came home she said "You are not going to believe how well Vivian swims!  She is unbelievable!"  So I went down with them the other day and I was astounded.  At her age, she swims completely underwater.  And she dove down and did a summersault underwater!  She is really comfortable in the water which is great both for her enjoyment and for safety.  She has been taking swimming lessons at home in California.

Here are all three of them enjoying the pool!  I am not a fan of pools with chlorine, so I stayed around the edges photographing which was really fun.

You can tell she is having fun!

The Masage Therapist

Amy awoke this morning with a crick in her neck from sleeping in a funny position.  So she lay down on the floor face down and Kathy massaged her neck and back.  Then Amy asked Vivian if she would put her elbow on the back of her neck, and then Amy was saying "Oh, that feels SO good..."  Vivian the masage therapist!

 

Ice Cream!

We all went down to the beach where Kathy and I go for Dunkin' on Tuesdays.  They have a swimming pool and Vivian and Amy have been there earlier this week with Kathy.  She said that I wouldn't believe what a great swimmer Vivian is, so I came along on this trip and brought my camera.  When I arrived in a separate car, I caught up with these two walking away after buying an ice cream cone for Vivian.  Can you tell that she is thrilled?  I did a sequence of photographs showing Amy getting the cone from the man in the truck and then I continued to follow them as they walked toward me.  This photo is the best, and I had no idea that I also captured the ice cream man watching them walk away!  Never noticed him while shooting.

Of course I needed a close up!

 

A Wary Eye

This is a photograph of Grace, seen resting under one of the chairs around the dining room table.  I happened to walk by and notice that she was looking at me, so I grabbed a nearby camera and took a few photographs.  She is looking at me so suspiciously.  Why is that, I would like to know.  Well, when you are dealing with cats, there is no way to know what is going on in their heads.  It's just how cats are.

 

Vivian Swinging

Vivian is a natural born athelete!  She is really a great swimmer and she has been in some gymnastics classes that we have been able to see when visiting her in California.  Today Amy took her to a school playground in Sea Cliff and she was really amazing, climbing up and down the equipment.  But when she started hanging from the rings, and then swinging from ring to ring I was blown away. Look at her natural grace in this photograph!  She is a natural.  So she said "Let me see you do this Boppa (my nickname.")

So here I am swinging from ring to ring as Vivian follows me along the line of rings.  Yeah, sure I am.  OK, truth here, I am hanging from the rings while standing on the ground!  I was shocked to realize that I was not capable of holding myself up with my arms for more than a few seconds!  How sad is that... But it was amazing to see how capable Vivian is as an athelete.

 

Light Trespass II

A while back I did a post called "Light Tresspass" about the neighbor's bright lights illuminating their patio and swimming pool that are left on all night, and sometimes all day.  I think it is just carelessness.  I need to go knock on their door and ask if they would be careful and turn the lights off when they go to bed.  I just haven't gotten around do doing that.  Last night I was anoyed when I came into our bedroom in the dark and saw this.  This is looking out our bedroom window toward their lights and showing the light on our bedcovers.  I really like the kind of mysterious quality to this image.  Guess what it took to get this photograph?  Right, an ISO (film speed) of 204,800!  Yikes!  Keep in mind the film "film speeds" I used when working were 400 and 1600.  So this is magical, what my newest SONY digital camera can do when there is almost no light at all!

 

Shrink Wrapped!

I went out to a welding supply company in Melville today, to get a nitrogen tank refilled.  I passed by the west side of Republic airport on route 110 and as I looked across the field, I saw a very strange white shape that looked something like an airplane but...  So on the way back I drove up the east side of the airport and there was this shrink wrapped fuselage!  How strange is this?  I couldn't believe my eyes.  I recognized it as a Consolidated PBY Catalina which was used heavily during WW II as a patrol flying boat which could land anywhere, on land or water.  The question is, where are its wing and engines?  I think perhaps the wing and engines are being rebuilt and the fuselage is protected like this until it can be reunited with its wing. It is a huge aircraft - you can see that it dwarfs the small Piper Cherokee in the right foreground.  It's wingspan is half that of the early 747 aircraft.

This is a rear view of the fuselage.  See the big bump as you move toward the front of the fuselage from the tail?  That is a big plexiglas bubble that some crew members used while looking for crewmen of downed aircraft, floating in the ocean during search and rescue missions.

I also noticed this damaged Piper aircraft.  The wing on the left is obviously broken off because the landing gear on that side is sticking up and the wing on the right was also bent out near the tip.  I am guessing that in a strong storm the aircraft broke lose from it's tie downs and ended up upside down, damaging both wings.  I this may be a mini-boneyard at the airport because there was another small piper that was partially disassembled.  So painful to see damaged and neglected aircraft.

 

Waiting for Vivian

In preparation for Vivian's arrival, Kathy bought this set of three dolls online for her.  Then she got this idea that she wanted to make a stuffed easy chair for the dolls.  So she made the green chair out of corrugated cardboard and then covered it with some padding and then fabric.  She enjoyed making it so much she decided to make another.  This time she made the chair out of 1/8" plywood which she cut on her jigsaw and then covered that one with fabric.  When Vivian saw the dolls she was so excited and immediately began playing with them and had them sit in the chairs!  She was so excited! You cannot believe how amazing those easy chairs are that Kathy made!  She loves making things for Vivian.

 

Fourth of July Flag

 

I meant to put up our flag for the Fourth of July in the morning after breakfast.  But we were busy with something and I kept forgetting to put it up.  Finally in the afternoon I went out and climbed up on the porch railing and hung the flag on the hooks I installed in the top of the opening.  After it was hung up, I started looking for ways to photograph it.  I started by shooting through the front door from the inside but shooting through the screen door dulled the flag's colors.  Later on I came up the front porch steps and the late afternoon sun was shining through the flag making the colors brilliant, as you can see here.  And this was my shot!

Fireworks!

We went across town to our friends the Gordons for the July 4th gathering that they have each year.  It is a group of long time friends, and for us people we only see once a year, but it is always wonderful to have a chance to meet again and catch up with each other.  After having something to eat - everyone brings a dish or a salad or dessert then we wait for the fireworks.  This year I thought some of the pyrotechnics, like the one on top in this photograph, were so different than things we have seen in previous years.  So, instead of doing a wide angle photograph and showing a lot of Long Island Sound, I decided to move in closer and show a more close up version of each of the individual fireworks.  Happy Fourth of July to everyone!