I'M IN LONDON

Bringing a New Version of Polaroids Small Prints & Ephemera to London May 15th

Webber Gallery asked me several months ago to bring my show Polaroids Small Prints & Ephemera to their London gallery. It’ll coincide with the Photo London fair and Offprint book fair. Opening May 15th 6pm - 8pm. Will be up for a month ish.

18 Newman Street. London W1T 1PE

Maybe you remember I wrote about being into a Philip Lorca diCorcia installation. Zwirner, 2009. Based off PL’s book Thousand. FP-100 Polaroids lined the room on a thin shelf. It’s always stuck with me. And I’ve wanted to create something that engages people with photography like that show did for me. Back in February at Anent Gallery in CDMX I showed the work of Mike Brodie, Pia Guilmoth, Gray & Mario Sorento’s Polaroids. I’ve added several more for London.

I like how Mario Sorrenti’s polaroids pair with Vince Aletti’s ephemera collage. Aletti has been archiving magazine and books for 5(?) decades.

I designed the above second invite. It includes one of the seven Mario Sorrenti’s polaroids that are in the London exhibition.

Sorrenti documented his show The Wall using medium format polaroids. And an 8x10 camera. 21 years ago. Originally first assembled in his downtown loft in 2001. Later the images were used to recreate it a third time in the form of a book— Draw Blood for Proof. 2013. I bought it from Dashwood when it came out.

Vince and I met last week. For him to lay out his piece for the show. I took pictures. So I can reassemble it in London.

So that’s the show in London. Let me talk to you now.

Archiving had me thinking about older music and movies. Getting lost in the shuffle. A song you’d maybe hear switching stations on the radio. A movie you’d flip past on TV. Sunday late afternoon. Catch the last 30 minutes.

Thought about my old friend Albert Hammond Jr’s GfC. A song I loved instantly and still do.

Albert posted it recently. I played it in the car. Finally got a new and working radio (Continental).

Been a few years. So put on Under Control next. Always felt like it was about not conforming. To expectations. Societal pressures. Can relate.

I’ve never been sure where I fit in. With friendships. Relationships. Photography. As an artist. More recently as a curator. Lack of a better term.

This had me thinking of Kenneth Lonergan’s You Can Count On Me. About a brother and sister who lost their parents early in life.

I felt connected to Terry, played by Mark Ruffalo. Not because of his loss. He refused a mainstream conventional life. Little tolerance for hypocrisy. For phoniness. Or platitudes.

Terry drifts. Cross country and back. In and out of relationships. Never settle somewhere or with someone— can’t lose anything. I thought about this Henry Wessel picture below.

The bruise and the beautiful. Juxtaposed.

But I also thought about Rounders. When Damon’s character is being goaded by Malcovich. And says, “you can’t lose what you don’t put in the middle. But you can’t win much either.”

Another classic. I hear little about these days. 1998. Damon’s character flames out. Drops out of law school. To chase a dream— professional poker player.

I thought about how few pictures I take now. It’s tough to let go of something you love— that doesn’t love you back.

Often artists make their best work when they’re young. Maybe they’re fearless. From judgement, failure, peers, legacy, heartbreak, lifestyle creep. No distractions like a child, divorce, sick parent to take care of. Probably no mortgage, rent, credit cards.

Get older. Life complicates— we get distracted. How it goes.

Funny— because you gain knowledge, wisdom, experience etc with age and time.

I thought about Fleetwood Mac’s Landslide. Stevie Nicks wrote it. Unknown at the time. Broke. Unsure if they’d make it.

It’s about getting older. Unsure of decisions you’ve made. The right path. The right partner.

Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

I thought about my own choices. Many of which— not so good. Wanted to pursue a life filled with art. People I felt a connection with.

Thought about a Fairfield Porter painting. Maine Coast, 1955.

Probs a good place to slow down for a while. Listen to Landslide on repeat. Tibor de Nagy showed it last July.

Getting older reminds me of a couple of lines from Obvious Child.

Well I'm accustomed to a smooth ride
Or maybe I'm a dog who's lost it's bite
I don't expect to be treated like a fool no more
I don't expect to sleep through the night
Some people say a lie's a lie's a lie
But I say why
Why deny the obvious child?

We had a little son and we thought we'd call him Sonny
Sonny gets married and moves away
Sonny has a baby and bills to pay
Sonny gets sunnier
Day by Day by Day...

Sonny wanders beyond his interior walls
Runs his hand through his thinning brown hair... 

I saw One to One. About John Lennon and Yoko Ono.

Phil took me to the screening. Sean Lennon told me after that his dad was always trying to change. Better himself.

At the time the footage was shot— there was a malaise throughout the country.

So Lennon and Yoko toured to try and galvanize people against the Vietnam War. Civil Rights. The FBI tapped Lennon’s phone. So he started recording all his own calls. They found the tapes. Spliced them in throughout the doc. I loved this part of it.

Couldn’t help but think of what we’re living through today. Two terrible wars. Sudan. Natural disasters. Both sides in our country going too far. And now the apathy permeating the US. It’s nothing new. History repeats.

I thought about something I read about Matisse. During WWII. He was making cut out flowers. Rather than making art that was reflective of the horrors of war. Not everything has to be so on the nose. I’m always looking for more nuance.

Reminded me of Bob Dylan. Criticized for moving away from political songwriting. Instead he made more personal introspective music. I could play an obscure song. But It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue is one that signified the change in his tone. A farewell to his critics, the folk scene, his old self.

Hope to see you in London tonight— May 15th. I’ll be at the Webber Gallery in Soho from 6pm - 8pm.