History Voices #2

(click on the image to enlarge)

Victoria Gardens Biograph at Lincoln Avenue in Chicago.

© Flavio Martín Morante_2013_ IPhone 4

The other site we went to visit was the Victoria Gardens Biograph, place where the infamous gangster (one of the many that did walk the Chicago streets many years ago) John Dillinger was shot by the FBI while exiting the theatre after watching there the movie Manhattan Melodrama.

The place today, located on a really busy street in what is a college area, does not play movies anymore, doing theatre plays instead. Still, one of those many places I have grown up hearing all about it even as faraway as Uruguay, so it was worth it to make our way there for a short walk. The main thing that came to my mind while standing in front of it was the ironic fact that a gangster like Dillinger, whose life story reads as a perfect Hollywood gangster movie as it has been portrayed several times, found his faith outside a movie theatre. 

History Voices #1

(click on the image to enlarge)

Monument Sculpture made by Mary Brogger commemorating the Haymarket  Events of May 4th, 1886 in Chicago

© Flavio Martín Morante_2013_ IPhone 4

This past weekend Dawn and I spent the weekend on Chicago as we made our way to see the Pet Shop Boys concert as part of their 2013 tour presenting their new album Electric. After listening this band since I was around 10 years old, it was really nice to see them live for first time. A great concert, full of great music and lights display. A nice Electro-Brit-Pop show.

Also, we wondered the streets of the city and we ended visiting two historic sites that were part of my "one historic place each time" list. This time was the turn of the Haymarket Memorial. As a person not born in the United States, I find fascinating that dark episode of american history that is widely known and celebrated by most of the world (including Uruguay) as May Day, Chicago Martyrs Day, or First of May (an incorrect date) but barely (if not) known in the country it did actually happened. 

Because of the meaning this place has in general culture, it was nice to be able to make it there, despite the place obviously has changed drastically in the last 127 years, with only a beautiful sculpture  by Mary Brogger shown at the beginning of this post as a reminder of the events unfolded there during the Haymarket Riots.

RANDOMness

(click on the image to enlarge)

Random Lake View

© Flavio Martín Morante_2013_ Nikon DSLR D200

As Dawn and I make our way slowly into our new home, I will be starting to post photographs of the town in which we will grow roots among other things. This little town called Random Lake, is located 40miles north of Milwaukee and with a population of only 1600 habitants is a typical Midwest town, which promises to be material for another photographic project as I take the whole thing as a new discovery, specially when we count the fact of having been born and raise in a city of 2.000.000 people.

More to come.

Getting in Fall Mood.

(click on the image to enlarge)

Me at the Wine and Harvest Fest in Cedarburg, Wisconsin.

Nikon Coolpix P7000

Fall did not wait and it came with full force this past Saturday as Dawn and I did Wine and Harvest Fest in Cedarburg. We did feel the cold weather that announce the end of summer, but stayed warm, thanks to the nice visits of friends, the good conversations with perfect strangers and the warm feeling of seeing some pieces go away to other people's homes.

As  now, just to keep working (jobs, house and personal projects are squeezing my clock). Tonight hoping to process 2 more rolls from my project Marina, which despite the lack of time, I manage to keep working on. Cheers!

(click on the image to enlarge)

 Rolls #28 and #29 waiting to be processed. © Flavio Martín Morante_2013

Nikon Coolpix P7000

Wine, Fruits and Art

Untitled Still Life (Wine Bottle and Fruits)
Positive Made from Paper Negative taken with Graflex SpeedGraphic Anniversary.
4 x 5 inches. © Flavio Martín Morante_2013

I have been a little absent lately, mixed between a lot of work and a lot of doing on the house, reason why this post comes as a last minute thing, but still as a way of notice or just sharing something else, I wanted to share that I will be this weekend at the Cedarburg Wine & Harvest Festival selling my photographs, paintings and handcrafts. The festival runs the whole weekend, so it will be a busy time but hopefully worth it.

If you are around and would like to stop by, do so early in the morning for some coffee. I will be there always open to good conversation.

See you then.

New Beginnings.

(click on the image to enlarge) 

At the new house. 

The painting above is not a excursion into abstract expressionism, instead is a section of a wall in a house Dawn and I have purchased 10 days ago. Little by little we are working on it to make it our own home. Lots of work which it has made the last almost 2 weeks a busy affair, putting somehow a pause on my photographs. Still, I have managed to keep working on stuff and the keep pushing has its rewards as it is that today I will be hanging my paintings at the First Financial Bank in Grafton upon receiving an invitation to do so.

For now I will keep working, painting walls with the same input as I do on canvas.

(click on the image to enlarge) 

At the new house.