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- 04.02 Back from Bolinas
- 03.07 From ruin to respite
- 02.14 First solo museum show
- 01.26 Inspiration!
- 12.24 Happy Holidays!!
- 12.13 ShowPods celebrate the 20th anniversary of Alleys & Ruins
- 11.21 New Alley image! plus Workshop pics and Urban Edge Opening
- 11.08 New Glam Bug! ….. and the Workshop is SOON!
- 10.22 Yearly “Just Because!” Party … and upcoming Workshop too!
- 09.13 20 years of Alleys and Ruins!
- 08.03 Alley 140 (Dallas, TX) and iSpy mag
- 06.22 The N Beat – ABC-TV Chicago
- 05.25 New York, New York
- 04.29 Professional Artist Magazine – Art Chicago & Art Attack!!
- 04.10 New York Times story, plus bonus at no extra cost: a New Image!
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Back from Bolinas
3pm on 4/2/12
I got back recently from the bay area where I attended the opening of my solo show at the Bolinas museum just north of San Francisco. The museum was packed for the opening and I made some new friends - it was great!
[caption id="attachment_3276" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="Me with museum director Lucy Van Sands Seeburg and show curator Piro Patton"]
[/caption]
The Marin Independent Journal interviewed me for the show. You can read the story here– and its also posted below.
While I was in the area, I went over to Sacramento to visit Chicago Fire Restaurant. Last year they purchased four large alley pieces and I wanted to see them installed. You can see the photo below - needless to say I was very pleased with their new home.
Marin Independent Journal
Photographer Nuez finds beauty in urban blight
By Vicki Larson - 03/29/2012
AS XAVIER NUEZ prepared for a trip to Marin earlier this month, he wasn't too interested in hiking Mount Tam or exploring Muir Woods or walking the Golden Gate Bridge like most tourists do.
[caption id="attachment_3257" align="alignright" width="500" caption="Decorating the country's restaurants, one wall at a time"]
[/caption]
Instead, the Chicago resident wanted to go to the seediest parts of the county, the abandoned buildings, neglected neighborhoods and blighted alleys.
"We live surrounded by order and carefully constructed spaces. When you're in one of these abandoned or neglected urban spaces that no one's taking care of, there's chaos and anarchy. The elements are taking these places down, they're creating textures and tearing down walls," says Nuez, a photographer who has spent the past 20 years venturing into the worst areas of cities across the country for his theatrical, somewhat eerie but vividly colorful images. "At the same time, you see things you'd never see anywhere else. They're filled with stuff, old and obscure objects. You can see and feel things you can't in the ordinary world. In a way, it's like an oasis within a city."
There aren't many places like that in Marin, which is nice for those of us who live here but a bummer for him. "Some locations are difficult, Marin being one of them," he says almost mournfully.
Still, he was happy to have stumbled upon decaying bunkers in the Marin Headlands when he lived in the Bay Area for a few years in the 1990s. "All those old bunkers are pretty amazing," he says.
A solo show of Nuez's photographs, "Alleys & Ruins," is at the Bolinas Museum through May 6.
[caption id="attachment_3272" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="Alleys & Ruins no.104, Bunker (2007, Marin Headlands, CA, 11pm)"]
[/caption]
"His photographs transcend the gloom and uncover the sublime," notes Land + Living blog. "While some photos display an aura of foreboding, many reveal an uncanny sense of calm seemingly at odds with reality."
Nuez's interest in the abandoned and neglected started early, fueled in part by the stories his father told him of being a street kid in his native Spain.
"For years I believed that that was, if not my destiny, then a good chance this was going to happen to me," the 47-year-old Montreal native says.
Because of that, Nuez developed social anxiety in his early 20s. Oddly, he notes, that anxiety has helped inform his art.
"It's funny. I have all these irrational fears but one of them doesn't seem to be walking down a dark alley at night," he says, laughing.
When he was feeling anxious, "I didn't want to be around anyone. I knew that if I walked into an abandoned building or down a dark alley at midnight, I would be there alone. Nobody in their right mind is going to hang out there," he observes. "I felt very calm and kind of at home. I felt very peaceful there. At the same time, 1 percent of me was on red alert, vigilant of the danger."
And he has had more than his share of heart-pumping moments. Anyone hanging around a city's seedy parts at night, settling up expensive strobes and spotlights and flashing 50-year-old Hasselblad film cameras for a half an hour or so — because he shoots at night, he has to leave the camera shutter open for a long time — is bound to attract attention, and not necessarily the good kind. Nuez has been confronted by drug dealers, gang leaders, alcoholics and addicts and police officers. That's why he often brings a friend or two along, not that everyone's eager to join him in his escapades.
"Every time something happens, it's a big drag, there's no question about it," he says. "I don't do this for the adrenaline rush. I do it for the peacefulness and quiet. And I continue to do it because the rewards are so great. It's part of the cost of getting my images."
Although he has occasionally climbed fences or entered places he shouldn't have, the majority of his shots are in public places.
"I like the idea that these are places anyone can see," he says. "I want the viewer to feel like they're there. I want them to create stories in their head, to imagine all the people who have come and gone, the stories that have taken place. I don't want them to be afraid. I want them to feel like I do, that it's a magical place."
When he's not on the road, Nuez calls Chicago home. He moved there a few years ago in part because it has some amazing old architecture.
"There's something about an old building that has so much more character than a new building. It develops personality and takes on wisdom. It has all these stories left over from the elements or people," he says. "These are places most likely rich in history and stories ... but there's no one to ask, so all you can do is imagine."
[/caption]
The Marin Independent Journal interviewed me for the show. You can read the story here– and its also posted below.
While I was in the area, I went over to Sacramento to visit Chicago Fire Restaurant. Last year they purchased four large alley pieces and I wanted to see them installed. You can see the photo below - needless to say I was very pleased with their new home.
Marin Independent Journal
Photographer Nuez finds beauty in urban blight
By Vicki Larson - 03/29/2012
AS XAVIER NUEZ prepared for a trip to Marin earlier this month, he wasn't too interested in hiking Mount Tam or exploring Muir Woods or walking the Golden Gate Bridge like most tourists do.
[caption id="attachment_3257" align="alignright" width="500" caption="Decorating the country's restaurants, one wall at a time"][/caption]
Instead, the Chicago resident wanted to go to the seediest parts of the county, the abandoned buildings, neglected neighborhoods and blighted alleys.
"We live surrounded by order and carefully constructed spaces. When you're in one of these abandoned or neglected urban spaces that no one's taking care of, there's chaos and anarchy. The elements are taking these places down, they're creating textures and tearing down walls," says Nuez, a photographer who has spent the past 20 years venturing into the worst areas of cities across the country for his theatrical, somewhat eerie but vividly colorful images. "At the same time, you see things you'd never see anywhere else. They're filled with stuff, old and obscure objects. You can see and feel things you can't in the ordinary world. In a way, it's like an oasis within a city."
There aren't many places like that in Marin, which is nice for those of us who live here but a bummer for him. "Some locations are difficult, Marin being one of them," he says almost mournfully.
Still, he was happy to have stumbled upon decaying bunkers in the Marin Headlands when he lived in the Bay Area for a few years in the 1990s. "All those old bunkers are pretty amazing," he says.
A solo show of Nuez's photographs, "Alleys & Ruins," is at the Bolinas Museum through May 6.
[caption id="attachment_3272" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="Alleys & Ruins no.104, Bunker (2007, Marin Headlands, CA, 11pm)"][/caption]
"His photographs transcend the gloom and uncover the sublime," notes Land + Living blog. "While some photos display an aura of foreboding, many reveal an uncanny sense of calm seemingly at odds with reality."
Nuez's interest in the abandoned and neglected started early, fueled in part by the stories his father told him of being a street kid in his native Spain.
"For years I believed that that was, if not my destiny, then a good chance this was going to happen to me," the 47-year-old Montreal native says.
Because of that, Nuez developed social anxiety in his early 20s. Oddly, he notes, that anxiety has helped inform his art.
"It's funny. I have all these irrational fears but one of them doesn't seem to be walking down a dark alley at night," he says, laughing.
When he was feeling anxious, "I didn't want to be around anyone. I knew that if I walked into an abandoned building or down a dark alley at midnight, I would be there alone. Nobody in their right mind is going to hang out there," he observes. "I felt very calm and kind of at home. I felt very peaceful there. At the same time, 1 percent of me was on red alert, vigilant of the danger."
And he has had more than his share of heart-pumping moments. Anyone hanging around a city's seedy parts at night, settling up expensive strobes and spotlights and flashing 50-year-old Hasselblad film cameras for a half an hour or so — because he shoots at night, he has to leave the camera shutter open for a long time — is bound to attract attention, and not necessarily the good kind. Nuez has been confronted by drug dealers, gang leaders, alcoholics and addicts and police officers. That's why he often brings a friend or two along, not that everyone's eager to join him in his escapades.
"Every time something happens, it's a big drag, there's no question about it," he says. "I don't do this for the adrenaline rush. I do it for the peacefulness and quiet. And I continue to do it because the rewards are so great. It's part of the cost of getting my images."
Although he has occasionally climbed fences or entered places he shouldn't have, the majority of his shots are in public places.
"I like the idea that these are places anyone can see," he says. "I want the viewer to feel like they're there. I want them to create stories in their head, to imagine all the people who have come and gone, the stories that have taken place. I don't want them to be afraid. I want them to feel like I do, that it's a magical place."
When he's not on the road, Nuez calls Chicago home. He moved there a few years ago in part because it has some amazing old architecture.
"There's something about an old building that has so much more character than a new building. It develops personality and takes on wisdom. It has all these stories left over from the elements or people," he says. "These are places most likely rich in history and stories ... but there's no one to ask, so all you can do is imagine."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This youtube video has gone platinum many times over
but its still my favorite pet video!
.
Posted at 3pm on 4/2/12 | Comments | Filed Under: Art Shows
From ruin to respite
4pm on 3/7/12
[caption id="attachment_3236" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="Me with Director Martha Schneider and Assistant Director Rose Licavoli"]
[/caption]
The opening of my show at Schneider Gallery last Friday was a blast!
And here's a review of the show from Newcity.
"Xavier Nuez and Valerie Oliveiro/Schneider Gallery
Positioning himself squarely inside the popular genre of contemporary ruins photography, Xavier Nuez rockets beyond the familiar conceit of redeeming derelict spaces and trash, and embraces them in an orgy of riotous glitz. Shooting at night in color in garishly illuminated spaces, Nuez’s images are phantasmagoria of graffiti-covered abandoned surfaces cheek to jowl with sparkling and scintillating skylines bathed in ink-blue darkness. Ruins photography tends to be meditative and to reveal beauty in decay that defies design; by introducing a play between decay and hyper-sleek urbanity, and stepping up illumination to a neon level, Nuez gets the eye excited and the mind energized. Juxtaposition invigorates. If you need to relax, look at the opposite gallery wall and fall into Valerie Oliveiro’s color nighttime takes of stubble-filled patches of land—lots and fields—that can make you feel so lonely, something that Nuez would never allow. (Michael Weinstein)"
The show continues until April 28. My next show is my first solo museum show, at the Bolinas Museum in the Bay Area of California. I'll be at the opening reception March 17th.
My Glam Bugs were featured on a couple of popular blogs recently, in particular jazjaz and A Parliament of Owls
And finally, Lindsay Auten, who is studying to be an arts writer at the School of the Chicago Art Institute, interviewed me recently. I thought she did an excellent job, so here's the transcript:
Q+A ::
From ruin to respite: a conversation with photographer Xavier Nuez
LINDSEY AUTEN
“I take these things that are rejected, and I try to make them beautiful.”
