Huge thanks to all the family and friends that came out to our opening reception on November 3rd, as we revealed the work and talked about our visions. You can follow the creative thoughts and work of my fellow show mates, Ayesha Lakes and Gudrun David, on their websites and/or social media:

https://www.phoartgraphy.com/      https://www.instagram.com/mademoiselle_manic/

The Atlanta Celebrates Photography Festival has events through December. Check out their website for a full guide and calendar of events: http://acpinfo.org.  

"Through a (Dirty) South Lens" will be on display through December 31st, 2018. For info and directions to the Embry Hills Library, please visit it's online portal: https://lnkd.in/egus_pF.

Through a (Dirty) South Lens

Arts@Tech Faculty and Staff Art Exhibit

I've absorbed tons of "Insta-quotes" and other random inspirational posts lately - those social media memes and such we all receive occasionally. To my surprise, I've found inspiration in a constant theme about the urgency of "now" that has floated to the top.  While most are a bit cliched and akin to digital fortune cookies, the idea that waiting for perfection is futile does ring true.  An expectation of progress absent some sort of "stepping out there" isn't realistic.  Even in a spiritual life, works and action are required to produce the fruit of what's promised.

I'd been trying to pull together a muted, timeless series on trees for a while.  I'm not a landscape photographer by any means, so it's been a challenge developing this "eye", particularly with my limited equipment.  Personally, most of the images seem bland and lacking, requiring a stowing away and additional viewings for me to reach a level of satisfaction.  This self-doubt and perfectionist attitude has plagued my creativity for as long as I can remember - and I recognize it's something that must be solved if I'm to move forward.  So I submitted some images to a call for artists by Fulton County, with the hopes that they will be well-received.  If purchased, they will be added to the County's collection of art that graces the walls of countless buildings around the city.

Root and Branch prints

I pulled together five of the several dozen images I've been compiling for the "Root and Branch" series of trees, mostly Black and White or duotone images, and submitted them to Fulton County Arts and Culture.  I'm sure the competition will be thick, but I'm hoping that some of what I've captured will resonant with the council.  Wish me luck!

I decided last year to revisit my love... to begin picking up a camera and enjoying the thing that gave me so much pleasure before I made an enterprise of it.  That proved very difficult, being that I didn't even have a camera to pick up!  I'm a photographer without photographic equipment, having sold most, if not all, of it when I decided to close shop.  That's just how DONE I was with it all.  But I've found there are resources everywhere if you look, and I've begun working at my craft again.  It all feels foreign and somewhat daunting, honestly.  My "eye" is proving very elusive, and my technical skills are extremely rusty.  But the visions in my mind haven't stopped.  The images I can't ignore, created by the world around me and the musings of my own spirit, still long to come out.  So I'm here... trying. Hoping to create something I can be proud of one day... something that others can feel and understand and enjoy.

I'm posting the first in, what I think will be, an ongoing series of images called Childhood.  I will share more about the thoughts and concepts of the overall series at another time, but this first set is dubbed Awakening.  My statement at the beginning of the this small set conveys pretty much all I can say about the images - hopefully you can develop your own feelings after looking at them.  They are very organic, and imperfect.  Very abstract, which is nothing like the things I've done in the past, but I guess you can say that's very appropriate for the start of this new journey.

Would love to hear your thoughts!

Rue Saint Charles in the MorningView from the Hotel Eiffel St Charles, Paris, France

Our one real monument to a life well-lived, that accurately paints a picture of the life we're trying to lead, was our trip to Paris.  It was a week-long, budget friendly adventure with our dearest cousins, that has set a standard for us.  It has somehow become this beacon of light in the drudgery of the mundane day-to-day.  A reminder of who we really are, stripped of the weights and burdens that we tend to place on ourselves.  In fact, I believe our "Paris selves" are the people we were truly meant to be.  I won't delve into the details of those two individuals, but I'm sure anyone reading this may be able to relate.  We all have an image, and maybe even a spiritual reverberation humming inside, of who we really are.  That ideal or picture-perfect us is what drives us to keep moving forward.

