The Florida Museum of Photographic Arts

Yes! This is a real place, not some fictitious hallucination you have dreamed up in your undoubtedly excited encephalon. FMoPA, as it is warmly known, resides right here in downtown Tampa. A museum dedicated to photography as a fine art. 

Often I find myself standing up for little ol' Tampa, sometimes even against myself. It's hard to find the excitement here. Our downtown knows only 9:00a-5:00p Monday through Friday, and most all of the buildings are assumed law offices, banks, the casing of cubicles, etc. FMoPA sits quietly on the corner of Ashley and Jackson in suite 130. Hell, it's got a big window that stretches along Jackson Avenue with banners of current exhibitions, opportunities to take classes, and the benefits of being a member. 

I've been working for FMoPA roughly a year now, and I felt it only proper to say a little something about this place in my blog. I truly love the home that I have made for myself at FMoPA. I teach children's workshops, and help run the office of the museum. Working for such a small non-profit organization like this has really taught me the hard work that goes into such a spot as this. 

As an art student I am surrounded by people looking for the culture in Tampa. Often people find themselves crossing over the bridge to St. Pete in search for artistic entertainment, but we must be reminded that things aren't so bad in our own backyards. Currently we have "Twice Exposed: Photographic and Print Works from the Permanent Collection of the USF Contemporary Art Museum". Showcasing artists like Vik Muniz, Robert Rauschenberg, and Chuck Close just to name a few. Robert Rauschenberg, people!! If you are uneducated on how this man has impacted the art world, please... take a minute to reflect. (For more info on Rauschenberg click here) For such a contemporary exhibition I was really expecting a younger crowd.

Where are the hipsters, the twenty-somethings, the avant-garde? Consider me disappointed. 

This show is up through January 10th. I apologize for not having this up here sooner, but I encourage you to come and see for yourself. Don't give up on Tampa!

The Florida Museum of Photographic Arts

200 North Tampa Street

Suite 130

Tampa, Florida 33602

813.221.2222

www.fmopa.org

Vik Muniz: Double Mona Lisa (Peanut Butter and Jelly)*

Chuck Close: Self-portrait*

Robert Rauschenberg: from Dante's Inferno Suite

* These images aren't specific works currently on display at FMoPA, just a fun few I found on the interwebs.

Happy Christmas!

Noël Heureux!

Potentially Paris

It looks like I'll be studying, for the month of June, in Paris. I may even spend a stint of time (the first week of July) in Florence. As the time comes closer I'm trying to prepare myself. I'd love to learn French, but I really haven't been putting strong efforts into doing so. I plan to explore the city and soak in as much as I can, from there I'll wing the rest.

I'm anticipating the fact that I may run off while in Europe and do some serious 'sploring. I would like to get a job out there to support my habits (eating, drinking, living, etceteras). I want to do so much!

It looks like this may be my home while in Paris.

Any questions, comments, or concerns are greatly appreciated.

Above is an image by contemporary, French, photographer Cathy Cat-Rastler. I really dig what she's about!

If I've perked your curiosity, here's a bit more on her. 

time travel

When I was in Austin, Tx. These kids were looking to hitch a ride to Washington State. I wish I had my car in Texas. They were good people, and I hope that they're doing well now. Safe travels Tori, James, Zombieface, and (I forget the other puppy's name).

new post, new work, new post, new work, new post, new work

Currency: 2012

One day we'll wake up. The paper peels back to reveal the truth, the tangible. I can eat the corn, it will fill my belly. I can trade the corn, you've got the cloth to clothe my skin. It will keep me warm. We'll share our stories of the struggles we've had, and how the worth of our spoils all out weigh the wear on our bones.

Know your neighbors, make new friends.




This is a sculptural ceramic piece that I made as a commentary on the current economic "crisis". I really enjoyed the scraffito process. I would like to turn this into a series, perhaps with some soft sculptural pieces. Soft sculpture really tickles my heart.

After working in ceramics I have a great deal of respect for some of the artists who make this a concentration. Clay is a tricky medium, constantly changing and warping (much like wood). It's the artist's job to work with the clay, and not to try and defy the clay. It's a beautiful relationship, and can produce some amazing pieces. I'm still new to the whole thing, but I look forward to future creations!

photo senselessness

I would like to take this time to apologize for slacking. With a name like photo senselessness I should really be packing this page to the limits with photos. I hope my apologies are received well, but if not here is a token of my sincerity. Please accept it as a gift on my goof.

bitter sweet cycling

Riding my bike around Tampa is a constant struggle. As a commuter I am constantly battling with huge stinky cars. My commute often takes me through questionable neighborhoods where the sidewalks come to abrupt ends, but being a cyclist is overwhelmingly enjoyable. I love my bike! I love feeling the crisp November air rushing past my face. I wouldn't change it for the world. Although I still rely on my car for most of my commutes, I look forward to those genuine moments when it's just me and Sanford.

a cleansing of my-cyber-self

I've deleted my "social networking sites" (ie myspace and facebook). I'm hoping this increases my productivity in life. I would get trapped on those things, searching inane profiles and updating mine. It isn't real. It's an attempt to create a mask, an identity that I want the "world" to see. So silly. I can't keep up with that anymore. I've decided to put that energy into my art. I've been documenting my work from this semester, and I hope to have images up on the web a.s.a.p. I'm also building a website, little by little. I hope to have images of my art on the website, as well as opportunities to buy my work. 

Another short term goal is to begin vending. I want this to be a collaborative effort.

busy, busy, busy.

