Picture of the Week #18 "Checking Details in the Hong Kong Museum"

Picture of the Week #18 "Checking Details in the Hong Kong Museum" Hong Kong, China 2006 I was in Hong Kong to attend the sale of one my Chinese paintings at the Christies auction. When not hyping the sale I was checking out what the local artists were up to. I came in to this room at the Museum that was completed covered with what I thought was a simple geometric pattern. Upon closer inspection I was to see that they were words written in circles. But, not just words but vulgar expressions and curse words. "Coc*#@cker and Mot@e^fu*@+r" were integrated into the pattern. I know something about art but for the life of me I don't understand why crass vulgarity is used when it is not to shock or to relate a story but to be a part of a decorative pattern. This couple were obviously mesmerized by reading what the artist had to say. I wasn't. After a brief perusal I was off. 

Picture of the Week #17 "Alone in Leningrad"

Picture of the Week #17 "Alone in Leningrad" Leningrad / St. Petersburg, Russia 1988 In February 1988 I attended the first Soviet - American film interchange in over 40 years. I was there with a celebrity contingent and was to show my films for the first time in Russia. We were escorted around and taken to all of the wonderful sights including the remarkable Hermitage. This picture clearly shows the stark reality of Russia in the winter. This was right after Gorbachev opened things up for Americans traveling to the Soviet Union. 

Picture of the Week #16 "Somebody's Baby"

Picture of the Week #16 "Somebody's Baby" Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York 2006  In 2006 I was invited to show my movie "Boardwalk" that starred Ruth Gordon, Lee Strasberg and Janet Leigh at the Coney Island Film Festival. This was the first time the film had been shown since it was first released back in 1979. Since I acquired all rights back along with my original investor, we were hoping for a distributor to see it and to pick it up for DVD and Cable release. That didn't happen, but the screening was a gigantic success. I received a 5 minute standing ovation and the audience stayed to ask me questions for the next 45 minutes. It was a wonderful feather in my film cap and validated my love for this film. The girl pictured was the first person you saw when you went inside the former Freak Show theater. An extraordinary venue for such a classical film. 

Picture of the Week #15 "Holymen of Kathmandu"

Picture of the Week # 15 "Holymen of Kathmandu" Kathmandu, Nepal 2000 As I said in a previous blog, Kathmandu is a photographer's dream. It is colorful, exotic, and exciting. Holy Men sit on almost every corner willing to pray for you for the right amount of coins dropped in their hands. This particular corner seemed to be inundated with Holy Men. Whether it was a tourist destination or not, they willingly posed.  These images became the basis for my highly praised gallery show titled "Holy Men Medicine Men Mad Men" back in 2003 where I compared the lack of expression in their eyes. They all seemed vacant, whether holy, spiritual, or mad.  

Picture of the Week #14 " Smoking in Marrakesh"

Picture of the Week #14 - March 2, 2009 - "Smoking in Marrakesh" Marrakesh, Morocco 1986. This was my third trip to Morocco. Each time I swore I wasn't going back. But this time I was invited by the Moroccan Film Society to view their new studio and to see parts of Morocco that I hadn't seen before. I traveled with other film producers such as Rennie Harlan, Fraser Heston (Charlton's son) Bill Panzer and Marcus Selin. We had a ball. I became the unofficial photographer of the journey. As far as I know none of us ever made a film in Morocco, but the memories will always be with us.

Picture of the Week #13 "A Window in Loro Ciuffena"

Picture of the Week #13 - February 23, 2009 - "A Window in Loro Ciuffena" Loro Ciuffena, Italy 2000. I spent the summer of 2000 traveling about France and Italy. I rented this charming farmhouse in Loro Ciuffena in the heart of Tuscany for a month. I remember that you had to drive off the paved road onto a dirt road and off of the dirt road and drive through a vineyard. The vines brushed your car on both sides, that was how narrow the path was. The house and the vineyards were owned by a wonderful old man named Bruno, who as it happened was an artist. An artist who never exhibited. He only painted for himself and his family. The home was filled with his work. Nothing exceptional, but done with great love and a primitive approach that evoked a spiritual quality to each image. Every day he would leave me a bottle of red and white wine from his vineyard. He never charged me as he was proud to have an American drink his wine. I loved living in Loro Ciuffena even if I couldn't speak the language and at the time most restaurants did not accept credit cards. And this was before the internet. It was like going back in time. This image of the bedroom window brings back those wonderful memories. There is a mystical quality to the picture and the painting that hangs next to the window in Loro Ciuffena. 

Picture of the week #12 "Flamenco Shadow"

Picture of the Week #12 - February 16, 2009 - " Flamenco Shadow" Madrid, Spain 1987  I have always been attracted to Flamenco music and Bull Fighting. I look and listen to the Flamenco as I do the Tango, it is not just a dance it is a rite. It is a national pastime.