As my wife and I contemplate a return to Paris,  I thought it would be helpful to keep track of our Paris loves, and to maybe even make note of new adventures we should consider while there.  While this is really just a motivational exercise for me, I thought some of you may enjoy learning about some of the things we enjoyed in Paris.  This will be updated periodically, so don't be surprised if you notice changes.

FAVORITES

Hotel Eiffel Saint Charles - quaint little hotel in Arrondissement 15, not far from the Eiffel Tower http://www.hotel-eiffel-saint-charles.com/

Bistro Dupleix - our go-to, late-night, al fresco dining spot on Boulevard de Grenelle https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bistro-Dupleix

Garrice - shoe shop - major designer names at amazing prices http://www.garrice.com/

Sol Semilla (formally Voy Alimento) - 100% vegan, 100% organic restaurant and shop near Canal St. Martin http://www.sol-semilla.fr/accueil

Restaurant Thai Thai - most beautiful, original Thai food I've ever had. Delicious and authentic. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Thai-Thai-Restaurant-Paris-France/177410029007063

Gardens of Versailles - Louis XIV's masterpiece. Words can't describe.  http://www.chateauversailles.fr/homepage

NEW ADVENTURES TO TAKE

Le Servan - Asian-fusion restaurant by French/Filipina sisters Tatiana and Katia Levha    http://leservan.com/

...more to come...

Hitler PaintingThe Courtyard of the Old Residency in Munich, painted by Adolf Hitler       Germany Hitler PaintingThe Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2014 photo shows a picture titled “The Old City Hall”, right, that - as the auction house said - was painted by Adolf Hitler and the original bill of sale and a signed letter, left, from Hitler’s adjutant Albert Bormann, brother of the better-known Martin Bormann in Nuremberg, Germany. The 100-year-old watercolor of Munich’s city hall is expected to fetch at least 50,000 euros (US$ 60,000) at auction this weekend, not so much for its artistic value as for the signature in the bottom left corner. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

Bill Cosby's recent fall from grace reminded me of that show.  Even without any form of investigation or judgement rendered, it begs the question: can art stand at odds with the artist?  What is a person's work worth if reprehensible flaws are found in that person's character?  At what point does a seemingly negative personal identity outweigh the merits of any good deeds they have done? And as I journey toward a life as a creative, are there things about me that will ultimately decide the fate of the things I produce?

Bill CosbyComedian Bill Cosby holding cigar. Bill CosbyBill Cosby still taken during his 1983 stand up comedy concert title Himself, at the Hamilton Place Theatre in Hamilton, Ontario.

Most of my family and friends could take it or it leave it when it comes to Bill Cosby, but I've been a fan of pretty much everything he's ever done as an entertainer.  His television shows during my childhood were blueprints for good family values, and a welcome alternative to the Black television families we'd been given up to that point.  As I got older, I discovered his life before the Cosby Show and A Different World, and fell in love all over again.  To this day, Uptown Saturday Night and Let's Do It Again are two of my all-time favorite movies.  And I regard Cosby's comedic special Himself as one of the greatest stand-up routines of all time.  Most would have to agree his art is undeniable, not to mention the philanthropy it has funded for countless black and brown children all across this country in one form or another.  But regardless of the art, allegations are now challenging the artist.

The world is such a complex place now.  Knowing the truth about anything can seem almost impossible, and that has definitely proven to be the case with rape allegations against Bill Cosby.  I've heard many sides to it, and personally haven't come to any conclusions.  On one hand, how can so many individuals allege the same horrible things about someone and there not be some truth to it?  On the other hand, there are some undeniable factors that point to a possible coordinated, pre-conceived smear campaign against Mr. Cosby.  And given this nation's track record, you'd be a bit naive to think something like this could not be orchestrated in today's time.  But I'm not concerned with proving Mr. Cosby's innocence of guilt.  I'm torn about how I should feel about his work.

