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Archive | February, 2012

Back in Athens…

By on February 29, 2012 in Uncategorized

I arrived late yesterday afternoon.  After computing some quick math I discovered that I had been traveling for almost 24 hours.  It felt like it too.  I was wiped out.  I checked into the hotel and went to bed at 17:30, waking up around midnight and then going back to sleep for another 4 hours or so.  It’ll take a few days to even out my internal clock, but I am not too worried about that.

I have some errands to run here in town today, the first being purchasing my ferry ticket for tomorrow morning.  I also need to stop into the Leica store and buy some chemistry for my own use on Paros.  I do not wish to use the school’s goods in my apartment.  I’ll pick up some Rodinal, stop, fix, hypo clear and wetting agent.  I might also see what they have for film but I really don’t need any of that since I have loads already on the island.  It will also be good to check in with the store owners, who I have been getting to know over the past year or so.  I’ll have coffee with some friends here in town, maybe dinner with them also, and then head back to the hotel, pack up and sleep until early tomorrow when I’ll take a taxi to Pireaus.

The weather outside is grey and cold. There might even be some flurries today.  Tomorrow it is supposed to be sunny, but I I will be on board for most of the morning and then…

Paros!

JDCM

On the road again…

By on February 27, 2012 in Uncategorized

Here in JFK things run smoothly, except for my ticketing.  With my dual citizenship status I do not need a visa to stay in Europe, yet the folks at the ticket counter seemed to think I did.  It was resolved easily and without any anger or resentment, but I was unable to get both my tickets.  I can fly to Brussels, but I will have to pick up my ticket for Athens in Belgium.  No worries.  I have a 4 hour layover anyway.  Plenty of time to sort it all out.  The glitch is that what was once a Brussels Airlines flight is now an Aegean Air flight.  A simple change and nothing to worry about.

I am excited to be back on the road.  In some ways I am going home, to quote the Maestro.  The beginning of a new life for which I have been laying the foundation for a few years.  Much to do…

JDCM

6 days and eager to get going…and a little rant…

By on February 21, 2012 in Greece, spring in the Aegean, working

I leave for Greece next Monday and I am, as you all know, eager to get on the road and back to what I love to do: work, travel and be anywhere but here.  By ‘here’ I mean the country in which I live, not the circumstances, or is it the circumstances within the country…?

This place has lost its charm for me.  There is little joy left in Mudville when I contemplate a life led here in North America.  The Religious Right are  taking over much of the country with their backward-ass medievalism; politics is becoming more obviously about money and elitism; the growth of the police state is of great concern since ‘The People’ seem to welcome it and the mainstream media circus provides Fear of the Outside World in much the same way that Ed Sullivan introduced his variety show–a little tease, the wind up and the pitch…Kapow!  Watch out folks!  The Boogieman is back in town, in fact he has never left and is hoping to turn your quiet and peaceful (both lies!) neighborhoods into cesspools (which they have always been, btw…) of moral and religious degradation.  God, I am so tired of this place…

At least where I am going there is no doubt who the fascist/liberals/Greens/Commies are.  They are upfront about it and do not speak in double-talk designed to confuse and disorient the voters.  Protest is allowed and not cordoned off a mile away from the place of interest and , yes, sometimes it turns violent.  What can one say?  People are pissed off…

But I remain in eager need to be gone.  I’ll start packing on Friday, but I have to inventory my socks and so forth to make sure they are all good.  I’ll pick up some new ones if I need to.  I have more film to shoot and develop, but I have time for that.  There are a few odds and ends of errands I have to cross off the list, but otherwise I am good to go.

There are two art openings this spring in the area in which I will be represented.  The first is a ‘small works show’ at Noble Horizons in May and the second is a 14th Colony gig in Millerton, also in May.  I have two pieces being matted and framed as we speak and I’ll leave them with a friend to hand in.  So yes, I am happy to be a part of something here in The West, but I will keep much of it at arms length at least, if not further away.  Best not to get involved.

JDCM

12 days, 1200 Euros…

By on February 15, 2012 in 4×5 photography, craft, darkroom work, Greece, Paros, spring in the Aegean, Uncategorized

My debacle with Greek Customs is all but resolved.  Three of the four boxes I have sent have been delivered to Paros, safely and without incident.  The other four that Customs snagged have been evaluated and the price is high, in fact it is as if I have to purchase everything again.  They have assigned the value at 1200 Euros, just over 1500USD.  Ouch indeed.  As a good friend told me, I am now part of an exclusive club.  I have little choice but to comply if I wish to have my possessions back.  There is an avenue of appeal, but this would be a long, drawn out affair and in the end it is doubtful I would gain anything from it except to garner resentment from the Greeks.  As my friend also reminded me, the customs agents probably have relatives on Paros so why make my life difficult?  Give them their pound of flesh and be done with it.  Lesson learned, but what lesson that is remains unclear.  The good news is that the boxes have been released from customs and are waiting for me at the PO on the island.

I leave for Greece in 12 days and I am very excited.  The mystery of the future fills me with hope and I am looking forward to being a beginner in school, working on my own photography and contemplating the possibility of my own, first, book.  The recent news regarding the social unrest in that little country is unsettling, but according to friends I know in town the press has exaggerated the scale and scope.  Yes, there are troubles both social an economic and many Greeks are distressed about their own abilities to cope.  The good news is that they have gone through worse before and in more tense situations.  WWII and NAZI occupation, the Junta of the The Colonels, the Greek Civil War…These all overshadow the current crisis and, in a way, keep the population centered around what they can do instead of what they are powerless to achieve.  Their future, like all futures, is uncertain and I have faith that a solution will present itself.  No one wants a return to the military rules of the past nor the brutal foreign dictatorships that governed with iron fists.  Social reform and economic balance is never easy and the Greeks have their work cut out for them.  Europe will not let them leave the EU so it is logical to feel that they would not allow them to leave the EuroZone.

