Union Station, New Haven
Peter took the train up from DC yesterday and I drove to New Haven to meet him. He arrived at about 3.30 and the light was beautiful. / England were playing Germany in a friendly and we found a great pub in the downtown called Christy’s and were able to watch the second half of the match (England 0- Germany 1). Great place.
Elmira Prison / South Church
Craig Williams sent me a link to an article that ran in the Trumansburg, NY weekly paper, and I wanted to pass it along. It is a very well thought out editorial on the potential closing of two Southern Tier psych centers (Willard is also mentioned). Here is the link. I thought of the above photo when the writer spoke about how the alternative to folks getting help in psych centers is to house them in prisons. The above photo is from a project I did in the 1980s photographing early 20th Century New York State prisons. This particular shot was taken in the Elmira Correctional Facility which would undoubtedly end up hosting some of the very people who would not be able to get treatment in the psych centers that are meant to close. I accept that it is all very complicated, but some logical planning on the State’s part should be encouraged.
On a somewhat connected note, yesterday I photographed a very moving interfaith service at the South Church in Springfield called “Creating a Peace-Full City”. There has been an awful spate of gun-related violence in Springfield this year, and many have come together to see if something positive could be done about it. I had never been in this church before and it is stunning.
Willard Suitcases / November update
It has been quite a while since I have posted a suitcases update. There is a lot going on, and I finally have a bit of a breather. I have been shooting at least one day a week in Rotterdam, and some weeks I have managed two full days.
On Tuesday, Peter Carroll came out from Ithaca and we shot video for the upcoming Kickstarter 2 appeal. It will be several weeks before it is even close to be up and running (pending Kickstarter approval), but I have been thinking a great deal about how to go about the whole thing.
I have a natural aversion to asking for financial support for my independent projects, and it is a bit of a struggle for me to think about how to begin this process all over again. After the shoot, I was talking to my son Peter, and he had some great words of encouragement, especially the idea that I would never be asking for a second round of support if the first one wasn’t so successful in getting folks interested in the suitcases.
And what really keeps me going is that in doing this work, I have helped to create and incredible community of people who are invested in the completion of the project.
Peg Ross and I have been so productive in the last two months. We have a system set up that allows us to be super efficient. In one two day period alone we managed to shoot almost 30 cases. Most of these were partially to completely empty, but I have come to feel that it is just as important to document these suitcase as the ones that are full.
These license plates are a good example. Along with the paper tag, these were the only objects in Robert Y’s case. Amazing.
Stuert B’s case was filled with these bathroom products. This is the second container of Dr. Lyon’s Tooth Powder we have come across.
I love the Mennen logo on the top of the talcum container. Beautiful.
I have also been able to upload a few more suitcases to “The Cases” section of willardsuitcases.com. Check it out if you get the chance and please stay in touch. It means so much to me to get feedback.
Yale / The Cushing Center
I was at Yale today talking about the suitcases to Jessica Helfand’s freshman seminar class on visual biography. She was one of the first people to connect with the project and has been a huge supporter from the get-go. This is the third year I have spoken to the class and it always helpful to get feedback from the students on my work with the cases. / After the class I usually head over to the School of Medicine Library and visit The Cushing Center. It is one of the most amazing displays of someone’s life one can ever see. I have posted about it here and here, and if any of you are in New Haven, it is absolutely not to be missed. / Thanks to Jessica and her students for a great day.
Rowing
I used to shoot a lot of rowing. I started in Ithaca while shooting sports for Cornell and Ithaca College. And for many years I shot the annual Harvard/Yale Regatta on the Thames River in New London, CT. I have such a great respect for these athletes and their dedication to training and competing. This morning I was up way before first light to shoot some of the UMASS rowers as they were preparing for a competition this weekend.
Here is a shot of the coxswain in a 4+. It was barely light when I shot this and when we left the dock it was 39 degrees.
These women are on the water 6 days a week way before most people are out of bed. Title IX is the greatest!
Big thanks to Megan McHugh for piloting me around the Connecticut River. She was really nice and it was so great to have an opportunity to be on the water again.
