From ME 3

The Layered Block
Cheri Overstreet, 2008

Trying to catch early twilight on my favorite block. In this case I have finally gotten up the courage to sneak into the double-decker-bus graveyard. The textures and layers created from the disheveled buses and the surrounding urban landscape tantalize my senses!

From ME 2

Over the last few months I have been photographing my musician friends for their web sites. It's a wonderful exercise to find locations to shoot that fit the mood of the artists' music. In this photograph of Amyjo Savannah I was using a gold reflector to aid in the feel of a warm, natural environment.


Gypsy Girl #3, Gold Reflector
Cheri Overstreet, 2008

Gypsy Girl #13, White Diffuser
Cheri Overstreet, 2008

Gypsy Girl #1, Black Diffuser
Cheri Overstreet, 2008

From ME 1

Twilight Trial #1
Cheri Overstreet, 2008

Recently I have been trying to capture that coveted light that is twilight. That moment when trees, houses, and streets take on the color of the sky as it is slowly loosing light. I find that it injects a mysterious mood into images.

Gallery 1

Tate Modern, London
Street and Studio: An Urban History of Photography
May 22, 2008-August 31, 2008

Wolfgang Tilmans
Circle Line, 2000

Street and Studio: An Urban History of Photography explores the differences and similarities between work made in a studio setting and images taken on the the street. The show successfully displays the attributes of work created in a controlled environment versus those of work created in an unstable environment. My favorite turned out to be those of Wolfgang Tilmans. His images are close-ups of people on the subway. The frame is full with information, which aids in the feeling of cramped and claustrophobic spaces within public transit. Tilman speaks of the intimacy present in these spaces; how close one gets to another but almost refuses to acknowledge them. The image that displays this the best for me is the woman who is confronting the camera with her glare. They are so close, yet her look says STAY AWAY.

Gallery 2

Jacksonville MOCA
Carly, So Far, photos by Francie Bishop Good
April 25, 2008-August 31, 2008

Carly NY, Kapoor and Man, 2006
Photograph/archival pigment print, ed. 1 of 5 (mounted on Sintra board).

I was drawn to this exhibition as my own recent work has been exploring ways in which society affects us as we grow. Francie Bishop Good has been photographically documenting the growth of her niece, Carly, since she was seven years of age. And by growth I am referring to the transition into adolescence and then adulthood as well as physical and mental growth. Good has captured all of these factions of growth successfully in her work. What is more is the voyeuristic quality of the the images. I believe humans have a secret yearning to view and be viewed without the knowledge of the other party. Good pulls us in with this secret desire and holds us there with the relationship between Carly and the "other" in the photograph, whether it be society, sexuality, or an other that is simply foreign in every aspect to an adolescent girl.

Gallery 3

Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam
Snap Judgements: New Positions in Contemporary African Photography
June 27, 2008-September 30, 2008

Nontsikelelo "Lolo" Veleko, Cindy and Nkuli, from “Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder,” Johannesburg, 2003-04.
Pigment print on cotton paper, 8 x 12 in. (20.3 x 30.5 cm)

The exhibition currently being held at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam consists of the work of 35 contemporary African artists. The photographs are exquisite in their brilliants colors and unique content. The art of Africa that Westerners are generally exposed to parallels stereotypical views of their culture. This exhibition pushes that barrier and is telling the world what African life is really about and what they are dealing with in the current times. Veleko, from South Africa, shows us two girls from an urban environment, displaying themselves for the camera. They both look right at the viewer as if to say, "This if Africa. This is who we are." It's a powerful image for me.