"Christmas Mourning!" - A Photographic Exhibit

It is truly an honor to be able to exhibit your art in public. Many take it for granted, and many more are petrified by the very idea. It is with humble heart that I announce a solo show of my work, which can be seen throughout the month of December, 2014.

Location: The Gallery in the Dawson Street Pub, Manayunk, PA

(See link at end for hours and directions.)

You may have guessed by the title of the exhibit, “Christmas Mourning!” that the theme is indeed cemeteries. A little off, to be sure, but then so am I. There is a smattering of angels here, which are kind of Christmassy, right? Witness eighteen photographs in this public hanging, ranging in years of origin from 1998 (the image you see below, entitled “Stone Emotion” to current work (2014) that I have just printed for the first time. One of my most recent pieces, of which I am quite proud, is “The Visitor” (directly below). I included a few snow scenes to keep with the spirit of the season, for example, the image further down, "Victoian Snow," which I made in 1877 (just kidding).

"The Visitor" (2014)

All are welcome to view (and purchase) the work throughout the month (take it right off the wall and pay the barkeep, if you need a truly unique piece of art as a holiday gift for that special someone. I mean, who doesn't like the idea of angels for Christmas? The angelic mingles with the somewhat creepy in this display of various sized and priced ($60 - $150) images. So if you want first choice, don’t wait until Christmas, uh, Morning.

Want the story behind the photograph? Plan to stop by the reception on December 20 and I will tell all. Every image here has a story, and they stick with me like glue, for some reason. I made some of these images locally (Philadelphia), and some in different parts of the U.S. There are some from California, some from New Orleans, for instance. Some grave markers and monuments I return to time and again. Take the angelic black and white “Stone Emotion,” for instance. I made this on film around 1999; its one of the first cemetery angels I ever photographed. I was drawn back to it for years to photograph it as it aged (weather, lichens, etc.), but it never regained that warm glow of youth. It seemed to age as if it were quite alive.

 

"Stone Emotion" (1998)

 

Reception: December 20, 2014

"Victorian Snow" (1877)

I think it was Jethro Tull who said, “The Christmas Spirit is not what you drink.” However, the various beverages are expected to flow freely at the reception for this exhibit (Dec. 20, 2014, 1-5 pm). After all, the Dawson Street Pub is a bar. Do I feel funny having such solemn work hanging here? Is it disrespectful to exhibit such images in an establishment that serves alcohol and hosts live bands?  Only if your reasons for smiling are wrong. Cemeteries can be a celebration of life - not just a fond remembrance for those who have passed, but a reminder that we should enjoy life with our friends.

I do thank Dave Wilby, the owner of the Dawson Street Pub, for the opportunity to exhibit work in his gallery (Manayunk is a Philadelphia neighborhood). In fact, every month for the past six months I’ve been curating photography exhibits here, coordinating the art receptions with the one-weekend-a-month  celebrity chef takeover. My good friend Tom Bera is the guest BBQ chef,  owner of award-winning Philly Blind Pig BBQ, which provides mouth-watering delicacies such as slow smoked beef ribs and brisket, pork ribs and pulled pork, BBQ chicken, salmon, and other specialties. The artsy crowd gets to rub elbows with the foodie crowd, and everyone has a great time!

Patrons in the Dawson Street Gallery at a prior show

While I have a number of photographs in various group shows around Philadelphia this month, you can get a good perspective on the range of my cemetery work at my Dawson Street solo show. It’s up for the month of December, and as I said, I am selling the work right off the wall. I assume there will be some left to look at on December 20!

Yule love this!

Dawson Street Pub from the Philly Blind Pig Christmas Party invitation!

There are a number of events occurring on December 20 at the Dawson Street. Stop by and enjoy the company, the wonderful food, the winter ales. Sit by the fire if you like (though that would be outside next to Tom Bera’s Philly Blind Pig smoker!) and wait for Tom’s Christmas Special for the weekend - Polish Lasagna (think layers of pierogies and kielbasa)! A Tap Takeover by guest brewers the Conshohocken Brewing Company is planned (let’s assume free samples) and live music will be provided by the band, "The Conshohocken Curve" at 9pm!

Links:

Dawson Street Pub, Manayunk, PA

A Philly Blind Pig Christmas Facebook invitation!

See more of Ed Snyder's cemetery photographs from this exhibit on Facebook.

Creepy Halloween Photography Exhibition

"Leg Up," by Veronika Schmude

When I asked some photographer friends of mine to participate in a “Creepy Halloween Photography” exhibition, I was surprised by the submissions. I thought MY work was creepy! I certainly expected some cemetery work, but half the entries are non-cemetery images – and they are downright frightening. A few of them (along with the artist’s name) are sprinkled throughout this article. Even the cemetery images are unusual, e.g. night scenes from Philadelphia's Laurel Hill Cemetery and Jonathan Klein's piece (below) -  a community mausoleum in Poland! I really am awestruck by the depth and breadth of people’s creativity.

