A New Name: The Ghost Dance Project (aka NAMS)

I can't believe that it's August already. I'm still working on, and struggling with, finding the right aesthetic and final object for the NAMS project. When I get it, I'll know it. It may take a while. As I always say, first things first, in that order.

It's impossible to explain how important these decisons are. I want to be able to reproduce the work without using any digital technology. That means I have to make wet collodion negatives. I'm okay with that, but I also want to keep my options open to making positives. I may end up making both a positive and negative of each scene, still undecided. Then there's the format question. How big of plate do I want to make? What are the logistics and costs involved? I'm still working on this question, or problem. So far, I've been making Whole Plate (6.5" x 8.5") and Half Plate (4.25" x 5.5") negatives and positives. What I'm thinking about now is Half Plate negatives that I can enlarge onto silver gelatin paper. This would give me the portability (you should see some of the places where I have to get a camera and a dark-box!!) and the ability to make really nice, very large, silver gelatin prints. I like that idea. 

What I have ruled out is dry collodion. The aesthetic of dry collodion doesn't appeal to me. And it doesn't work for this project, at all. If I were to go the dry plate route, it would be be dry gelatin. And if I were to do that, I might as well use film. The dry aesthestic doesn't fit for me.

Daguerreotypes are out, too. The aesthetic is not even close to what I want for this project, not to mention the cost. That leaves wet collodion and calotypes; everything else has been ruled out. I haven't completely ruled out dry waxed paper negatives (Calotypes). This is a real possibilty for me. My dilemma here is that I would want to make them 16" x 20" (40 x 50cm). That means I would need at least five plate holders that size to take to the field with me. 

I'm in no rush to make this happen. I'm hoping by the Autumn of 2016 it will be finished. The only thing I'm concerned with is doing it right. To make this happen, I have a long "to do" list and it seems to be growing every day. I know I need to quiet my life. I've been too busy and have had too much going on. Some big changes on the horizon; I'm moving house and studio to a new location, outside of the city of Denver. I'm also going to cut back the online activity. I'm going to close the forum and redirect the URLs to this site - www.studioQ.com - and I'm going to get off of Facebook. These are just the start of changes so I can make this project happen. All positive and good changes for me. People will wonder what happened to me. Tell them, "He's Ghost Dancing - he'll be back in a while". (Insert smiley face)

The first change is that I've deceided to call this work, "The Ghost Dance" project. 

The Ghost Dance, also called The Ghost Dance of 1890, was a new religious movement which was incorporated into numerous Native American belief systems. According to the prophet Jack Wilson's (Wovoka) teachings, proper practice of the dance would reunite the living with the spirits of the dead and bring peace, prosperity, and unity to native peoples throughout the region. The basis for the Ghost Dance, the circle dance, is a traditional ritual which has been used by many Native Americans since prehistoric times, but this new form was first practiced among the Nevada Paiute in 1889. The practice swept throughout much of the Western United States, quickly reaching areas of California and Oklahoma. As the Ghost Dance spread from its original source, Native American tribes synthesized selective aspects of the ritual with their own beliefs. This process often created change in both the society that integrated it, and in the ritual itself.

In the coming months, I will be launching a campaign to raise money for a 13" x 11" hardcover book of the work (a very nice coffee table book). I'm as interested in producing a book of the work as I am in showing/exhibiting the work. They will cost about $85 USD per book. I wil do the design and layout. I'm going to try to raise $12,000 so I can get 1000 copies plus shipping and other fees. My goal is to sell them and give the profit to the American Indian College Fund. This will apply to the work being sold in galleries/shows or online as well. 

This project is proabably the most import work I've done. Not only is it personally important, but it's also important in the sense of history and education for future generations. i hope you will consider helping me make this happen. 

Revela T Foto Fest Video

Festival Revelat from espaifotografic on Vimeo.

Native American Massacre Site Project (NAMS): Finding The Aesthetic

Have you ever thought about a project for years? Researching, writing, reading, watching, consuming everything you can about a topic. And then, you finally make a move to bring those ideas, questions, and concerns to life. 

That's what's happened here. After over two decades of thinking about making this project a reality, I went out and started making plates. In my previous blog about this topic, I posted the test (positive) plate from Cold Creek Gulch. Here, I'm showing you some prints from the wet collodion negatives. 

