Home-Cooked Meal, #21, The Hobo!

The Hobo, Boonville Cafe, Boonville, IN, 2008

The Hobo: Hash Browns, topped with Cheddar Cheese and Two Eggs (over easy), and a side of whole wheat toast.

Hell Week, Indiana

Aaron Mauck's Guest bedroom, Boonville, IN, Jan, '08

This is my last week in town and it will be filled with lots of shooting. I've come a long way since that first hell week in Missouri. The traveling is a lot harder on me, but both my work and my work ethic has become as close to solid as it may ever get. I still break down, as you well know, but I seem to have a better understanding of myself, and what I need to do to get through it.

last night I checked off two items on my to-photograph list. And while doing so, I stumbled upon something that could really be great. There have been a few times while on this trip, probably four, were I really thought I captured something special. One of the greatest feelings in the world, for me anyway, is when you look in the camera, and the projected image on the ground glass simply hits you like a ton of bricks. Those moments (for me) are few and far between, but they do exist, and it is truly a wonderful experience. This time it was a landscape, and that image will stay burned into my mind until the moment I see the film. And then I will probably be disappointed, again. Wish me luck this week. It is cold.

High School Recap + Day off

Yesterday was the first successful day off that I have had in awhile. I thought very little about photography, and a lot about absolutely nothing. It was grand.

Friday was another crazy day. Not as physically demanding as Thursday, in which I photographed about thirty students spread out across creation, but demanding, physically and psychologically.

I'm glad to report that I didn't make any mistakes. And if I did, I caught them all right on the spot. Between Thursday and Friday I photographed roughly forty-five students. Friday I photographed a few swimmers, volleyball players, watched and photographed the Homecoming game, and then I photographed the King + Queen at the Homecoming Dance, as well as a few others.

I am extremely excited about the photos taken. And I feel that a few of them may be some of the best stuff to date. I've never taken that many portraits in two days before. I scheduled a lot of things back-to-back, which I knew was a mistake, and surely added to the rush, but I had no choice. Everything, minus a few shots at the game, was taken with my 4/5 and strobes. The gear that was on my back and over my shoulder for those two days was crazy. Each image took about 35-45 minutes on average to set-up and shoot. I had an amazing time. The teachers and staff were all very accommodating and supportive. The kids were very open to me and the camera, not too mention very smart and really funny. Some were really funny.

Even though I had planned on sleeping in, I awoke early on Saturday. So I took advantage and went to the Boonville Cafe to get my favorite breakfast. It's called the "Hobo," and that is all I am telling you. Except that it is awesome, and I have eaten about twenty-five Hobos since I arrived. My day off was excellent: I watched Twin Peaks at the Cafe while eating my Hobo, watched a basketball game, took a nap, read, and then I did something I have not done in months, I watched a movie at "home" while eating a burrito! It was a chicken burrito with the works, and I was watching Amadeus. Perfect day off. And I am doing it all over again. With the wind chill, it is two degrees out right now, so I will spend the day at a bar watching the football games, and then come home and eat another burrito! And watch the Godfather! And then back to work in the morning!

Rush + Review + Opening

Krista Steinke at Review Santa Fe 2007 © Matt Suhre

Yesterday I spent twelve or so hours at the Highschool (7:30am - 8pm). Lots of picture taking. It was definitely the most productive day I have had during the whole trip, and I am really excited to see every one of the images. I could have used an assistant though, my legs are killing me. I photographed weightlifters, wrestlers, basketball players, cheerleaders, and a number of other students in the halls and on school grounds. It was a rush.

Today I awoke at 5:30 to attend the teachers monthly meeting. And I will be going back to the school in a few hours to take some more images, and then on to tonights Homecoming Basketball game and dance. But first I have to deal with Santa Fe.