In his work, photographer Xavier Nuez has made urban ruins, lifeless insects and shattered dishes into compositions of enlightened pigment and grace. Photographs from his ongoing collections, Alleys and Ruins, Glam Bugs and Crystals have been featured in museums, galleries and corporate and private collections across North America. The photographer, born in Montreal, now living in Chicago, sits down to discuss his work.
Lindsey Auten: Before you were a practicing artist you were a commercial photographer?
Xavier Nuez: My art was always the main thing for me, but making a living was tough at the beginning. Most of my commercial work involved architectural interiors. I was hired by magazines, design firms and architecture firms to photograph beautiful buildings, offices and public spaces. That was my bread and butter for many years. Ironically, at night I'd go out and photograph the opposite, the ugliest most run-down buildings I could find.
[caption id="attachment_3237" align="alignright" width="500" caption="Friends attending the opening, under bright lights!"]
[/caption]
LA: Of Alleys and Ruins, Glam Bugs, and Crystals, which came first?
XN: The alleys and the bugs started around the same time. Alleys and Ruins is something that worked its way into a series gradually over many years. With the Glam Bugs, it didn’t exist, then a week later it existed. I made the decision to do the series and I started the bugs all in the same period of time. For all I know they started the same week.
Crystals has a very different history. The first shot is actually from 1985. Around 2000, I decided these few images of crystals were something I liked in my little portfolio. Unlike the other collections, which were photos of found things, Crystals is something I created.
LA: Alleys and Ruins is still a work in progress. Were the bugs and crystals pre-conceptualized bodies of work?
XN: Glam Bugs was more a conceptual series from the start. The concept changed completely quite a few years into it. When I started the series I was shooting fashion. One day, I had gotten some new gels for my lighting equipment. I’m sitting on the floor in my studio, flipping through these gels. I wanted to test them, so I started looking around on the floor. There was a dead bug. I got my macro equipment together and took some pictures of it. I didn’t want to just take pictures – I was looking at it, trying to figure out what to do with it, and when I got the shots back, I saw on the ground near it there were two tiles that crossed. They looked like a cross because of the way the dirt was arranged. I nudged the bug toward the cross and posed it. When I looked at the photo, it spoke of the life of the bug. The early part of the series became about beauty and the fleeting life of beauty.
After three or four years, I realized I actually liked these bugs. The way I was framing them was a little insulting to them. I gave them beautiful names like Cassandra, but I wanted them to be more humbled. I wanted them to reflect my life more than this life I didn’t have a clue about. The concept changed completely: what they are now…they’re anthropomorphized people on the lower runs. I give them the names of superheroes. They all have a legacy and a history. It’s about the lives of people who struggle. It’s a fantasy of them being superheroes.
[caption id="attachment_3239" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="A guy called Fred, or something"]
[/caption]
LA: Are people ever turned off by the Glam Bugs?
XN: The bugs are harder for people to deal with. The ruins are actually closely related to the bugs because they are places, like the bugs, that are reviled and people want nothing to do with them. We wish they weren’t around. They’re at the bottom of the barrel, just like the bugs. I try to glamorize them like I do the bugs.
LA: Bottom of the barrel: anything to do with the Crystals collection?
XN: Crystals is apart from these two. They’re more decorative. I could find connections: they are discarded dishes that I paint and re-glaze and I give them a new life, one more enchanting than existed for them before. I find them in the Salvation Army, or garage sales. They’re sitting there, and I take these things that are rejected and I try to make them beautiful.
LA: Can you describe some of your favorite moments shooting your work?
XN: I love the exploring part. That’s largely how I started. I grew up exploring. I loved to escape the city – full of people, stressful, noise, and advertisements. I would go down an alley, junky, dirty, quiet, nobody around. It’s peaceful. An unbelievable setting, and I saw a lot of beauty in it.
LA: Any future for new collections?
XN: I’ve had ideas for other projects, but I really like the 3 series I’m working on and I’ll continue to expand them indefinitely. With the Glam Bugs, I feel like I’ve just skimmed the surface. The Crystals, too. The Alleys and Ruins have been full throttle for the past ten years. That series has been explored pretty deep, but it’s still something I enjoy. And after all these years, the series continues to grow and evolve, so the plan is to just keep doing it.
And finally, again... a video that has nothing to do with anything, but made me crack up!
Its in German, but just let it run... Posted at 4pm on 3/7/12 | Comments | Filed Under: Art Shows
[/caption]
The opening of my show at Schneider Gallery last Friday was a blast!
And here's a review of the show from Newcity.
"Xavier Nuez and Valerie Oliveiro/Schneider Gallery
Positioning himself squarely inside the popular genre of contemporary ruins photography, Xavier Nuez rockets beyond the familiar conceit of redeeming derelict spaces and trash, and embraces them in an orgy of riotous glitz. Shooting at night in color in garishly illuminated spaces, Nuez’s images are phantasmagoria of graffiti-covered abandoned surfaces cheek to jowl with sparkling and scintillating skylines bathed in ink-blue darkness. Ruins photography tends to be meditative and to reveal beauty in decay that defies design; by introducing a play between decay and hyper-sleek urbanity, and stepping up illumination to a neon level, Nuez gets the eye excited and the mind energized. Juxtaposition invigorates. If you need to relax, look at the opposite gallery wall and fall into Valerie Oliveiro’s color nighttime takes of stubble-filled patches of land—lots and fields—that can make you feel so lonely, something that Nuez would never allow. (Michael Weinstein)"
The show continues until April 28. My next show is my first solo museum show, at the Bolinas Museum in the Bay Area of California. I'll be at the opening reception March 17th.
My Glam Bugs were featured on a couple of popular blogs recently, in particular jazjaz and A Parliament of Owls
And finally, Lindsay Auten, who is studying to be an arts writer at the School of the Chicago Art Institute, interviewed me recently. I thought she did an excellent job, so here's the transcript:
Q+A ::
From ruin to respite: a conversation with photographer Xavier Nuez
LINDSEY AUTEN
“I take these things that are rejected, and I try to make them beautiful.”
In his work, photographer Xavier Nuez has made urban ruins, lifeless insects and shattered dishes into compositions of enlightened pigment and grace. Photographs from his ongoing collections, Alleys and Ruins, Glam Bugs and Crystals have been featured in museums, galleries and corporate and private collections across North America. The photographer, born in Montreal, now living in Chicago, sits down to discuss his work.
Lindsey Auten: Before you were a practicing artist you were a commercial photographer?
Xavier Nuez: My art was always the main thing for me, but making a living was tough at the beginning. Most of my commercial work involved architectural interiors. I was hired by magazines, design firms and architecture firms to photograph beautiful buildings, offices and public spaces. That was my bread and butter for many years. Ironically, at night I'd go out and photograph the opposite, the ugliest most run-down buildings I could find.
[caption id="attachment_3237" align="alignright" width="500" caption="Friends attending the opening, under bright lights!"][/caption]
LA: Of Alleys and Ruins, Glam Bugs, and Crystals, which came first?
XN: The alleys and the bugs started around the same time. Alleys and Ruins is something that worked its way into a series gradually over many years. With the Glam Bugs, it didn’t exist, then a week later it existed. I made the decision to do the series and I started the bugs all in the same period of time. For all I know they started the same week.
Crystals has a very different history. The first shot is actually from 1985. Around 2000, I decided these few images of crystals were something I liked in my little portfolio. Unlike the other collections, which were photos of found things, Crystals is something I created.
LA: Alleys and Ruins is still a work in progress. Were the bugs and crystals pre-conceptualized bodies of work?
XN: Glam Bugs was more a conceptual series from the start. The concept changed completely quite a few years into it. When I started the series I was shooting fashion. One day, I had gotten some new gels for my lighting equipment. I’m sitting on the floor in my studio, flipping through these gels. I wanted to test them, so I started looking around on the floor. There was a dead bug. I got my macro equipment together and took some pictures of it. I didn’t want to just take pictures – I was looking at it, trying to figure out what to do with it, and when I got the shots back, I saw on the ground near it there were two tiles that crossed. They looked like a cross because of the way the dirt was arranged. I nudged the bug toward the cross and posed it. When I looked at the photo, it spoke of the life of the bug. The early part of the series became about beauty and the fleeting life of beauty.
After three or four years, I realized I actually liked these bugs. The way I was framing them was a little insulting to them. I gave them beautiful names like Cassandra, but I wanted them to be more humbled. I wanted them to reflect my life more than this life I didn’t have a clue about. The concept changed completely: what they are now…they’re anthropomorphized people on the lower runs. I give them the names of superheroes. They all have a legacy and a history. It’s about the lives of people who struggle. It’s a fantasy of them being superheroes.
[caption id="attachment_3239" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="A guy called Fred, or something"][/caption]
LA: Are people ever turned off by the Glam Bugs?
XN: The bugs are harder for people to deal with. The ruins are actually closely related to the bugs because they are places, like the bugs, that are reviled and people want nothing to do with them. We wish they weren’t around. They’re at the bottom of the barrel, just like the bugs. I try to glamorize them like I do the bugs.
LA: Bottom of the barrel: anything to do with the Crystals collection?
XN: Crystals is apart from these two. They’re more decorative. I could find connections: they are discarded dishes that I paint and re-glaze and I give them a new life, one more enchanting than existed for them before. I find them in the Salvation Army, or garage sales. They’re sitting there, and I take these things that are rejected and I try to make them beautiful.
LA: Can you describe some of your favorite moments shooting your work?
XN: I love the exploring part. That’s largely how I started. I grew up exploring. I loved to escape the city – full of people, stressful, noise, and advertisements. I would go down an alley, junky, dirty, quiet, nobody around. It’s peaceful. An unbelievable setting, and I saw a lot of beauty in it.
LA: Any future for new collections?
XN: I’ve had ideas for other projects, but I really like the 3 series I’m working on and I’ll continue to expand them indefinitely. With the Glam Bugs, I feel like I’ve just skimmed the surface. The Crystals, too. The Alleys and Ruins have been full throttle for the past ten years. That series has been explored pretty deep, but it’s still something I enjoy. And after all these years, the series continues to grow and evolve, so the plan is to just keep doing it.
And finally, again... a video that has nothing to do with anything, but made me crack up!
Its in German, but just let it run... Posted at 4pm on 3/7/12 | Comments | Filed Under: Art Shows
First solo museum show
4pm on 2/14/12
I have some milestone exhibitions coming up, including my first solo museum show! (at the Bolinas Museum in the bay area, CA), as well as the first museum show to feature the Glam bugs! (at the Elmhurst Art Museum in Elmhurst, IL). I'm also part of an upcoming group show at the excellent Schneider gallery in Chicago's loop art district.
My Alley images usually hog the spotlight, but my Bugs have done me proud! In honor of them, here's Count Blankfein. I've even cracked his secret code for you! Feel free to download and distribute, as his wretched story refuses to go away.
Upcoming shows:
- Feb 21 – March 28. Glam Bugs, group show, Elmhurst Artists Guild gallery in the Elmhurst Art Museum, Elmhurst, IL
- March 2 – April 28. Alleys and Ruins, group show, Schneider Gallery, Chicago, IL. I'll be at the opening reception on March 2nd, 5 - 7:30pm.
- March 17-May 6. Alleys and Ruins, solo show, Bolinas Museum, Bolinas, CA. I'll be at the opening reception here too, on March 17, 3 - 5pm. Posted at 4pm on 2/14/12 | Comments | Filed Under: Art Shows
Upcoming shows:
- Feb 21 – March 28. Glam Bugs, group show, Elmhurst Artists Guild gallery in the Elmhurst Art Museum, Elmhurst, IL
- March 2 – April 28. Alleys and Ruins, group show, Schneider Gallery, Chicago, IL. I'll be at the opening reception on March 2nd, 5 - 7:30pm.