I'm not entirely over the moon about the first outing, but it's satisfying. It is the first outing; it's started and that's what I'm excited about. 

Right now, my head is spinning with possibilties of what this could be. And this is when it gets scary for me. I tend to over think things like this. I will take a topic or a subject and strip it down to its bare essence. Sometimes, that's good, and other times, not so much.

The good part is all about vision and planning. A major component of this project is planning. Light, environment, access, etc. For example, do I want to be in Pine Ridge, South Dakota (Wounded Knee) in October? July? January? What is the light like? What access do I have? Etc.  I have to plan this for about fifteen sites that I'm doing. I may end up doing more or less, I'm not sure, but it's a lot of planning to do it right. That's where the obesession and preoccupaiton is an asset. 

The bad part of that obessession is being indecisivive and tripping on all of the small stuff. I don't want to over think the final image(s). I want to decide on something that's appropriate and that adds depth, dimension, and power to the work without killing it with craft. Craft is a slippery slope. It's easy to become preoccupied with it and loose sight of the purpose of making the work. 

I titled this blog, "Native American Massacre Site Project (NAMS): Finding The Aesthetic". That's a little bit misleading in that I've already decided on an aesthetic; wet collodion. I'm really referring to how I handle that process, specifically, how I print the wet collodion negatives. There are several options; Albumen, Salt, Collodion-Chloride, and even silver gelatin. My dilemma is walking the fine line between abstract landscapes and what I refer to as "traditional" landscapes. On the first site, I made one of each (see below). I like both of them, however, for this project, I want something in between. And, who knows? Maybe each site will allow me to make that decision while I'm there. It kind of happened on this outing. 

Whole Plate Albumen Print - "Three Stone Massacre Site - 1878"  

 Whole Plate Salt Print - "Three Stone Massacre Site - 1878"

Revela - T and Barcelona

I'm fresh off of the plane from Barcelona. Jeanne and I traveled to Vilassar de Dalt, a small village just 20 km northwest of Barcelona to take part in the first Revela - T Foto Festival. It was a huge success and a lot of fun. A big thanks to Joan and Pep for inviting me and making this happen. What a great job they did!

I was scheduled to do a public demonstration and two workshops. It all went very well. There were almost 100 people in attendance between the demo and classes. A very nice turnout. 

One of the first friends we saw was Josep maria Ribas Prous. I met him in Reus, Spain in 2007. I was invited there to teach a week long workshop. This was the first public workshop in Europe open to artists and photographers. It started the revival that's happening today in Europe. I went on from Reus and taught courses all over eastern and western Europe for the next four years. And now that I'm back in America, I still travel to Europe at least once a year to teach. 

Quinn standing next to the information about Josep's American TintypesJosep was very kind. He brought us gifts. Beautifiul photographs for each of us (Jeanne and Summer). On top of that, Josep dedicated the exhibitoin of his 19th century American Tintypes to me. It was a great honor and I consider him not only an important figure in Catalan photography, but a good friend.  On this placard, it reads that the exhibition is in my honor. I was very humbled and excited to see a beautiful collection of American Tintypes. This was the first and last time these images will be seen in public. 

On Saturday, I gave a public demonstration about the wet collodion process. There was a very good turn out. Ilan Wolff gave his lecture before mine. Very interesting work and technique. 

Sunday was the first workshop. It was an introduction course held at Espai Photographic Association Nag - very nice facility in Barcelona. It was a large class and they all got on the process quickly and made some nice photographs. 

Monday was our day off. We wandered the streets of Barcelona during the day and relaxed in the garden until dinner time. We visited old friends and they made us a delicious dinner at their studio. Marti, Rebecca, and Rafel - thank you! We had a wonderful time!

Tuesday and Wednesday was the final workshop; making negatives and prints. Another large group but they all did very well. I had some old friends in that course, too. Muchas gracias to Ana and Lola. It was very good to see you again. This workshop was held at BCI FotoEspai School of Photography - another very nice facility! 

Thanks again to everyone that made this happen. I hope we can do it again next year.

The introduction to Wet Collodion course in Barcelona! Great group!!

Ana and Lola - very good friends and wonderful artists!

