A Review of Celia Sanchez’ Exhibition, “Saints”

Way back on Cinco de Mayo, we dropped in on SPACE Gallery & Records in Claremont.  I wanted to have a look at Celia Sanchez’ work, “SAINTS”.  And I wanted to say hi to Christina Franco, the gallerist, whom I had not seen since the Pomona days.  Well, we ended up chatting it up for a bit and I basically ran out of time and we had to go.  I did manage to have a look at the Ms. Sanchez’ work and it’s really good.  But I did not have the minutes to meet her.  That I regretted.  Ms. Sanchez is a professional photographer and artist who has had her work featured in a few places.  Check out her website and Instagram to learn more – that’s what I did.  And after going to her website I really regretted not meeting her.  The body of work she presents on her site is incredible.  I was drawn in initially trying to find out more about her project “Saints” but I discovered this very thought provoking project, “Devoted”.  It begins as portraits of #tattooed women.  I won’t spoil it for you as to how it changes along the way.  It is truly great understanding of how we misjudge people every day.  I really enjoyed all of her work though, especially “Abandoned”, as I too work with abandoned structures too.  Ms. Sanchez’ take on the subject is a powerful journey in story telling though – really remarkable work.  I believe “Saints” is still showing at the Space Gallery but don’t know for sure.  But I know Celia Sanchez’ website is fully operational.

Where Do We Go From Here?

Bishop, Boron, Bakersfield, and Barstow – where do we go from here?  Who knows.  What I do know is that we live in some daunting times and unscrupulous people are preying on the fears of the majority of the people.  You can’t live afraid though – that’s not living, that’s just existing.  Truth be told, we have lived through much worse – it just wasn’t up front and personal the way a TV and the Internet are now.  Any arm chair historian can point to many times where the taking of innocent lives was much worse than it is today – here in the USA too.  We have to make the change we want though and that requires involvement.  Being involved will require some effort in educating yourself about truths versus lies.  And it is not a difficult thing to do, just form some questions and go dig for answers.  Here’s a question: there are three things, an alcoholic beverage, a pack of cigarettes, and a box of ammo.  Which one of these things can you buy in California without a driver’s license?  See, you just have to form a question and go search for the answer.  You will start seeing the truth and what needs to be done and you can shut off the rhetoric.  The uninformed can be herded like sheep to go in whatever direction the one herding them wants them to go.  An ignorant populace is a tremendous source of power for those who do know the #truth but don’t want you to know.  Dumb people are easy to scare.  Don’t be afraid, be a source of #knowledge.

If you need help on how to do this, ask me.

Orasi Inc. New Year’s Eve Launch Party

2014 started out in the right way – I picked up a fun event to photograph by way of the network.  That is network as in my network that I am trying to cultivate into to a grand network.  A friend (La Mark) passed my name on to a gentleman that was in need of an additional photographer for his New Year’s Eve event.  Now I have a new friend (Cory) and the network grows.  This event was held at the Indian cuisine restaurant, Chakra, in Beverly Hills.  A really nice place and the party was a whole lot of fun.  And you may notice a familiar face as in another friend of mine (Jeanilee) who I photograph often.  She and another friend were along to assist.  Enjoy.

I am not current on who’s who on the rising talent list in the movie industry – many people who were there might have been one of those rising stars but I would not have known.  I did notice a familiar face but could not place him at the time.  I have since learned that it was Glen Ratcliffe (on the right) who I have seen in a movie before.