My first day of teaching is today. Only thing in my way is a 15 minute bike ride to the train station, an hour on the train, and about 25 more minutes on the bike on the way to the school. Oh, and here’s hoping there are bike racks out there.
After two days of loading/cleaning, two days of driving, and one day of incomplete unloading, we’ve finally made it to our new home in Chicago. Our apartment is pretty amazing. Just a beautiful, big place that I can’t think of many ways to improve. (Well, wider doors so we could easily get the couch in would be nice, but I digress.)
Eric came with us on this trip, and we are incredibly grateful for his help, just like when Ryan Mo helped us move to Atlanta. Eric is a machine when it comes to this stuff (as was Mo). It has to do with the fact that his parents own a furniture store and he’s loaded a few trucks in his day.
The neighbors around here are already proving to be fantastic. They’ve been friendly and helpful. Chicago is great. More later.
circa 1999
Back row (l to r): Daniel Bagwell, Ryan Morris, Colby Stevens, Casey Steenport, Bryan Stephenson, Odis Welch
Front row: Walker Pickering, Justin Walters
Well I suppose you can say it’s official. I just got confirmation today that I’ll be starting my first teaching job this fall at McHenry County College in Crystal Lake, IL, a good ways outside Chicago. I’m so happy to finally be realizing one of my major life goals. I know it sounds silly to a lot of artists who look at teaching simply as a means to making their work, but artmaking and teaching hold very similar weight in my life, so this is extremely big news.
I’ll be teaching the Beginning Photography course in the evenings on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which is entirely B&W darkroom-based. This couldn’t be more up my alley. As a matter of fact, I was so energized by the actual interview, I went home and started work on the syllabus. I’m pretty much done with that, so I need to begin work on the assignments at this point.
The program, facilities, and especially the other faculty sound like they’re going to be top-notch, so I’m looking foward to getting to work.
We found a place to live today. It’s on the cusp of Andersonville and Edgewater Glen here in Chicago. Stacy and I have spent the last three days looking, and fortunately, Apartment People came through for us today. We ended up with a 2 bedroom apartment, a private garage and fair proximity to the Red Line straight into town.
And tomorrow I might have a job interview of sorts outside the city. I’m pretty excited. In less than a month, we’ll be Midwesterners (I think)!
You’d think we would be excited about the prospect of moving to a new place to pursue new career opportunities, but you’d be wrong (mostly). Ok, that’s a lie. I’m excited. Stacy’s not. And I can’t blame her… I don’t exactly have a guaranteed job, and that’s less than comforting. I’m sure the story would be different otherwise, but unfortunately, that’s how this whole post-MFA thing works. Adjunct for awhile until I have the teaching experience that can land me a full-time teaching gig.
So for the past several months, I’ve had my eyes set on Boston as our next home. This makes lots of sense for several reasons. I have a number of good contacts in Boston that would be very helpful in connecting me with adjunct positions around the city. Also, Boston is full of universities. If you didn’t know that, do a little search for colleges in Boston and be prepared to be amazed. Oh, and don’t forget Cambridge, the areas around Boston, and Providence, RI. Ever heard of MassArt, The Museum School, Harvard, Boston College, Boston University and RISD, to name a few? They’re all right there. This makes for an extremely educated community, and ideally, students that are serious about learning. These are major considerations, right? But what’s the downside?
Boston is expensive; there’s no way around it. Essentially because of the dogs, we need a house with a fenced backyard. Finding a house to rent outside of Boston (forget living in town) with a yard for less than $1500 a month has, so far, proven laughable. I’m sure it’s possible, but we haven’t really found it yet. And considering we’re paying far less than that here in Atlanta, it would be a major financial change for us. Yes, I would be pulling in additional income, but it would be paltry compared with the overall increase in our cost of living, even aside from the house. Also, the winters are blisteringly cold. I don’t think we’re going to find a way around that, but it’s just a point that should be made. Also, New England is about as culturally different from Texas/Georgia as anything in this country… but we can adjust.
So what options are we left with? Well, the one option we’re now seriously considering is Chicago. I’ll start with the cons. I have no confirmed contacts in the arts/education. Stacy’s friend Ruthann went to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago for undergrad, but it doesn’t seem like she’s plugged in to the teaching sector of the art community. It’s looking like I might have a friend of a friend or two in the city, but that has yet to actually be realized. Also, it’s cold there as well. And finally, we’d be moving there less than blindly. It wouldn’t be like moving to Atlanta, where I had a built-in network of peers in grad school that were also looking for new friends.
The upside, however, is that Chicago is a drastically cheaper place to find housing. Looking online, it’s immediately obvious that we could pay marginally more to live in a comparable house to the one we’re in now. They have yards there, too! Also, Chicago has a large, happenin’ art (read: [commercial & alternative] gallery) scene, with major activity in photography specifically. Strangely enough, I’ve always had kind of a fondness for the Midwest, too. I’m not super-familiar with it or anything, but it seems to be some kind of hybrid between the coasts and the South. Big surprise, I’m sure. Chicago is also home to many, many schools, but probably not as many (per capita?) as Boston. Certainly, there aren’t as many photography programs as Boston.
