 “Excess”
Why does a life of excess, or even fleeting moments of indulgence, fail to satiate our desires and make us happy? Why can’t we seem to reach a lasting state of fulfillment? Simplicity, at its heart, comes down to eliminating the excess in our lives. Excess needs, wants, possessions. “Excess” takes the journey into our state of deferred living, assuming what we have now is not enough. Always wanting more. What are our barriers to a path of less?
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 Picking up a new direction from Iolabs of Providence, RI with the Ireland series. "Maude's House" is a gorgeous archival pigment print custom "floated" in a frame designed and built by Iolabs of Providence, RI. Stay tuned for its debut in 2018-19 gallery season!
Thank you Boston Voyager Magazine for the interview and article! bostonvoyager.com/interview/meet-david-lee-black/   Since childhood, I have been blessed to be surrounded by strong capable women. Perhaps they did not feel like they were so strong at the time but they were. My bandmate Amy had asked me to photograph her daughter Stella and I jumped at the chance. Amy is a strong and capable woman who seeks her own path and in doing so, marches to the beat of a different drummer. Single parenting is never easy I know but she makes it appear graceful and deliberate. I am proud to know her and Stella is blessed to call her Mother.
 “To be sure, I had, and have, spent the better part of my post-college life growing up in the public eye, with my shameful warts, big and ugly, looming there for the world to see; and it has been a mighty battle trying to be a man, a Black man, a human being, a responsible and consistent human being, as I have interfaced with my past and with my personal demons, with friends and lovers, with enemies and haters. As Tupac Shakur once famously said to me, “There is no placed called careful.” On the one hand, Tupac was right: There is not much room for error in America if you are a Black male in a society ostensibly bent on profiling your every move, eager to capitalize on your falling into this or that trap, particularly keen to swoop down on your self-inflicted mishaps. But by the same token, Tupac was wrong: There can be a place called careful, once one becomes aware of the world one lives in, its potential, its limitations, and if one is willing to struggle to create a new model, some new and alternative space outside and away from the larger universe, where one can be free enough to comprehend that even if the world seems aligned against you, you do not have to give the world the rope to hang you with.”
~Kevin Powell  As a kid, my mother and grandmother used to drag me along to their "beauty shop" appointments. I could bring along a toy or a good book to occupy my time. The scientific smells, cacophonous sounds and waggish visuals of the community of women still resonate with me.
 “You expected to be sad in the fall. Part of you dies each year when the leaves fell from the trees and their branches were bare against the wind and the cold, wintry light. But you knew there would always be the spring, as you knew the river would flow again after it was frozen. When the cold rains kept on and killed the spring, it was as though a young person had died for no reason.”
~Ernest Hemingway  When words become unclear, I use photography. The more it reveals, the less I know.
"If we listened to our intellect we’d never have a love affair. We’d never have a friendship. We’d never go in business because we’d be cynical: ‘It’s gonna go wrong.’ Or ‘She’s going to hurt me.’ Or, ‘I’ve had a couple of bad love affairs, so therefore …’ Well, that’s nonsense. You’re going to miss life. You’ve got to jump off the cliff all the time and build your wings on the way down." ~Ray Bradbury  Always nice to see this wonderful couple, Don and Jana Jagoe who are such advocates and supporters of the arts at the IMC Nuit Blanche Summer Gala Party at Bellevue House, Newport, RI.  |
December 2023
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