5May2008
Posted by Stephen under: Photography.
In 2005 I photographed Boston musician, Bilvox Neidlinger for my project BlogLife. That photo has resurfaced as the back sleeve to his forth coming e.p..
Pictured above is the original image used in BlogLife. When purchasing info is made available, I’ll be sure to post it. Thanks Bill!
2May2008
Posted by Stephen under: Photography.
Congrats to Bresca for making Conde Nast magazine’s hot list, joining a prestigious list of 105 other restaurants from AROUND THE WORLD. It’s been a pleasure working with Krista Kern, who has been nothing but gracious.
I had some hint that there would be a mention as she’d asked me to return to Bresca after my initial photographs were made to shoot more. Alas, the photos aren’t going to grace the pages (or site) of Conde Nast, but I’m very happy for Krista and her crew.
After a bit of a hiatus from the Kitchens Project, Primo in Rockland is likely the next stop this summer. Turns out I know the vegetable grower, who knew?
1January2008
Posted by Stephen under: Art.
Fourteen members of the Maine College of Art staff will display work at the June Fitzpatrick Gallery at MECA from January 2 to January 26, 2008. An opening reception is scheduled for First Friday, January 4 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m..
Participating artists are Nik Bsullak ‘99, Jay Cornell ‘03, Jill Dalton ‘99, David Gillis, Erin Hutton ‘99, Rachel Katz ‘00 MFA, Colleen Kinsella, Zacary Perkins ‘08, Stephen Quirk ‘00, Jessica Rodrigue ‘03, Patti Sandberg ‘02, Phil Stevens ‘91, Cheslye Ventimiglia and Annie Wadleigh. Curated by Stephen Quirk.
22November2007
Posted by Stephen under: Art.
I love art and coincidence. Earlier this year, two cds were released that contain photography by me; one by my brother’s band Bullyclub, the other by my friend, Elli Gray. I consider myself fairly sharp, but it took me until a few days ago to realize, both are connected to my current interest in food and restaurants, though neither covers were conceived by me.
View image on Flickr, Purchase CD
Bullyclub’s album Tenure is a celebration of the bands 10 years of playing together, hence the (cup)cake and candles. I wish I could say it was a fine pastry, but it was a cobbled together from a supermarket tart and a can of frosting.
View image on Flickr, Purchase CD
The images for Elli Gray’s This Fight were taken at the now closed Chicky’s Fine Diner in Westbrook, Maine. It’s quite sad, actually - Chicky’s had music nearly every night, the stature of the acts were on the rise, but I hear that may have been it’s undoing. Elli, who works nearby to Chicky’s former location, liked the vibe and it matched the concept she was looking for. I think I caught this when she wasn’t paying attention, which gave the image a relaxed feeling.
11October2007
Posted by Stephen under: Art.
In July I started a new photographic series I’m calling “The Kitchens Project”. I’ll be photographing in Maine bakeries and restaurant kitchens. My “ins” thus far have been friends who own or work in kitchens. I started the project by photographing Zu Bakery [link|photos] in South Freeport, which is run by Barak Olins, former chef/owner of the original Cafe Uffa. I’ve also photographed The West End Deli [info|photos] on Spring Street in Portland (thanks to my friend Abby and others there).
Next up is likely Bresca at 111 Middle Street in Portland. It’s the former site of Marty’s Luncheonette, a restaurant owned by my great aunt and uncle, Mary and Marty.
Why kitchens, restaurants and bakeries? Well, a few reasons… Read the rest of this entry »
12February2007
Posted by Stephen under: Photography.
“One Flesh: Documenting Gender, Sex and Sexuality” will once again be exhibited. This showing will take place at the School of the Museum of the Fine Arts in Boston as part of a themed show on race, gender, and sexuality in the 21st century.
“Hijacking the Future: Hugs and Kisses”
Opening: Tuesday, Feb 27, 2007 5-8pm
Exhibition Dates: February 22 - March 22
Donnelly First Floor Gallery, Mission Hill Building
School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
160 St Alphonsus Street
Boston, MA 02120 [MAP]
About the exhibition:
Over the last half century, sexuality has come to be considered a major facet of identity. It has grown seemingly to the level of gender and race in its construction and deconstruction of social alliances and cultural constructs.