Shows are being cancelled, endowments refused, syndications halted, and it seems that anything Cosby is now taboo.  Should I feel the same way?  Should I discard my Cosby Show DVD's, burn my standup VHS tapes?  Should my memories of those magical moments, and their relations to my own past life, now hold some bittersweet tinge?  What do I do with the melody of Aretha Franklin singing the Different World theme song?  How do I keep from smiling when remembering Rudy singing Ray Charles' "Nightime" on the Cosby home's stairwell?  The nerd actually getting the girl, ala Whitly and Dewayne at Hillman... entrepreneurship lessons learned from Cosby having a private practice in the lower level of his home... falling out laughing at Cosby as Billy Foster threatening George Foreman with a "left foot in yo navel..."  dealing with an unconventional family, via Denise and Olivia.... Theo's designer shirt woes and a love of Gordon Gartrelle... learning the real origins of the name "Biggie Smalls..." and on and on and on.  

Theo HuxtableTheo Huxtable (Malcom Jamal Warner) in a knock-off "Gordon Gartrell" shirt his sister made for him.

"A Shirt Story" Season 1 of the Cosby Show Denise and Olivia

We have always had this love-hate relationship with our artists, particularly ones that were pioneers or attained a level of celebrity.  And it's completely understandable, not just on a human nature level, but also as it  relates to the Black experience.  A great deal of our ascension from second-class citizens under segregation (and pure racism) was fueled by those whose art was undeniable.  They became our representatives and our vestiges of hope for normalcy in this society.  To find them unworthy of the pedestal, or fatally flawed is a serious blow to us as a people.  And I don't know that we have found a way to properly deal with the human sides to the accomplishments of our artists, or even our leaders.  I'm unsure as to what standards we have unknowingly set for the generations to come, and where the change will need to begin.  Bill Cosby (alleged or not) isn't the first, and will not be the last.  Abernathy made clear the weaknesses of our beloved Dr. King.  The horrific domestic abuse of Tina Turner at the hands of her husband have been reduced to punchlines in our culture ( "You tryna help Ike?" and "Eat the cake, Anna Mae!!")  Huey P's duality as both political leader and street thug are legendary.  James Brown is still the Godfather of Soul, even though he was a known abuser of women and maintained his staff with mob violence (even his most famous musician, Maceo Parker had to defend his life).  I won't even get into the levels of hell my beloved Hip Hop has fallen to.

I would love to hear from other artists out there?  What do you feel should be the relation of your personal life to your work as an artist?  Should your art be allowed to stand strong on it's own merits and complexities, even if you fall in your personal life?  Is it even possible for your art to not reflect who you are?

We lost another beautiful dreamer this year, one that I hadn't known much about before now. By her own account, Ophelia DeVore-Mitchell was an ordinary black girl from the fields of South Carolina whose extraordinary looks set her on a path she would have never dreamed of.  But by the time she reached her teenage years, Ophelia had a very real dream in mind.  A dream that was encouraged by others and that she would end up pursuing the rest of her life.

Ophelia DeVore-MitchellEarly modeling headshot of Ophelia DeVore-Mitchell. Ophelia DeVore-MitchellEarly modeling headshots of Ophelia DeVore-Mitchell.

Ophelia DeVore-Mitchell was the first black graduate of the Vogue modeling school and, let her tell it, it all came about unbeknownst to her.  But the racism of the modeling world and the negative imagery used to depict Black people in everyday society was something that became all to real to her while close to finishing her schooling at Vogue.  One morning a hispanic girl came into the Vogue school to apply, and caused quit a stir.  it was understood that black and brown girls were not welcome there, but this young Mexican girl either did not know or did not care.  There was a huge ruckus amongst the students and administration that Ophelia couldn't quite understand, but later put together in her own mind.  She would later state the she was just a sheltered, naive girl from the Carolinas that didn't understand why everyone was so upset.  She didn't understand that her fair complexion and european features had allowed her to enter Vogue without question, and that Vogue would never have knowingly allowed her to study there.  Ophelia's dream of modeling had inadvertently broken a barrier to her people that would change the course of modeling forever.

Ophelia DeVore-Mitchell and pupilOphelia DeVore-Mitchell with one of her pupils from the Grace Del Marco Agency. Students of the Grace Del Marco Agency Students of the Grace Del Marco Agency in ParisOphelia DeVore-Mitchell and several of her successful students from the Grace Del Marco Agency during a business trip to Paris, France, fashion capital of the world.