So there we are. I have to say that after amassing a considerable amount of student loan debt, it certainly makes more fiscal sense to go to Chicago, if those are our only two realistic options. But it’s really a tough decision. I’ve begun contacting schools in Chicago to determine their adjunct hiring submission procedures, so hopefully that will shed some light on the situation.
In other news, my MFA Thesis Show reception is this Saturday. Please come out if you’re in Atlanta. The work is showing at the Blue Tower Gallery in Southwest Atlanta. While it’s technically a “solo” show (for meeting the terms of the MFA), there are 7 other graduating MFA candidates exhibiting. The text above is from the back of the card, and the image below is the front of the card.
And then one week later, I will graduate. Hopefully it will be the last time I spend money to be a student.
I almost can’t believe it’s finally time. In less than a month I’ll have a master’s degree. Surprisingly enough, that’s not really all that exciting to me. Honestly, the reason I decided to go back to school was so I could attain certain goals. If it was another bachelor’s degree that I needed, I would’ve done that.
However, getting an MFA has been one of the best decisions I think I’ve made as an artist. I won’t lie and say the school is the reason… hardly. I think it’s simply because a handful of the people I’ve known here have really opened my eyes to the creative possibilities in the world. (I’m avoiding any use of the phrase “the Art World”.) Maybe just looking at a ton of art would’ve had the same effect.
I’ve also had a few really stellar professors who have given me reasons to think more deeply about the kind of work I want to make. Thanks Steve Aishman, Suellen Parker and Robert Brown. In addition to giving good advice, the key is that they don’t constantly dispense worthless information, like some other professors who will go unnamed. And I think that’s one of my goals as a future professor myself: don’t be worthless to my students. There will just be too many people out there who will want my job, and it only makes sense to constantly work hard at it.
So the title of this post refers to the fact that my thesis show is now sitting on the wall in a gallery space in South Atlanta. That space is the Blue Tower Gallery, as a matter of fact, and the closing reception (we’re forgoing a traditional opening reception) will be from 7-10pm on Saturday, May 24, 2008. You should come—there will be hundreds of dollars worth of… refreshments. Adult beverages included.
And so after a long, hard day of framing (yes, I’m sad to say that my pieces were not ready for the wall already), hanging lights atop a rather tall ladder and then actually hanging the work, it feels good to have it on the wall, essentially out of my mind. Of course, now I have to finish writing my actual thesis paper. The joys of reaching the end.
Many many many thanks to Kyle and Jason for the most direct help I received all day, as well as Rebecca for working with to Jason hang my last small pieces, and Chowoon for helping me move the giant ladder.
Right now I’m sitting in a New York City hotel. It’s been one of the longest days ever. I’ve been traveling with my friend Eric Hancock, and we just spent the last three days in Boston, mostly taking in the city, seeing a bit of art and, most importantly, meeting with people that might help me get teaching jobs.
Boston is really a beautiful city, and I think I’d be happy to be there. After being stuck in a whirlwind of ridiculous public transportation here in New York tonight, the clean, efficient Boston T (subway system) will be a welcome improvement, if we get to move there.
Actually, the day has been quite interesting. Eric and I decided to take the $15 Lucky Star bus from Boston’s South Station to New York City’s the-middle-of-nowhere station. Actually, I shouldn’t say station because, well, it wasn’t. They dropped us off on the side of the road. We just had to walk aimlessly for awhile until someone told us where the nearest subway station was.
But the best part of the trip, by far, was when our bus driver randomly stopped at a Burger King about halfway through the trip. All 50+ people naturally emptied out, and we all got food and went to the bathroom. It was during Eric’s bathroom break, as a matter of fact, that the bus driver decided it was time to leave and started pulling the bus away, leaving five or more of us still inside. Luckily, my seat mate stopped him from taking off.
When we arrived in New York and finally got down to the trains, it took about 2 hours to get to our hotel, which is actually in Long Island City, right across the river from Manhattan. The hotel is fine, and I have a feeling I’m going to oversleep tomorrow.
This isn’t a vain attempt to see how many people still visit my site(s), but I am a bit curious if anyone’s had any problems reading and/or commenting on this new wordpress installation. It’s just that zero comments have been made since the changeover, and while comment traffic isn’t normally all that high, zero seems exceptionally low.=)
So if you don’t mind, someone feel free to just check in (even quasi-anonymously if you wish), just to assure me that I didn’t do some bad, bad thing when switching blogging platforms (or domains, for that matter).