- March 17-May 6. Alleys and Ruins, solo show, Bolinas Museum, Bolinas, CA. I'll be at the opening reception here too, on March 17, 3 - 5pm. Posted at 4pm on 2/14/12 | Comments | Filed Under: Art Shows
Inspiration!
5pm on 1/26/12
Its always a treat when my work inspires others. I learned recently that trombonist and euphoniumist Brett Keating, a Masters student in Luzern, Switzerland, has commissioned composer Thomas C. Lang to write a sonata in three movements - each movement will be inspired by and named after one of my three main bodies of work: Alleys & Ruins, The Glam Bugs and the Crystals. Keating asked me for permission, telling me I was his favorite artist. How could I possibly say no! The premiere performance will be in Luzern in the Fall, and will feature a slideshow of my work behind the musicians. The multimedia performance will be streamed live and will be available for viewing on my site after that.
And the two images above are from Detroit artist Brooke Wales. While preparing her portfolio for college, she wanted to show off the beauty of decay in her city. Being a fan of my work, she asked if she could use my images as a starting point. She reproduced Alley 63, Smash (left) as a scratchboard etching, and Alley 95, Central Station in ink. I love the way they turned out, as expressionist versions of my photographs! Posted at 5pm on 1/26/12 | 1 comment | Filed Under: Art Shows
Its always a treat when my work inspires others. I learned recently that trombonist and euphoniumist Brett Keating, a Masters student in Luzern, Switzerland, has commissioned composer Thomas C. Lang to write a sonata in three movements - each movement will be inspired by and named after one of my three main bodies of work: Alleys & Ruins, The Glam Bugs and the Crystals. Keating asked me for permission, telling me I was his favorite artist. How could I possibly say no! The premiere performance will be in Luzern in the Fall, and will feature a slideshow of my work behind the musicians. The multimedia performance will be streamed live and will be available for viewing on my site after that.
And the two images above are from Detroit artist Brooke Wales. While preparing her portfolio for college, she wanted to show off the beauty of decay in her city. Being a fan of my work, she asked if she could use my images as a starting point. She reproduced Alley 63, Smash (left) as a scratchboard etching, and Alley 95, Central Station in ink. I love the way they turned out, as expressionist versions of my photographs! Posted at 5pm on 1/26/12 | 1 comment | Filed Under: Art Shows
Happy Holidays!!
9pm on 12/24/11
Wherever you are, whatever you're doing, Seasons Greetings! from me and my nieces and nephew.
Top: brother and sister Elijah & Shoshana. Bottom: sisters Keanna & Kaylee
Posted at 9pm on 12/24/11 | Comments | Filed Under: Art Shows
Posted at 9pm on 12/24/11 | Comments | Filed Under: Art Shows
ShowPods celebrate the 20th anniversary of Alleys & Ruins
1pm on 12/13/11
ShowPod presents "Alleys & Ruins: 1991-2011"
The Chicago Art District's seven ShowPods, along the district's main strip, are displaying large Alley pieces (three 8x10-foot prints, and four 44x55 pieces). The show runs from Dec 9-Feb 6 and is curated by the director of the arts district, Cynthia West.
More info on the show
More info on 20 years of Alleys & Ruins
A reception will be held in ShowPod 7 (1843 S Halsted St) on Friday, Jan 13 (oops, scary!) from 6-10pm
And if you're passing through the InterContinental Hotel at Chicago's O'Hare, you'll see two 32x40 Alley pieces. They'll be on display there from Dec 22, for the next 6 to 12 months.
Posted at 1pm on 12/13/11 | Comments | Filed Under: Art Shows
ShowPod presents "Alleys & Ruins: 1991-2011"
The Chicago Art District's seven ShowPods, along the district's main strip, are displaying large Alley pieces (three 8x10-foot prints, and four 44x55 pieces). The show runs from Dec 9-Feb 6 and is curated by the director of the arts district, Cynthia West.
More info on the show
More info on 20 years of Alleys & Ruins
A reception will be held in ShowPod 7 (1843 S Halsted St) on Friday, Jan 13 (oops, scary!) from 6-10pm
And if you're passing through the InterContinental Hotel at Chicago's O'Hare, you'll see two 32x40 Alley pieces. They'll be on display there from Dec 22, for the next 6 to 12 months.
Posted at 1pm on 12/13/11 | Comments | Filed Under: Art Shows
New Alley image! plus Workshop pics and Urban Edge Opening
2pm on 11/21/11
Alleys & Ruins no. 141, Cotton Belt (2011, St Louis, MO, 10:30pm)
The St. Louis Southwestern Railway, better known as The Cotton Belt Route, was formed in 1891 to supply a rail route from St Louis to Arkansas and Texas. The Cotton Belt was eventually bought out by Union Pacific, and this depot was shut down in the early 1970's. Its an enormous building, as seen on the left.
I held my first ever workshop last Saturday and Wow was it fun! During the class, I explained in detail how I create my Alley images, and then I taught the students how to do it themselves. I set up a ladder draped with random sheets, and told them to make something of this eyesore. I then provided a selection of lights that they could choose from and they took it from there. I was blown away by the talent in the class!! Below are just a couple of the many, many great images from the students. I plan to hold this workshop again next year. Sign up for my newsletter (you'll find a link here) if you want me to keep you posted.
And Saturday night I attended the opening of Urban Edge, a fantastic group show I'm part of in Waukegan, just north of Chicago. The gallery (also called Urban Edge) had been an empty space owned by the city, which the art-loving mayor decided would become a huge beautiful industrial gallery. Vickie Marasco curated the show while David Motley with David Dallison helped transform the raw space into a little bit of Soho/Chelsea in downtown Waukegan. See the show at 220 Clayton St. A good time to go is this Sat Dec 3, from 2-5pm when the arts district holds its annual Holiday artwauk. Or call 847-902-6662 anytime for a VIP tour of the show.
Below: curator Vickie Marasco, painter David E. Dallison, party crasher me
Posted at 2pm on 11/21/11 | 3 comments | Filed Under: Art Shows
The St. Louis Southwestern Railway, better known as The Cotton Belt Route, was formed in 1891 to supply a rail route from St Louis to Arkansas and Texas. The Cotton Belt was eventually bought out by Union Pacific, and this depot was shut down in the early 1970's. Its an enormous building, as seen on the left.
I held my first ever workshop last Saturday and Wow was it fun! During the class, I explained in detail how I create my Alley images, and then I taught the students how to do it themselves. I set up a ladder draped with random sheets, and told them to make something of this eyesore. I then provided a selection of lights that they could choose from and they took it from there. I was blown away by the talent in the class!! Below are just a couple of the many, many great images from the students. I plan to hold this workshop again next year. Sign up for my newsletter (you'll find a link here) if you want me to keep you posted.
Below: curator Vickie Marasco, painter David E. Dallison, party crasher me
Posted at 2pm on 11/21/11 | 3 comments | Filed Under: Art Shows
New Glam Bug! ….. and the Workshop is SOON!
5pm on 11/8/11
Thanks to everyone for coming to my party on Sat!! I had a great time! And I must thank you for not putting holes in the walls or setting the place on fire. That was very much appreciated :-)
Now, without further ado... here's the latest star in the Glam Bugs series, captured while bustin a move on stage, somewhere deep beneath the soil...
WORKSHOP !
And my Workshop is coming up! Most people are interested in how I shoot my alley photos, however I'll also briefly discuss my techniques shooting bugs.
Sat, Nov 19, 10am-2pm.
- The Saturday class will focus on technique. I’ll be disclosing state secrets! Namely, how I create the images in my Alleys & Ruins series. The class will also include a general presentation of studio lighting as well as some discussion of my Bug and Crystal series. Although I create the images on a film camera, I’ll be training you using a digital camera for instant feedback.
- Price: $110
- Space is limited. To sign up, email me: x@nuez.com Posted at 5pm on 11/8/11 | Comments | Filed Under: Art Shows
Nikki: (hiphop) dancing queen
WORKSHOP !
And my Workshop is coming up! Most people are interested in how I shoot my alley photos, however I'll also briefly discuss my techniques shooting bugs.
Sat, Nov 19, 10am-2pm.
- The Saturday class will focus on technique. I’ll be disclosing state secrets! Namely, how I create the images in my Alleys & Ruins series. The class will also include a general presentation of studio lighting as well as some discussion of my Bug and Crystal series. Although I create the images on a film camera, I’ll be training you using a digital camera for instant feedback.
- Price: $110
- Space is limited. To sign up, email me: x@nuez.com Posted at 5pm on 11/8/11 | Comments | Filed Under: Art Shows
Yearly “Just Because!” Party … and upcoming Workshop too!
12pm on 10/22/11
Its the 2nd Annual "Just Because!" Party, held the weekend after Halloween in my studio.
Saturday, Nov 5th, 8pm.
1932 S Halsted St, #402, Chicago
- Limited drinks and snacks will be present - feel free to byob
- Friends are welcome to come
Its time to pass on what I've learned over the years! I'm giving a 2-day workshop
Sat & Sun Nov 19, 20. 10am-2pm.
- The Saturday class will focus on technique. I'll be disclosing state secrets! Namely, how I create the images in my Alleys & Ruins series. The class will also include a general presentation of studio lighting as well as some discussion of my Bug and Crystal series. Although I create the images on a film camera, I'll be training you using a digital camera for instant feedback.
- The Sunday class will focus on Opportunities for photographers: art world vs commercial world. Before becoming a full-time art photographer, I had a successful career shooting commercial photography. I'll be discussing a variety of ways to break into both markets with an emphasis on marketing.
- Price: one day only $110, both days $195.
- Space is limited. To sign up, email me: x@nuez.com Posted at 12pm on 10/22/11 | Comments | Filed Under: Art Shows
Drop Everything! I'm Having a Party!
Its the 2nd Annual "Just Because!" Party, held the weekend after Halloween in my studio.
Saturday, Nov 5th, 8pm.
1932 S Halsted St, #402, Chicago
- Limited drinks and snacks will be present - feel free to byob
- Friends are welcome to come
Workshop
20 years of Alleys and Ruins!
10pm on 9/13/11
Alley no. 1, Electric Sky, was shot in September of 1991, so it appears I have an anniversary to celebrate!
In 1991 I was shooting a lot at night and I already knew that out-of-the-way urban areas (the more decrepit the better) were drawing me like a magnet. Electric Sky is not the first image of urban decay that I shot at night, but I think it’s the first where I managed to create a fairytale version of the rundown urban scene I was looking at.
I didn’t know why I was doing this at the time, and I certainly didn’t have a series planned. It wasn’t until the summer of 1993 that I had the required epiphany. Once I came to recognize the vision that I had been dancing around for so many years, the series took off. That summer was the true beginning of the series.
I was drawn to areas where people don’t go, inside a busy, loud city – they were small, grungy oases, where it was quiet and where I felt comfortable. And there I would be, surrounded by incredibly stimulating newness – stuff you wouldn’t see anywhere else but in places society shunned. Since they were barely, if at all maintained, the scars left by the elements (including the weather and people) only accumulated, making them more and more interesting the older they were.
I needed a lot of time to myself, and I needed to take pictures. The perfect solution was to walk down dark alleys alone with my camera at night. Okay, there were some obvious flaws with that solution! So after a year of this, I started asking friends to come along and watch my back. I’m grateful to the many, many people who have been foolish enough to assist me over the years (haha!) – no, I truly am grateful!!
