21/12/2015
Dear Friends ,
We write this note to you post-residency and post-NYC , while sitting now in our two different hometown environments . The holidays approach , 2015 creeps closer to its end , and with it VALISE follows suit .
VALISE in NYC was a success in many ways + we are most grateful to a number of people and organizations that provided us with support during our incredible 3-month residency with the Eileen S. Kaminsky Family Foundation (ESKFF) . They include : Eileen Kaminsky , Gina Maffei , Yoav Resnick , Gateway Art Center NYC , Noah Perlis & Dorothy Krakauer , ICP - International Center of Photography , Joseph Lucas , Mana Contemporary , Soho Crates and the incredible Gene Thompson , Michael Gitlin , ABK6 Cognac , our Kickstarter supporters , Tracy Rowland , and there are many more of course !
Below are a number of photos from the 3 volumes of our LEITBILDER PORTRAITS books , based on VALISE explorations . These first 3 volumes are called "White Space Series" & stem from gathered stories of the Atlantic Coast of France ( c.2013 ) . We dedicate these books to Steve Sproutman Meyerowitz ( 23 July 1950 - 9 September 2015 ) whose absence leaves us with certain qualities or "traits" that are left in his traces .
We wish all of you a wonderful close to this year - & then a new one filled with joy , lightness ,
and - of course - a Valise :
the fragility of our world is imminent as Trump sports his combover with the same passion Hi**er held for his mustache , refugees wander , our chère Paris is burning , & New England is stage for December thunderstorms ; permanence strips itself of its illusive guise and suddenly stands naked and vulnerable in the changing light and shadow of White Space .
All that's left then are traces , echo , and the particularities that made up the contours of changing moments .
Use the pieces found inside these white spaces . The world seeks transformation .
'The salvation of man is through love and in love. A man who has nothing left...may still know bliss...in the contemplation of his beloved.' Man's Search for Meaning , Viktor E. Frankl
Please enjoy the photos below & until soon folks - speak anon !
Yours ,
VALISE
http://projetvalise.com/leitbilder/
[ photo of Steve Meyerowitz Sproutman Memorial during his Vaudeville days . We strongly relate to this photo as we too often find ourselves schlepping bags , feathers , and suitcases across long distances and spaces ]
