Guest of Cindy Sherman

(I did not take this picture of Cindy Sherman. Cindy Sherman did.)

Last week I volunteered as an assistant theater manager at the Provincetown International Film Festival. Oh, how I love this town.

For one thing, crazy is everywhere. Also, during film fest, famous people are everywhere. I got playfully elbow-ribbed by John Waters and served chorizo-stuffed mushrooms to Gael Garcia Bernal. Jane Lynch came to my theater twice. Word on the street was that Quentin Tarantino got wasted at the Old Colony Tap and Governor Bradford's, though I myself didn't catch a glimpse (damn!).

In addition to star-f*ing, I actually got to see a lot of great films, including Paul H-O's documentary, Guest of Cindy Sherman.

I have always liked Cindy Sherman fine, but this film made me fall in love with her. Her self-portraits are so dark and serious - and the Cindy in this film was totally giggly and shy. The film editor, Tom Donohue, who spoke before the screening, said he knew much more about Cindy from her work than he ever did from her personally. It was amazing to see her process - there's some really amazing stuff that happens before the shutter release.

Also, she had a long relationship with the filmmaker, Paul H-O, who is well-meaning but definitely annoying, and that whole story line is fascinating.

See Guest of Cindy Sherman!

Lens Lust

I walked into Hunt's to buy matte photo paper. I walked out of Hunt's with matte photo paper and a Sigma Macro lens.

I think I have a problem.

The Burmese Dreams: an Accidental Benefit

So why now for this here blog? Well, I've shown my photos a few times around town (Francesca's and Uptown Cafe, both in the South End, the Bromfield Gallery in SOWA, and presently at Ula Cafe in Jamaica Plain). Do I have a website? people ask. No, I do not have a website. But now...I have...a blog! That makes my "website" show AND tell. And it's free! Thanks, Blogger.

The final prompt to start a blog involved requests for information on the show I hung at Ula Cafe on May 2. (It's still up. For directions and other info on Ula click here). And I really want to get these pictures out there for people who aren't in the vicinity of Jamaica Plain, because there's a "cause" involved, and while I'm usually not a very active "cause" kind of gal, this one is important to me.



My show at Ula, originally called "Police States," became an accidental benefit for cyclone relief in Burma. The two components of the show were taken from my photographs from Cuba and Burma, two nations ruled by oppressive governments. I called the Burma set "The Burmese Dreams Series." The very day I finished hammering the frames together and climbing the walls to hang Burmese Dreams, Cyclone Nargis hit Burma from the south, and demolished most of the landscapes that were in my photographs. I'm sure most of the people in those pictures are dead. So the show became about something entirely different from what I'd intended - it became about loss and tragedy, but also the preservation of what was once there.




This is a sampling of the Burmese Dreams Series. (The color doesn't transfer well - the originals are far more saturated - better representations on my Flickr page.) Consider buying one. It will stroke my ego, and more importantly all proceeds from sales go to the U.S. Campaign for Burma - a righteous organization which has been working for democracy in Burma for quite some time. They're priced at $120 for an 8x8 or 8x10 printed on archival matte paper. If that's steep for you, you can suggest a smaller price and I'll most likely say yes.

Just don't ask why they're blurry. They're supposed to be, okay?

Exoticism and This Whole Photography Thing

I teach a class at Emerson College called Exoticism in Literature and Art. I began my academic inquiry of exoticism as a student at the Bennington Writing Seminars in 2000 because exoticism was what I did: I wrote about cultures other than my own. I exploited the charm of the unfamiliar. Is the word "exploit" nasty? How should art handle this? Meaning, if you're an artist, should you look at this issue differently than, say, a critic would? I play both sides. For more thoughts on this conundrum in the context of my travels, refer to an article I wrote for The Smart Set.

The implications of photographing "exotic" things and people - especially people - cause me concern, but that does not stop me from doing it. Sometimes, with an eye on the light-box peephole, you stop seeing people as people.

These are portraits of Dalits - "Untouchables" - in the village of Nalloor, India. They loved being photographed. The guy in the doorway followed me around all day. We had a great time. I was as exotic to them as they were to me.