Digital versions of approximately 90 photographs of Long Beach and Southern Alta-California, Baja California, and Jalisco and Guanajuato are currently on display at Utopia Good Food and Fine Art in Long Beach. The images are in three distinct sets, and displayed separately, organized by location. The three sets of photos are displayed on three digital monitors simultaneously, creating juxtapositions among realities in the three locations, some of which surprised me, and may surprise you. Because the order of each display is random, and there are different numbers of images in each group, it is unlikely anyone will ever see the exact same juxtaposition at any other time. On June 23, 2017 Utopia will host a “closing” event with appetizers, a no-host wine bar, and Joe Zamberlin on piano (this is a real treat, see, https://www.facebook.com/FocusPoint/videos/10154753536841219/).

The Location is Utopia Good Food and Fine Art, First and Linden in Long Beach, California, 90802.

Date and Time are June 23, 2017, from 7-9:30pm

For the last 14 years I have lived just below the Chimera (they are sometimes called Gargoyles or Grotesques) atop the Villa Riviera. According to Wikipedia, these creatures "are said to frighten off and protect those that it guards, such as a church, from any evil or harmful spirits."

So, I have recently undertaken to collect some of the many photos I have made from the perspective of the chimera.  I have printed several of them in large formats on canvas for sale.  These prints range in size from 20"x30" to 40"x60" and are framed in black or white wood frames. (The image below has been printed and sold in 16x48 size for example.)

The views in these prints are expansive and mostly beautiful.  But, of course, not everything on our city streets is what is always recognized as beautiful. 

So, since the Chimera View includes some details that are less beautiful, and you know my photography always aims to accomplish something more than providing pretty pictures, I will make smaller prints of some of those details available as well.  Many of these images are here on the web site in my "Long Beach" Gallery, so if you want prints from the web site, or some of the other things that can be made from them, you don't have to wait for the next show, or the book I want to make.

I want to end up with a book that has large views of the classically beautiful over-arching truth of the city I have called home for so long, and page details about the street scenes that are interesting, and possibly even beautiful in their own way.

Stay tuned for further information, or send me an email and I will include you in the list of those who receive periodic updates.

Since you are a blog reader, here is something you cannot see in other places, at least not yet:

But it is a new year, and I am concentrating on focusing my voice, and getting back to some of the things that made me so happy to make photographs in the first place.

One of the things that has happened over the years, as I have begun making photographs through a wider range of subjects, is that people seem to not know how to categorize my work.  Personally, I am fine with that. But it can be perplexing for some who are not accustomed to it.  For this reason, and for reasons laid bare in the show last August, I've initiated an account with Saatchi Online that will be much more focused on nudes and personal portraiture. That is something I have done for an awful long time, but which gets pushed aside in the so-called "family friendly" (but still insanely violent) social media culture we live in these days. So, if you like that sort of thing, please have a look at http://www.saatchiart.com/imagenero.

Another thing that I'm doing replacing some of the gear I have broken. It happens. The most important (and expensive) and heart-warming piece of equipment arrived in the Fed-Ex today. And here is a photo of it:

So why is that such a big deal? Because that lens has become my very favorite piece of glass for basically everything but studio portraits. It just helps me say what I want to say in so many situations, and it is the only zoom lens I really use. (I have one other zoom lens,but rarely use it for anything serious.) 

But why this (almost) new one?  Well, sometimes things happen. And as you can see from a similar photo of its predecessor, something happened.  Sure, you can't see that it is completely unable to focus, or communicate with the camera.  But you can see that big nick out of the front ring there, and you can see the gash over the Nikon logo.  You can also see that the texture on the lens was worn almost smooth.  I'm sorry I didn't ask the shop that cut the mangled filter off the top of it to save the filter for me. Believe me, it wasn't pretty.

One of the other things one does after a show like the last one is research the next things to do, including location scouting.  And, it was on one such scouting trip that the lens and filter in question fell to solid rock as I was falling into a mountain spring. 

Even though the water was clean and beautiful, I knew the (substantially more expensive) D3X was a goner if I held on to it while I splashed down. So, right  after getting some aquatic plant life perfectly placed, and tripping the shutter on this lens what turned out to be one last time, the camera went to the rock, and slipping in wet bare feet, I went into the water. Just so you know, here's the last exposure ever made with that very experienced piece of glass:

Yep, that's my muse and my dear dear friend Pixielust, who spent a very long, very hard, very hungry and quite rewarding day scouting this location with me.  We did not take cameras out during the actually somewhat arduous hike, so all of our photos (except a few I made with my phone) are from this series of pools along the creek. Once we arrived at our destination, we knew that it would be the site of some future shoots, and maybe even some part of a photography workshop that some have encouraged me to put on. 

