alyssa miserendino photography : amimagery : little inspirations

Paul Klein's Art Letter

Tonight is the opening of the show at Collaboraction. Read about it in the Art Letter blog by Paul Klein. 

NYPF 2011

my brain is spinning with ideas, conversations, controversy, & more than anything appreciation & inspiration. i was really touched by some of the artists who were brought to NYPF this year, not to mention some of the honesty {& frustration} spoken from photo editors & critics. after three straight days in lectures, i can honestly say, i was happy to be inside for a good chunk the day, being a sponge -- it was truly decadent.

t h a n k  y o u to all of those that came to share. check em out below!

public television, WTTW

is running a series entitled "Stories of Life in Chicago" on Fridays. the last episode included an interview i had with Jay Shefsky back in february (brrrrr). check it out & all the cool individuals we get to call our neighbors. like most magical things, i didn't know that this aired on friday. if you are not familiar with my personal life project, Our World Insideout, you can learn a little more about it in this video or even here. t h a n k  y o u  Jay for including me in the group!

 

resiliency

perhaps i am just an optimist, but it sure felt good to breath in the fresh air near the coast of lousiana. with all the imagery we are inundated with today regarding bp's oil spill, i wanted to find the strength that still exists & celebrate this. i got this feeling while talking to a friend in boston that instinctually drove me to capture this - and what "this" is, remained a mystery until a few phone calls later. through this friend i was connected with a former ED of lousiana's democratic party and then on to his fishing neighbor, aaron pierce in galliano louisiana. little did i know i was being connected, not with a fisherman that i originally was seeking to interview, but a gentleman who is bringing back to life the shoreline of lousiana - one mitigation bank at a time. back in 2004, having grown up as a fisherman, aaron started to notice how the land was deteriorating. this is when he started working for resmitigation. today he is in charge of nursery operations. what is interesting is that resmitigation is not a common mitigation company - they are unusual in the fact that they provide their own plants for the land that they restore - creating a full cycle.

at 6:30am, aaron was at our hotel ready to direct us to his nursery, which was once a cattle farm. as the sun was rising and beating down (it's sweaty hot even at 7am) on acres of land just off a main road, i realized i was standing on a hidden gem that most of us have no idea about. for the last 30-50 years, near the coast of louisiana, levies have been built, water pumped out & wetlands have been filled in with land to raise cattle & crops. we as humans, as a result have killed off precious wildlife, and distroyed the coast though this type of land usage - it's not just katrina & the oil spill that have had a hand in this deterioration. aaron is doing just the opposite to resore these wetlands back to the way they once were. resmitigation propagates & sells the plants that are sold to the DNR & NRCS for restoration. in addition, they sell to oil companies that are distroying the coast and thus required to repair the damage. resmitigation owns a total of 15,000 acres that have been or will be transformed into mitigation banks. To give you an idea of volume, aaron plans to plant 20,000 plantings of bitter panicum (a type of grass) in october/november on a barrier island that he has been told has been destroyed by oil. He intends to head down in august to make sure that it has been cleaned up, as word has it, so he can move forward with the planting.

 

a street named desire

when arriving in new orleans the man at the car rental counter said he didn't know what it was like not to eat seafood... and yet another spat drunk at my face in his seersucker suit, "don't feel sorry for new orleans - don't pitty us." this was exactly what i came for - the people, the extreme & to work on our world insideout.

the empathetic civilization

how we have developed as a civilization through the eyes of empathy.

happy fun friday!

i am a sucker for poloroid. for me poloroid is something to be treasured, and used for that special moment. i own three poloroid cameras & somehow need to find my dad's old sx70, if it's still around in a box somewhere... because the IMPOSSIBLE project just launched new film for the sx70! i've been following them for a while, since poloroid film has been discontinued. their new stuf definitely hits my heart ... i adore warm sepia toned images. you can check out more examples like this on their site. there is a limited supply. get it while you can!

 

PBS interview

Last night on Chicago Tonight, my interview with Jay Shefsky aired. You can watch it below. It is such a privilege to have this recognition by PBS, on a project that has blossomed from such a difficult family situation. I'm looking forward to this life journey, as I continue to create Our World Insideout, helping us to better understand our resources and the sacred places we call home... 

scott lee cohen takes the place of our world insideout

yes, Our World Insideout's segment tonight on PBS's Channel 11 will be replaced by the breaking news of scott lee cohen. surprised, no; a bit embarrassed that i announced my last post - yes! however, i should know better, it's election time. it was exciting as a child when the presidential election landed on my birthday. who knows, perhaps because it brings people together. wonder what will happen to our new lieutenant governor?

this reminds me of something that has been swimming around in my head for the last three days. in fact, i had a conversation with an artist in NY regarding this last night. specifically that i'm often too honest to people's faces, or so excited at a possibility, opportunity, or outcome that i speak too soon (see above). i'm starting to really enjoy these 'hiccups' as i call them. there is always a time and place for telling one's story, and often i or the receiver is not in the right space to converse about said story (i'm talking about relationships now). life is too short not to appreciate each other for who they are, mistakes included - we are all fallible & learn quite a bit more from hard work, when things don't pan out quite the way we intended. 

i think that is why i'm drawn to the project Our World Insideout. There is an inherent relationship between the people that owned these homes, or the people that take them over (such as in brasil) to the people that are homeless right here in Chicago, or right here in your own city, to you and i who leave them empty. there is a relationship to the banks in our country to the world bank. i'm not just shooting places, i'm shooting a relationship that ties us all together. There is a vast garden of possibility waiting to blossom from this story. Some growth may be bad, some may be good - however, i'm starting to have a hard time filtering out the bad from the good, as these outcomes can foster further learning of one's self through the production and viewing of the work over time; this is a life project. and the production doesn't just include me. it includes all those people that have helped me through this project and are helping me to move it forward. 

t h a n k  y o u!

i suppose it should be no surprise : back in 2004, i stated that i was uncomfortable with the images i created for my thesis. until i understood why i created what i created, they would continue to haunt me. but that part doesn't really matter anymore. it's exciting actually....

The Opportunity Shop : discussion & book signing

 

join ALYSSA MISERENDINO for a BOOK signing 

& discussion about OUR WORLD INSIDEOUT

Sunday, December 20, 2009 : 5-7pm

THE OPPORTUNITY SHOP : 1613 e 55th Street : Chicago, IL : 773.363.5935

This series of photographic art work acts as a historical document, calling into question how we use or do not re-use our resources surrounding our home. Miserendino has captured 40 foreclosures & short sales throughout Chicago, from the inside. This project focuses on what we have left behind, examining abandonment and displacement. The project will continue internationally, documenting other countries, with the hopes that it will incite a dialogue & create change. 

Small prints, perfect for holiday gifts will also be available. Limited quantity available.