I just got back from the Post Office, where I received a package from Drew that contained new work from Indiana, and the twenty images that I will be putting back in the mail in a few hours for the Santa Fe Review, and Project Competition. I'm not confident about the Project Competition. I believe I will have a better chance next year, but I wanted to give it a shot, and to introduce the work to Charlotte Cotton, one of the three judges this year. Good luck to all of those who are submitting. I'm nervous. I hate these things.

P.S. The Locate | Navigate show opens TONIGHT at the Urban Culture Project Space in Kansas City. Check it out if you are in the area!

Back To School

Freaks and Geeks, 1999 (TV Show)

Today I spent about three hours roaming the halls of the Boonville High School. Thanks to the very supportive Principal Whitten and Mr. Meyer, the Athletic Director, I have been invited to take pictures of the school and current students.

High School sports and youth are an important part of my Boonville Philosophy. During my travels, I have found many beautiful High Schools, but none have fit with my vision quite like the one in Boonville, Indiana. The second night I was in town I "snuck" (the gate was open) onto the football field, and sat alone under the stars, reminiscing of all the Friday nights I spent watching HS football games when I was young. So many wonderful and mysterious things happen under those lights. That is what first struck me. Second was the school name: The Pioneers. The Boonville Pioneers! How brilliant. And third was everything else. It's perfect. I had been holding off photographing students and athletes in the other towns, hoping I might find a better fit in the next, and I am glad I did.

This Thursday and Friday I will spend the day photographing the school, current students, and members of the Wrestling, Volleyball, Basketball, and Swimming teams. I will also be attending the Boonville Homecoming game, as well as the Homecoming dance.

I wasn't the biggest fan of HS. But it left a very specific and memorable mark on me and my thinking. My greatest memories, as in the strongest, not best, are of HS. I basically wandered through those years, much like I do my current ones, and I never felt I made a major impact in one way or another. I had many friends, but only two of which I still talk to, and only a handful of ones I could still name.

I often look back and think of my best and worst memories during HS; They are dream like, and sometimes I get the feeling as if they never really happened, but oddly enough they are very clear (maybe I just wish they never happened). Those four years are very intriguing, and effect everyone in a unique way. Mine still haunt me, but in a good way, an inspiring way. I'm looking forward to exploring that in the coming days.

Inspiration

This song completely blows my mind. I've listened to this album at least thirty times in the last day, and this song three times that. I'm not sure if it is helping or not. But I think so.



Bright Eyes
Lets Not Sh!t Ourselves (To Love Or Be Loved)
Lifted, Or The Story Is In the Soil Keep Your Ear To The Ground

Lost (updated)

Lately I've been all over the place. Even this post was a complete mess just a few hours ago (and probably still is).

My point is this. I'm kinda feeling, well, a bit lost. And I really don't know what to do. Other then to do what I always do. Embrace it, write about it, and then let it slowly destroy me. Seriously, I'm not feeling terrible, just a bit disoriented. I'm still shooting almost everyday. But I'm not eating. And I'm constantly tired. But I am sleeping well, so that's a good sign, I think.

Today for example. I didn't leave the house. Other then to go look for my notebook (below). And although that was the right thing to do, to not leave the house, I couldn't flippin' relax at all. I was just pacing back and forth. I can't even sit down and read. It's like I don't have the energy. I almost don't have the energy to think. And that scares me.

A few days ago I started to feel the downward spiral hit, and either its completely psychological, and stems from my mishap last week, or I need a break. I got word a few days ago that I double exposed a sheet of 4x5 film, and that I had about twice as many blank sheets come up then normal. Every once in a while I will get two or three sheets that pop up blank, and this comes from my being extra careful. While I am shooting, I usually try and keep an accurate number of how many sheets of film I have left. For example: after I got done shooting a portrait yesterday, I counted one unexposed sheet of film left. But say I come home and download the film, and I find two sheets of unexposed film. Then I get weirded out. Chances are I just didn't see the second one, but there is also a chance that I forgot to mark the portrait I just took as shot/exposed. So to be safe, I will download both of those sheets and send them off to get developed. Ninety percent of the time they are both blank. But if there is a chance that the film does carry a latent image, and I don't send it off to be developed, then I will use that sheet the next day, and double expose the film, possibly ruining a great shot. So, not only did I recently have five blank sheets pop up on me, a double exposed sheet came up as well. My second double exposure since 2004.