Cati and Maider - they made some great negatives and prints. We call them, "Las Chicas de Archer"! photo by Jeanne Jacobson

Las Chicas de Archer - photo by Jeanne Jacobson

Irene and Hawkey from Sweden. They took both course and did a fantastic job! Team Sweden! photo by Jeanne Jacobson

Anabelle and Estelle printing out their negatives on Aristotype paper - photo by Jeanne Jacobson

Toni and Pep - holding the show together! Thank you for all of the support!!

Quinn and Jeanne - loving life in Barcelona!

Quinn and Jeanne with Miquel's work at the festival!

Met some new friends at the festival - Las Chicas de Talbot

The opening of the festival with the Mayor of Vilassar de Dalt and all of the presenters - photo by Jeanne Jacobson

Another tattoo, Quinn? - photo by Jeanne Jacobson

Vilassar de Dalt - a beautiful village in the hills just northwest of Barcelona. - photo by Jeanne Jacobson

Miquel Angelo and his wife with Quinn and Jeanne - A great artist and a wonderful friend.

Our old friends from Barcelona - Marti, Rebecca and Rafel.

Thank you for everything!! We hope to return next year!!!

Native American Massacre Site Project (NAMS)

This year, I plan to have a very good start on the Native American Massacre site project. This project is yet to be titled. I'll call it NAMS for now.

It seems that I'm constantly pulled into other projects and things that distract me. Teaching is a big one. As much as I love teaching, I'm going to have to figure out a better way to have more time, and I think that translates to less teaching. There are plenty of people teaching nowadays, it wouldn't be a big deal if I cut back. Of course, I would have to make some changes, but I'm ready for that.

In the next several weeks, I will be traveling to a couple of different massacre sites. I have a feeling that I'll be making more than one trip to some of these locations. Which translates to a very long time to make this project a reality. And I'm very much okay with that.

In fact, part of my desire to do this project is to get away from the ridiculous "photography" pace I've kept for the past several years. I'm tired. And a little bit burned out.

As many times as I've tried to slow down and cut back, there's been more opportunities that are presented. However, now, I'm learning how to say, "No, thank you" as it relates to photography and art. My boundaries are being redefined so I can do the things I need to do. 

While I've been very fortunate in my career, taking opportunities for opportunities sake doesn't really satisfy me. As an artist, I'm supposed to be thinking, reading, writing, researching and making photographs. That's the opportunity I want to pursue.

For the past year, I've been doing a lot of research on the NAMS project. I'm not over thinking it, but I am trying to position myself to make several inquiries not only about these events in history, but about art in general as well as aesthetics. It will speak to a lot of my concerns, questions, and attitude about art in general, too.

Recently, I discovered a treasure trove of information here in Colorado about obscure massacre sites and places where treaties were signed (and later broken). These sites, and the information they include, are almost like 19^th century urban legends. The writing tells of fantastic events about Native Americans, men, women, and children being slaughtered, raped, burned alive, skinned alive, and enslaved.

One entry that I read has rented space in my head. I can't get it out of my mind. It happened at at the Sand Creek Massacre site here in Colorado. It talks about the slaughter of native men, women and children by the U.S. military. As the natives were trying to run away, there was a little boy, about three years-old, naked running and crying toward the others. He couldn't keep up. One soldier pulls up his rifle and fires. He misses the little boy. Another soldier says, "Here, I'll get that little sonofabitch." He pulls his rifle up and fires. The little boy stumbles and falls dead into the sand. I cried when I read that.

Even that brief description doesn't come close to the things I've read about these events. I've visited a couple of these sites, without cameras, just to be there and to feel the land. One of them, just outside of Denver, is one of the most beautiful places I've seen here. To think about the horror, pain and suffering that took place there is almost like being back in Europe standing the gas chambers or looking at a blood ditch.

I'm reminded of Sally Mann's "Southern Landscapes" and "Battlefields". It's beautiful work, very haunting. The connection to the land is crucial. She imbued the work with that. You can feel how the land remembers. Those horrible events scarred the land.

My work will seem much more documentary in style, but will not be a documentary project. I don't even really believe those exist. This is about my relationship to my mother's heritage, to the land, and to genocide. It's a personal, very subjective look at my own thoughts and feelings regarding this terrible piece of American history.