Craig Shepard and I have begun work on a book of photos and writing from his “On Foot: Brooklyn” project. At the moment there are no deadlines or schedules – we are just gathering the media we have, organizing, scanning, writing, editing, researching, and browsing through bookstores. It’s an exciting time – I’m not sure exactly where we are headed, and that’s a good thing. Right now we can just experiment, play and entertain any ideas that come up.
I’m in the midst of sifting through the thousands and thousands of photos I took on the thirteen Sunday walks, both en route and during the performances. I have photos from all over this large land mass we call home. Brooklyn is 71.82 square miles according to the Census Bureau. Of course we didn’t cover every square mile, but we passed through a good portion of it. I plan to include photos representing the vast diversity of architecture, people, landscapes and ecology that the real-heart-shaped boundary of Kings County (aka Brooklyn) encompasses.
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Craig and I are presenting music and images from his “On Foot: Brooklyn” project as part of “Sound Series ” at Presents Gallery in Ft. Greene, near the Navy Yard.
Presents Gallery
64 Washington Ave. Brooklyn, NY 11216 b/w Flushing Ave. & Park Ave. (by the Navy Yards)
I finished a short experimental video called “Skaters” and am beginning to submit it to festivals and look for places to show it.
Still from “Skaters”
Here is the synopsis:
“Skaters” is an experimental short video drawing on the techniques of stop-motion, animation and collage to build a visual composition from photographs of skaters performing tricks in a Brooklyn park. Starting from the simple idea of combining and overlapping images shot in the same space, O’Brien builds complex rhythms and movement from the sequences of still images. These skaters are not the pros, rarely landing a trick, but the heart of the sport: the kids who roll down to the park on a sunny afternoon. The result is an unmistakable ode to the repetitive and failure-laden process of learning and perfecting any sport, as well as the simple joy in movement, and the beauty of bodies in motion.
“On Foot: Brooklyn”
I am also continuing my documentation of Craig Shepard‘s “On Foot: Brooklyn” project which ends in a week.
I have been photographing each of his Sunday walks and performances (there will be 13 total) and creating videos sequences of still images. Here is an unedited example from one of his performances:
Craig Shepard performing on March 4, 2012, in Canarsie, Brooklyn.
