Strategy, Design, Photography, Multimedia
multimedia
multimedia
Telling stories through texture, color, typography, and sense of place.
loud / quiet / rantepao
A day in the life in the town of Rantepao, located in the Tana Toraja region of Sulawesi, Indonesia. August 2011.
tana toraja
Funeral ceremony near the town of Rantepao, located in the Tana Toraja region of Sulawesi, Indonesia. August 2011.
for just one euro
On September 24 and 25, 2011, Pope Benedict XVI came to the city of Freiburg, Germany, population 220,000. That weekend, over 100,000 pilgrims arrived to pay him a visit. Total costs to the city and its citizens, both Catholic and non-Catholic, topped 25+ million euros, with the city of Freiburg donating 11 million from its budget and the Catholic church contributing an additional 14+ million. The video below, filmed on September 24th near Freiburg’s Rathaus (City Hall), focuses its attention away from the direct path of the Pope, toward his visitors, to explore symbols valued and commodification of religious icons. In particular, it chronicles the efforts of a local kindergarten to raise funds by offering pilgrims the chance to have their photos taken beside a life-sized, color cardboard image of the Pope.
your portrait on a communion wafer
In September 2011, in honor of Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Freiburg, Germany, political artist Jan Sosein Carl seized the opportunity to add his own distinctive voice to the public discourse, creatively challenging the day’s visitors to think more critically about separation of church and state. Also known as the Bundeskünstler, (a pun on the German word “Bundeskanzler”, or “federal chancellor”), Jan Sosein Carl located a spot on Freiburg’s City Hall plaza, then sat on the ground with a simple sign and a few pens. To those who passed by, he offered to sketch small, line-drawn caricatures onto common baking wafers — ones that most, at a quick glance, might identify as communion wafers. However, his particular wafers were clearly store-bought (as evidenced by their packaging) and had not been blessed by a priest, a fact which formally precluded their possession of religious significance, at least in the official sense. As onlookers curiously inquired and made requests for the free drawings, the artist engaged them in conversation, both serious and humorous, and subtly encouraged a challenging of cultural and political norms. In this way, the artist’s performance highlighted the tensions involved in distinguishing sacred object from common artifact — tacitly questioning the legitimacy of what may be considered “reverent” versus “irreverent”. This video follows the artist and his performance on that day, September 24, 2011, and attempts to capture the flavor of this cultural moment.
vernacular typography
Signage and other vernacular typography capture the mood of time and place, telling a story about technology and economy as much as they do about personal and cultural values. It is one of my passions to photograph typography when I travel, as it becomes part of my multi-sided memory of where I have been.
texture
I am fascinated by textures, especially those created through the effects of erosion or time. The macro view can be like a view into another world.
landscapes
Being outdoors, surrounded by trees and wind, is to me one of life’s greatest pleasures. In my landscape photos, I try to capture the dreamlike, sometimes mysterious quality I experience when alone with nature.
numbers
For years I have been photographing representations of numbers during my travels. House numbers, numbers scratched into graffiti, license plates, seat numbers — they are ubiquitous. And yet, what they measure and how they count is both unique and culturally-specific in meaning.
sense of place
What qualities make a specific place memorable, distinct or recognizable? What will I see? What will you see?
portraits
This series is a work in progress, one whose focus I am still exploring.
type collages
Found typography photocopied onto clear acetate and then layered into a series of collages.
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type images
A series of type and image studies that draw quotations from favorite books, songs and poems.
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drawings
Pastel on paper.
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