The series has evolved over time. In the late 1990’s I started bringing lighting equipment and colored gels. I would use my lights sparingly, but year after year my images had more and more of my light. In 1997 I switched to a 120mm Hasselblad camera - a big upgrade from the 35mm Nikon I had been using, resulting in incredibly sharp and detailed images. In 2004 I found myself in a position where I could sustain myself through my art alone. I stopped doing the commercial photography that had been my bread and butter, and this allowed me to travel extensively, adding dozens of new cities to the body of work.
But the heart of the series has always been my drive to dignify the places, and by extension, the people who are cast away. By transforming these locations into theatrical sets (made way easier when I started bringing lights!), I have always tried to create a stage without players, leaving it up to the viewer to create their own characters and drama, and hoping that ultimately the viewer feels compelled to step into the scene themselves, as I did 20 years ago.
Weekend Workshop Nov 19 and 20
And on that note, I'll be giving a weekend workshop in my Chicago studio Nov 19 and 20. On Saturday I'll give a class on technique, both camera and lighting, including how to arrive at a personal vision. I'll be using a digital Nikon SLR. The Sunday class will be devoted to the business and marketing side; lessons on how to start or improve a career, both commercial and art. Before becoming a full-time artist, I was a commercial photographer, with various specializations.
If you are interested let me know - x@nuez.com - and I'll send you more info, including pricing, as the date approaches.
Alley no. 1, Electric Sky, was shot in September of 1991, so it appears I have an anniversary to celebrate!
In 1991 I was shooting a lot at night and I already knew that out-of-the-way urban areas (the more decrepit the better) were drawing me like a magnet. Electric Sky is not the first image of urban decay that I shot at night, but I think it’s the first where I managed to create a fairytale version of the rundown urban scene I was looking at.
I didn’t know why I was doing this at the time, and I certainly didn’t have a series planned. It wasn’t until the summer of 1993 that I had the required epiphany. Once I came to recognize the vision that I had been dancing around for so many years, the series took off. That summer was the true beginning of the series.
I was drawn to areas where people don’t go, inside a busy, loud city – they were small, grungy oases, where it was quiet and where I felt comfortable. And there I would be, surrounded by incredibly stimulating newness – stuff you wouldn’t see anywhere else but in places society shunned. Since they were barely, if at all maintained, the scars left by the elements (including the weather and people) only accumulated, making them more and more interesting the older they were.
I needed a lot of time to myself, and I needed to take pictures. The perfect solution was to walk down dark alleys alone with my camera at night. Okay, there were some obvious flaws with that solution! So after a year of this, I started asking friends to come along and watch my back. I’m grateful to the many, many people who have been foolish enough to assist me over the years (haha!) – no, I truly am grateful!!
The series has evolved over time. In the late 1990’s I started bringing lighting equipment and colored gels. I would use my lights sparingly, but year after year my images had more and more of my light. In 1997 I switched to a 120mm Hasselblad camera - a big upgrade from the 35mm Nikon I had been using, resulting in incredibly sharp and detailed images. In 2004 I found myself in a position where I could sustain myself through my art alone. I stopped doing the commercial photography that had been my bread and butter, and this allowed me to travel extensively, adding dozens of new cities to the body of work.
But the heart of the series has always been my drive to dignify the places, and by extension, the people who are cast away. By transforming these locations into theatrical sets (made way easier when I started bringing lights!), I have always tried to create a stage without players, leaving it up to the viewer to create their own characters and drama, and hoping that ultimately the viewer feels compelled to step into the scene themselves, as I did 20 years ago.
And finally, Canadian photographer Darwin Wiggett interviewed me recently for his blog: "Life and Learning Through the Lens"
Photographer of the Month – Xavier Nuez
This month I’m excited to share the work of artist and photographer Xavier Nuez. Born in Montreal and now living in Chicago, Xavier’s work has been featured in both galleries and museums and is included in numerous corporate, public and private collections.
Darwin: I notice that many of what I consider the best photographers are also musicians or musically inclined and that these photographers have some of the most evocative visual compositions. What is it about music and photography that gel so well?
Xavier: I’ve never considered the relationship between my music and my photography, so this is a new puzzle. There is something very meditative about the two, both in the production of the art and also in the appreciation afterward. When I’m shooting or playing music I can focus so intensely that nothing else exists, while I find it hard to concentrate most any other time!
They both seem to be art forms that require both left and right brain. In both cases you are channeling emotion through a mechanical instrument, an instrument that requires years and years of practice to master. And I must say here that I’m hardly a master with my guitar. I play just well enough to enjoy myself. There has always been a different level of passion and dedication to perfection with my photography.
It requires patience to master any instrument, and while I think most people understand that to be true with a musical instrument – that it takes years and years to develop the muscle memory and dexterity – I think most people underestimate the commitment required to master the technical skills required in photography, which includes not just the camera but the lighting equipment. So I guess another relationship is patience.
Lastly, creativity and expression are muscles that need to be exercised for you to be a good artist. Musical and visual art are just different muscles, and I do believe there are intangible benefits to my images, having more than one creative outlet.
Darwin: Besides being a fine photographer and musician, you do things like glaze and paint china and then make stunning detailed macro images of your work. I love the fact that you create art and then make additional art by photographing your first creation. What other art forms do you practice?
Xavier: Funny you should ask! For 15 years I was an avid sketch artist (mainly pencil) and occasional painter, but this passion has waned. Coincidently last week I bought a sketch pad because I miss drawing.
And for some years in my teens and twenty’s I loved writing short stories. I still enjoy writing but I haven’t written fiction in years.
I’ve always loved improv comedy and for a couple of years I studied with a group in Toronto. I wish this had been a bigger part of my life because it’s clear to me that through improv you smash down so many barriers to self expression.
Darwin: Your alleyway work is mind-blowing! What is the worst thing that has happened to you while making your forays in the dark and dangerous heart of the city? And what is the best thing that has happened to you while making alleyway photos?
Xavier: Well thank you very much! When I look at this series, it’s a little hard to believe how often I’ve put my life on the line. But the older I get the more cautious I become.
I just got back from Saint Louis where I just added a new image to the series. I spent hours during the day roaming through rundown areas, looking for something to shoot later at night. I had a long list of prospects, but I kept wondering if I should hire a cop for some of these – something I’ve never done. In the end I didn’t, but I did bring several friends with me, unlike just one the way I usually do.
I’ve had many heart-pumping moments, and I’ve come close to becoming a casualty too many times, but the worst and best story has to come from Compton, CA. First, its Compton – made famous by the dueling gangs, the Bloods and the Crips. While in the middle of a shoot, a gang – 12 guys in black hoodies – chase me and my 2 friends back to my van. We have time to throw the gear in and lock the doors but then the gang surrounds the van and tells us to get out. It’s surprising how organized they were – they were literally standing all around the van. I get the impression that if I try to leave, bullets will fly. Also, and this shows you how truly insane I can be, I’m holding out for the slim chance of actually going back to re-do the shot I was working on!!
It’s a Latino gang and I speak Spanish so I lower the window a crack and try to explain what I’m doing, emphasizing that I meant no disrespect. We have a tense conversation for several minutes, until the gang leader (the only one without a hoodie) asks me if I’m Luis, the friend of a friend. I say, “Yes! Of course I am!” He then starts waving to the gang saying, “I know this guy! He’s cool he’s cool!”
In an instant I go from being a target to being part of the family – it was just a mind-blowing turn of events. I step out of the van and half the gang hugs me. They tell me I can go back to taking pictures, and that I’m safe within certain streets – I’m beyond thrilled that I can return to my photograph. Several of the gang members including Jorge, the leader, decide to hang out with us and I set up again for the earlier photo.
Ten minutes later a cop car appears around the corner skidding to a halt. Two cops jump out with laser guided hand guns and because I’ve jumped in front of the camera to protect the shot, I find myself staring at a vibrating red dot on my chest.
A minute later, we’re all standing with our hands on the hood of the cop car. I’m waiting for the cops to relax before starting to explain what I’m doing, but Jorge jumps in and says “Do you officers know lieutenant Menendez? He’s a friend of mine.” The cops turn white and wide-eyed. They stare at each other and quickly return to their car, saying “We’re sorry we thought something was going on here. Have a nice day.” They get in the car and drive away and we never see them again. This gang has been paying off the lieutenant and you don’t mess with his revenue stream.
Jorge then comes up to me and says, “You’re not Luis, are you.” I say, no, I’m not, and we both laugh. I ended up getting 2 of my best shots that night.
Darwin: You make fine art images and you do assignment work, which do your prefer or do you like both for different reasons?
Xavier: Assignment work was 90% of my income for 20 years. I haven’t done a commercial gig in a long time – I’m not opposed to it but my art keeps me very busy. I’m thrilled that I can thrive by creating the images I’m truly passionate about. It’s no longer something I have to squeeze in at the end of the day.
I enjoyed being a commercial photographer – being paid to create photographs was a dream come true. Shooting architectural interiors for magazines and interior designers was the bulk of my work, with fashion, industrial and product filling in the rest.
Posted at 10pm on 9/13/11 | 4 comments | Filed Under: Art Shows
Alley 140 (Dallas, TX) and iSpy mag
1pm on 8/3/11
Alleys & Ruins no. 140, Semi (2011, Dallas, TX, 11:45pm)
I was in Dallas in May looking for urban rot to shoot, but it turns out Dallas has lots of money (duh!) and not a lot of stuff is left to fall by the wayside. However the Deep Ellum warehouse district just east of downtown had some goodies for me - its also the most unique and adventurous part of Dallas. When I found this truck I was smitten, and after speaking to a worker nearby, I knew what I had to do! He told me the truck had been sitting in the same spot for at least 10 years! It was time to bring it back to life.
I then met Keith Kuehnhold who agreed to go shooting with me. It was his turn to have the kids, so like any good father, he gave them a unique escapade. His four kids ranged from 9 to 16 and they were thrilled to be part of the shoot, especially since it went til after midnight.
As for the green light around the truck and on the tires? well there was only one way: I was crawling around under the truck with my lighting for much of the exposure. Maybe that's what the kids were having fun watching!
And iSpy Magazine, based in Ann Arbor, MI, did an in depth interview with me recently, and used my image of Alley 130 on the cover.
Photographer Xavier Nuez
Urban Landscapes and Glam Bugs
June 21 2011
by Amanda Slater
Xavier Nuez's Alleys & Ruins series has captivated many with his unique style of photography that makes his photos of urban landscapes seem almost other-worldly. iSPY had the opportunity to discuss the Alleys & Ruins series and more with Nuez, who discussed the time he spent living in Ann Arbor, how he got started taking photos and some of the dangerous encounters he’s had on the job.
When did you live in Ann Arbor and what brought you here?
I lived in Ann Arbor from 2003—2006. Before that, I was in Toronto and had divorced the year before, so I was looking for a fresh start. I was earning a lot of my revenue from commercial work, but I felt I was ready to go full-time as an artist, and I had a rep living in Ann Arbor. Plus, I loved the city and had friends there. It was a no-brainer. I loved the friendly people and that you could be in the city one minute and driving along a country road soon after. As a Canadian, I also liked how the city shared many of my moral and ethical views. I used to play pool a lot in Monkey Bar, which I think now is called Full Moon. And I was a regular at TC’s Speakeasy in Ypsi. And, of course, it was so close to Detroit—a city I loved to explore and photograph. I think I walked through every downtown Detroit alley in my three years living in Ann Arbor.
What have been some of the biggest “milestones” in your career as an artist?