And to top it all off. last week I lost my favorite hat, which was my grandfathers. And yesterday I realized that I lost my Boonville, Indiana Notebook. It carries all of my thoughts and ideas for Indiana, not too mention the phone #s of the people I still want to photograph, and all the info of the people I have already photographed. It felt like losing a hard drive. It was devastating. Luckily, I decided to copy about 70% of the info from that book into my computer so I could print it out and prop it up on my dashboard in the car. So although I did lose all the info of the people I have photographed, I did save a few numbers, and most of my ideas to date. And that is a lot better then losing it all. I still hate the idea of someone out there with that notebook, but I'll get over it.

UPDATE: I just realized that I may have lost my notebook the last time I used my jacket as a darkcloth, which I do too often. I thought the book may have fallen out of my pocket while I was shooting near the railroad tracks. So I went back to the spot. And within one minute I found both my pen and my notebook. Nice.

Upcoming: Locate|Navigate, Kansas City

six of twenty Boonville Snapshots, Timothy Briner, 2007

Locate | Navigate – exercises in mapping (part 1) Opening Reception: Friday January 18, 6-9 pm Urban Culture Project Space | 21 East 12th Street KCMO |816.221.5115 Gallery hours: Thursdays & Saturdays, 12-5 pm Exhibition runs January 18-March 8

A map is a visual representation of an area — a symbolic depiction highlighting relationships between elements of that space such as objects, regions, and themes. Many maps are static two-dimensional, geometrically accurate representations of three-dimensional space, while others are dynamic or interactive, even three-dimensional. Although most commonly used to depict geography, maps may represent any space, real or imagined, without regard to context or scale.

Locate | Navigate: exercises in mapping, curated by Charlotte Street Foundation Associate Director Kate Hackman, is a two-part exhibition project including drawings, paintings, sculpture, photography, installation-, audio-, video-, web- and performance-based work by diverse local, national, and international artists.

Locate | Navigate part 1, opening at Urban Culture Project Space on January 18, features work by Leah Beeferman (Richmond, VA), Timothy Briner (Brooklyn, NY), Joe Faus (Kansas City), Karen McCoy (Kansas City), Johnny Naugahyde (Kansas City), Garry Noland (Kansas City), Jack Rees (Kansas City), Eric von Robertson (Amsterdam, the Netherlands), Michael Schonhoff (Kansas City), Larry Thomas (Kansas City), Andrew Thompson (Detroit, MI), and Cara Walz (Kansas City). Exhibited projects range from Eric von Robertson’s “Cloudburst” and “City Guide,” encompassing hand-drawn maps, photographs, and taxidermic dog sporting knitted relief map/sweater as components of an ongoing documentation and collection of discarded umbrellas; to Joe Faus’s interactive, multi-layered map of the Crossroads area, including audio recordings and personal topographical map layered on top of a large-scale street map annotated with happenings and observations accumulated over multiple decades; to a selection of snapshots from Timothy Briner’s “Boonville” project, for which the artist is exploring small-town America by living in and documenting six different towns called Boonville across the country. Also included in this “part 1” exhibition will be a resource area including library of map-related publications and articles, computer terminal with list of on-line map-related artist projects, and “pin up” wall for visitors to make their own contributions to the exhibition.

P.S. I will not be at the opening do to the Boonville, Indiana action, but I do have a tentative date in early Feb. to give a talk. Please go and check out the show if you are in the area!

Boonville: Day ???

