Words, like images, have a visual presence, an aura. They are a
consistent integral extension of every art exhibition whatever its
primary medium may be; words are a constant in any exhibition,
in any endeavor.
In exhibiting my own photographic work, The Transformation
Series, as part of my broad collection of other photographers'
work, I have purposely meshed the world of static photography
with that of digital kinetic photography, in an adjunct work
brilliantly executed by Asher Young. This remarkable visual
collaboration has culminated in an equally remarkable synthesis.
But I also invited two other writers, HYLAND editor and director
Kyle Marshall and HYLAND writer Lisa Zeiger, to write essays for
the installation of my Transformation Series of photographs and
Asher Young's auratic work. These texts, in turn, serve, not so
much as commentary as integral strands of the art installation.
Sotheby's, a few years ago, held an auction of the papers of
Martin Luther King. There, at the preview, were quotations from
him emblazoned upon the walls. Beholding them and reading
them gave me the same awe I experience when I apprehend a
great work of art. His most famous words, "I have a dream," are
iconic in their simplicity and force; they have come to signify the
dreams of all of us, even of those too young to know of him as
a contemporary figure.
I recently spoke with Congressman John Lewis of Georgia,
the last organizer of the 1963 March still with us. Fittingly, he
was in New York to launch March: Book One, his memoir in the
form of a graphic novel, this volume inspired by his participation
in the Civil Rights Movement. This illustrated work hearkens
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