spiderweb © kjm
I've been away for weeks, and returned to find this spiderweb constellation in my bedroom window. It's good to know someone was working so hard in my absence.
[within reach is a series of photographs examining the environment of home in detail]
one dollar’s worth of tomatillos from Mexico © Jonathan Blaustein
I'd be willing to bet that many of us have a dollar's worth of change in our couch. Jonathan Blaustein's series The Value of a Dollar examines the value of what goes into our mouths, in a simple, straightforward and aesthetically lovely manner. Last week, Jonathan offered this print on collect.give, with all proceeds pledged to the UN World Food Programme.
mom on the beach in Kona, around 1955
In our family, we tell stories about the hams on my mom's father's side of the family, and it's by no means a criticism. There's a respected entertaining chutzpah that runs throughout, and my mom is no exception. When she was in her 20's, she taught the hula to young girls in Hawaii. This week, she performed for an Irish American club in Milwaukee, which was having their annual party with a Hawaiian theme. By all accounts, she was a hit, performing a few single numbers and then teaching the group how to do the hukilau. When I arrived to pick her up, the club didn't seem to want to let her go.
Cannon Beach © kjm
I went from shooting Camp Home pictures, to the Tule Lake pilgrimage, and ended my travels this week at a family reunion on the Oregon Coast. Members of my mom's family came from Hawaii, Oregon, California, Missouri, Wisconsin, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey for the event. It was nice to catch up with everyone and to meet a few new additions to the group. For me, the highlight of the reunion came during a beach dinner and bonfire (that's us in the foreground), when my Uncle Stuart pulled out his ukulele and entertained the group.
Shipwreck © Amy Eckert
Last week, photographer Amy Eckert offered up this lovely print from her series Manufacturing Home on collect.give. 100% of the proceeds will benefit the organization Feminist Eclectic Martial Arts. And buyers of any print during the month of July will be eligible for a free copy of Susana Raab's book, Rank Strangers, through our new book giveaways...
train tracks leading to Newell, CA © kjm
I didn't have an agenda for the Tule Lake Pilgrimage this weekend, but had hoped to ask Nisei (second generation, American-born Japanese Americans who were children or young adults during the camp) I met about their particular home within the barracks. I never really got around to that, though, because everyone's background and camp history was so interesting. The variety of stories was surprising, and I learned that each family, though interned in the same camp, had uniquely compelling histories.
Among the stories, I learned about: A woman whose most vivid memory was taking their dog to the pound before leaving for camp; A family who hastily moved to an inland California location in hopes of avoiding evacuation, only to move again when interned; A woman who caught pneumonia at age 4 in an assembly center (locations where families were sent prior to internment camps) and due to security issues, was treated in a local hospital for days without a parent or guardian; Stories about burning prized family possessions because they were Japanese; A woman who happened to have been born on December 6, 1941.
But the sadness associated with some of the stories didn't dictate the tone of the weekend. It was an incredibly friendly group and conversations were made easily, in an environment that felt comfortable, uplifting and therapeutic, all at once.
5052A-19617 (shed light) © kjm
My titles for Camp Home are a combination of two numbers: the number that represents the location it was shot - so in the photo above, 5052 is the number that was assigned to the particular homestead farm property. That number is combined with 19617, which is the number the government gave my family during the internment.
In just my first hour at the Tule Lake Pilgrimage, I learned the number associated with the barrack and actual space my family resided in: 5903b. After so much time thinking about this specific place, it's somewhat amazing to put an "address" to a place that I've only imagined.
5056A-19617 (sun tea) © kjm
After three days of shooting, I'll be joining the annual Tule Lake Pilgrimage today, a gathering of former camp internees, their offspring and others. Nearly 400 people arrive today on buses from cities along the West Coast, for weekend of remembering, visiting and education. I expect to learn a lot about the camp experience in the days to come, and look forward to meeting lots of people. In particular, I'm hoping to talk with former internees about what their physical living space was like in their assigned barracks.
Looking west down County Road 100 © kjm
I'm back in California, continuing my work on the Camp Home series. Frankly, I've been disappointed that it's been so long since my last visit, so it feels good to be back. And things seem to pick up just where they left off - by now the roads, landscapes, farms and family names are familiar.
Basically, when I'm here I drive around a lot, down a series of small county roads, in search of buildings to photograph. It's apparent to me this visit that I've covered most of the ground here, but there are still farms I haven't approached yet, or found. Again this year, I've been pleased that the people I've met have been so kind - and in the best case scenario, a little conversation arises about my dad, the camp, and the history of the homesteaders.
More in the days to come.
