morals/ethics/not being an asshole

a friend, for whom I have a great deal of artistic respect, got me thinking recently, when she expressed an eloquent disdain for, what she referred to as 'party photography' being used in the context of fine art. She said she thought it was 'exploitative', and alluded that there was something 'wrong' with catching people unawares, not giving them a moment to compose themselves.
i stared at my coffee pot, nodded, and confessed that i had been pondering the morals involved in such a practice too.

"you dabble in that, i know", she said.

i do. guilty.
but i don't just dabble, i RELISH the candidness, the freedom, and the lack of pretension in people's moments of abandon and unawareness. these scant seconds are rare in this cauldron of narcissism we call a town! i hunt these moments like rare animals. can i be blamed? or should i be scolded for desiring to hang these explosions of endorphins on gallery walls to show that our generation does have 'myspace-free' moments? i don't know.

what do you think?

my inspiration...

My mom.

Manifest Equality

I am proud to say I will be showing some work in the esteemed Yosi Sergant's (former communications director of the national endowment for the arts) latest project, Manifest Equality. The show was created with the intention of creating awareness, and hopefully helping to change policies to create equality for gays in the US. It is by no means all gay artists, or even gay themed work - the show features heavy hitters like Barry Mcgee, Tierney Gearon, Chris Johanson, TIerney Gearon, Shepard Fairey, Swoon, etc.
The show opens to the public March 3rd, in LA, for anyone in the area.

I'll post up what I'm showing in the coming days.