On The Road

Hope you're making the effort to review Pete Brook's continuing series of On The Road interviews with various photographers and writers involved in documenting the American prison experience- a project made possible through Kickstarter. If anything, make sure you at least listen to the interview with Robert Gumpert and check out his essay Take a Picture, Tell A Story. I previously posted on Gumpert's phenomenal American Prison Tattoos.

Photo: Robert Gumpert

Speaking of Kickstarter... Pete recently stopped by on a dreary, rainy Columbus Day of Genocide to say hello and share a laugh...

Continued success, Pete!

Status Update

Jander Yat- Photo: Robert Gumpert

Pete Brook recently informed me of his co-curated group exhibit: Status Update. Hadn't seen anything worthwhile up close and personal in months, and happily, this didn't disappoint- not one weak link in the entire show. Robert Gumpert's prison portraits (go to Take A Picture, Tell A Story for some seriously devastating, one-two combinations of portraits/oral histories), and Elizabeth Lo's tightly edited, well executed video were my two personal faves. I can't ever say enough about the simplicity and power of Gumpert's portraiture, and Lo's short video, Hotel 22, just took me by surprise with it's oh so revealing tale of a mobile 'homeless shelter' shuttling about one of the most prosperous strips of American realty. This is one show that seriously needs to be seen, heard and discussed in much larger public venues, throughout the country...

Hotel 22 from The New York Times - Video on Vimeo.

Robert Gumbert- American Prison Tattoos

If for some reason you still have not seen Robert Gumpert's prison portraits, you are missing out on work that accentuates and epitomizes the very power and potential of photographic portraiture...