This brings up the Euro itself, a troubled and controversial subject from its inception.  It is incorrect to compare the EU system with that of the USA.  Europe is not the US, thank the gods.  Many analysts feel that the Euro was doomed front the start and perhaps they were right.  Still, it is always easier to destroy than to build, seemingly more sensible to abandon than to support.  Responsibility is a good place to begin and all of Europe must take responsibility for the failure or success of their fledgling currency.  It is a brave venture to change 1500 years of historical divisions and nationalistic pride.  It is a matter of faith and action which, I have heard, is like a blind man walking down the stairs.  This painful growth spasm is just that.  It will pass.

More to come…

JDCM

16 days, crossing things off the list and postal updates…

By on February 10, 2012 in 4×5 photography, craft, darkroom work, Greece, nude studies, Paros, silver darkroom, skill and craft, spring in the Aegean, working

I haven’t been counting the days recently so imagine my surprise when I realized that I had only 16 days until I head back to Greece!  Amazing, really, just amazing.  I am very excited to return to Paros and the Aegean Center and begin working. It feels like I do no work here.  Although I take pictures and develop film I seem to spend more time combing through my Netflix queue and meeting friends for coffee and all that.  On Paros I have days full of reading, dark room work, digital work, artistic discussion and more that are much more fulfilling.  I also get more exercise which is good since I tend to loaf around here more than anything-and gain weight in the process.  This isn’t saying that I do not “get things done” because I do.  I have been crossing many things off the list recently and  am confident that I will be departing Ancramdale in ship-shape-and-Bristol-fashion.

The tree work and storm cleanup has been finished.  The place looks lovely and we are getting everything ready for spring, which is just around the corner.  No snow to speak of, but we are supposed to get some tonight and this weekend.  the ‘Farmer’s Almanac’ claims a big storm later in the month, but thankfully before I leave.  We shall see.  Mom’s care is all set-up and all the important adjustments have been made for her going forward for the next few months.  I have visited my father in Pittsburgh and followed through on that commitment.  The donations to charities have been made and I feel hundreds of pounds lighter than I as before–not so much material stuff anymore.  It has been a cathartic few weeks for sure.  I have also hired some new employees to replace my mother’s long-time home maintenance man.  He has been a good guy but in the past few years has begun to flake out due to burnout.  It is time to switch to those who have the resources and will to do the job.  I’ll bring the Mini Cooper up to the shop in Latham next week for a tune-up and then it will be ready to sit quietly until I return in July.  I’ll have someone drive it once in a while during my absence.

The boxes I have sent to Paros have all but arrived.  Three are on the island and have been delivered to the school, but four are still in customs, waiting to be released.  I have had to jump through some hoops to have them cleared but I think that they will be soon.  I’ll be charged a fair amount of money for their freedom, but it will be worth it in the end.  The other night I had to call Greek Customs at 3:40 AM to speak to the official there, but I think I have solved that problem.  It was not without a lot of help so, from the bottom of my heart, I thank those who eased the tensions and fears around this issue and acted on my behalf.  You know who you are!

On another note, I have so many wonderful interactions with other Aegean Center alums here in New York that I am bowled over by the solidarity.  First was the meeting at the Metropolitan with Jeffrey, Liz and the others and then the other day I met with some other former students at MoMA and the Met for a wonderful day of art and conversation.  Really great!  I am grateful to have had the time with them and thankful that I am able to do so.  Super photography, beautiful paintings and a lot of crappy post-modern junk have assured me that I am on the right path and that my ethics are true.

More to come…

JDCM

Travel news and photo exhibits…

By on February 5, 2012 in 4×5 photography, craft, darkroom work, Greece, Paros, silver darkroom, skill and craft, spring in the Aegean, working

In about three weeks I’ll be back in Greece.  I cannot wait.  My time in the US has been excellent and I have been able to take care of business, visit with family and maintain an adult demeanor most of the time.  Certainly there is a great deal of emotion surrounding my leaving for this extended period of time because in many ways I am moving to Europe.  I will return periodically, of course, to visit with family and friends, but my heart is now directed towards a new life.

I have shipped 7 boxes of personal goods to Greece and so far only 1 has reached Paros.  4 are still in Greek Customs and await negotiating to be let through.  There are no goods for sale, no items of great import except of personal value.  I am imaging a huge fee for their release.  The remaining 2 are most likely in Greece by now and I hope they will be let through easily.  Those 2 have my medium and large format cameras in them as well as some clothes and books.  I’ll cross my fingers.

I have just visited my father in Pittsburgh and yesterday we went to the Carnegie Museum of Art to view an exhibit on the photojournalist Teenie Harris.  It is an amazing show and worth seeing more than once.  Massive amounts of 4×5 prints spanning almost 40 years.  He did not consider himself an artist.  He worked and fulfilled his job.  Through this I feel that he has accomplished more than the artist that goes out to purposely to ‘create’ an image.  There is a purity to his work and it cautions me to the perils and pitfalls of assuming I am an artist.  My work will decide this for me and it is up to others to assign a label even if I find this label arrogant or incorrect.  I would rather be known as a hard worker and someone who tried to perfect a craft rather than a popular figure in the art world.  Skill and craft: the cornerstones of my life these days.  On Paros I can practice this.  Soon I will be back in my comfort zone and hard at work.

JDCM