Just for fun, and to give a sense of where we were when I trashed that lens, here are a couple of the other shots we made during the trip.

Whether you've been to see the show before or not, you're certainly welcome, and even if you did come earlier, you'll see some things you did not see the last time.  So please come on by to the Croatian Cultural Center of Greater Los Angeles  at around 5pm on Sunday August 31.  It's at 7th & Pacific in San Pedro, and there is a parking lot just west of the center on 7th.

The show has been very well received by hundreds of guests as well as at least one newspaper review. Click HERE for that link.  I have learned some things from the visitors so far, and hope to learn some more on Sunday.  One thing that I learned, and much to my surprise, is that virtually everyone agrees with me, and DISAGREES with what is supposedly our "community standard."  That makes me really question where these standards are coming from, and what they are really trying to accomplish. 

Some of my favorite photos of the visitors are here:

It was gratifying to see so many people actually looking at the "Guide to the Show" and considering what they were looking at and why.  I didn't get a chance to meet these guys but I hope they got more than they bargained for.

I really like it when people enjoy the show, and in particular when they make their own statements based in the artwork.

I was told that the lady below is a biology teacher, and I really enjoyed seeing her go through the various images, carefully placing the stickers where she thought they should go, and then being just apparently stumped by what to do with this one.

As you can likely tell from the photos above, people got into the interactive aspect of the show and really started moving those CENSORED stickers around and telling their own stories.

Many people have purchased the show shirts and golf/coverup/posing towels.  Others have purchased some artwork, greeting cards, and even the window cling "CENSORED" stickers.  Some of my favorite photos of people using or wearing their purchases are here:

Because there is not yet another, or a permanent home for this show, this may be the last time to see these images presented this way for quite a while. 

Several people bought the logo t-shirts (which are far better than regular t-shirts and available in multiple styles), and maybe some of the "posing towels," definitely some greeting cards and possibly some other stuff.  I haven't sorted all of it out yet.

The most important part is that people seemed to understand the point of it, some of them even said that the art helped them firm up some of their thinking on the ideas presented.  And that is the real payoff.  What I really want to do is help people realize that they are not powerless, they can stand up for what they believe is right, and they can influence what is accepted as a "community standard."

Still, some people just had to have fun:

Others took a more measured view of the work by Andrea Patrie:

All photos by the lovely Diana Oliva, who is also pictured below.

This Thursday, the San Pedro Art Association will have its monthly event associated with San Pedro's "First Thursday Artwalk" in this room.  I am really looking forward to this. Not only because there will be a lot of people (hundreds) looking at the art, but also because the  SPAA has a good chef who usually has an interesting spread out for the event.  Again, in addition to the artwork itself, we will have some "merch" for folks, and if you are interested in what it looks like, the shirts are in white and heather, and look something like this:

The "posing towels" are something I usually give to models on sets where they don't have any clothing, but we still don't want to have them directly on sharp rocks or someone else's furniture.  They look a little something like this (without the watermark of course):

In any event, I hope to see as many of you as possible at one or more of the events scheduled for this Thursday and then every weekend in August.  Next Saturday for example, professor Sean DuFrene will be giving a talk on his take on art and photography.  The more I talk to the guy, the more interested I am to hear what he has to say, so at least I am looking forward to that part of the afternoon/evening.  If you have questions, please post them here because you're probably not the only one with that question, or send an email.

ARTICLE IN THE GUARDIAN

The outrageous painting is represented here:
Portrait of Ms Ruby May, Standing by Leena McCall

Here you have a painting removed not from TV, not from Facebook, but from an ART GALLERY, either because the subject is smoking a pipe, or because she has pubic hair.  According to the linked article, "The Mall Galleries have issued the following statement: 'As an educational arts charity, the federation has a responsibility to its trustees and to the children and vulnerable adults who use its galleries and learning centre. After a number of complaints regarding the depiction of the subject and taking account of its location en route for children to our learning centre, we requested the painting was removed.'"  What is going to happen to these children when (a) they grow pubic hair, or (b) they see one of their contemporaries with it?  Will they seek medical help for their own increasing malformation, only to be told that it is perfectly and inexorably normal?  Will they turn away from and malign women who have entirely normal and natural pubic hair?  Or is the hoopla really about the pipe?

