Wow! Kudos to an amazing group of creatives. I would have loved to have seen this in person. Julia rocks. Jay, thank you so much for making the video available.
They worked *very* hard for a year to produce that evening. They are amazing. Julia does rock. :). You know, she says the single most influential piece of advice Berenice Abbot gave her (beyond what she taught her about developing film, which was everything) is "Always have a project you're working on."
The experience of seeing this project in moving images is so much more visceral than would be the case of static images, as seen in a museum exhibition, for example. I was deeply moved by more than one segment. The flow is seamless and the choice of music perfect. I kept thinking while watching, where but in U.S. - where the diversity is so vast, the economic strata so obvious - could all these "slices" of life come together so coherently to present as true a picture as is possible of what a city in America is. I have great admiration for the photographers being able to capture so well the humanity of people who so often are not given the time of day. It's all exceptionally well-done.
You really got to the essence of so much with this comment, Maureen. (You generally do.) Julia was tired of the usual gallery wall show. (Though she's in one herself later in the month. :) She curated so many. She wanted to show the photography in a different way. She loves L.A. as her adopted home for all the reasons you mention. And my greatest impression of the photographs, among so many, was the talent of the photographers, beyond the artistic skill, to connect with their subjects and gain that intimate access. It was a talent I recognized in Julia early on watching her shoot, and I've learned that all the really good documentary photographers have to possess it.
Jay, this is brilliant. I have no connection to L.A. but I really felt this. The raw humanity is beautiful and allows one to develop empathy for those with different experiences. Very cool.
Matthew, your thoughts about the "raw humanity" and empathy really touch on what I think is best of so much good in that photography. It's a talent, too, along with the technical and artistic visual skill, for these kinds of photographers to gain that intimate physical and emotional access to their subjects. I'll pass your comment on to Julia. :)
Wow! Kudos to an amazing group of creatives. I would have loved to have seen this in person. Julia rocks. Jay, thank you so much for making the video available.
They worked *very* hard for a year to produce that evening. They are amazing. Julia does rock. :). You know, she says the single most influential piece of advice Berenice Abbot gave her (beyond what she taught her about developing film, which was everything) is "Always have a project you're working on."
The experience of seeing this project in moving images is so much more visceral than would be the case of static images, as seen in a museum exhibition, for example. I was deeply moved by more than one segment. The flow is seamless and the choice of music perfect. I kept thinking while watching, where but in U.S. - where the diversity is so vast, the economic strata so obvious - could all these "slices" of life come together so coherently to present as true a picture as is possible of what a city in America is. I have great admiration for the photographers being able to capture so well the humanity of people who so often are not given the time of day. It's all exceptionally well-done.
You really got to the essence of so much with this comment, Maureen. (You generally do.) Julia was tired of the usual gallery wall show. (Though she's in one herself later in the month. :) She curated so many. She wanted to show the photography in a different way. She loves L.A. as her adopted home for all the reasons you mention. And my greatest impression of the photographs, among so many, was the talent of the photographers, beyond the artistic skill, to connect with their subjects and gain that intimate access. It was a talent I recognized in Julia early on watching her shoot, and I've learned that all the really good documentary photographers have to possess it.
Jay, this is brilliant. I have no connection to L.A. but I really felt this. The raw humanity is beautiful and allows one to develop empathy for those with different experiences. Very cool.
Matthew, your thoughts about the "raw humanity" and empathy really touch on what I think is best of so much good in that photography. It's a talent, too, along with the technical and artistic visual skill, for these kinds of photographers to gain that intimate physical and emotional access to their subjects. I'll pass your comment on to Julia. :)