February | New books

Face Boss by Michael D. Guillerman | Southeastern View by jw lawson

I have had the pleasure of designing two new books coming out this month. Face Boss is the memoir of a Western Kentucky Coal Miner, and is a fascinating read...especially for those from the appalachian region, where even if you don't grow up around a coal mine, if you take Sunday drives then you no doubt have seen the impact of coal on the area...whether in the strips of vacant mining land, the faces of the workers themselves, or in the scars left behind. Face Boss is a first-person account of life in the mines and is a tremendous read.

Southeastern View is jw lawson's collection of work from the southeast...primarily the Tennessee / North Carolina / Virginia borderland. lawson moved from Tennessee to Wisconsin nine years ago, and these photos are a visual representation of that move. While I am not very elegant at describing the work, I will say that you can feel the personal bond to the land in this collection...not only the land, but the "feel". The pull that ties us to our birthplace. lawson has a knack for creating images that remind us that there is indeed a place we are from, and that we should take notice of that place while we can.

FACE BOSS - The University of Tennessee Press
SOUTHEASTERN VIEW - self published via the WAR ROOM

Paramount.

Paramount-u-li-ka Cleaners. Broadway. Knoxville, TN. Winter 2009.

I've always loved those green windows. They're good cleaners too.

Whistle Creek.

Whistle Creek. Newcomb, TN. WInter, 2009.

I finally got around to scanning both of these. While I actually like them both better as individuals, I still wanted to see them side by side. The house is really amazing...I'm not sure of the history of it, but there was a rail line running across the street in the past...a coal train, I'm sure. There is a tree house up in the woods that I'd like to take a nap in sometime.

Dot-Iris Update.

Dot-Iris Handmade.

I finally got to somewhat update Kim's website...didn't really implement any major changes, but I did get to clear out all of the old merch from the store and update it with current products. She has the spring/summer headbands online and a new line of Flower Hair Accessories...what do you call them...flower hair pins? Barrettes? I'm not sure of the technical term, but they are handmade and really cool. They are in the new web-store along with the updated headbands. Check them out at the links below.

Dot-Iris Handmade
Dot-Iris web-shop

Big Ears Festival 09

Big Ears 09. Top to bottom: Michael Gira, Matmos, Negativland.

I was asked by the fine folks at AC Entertainment to photo some shows at the Big Ears Festival this past weekend. Let me just say that the past three days have been jam-packed with some astonishingly amazing music. Some highlights for me were the Shaking Ray Levis from Chattanooga, Burning Star Core, Neil Hamburger, Ned Rothenberg, Antony and the Johnsons, Pauline Oliveros, Matmos, Michael Gira, and the Finnesz/Linkous/Minor Collaboration...oh, and Philip Glass and the Dan Deacon + Baltimore Round Robin...and the Ampient Café at Java...and...well, you get the idea. Kudos to AC for pulling this together. I wish I could have made it to the after-party, but my head was spinning and my legs were failing so I headed home. All that being said, I hope I got some good shots, as it was a bit of a trial-by-fire for me. Hopefully I can test these waters again sometime...it was indeed a blast.

Broadway Framed

Broadway. Knoxville, TN. January 2009

I'm still learning this new camera, but this is a shot I liked from the last roll...the window of a junk shop at the corner of Central and Broadway...not A&R Furniture, but the one next door. I wonder who they are?