Will people have problems with other natural forms such as this one (inspired by Edward Weston):

In any event, if you can make the opening on August 3, you really should.  Music by Rebecca Lynn and paintings by Andrea Patrie to go along with my stuff.  Also, since the exhibit is interactive , you'll have the first opportunity to interact with the artwork.  You can come back again later if it turns out to be as interesting as I hope it is.  If you can't make it on August 3, come by for San Pedro's First Thursday.  That will be a little different as the San Pedro Art Association will have its monthly event there at the same time with some good chow, other artists, and usually hundreds of people.  I'm actually VERY anxious to see how this goes with a much broader public in the room.  If neither of those dates work for you, or if you want to come back again and again, there are events planned for each week, and none of them repeat.  Here's a rundown of what we have lined up so far:

Meanwhile, I've been thinking about all the things I want to do when "What we Censor, What we Don't" at the Croatian Cultural Center of Greater Los Angeles closes.  And I have an awful lot to do.  Reading and studying everything from Minor White to Gary Argenbright to get inspired to bring it to fruition.

About the guest artist,

Diana Hemmings loves to capture the abstract moment of the ultimate unspoken human expression ranging from feelings of shame and pain, melancholy to bliss and euphoria. Her curiosity about human behavior has been reflected in her work, freezing the moment and the emotion giving the observer a unique perspective based on their personal experiences.

Born in Barranquilla, Caribbean Colombia, Diana has lived for years in Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America where she studied Graphic Design at the University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Now Los Angeles is her home where she lives and creates her art.

Diana's painting is spiritual and thoroughly human.  She paints joy that can only be experienced, not explained, and moody brooding that can move a viewer to empathy or empowerment.

In addition to what I consider a real coup of bringing these paintings into the room, we will also have some "merch" available at the show.  The show itself will be interactive in that viewers will be able to use static cling "stickers" on glass in the displays to indicate which part of each display they think should be censored (if any).  We'll have some of the clings available for purchase, just in case you think you'd like to try censoring something at home or somewhere else.  The clings look like this:

In addition, we'll have some top quality, sustainably manufactured shirts available.  We tried a few different ones, and decided on some heather gray super soft ones from "Think Your T-Shirt" that, apart from being grey, and coming in a couple different shapes, look something like this:

We will also have our very popular "posing towels" that models use on my shoots when posing without the bother of clothing.  So plan to come see this show some weekend, or weekends, in August.  Buy some stuff, meet the models, meet the artists, have some fun!

People close to me liked it so much that we are making some shirts to go along with it.  We hope to have both for sale at the show, or by request.  The initial intent, however, was to allow people to use them on the artwork, to make their own statement. 

NEW STUFF ADDED JULY 26th: WE WILL ALSO HAVE Rebecca Lynn IN THE HOUSE ON AUGUST 3, AND THE PAINTINGS OF Diana Hemmings, AS WELL AS THE PHOTOGRAPHY OF Diana Oliva LATER IN THE RUN OF THE SHOW. WE HAVE NOW RECEIVED THE FIRST LOT OF THE REAL T-SHIRTS (FROM Think Your T-Shirt) AS WELL, AND THEY ARE MUCH BETTER THAN THE PREVIOUS ONES, EVEN THOUGH LESS EXPENSIVE.

Although I am not showing very much of that work in the usual online locations before the show closes, here's an example of what I have in mind (although I would personally put the cling on a different image that may be shown alongside this one). 

This exhibition is one of a series of exhibitions in 2014 at the Croatian Cultural Center under the title "Art Without Boundaries."

I am very happy to tell you that the very first co-exhibitor will be Andrea Patrie.  I have loved her work for quite a while and earlier this year bought two pieces for my own collection.  Her paintings are generally figurative, frequently somewhat abstract, and always visually powerful.  Check out her website, linked above, and her Facebook page.

In addition, we have a solid commitment from Sean DuFrene, who teaches at the Art Institute of California, to speak on art, photography, and life as he finds it, on August 9.  Mr. DuFrene will also exhibit prints of several of his own photographs on August 9 and 10.

In addition to preparing this show, I recently attended my nephew's wedding, and made a few snapshots of people while I was there.  Thankfully I was NOT the wedding photographer, so I got to relax, enjoy, and make more interesting images of the festivities and personalities.  A few of those are here:

My brother looking mighty skeptical about something the groom is telling him.

Explaining the fine points of ring bearing.

The happy couple in a shower of bird seed.

Looking forward to hearing from you, and to seeing many of you at summer events, including the show at the Croatian Cultural Center of Greater Los Angeles, in San Pedro from August 3 to August 31, 2014.