Ophelia understood the power of imagery.  She dedicated the rest of her life to the mission of promoting positive images of her people in fashion, advertising, and every other form of media she could touch.  She did this initially through her own modeling career, then through her creation of the Grace Del Marco Agency, which became her vehicle for preparing black and brown girls for the world of modeling.  Her efforts would ultimately create a market for non-white models in the U.S. that had previously only existed in European cities, and she continually used her fame and social status to infiltrate every layer of American society.  She embodied her dream, and paved the way for the thousands of women that would follow.

Her papers were officially donated to the MARBL of Emory University, and available right here in Atlanta.

On this New Year's day, I reflect on the life and work of Ophelia DeVore-Mitchell, and how it may impact the things I do in the coming year.  

And I ask you: SO, WHAT'S THE DREAM?

Merry Christmas from the MobleysThe Mobley's 2014 Christmas card.

From my family to yours, wishes of a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

P.S. May your days be merry and bright....

Red Foxx SantaRed Foxx dressed as Santa Claus for the December 27th, 1973 cover of Jet Magazine.

Here's to Black Santas, Christmas carols, and chestnut-roasting.  Happy Christmas Eve!

Hemeroscopium HouseHemeroscopium House, Madrid Spain Church of LightChurch of Light, Ibaraki, Japan, 1989 Concrete PodConcrete Pod, Nagoya,Japan Das ParkhotelDas Parkhotel, Ottensheim, Austria Sun Moon Lake Visitor CenterSun Moon lake Visitor Center, Yuchih Township, Taiwan

Britain in the Sixties: The Other EnglandVintage 1963 Postcard advertising a Penguin series book by Geoffrey Moorehouse. Mailed to me by CamilleReads

My first experience with the internet was through a disk I requested out of the back of a Popular Science magazine.  A pre-teen equipped with the latest 486 Hewlett Packard (thanks Mommie!), I plugged in my phone line, popped in the 3.5 diskette and entered the world of NewYorkOnline.  Almost immediately I was offered the ability to chat with real-life people in New York, and that very minute my first online connection was made – a chocolate cutie from the Bronx.  I say all that to say “Social Media” is far from new, but the opportunities for real connections have never been more abundant.

That lengthy, jumbled collection of thoughts in the first few paragraphs was really just a segway to this: I got a dope postcard in the mail yesterday!  A random offer by an Instagram connection I have, resulted in a real, physical piece of correspondence.  It’s not that serious, I know… but it’s very powerful to me.  How often does anything “real” come from our activities online?  How often can you actually touch something that hands many miles away have touched?  Read thoughts someone actually wrote with ink and pen… in their handwriting and not some pre-selected font on a screen.  I won’t drag this thought out too much, but I will end with this:  SEND ME A POSTCARD.

I’m going to start collecting them, and swapping them, and sending them, and creating them, and sharing them online.  A little creative spark was made with this idea, and I love the idea of connecting with people in a tangible, old school way every now and then.  So I welcome anyone interested to take on this adventure with me.  Send me a vintage, quirky, funny, historical, handmade, home-printed, any kind of POSTCARD, and I’ll send you one back.

I'm not sure what this will become, but I'm excited anyway.

Jerrold Mobley

P.O. Box 43222

Atlanta, Georgia 30336

NOTE: So the dope postcard I received was from this super-cool Librarian name Camille, and it's a vintage 1963 ad for a old Penguin series book called "Britain in the Sixties: The Other England" by Geoffrey Moorehouse.  It's a duotone image with layout by a well-known British graphic artist names Richard Hollis, who's actually still alive and producing great work.

Quvenzhané WallisQuvenzhané Wallis photographed by Rene and Radka for the New York Time Style Magazine Holiday issue 2014. Quvenzhané Wallis by Rene and RadkaQuvenzhané Wallis photographed by Rene and Radka for the New York Time Style Magazine Holiday issue 2014. Quvenzhané Wallis Cover for Time Styles MagQuvenzhané Wallis photographed by Rene and Radka for the New York Time Style Magazine Holiday issue 2014.