The vicious mid-Boonville cycle has hit, and was fully at its peak yesterday. Every time I get into a new town it rears its devilish head, and at every town's mid-point or so, it comes full circle, and hits harder then ever. I'm sure you are sick of hearing me complain (you should see my journal). But this one was excruciating, and almost crippled me. I was close, closer then I was that first month in Missouri, to wrapping it up and heading back East. I terribly wanted to see home and to get this weight off my shoulders. But I calmed down and went to Louisville to see Drew, and to look over some work. The work was disappointing, as it always is when I first see it. But after a few hours and a few beers, it wasn't so bad. That visit with Drew really helped. Like I've said before, sometimes a little boost and support can really go a long way. Thanks, Dru.

I think it would feel great to take off five or six months: recoup, find some money, and start again in the fall. But I also think it would be damaging to the work, my psyche and my momentum. So for now, I will continue to push along.

Day 22 vs 36 vs 99 vs 158

Boonville, Missouri, Day 22
Boonville, N. Carolina, Day 36
Boonville, New York, Day 99
Boonville, Indiana, Day 158

B'ville: Day 156! (Recap, Thanks!, Donate)

Bunny Bread (Soft-Twist), Wal-Mart, Boonville, IN

2007 was an amazing year! After having two knee surgeries in 2006, and having to recover for the beginning of 2007, I am looking forward to a surgery-free/recovery-free '08! My knee still bothers me everyday, especially the days I am hiking or shooting for more then five or six hours, but it is still attached, and it bends!

The "Boonville" project really started coming together in late '06, and it was clear by March of '07 that it would become a reality. It has been sitting in the back of my mind, and bugging all my friends, since 2003. I've been reading old "Boonville" blog posts and journals from the last two years, and although I get caught up in everything from time to time, not a day has gone by that I haven't thought about how this project now exists in places other then my mind, or my journal. It's amazing!

Ninety percent of the monetary support for "Boonville" has come from my friends, family, and people I have met along the way. Without you, this would not have happened, and I cannot continue to thank all my supporters enough. As I have mentioned in the past, I try to send out postcards and thank you notes to all of you, but if you have not heard from me (there may or may not be a good reason) email me (timothybriner@gmail.com) and give me a slap across the face.

The first big push to get funding and support was outstanding, and allowed me to get on the road. I was also given a car for the project, and I received an equipment and film grant from my alma mater, The Hallmark Inst. of Photography, in MA.

We estimated that the amount received would give me three months on the road. Thanks to all the wonderful Boonvillians I have met along the way, it lasted for six months! That funding is now exhausted, but I recently sent out more support letters (I hate asking for money) and they also proved to be successful. I cannot express how much all the support means to me! Thank you for a wonderful "Boonville 07!" And I can't wait to see what happens in '08!

If you would like to lend your support to the "Boonville" project, click HERE, and type "Boonville" into the space labeled "Designate." 250$ supports five days on the road. All donations are welcome and appreciated, and are tax-deductible through Cannery Works; "Boonville" is underwritten by Cannery Works, a non-profit arts organization in NY.

Donation gifts are available, and range from: Postcard sent from road ($25+), an 8x10 final print ($100+), a signed copy of the final monograph,($500+), and a 20x25" final print of your choice ($1,000+).

In Search of America, Part 3

Timothy Briner, 2007

Today I dropped Laura off at the airport. Another great visit with another sad goodbye. It has been hard to shut down and not think about my work for the times Laura has visited me. But it is even harder to get past the void that is left when she is gone.

"My wife flew in from the East for her brief visit. I was delighted at the change, back to my known and trusted life--but here I run into literary difficult...

When that time was over and the good-bye said, I had to go through the same lost loneliness all over again, and it was no less painful then at first. There seemed to be no cure for loneliness save only being alone." John Steinbeck, Travels With Charley: In Search of America, 1962

Twin Peaks

Ever since seeing Eraserhead in my High School film literature class, David Lynch has been one of my greatest inspirations, and Twin Peaks is at the top of it all. Today Laura got me the complete Twin Peaks series (both seasons and the pilot), which was previously unreleased, and extremely hard to find bootlegged, at least in a decent viewing quality.