By far the most prestigious recognition came from The New York Times. A reporter followed me around Brooklyn while I shot at night and wrote a lengthy exposé, calling the Alleys & Ruins series a masterpiece. Just as thrilling, at age 18, The Montreal Gazette wrote one positive sentence about my work within a larger piece about the group show I was in. (Not only do artists crave recognition, but they need it to move up.) I’ve exhibited in many museum group shows, but another milestone is coming up: my first solo museum show at the Bolinas Museum, which is 30 miles north of San Francisco.
How did your career as an artist/photographer start?
I used to paint and draw a lot as a child and through my teens. When I was 18, I took my one and only photography class in college. It literally transformed me, and, for once I knew what I wanted to do with my life. After graduation, panic set in as I was forced to face the reality that no one hands you a career in photography. I pursued my art, while trying to make ends meet with small commercial jobs and with jobs assisting other photographers. After five years I had gotten into debt and decided to take a regular job working as a file clerk for the government at correctional services. It was a million miles from where I wanted to be, so, after a year of this, I renewed my commitment to my art and quit my job. It was a defining moment. Within a year, I had developed the Alleys & Ruins series and the Glam Bugs series, and I made a serious effort to get good commercial jobs—which eventually did start coming my way.
How did you get the idea to start photographing your Alleys & Ruins series?
Many roads in my life merged in the same place to create the series. As a child, I loved playing in alleys and exploring abandoned or “haunted” houses. As a teen, I often dragged friends into these places to show them what I thought was an alternate type of beauty. My dad’s tales of being homeless as a child also had a big impact. Then, growing up in a French separatist part of Quebec and being cast as an outsider for having immigrant parents and for being in English school had another profound effect. Virtually every day of my life, I was reminded I didn’t belong. I started to struggle with depression and social anxiety. I remember a key turning point in my life was when I became transfixed by the space under a stairwell and finally decided that, if I ended up homeless and living in an alley, I could live with that. It was an epiphany. The alley series began soon after. I would photograph these grim, bleak and dangerous places, but I would add an idealized, fairytale version on top of them. This duality became important to me and permeates most of my work, this idea of something being [all] of these extremes at the same time—both ugly and beautiful, depressing and inspiring, downtrodden and powerful, bright and dark, repulsive and inviting, tense yet peaceful. I started developing a kind of affection for the underdog. My art is very much about dignifying what’s been rejected. When I started the series 20 years ago, I wanted to shoot these places exactly as I found them in a true documentary spirit, while seeking out the conditions that would create dreamy versions of a grim and stark reality.
Some of your photos look almost unreal. What can you tell me about your artistic process and how you achieve that look?
In my three main bodies of work, I think I’m trying to build another world. A large part of that process is how I’m imagining that other world and that thought tangent is difficult to explain. I rely mostly on my still faintly beating child’s heart. When a scene takes me back to a certain vision from my youth (to a time I’ve tried but failed to pinpoint), I know I’m onto something. I’ll be staring at a scene in a dark alley and I’ll suddenly get a flush of feelings that we live in a world full of mystery and magic and that an enchanted land might be waiting behind a crumbling door. These are warm feelings in a cold environment. That’s when my logical side has to move in and try to re-create what I’m feeling. I bring lights and colored gels to these places at night. The technical process can vary greatly from one image to another, but what is usual is that I will shoot a very long exposure (20 minutes is average, but some are as long as 90 minutes). I shoot with a 50-year old Hasselblad film camera, and I use film that gives me vivid colors. The variety of city lights creates different colors on film, and that is the base of my lighting. During the long exposure, I’ll walk around with my lights and colored gels, adding layers of illumination and color to the existing light or to areas that are completely dark. Half of the time, I’ll walk into the frame in front of the camera so I can light stuff more precisely, but I wear dark colors and I move quickly so I won’t appear in the photo. The Bugs and Crystals are shot in a studio, where I use large studio lights. The bugs are difficult to light, but the process is much more traditional than the night shots for Alleys and Ruins.
Tell me a little about your Glam Bugs and Crystals series. What made you start taking these photographs?
The Glam Bugs are closely tied to the Alley series conceptually. In both bodies of work, I’m dignifying what’s been rejected. With the night shots, I’m glorifying rejected space, while, in the bug series, I’m glorifying rejected creatures. In both series, the images are all about people, even though there are none in the shots. The Glam Bugs actually has little to do with bugs. The bugs I use and the little sets I build are a way of propping up the rejected and dejected of our society. I take these bugs, which get little to no respect and which are considered ugly—even horrifying close up—and I make them powerful figures in the alternate world I create. There are war heroes, pop divas, evil villains and so on. And, as in the alleys, I ultimately make these dead (and often decomposing) bugs look beautiful. The Crystals are close up photos of dinner plates that I re-glaze and re-paint. It’s a very odd process I discovered by accident over 20 years ago. They connect to the other two bodies in that I’m taking rejected plates, found in yard sales or Salvation Army stores, and creating a chic, dignified style of beauty with them.
What is one of your craziest Alleys & Ruins stories?
The craziest story has to be when I went to Compton, California in south central Los Angeles in 2008. I was in an alley with two friends, lighting an old water tower with a bright spotlight (Alley 116). In retrospect, I was just asking for trouble. The gang ruling this turf saw the lights and found us. They chased us back to our van, where we had time to throw the gear in and lock the doors. They were yelling at us to get out of the van, and I suspected, if I tried to drive away, there would soon be bullet holes in the doors. It’s a long story and available on my web site, but it involves us amazingly becoming friends with the gang and being given permission to continue with my photos, later being followed by two cops storming us later with laser-guided weapons, who were then scared off by the fact that this gang was paying off their boss! In the end, I produced two of my best images—Alley 116 and 103. We ended the night by going for dinner and beers and with my new friend, Jorge (the gang leader), telling me I was welcome back in his territory any time. I sent him prints of the finished photos.
For you, is the thrill of these encounters or the possible danger that accompanies these photo shoots part of the appeal of these particular subjects?
The danger has never been part of the appeal—it’s just something I’ve had to put up with. But I have to admit, after a bad incident occurs, there is a part of me that thinks that was cool.
What do you think is the purpose of art? Why do you enjoy creating art?
Imagine a world without visual art in your home or in public spaces, or on the big and little screen or coming out of speakers or performing on stage and you’ll understand the purpose of art. But, to take it a step further, art has a different purpose for the creator and the consumer, and every consumer has different triggers making them connect or disconnect in their own way. I don’t know why a happy song and a sad song can both be just as beautiful and transcendent.
I create art because I don’t know what else to do.
What is your advice to aspiring artists?
Every path is different, but I know I wouldn’t have made it if it weren’t for a thick-headed perseverance, combined with planning and a non-stop re-assessing of what I was doing. I love making art, but being an artist is also a business. The sooner you can be comfortable with that, the better off you will be. I also wouldn’t have succeeded if I had lost my zeal to make art. It took many, many years to find my vision and then to let it grow and mature. It is still growing today. And, because of my love for the process of creating, the way to let my vision grow was just to step out of the way and allow it to find itself.
Xavier Nuez lives in Chicago. His family lives in Montreal, where he grew up. He does gallery and museum shows across the country. To see more of Nuez’s work, to read Alleys & Ruins stories and for more information about upcoming shows, visit http://www.nuez.com. Posted at 1pm on 8/3/11 | Comments | Filed Under: Art Shows
Alleys & Ruins no. 140, Semi (2011, Dallas, TX, 11:45pm)
I was in Dallas in May looking for urban rot to shoot, but it turns out Dallas has lots of money (duh!) and not a lot of stuff is left to fall by the wayside. However the Deep Ellum warehouse district just east of downtown had some goodies for me - its also the most unique and adventurous part of Dallas. When I found this truck I was smitten, and after speaking to a worker nearby, I knew what I had to do! He told me the truck had been sitting in the same spot for at least 10 years! It was time to bring it back to life.
I then met Keith Kuehnhold who agreed to go shooting with me. It was his turn to have the kids, so like any good father, he gave them a unique escapade. His four kids ranged from 9 to 16 and they were thrilled to be part of the shoot, especially since it went til after midnight.
As for the green light around the truck and on the tires? well there was only one way: I was crawling around under the truck with my lighting for much of the exposure. Maybe that's what the kids were having fun watching!
And iSpy Magazine, based in Ann Arbor, MI, did an in depth interview with me recently, and used my image of Alley 130 on the cover.
Photographer Xavier Nuez
Urban Landscapes and Glam Bugs
June 21 2011
by Amanda Slater
Xavier Nuez's Alleys & Ruins series has captivated many with his unique style of photography that makes his photos of urban landscapes seem almost other-worldly. iSPY had the opportunity to discuss the Alleys & Ruins series and more with Nuez, who discussed the time he spent living in Ann Arbor, how he got started taking photos and some of the dangerous encounters he’s had on the job.
When did you live in Ann Arbor and what brought you here?
I lived in Ann Arbor from 2003—2006. Before that, I was in Toronto and had divorced the year before, so I was looking for a fresh start. I was earning a lot of my revenue from commercial work, but I felt I was ready to go full-time as an artist, and I had a rep living in Ann Arbor. Plus, I loved the city and had friends there. It was a no-brainer. I loved the friendly people and that you could be in the city one minute and driving along a country road soon after. As a Canadian, I also liked how the city shared many of my moral and ethical views. I used to play pool a lot in Monkey Bar, which I think now is called Full Moon. And I was a regular at TC’s Speakeasy in Ypsi. And, of course, it was so close to Detroit—a city I loved to explore and photograph. I think I walked through every downtown Detroit alley in my three years living in Ann Arbor.
What have been some of the biggest “milestones” in your career as an artist?
By far the most prestigious recognition came from The New York Times. A reporter followed me around Brooklyn while I shot at night and wrote a lengthy exposé, calling the Alleys & Ruins series a masterpiece. Just as thrilling, at age 18, The Montreal Gazette wrote one positive sentence about my work within a larger piece about the group show I was in. (Not only do artists crave recognition, but they need it to move up.) I’ve exhibited in many museum group shows, but another milestone is coming up: my first solo museum show at the Bolinas Museum, which is 30 miles north of San Francisco.
How did your career as an artist/photographer start?
I used to paint and draw a lot as a child and through my teens. When I was 18, I took my one and only photography class in college. It literally transformed me, and, for once I knew what I wanted to do with my life. After graduation, panic set in as I was forced to face the reality that no one hands you a career in photography. I pursued my art, while trying to make ends meet with small commercial jobs and with jobs assisting other photographers. After five years I had gotten into debt and decided to take a regular job working as a file clerk for the government at correctional services. It was a million miles from where I wanted to be, so, after a year of this, I renewed my commitment to my art and quit my job. It was a defining moment. Within a year, I had developed the Alleys & Ruins series and the Glam Bugs series, and I made a serious effort to get good commercial jobs—which eventually did start coming my way.
How did you get the idea to start photographing your Alleys & Ruins series?
Many roads in my life merged in the same place to create the series. As a child, I loved playing in alleys and exploring abandoned or “haunted” houses. As a teen, I often dragged friends into these places to show them what I thought was an alternate type of beauty. My dad’s tales of being homeless as a child also had a big impact. Then, growing up in a French separatist part of Quebec and being cast as an outsider for having immigrant parents and for being in English school had another profound effect. Virtually every day of my life, I was reminded I didn’t belong. I started to struggle with depression and social anxiety. I remember a key turning point in my life was when I became transfixed by the space under a stairwell and finally decided that, if I ended up homeless and living in an alley, I could live with that. It was an epiphany. The alley series began soon after. I would photograph these grim, bleak and dangerous places, but I would add an idealized, fairytale version on top of them. This duality became important to me and permeates most of my work, this idea of something being [all] of these extremes at the same time—both ugly and beautiful, depressing and inspiring, downtrodden and powerful, bright and dark, repulsive and inviting, tense yet peaceful. I started developing a kind of affection for the underdog. My art is very much about dignifying what’s been rejected. When I started the series 20 years ago, I wanted to shoot these places exactly as I found them in a true documentary spirit, while seeking out the conditions that would create dreamy versions of a grim and stark reality.
