hang in there
Gray whale
Now that we are sending you to The End
That great god
Tell him
That we who follow you invented forgiveness
And forgive nothing
-W.S. Merwin, "For A Coming Extinction"
Through multiple exposures on expired 120 film photographed with a malfunctioning Rolleiflex from 1952, I am creating a series of American, visual idioms out of the local histories of two cities, Los Angeles & New York City, that appear analogous in their well worn place in the pantheon of Americana. Depending on who you talk to in the United States, the two exist as avatars of the American Dream or a modern day Sodom and Gomorrah.
As a local to New York City, I was drawn to the bipolarity of these prevailing sentiments that a place could simultaneously be an American Utopia, an American Dystopia, or believed to be an apex at all.
Stylistically, I wanted to engage with the seemingly ever present and aspirational discourse around the “film photography revival” while thinking about it in relation to the nostalgic and very visible lore of both cities. Expired film from after the Y2K reset and an old camera felt appropriate to document this current golden age of apocalypse.
The resulting images inhabit a type of event horizon which carries no positive or negative valence. Rather, in exploring particular neighborhoods whose present cultural capital and lucrative property values can be traced to the cannibalization and erasure of communities of color through forms of violence, the images suspend the soul scraps of an American past, present, and future, where the exploded view is actually a nexus of no-return.
The history of both American cities is one of unscrupulous development without regard to the habitability of a place and welfare for its communities. I am documenting this metastasis starting with my own backyard, which was designated NYC’s newest Superfund site: the Meeker Avenue Plume.
33.99134° N, 118.45870° W - Venice, CA
The view of the neighboring Social and Public Art Resource Center (SPARC) from the garden of Beyond Baroque. Both institutions reside in the Venice Arts Plaza with the former in the Old Venice Police Station and the latter in the Old Venice City Hall. The Social and Public Art Resource Center (SPARC) was founded in 1976 by Chicana muralist/educator Judy Baca, filmmaker/director Donna Deitch and artist/teacher Christina Schlesinger. SPARC’s artistic direction was formulated to artistically engage with the most important issues of our time and that ordinary people/community members could be participants in the arts. Founded in 1968 as an experimental literary magazine, Beyond Baroque is one of the United States' leading independent Literary | Arts Centers and public spaces dedicated to expanding the public's knowledge of poetry, literature and art playing muse to the Venice Beats, the Punk movement, etc.
40.73801° N, 73.94867° W - Brooklyn, NY
Stairs lead to the polluted waters of Newtown Creek, a Superfund site in north Brooklyn and adjacent to the photographer's home of Greenpoint, Brooklyn. In 2010, Newtown Creek was named a Superfund site by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). The Superfund process promises to be a lengthy investment of time and resources in achieving a thorough cleanup of highly toxic contaminants that pose immediate and long term risk to human health and ecological systems.
33.99152° N, 118.47813° W - Venice, CA
A man lies unconscious on the shore of Venice Beach.
40.753640° N, 74.004314° W - Manhattan, NY
Flowers grow on The High Line, an elevated linear park, greenway, and trail created on an abandoned and dilapidated New York Central Railroad line on the west side of Manhattan or the now trendy and fashionable Meatpacking District in New York City dating back to the mid-1800's. According to the organization Village Preservation, "its construction in 1934, then partial demolition in the early ’60s, and final preservation and conversion into the park of today profoundly shaped the way these neighborhoods have changed over the last 85 years.... The initial demolition of the railway left a huge gap in this unpretentious neighborhood, which housed both disappearing industry and a diverse and vital residential community." Today's iteration of the Meatpacking District is the absolute opposite of its origins with steep property values commingling with commercial and artistic entities in a manner akin to Abbott Kinney Boulevard in Venice, CA.
33.99726° N, 118.44668° W - Venice, CA
Sidewalk along Venice Boulevard.
40.720583° N, 73.936056° W - Brooklyn, NY
A faded billboard for the Greenpoint Little League Field stands in the distance of a padlocked and off limits baseball field. The area lies in the 2022 designated "Meeker Ave Plume", a Superfund site in north Brooklyn adjacent to an already existing Superfund site (Newtown Creek) as well as the photographer's home of Greenpoint, Brooklyn. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)'s Superfund process promises to be a lengthy investment of time and resources in achieving a thorough cleanup of highly toxic contaminants that pose immediate and long term risk to human health and ecological systems.
33.98834° N, 118.46141° W - Venice, CA
A rusting automobile sits for sale along the trendy and fashionable Abbott Kinney Boulevard.