It is huge. The visuals, stories and ideas that pop through my head when watching this series are out of control. And it captures perfectly that hidden but right-under-your-nose weirdness of small-town America. I am psyched to start watching them again. Starting right now...

Hunt

Rabbit Hunt, 4x5 Camera with Kerry, Tim and Dave, B'ville, IN, 2007

I met Kerry Wire at "The First and Last Chance" a few nights ago. It's the oldest bar in Boonville, located just across from where the old train depot existed, and was the first and last chance for people to get food or drink as they got on and off the train. Yesterday I woke at 5:30 to meet Kerry and two Kentuckians at the hunting fields in Boonville. Otherwise known as the reclaimed coal mines.

"The largest grasslands in Indiana and Illinois are on reclaimed surface coal mines, which are numerous in the Illinois Coal Basin. The reclamation goal of establishing a vegetation cover with inexpensive, hardy exotic grass species inadvertently created persistent, large grassland bird refuges."

We (they) were hunting rabbit. Laura and I had a pet bunny (Eddie-Bunny) up until her death a year ago, so it wasn't the easiest thing for me to watch, at first. I went deer hunting in New York, and have been around coon, turkey, bird, bear, and other sorts of hunters on this trip. But this was the first time I had been out in the field with rabbit hunters, which use dogs to run out the prey. It was one of the funnest things I've taken pictures of on this journey, once I separated myself from the whole rabbit business. Deer hunting is often boring, or relaxing, whichever you want to call it, but hunting with dogs and running around all over the place, while having good conversations and laughs, is a lot more fun and entertaining. I spent all day hunting with them, and then Kerry and I headed over to the Last Chance. After a few beers there, we headed to Kerry's to skin, clean and cook our dinner.


Rabbit Hunt, Dave, Boonville, In, Dec. 26, 2007

I don't come from a hunting family, and although I don't think I could ever do it myself (still in debate), I do have great respect for the people I have met along the way that do. I met a hunter in NY a few years ago that was very passionate about the process, and had a sort of love for the animals he killed. We were drinking when debating this, but his description of the process, which was very detailed and kind of inspiring, actually brought him to tears. Since that day I have wondered: why am I so hesitant to track and kill something? I eat meat almost everyday and I can't always eat organic or local, and that often means that I don't know where the animal came from. So in turn, I am often condoning the traveling of my meat, giving money to the large conglomerate food corporations, all while never knowing what happens to the quality or cleanliness of this animal as it criss-crosses the country and changes hands a dozen times. Not to mention supporting the horrible conditions in which many of those slaughtered animals are forced to live their lives.

So I ask myself this: if I can kill an animal, know it will all be eaten, know it was wild and local, and know that I have cut down on the pollution that would result in my buying a name brand. Then why not?

CSI Christmas

Mauck Family (CSI) Jig-Saw Puzzle, Christmas Day, 2007, B'ville, IN

Home-Cooked Meal, #20

Christmas Dinner, The Mauck Family, Boonville, Indiana, Dec., 2007

A Boonville Chrismukah and Christmas!

Dixie and Christmukah Tree, Brooklyn, NY, Dec. 25, 2006

This is the fourth year that Laura and I will spend Chrismukah together (Christmas + Chanukkah). She is flying in on Saturday, so Chrismukah will happen, but it will happen late, and without Dixie. Dixie, pictured above, comes out every holiday season and acts as our Chrismukah mascot. I was having a difficult time finding a gift for Laura that first year, and then I stumbled upon Dixie. It seemed crazy enough to work. And it has. But not without some very weird looks.