I got the opportunity to install a couple new pieces at Metropolitan Design, including a 22x28 version of "S. Suarez 118," so they can be seen in a context that may look like their eventual homes.  Sometimes it is hard to see what a piece of art, or even the size of it will look like in context when you first see it in a gallery setting.  So I welcome this opportunity.

Later I was once again running into Nicolassa Galvez at the precise right moment (why are my meetings with her always on a sidewalk?).  Thereafter I attended a planning meeting at the Art Exchange, and after getting A Lot of help from Nico with it, I completed and submitted a grant application to participate, in collaboration with Art Exchange and other related artists, in a project for the A-Lot program.  That "program" is administered by the Arts Council for Long Beach, and funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.  Images for that project, if it gets funded, will be shown in very large sizes as part of a public art "pop-up," in very different ways from how my work is usually seen.  And since the public art will be in and about Long Beach, we'll get to use images from the Long Beach Gallery, so I like that.

More recently, I made some images for the upcoming show in August which will question the censorship rules that most if us have been so conditioned to accept, that we don't otherwise question them.

Enough reading already, I've attached a couple of outtakes from the recent shooting.  One that is just for blog readers, and one that can show up on Facebook (or network TV for that matter).   Since you are a blog reader, you can choose which you prefer, because I'm just libertarian like that.  Comments on which you prefer are welcome, and you don't have to log-in or provide any marketing info.

First, I've got Winter Storm Threatens Long Beach in a 44" wide version hanging at the San Pedro Chamber of Commerce for the next couple of months.  That can't be bad.

Then, today I placed a number of pieces at Metropolitan Design for the grand opening of their new store on April 4 in Bixby Knolls, and we anticipate many more going there as well.

All this while I've had the super-valuable chance to work with a professional development specialist about some strategies for the August Show, and secured a location and model for one of the (few) funny pieces that will go into that show.  It's all coming together.

So, what a blast it is.

In my review, I found briefs filed by parties on both sides of the case. The briefs I read focused more on the substantive question of what constitutes actionably indecent material than the timing of the rule.  And those briefs were basically raising the same question I want to raise this summer.  The most troubling for me was the brief filed by the group calling itself "MORALITY IN MEDIA, INC."

That group argued that not only was a very brief broadcast of nude buttocks and the side of a female breast obscene because it was in a familiar home setting, but that if it had been done in a context that showed how humiliating nudity should be, much more nudity could have been "laudable." (See excerpt and link below)

So, say it with me, nude buttocks and the side of a human female breast in a home setting, that shit is dangerous; images of threats of violence, people getting killed, and torture, that's "laudable."  Good grief.

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION ET AL. v. FOX TELEVISION STATIONS, INC., ET AL.
CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT
No. 10–1293. Argued January 10, 2012—Decided June 21, 2012*

"The episode broadcast on February 25, 2003,showed the nude buttocks of an adult female character for approximately seven seconds and for a moment the side of her breast."

"On February 19, 2008, the [Federal Communications] Commission issued a forfeiture order finding the display of the woman’s nude buttocks in NYPD Blue was actionably indecent. See In re Complaints Against Various Television Licensees Concerning Their February 24, 2003 Broadcast of the Program “NYPD Blue”, 23 FCC Rcd. 3147 (2008). The Commission determined that, regardless of medical definitions, displays of buttocks fell within the category of displays of sexual or excretory organs because the depiction was “widely associated with sexual arousal and closely associated by most people with excretory activities.” Id., at 3150. The scene was deemed patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards, ibid.; and the Commission determined that “[t]he female actor’s nudity is presented in a manner that clearly panders to and titillates the audience,” id., at 3153"

"The fine against ABC and its network affiliates for the seven seconds of nudity was nearly $1.24 million."

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The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the fine, but NOT because there was no problem with the nudity, rather, because the FCC had not given adequately precise notice to broadcasters of its policy.  The meaning of that ruling is that NOW broadcasters have notice, and could face fines for such broadcasts. 

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Many of the briefs (there are a lot of them) filed in the Supreme Court on this case are linked here: http://www.americanbar.org/publications/preview_home/10-1293.html

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Among the arguments made by those seeking to enforce the penalty are the following:

"Respondents’ arguments are akin to saying that the legality of nudist colonies should eliminate all
indecent exposure laws, or that there is no legal difference between consensual adult sex and
forceful, unsolicited sexual assault." Decency Enforcement Center for Television

"Simply put, respondents want out from under the indecency regime.  For them, the free use of the public airwaves is about their rights, but not about their responsibilities." Parents Television Council.

