Some photos from the first day setting up From Above at Gallery EF.
The proper lighting will be set up soon. Looks like the placement of the photos is finalized.
Thank you to everyone in Tokyo, especially Izumi and Donnie for their amazing efforts. These exhibitions are only possible because of the tireless effort and generosity of everyone who has come together to support this project.
The exhibition opens on Friday February 4th and closes on February 27th. If your in Japan please take a look. The book release is July 2011.
A recent article appearing in the Tokyo Shimbun about Hibakusha Ms. Hisayo Yamashita speaking at Gallery EF.
She will be speaking about her experiences surviving the atomic bomb in Hiroshima at Gallery EF on October 2nd and 3rd. If your in Tokyo please stop by.
The English translation will start about half way through video, around 2 minutes 30 seconds.
If your in Tokyo on October 2nd or 3rd, please come hear Ms. Hisayo Yamashita speak at Gallery EF in Asakusa. I was lucky to have photographed her for my From Above exhibition earlier this year.
Striptease Burlesque
“Most of these women have day jobs.”
I first stumbled upon the New York burlesque scene in 2004. Burlesque shows would take place in the backrooms of small downtown bars. For $5, you and 75 others crammed into speakeasy type rooms to watch Dirty Martini, Julie Atlas Muz, Little Brooklyn, and Amber Ray perform stripteases on broken down wooden stages. The stripteases ranged from elaborate sensual fan dances in lush costumes to in your face bump ‘n’ grind.
The broken down wooden stages still remain but the number of people who attend these burlesque shows have grown exponentially in a short time. The performances have spilled over from the backrooms to the entire city. Performers from all over the world now travel to New York to be seen on big stages ringed with velvet curtains and mock stages in the backroom of bars.
My interest in photographing burlesque performers wasn’t to highlight striptease. The nudity wasn’t what attracted me. What grabbed my attention was the characters and satire each performer brought on stage.
The majority of these women have day jobs. Hours after riding the crowded subways home from work they would be tassel twirling in front of a raucous New York crowd.
The purpose of my portraits was to show the persona of each performer. I wanted an intimate glimpse away from the stage and crowd. As if their character were walking the streets of New York at noon or midnight.
..It’s noon on Sunday. I can’t get my mind off that’s it’s midnight on the Edge of The World.
My exhibition is closing as I stare at an elderly pot bellied Russian man jump into the blue water across the pool. 2 years worth of work exhibited in one short month.
When Paule Saviano was growing up, he wanted to become a bike messenger. We’re glad he didn’t succeed.
At the ripe old age of 11, Saviano took up the camera and never put it down again. He took on every kind of work he could get, but settled into music photography for a long time, touring with Porno For Pyros, Radiohead, Smashing Pumpkins and a number of other bands until he grew tired of shooting more Stratocasters than people.
But in his show entitled “Striptease Burlesque” Saviano displays his portrait work, and it is here that he shines. The show has a little of both the striptease and the burlesque, and the photos have a wonderfully gritty gloss. All are portraits of models in various states of dress and undress, and in various locations. On his website, Saviano calls his photos a record of where he has been in his life, and those places range from street corners to bedrooms to dimly-lit stages. His colors and images call to mind the bubbles under bright red nail polish, the texture of a velvet curtain. And the wooden sanctuary of Gallery éf should make for a very interesting juxtaposition.
Gallery EF
..I watched a girl sign the gallery guest book for an hour. I don’t know what she wrote because it was in Japanese. I appreciate the sincere interest everyone I spoke to at the opening showed. It’s been a good emotional experience.
All the struggles and tremendous expenses were worth it. The feeling was worth every Pound, $, or Yen. Now it’s time to dream it up all over again.