As you may have guessed, I'm staying in Boonville, Indiana this holiday season. And I'm having a really great time with the Mauck family! I met Aaron Mauck at Kenny's Bar on the second or third night I was in town. Turns out he used to live in my hometown of Chesterton, Indiana, and knows many of the people I grew up with. He was kind enough to invite me over for Christmas with his parents and sisters. All three sisters were Prom and/or Homecoming Queen, and all three were Valedictorian (Aaron was very close). It is an interesting crowd. And I'm having a great time. Merry Christmas! and a Merry-Happy Chrismukah!

P.S. Click to see a series of photos I did of Dixie in 2005: The Adventures of Dixie

Rilke's Christmas

It is no surprise that I love Ranier Maria Rilke, I've quoted him a ton on this and my former blog. Laura and I (she started it) have an obsession with naming our plants after poets and philosophers. See Rilke above.

"I don't want you to be without a greeting from me when Christmas comes and when you, in the midst of the holiday, are bearing your solitude more heavily than usual. But when you notice that it is vast, you should be happy; for what (you should ask yourself) would a solitude be that was not vast; there is only one solitude, and it is vast, heavy, difficult to bear, and almost everyone has hours when he would gladly exchange it for any kind of sociability, however trivial or cheap, for the tiniest outward agreement with the first person who comes along, the most unworthy. . . . But perhaps these are the very hours during which solitude grows; for its growing is painful as the growing of boys and sad as the beginning of spring. But that must not confuse you. What is necessary, after all, is only this: solitude, vast inner solitude. To walk inside yourself and meet no one for hours - that is what you must be able to attain. " Ranier Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet, Rome, December, 23 1903

Suspicious Activity, #1

Stills from Psycho

Today was the first time I have seriously gone out with my 4x5 camera. I found what I felt to be an interesting scene, filled with trees, power lines, a van, a fence, a trailer and a big open sky. Twenty minutes later up comes a shiny silver Impala. I look back under the camera, and when I realize the car hasn't passed in front of the lens, I look up to find it five feet in front of me. Before I knew it another one was flanking me on my right. The chief of police introduced himself, asked what I was doing, etc. I had a rough morning, and was a bit rusty with my friendly skills. They were great though, and made a call to the mayor confirming my actions. I handed over some information and business cards, and after checking my record (which I am always very curious about), they went on their way. I felt very bad that I was a bit of a smart a$$, but I guess we all make mistakes.

This marks the first time I have had the cops called on me or have been confronted by them on this journey, which is actually kind of amazing. I'm glad to know Boonville, Indiana is on top of things. I never once saw a cop, other then in a car, while I was in Boonville, MO, or Boonville, NY. I actually befriended the officers and the chief in Boonville, NC, and often had lunch or dinner with them. MO and NY were both well aware of my being there, so that may have had something to do with it. Anyway, I'm glad that is out of the way.

Thinking of you...

Laura and a few of my close friends may tell you that I am good at keeping in touch: writing letters, sending emails, reaching out, etc. This is true, on some level, but there are times where I lack the ability to send a thank you letter or just a note saying hi for months or even years. On this journey I have been good about keeping up with certain people, and not so good about others. A few days ago we lost a dear friend, a cousin of Laura’s. Lynn was a kind and honest and funny woman, and she had the greatest love for Bruce Springsteen of anyone I have ever met. When we first met we quickly bonded over our love of music, tossing band names and the like back to one another. Although Lynn was ill, it was a shock to all of us when she passed. While I was in Boonville, Missouri, Lynn sent me a letter and three discs full of her favorite music for my travels. I did not send a note thanking her. And although I did see her in mid November for a wedding, and thanked her then, I have felt guilty at night while alone in this room, re-reading the letter she sent months ago. Over the last two days I have sent out over a hundred postcards and letters to people I have met along the way, and to my amazing friends and family who have continued to support me. I would be lying if I didn’t say that part of it was done out of this unfortunate event, but the main reason is love. The people I have met on this journey are genuine and inspiring people, and have opened my eyes to this world, and to what is possible. I have met many, and will continue to, and I will do my best to keep up correspondence. For some it is hard, as I have misplaced or never received addresses, but please know that I am constantly thinking of and missing you, all of you.