I'm trying to find the good in Florida, it looks like I will be here until Spring 2010... I cringe.

On second thought

After reading my last entry, I've come to realize something. I may have reacted harshly. I get it, the Marshall Center is going to bring in the big bucks. Kids will spend their hard earned bucks there because it's convenient, and then the University will start being able to afford paying my teachers.

I also realize that I sound like an old hag, bitching about beer being conveniently located within an arms reach of me. I get it, I'll loosen up.

Beer before books; getting the job done on campus.

The first week of classes are done.

I'm taking on more than my usual this semester. I'm ready.

I'm prepared for whatever may be thrown my way.

The first of perhaps many papers was due this past Friday. I wrote a paper on my response to an unknown work of art. I saved my finished work and emailed it to myself. I woke up early and arrived on campus thirty minutes before my class started. I had hoped this would give me ample time to get to the Marshall Center, print my paper, and arrive at the start of class. I was soon reminded of the lavished renovations that had been completed to the Marshall Center over the summer.

The University of South Florida has been experiencing major "cut-backs" in the past few months, years, etc. due to shortage in funds. Currently I am taking four classes. Three of these four classes are being taught by graduate students. Although each of them have what seems to be a structured class lined up for this Fall semester, and knowledge to bestow upon a budding artist as myself, I feel jipped. We pay so much in tuition, and I never see a strong reflection of my tuition dollars being used in ways that I'd like. We've got a campus overrun with parking garages, they seem to finish a new one on a weekly basis.

The Marshall Center is in it's final stages of being finished. I opened the heavy glass door to reveal a bright and shiny Beef O' Brady's. Flat screen TV's in each corner of the room, gaming tables, and an arsenal of draft beers that stretched on through the back wall of the restaurant for days. What's a university need with a bar like that right on campus? The bar wouldn't have bothered me so much if I were only able to print my paper. It seems the school rushed to finish the Beef O' Brady's and their adjacent Ben and Jerry's ice cream shop that they didn't get around to setting up the computer lab.

Long story short. I won't be able to use the computers that were once made available to students for paper printing purposes until September second, but in the meantime I can belly up to the bar.

Not so starving artist.

I am currently exhibiting a photo of mine at the Florida Museum of Photographic Arts. This is the museum that I have been interning at since February, and now I am currently teaching children's classes on the first Saturday of each month. The show has been up since Sunday, and just today someone came in and purchased my photo, Christianity Insanity: One Way, for $100. This is the first photograph that I have sold, and I am very eager to be more aggressive about selling future work. 

It's always encouraging to hear positive feedback from strangers about my work. Even if I can't get positive feedback, constructive criticism is always encouraged as well. In this case I was able to speak with the person purchasing the photo, and she had such nice things to say. To know that I have reached someone with my work fuels the fire within me to keep making art!

visual stimulus

Here are some of the photos from the slip-n-slide photo shoot I mentioned in an earlier blog. This was my first go at using the Sx-70, and I'm still figuring out how to make the camera work in my favor.

I love the simplicity of the images, and how they capture such a genuine feel.

polaroid in peril

Before I get things started in the way of modifying my old Polaroid into a medium format camera I have decided to pick up a Polaroid SX70. This is the Polaroid model that still (temporarily) has film circulating. I found one on ebay for a decent price, and it even came with film in it! I got to clicking away as soon as the camera left it's box. 

To repay a nice young lady who cut my hair for free I gave her a sweet Polaroid photo shoot. A few friends set up a giant slip and slide in my back yard and I proceeded to document with my camera. It made for some darling pictures. The photos had such a retro feel. I only asked that she email me the scanned photos... hopefully I'll get those. 

I've moved on to tinkering with the camera in different environments, and I find that the 600 film that's available for the camera leaves everything slightly overexposed. I've done some research showing me that there are modifications that need to be made to the SX70 to get the 600 film to work appropriately. Work never seems to be done with these cameras, but the rewards are well worth it. 

lemonade from lemons

After I eagerly purchased my 669 Polaroid film for the Polaroid Land Camera (95a model) I rushed home to load the camera and begin playing. Unfortunately, my camera takes the roll film from Polaroid which is already obsolete. I shed a few tears, had a moment of silence, and went straight to Cam-Tek. Cam-Tek is a local doctor's office for cameras. Allegedly, this man knows all there is to know about anything there is to do with cameras, but when I placed my Polaroid on the counter he looked at me, turned his nose in the air, and said, "I don't touch those." I had to hold back my giggles. You would have thought I placed roadkill on his dinner table.

The man explained that he hadn't worked with Polaroid in ages, and despite the fact that he owned the exact same model as me, he had no knowledge of how to make the thing work much less what film to use. I was thoroughly disappointed and went home to do a little research via the world wide web. Luckily, my buddy Dan is a great Googleizer and between our brains we found a solution in no time.

This website has what looks to be like my summer project.

I can't wait to get started!

The start of something beautiful?

I don't suppose I needed another reason to be trapped on the internet, but this blog will be a forum for me to write about life and show my photos (two activities which I deeply enjoy). I will be seeking advice from anyone who can help me in my career as a freelance photographer, and I hope to look back on these entries as a reminder of where I've been.

Recently I have acquired an old Polaroid Land Camera. It's beautiful! The bellows look like new, and she's ready to get out there and start capturing life on film. As Polaroid film is a precious commodity these days I went and grabbed a few packs from North Tampa Photo (good people there). I'm going to take her out today to play for a little... let's see what turns out!