Artist Studio Photo Shoot

Paint and Personality! They have it all here at The Clemente on the Lower East Side.  I had the opportunity to photograph and meet so many amazing artist in their studios (wish I could feature all of them). Please be sure to join them May 21 from 2-6pm at 107 Suffolk Street. I will also be exhibiting work as a guest artist.

Eastern State Penitentiary Exhibition: Opening May 6, 2016

The first major museum exhibit to tackle this subject, Prisons Today challenges visitors to reexamine their ideas about the role and effectiveness of prisons in America.  Three years in the making, this exhibit uses innovative filmmaking to elicit personal connections to the U.S. criminal justice system, and digital interactives to encourage personal reflection and dialogue.  A "call to action" section suggests steps that visitors can take to help shape the American criminal justice system moving forward.

We continue meeting many incredible individuals who are willing to share their stories. This exhibit at Eastern State Penitentiary highlights a few of their experiences and we hope to expand awareness to the issue of mass incarceration and the effect it has on our society.

These are their lives:

DAWAN - is a father who was released from prison and is focusing on reconnecting with his children. KIYA - is growing up without her father, a man serving a long prison sentence. Her mother is unable to provide for her so she has been in the foster care system for most of her life. PHILL - is serving life without the possibility of parole. He runs a restorative justice program called, "Let's Circle Up" inside his maximum security prison. ADAN - had run-ins with the police, dropped out of school and lived on the streets, but now he has earned his GED, enrolled in college, and speaks of his hopes for the future. JESSE - an artist and outspoken critic of mass incarceration, made art while in prison and continues the dialogue even after he is released. PENNSYLVANIA SECRETARY OF CORRECTIONS JOHN WETZEL - speaks passionately about the men and women under his care and about their prospects upon release. 

Rooftop garden conversation at The Lowline

Tending to your garden on your rooftop! Photographing and learning what it takes to be an urban farmer with Annie Novak (Eagle Street Rooftop Farm), Anastasia Cole Plakias (Brooklyn Grange) and Nicole Baum (Gotham Greens).

 

Snug Harbor photo shoot

I had the opportunity to work with dancer, choreographer, ballet instructor....AND Young Ambassador of Georgia to the USA, Ana Lejava on an art project at Snug Harbor.  Afterwards we let the kids take over and do whatever THEY wanted to do.  

moving/still closing performance at The Clemente

If we had the chance to do it all again, tell me, would we? Could we?!!! YES! Please come out Friday Feb 26 at 8p.m. at The Clemente (107 Suffolk) for the closing reception of "moving/still" with new projections and live improvised soundscapes from Tiger Mountain.

http://michellerepiso.com/new-blog/2016/2/11/solo-exhibition-at-the-clemente-feb-5-26

“Michelle Repiso’s recent solo exhibition at The Clemente in New York City combines projections of specific frames of self-shot 16-mm motion picture film with framed photographs shot between 2009 and 2015 in New York, Washington, DC and Texas.

Both as separate entities but especially in combination, they possess an otherworldly, evocative quality that invites the viewer to enter into the transitory and elusive dream space between reality and imagination, wakefulness and sleep, conjuring up in the viewer’s mind a remembered narrative, a potential story, or a personal interpretation of a dramatic event as it unfolds. Reminiscent of the impressionistic work of Sarah Moon or Deborah Turbeville (renowned photographers in the 1960s and 70s), Repiso’s work, such as the specific image of a hazy silhouette reflected in a mirror in a dimly lit room, plays tricks with time and space, turns the outside inwards, and dissolves the already amorphous line between participant and observer.

Repiso’s visual dreamscapes are complemented aurally by Boris Skalsky and Paul Wood’s soundscapes.”
— Review by Leslie Li, Author & Filmmaker

Creating A Paper Plate World

Last Thursday I facilitated another FUN class at Gilda's Noogieland workshop. We made a creative world on a paper plate that consisted of horses and dinosaurs (plus...no world is complete without glitter). I was also given a pet dinosaur with precise daily instructions AND the meat that he needs to eat. Kids think of every single thing! 

Coney Island with The Perennials

Last week it was another unusually warm day for December (in NY) but it made for a great day at the beach. The Perennials are Pete and Amanda Wells. Originally formed in Spokane, Washington the two have since relocated to Brooklyn, NY and are working on a soon to be released EP.

W.E.T.s 4 VETS

W.E.T.s 4 VETS is a program taught by olympic swimmer, Dr. Jane Katz at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.  I had the privilege and pleasure of photographing her class this week.  She is a wonderful teacher with an amazing spirit.

Saturday mornings at the MoMA with Pablove Shutterbugs

Five early Saturday mornings with amazing folks.  Loved every minute!  

Photo credits:  Kelsey Bennett and Rebecca Gallagher, Courtesy of The Pablove Foundation