40.73109° N, 74.00128° W - Manhattan, NY
Beside "The Cage" also known as the West 4th basketball courts in Greenwich Village, an empty kiosk displays faded maps intended to help navigate New York City and inexplicably Venice, California. Long since gentrified, Greenwich Village and this site lies in the now-forgotten area of "Little Africa". According to the organization Village Preservation, from the mid-1800's to the late 1910s, it was the largest African-American community in New York. The African-American roots of the area go back to the Dutch colonial era, when free and “partially free” Blacks were allowed to settle here as a buffer between the Native Americans and European settlers in the southern tip of Manhattan. Originally many Blacks found homes around a brook that flowed into the Hudson River. The Algonquin called it “Mannette” or “Spirit Water.” Over time, it became known as Minetta. Today, the area is lined with brick houses dating from the 1820s to the 1840s. Black-owned businesses and churches no longer thrive nor exist here.
33.99405° N, 118.45319° W - Venice, CA
Standing at the corner of Lincoln and Venice Boulevards, the Venice Japanese American Memorial marks the spot where some 1,000 people of Japanese ancestry from Venice, Santa Monica and Malibu stood for several days in April 1942 for their transport to and incarceration in Manzanar after the signing of Executive Order 9066.
33.99410° N, 118.46744° W - Venice, CA
A privacy fence and thatch shield a view of the historic Irvin Tabor Family Residences - Westminster Place. The property is a multifamily, residential pavilion in the Oakwood neighborhood of Venice. It was developed between 1916 - 1926 by Irvin Tabor, Venice founder Abbot Kinney’s chauffeur and an important early African American resident of Venice, as housing for his extended family. Tabor and his immediate family lived there until the late 1920s and ownership until 1977. Between 1910 and 1920, blacks arrived to work as manual laborers, service workers, and servants to wealthy white residents. Segregation in hiring practices and real estate restricted black residents and led to the development of Oakwood as a predominantly African American blue collar neighborhood. In 2016 and long since gentrified, the property was listed and sold for 5.8 million USD.
40.73636° N, 73.94861° W - Brooklyn, NY
The pathway to the Newtown Creek Nature Walk, a waterfront park along the titular Superfund site in north Brooklyn and adjacent to the photographer's home of Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
33.99247° N, 118.46645° W - Venice, CA
A white fence encloses the Kinney-Tabor House in the Oakwood neighborhood of Venice, CA.
Originally located in the Venice Canal area, the property was moved to Oakwood by Irvin Tabor, an African American employed as a chauffeur by Venice founder Abbot Kinney. The house was bequeathed to Tabor upon Kinney's widow's death in 1927; however racial covenants prevented him from owning and residing in its original location. Tabor cut the house into three pieces moving them to Oakwood, a segregated neighborhood where African Americans were free to own property. Tabor lived here until his death on January 9, 1987, at the age of 93. The property was purchased in 2003 by local restoration enthusiasts and became Historic-Cultural Monument in 2008.
40.72280° N, 73.93749° W - Brooklyn, NY
Graffiti defaces the awning of an industrial property in the 2022 designated "Meeker Ave Plume", a Superfund site in north Brooklyn adjacent to an already existing Superfund site (Newtown Creek) as well as the photographer's home of Greenpoint, Brooklyn. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)'s Superfund process promises to be a lengthy investment of time and resources in achieving a thorough cleanup of highly toxic contaminants that pose immediate and long term risk to human health and ecological systems.
33.98476° N, 118.46798° W - Venice, CA
The foundation and shell of a new house stands in between the tightly spaced residences of the Venice Canals. In 1905, a developer named Abbot Kinney opened “Venice of America,” modeled after the city in Italy. Laid out as a recreation area, the development’s greatest draw was its boardwalk. Despite initial success, poor design led to stagnation and pollution turning the canals into swamps. What remains today are six waterways built in 1910 for a neighborhood called the Venice Canal Subdivision. By the 1940s, these remaining canals had fallen into disrepair. They were finally renovated and reopened in 1993.
40.73803° N, 73.94550° W - Brooklyn, NY
A metal plaque with inlays showing the schematic of the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant lies along the Newtown Creek Nature Walk, a waterfront park along the titular Superfund site in north Brooklyn and adjacent to the photographer's home of Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
33.99003° N, 118.46606° W - Venice, CA
Construction and scaffolding of a new development looms over and abuts the flower garden and porch of a neighboring, older house.
40.73122° N, 73.99703° W - Manhattan, NY
The lights on the 45ft Christmas tree lit annually beneath the marble arch in Washington Square Park, Greenwich Village. The popular public park was built on the grounds of a former Potter's Field, where public executions were held. The last of which was on July 9, 1819 when a 19-year-old enslaved Black woman, Rose Butler, was executed by hanging. She became the last known person to be executed by hanging and buried in the Potter’s Field. This was due to wealthier white families moving into the area who took exception to living near a public execution ground. The organization Village Preservation notes that "during Rose’s lifetime, there was also a thriving free Black community known as Little Africa located near the Minetta Stream (now Minetta Lane), on the edge of Washington Square. Though impoverished, it was an area where free Black New Yorkers could find a home to rent and take advantage of limited economic opportunities, including domestic work from the wealthier white families that had moved into the neighborhood. Temporally and geographically, in 1819 Rose seemed to be living on the edge of freedom."