In Search of America, Part 2

North Side of Public Square, Boonville, IN, Postcard

I am still at the Motel Manor, just out of town. Last night I forced myself out into the world. Previously I had been locked in my room, struggling to start another journey. Creating art, and putting yourself and your ideas to work can be painful. Lately I've asked myself what this is for, I've doubted myself, and art in general. This may be my normal cycle, but it doesn't get any easier.

I'm committed to this journey and process, not because I like it, but because I'm drawn to it, and I cannot look away. I'm driven to explore a moment and to engage with people. I am fascinated by time, the way these towns live, the scene, the environment, their secrets and my memories. Photography grabs that, and allows me to form it into my own personal philosophy. But, as I have said many times before, starting this process over every month is painful and often depressing; And each time I leave a place and start again, I feel as if a piece of myself and my soul has been taken from me, but I believe that is art, and the creation of art.

"So, dear Sir, I can't give you any advice but this: to go into yourself and see how deep the place is from which your life flows; at its source you will find the answer to the question of whether you must create. Accept that answer, just as it is given to you, without trying to interpret it. Perhaps you will discover that you are called to be an artist. Then take that destiny upon yourself, and bear it, its burden and its greatness, without ever asking what reward might come from the outside. For the creator must be a world for himself and must find everything in himself and in Nature, to whom his whole life is devoted." Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters To A Young Poet, February 17, 1903

"I pulled Rocinate into a small picnic area maintained by the state of Connecticut and got out my book of Maps. And suddenly the United States became huge beyond belief and impossible ever to cross. I wondered how in the hell I'd got myself mixed up in a project that couldn't be carried out. It was like starting to write a novel. When I face the desolate impossibility of writing five hundred pages a sick sense of failure falls on me and I know I can never do it. This happens every time. Then gradually I write one page and then another. One day's work is all I can permit myself to contemplate and I eliminate the possibility of ever finishing. So it was now, as I looked at the bright colored projection of monster America." John Steinbeck, Travels With Charley: In Search of America, 1962

Humble Arts Foundation, 20% off prints!

Copyright David La Spina
Stage for High School commencement, 2006
from History of a Village: Mamaroneck

I've been a huge fan of the Humble Arts Foundation since they started about two years ago. I was in their second online group-show, and was apart of the show they had at New Century Artists last summer, and most recently I had a piece in the Field Guide exhibit they curated last week at Gallery Bar, in NY. Unfortunately I was unable to attend do to traveling, but I hear it was blast. They have come a long way in two years: having a number of group shows in New York and Brooklyn, all while expanding their online presence and recently offering the Grant for Emerging Photographers.

Humble Arts also offers small-edition prints at prices starting at $150 from emerging and established photographers. It's a great deal for the quality of the work. If you are looking for great art at a reasonable price, then hit up Humble. They are offering %20 off all prints for the holidays. I hear they are going quick. View editions HERE.

Support good art.

Boonville, Indiana, day 2

December, 12, 2007, Boonville, Indiana, crunched up in my car, hacking wireless internet. I have not found a comfortable place to get online to check emails, etc., and my phone is dead, with the charger sitting in Louisville. I have not found anyone to stay with yet, so i am at the motel manor, about a half mile from the town square. I got a good weekly rate, but I am feeling isolated and lonely, which is probably a good thing, for now. Being lonely sucks, but it pushes me to explore new ideas and to read and write more then I normally would. Boonville, Indiana is beautiful, but kinda eerie at night, in a very David Lynch kind of way. But all stereotypes aside, I have already met a few really nice people, and the town is beautiful, and reminds me of home. Seeing Indiana state flags and road signs kinda helps, but it does bring this whole project and concept full circle for me.