philly

I don't know what kind of excuse anyone had in missing Zoe Strauss's I-95 Show, but whatever the excuse, it's lame, don't even try it on me. It was absofuckinglutely redonkulous. I can't believe I missed it last year [I had an excuse, heh]. I won't be missing the next five installments barring something crazy.

I've put up a flickr set of thirty-seven shots from the day giving a taste of what it was like. The scale of the show is incomprehensible. Literally.

have no idea of the actual length of the space, but I'd guesstimate around 1000' long and 150' wide after a rough GoogleMapping estimate.

I got there just after 1p and there were already about 100 people milling around, meandering through the thirteen rows of cement pillars. I saw Zoe running across the street with a few last minute materials. I walked over to her to say hi. It feels so natural for me to run up to her and give her a hug, like we've known each other for a long time. She had a hotdog in her hand, probably hadn't eaten nor slept much in the last few weeks leading up to that afternoon. Her eyes were bleary, but energetic; excited for it to start and be over at the same time I think. We chatted for a few minutes and she pointed to the hotdog and said she had to eat it and introduced me to her moms. We chatted for a few and I let her get back to schmoozing with the crowd too.

The 11" x 17" photos were spray mounted directly onto the cement pillars. No matting. Inkjet prints and color copy blowups from 4" x 6" prints; all cut to size. The photos were on, for the most part, all four sides of the pillars. This resulted in people dancing with each other around the pillars, mouths in pleasant smiles, eyes meeting for moments and heads nodding in complete agreement of amazement.

There were so many SLRs out. Digital and film. Holgas. Point and shoots. Disposables. I've heard of the phrase "A writer's writer" in describing a writer [reporter, author, poet] who appeals directly to the core of other writers not necessarily giving a shit about what other people think because s/he knows that the real writers out there understand them. Zoe is that kind of photographer, a photographer's photographer. There's something primal in her photos. So raw it hurts most of the time. Her photos directly mounted onto decaying pillars, next to a discarded 40 oz., right next to the onramp.

The constant thud, thud, thud of tires passing the concrete slabs of I-95 overhead were soothing and pace setting. There was soft din from the thousand or so people walking through the space, but with two sides open to the air and the "ceiling" twenty feet above, it wasn't much of a distraction. To give a sense of just how large it was, there were at least twenty people viewing the exhibit on bicycles without a problem bumping into other people. They stopped and straddled their bikes on certain shots, got back on, biked to the next striking image. I almost expected someone to drive through the space in a Mini.

At 3p, it was time to pick my favorite shot and rip it from the concrete to claim as my own. I had a hard time picking a favorite, but I took the liberty of going through the I-95 set and picking out my four favorites here, here, here and here. As soon as I got the map, I marked them off. After seeing them all up, I decided on this one. I walked to the second to last pillar to rip it down. It felt funny and liberating to walk up to it and [carefully] rip it down. When do you ever get a chance to do that at a world-class art exhibition?! That's what makes this decade long project and Zoe so incredibly special; accessibility. Art for so long has been out of reach to the average citizen. Museums and galleries are often intimidating or simply monetarily out of reach. $15 and two hours isn't something everyone has at their disposal. The I-95 show is free and accessible. The Philadelphia Museum of Art has a wonderful pay what you wish Sundays, but it can still be an intimidating place.

I feel lucky to be able to be a part of such an awesome show. South Philly, Center City, the Main Line and beyond were all there intermingling. If you missed out and would like to get a print for yourself, they're only $5 for a 7" x 9" color photocopy. Contact her through her real website, the shots of the I-95 show are here.

I ran into Steve and we spoke for about half an hour towards the end of the show after we had both gone through the entire show. We were both amazed at it all. I also ran into Laura and Dustin who made the trip from the burbs. They both loved the show and when I told them they could rip down their favorite shot, they ran off without saying bye, completely understandable. I think I also saw my across the courtyard neighbors there too. Small world.

Much love Zoe. Get yourself some rest, you deserve it.

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