On the Stoep - Old San Juan

We spoke but she was intense and pensive throughout our brief encounter

Public Living Rooms - Portland March/April 2017

Making photographs for "Public Living Rooms" in Portland is very different, at least so far, than those in San Juan. I've been shooting around downtown with focus at the Central Library. Unlike San Juan, most of the people I meet are homeless. Their schedules revolve around various church meals and many are very much alone. Many other people have their communities and spend time together near the library or in the park blocks nearby. Sometimes the conversations revolve around Bob playing guitar and singing Bob Dylan tunes in front of the library. Other groups meet around the corner -- sometimes the encounters are warm, but other times not so much.

Separate Wings of the Same Bird

 

May 2, 2017 – June 30, 2017

Beaverton Public Library

12375 SW 5^th St.

Beaverton, Oregon

Artists Talk – June 15, 2017, 7pm

Many, many years ago Lola Rodriguez wrote “Two Wings of the Same Bird”:

Cuba y Puerto Rico son                                                          Cuba and Puerto Rico are
de un pájaro las dos alas,                                                       As two wings of the same bird,
reciben flores o balas                                                              They receive flowers and bullets
sobre el mismo corazón ...                                                      Into the same heart ...

Rodriguez grew up in Puerto Rico but lived part of her life in Cuba. I was privileged to photograph in both countries this past year. While they have parallel histories and there continues to be mutual individual admiration, the countries paths separated in 1959. And today the countries are Separate Wings of the Same Bird. For me, Cuba lives in color and Puerto Rico in black & white – thus street life differs, both in photographs and in spirit.

Public Living Rooms -- San Juan

I first came to the conceptualization of "Public Living Rooms" when I was taking a workshop with David Alan Harvey in Puerto Rico. Even though I had been taking photographs of people in public spaces for many years, I hadn't thought it through in terms of people spending their days in plazas and parks. Many of these people don't have choices, they are homeless. But, both homeless people and the other people who spend their days in public places, are there to meet up with friends, to have a community, and to engage in conversations. Naming this "Public Living Rooms" came to me when I watched people exit buses early in the morning at the Plaza de Armas. Then, each afternoon, the same people got back on the buses to return to their homes. Others, of course, walked into the park and they too spent their days in this public place - thus "Public Living Rooms."

Faces & Gestures

Took this series of photographs that portray Lina looking at me as she quickly changed poses. Also, we are both in the mirror behind her. One thing is clear, she owns my heart.