"House of the Dead," by Jonathan Klein

I curate monthly photography exhibits at the Dawson Street Pub in Manayunk, PA (a Philadelphia neighborhood), and I thought the October show should have a spooky theme, what with Halloween and Day of the Dead looming. I set up the exhibit Saturday, October 4 (2014), and I must say, it is exactly what I hoped it would be!

"The Portender," by Marietta Dooley

I especially like this one by Marietta Dooley (at right) - I have no idea what it is, but it is downright ghoulish, in a Blair Witchy-kind of way. And Veronike Shmude's "Leg Up" image (at top) from New Orleans' St. Roch Cemetery chapel is just wonderful. It's odd how half the (lucky) thirteen images involved people (or some semblance of a person), while the other half were basically still lifes. My brother Tim Snyder's "G.I. Jerrys" is an eerie little piece - sixties-era G.I. Joes dressed as WWII German soldiers.

"G.I. Jerrys," by Tim Snyder

If you’ve ever seen the original version of any artwork, you know that it is always superior to a reproduced image. So please come out to the Dawson Street Pub and see these macabre images in person! You can stroll to the back room gallery any time the bar is open (every day from noon to 2 a.m.) or you can join us at the free reception on October 18. during the reception, most of the artists will be present so you can pick their brains about their work. There's always a story behind every photograph!

FREE Reception/Halloween Party!
Saturday, 2- 4 pm, Oct. 18, 2014
(in conjunction with award-winning Philly Blind Pig BBQ  event)

Dawson Street Pub, Manayunk, PA

"Concrete City, Thanksgiving Day," Patricia Kinsman

The stories behind some of the photographs are in some cases scarier that the images themselves. For my money, one of the best offerings might be Patricia Kinsman's "Thanksgiving Day, Concrete City" (at left). This subtle image has a wild story behind it. An actual all-concrete village of was built in 1911 in northeast Pennsylvania, then abandoned in 1924. It is so out in the woods, it is unnerving. Hats off to the intrepid explorers and abandoned site photographers who traverse these Texas Chainsaw-like woods to visit the ruins.

The “Creepy Halloween Photography" exhibit will be up from October 4, 2014 until the Day of the Dead – November 1, 2014. Free Opening Reception Oct. 18, 2 - 4 pm (in conjunction with award-winning Philly Blind Pig BBQ event, for which I suppose I should post an "excessive meat warning"). All the images are framed and available for immediate purchase.

Dawson Street Pub, Manayunk, PA (with the Philly Blind Pig)

Participating Artists:

 Veronika Schmude

 Frank Rausch

 Karen Schlecter

 Jonathan Klein

 Ed Snyder

 Patricia Kinsman

 Emma Stern

 Karen Schlecter

 David Swift

 Tim Snyder
 Marietta Dooley

 Maria Rose                

The Weirdness of Going Public with Your Art

Weirdness abounds – but you didn’t need me to tell you that. This week, I found out that the couple with the little girl down the street are selling their house and moving to … a boat. This is at least as weird as my friend's boss' family being attacked this week by a rabid bobcat in their own backyard.

As I write this, there’s a celebrity funeral going on across the street from the boat couple’s house (at a funeral home) and a hundred people are lined up to get in, dressed in their Sunday best. There’s no parking anywhere around my house. A pseudo-celebrity, I’m sure, or rather a local celebrity. I’ve never been to a viewing or a funeral where you had to wait in line to get in. Many are there just to be seen by their fellow live “mourners,” I suppose.

Twilight viewing at funeral parlor

A few nights ago, my friend Jonn Klein (who photographs abandoned Jewish cemeteries in Europe) told me that the Nazis never destroyed the elaborate Jewish cemeteries in Berlin. I never knew this. He has photos to prove it (click link to see more on his Flickr page). The 1920-era monuments are amazing. The bronze wasn’t even stolen to help the war effort. Weird. All this in the same week! But the weirdest thing that happened involves my StoneAngels business card. The life that a simple business card can take on, oh my. It began with a phone call from a woman.

Jewish cemetery, Berlin, Germany by Jonn Klein (see more here)

Call one: “I have one of your business cards. Do you have something to do with Laurel Hill Cemetery [Philadelphia]?” On the reverse side of my card is my “Cemetery Traveler” blog information. She must have read the last blog I had posted, about a night photography workshop at Laurel Hill in which I participated. She then asked, “Was there a man named Neal at the workshop?” I told her she could call Laurel Hill and talk to the people who registered the guests – I did not have any names.

Call two, next day: Same woman says, “I wasn’t able to track down Neal, but I thought I’d explain the situation to you and maybe you can help me out. Some of your business cards were left on my sister’s car, spelling out a message.” I told her that someone could have grabbed a handful of my cards from the DawsonStreet Pub (Manayunk, PA), where I curate art exhibits. I said I would check to see if there is an unusual amount missing when I go there tomorrow to set up a new show. I told her that if she or her sister are genuinely concerned, they should call the police. She indicated that she didn’t think it was a police matter.

