Tonight!
Deadly Chaps Spring Book Launch at The Art of the Multiple: 7-9pm
Hosted by @brooklynworks159
159 20th Street; #1B
South Slope, Brooklyn
R to Prospect Ave.
Sponsored by @sixpoints
#booklaunch #tonight with #photography and #VisPo #newbooks
@courttreecollective
Interview with Stephen Lipuma, creator of Common Grounds, a collection of photographs published by Deadly Chaps Press (part 5/5)
Stephen's Answer:
Hahaha. Same interests since my teens. Music and skateboarding is what shaped me. Literally! I think those two things always kept on the fringe so being interested in UFO’s doesn’t seem so odd to me. I think each has guided to be an individual.
I do have a strong theory on UFO’s that I open to share to anyone that is interested. : )
Start a conversation with Stephen: @courttreecollective
#ufo #skateboards and #records make a #photographer #moreinteresting #readitall in the #last5posts
Interview with Stephen Lipuma, creator of Common Grounds, a collection of photographs published by Deadly Chaps Press (part 4/5)
Stephen's Answer:
I just want to keep going with my own photography and expanding my curations outside of Brooklyn. This past October we curated a show for the Urban Outfitters headquarters in Philadelphia which was a great experience. It was great seeing the artist we represent in such a great space. We also curate for a building in Times Square which has been an incredible opportunity. We are currently working on doing more of this in the near future. As far as my own work I am currently working on my next project which will be about Sunset Park. Kind of like a closed in and more pin-pointed approach to Common Grounds. I hope to focus on the Chinese and Mexican communities there.
Most importantly I want to be the best Dad I can be to my daughter. Everything changed the moment she arrived, but all for the better. Like most new parents life takes on a new purpose with a child and I feel like my wife and I have embraced it really well. Obviously it’s not easy, but there is a patience in all of us that comes out when you have that parent/child connection. Personally that patience has also leaked into my work ethic as an artist and curator. Which I am truly grateful for.
#booklaunch #thisfriday at @brooklynworks159 a #photobook by #brooklynphotographer Stephen Lipuma, owner of @courttreecollective , a #greatguy, #brilliantphotographer, and #goodfriend so #helphim #stepintothefuture by #supporting #thebook of #Brooklyn #photography, COMMON GROUNDS (published by @deadlychapspress )
Interview with Stephen Lipuma, creator of Common Grounds, a collection of photographs published by Deadly Chaps Press (part 3/5)
Answer:
I think a lot of the images capture change in their own way. However, there is something about the image No Diving that really brings it to life for me. Obviously, with this image a lot could be left to the viewer to interpret. For me, the woman on the pier was looking back into her past. Maybe looking back to her childhood or reminiscing about her first love. When this photo taken, the boardwalk she is sitting on was only recently re-constructed. It had been down for a number of years. Thus, for the first time in years, the vantage point of the reconstruction is exactly as it was 50 years ago. When you see the old photos of Coney Island, the beach would be at full capacity (WeeGee’s famous photo). My father tells me stories of it being elbow to elbow from the boardwalk to the water. It wasn’t until the last decade that people starting coming back to Coney Island. For a while, in between, it was a very dangerous place day or night. I like to say, looking back in time is the first step into the future.
#lookingforward #intothefuture #lookingback #intothepast #coneyislandboardwalk at #coneyislandbeach where there's #nodiving #nowandforever in a #photograph by
@courttreecollective
#areyouListening? @brooklynworks159 @brooklynrail @parkslopestoop
@coneyislandfun
Interview with Stephen Lipuma, creator of Common Grounds, a collection of photographs published by Deadly Chaps Press (part 2/5)
Stephen's Answer:
I feel connected to all the people in the book. I have a story for each of them and I mean that honestly. Coming of Age stands out for me. I was there photographing the landscape sans people.I had done it many times before. There are a few different shots that didn’t make the book from this exact location. I always had great success there so I would return every spring. On this particular day, the light was just perfect and the brush had turned lush green. As I was photographing the landscape, these kids ran into my frame. I turned around and saw that this beautiful girl was accompanying them. She was the older sister of the boys in the photograph. They seemed so out of place and in stark contrast to the last photograph I had made there. That one was of a man sitting on a log crying for his dog. I imagine he must have been planning to put him down soon afterwards. This girl was full of life. She actually asked to be photographed and did her best poses for the camera. I could tell she must of practiced these poses many times in front of the mirror. She said she wanted to be a model, but her parents wouldn’t allow it. She was just a kid, but seemed older in the way she dealt with her siblings. When her Dad came over, he was so nice and said she should stay in school. Which I agreed, but mentioned that her look was very in style: so you never know. We spoke for a while and watched the boys run through the brush. They were in town for a family wedding and staying at a hotel nearby. It made sense, because most locals wouldn’t let their kids play in such a desolate, vacant lot. Soon the girl faded back to the family van. I gave her Dad my card, so that he could get a photograph, but he never contacted me. Sadly, this location was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. Every time I pass it now, I remember this photograph and the many ot
Interview with Stephen Lipuma, creator of Common Grounds, a collection of photographs published by Deadly Chaps Press (part 1/5)
Answer:
The projected started almost immediately after I moved to Sheepshead Bay. I had been working as the night and weekend photographer for Brooklyn Borough President
Marty Markowitz. While trailing him across Brooklyn, I fell in love with the Sheepshead Bay and
Midwood areas. In these areas, I felt time had stopped. Midwood, in particular, is the greatest
melting pot on earth. Each avenue is home to a different group of people. In fact, if you bike
Ocean Parkway from Ditmas Park to Coney Island you will see just about every race and culture along the way. It’s remarkable.
The cover of Common Grounds is actually the first photograph that I took for the book. I had
started the project with an interest in capturing landscapes, but the woman in the photograph
made me shift gears, entirely. It was not only her t-shirt, it was also her attitude. I was sitting
outside a Russian cafe having a coffee when she came walking toward me. I smiled at her and
asked to photograph her. She immediately said, “Why on earth do you want to photograph me?” I said, “That shirt is amazing, I need to.” During the picture she is motioning to me and
exclaiming, “This shirt makes you want to photograph me?? OK….sure...whatever?”
It was hilarious: her gesture matched the shirt perfectly.
@courttreecollective #interview by #brooklyn #photographer and #greatguy #StephenLipuma #takingphotos #withattitude
Deadly Chaps Press is pleased to announce the first full-length book of Visual Poetry by Eryk Wenziak: I Need Space! Printed in full color and designed by Joseph A. W. Quintela, this book will change the way you look at print. Pre-Order Now: http://s.ripl.com/b3b2s7 #order! Advert via ripl.com
Nicole Callahan reading her Pushcart Award nominated poem "Diction"
