FILMOGRAPHY | SHOWS

Im presently living and working in arizona researching and recording stories of the region. My work examines americana and its icons and myths. I try to get to the root of nostalgia. Nostalgia seems to ward off dispair and alienation. Nostalgia seems dangerous to me. I try to look at what it is covering up. some examples: the working stiff snake oil salesmen the boss enterprising and independant social outcasts the bootstraps concept land of opportunity agrarian nostalgia western nostalgia frontiers regional pride gun culture horse culture drug culture self improvement culture appropriation of exotic spiritual practices (ie New Age / American Indians) current american colonialism patriotism Due to depletion of a myriad of natural resources, regional identities have lost thier core. The images and ideas of say a fishing industry are represented in fishing shacks converted into waterfront condos. The town without fish is still seen as a fishing village. people visit it, buy stuff there and bring it home. the myths of a fishing culture continue via a virtual representation on postcards plaques and fish stick boxes - minus the key element, that being people who practice fishing as a livelyhood. Also left out of the representation is the stink of rotting fish and the premature deaths of young men at sea. A clean empty version of history. within that virtual history there are actual traces of the genuine. I live in Double Adobe-12 miles north of the mexican border in southeast Arizona. its visually beautiful and vast. I am very excited by the stories surrounding me; mexico, the history and death of the copper mining culture, the para military border patrol, the drug smuggling, incredibly self determined desert rats, paranoid republicans and ranchers,vigilantes organizing to "protect our borders" and the flow of desperate and determined mexicans crossing the desert seeking the opportunities that the united states offers. Many of these immigrants come through my yard. I love genuine outcasts. America is full of them. some come from other countries some never leave thier hometowns. Although many become hard and bitter, I like it when they still remain hopeful and determined. Often, bitterness and hope are combined. In general, they appreciate most of what the mainstream overlooks. They have a sense of place and a sense of self. Some are grandiose others are humble.