"Little would have been lost by blurring the nudity, but much would have been gained in terms of
maintaining a decent society for all Americans and shielding children too young to comprehend the
“political message” behind the nudity." And "But Amicus does not doubt that Steven
Spielberg’s purpose in showing nudity in Schindler’s List was laudable – namely, to depict
the humiliation of forced nudity experienced by those who suffered in Nazi concentration camps." MORALITY IN MEDIA, INC.

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READERS: IF YOU THINK YOU CAN HANDLE IT, THERE IS A DANGEROUS PHOTO BELOW.  DON'T SAY I DIDN'T WARN YOU.

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Abstract Nude

Is it really that easy to find images of people threatening each other with firearms, and suffering serious bodily injury on TV in prime time, indicating that the FCC and "society" find it acceptable, and even "normal," to be watching?  Hello?

So, tonight I tried it again, and something called "Almost Human" came on.  I gather it is set in the future, but apparently people get no less bloodthirsty, because within less than 5 minutes there were people pulling guns on each other. And within 10 there were images of a body in a morgue, complete with fully visible injuries.

And yet, although we can see people killing one another, and we can see gruesome fatal injuries, it's all in good fun, you know, "entertainment," we cannot see female breasts, or for god's sake no not a penis.  That shit is dangerous.  

If you find this post to be intolerably offensive, you probably will not like the summer show, and I probably cannot convince you to even consider a different point of view.  But please, if that is you, leave a comment to help the rest of us understand your perspective.  Thank you.

In this case, I've been in touch with other artists who will co-exhibit with me during parts of the show, as well as others who may perform at the opening or closing.  And then there are people involved with the venue itself.
 

And, because the show is designed to, as I explained to (or at least told) my dad, be in part truly offensive, I've been doing things like showing a "flashcard" to people to make sure that they find something to be offended at  . . . you'd be surprised (at least I have been) to find what does NOT offend some people.

Because the show is interactive (definitely low tech, but interactive, like love) I've been designing and building displays (24x24 and 24x44) and reaching out to people to make the non-photographic parts of the show.  Yes, I did win some prize many years go for my skills with pencils, wood, and tools . . . but that was a long time ago, and those chops are definitely rusty, meaning that the thing that was in my mind, is requiring a lot more time than I imagined to execute as well as it must be executed for this show.

Ok, you've been reading long enough.  Here's an image that will likely not be displayed in the show but will be in the catalogue (another image from the same session has been printed at 22x44 for the show), :

Eventually I went after all, and it turns out that I booked a show in August 2014 for a set of photos challenging the notions of what is acceptable for "polite conversation" or entertainment.  This is a group that will all be presented in shadow box type displays with viewer editing possibilities. An example was shown at the 2013 "What a Pair" fund raising show for the Los Angeles Harbor Soroptomists as seen here:

The idea is to allow, or really bait, viewers to find something offensive in the image and cover it with the movable obscure glass at the front of the shadow box.  The show will be up for about 4 weeks, and we plan to have weekly events with guest artists and other attractions.  So it was good that I went.

Now, however, I have a lot of work to do to prepare.  Some of the imagery is yet to be completed, and we agreed that there will be an event each weekend to amp up the show.  So, I'm looking for models, entertainers, and co-exhibitors.  I've already met with one potential co-exhibitor, but would like to work with other painters, sculptors, performance artists, musicians and so on.  Moreover, I want to include at least one male nude in the show that I don't have yet, and at least one nude elder.  I also need smokers, and others we are not used to seeing on TV, movies, or billboards to complete the imagery.  If you are, or know some of these people, please contact me by email and let me know where you think our interests intersect.

Then, this last Friday, Nicolassa contacted me to ask me to show some pieces in her gallery there.  Because I had been so impressed with the improvements in the quality, I agreed, and on Saturday placed six framed pieces there in the Art Exchange Long Beach.  One of the pieces is this one:
Eve from Toe to Eternity

Another thing that will happen this year is that we WILL go this year, to the Fremont Fair (http://fremontfair.org/) at the time of the Summer Solstice.  (If you are interested in participating, please email me at [email protected].)  We did the World Naked Bike Ride in Los Angeles last year, and this just seems like the next logical step.

I will also be shooting to supplement the set of photos known as "We Belong to the Earth." and again, if you'd like to model, please stay in touch.

We are currently constructing "shadow boxes" (for lack of a better term) to show a set of images that challenge a viewer to decide what should be "censored" out of the image.  We're looking for a venue, and I'll need to supplement some imagery.