Some of your photos look almost unreal. What can you tell me about your artistic process and how you achieve that look?
In my three main bodies of work, I think I’m trying to build another world. A large part of that process is how I’m imagining that other world and that thought tangent is difficult to explain. I rely mostly on my still faintly beating child’s heart. When a scene takes me back to a certain vision from my youth (to a time I’ve tried but failed to pinpoint), I know I’m onto something. I’ll be staring at a scene in a dark alley and I’ll suddenly get a flush of feelings that we live in a world full of mystery and magic and that an enchanted land might be waiting behind a crumbling door. These are warm feelings in a cold environment. That’s when my logical side has to move in and try to re-create what I’m feeling. I bring lights and colored gels to these places at night. The technical process can vary greatly from one image to another, but what is usual is that I will shoot a very long exposure (20 minutes is average, but some are as long as 90 minutes). I shoot with a 50-year old Hasselblad film camera, and I use film that gives me vivid colors. The variety of city lights creates different colors on film, and that is the base of my lighting. During the long exposure, I’ll walk around with my lights and colored gels, adding layers of illumination and color to the existing light or to areas that are completely dark. Half of the time, I’ll walk into the frame in front of the camera so I can light stuff more precisely, but I wear dark colors and I move quickly so I won’t appear in the photo. The Bugs and Crystals are shot in a studio, where I use large studio lights. The bugs are difficult to light, but the process is much more traditional than the night shots for Alleys and Ruins.
Tell me a little about your Glam Bugs and Crystals series. What made you start taking these photographs?
The Glam Bugs are closely tied to the Alley series conceptually. In both bodies of work, I’m dignifying what’s been rejected. With the night shots, I’m glorifying rejected space, while, in the bug series, I’m glorifying rejected creatures. In both series, the images are all about people, even though there are none in the shots. The Glam Bugs actually has little to do with bugs. The bugs I use and the little sets I build are a way of propping up the rejected and dejected of our society. I take these bugs, which get little to no respect and which are considered ugly—even horrifying close up—and I make them powerful figures in the alternate world I create. There are war heroes, pop divas, evil villains and so on. And, as in the alleys, I ultimately make these dead (and often decomposing) bugs look beautiful. The Crystals are close up photos of dinner plates that I re-glaze and re-paint. It’s a very odd process I discovered by accident over 20 years ago. They connect to the other two bodies in that I’m taking rejected plates, found in yard sales or Salvation Army stores, and creating a chic, dignified style of beauty with them.
What is one of your craziest Alleys & Ruins stories?
The craziest story has to be when I went to Compton, California in south central Los Angeles in 2008. I was in an alley with two friends, lighting an old water tower with a bright spotlight (Alley 116). In retrospect, I was just asking for trouble. The gang ruling this turf saw the lights and found us. They chased us back to our van, where we had time to throw the gear in and lock the doors. They were yelling at us to get out of the van, and I suspected, if I tried to drive away, there would soon be bullet holes in the doors. It’s a long story and available on my web site, but it involves us amazingly becoming friends with the gang and being given permission to continue with my photos, later being followed by two cops storming us later with laser-guided weapons, who were then scared off by the fact that this gang was paying off their boss! In the end, I produced two of my best images—Alley 116 and 103. We ended the night by going for dinner and beers and with my new friend, Jorge (the gang leader), telling me I was welcome back in his territory any time. I sent him prints of the finished photos.
For you, is the thrill of these encounters or the possible danger that accompanies these photo shoots part of the appeal of these particular subjects?
The danger has never been part of the appeal—it’s just something I’ve had to put up with. But I have to admit, after a bad incident occurs, there is a part of me that thinks that was cool.
What do you think is the purpose of art? Why do you enjoy creating art?
Imagine a world without visual art in your home or in public spaces, or on the big and little screen or coming out of speakers or performing on stage and you’ll understand the purpose of art. But, to take it a step further, art has a different purpose for the creator and the consumer, and every consumer has different triggers making them connect or disconnect in their own way. I don’t know why a happy song and a sad song can both be just as beautiful and transcendent.
I create art because I don’t know what else to do.
What is your advice to aspiring artists?
Every path is different, but I know I wouldn’t have made it if it weren’t for a thick-headed perseverance, combined with planning and a non-stop re-assessing of what I was doing. I love making art, but being an artist is also a business. The sooner you can be comfortable with that, the better off you will be. I also wouldn’t have succeeded if I had lost my zeal to make art. It took many, many years to find my vision and then to let it grow and mature. It is still growing today. And, because of my love for the process of creating, the way to let my vision grow was just to step out of the way and allow it to find itself.
Xavier Nuez lives in Chicago. His family lives in Montreal, where he grew up. He does gallery and museum shows across the country. To see more of Nuez’s work, to read Alleys & Ruins stories and for more information about upcoming shows, visit http://www.nuez.com. Posted at 1pm on 8/3/11 | Comments | Filed Under: Art Shows
The N Beat – ABC-TV Chicago
5pm on 6/22/11
An ABC-TV film crew went out with me recently on a night shoot, documenting how I produce the Alleys & Ruins images. The details of my process are in fact a state secret, leading to the rapid and lethal appearance of a Navy Seal team via stealth Black Hawk helicopter. What happened to the ABC crew is now also a state secret. But I believe snippets of video made their way back to the station.
And that's good news for you! You'll get to see how I play under cover of the night!
ABC's Emmy award winning program, The N Beat, aired Saturday, June 25 on Chicago's Ch. 7. I discuss the Alleys & Ruins in depth, including life influences, mentors, the evolution of the series and so on. The program features several other Chicagoans who have made a positive impact on the city. The show is hosted by the esteemed Theresa Gutierrez and produced by hard working Edgar Vargas.
Below is the shot we did - a beautiful defunct bit of rail, hidden around a corner. Near the end of my segment, you get views into how I lit the image. During the 20-minute time exposure (required to get the city light on the film), I dressed in dark clothes. Moving quickly, I could enter the scene, light a small patch and leave again without any trace. You see how I'm able to create glowing light, and how I'm able to pinpoint little dashes of color in the Alleys & Ruins series. The lighting I did that appears on the show was a study for the Instant Film print I would later use to make the final photograph. I do the test because, lacking instant digital feedback, I need to get an idea of how near or how far I am to what I have in my mind.
Click here to see my segment
Alley no. 139, Tracks, IL (2011, Chicago, IL, 10:00pm)
With me were friends Neil Moldenhauer and Noel Occomy, both of which have been my lookouts on other shoots. Noel shot lots of great photos! Here are a few:
Posted at 5pm on 6/22/11 | 1 comment | Filed Under: Art Shows
An ABC-TV film crew went out with me recently on a night shoot, documenting how I produce the Alleys & Ruins images. The details of my process are in fact a state secret, leading to the rapid and lethal appearance of a Navy Seal team via stealth Black Hawk helicopter. What happened to the ABC crew is now also a state secret. But I believe snippets of video made their way back to the station.
And that's good news for you! You'll get to see how I play under cover of the night!
ABC's Emmy award winning program, The N Beat, aired Saturday, June 25 on Chicago's Ch. 7. I discuss the Alleys & Ruins in depth, including life influences, mentors, the evolution of the series and so on. The program features several other Chicagoans who have made a positive impact on the city. The show is hosted by the esteemed Theresa Gutierrez and produced by hard working Edgar Vargas.
Below is the shot we did - a beautiful defunct bit of rail, hidden around a corner. Near the end of my segment, you get views into how I lit the image. During the 20-minute time exposure (required to get the city light on the film), I dressed in dark clothes. Moving quickly, I could enter the scene, light a small patch and leave again without any trace. You see how I'm able to create glowing light, and how I'm able to pinpoint little dashes of color in the Alleys & Ruins series. The lighting I did that appears on the show was a study for the Instant Film print I would later use to make the final photograph. I do the test because, lacking instant digital feedback, I need to get an idea of how near or how far I am to what I have in my mind.
Click here to see my segment
Alley no. 139, Tracks, IL (2011, Chicago, IL, 10:00pm)
With me were friends Neil Moldenhauer and Noel Occomy, both of which have been my lookouts on other shoots. Noel shot lots of great photos! Here are a few:
Posted at 5pm on 6/22/11 | 1 comment | Filed Under: Art Shows
New York, New York
10am on 5/25/11
In March I was in NYC for the opening of my solo show at the Condé Nast bldg in Times Square. The New York Times wanted to document my work and my night shoots for a story and so I went on one of my adventures with Corey Kilgannon and Robert Stolarik, a Times reporter and photographer. With my friend Satchel Jones I had earlier scouted a stunning scene in Brooklyn, decrepitude overlooking the East River, with the Manhattan skyline in the background. I brought the journalists to the site, where unfortunately we had to crawl through a hole in the fence to get the right angle. I had been there long enough to do a polaroid test and to see what a great image this would be, when a police car abruptly rolls in and we are scolded, threatened with arrest, then booted out.
I was miserable that I would not get the shot, but amusingly, Corey was happy and told me, the story just got much better. I was determined to get the shot, but very concerned that if I tried, and the same cops caught me, I might be going for a ride to the precinct.
Almost 2 months later I'm back in the city, and with the help of photographer friend Rachel Gardam, I went back through that fence and got the image.
Alley no. 138, New York, New York (2011, Brooklyn, NY, 9pm)
I've been shooting a lot lately. I did a southern tour and have great images coming up from Dallas TX, Birmingham AL, and Greenville SC
Last thing: I've been watching this hilarious internet comedy duo, Jake and Amir, for 3 years. Here's their latest. If you like this, they have hundreds more. Posted at 10am on 5/25/11 | 1 comment | Filed Under: Art Shows
I've been shooting a lot lately. I did a southern tour and have great images coming up from Dallas TX, Birmingham AL, and Greenville SC
Last thing: I've been watching this hilarious internet comedy duo, Jake and Amir, for 3 years. Here's their latest. If you like this, they have hundreds more. Posted at 10am on 5/25/11 | 1 comment | Filed Under: Art Shows
Professional Artist Magazine – Art Chicago & Art Attack!!
2pm on 4/29/11
Professional Artist magazine did an excellent feature story on my work. The May issue just came out and is available at magazine stores, and online, but for a fee (the magazines and newspapers are starting to smarten up, so I've posted the text to the article below). During the interview I said fuck it and gave away some intimate info. Now the world will know that I'm made entirely of styrofoam - just please keep that between you and me.
Art Chicago is this weekend, with art events going on around the city. In the Chicago Art District, we’re having a Breakfast Artwalk!
Saturday, April 30th, 9:30am-12:30pm, my studio and gallery, along with many others in the area will be open to the public.
And I'm part of Harbor Country's 18th annual Art Attack, an eclectic and interactive celebration of art! Saturday evening (April 30), 5-7pm, I'll be at the opening of my solo show at Fitzgerald's. 5875 Sawyer Rd, Sawyer, MI
Finally, some disturbed humor that I can't stop watching. From the brilliant David Firth: "Not Stanley"
THE MIDNIGHT PLAYGROUND OF XAVIER NUEZ
BY LOUISE BUYO
A NIGHT OWL with a predilection for roaming darkened alleyways and ruins in blighted urban areas, photographer Xavier Nuez (www.nuez.com) has built a daring body of work prowling the streets after hours. Having acquired his street smarts at a young age, Nuez started his Alleys and Ruins series nearly two decades ago.