Call three, the following day: Same woman called to see what I found at the Dawson Street. I told her that indeed, most of my business cards were gone and that there was a regular patron named Neal. She then told me what was on her sister’s car:  “Thirteen of your business cards were arranged around an open book into whose pages had been cut a square compartment. Inside the compartment was one blue and one brown man’s sock.”  I told her that if she thought her sister was being stalked, they should call the police. I wanted to be very clear about this, partly for her sister’s safety, and partly to convince her that I was not involved – directly, anyway. I said, “Call the police and if they think I can be of any assistance, give them my name and number.” She said, “They already have it.”

Dawson Street Pub, Manayunk section of Philadelphia

I never asked her what the message was that was spelled out with my cards, or what her name or her sister’s name was. I wanted to respect their privacy as well as keeping my involvement in this situation at arm’s length.

Call four, two days later: Same woman calls and says, “I wanted to call and thank you for your help and to let you know that the situation has been resolved. Turns out the Dawson Street Pub had a yard sale and a young woman bought the book there. She grabbed your business cards while she was in the bar. She was somewhat disturbed, and had recently run away from her home in New England and ended up here. Her parents drove down yesterday to get her. The fact that she chose my sister’s car on which to leave the message was purely random.”

Laughter, tears, curtain.

I still don’t know what the message spelled out with my business cards said or if there was a Neal actually involved. I guess if you go public like I have with my art work and curate exhibits for others, things like this can happen. Then I began to wonder how much of this really did happen? – the cut up book, the business cards on the car, the police. After some asking around, however, I did find out that there indeed was a book with a compartment cut into it for sale at the Dawson Street Pub’s yard sale. But, it never sold….. um, wait ... maybe I was the one being stalked?!

The Easter Bunny and Other Grave Matters

When I was a kid, my parents sent me to a dentist who used ether to knock his patients out. That was the anesthetic of choice in the 1960s, before nitrous oxide replaced it. Dr. P. would have the gas hose attached to a little stuffed toy rabbit that he called the “Ether Bunny.” Ether was flammable, which is one reason it is no longer used. Dr. P., I remember vividly, used to smoke a pipe while he worked on my teeth. Imagine that. (Not all of what I just wrote is factual; you have to sort it out. Alright, here’s a hint – it’s all true except for one thing!)

So let’s talk a bit more about Easter, that grand holiday in which we Catholics celebrate Christ rising from the dead (if you expect me to say he saw his shadow as he left the tomb and thereby forecasted six more weeks of winter, you’d be sorely mistaken). Secretly, I think we all want to rise from the dead. Catholics believe that how we spend our eternal life is determined on Judgment Day. This is when we all discover our fate, whether it be Heaven, Hell, or Purgatory. Oh wait, they got rid of Purgatory. Or maybe it never existed, like an annulment, the Catholic version of divorce.

But that all takes me back to the sixties, when the Ether Bunny ran rampant in Dr. P.’s office, and his red lava lamp blooged in the waiting room. I remember thinking how weird it was that he chose red, as it looked like blood.

"Oh my god, what have I gotten myself into?
I'm a human corkscrew and all my wine is blood
They're gonna kill me mama, they don't like me bud." 

–    From John Prine’s song, “Jesus, the Missing Years”

"Maybe there are some Easter eggs down here!!!"

Watch Prine’s video here, its really not sacrilegious. He put’s Christ’s life and death in better perspective than most religious teachers with their holy mysteries. Personally, I believe I’ll be spending eternity in the warmer of the two climates. Heaven for atmosphere, hell for company – isn’t that what Mark Twain said? Doing eternity with my peeps doesn’t sound so bad – better than floating around with a harp trying to keep a halo on your head. And speaking of peeps, the day after Easter is the traditional marshmallow peep-eating contest at the Dawson Street Pub, in Philadelphia’s Manayunk neighborhood. So do stop by Monday evening if you want to see yellow.

To sum up my Easter holiday, I’ll just mention that we had a pleasant dinner at the slots parlor buffet in Wilkes-Barre, PA, with my Mom. She loves it there, so it’s become somewhat of a tradition with us. I was driving there with my three-year-old daughter, Olivia, when she asked when we would get to Grandma’s house. I told her we were meeting her at the casino. She asked, “What’s a casino?” Tough to explain to a youngster, but I began with, “Well, it’s a place where people gamble … ” She cut me off asking, “What does gamble mean?” Clutching for something she would understand, I attempted, “When people wager their money …” Cut off again with, “Daddy, what’s wager?” Hmmm. “That’s when people try to win …“ Olivia jumps in with, “Like when you try to win a game?” I said, “Exactly. They try to win a game.” It’s all a game, really, isn’t it? If we could just treat life as such a simple thing, it might be more fun.