As a result of this increased attention, many theorists have discovered threads running throughout modern Western culture that connect these three systems. Stereotypes and discriminatory notions of race, gender, and sexuality have been intertwined, and used to reinforce one another, almost as long as each classification has been part of society’s awareness.
“Hijacking the Future: Hugs and Kisses” seeks to examine the ways that systems of race, gender, and sexuality have changed and evolved in recent years, both independently and in their relation to one another. But, more than that, we want to consider what the next step is in challenging these varying methods of oppression and repression.
How can these systems be deconstructed and/or reconstructed into something more compelling, daring, interesting?
As queer characters and culture become become more visible and gay marriage becomes the focus of mainstream queer dialogue how is non-assimilationist queer life forging ahead? Abu Ghraib images as the new pinnacle of queer pathology and homophobia? What kinds of new questions can we ask? We’re hijacking our future back from the religious right and militant conservatism, and posing exciting new worlds.
2January2007
Posted by Stephen under: Photography.
New year, new exhibition. Three of my photos will be included in the annual Maine College of Art staff exhibition at the June Fitzpatrick Gallery at MECA. The work is a little different from what I typically show, but it didn’t feel like either the right venue or time to show the still untitled hate crime/speech work.
I also designed the postcard. Over Christmas I noticed it was upside down on my mother’s refrigerator, always a good sign. The image is from the inside of the Porteous building in the 30’s or 40’s, I also added the store’s logo. It’s a bit of an homage to Warhol’s purposely, mis-registered screen prints (like it wasn’t obvious).
It is First Friday that night, so make the rounds and load up on free wine, cheese and crackers - oh yeah, and see some artwork too.
June Fitzpatrick Gallery at MECA
522 Congress Street
Portland, Maine
Show runs: January 5 - 20, 2007 (it may open sooner)
Opening: First Friday, January 5th 5-8pm
26December2006
Posted by Stephen under: Photography.
I’m having trouble finding an easy solution for posting images to WordPress (what I use to manage my site). I’m in the process of finding something manageable - which is why you don’t see more photos on my site. For now you should look at some of my images on Flickr. They typically are outside of my normal artwork, though I’ll be exhibiting several in an upcoming show at a local gallery. I’ll post more info about that, including the images, in a separate post.
Update: I’d been wanting to use simpleviewer for sometime, but was having trouble getting it working. Somehow I figured it out (may have been as simple as uppercase vs. lowercase file naming, duh). Well, now the Music, Ireland, One Flesh and BlogLife sections have images. I should be adding newer images to some of those shortly.
15October2006
Posted by Stephen under: Photography.
I’ve begun working on a new photography project with my friend Danielle Askini. She’s a writer, social worker and a trainer for The Center for the Prevention of Hate Violence (not to mention one of my favorite people).
The idea for this project began while I was working on my family’s genealogy. As it turns out a few racist words were actually created on Ellis Island (for more info, see here). My initial notion for the project was to have people of different heritages holding cards with a racist word and the definition. My hope was to demystify and take away the power of these words.
I was also impacted by some of the stories of the participants of my 2003 project ‘One Flesh’ which focused on gender, sex and sexuality. Danielle, herself a past victim of hate violence, was a participant in that project as well.
I’ve decided to combine these two ideas and asked for Danielle’s help, given both her personal and professional connections to the topic. We’ve melded some of our ideas and decided to photograph people impacted by hate speech and violence while incorporating text within the photos to help further illustrate these incidents.
Danielle will be moving in November, so hopefully we’ll at least be able to get an artist statement and some of photographing done. We are looking for other people to participate, so if you’re interested please contact either of us. She’ll also be working on an essay that will be part of the piece.
She also sat for a photo for my project, BlogLife. I hope to post that work soon as well.
10October2006
Posted by Stephen under: Site.
Hello, I’m moving my site to Wordpress, I hope to complete the work soon. I’ve added images from One Flesh, though they are small for now as I explore options for displaying images.