Willard Suitcases / Leo R. / Peg Ross
The New York State Museum did an amazing job conserving and cataloguing the suitcase collection. Three staffers did most of the work. Sarah Jastremsky, Christine Allen, and Kara Chambers worked for months on the project, and they each had their own style of wrapping. I have never been able to tell who did which case, but they all did an amazing job. This particular case represents one of those distinctive styles. / Peg and I always try very hard to return the suitcases to their original condition once we are done shooting.
And it is she who does most the work in this regard. Here is the result of rewrapping Leo R’s case; very close to the original and equally effective. She looks very proud and happy in this picture, as well she should. / From time to time I mention Peg in these posts and it bears saying again that I would have a very hard time doing this work without her help. She deserves a lot of the credit for what you see here and on willardsuitcases.com and I am so grateful that she is a partner on the project.
Leo’s case was one of many leather grips that we have photographed. There wasn’t much in it, but what was there was great. You can see by the label that he was admitted on 25 June, 1954.
I have never seen a Vaseline tube in this color. I wish they would have kept using it, as it is a shade of green that knocks me out.
I have been adding more cases to the suitcases site. Eleanor G’s just went up, which one of the larger collections of photographs. I’ll have more posted by the end of the week, just click on “The Cases” at the top of the page. Thanks for checking it out.
Boston Park Street Station
Cris and I drove into Boston last night for the World Education annual dinner. She had the board meeting today so I got the chance to wander around Boston. It was a beautiful Autumn day and there was a nice relaxed vibe about town. The Red Line was shut down between Park and Kendall so the T was running buses between the two stations.
There was fresh air coming into the crowded bus through the emergency exit. / Sometimes I don’t know why I take certain photographs. And then I don’t know why I post them here. But I end up shooting a lot of public transport images like the one on top, and I like the graphic nature of the emergency exit shot.
Andre Dubus III
I received my preview copy of the latest Poets & Writers in the mail today. They chose a really nice photo of Andre Dubus III for the article ↓. There is no online link to the story yet, but they will probably put one up once the magazine has been on the newsstands for a while. Check it out!
He is on a book tour to promote “Dirty Love”, and I was able to say hi last week when he gave a reading at Politics and Prose in DC.
DC From the Past (Update)
After I posted the shots of the capitol building yesterday, I found myself thinking about previous visits to the same location. I took the above picture sometime in 1985 (when this Studebaker Lark was already over 20 years old). It was this photo that popped into my mind as I was taking yesterday’s shot.
I took the above photograph on 19th January, 1985 the night before Reagan’s second inauguration. Stacy Dabney (and I am not sure of the exact spelling) was living under these very same steps. My friend Brad Edmondson and I were walking around the building the night before the ceremony and we were surprised to see this gentleman living there. He was happy to talk to us about his situation. He was a veteran and felt he was getting screwed by the VA. The Capitol Police didn’t bother him much, but Stacy was pretty sure they would kick him out by the next day. They did. I remember thinking at the time that this was a HUGE story that no one was covering. A homeless guy living under the capitol building.
Brad and I were back in DC that April working on a story about congressman Matt McHugh (D-NY 1975-1993). We went back to the capitol steps and sure enough Stacy was still in residence. We caught him late at night just as he was turning in. It still seems amazing that not only was he living there, but the police never really hassled him. This shot was taken on 24 April, 1985 and it was the last time I saw him. Do any of you out there remember meeting him or reading about him? I did a search for his name and nothing came up. (UPDATE. Thanks to reader DotRot for letting me know his real name.; Stacy Abner. Here is a link to an article that explains the situation. Still an amazing story.)
I really like this photo of Brad, taken that same evening just after we left Stacy.
DC Again
Cris and I are in DC for the long weekend visiting Peter. We have been walking quite a lot and eating well. Today was a visit to Tortilla Cafe near Eastern Market which was amazing and cheap. / I haven’t been inspired to shoot much, but the light was nice today and it is pleasant to see roses still blooming in October.
It is odd to see the public parts of the federal government closed up (not that you could get up these steps when there is no government shut-down). I used to spend quite a bit of time shooting here, and for a time anyone could walk right up to the top. Times change; what can you do?
Jon Crispin's Notebook 
1 comment