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It’s tough being so close to graduation and needing to work on completing my thesis, and at the same time being worried about getting jobs. I know it’s no different than anything else in life, but I have to juggle several different things. If you know me personally, you’re probably aware that Boston is in my aim for after grad school. That’s not to say we’re absolutely moving there, but if I don’t get any full-time job offers elsewhere, then there’s a very strong chance we’re heading straight to the coldest place we will have ever lived.
So I have a colleague who has connections in Boston; connections that should be willing to meet with me when I plan a trip up there. That colleague has to contact said connections, get the go-ahead and then confirm with me that they are available. I also have to procure a place to stay for the days I visit—fortunately I have a friend who is gracious enough to let me stay with her. And then I must get a flight. After Boston, the plan is to fly down to NYC to meet with Eric for a couple of days of the Whitney Biennial and other art schtuff, which obviously means I have to keep him in the loop.
So assuming all of those things fall into place, I might get a few teaching gigs in Boston. And then again, I might not.
I went to the Society for Photographic Education’s National Conference last weekend in Denver. What a blast. Over the past year or so, I’ve gone to CAA (College Art Association)’s National Conferences in New York City and Dallas, Art Basel Miami Beach and just done a little bit of traveling. And through all of it, SPE has been the best networking opportunity I’ve had.
I know, that sounds like a super clinical way of talking about something that I’m also claiming was a lot of fun. But I met a lot of people that I know I can consider friends at future conferences and events when we run into each other. And when you’re looking for jobs as a professor (adjunct or otherwise) like I am, knowing people from all over the country can be particularly important.
My best advice to anyone involved with both photography and academia (or hoping to) is to attend the National Conference. Next year it’s in Dallas (yay = Texas, boo = Dallas [why not Austin, folks??]). And if you can’t make it to a National, at least try to make your Regional.
What’s great for undergrads is the opportunity to visit with folks at a school where you might potentially get your MFA. I figure that’s kind of a no-brainer.
I’ve wanted to make this site into a regular blog where I can still post images from time to time. Well, I’ve finally done just that, and hopefully it will cause me to post more often. I’ve finally switched from the dreadful MovableType to the mostly-pleasant Wordpress. I threw this theme up and realized how much I liked it. The only problem was actually making it work. The worst part about Wordpress is how difficult it is for a novice to change basic things in a template like the width of a page.
That said, Wordpress is a welcome relief from the days of MovableType. This is the same system PhotoAwesome is run on, so maybe I’ll use it as much as I that site.
Ok, I know most of you come here for the pictures, and I haven’t posted anything in a little while, but I have an excuse. And even better, I have a bit to tell you about how great an experience I had these past four days. Hopefully those of you who are truly serious about photography will get something out of this.
Last year, I signed up for a portfolio review called “The International Meeting Place” in Houston as part of the Fotofest 2006 Biennial. It cost $725 and lasted four days. It was worth every penny. I questioned that leading up to the event, because that kind of money could come in awfully handy right about now. And the funny thing is, my favorite part was meeting the other photographers and seeing their work. There was a whole review culture about that portion, just as much as the formal reviews.
Many people attend these events with the intention of having a gallery pick them up or buy their work, or a museum purchasing the work, or being published either by a book publisher or in a magazine. And then there are those of us who hope to get a good critique of our work, and if something else comes of it, then so be it.
The first two days were amazingly good on every level. To be honest, I didn’t have an outright bad review. Some were weaker than others, and that mostly happened on the final two days, but the first two were jam packed with goodness. Even the reviewers who didn’t have a real place or need for my work still usually praised it.
I went to The Meeting Place with essentially two incomplete bodies of work. The first was my series of environmental portraits that I’m sure you’ve all seen at this point. Most considered this work well printed (some even said expertly so) and the images were interesting, but the body was overall disjointed and seemed loosely connected to most. Also, commercial galleries have little luck with selling prints of people unless they take on some kind of iconic form. This was enlightening to me, as I’d have no other way to become aware of that fact. And think about it… it makes sense. Why would you buy this photo? That is, unless Nathan is your brother, son, relative, etc.
The second body of work was my images of Joe K. These were the most well-received images by far. As a documentary series, it was something I haven’t really tackled before. And since the work is less than six months old, I still have a significant bit to shoot and print. The good news is that I had a great bit of interest in this as becoming a published book. That’s something I’m extremely excited about. I just never thought people would really see it in that format.
A few highlights included meeting with Mary Virginia Swanson (wonderfully insightful, she suggested I submit a portfolio to Texas Monthly, and I will), Ellen Handy of the Harry Ransom Center in Austin, Burt Finger of PDNB Gallery in Dallas and Kevin Longino of the Watermark Gallery in Houston (both gave me so much insight into the commercial gallery world). As I said, the photographers were also great, for the most part. I’ll list my favorites:
I hope that this experience has created the kind of turning point I think it has, because I feel like I’m pursuing something completely different, and in a whole new way, than I was just a week ago.