Mr. and Mrs. Albert Thornton, Mobile, Alabama1956 Archival pigment print, Ed. of 7
34 x 34 inches
40 3/4 x 39 3/4 inches (framed)

UntitledUntitled, Mobile, Alabama, 1956 (GPAR 0013)
Archival pigment print, Ed. of 7
34 x 34 inches
40 3/4 x 39 3/4 inches (framed)

I visited the High Museum this past weekend to view a special exhibition of work by famed photographer, Gordon Parks.  The focus of this exhibit is a series of believed-to-be-lost images from very early work of his.  If you didn't know, Parks began as a photographer for Life magazine.  In fact, he was the first and only black photographer Life employed at the time, which was a very big deal considering it was a publication reaching millions of readers across America and Europe every week.

The High exhibit showcases prints from an assignment Parks was given during his Life magazine days.  His mission: to document segregation in the south.  Not only was this a dangerous mission (after all, being a Life photographer didn't make him immune to segregation and racism), but it was also one that hit very close to home, and weighed heavily on as the project went on.

UntitledUntitled, Mobile, Alabama, 1956 (GPAR 0008)
Archival pigment print, Ed. of 7
34 x 34 inches
40 3/4 x 39 3/4 inches (framed) Mother and ChildrenGordon Parks
Mother and Children, Mobile, Alabama, 1956
Archival pigment print, Ed. of 10
28 x 28 inches
34 1/4 x 33 1/3 inches (framed)

The exhibit will be on display through June 7, 2015.  If you are a Bank of American customer, you can attend the High for free every first Saturday of the month through their Museum On Us initiative.  Residents of Fulton County can also attend the High at no cost every first weekend of the month by simply showing your Drivers License or Georgia ID.

http://www.high.org/Art/Exhibitions/Gordon-Parks-Segregation-Story.aspx

As a photographer currently seeking to dive deeper into the medium, it was interesting to learn that the High Museum has the largest collection of photographs in the Southeast, and thus is considered to be one of the most robust programs in the country.  The High has been collecting photographic art since the early 1970's, back before photographs were truly concerned "art" by mainstream curators and collectors.  I think a new goal has just been set in my spirit: to one day see some of my work hanging in it's galleries. :)

GLA Workshop for ArtistsMeredith Ragains, Executive Director of Georgia Lawyers for the Arts, will explain the basics of copyrights and trademarks - how they differ, how they’re used, and how they affect artists. The seminar is useful for artists of all disciplines, and is free and open to the public.

Fulton County Arts & Culture

Southwest Arts Center and Georgia Lawyers for the Arts present

COPYRIGHTS & TRADEMARKS FOR ARTISTS

Protecting Your Intellectual Property

Saturday, December 6, 12:00 - 1:30 pm

Southwest Arts Center
915 New Hope Road
Atlanta GA, 30331

Visual Arts Classroom 2

Meredith Ragains, Executive Director of Georgia Lawyers for the Arts, will explain the basics of copyrights and trademarks - how they differ, how they’re used, and how they affect artists.  The seminar is useful for artists of all disciplines, and is FREE and open to the public.  For more information, please call 404-613-3220.

Buck and SmallsJoan Smalls and 'lil Buck photographed by Daniel Jackson for the WSJ magazine. November 2014

To all my dreamers and creatives and aspiring whatevers, find a copy of the November Wall Street Journal Magazine and read it cover to cover.  This aptly dubbed "Innovator Awards" issue is full of beauty and inspiration.  Highlights include a photo spread of 'lil Buck and the incomparable Joan Smalls in a dance/pose off, an interview with the amazing Kara Walker, sit-downs with Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine and their educational venture, and the complete story of the rise of the "Cronut."

Joan Smalls and 'lil Buck photographed by Daniel Jackson for the WSJ magazine. 

André 3000 Promotional AdAd for upcoming André art exhibit at Art Basel 2014 in Miami, FL.

The one and only André Benajamin (aka André 3000 aka Possum Aloysius Jenkins A.k.a. Dookie Blossum Gain the 3rd) will be exhibiting at Art Basel next week, in a joint project with two other artists and the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). The exhibit is entitled "i feel ya" and opens December 2nd.

Official Press Release:
http://www.scad.edu/about/news-press-and-recognition/2014-11-18-i-feel-ya-scad-andre-3000-miami

Schedule of Events:
http://www.scad.edu/event/i-feel-ya-scad-andre-3000-miami#tab_events

Dre speaks with Paul Wallace, President and Founder of SCAD:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUtdr4M5NFc

March from Selma to MontgomeryImage of the 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery Alabama, a peaceful protest in regards to the voting righs of Black people in America.

