Hope and Feathers/Walks
The opening for the Hope and Feathers exhibit was lovely. Quite a few American Demographics folks made the trip to Amherst, and it was a grand reunion. Special thanks to founder Peter Francese for coming down from New Hampshire, to Brad Edmondson who wrote a very flattering piece about me, and to Mike Rider who designed a lovely flyer for the show. Seeing everyone made me happy.
The folks at Hope and Feathers were great, and thanks to Bronwen for all her hard work, and to Simone for hanging the photos. And thanks to Michelle for agreeing to this somewhat out of left field project.
It is great to have our Peter back home for a while. One of the benefits of having him around is that we often take walks in and around Amherst, and it is fun to grab a camera and take some pictures.
I love the Autumn and how plants adapt to the changing seasons.
Concrete too. But it doesn’t change much.
Thanks for following.
American Demographics / Hope and Feathers Exhibit (Image #13)
I have always liked this photograph. These two women could be sisters. Robby Aceto did a really nice coloring job on this; I especially like the way the water looks on the American side. Less than a week to go for the opening at Hope and Feathers, Amherst.
American Demographics / Hope and Feathers Exhibit (Image #12)
To me this photo represents a lot of what Ithaca was like in the 1980s. This VW Beetle was parked in front of the Ithaca Diner and the goat inside seemed quite content. I can’t remember what article in American Demographics that it was used to illustrate, but it shows how creative Mike Rider and Jim Keller were in choosing images. Pretty cool.
The opening of the exhibit is a week from today. I’ll probably be jet-lagged, but stop by and I’ll mumble a heartfelt hello.
American Demographics / Hope and Feathers Exhibit (Image #11)
New York State Fair in Syracuse. Shot in 1980. I did a quick search for Red online and unfortunately nothing came up. Anyone out there ever see him back in the day?
The Hope and Feathers exhibit opens on the 4th. All these prints will be for sale at the gallery and online on my Photo Shelter site. The online site will include images that didn’t make it on the walls due to space limitations.
American Demographics / Hope and Feathers Exhibit (Image #10)
I have delivered all of the American Demographics photos to Hope and Feathers for framing. I get back from Nepal on the 1st and the show will be hung on the 2nd. The opening is Thursday the 4th.
I had heard that a house was to be moved in Ithaca and went down to hang out and watch the action. These two guys seemed to be enjoying themselves. You can just make out the corner of the house that is attached to this cool Peterbuilt. Robby Aceto did a great job on the colors.
Hope to see you on the 4th.
American Demographics / Hope and Feathers Exhibit (Image #9)
Here is another of the Soviet Union photos. I was in Leningrad in March of 1982 and the Neva River was still mostly frozen. From what I could tell, these women came to the river every day for a dip. I really like how the school children are standing around watching. Another amazing hand coloring job by Robbie Aceto.
American Demographics / Hope and Feathers Exhibit (Image #8)
I never did know if the selective hand coloring on this image was Mike Rider’s suggestion or that Robby Aceto was pinched for time when he did the work. I do know that when he was doing these for American Demographics he was also very active as a touring musician. He has worked a lot with guitarist David Torn and quite a bit with David Sylvian. When I saw Robby recently he talked about doing a gig in New York City and then coming back to his hotel room to work on photos for the magazine. It is always possible that he just ran out of time before this issue went to press. I look at this and imagine the sky being blue and the grass green, but the more I look at it, the more I like the fact that only the banners are colored.
The exhibit opens up in about a month. I am really looking forward to it.
American Demographics / Hope and Feathers Exhibit (Image #5)
I started going to presidential inaugurations back in the 1970s. I think the last one I did was Clinton’s second. I am going through my contact sheets to identify the specific dates of each photo for the Hope and Feathers / American Demographics show, so I can’t yet say what year this was taken. I should have all the dates by the time the exhibit goes up. I especially like Robby Aceto’s hand coloring of this shot. Really nice.
American Demographics / Hope and Feathers Exhibit (Image #4)
Here is another shot from my upcoming American Demographics exhibit at Hope and Feathers. I am having some serious fun looking back at these images and seeing Robby Aceto’s amazing hand coloring.
The dates are pretty much set. Opening Thursday evening 4 October, with a gallery talk on Saturday the 20th. I hope to see you there.
By the way, points to anyone who can identify these geezers. Probably taken in the 80s.
American Demographics / Hope and Feathers Exhibit (Image #3)
I really like this image a lot. This is Dan who was a friend of Don who was a friend of Herman’s when we all went to a Mets game at Shea. If I remember correctly, Dan was a scientist of some kind and I think he might be an academic somewhere. If I can track him down, I’ll give him this print. Today Herman sent me Don’s phone number, so I’ll text him to see if he is still in touch with Dan. Robby Aceto did a great job hand coloring this one.
We are in the process of finalizing the Hope and Feathers show. Looks like the opening will be on 5 October and I will be giving a gallery talk sometime later in the month. Details to follow. I am really excited about this.
Jon Crispin's Notebook 
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