© Brian Widdis, left, Romain Blanquart, right
I had a long stretch of editorial work on the road recently, and was able to carve out little bits of time (one has to eat, right?) to connect with friends in other cities. In Detroit, I met up with Brian Widdis and Romain Blanquart, whose project Can't Forget The Motor City is really wonderful. In Minneapolis, I had a nice dinner with photographers Kristine Heykants and Raoul Benevides, the man behind the curtain at Flashlight Photorental. Amy Eckert, a recent winner of a McKnight fellowship, met up for a coffee and filled me in on the details of her latest show. And in Dallas, I finally met Allison V. Smith in person (after years of being blog buddies) and had a very fun dinner with two of my favorite art directors, Korena Bolding and Melanie Fowler, who design the lovely Virtuoso Life.
broken plate © kjm
[within reach is a series of photographs examining the environment of home in detail]
Untitled No. 59 © Kerry Mansfield
Today Kerry Mansfield offers this lovely print from her Borderline series on collect.give. Kerry, a breast cancer survivor, has pledged to donate 100% of the proceeds to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the world’s largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists.
white peony from the backyard © kjm
When I was young, the only flowers I remember in our yard were peonies - batches of purple, pink and white varieties which had been there when my parents bought the house. I used to find them incredibly creepy just before they bloomed, when big, black ants would crawl around on the buds. The flowers that followed were lovely, though, and always came just before the end of the school year. When I was little, my mom would cut a bunch and have me bring them to my elementary school teacher.
© Lacey Terrell
Photographer Lacey Terrell offers a print today on collect.give. The photo is from her series, The Passing Ring, in which she travels with and documents the Culpepper & Merriweather Circus. Lacey pledges to donate 100% of her print profits to School on Wheels, an educational program for homeless kids in Southern California.
grave of my grandmother, who died before I was born © kjm
I hadn't been there in many years, and a maintenance worker offered to help me find row 50. He found the gravestones before I did, and kindly brushed dirt off of them with his gloved hands as I made my way over.
© Eugene Richards
Thank you to Pete Brook, who recently discussed my Camp Home project and the Tule Lake internment camp on his blog, Prison Photography. I'm also grateful to Pete for his Facebook page link to this World Press Photos talk by Eugene Richards. It's a bit long, so watch it in bits and pieces, as I did, or settle in with a favorite beverage. Richards' work is so compelling and thoughtful - and the structure/composition of his photographs is remarkable. In his talk, he discusses the subjects in the photo above, which I have to say is one of the most memorably powerful pictures I've ever encountered. I saw it (15?) years ago, as a double-truck in Life Magazine, and it simply blew me away. In the documentary realm, photos from Larry Towell's book The Mennonites had the same impact at first view, as did Duane Michals' This Photograph is My Proof.
It's great when a photo stops you in your tracks, but even better when it stays with you.
Peter, 2009 © David Wright
Today David Wright offers this lovely print on collect.give. 100% of the proceeds from the sales of Peter, 2009 will go to A River Blue, a school in northern Uganda providing psychosocial counseling and intense vocational training in topics like tailoring, agriculture, and arts to vulnerable youth. David is also the co-founder (with Ethan Jones) of a wonderful project, Pause, to Begin.
Abandoned Apartment, Konigsbrucker Strasse © Fredrik Marsh
One of the fun benefits of membership in the Milwaukee Art Museum's Photography Council is the annual party, where members get to cast their vote for a new acquisition. Last night, we voted on three pictures selected by curator Lisa Hostetler, who discussed the artists, their individual pictures and how they would fit into the museum collection. The winner was a beautiful picture by Anna Shteynschleyger, but my vote was cast for this interior by Fredrik Marsh. Happily, it was also added to the museum collection when several generous members stepped forward to donate the funds.
water in the bathroom sink © kjm
[within reach is a series of photographs examining the environment of home in detail]
A tardy recap of some of the photo goodness spotted at Art Chicago:
Jason Hanasik at Aperture; Curtis Mann at Kavi Gupta and in conversation with Brian Ulrich, Karen Irvine and Leslie A. Martin; André Kertész at Vintage Works; Timothy Briner at Humble Arts Foundation; Laura Letinsky in conversation with Stephanie Smith; Colleen Plumb at Photo-Eye; Yoshihiko Ueda at TAI Gallery; Jennifer Ray and Leilani Wertens in the New Insights show for MFA students; Jonathan Blaustein at Zane Bennett; Suzanne Opton and Lisa M. Robinson at Light Work and Barbara Kasten at Monique Meloche.
chair shadow in the office © kjm
[within reach is a series of photographs examining the environment of home in detail]
Hammock © Elizabeth Fleming
Elizabeth Fleming offers a print today on collect.give, in an edition of 20 at just $40 each. All profits will benefit the Austin Children's Shelter.
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