There couldn't be a more poignant time for such visuals as this very morning. As we suffer the aftermath and stand in the wake of events that will change us all forever, remember the moments that afforded us these freedoms in the first place.

REMEMBER... REFLECT... LEARN... then ACT.

Selma (the movie) Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPgs2zshD9Y

Selma (the movie) Webpage
http://www.selmamovie.com/

Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail
http://www.nps.gov/semo/index.htm

Selma to Montgomery (synopsis by National Geographic)
http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/news/selma-montgomery-marches-and-1965-voting-rights-act/?ar_a=1

Official website for 50th Anniversary of Selma to Montgomery March (happening in 2015)
http://dreammarcheson.com

Of the many famous and fashionable people Carl Van Vechten photographed, his session with Billie Holiday was among the most memorable. “I spent only one night photographing Billie Holiday,” he wrote, “but it was the whole of one night and it seemed like a whole career.”The session began badly. Gerry Major had arranged the meeting, and had asked Holiday to wear a gown for the sitting. Holiday, however, arrived “at the appointed hour in a plain gray suit and facial expression equally depressing."

In spite of his disappointment, Van Vechten began photographing Holiday. It wasn’t going well and he was considering giving up when he thought to show Holiday his photographs of Bessie Smith. The photographs brought Holiday to tears; she explained that Smith had been an inspiration to her in the early days of her career. Their discussion of Smith softened the mood, and Holiday agreed to wearing a drape fashioned to look like an evening dress instead of her suit for some of the photographs.

At midnight, Holiday announced that she had to go home; she promised to come back shortly. Van Vechten, afraid she might go in search of drugs, sent his assistant Saul Mauriber to Harlem with her to insure her return. Holiday and Mauriber reappeared with Mister, Holiday’s boxer. She was in a different mood entirely, more lively and relaxed. Van Vechten continued to photograph her for some time.

Afterward, “she related in great detail the sad, bittersweet story of her tempestuous life.” Van Vechten’s wife Fania soon joined the group, and “in a short time Fania, like the rest of us, was in tears, and suddenly, also like the rest of us, found herself attached to Billie as if she had known her intimately for years.” Holiday didn’t leave the apartment until shortly before dawn. “We never saw her again,” Van Vechten wrote, “but not one of us will ever forget her.” Billie HolidayBillie Holiday photographed by Carl Van Vechten, March 23, 1949.

Screenshot of Robert Fontaine Gallery websiteScreenshot of a represented artist, Ashley Oubre, from the Robert Fontaine Gallery website. Oubre will be the focus of a solo exhibit from Jan 10th-31st

Study IIAshley Oubré
Study II
Graphite, carbon, india ink on paper
13x17
(2013)

If you happen to be in Miami in the coming year, her exhibit of new works will be on display through January 31, 2015.

Maya Angelou interview by the Paris ReviewScreenshot of candids taken during a 1988 interview with George Plimpton and Maya Angelou for the Paris Review.

A made-up bed, a bottle of Sherry, a dictionary, a Roget's Thesaurus, yellow pads, an ashtray, and a Bible. This random, somewhat odd collection of items are things the late Maya Angelou required when entering the writing process.  This wonderful bit of insight about her begins an hour-long interview she gave to the Paris Review back in the Winter of 1988.  This exchange is a really wonderful piece of history, particularly if you a writer - aspiring or otherwise.

The Paris Review and the 92Y Unterberg Poetry Center are making live backtapes of interviews used to create their print pieces available to the public online.  It's a wonderful resource... I hope you check it out!

Su Wu's Wall of Objects

This curated shelf in the home of writer Su Wu peaked my interest. It's random arrangement of pieces is anything but random the longer you look.  Geometric shapes and patterns placed at interesting angles, making some objects seem flat while other float in 3 dimensions. The organic color tones of the objects against the cold of the metal shelf and emptiness of the white wall only magnify the effect.

Vintage Wood and plaster airplane part molds, various ceramics, and plant life photographed by Michael Muller for "SightUnseen 9/23/14.