“I realized there were two things I loved shooting: urban decay and night scenes,” Nuez recalls. “Together, they were just pure magic. I noticed I was able to communicate ideas very powerfully this way, and I made the conscious decision to begin a series based on this theme.
“Alleys and ruins seem to have always been part of my life. As a teen and young adult, I would explore them, day and night, with and without a camera, because they were so fascinating and intense — so different from the day-to-day, ordered structures and activities. I was rebellious. On weekends, alleys and ruins in Montreal [where I grew up] were often places to hang out with friends, who were sometimes understandably reluctant. I would bring a bottle of booze, and we’d explore together. Invariably, I’d create converts. My friends grew to love our strange adventures.
“Then there’s the darker side to my relationship with these spaces. My dad was a homeless kid for a couple of years, growing up in Spain. It was not something he spoke of often, but he had tales of sleeping under stairwells, and of rummaging for discarded food, left behind at farmer’s markets. These tales terrified me as a kid, and I wondered if that could happen to me.
“Many years later, in my early 20s, I started to experience serious bouts of depression and sudden waves of social anxiety. I returned to this fear that I might end up homeless and living in an alley. I started looking at these spaces with a strange brew of fear and optimism. I convinced myself that even if that was my fate, I could live with that.”
That realization opened a floodgate of creativity for Nuez.
Over the years, he has visited numerous cities, including Detroit, Chicago, New Orleans, Miami, Los Angeles, Kansas City and Minneapolis. Distilling the beauty of these alleys is no easy task. A typical night requires a great deal of patience and savvy to be productive. Shots are not easy to find. To get the perfect composition, Nuez will return to certain spots several times.
Nuez shoots his photographs with 50-year-old Hasselblad film cameras and 120 mm film. To help capture the vivid colors, he brings portable lighting equipment and colored gels. The darkness demands long exposures to realize images, and leaving the shutter open produces surprising hues. It is not unusual to take more than an hour to capture a photograph.
For all the eerie splendor of Nuez’s final images, the spaces that interest him most are often putrid and neglected. The neighborhoods are dangerous, but Nuez tries to mitigate this by bringing a guide or lookout. Regardless, Nuez will encounter a city’s other nocturnal denizens: drug addicts, the homeless, gang members, clubgoers, graffiti artists and rats. He has had run-ins with the police and many close calls where he has had to run and hide from the locals.
“I think this strange blend is evident in the series. The images are a celebration of life, but they are photographs of fearful places. They are beautiful and repulsive; they inspire joy and dread; they are both calm and on edge; scenes of extreme contrast, with bright colors and dark shadows.
“The areas I like to shoot in are not places that attract your ordinary citizen. Places to rejoice and yet mourn, where life and death stand side by side. Yet I feel at home in them, while constantly being on my guard.”
-Louise Buyo is the Managing Editor of Professional Artist.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Actually, there's one last thing.
My bug images are characters with a back story that exist mostly in my head i.e. I don't write them down. But I thought I'd share the story of Count Blankfein because it is so current and enduring and important.
Its not like we didn't already know, but according to a Senate report recently released, Goldman Sachs, the nation's fifth-largest bank by assets, systematically misled clients, sold them financial instruments it knew to be junk, bet against them and profited off of their losses.
Please feel free to download (right-click, save) and pass the image around (the text is embedded in the image).
Posted at 2pm on 4/29/11 | 3 comments | Filed Under: Art Shows
Professional Artist magazine did an excellent feature story on my work. The May issue just came out and is available at magazine stores, and online, but for a fee (the magazines and newspapers are starting to smarten up, so I've posted the text to the article below). During the interview I said fuck it and gave away some intimate info. Now the world will know that I'm made entirely of styrofoam - just please keep that between you and me.
Art Chicago is this weekend, with art events going on around the city. In the Chicago Art District, we’re having a Breakfast Artwalk!
Saturday, April 30th, 9:30am-12:30pm, my studio and gallery, along with many others in the area will be open to the public.
And I'm part of Harbor Country's 18th annual Art Attack, an eclectic and interactive celebration of art! Saturday evening (April 30), 5-7pm, I'll be at the opening of my solo show at Fitzgerald's. 5875 Sawyer Rd, Sawyer, MI
Finally, some disturbed humor that I can't stop watching. From the brilliant David Firth: "Not Stanley"
THE MIDNIGHT PLAYGROUND OF XAVIER NUEZ
BY LOUISE BUYO
A NIGHT OWL with a predilection for roaming darkened alleyways and ruins in blighted urban areas, photographer Xavier Nuez (www.nuez.com) has built a daring body of work prowling the streets after hours. Having acquired his street smarts at a young age, Nuez started his Alleys and Ruins series nearly two decades ago.
“I realized there were two things I loved shooting: urban decay and night scenes,” Nuez recalls. “Together, they were just pure magic. I noticed I was able to communicate ideas very powerfully this way, and I made the conscious decision to begin a series based on this theme.
“Alleys and ruins seem to have always been part of my life. As a teen and young adult, I would explore them, day and night, with and without a camera, because they were so fascinating and intense — so different from the day-to-day, ordered structures and activities. I was rebellious. On weekends, alleys and ruins in Montreal [where I grew up] were often places to hang out with friends, who were sometimes understandably reluctant. I would bring a bottle of booze, and we’d explore together. Invariably, I’d create converts. My friends grew to love our strange adventures.
“Then there’s the darker side to my relationship with these spaces. My dad was a homeless kid for a couple of years, growing up in Spain. It was not something he spoke of often, but he had tales of sleeping under stairwells, and of rummaging for discarded food, left behind at farmer’s markets. These tales terrified me as a kid, and I wondered if that could happen to me.
“Many years later, in my early 20s, I started to experience serious bouts of depression and sudden waves of social anxiety. I returned to this fear that I might end up homeless and living in an alley. I started looking at these spaces with a strange brew of fear and optimism. I convinced myself that even if that was my fate, I could live with that.”
That realization opened a floodgate of creativity for Nuez.
Over the years, he has visited numerous cities, including Detroit, Chicago, New Orleans, Miami, Los Angeles, Kansas City and Minneapolis. Distilling the beauty of these alleys is no easy task. A typical night requires a great deal of patience and savvy to be productive. Shots are not easy to find. To get the perfect composition, Nuez will return to certain spots several times.
Nuez shoots his photographs with 50-year-old Hasselblad film cameras and 120 mm film. To help capture the vivid colors, he brings portable lighting equipment and colored gels. The darkness demands long exposures to realize images, and leaving the shutter open produces surprising hues. It is not unusual to take more than an hour to capture a photograph.
For all the eerie splendor of Nuez’s final images, the spaces that interest him most are often putrid and neglected. The neighborhoods are dangerous, but Nuez tries to mitigate this by bringing a guide or lookout. Regardless, Nuez will encounter a city’s other nocturnal denizens: drug addicts, the homeless, gang members, clubgoers, graffiti artists and rats. He has had run-ins with the police and many close calls where he has had to run and hide from the locals.
“I think this strange blend is evident in the series. The images are a celebration of life, but they are photographs of fearful places. They are beautiful and repulsive; they inspire joy and dread; they are both calm and on edge; scenes of extreme contrast, with bright colors and dark shadows.
“The areas I like to shoot in are not places that attract your ordinary citizen. Places to rejoice and yet mourn, where life and death stand side by side. Yet I feel at home in them, while constantly being on my guard.”
-Louise Buyo is the Managing Editor of Professional Artist.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Actually, there's one last thing.
My bug images are characters with a back story that exist mostly in my head i.e. I don't write them down. But I thought I'd share the story of Count Blankfein because it is so current and enduring and important.
Its not like we didn't already know, but according to a Senate report recently released, Goldman Sachs, the nation's fifth-largest bank by assets, systematically misled clients, sold them financial instruments it knew to be junk, bet against them and profited off of their losses.
Please feel free to download (right-click, save) and pass the image around (the text is embedded in the image).
Posted at 2pm on 4/29/11 | 3 comments | Filed Under: Art Shows
New York Times story, plus bonus at no extra cost: a New Image!
9am on 4/10/11
In NY at the opening of my solo show I meet Corey Kilgannon, a veteran New York Times city reporter. He is intrigued by my work, so soon after we are off on a night shoot. Photojournalist Robert Stolarik is also there, taking photos of me at work. In the first 10 minutes, he shoots more pictures than I've taken in 10 years.
We head to the spots I'd already staked out in Brooklyn - the first is by the East River, across from Manhattan. This is my star location, where remnants of a pier lie, along with old, fallen girders from a long gone structure, and in the background, the beautiful and ubiquitous Manhattan skyline. I set up, figure out my lighting and exposure, and shoot a test polaroid that requires a heavy dose of my own lighting. After 2 minutes of processing, I peel away the sealing strip on the instant film (which doesn't seem so instant in the digital age) and the shot looks good! I'm always excited when I know I'm zeroing in on a great photograph, but I'm extra happy since I have two distinguished guests with me. I show them the polaroid, excited at the picture I'm constructing. I replace the polaroid-back with the film-back and I get ready to do the real shots. Just then a cop car rolls in.
Oh, did I forget to mention we had snuck through a break in the fence and were clearly tresspassing? The officers are angry and yelling at us to return. Corey volunteers to speak to them and see if his credentials can get us a break before I take the camera off the tripod. He returns with bad news. The cops have threatened to cuff us and lock us up for the night unless we leave immediately. I am fucking pissed! I had spent 2 days driving around staking out dozens of locations, taking notes and digital pictures. This spot, through the fence, by the East River was really a treasured spot. I wasn't mad at the cops, I was mad because it was a form of death. I wanted to give life to this image, instead, here it will lie, buried.
We pack up and leave because neither of us wants to take a ride in a cop car, and we head to my number two spot.
This is a more subtle location, but it has great potential. The first thing I'd loved about it was what looked like a battle between the ancient steel doors and the orange foam that was trying to burst through. And the setting for this tug of war was no slouch! Once again the shot required a lot of my lighting - Robert took lots of photos of me while I lit both scenes so you get a glimpse at how I work in the slideshow.
Read the NY Times story
I head back to NYC April 18. The East River ruins will still be there, and I'm hoping for a second chance at that image.
Alley no. 137, Portal (2011, Brooklyn, NY, 12:15am)
Posted at 9am on 4/10/11 | Comments | Filed Under: Art Shows
In NY at the opening of my solo show I meet Corey Kilgannon, a veteran New York Times city reporter. He is intrigued by my work, so soon after we are off on a night shoot. Photojournalist Robert Stolarik is also there, taking photos of me at work. In the first 10 minutes, he shoots more pictures than I've taken in 10 years.
We head to the spots I'd already staked out in Brooklyn - the first is by the East River, across from Manhattan. This is my star location, where remnants of a pier lie, along with old, fallen girders from a long gone structure, and in the background, the beautiful and ubiquitous Manhattan skyline. I set up, figure out my lighting and exposure, and shoot a test polaroid that requires a heavy dose of my own lighting. After 2 minutes of processing, I peel away the sealing strip on the instant film (which doesn't seem so instant in the digital age) and the shot looks good! I'm always excited when I know I'm zeroing in on a great photograph, but I'm extra happy since I have two distinguished guests with me. I show them the polaroid, excited at the picture I'm constructing. I replace the polaroid-back with the film-back and I get ready to do the real shots. Just then a cop car rolls in.
Oh, did I forget to mention we had snuck through a break in the fence and were clearly tresspassing? The officers are angry and yelling at us to return. Corey volunteers to speak to them and see if his credentials can get us a break before I take the camera off the tripod. He returns with bad news. The cops have threatened to cuff us and lock us up for the night unless we leave immediately. I am fucking pissed! I had spent 2 days driving around staking out dozens of locations, taking notes and digital pictures. This spot, through the fence, by the East River was really a treasured spot. I wasn't mad at the cops, I was mad because it was a form of death. I wanted to give life to this image, instead, here it will lie, buried.
