Showing posts with label hobo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hobo. Show all posts

8 April 2008

"But really, I just want to migrate for the next few years, following warm weather and photographing the train hopping youth of america. I think it's one of the most important, overlooked, and temporary underground cultures of modern times...." Mike Brodie

Hobo style! I really admire the work of Mike Brodie aka The Polaroid Kid. You can see his hobo-esque photographs here.

Below is Mike Brodie's Artist Statement...

Maybe I've just become obsessed with dirty cloth & dull rags, objects that have been touched by a million different hands then set back down--right there--just for me. Things that are made by chance or found on the side of a road, rather than bought or sold. What's a story anyways? Why do people tell them?

My first memory was when I was a year old. Imagine that. Lyin' by a river bed, Arizona is hot in the summer, and even worse when you have an earache. One-year-old with no pants on, screaming and crying like it would help or something, my face bright RED. The blanket I was lying on, made of prickly pear green wool. If that cloth was still around, it would tell you a story. But its long gone, underground somewhere, tired.

I've been shittin' and pissin' for 20 years since that day. Most of the time I miss, but I "make photos" now, valued by some. Who are these people? One of my favorites is still that one my mom took, my dad cuttin' into a turkey like a man--in prison since, my grandma laughin' drunk in the foreground--dead now. I still have that one. As for why, who knows? This is where I am and what I'm doing. Everyone I've ever met is responsible for it, and those eyes of theirs--never blank--always tryin' to focus right there on the pupil. It's always difficult to get a good look at both of 'em. Go ahead and try. You'll just end up starin' right at the bridge of the nose.

The photos. I want people to see 'em just as you'd want to tell someone a good story. Nobody enjoys boredom. And when I'm good and dead, maybe my lungs'll still be around, with some words beneath. Everything comes as a surprise--thank GOD.


Mike Reynolds is an American architect that has dedicated his professional life to ecological and sustainable architecture. He uses discarded items, such as pop bottles and tires insulted with dirt to build his Earthships. With rising concern over global warming, Reynolds has become a pioneer of the green movement, practicing these innovative methods since the early 70's.

Edward Gorey has undoubtedly inspired the imaginations of many artists and especially the macabre-style of Tim Burton. His style is very dark and his stories quirky. Here is a sample of his illustrations.

8 March 2007

Pictured below is the most recent painting I have almost completed. This is just a detail of the larger painting.


I am doing a photo shoot this coming weekend, and if all goes well, I will have some of those photographs posted soon. Here are some pictures I had previously taken last fall of Zach.

I found some great photographers' websites. The first two are New York based photographers Sarah Wilmer and Meike Nixdorf. Sarah Wilmer is mainly a portrait photographer, whereas Meike Nixdork mainly focuses on cityscapes. Both of their work is stunning.

Another photographer I really admire is The Polaroid Kid. He mainly photographs people. I especially love how he will take 2 or 3 photographs of the same person, gradually moving closer to reveal what they are holding in their hands; a way of giving a clue into their character. I love the rawness of his photographs, and I especially love his polaroids. Pictured below are two of his polaroid photographs "The Bird Man" and "Long Live the Derelict".


Oakland-based artist Monica Canilao's work is amazing!! She is very versatile, she works with many medias. I love her illustrative style and her uniqueness. Pictured below are two of her works "Destroy Everything" and "Typewriter Hands".

Click on images to view at larger scale.