Stuttgart

Well yesterday we had our annual Sommerfest here at Solitude and it was quite an experience. Food, music, performances and of course lots of art on display all over the place. We even sold off many of the photographs that I had been exhibiting and raised money for both the Akadamie and The Europeans. Later there was dancing until the wee small hours of the morning…






The question that everyone was asking... © Damaso Reyes

And now I must prepare to head back to New York. Still have some scanning left to do as well as packing, but I am very excited about seeing my friends and family and eating in my favorite places. But I will miss my long walks in the woods and visits to the mineral baths here in Stuttgart.




The answers visitors left... © Damaso Reyes

I am looking forward to the two months I will spend in Berlin where I will work at Vanity Fair Deutschland as part of my Burns Fellowship. It should be an exciting time and no doubt I will have a chance to practice my German on a daily basis!

Stuttgart

Well opening night was very much a success although some severe rain and hail but before 8 seems to have kept some people from making the drive up to the castle. The show was already up by Wednesday, thanks to the help of Herrs Horst and Ludwig and by lunchtime on Thursday everything was done, leaving me with several hours to kill. I took a walk in the woods and contemplated the long journey which has brought me here. As I walked down the forest paths my thoughts turned towards the future and just where it will take me. As happy as I am to see my work displayed up on the walls I know that this is just a beginning; as happy as I am with the quality of the work I know that it must, and will become much, much better.


Welcome! © Damaso Reyes

In many ways satisfaction for me is fleeting. I am proud of what I have accomplished thus far but I feel that I have so much further to go. This project is like chasing a ghost in some ways and I often wonder if at the end the accumulation of these years of photographs will become large enough or dense enough or meaningful enough to bring some kind of understand to the times in which we live. I suppose I can’t fixate on that too much since the ultimate judgment on this work will not belong to me in any event.


© Damaso Reyes

But I can enjoy looking at the walls and seeing the hard work of the past months!


© Damaso Reyes

I will be back with more images of the show at some point in the near future…


© Damaso Reyes


© Damaso Reyes


© Damaso Reyes

En Route to Cologne

Well here I am, off to Cologne for carnival weekend! Last year I was in New Orleans, which was a lot of fun and hard work. It might be interesting to try carnival in a different city every year, we’ll see if we can make a habit out of this. So I will try to post whilst I am away but you might not hear from me until next week. Catch you later…


New Orleans this time last year. ©Damaso Reyes

Stuttgart

Another monthly dinner and fun was had by all, though speaking just for myself there was a little too much wine consumed, which I felt this morning when I woke up just after eight to go photograph at the State Parliament, but that’s another story. Here are some photos….enjoy!


Ligia. ©Damaso Reyes


Narges. ©Damaso Reyes


Sanford. ©Damaso Reyes


©Damaso Reyes

Stuttgart

So for the past two days there has been a symposium here entitled “When is a work of art dead?” Since it has been all in German up until tonight, I have just been taking the occasional photo, but tonight there is a lecture in English. There is talk of going out afterwards but I’m not sure if I will go out, I kinda want to save my energy for the darkroom tomorrow, but we shall see….


Exciting, isn't it? ©Damaso Reyes

Stuttgart

So yesterday was the monthly fellow’s dinner here at Schloss Solitude. It is one of the few chances we get to all come together on a regular basis and share a meal. It was a great chance to meet some of the more reclusive fellows and share a couple (read dozen) bottles of wine. Fun was had by all. See the photos here.


©Damaso Reyes

Stuttgart

While at lunch today the woman sitting next to me asked “Have you seen the sheep?” Of course I responded “What sheep?” Apparently twice a year a shepherd comes by with his flock to graze on the grasses surrounding the Schloss. So I went out camera in hand and lo and behold there were indeed many, many sheep!


The shepherd and his flock. ©Damaso Reyes

I walked amongst them, petted the sheep dog and even spoke a bit with the shepherd and nice older fellow named Reinhold Weiss who is from Leonberg. I wish I could have spent more time with him but I had to catch a bus into town. I figure he couldn’t have gone too far, maybe I will track him down in the next couple of days and spend a little more time with him. I probably won’t but a guy can dream can’t he?


Sheep and the Schloss. ©Damaso Reyes


Sheep and the sky. ©Damaso Reyes

New York City

Tonight was the opening of the group show that I am in: Engulfed by Katrina: Photographs Before and After the Storm, curated by Deborah Willis and Hank Willis-Thomas. This show features show great images produced by some incredible photographers and I would encourage everyone in the New York area to come by, the show is up until November 19th.



There was live music, great food and a great panel discussion. It's these kind of events that make me want to exhibit my work more often, hopefully that's something that I will do more of next year as The Europeans kicks into high gear!

New York City

Happy New Year!

Okay, it’s a month late but it’s the thought that counts, right? Tonight is the opening of the group show I am in at E3 gallery here in New York. After processing all my film and doing quite a bit of printing, the big day is here. I have selected a group of images from my two trips to Kosovo last year. I am pretty happy with the work that I am showing.


A very exciting invitation.

While the show is small it feels like a big step for me. This is the first time that I am showing work from The Europeans, one of what I hope will be many work in progress shows over the next few years. As an artist, I spend a great deal of time working in my own little bubble, not really interacting with people about my work. Tonight I will be presenting my vision to the public, or at least the friends who show up. Putting one’s work out there is always a little bit nerve racking but I believe deeply in this project, no matter how other people might react to the images I show tonight.