We pack up and leave because neither of us wants to take a ride in a cop car, and we head to my number two spot.
This is a more subtle location, but it has great potential. The first thing I'd loved about it was what looked like a battle between the ancient steel doors and the orange foam that was trying to burst through. And the setting for this tug of war was no slouch! Once again the shot required a lot of my lighting - Robert took lots of photos of me while I lit both scenes so you get a glimpse at how I work in the slideshow.
Read the NY Times story
I head back to NYC April 18. The East River ruins will still be there, and I'm hoping for a second chance at that image.
Alley no. 137, Portal (2011, Brooklyn, NY, 12:15am)
Posted at 9am on 4/10/11 | Comments | Filed Under: Art Shows
Opening reception of my NY show
9am on 3/20/11
The opening reception of my exhibit in NY was a blast. It was a bit of a freak to walk around the bizarro but wonderful world that is Times Square at dusk and enter the Conde Nast building right there where my show is.
New York Times reporter Corey Kilgannon came to the opening - he's a fellow lover of urban rot. Two days later we were out shooting crumbling structures at night in Brooklyn for a story that will be out in a few days. There was also a NY Times photog documenting my habits in the wild. They got a taste of what I go through when cops caught us in the wrong place at the wrong time. Can't wait to read it!
I stay with Satchel Jones (left) when I'm in NY. He's a gifted singer, songwriter who I met when I was a regular at the Ypsilanti, MI dive bar, T.C's Speakeasy. He usually keeps me up til 3 or 4am.
Gerry Wagschal (center) and I grew up together. He's my best friend and my NY agent. We've had many adventures together, including this one.
Xavier (right) came to the opening when he heard there was free food and booze.
Posted at 9am on 3/20/11 | 7 comments | Filed Under: Art Shows
I stay with Satchel Jones (left) when I'm in NY. He's a gifted singer, songwriter who I met when I was a regular at the Ypsilanti, MI dive bar, T.C's Speakeasy. He usually keeps me up til 3 or 4am.
Gerry Wagschal (center) and I grew up together. He's my best friend and my NY agent. We've had many adventures together, including this one.
Xavier (right) came to the opening when he heard there was free food and booze.
Posted at 9am on 3/20/11 | 7 comments | Filed Under: Art Shows
Solo Exhibit at Condé Nast bldg in Times Sq opens March 3, 6-8pm
8am on 2/26/11
Posted at 8am on 2/26/11 | Comments | Filed Under: Art Shows
Posted at 8am on 2/26/11 | Comments | Filed Under: Art Shows
Ice Queen
5pm on 2/3/11
I'm back to shooting bugs! This is the first polaroid test, and is a very early version of what the final will look like. Appropriately, considering the blast of winter we got here in Chicago these last few days, this bug is the powerful Ice Queen! I have ideas for creating compelling and appropriate lighting, as well as some major re-structuring of the (very mini) props, among other things. I'm working on it further tonight and the final image will be ready next week.
If you want to go to a fun art party Friday night, I'm part of a group show at Black Cloud Gallery which is having the opening Fri, Feb 4th from 7-10:30. I expect a big crowd, and I'll be there for sure! They are at 1909 South Halsted St in Chicago.
But bigger news for me is my next solo show, which will be in the Condé Nast building lobby at 4 Times Square in Manhattan, NY. The opening is March 3; reception is 6-8pm; it closes April 18. I'll have 15 large pieces, all 32x40's and 44x55's from the Alley series.
Last week I gave a talk to the art students at Amos Alonzo Stagg High School in Palos Hills, IL. I talked to several classes in the auditorium where my images were projected 20x25 feet. Wish I had a photo of that! D'Oh!
And I was asked a few months ago to jury the submissions for this year's Old Town Art Fair. I'm really looking forward to this - its a real honor! It will take place this Sat afternoon. I don't know the figures yet, but there usually are well over 1000 applicants, each showing 5 images of their work. I may need ice packs on my eyeballs when I'm done.
... and, I've become a little obsessed with Adult-Swim's Tim and Eric Awesome Show. This clip will give you a taste of the complete insanity. And then there's the Awesome Show's hilariously pathetic Dr Steve Brule. Posted at 5pm on 2/3/11 | 2 comments | Filed Under: Art Shows
I'm back to shooting bugs! This is the first polaroid test, and is a very early version of what the final will look like. Appropriately, considering the blast of winter we got here in Chicago these last few days, this bug is the powerful Ice Queen! I have ideas for creating compelling and appropriate lighting, as well as some major re-structuring of the (very mini) props, among other things. I'm working on it further tonight and the final image will be ready next week.
If you want to go to a fun art party Friday night, I'm part of a group show at Black Cloud Gallery which is having the opening Fri, Feb 4th from 7-10:30. I expect a big crowd, and I'll be there for sure! They are at 1909 South Halsted St in Chicago.
But bigger news for me is my next solo show, which will be in the Condé Nast building lobby at 4 Times Square in Manhattan, NY. The opening is March 3; reception is 6-8pm; it closes April 18. I'll have 15 large pieces, all 32x40's and 44x55's from the Alley series.
Last week I gave a talk to the art students at Amos Alonzo Stagg High School in Palos Hills, IL. I talked to several classes in the auditorium where my images were projected 20x25 feet. Wish I had a photo of that! D'Oh!
And I was asked a few months ago to jury the submissions for this year's Old Town Art Fair. I'm really looking forward to this - its a real honor! It will take place this Sat afternoon. I don't know the figures yet, but there usually are well over 1000 applicants, each showing 5 images of their work. I may need ice packs on my eyeballs when I'm done.
... and, I've become a little obsessed with Adult-Swim's Tim and Eric Awesome Show. This clip will give you a taste of the complete insanity. And then there's the Awesome Show's hilariously pathetic Dr Steve Brule. Posted at 5pm on 2/3/11 | 2 comments | Filed Under: Art Shows
New Image: Alley no. 136, Motor City (Detroit, MI, 9:30pm)
7pm on 1/11/11
This is Detroit's Packard Plant, built in 1903 and once the most modern car manufacturing plant in the world. At its peak it housed more than 40,000 workers. Today it holds another record: it is the largest abandoned industrial building in the world. It is a mind-boggling 3.5 million square-foot ruin. Alley 136 shows a tiny fraction of the entire building.
The Packard automobile was the premier luxury car in the world in the early decades of the 20th century, but following WWII the company's management made a series of tactical errors. Ironically, while the country was experiencing the post-war boom, with record auto sales, the Packard became unable to compete with the Big Three: GM, Ford and Chrysler. The factory closed in 1958 and the plant was virtually empty after that, except for a few small businesses taking up a small fraction of this behemoth. The last tenant, a small factory of 8 workers, left last year. All remaining security guards were pulled leaving the building vulnerable to attack.
Today the plant is a regular target for budding arsonists who light it up for kicks - there are weekly incidents. But this is a city that made Devil's Night famous: the Halloween tradition of lighting vacant buildings on fire. In Detroit the numbers are hard to believe: 169 fires in 2010's Halloween, and this is way down from the average 500-800 Halloween fires per year in the 1980's and 90's! Fire crews are called to the plant twice a month, but they have all but stopped putting out fires there, rather than put their men in constant danger.
I shot the plant in the Summer of 2010, but later returned during the day, exploring the area inside and out, and found I could vastly improve the photograph. One big problem was the number of angry-looking gang bangers driving by slowly at night, staring closely at me, my gear, and my friend Anna. This made the first shoot very tense and caused me to truncate what I really wanted to do. I hurried the shot and left with something I wasn't happy with.
I returned again in September, this time with Tom Holt, a lieutenant in the Detroit Fire Department, who carried a big gun in his holster and wore his police-looking badge around his neck and who gave me the scoop on the plant fires. Gang filled cars drove by several times again, one pimped out car crossed our path several times, but now I was relaxed. Tom would put his hands on his hips, clearly exposing his badge and gun to them, and he would stare them down as they drove slowly by.
One of the ways I needed to improve the shot was by doing extensive light painting. I walked down the very dark road on the right side several times (it was actually more of an alley) with my lighting equipment, firing bursts of blue, then returning to add bursts of green higher up, in the end having lit up the whole side of the plant. This was followed by lighting the sign with a spot; lighting the inside of the walkway to add a little interior light behind the sign; and of course adding the blue in the foreground.
A little error during my lighting shows you how I work. The shadow on the blue pillar (detail image on the right) is me holding up a blue-gelled flash. I hadn't stood far enough away from the camera and left my shadow behind. I'll call it a self-portrait!
And below is a shot of the whole plant from above. The red X is the area Alley 136 was shot from.
Posted at 7pm on 1/11/11 | 2 comments | Filed Under: Art Shows
This is Detroit's Packard Plant, built in 1903 and once the most modern car manufacturing plant in the world. At its peak it housed more than 40,000 workers. Today it holds another record: it is the largest abandoned industrial building in the world. It is a mind-boggling 3.5 million square-foot ruin. Alley 136 shows a tiny fraction of the entire building.
The Packard automobile was the premier luxury car in the world in the early decades of the 20th century, but following WWII the company's management made a series of tactical errors. Ironically, while the country was experiencing the post-war boom, with record auto sales, the Packard became unable to compete with the Big Three: GM, Ford and Chrysler. The factory closed in 1958 and the plant was virtually empty after that, except for a few small businesses taking up a small fraction of this behemoth. The last tenant, a small factory of 8 workers, left last year. All remaining security guards were pulled leaving the building vulnerable to attack.
Today the plant is a regular target for budding arsonists who light it up for kicks - there are weekly incidents. But this is a city that made Devil's Night famous: the Halloween tradition of lighting vacant buildings on fire. In Detroit the numbers are hard to believe: 169 fires in 2010's Halloween, and this is way down from the average 500-800 Halloween fires per year in the 1980's and 90's! Fire crews are called to the plant twice a month, but they have all but stopped putting out fires there, rather than put their men in constant danger.
I shot the plant in the Summer of 2010, but later returned during the day, exploring the area inside and out, and found I could vastly improve the photograph. One big problem was the number of angry-looking gang bangers driving by slowly at night, staring closely at me, my gear, and my friend Anna. This made the first shoot very tense and caused me to truncate what I really wanted to do. I hurried the shot and left with something I wasn't happy with.
I returned again in September, this time with Tom Holt, a lieutenant in the Detroit Fire Department, who carried a big gun in his holster and wore his police-looking badge around his neck and who gave me the scoop on the plant fires. Gang filled cars drove by several times again, one pimped out car crossed our path several times, but now I was relaxed. Tom would put his hands on his hips, clearly exposing his badge and gun to them, and he would stare them down as they drove slowly by.
One of the ways I needed to improve the shot was by doing extensive light painting. I walked down the very dark road on the right side several times (it was actually more of an alley) with my lighting equipment, firing bursts of blue, then returning to add bursts of green higher up, in the end having lit up the whole side of the plant. This was followed by lighting the sign with a spot; lighting the inside of the walkway to add a little interior light behind the sign; and of course adding the blue in the foreground.
A little error during my lighting shows you how I work. The shadow on the blue pillar (detail image on the right) is me holding up a blue-gelled flash. I hadn't stood far enough away from the camera and left my shadow behind. I'll call it a self-portrait!
And below is a shot of the whole plant from above. The red X is the area Alley 136 was shot from.
Posted at 7pm on 1/11/11 | 2 comments | Filed Under: Art Shows
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