33.99458° N, 118.46355° W - Venice, CA
Decorative artwork in the form of handprints and the words "Oakwood" painted on the exterior wall of the Reese-Tabor Park and Recreation Center in the Oakwood neighborhood of Venice.
To house the Black labor hired by Venice developed Abbott Kinney in the early 20th century, Oakwood emerged as an African-American enclave segregated from the surrounding white community. In the 1940s and ‘50s, the population of African-Americans would triple as a part of the Great Migration of African-Americans out of the south. Gentrification has long since pushed many of the original families out. By 1992, the Black population of Oakwood had shrunk to 22%; by 2020, 10%.
40.72228° N, 73.93842° W - Brooklyn, NY
A flowering tree decays in the winter outside an industrial property in the 2022 designated "Meeker Ave Plume", a Superfund site in north Brooklyn and adjacent to an already existing Superfund site (Newtown Creek) as well as the photographer's home of Greenpoint, Brooklyn. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)'s Superfund process promises to be a lengthy investment of time and resources in achieving a thorough cleanup of highly toxic contaminants that pose immediate and long term risk to human health and ecological systems.
33.99537° N, 118.46500° W - Venice, CA
The vacant shell of the First Baptist Church in the Oakwood neighborhood of Venice, CA stands as a stark reminder of the community's former history as an African American enclave and ongoing conflict with the forces of gentrification and cultural erasure. The mid-century style building was founded as an African American congregation in 1910 by the Reverend R.S. Kelsey, along with members of the Black community, including Arthur Reese, the official town decorator of Venice. Bought in 2017 by media mogul Jay Penske and his wife Elaine Irwin, a former model, they intended to make it their mansion overlooking the nearby park. Despite local protests and a successful designation as a historic-cultural monument, public records show the property was sold again in 2020 to a limited liability corporation represented by LA real estate broker, Lee Polster. Its fate remains uncertain.
40.73005° N, 74.00188° W - Manhattan, NY
An apartment abuts the fencing surrounding Minetta Green, a small park. Long since gentrified, Greenwich Village and this area lies in the now-forgotten area of "Little Africa" in the mid-1800's to the late 1910s. The African-American roots of the area go back to the Dutch colonial era, when free and “partially free” Blacks were allowed to settle here as a buffer between the Native Americans and European settlers in the southern tip of Manhattan. The last of the Black Americans moved out in the early part of the 19th century.
33.99326° N, 118.47680° W - Venice, CA
Created in 1994 by Peter Stewart, a large roadside mural contains 2,273 names for every Prisoner-of-War/Missing-In-Action American soldier from the Southeast Asia conflict/Vietnam War.
40.73006° N, 74.00115° W - Manhattan, NY
The quiet and private intersection of Minetta Street and Minetta Lane in Greenwich Village.
Long since gentrified, Greenwich Village and this area lies in the now-forgotten area of "Little Africa". The former location of African Free School No. 3, one of seven schools dedicated to the education of the children of free and enslaved blacks in the late 18th and early 19th centuries was around the corner on West 3rd street. The first African Free School was the very first school for blacks in America. The last of the Black Americans moved out in the early part of the 19th century.
33.99282° N, 118.46694° W - Venice, CA
Eyes painted on the exterior of a shuttered home in the Oakwood neighborhood of Venice.
40.72815° N, 73.99912° W
Placards advertise the many services provided by a generic one-stop souvenir and stationary shop in Manhattan, NY. The store is located on the corner of where the former Freedmen's Savings and Trust Company or The Freedmen's Bank resided. Created in 1865 by the United States Congress, the bank aided formerly enslaved African Americans in their transition from slavery to freedom.
33.98835° N, 118.46152° W - Venice, CA
A Proposition 65 warning sign hangs outside of an apartment complex along the trendy and fashionable Abbott Kinney Boulevard. The boulevard takes it name from the eccentric developer of Venice, CA. Kinney created the "Venice of America" in 1905 as a 14-mile beach resort town on dredged marshland. Since then, Venice has transformed from being a segregated resort, a polluted oil field, a bohemian haunt, a ghetto by the sea, to a tourist hotbed, with its most recent iteration being a gentrified playground for tech companies and the affluent.
33.99024° N, 118.46427° W - Venice, CA
A green wall or vertical garden decays outside of the entrance of a vacant building along the trendy and fashionable Abbott Kinney Boulevard.
40.73562° N, 73.94781° W - Brooklyn, NY
A ship docks along Newtown Creek, a Superfund site in north Brooklyn and adjacent to the photographer's home of Greenpoint, Brooklyn. In 2010, Newtown Creek was named a Superfund site by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). The Superfund process promises to be a lengthy investment of time and resources in achieving a thorough cleanup of highly toxic contaminants pose immediate and long term risk to human health and ecological systems.
