08 October 2008

Face to Face


Photo: Alek Lindus

Down on Highway 61


Leland Mississippi, hometown of such blues legendaries as Son Thomas and Johnny Winter. James "Son" Thomas, whose chair that is hanging on the wall, started out in Leland as a gravedigger -- but according to his son, Pat Thomas who frequently entertains visitors at the Leland Blues Museum, gravedigging was too hard on his back, so he had to take up playing the guitar instead.

05 October 2008

Gruppof inbox: Seba Kurtis - 700 miles (The changing face of America)











"Borders are imaginary lines that require specific documentation to pass through and to stay on the other side. Certain individuals set these boundaries and rules that determine who is entitled to cross over these discriminatory lines and stay and who is not. For those concerned the imaginary concept becomes real and interferes with lives.

There are currently 45million Hispanics working or living in the USA, (particularly from Mexico) of which 12 million are suspected illegal. As Americans start families later and opt for smaller families the Hispanics contribution is responsible for half of the population growth. This rapid expansion has created widespread fear of losing the “traditional American identity” and crushing the American dream as Hispanics may be in a majority within the next century if current trends are maintained.

This diluting of their race is an unwelcome prospect. It breeds insecurity in some American citizens who are fearful of the face of America being changed. An anti-immigrant crusade has developed to prevent illegal aliens from crossing the southern border. In 2006 President Bush who opposes amnesty, authorised the fencing of 700miles (1/3 of the 2100miles) of the US-Mexico border of the states of California, Texas and Arizona. This $2.2 billion project is yet to materialise, but has been compared to the Berlin Wall and has been poorly received by neighbouring Mexico. The American economy enjoys the benefits of cheap labour, taxes are even deducted from the wages of illegal workers, but the government does not offer rights to citizenship or the chance to cross the border legally.

Patriotic Americans have also given up their free time to become vigilantes “Minutemen”, who secure the border themselves and report any infiltration to border police from 24hour video cameras in the comfort of their own home, from a simple internet down load. Private individuals have also made donations to enable the “Minutemen” to start construction of the fence themselves as they feel betrayed by the slow political response.

I was living as an illegal immigrant in Europe for more than 5 years, so this body of work is based on an understanding of being a man with no rights."



-
Seba Kurtis

04 October 2008

invited photographer: Anna Edlund

In July, at the exhibition Planket ("the fence") in Gothenburg, especially one serie of photographs got my attention - Anna Edlund's "Här går vi" ("Here we go"). Now I am very happy to introduce Anna Edlund as an invited photographer at the F blog!


Here we go
Here are nine pictures from a series of sixteen. These sixteen are all pedestrian symbols on the pavement of a street in Gothenburg, Herkulesgatan.
With a simple technique (taken with a Holga 120n) and with multiple images I want to show a pattern that for me is a lot about communication. Communication between the viewer and the pictures, the "doodling" artist and us, the man and the child. What do we see in the symbol?
This is the street where we walk.
I want to put some light on the public space and our inner space. Spaces where we spend time but might not stop and reflect about where we are, what we see and where we walk and where we are going.
- Anna Edlund

All photographs © Anna Edlund.
Don't miss to check out her homepage.
Invited by Fredrik Skott.

03 October 2008

Road Songs

What is that need, that again and again sends me down the road? Maybe it's just the music.


Why do I have to see these old places again, knowing that they will soon be gone and Kerouac's memory erased?

But go I do, and as the windshield wipers slap the rain from the windscreen, keeping time to a fine road song, I just keep going.

reflections - time to think





02 October 2008

Gruppo F inbox: Jens Windolf



© Jens Windolf

Ami Vitale in Gliwice

tonight, 2.10.08 at 5.00 p.m Gliwice House of Photography opens exhibition of Ami Vitale "My eyes, your world". We are happy to invite you all to be part in this event, especially that Ami was guest of The F blog and that this exhibition is a real life emanation of F blog. The F blog is a god father of this exhibition. I am more then sure we will have soon more of those real life signs of The F blog activity.


photo by Ami Vitale
Exibition is organised in frame of 3rd Gliwice Month of Photography.
Where: Halogen, Fabryka Drutu, Dubois 22, Gliwice, Pl
Exhibition will be open everyday (except Mondays) since 4 till 7.00 pm, untill the end of the month.

works are still in progress (everybody invited to help :))




photos by Marcin Górski