Allow me to introduce "Richie Mo" to the blog. I met Rich Modjeski in 1967 in Sister Mildred Eileen's Second Grade Class at Most Holy Redeemer Grammar School in Evergreen Park, Il. Modjeski, a known crayon eater, would get a trimming from the sisters when he was found with wax on his teeth. But, like a junior "Cool Hand Luke" you couldn't keep him down, he would be right back... leaning back on his seat.... head in the clouds...savoring a beloved Binney & Smith.....only to suffer again, Sister Mildred Eileen's flying fists of fury.
They never broke him.....You gotta like a spirit like that.
My life would intersect with Rich's many times over the following decades and a camera was always nearby. Rich's father built a darkroom in the basement of their house and Rich and I tried to teach ourselves how to use it. Our early attempts at making pictures did not go so well, it wasn't until we learned more about the camera and basic photographic skills that we produced anything worth keeping.
Over the years I have assembled a large quantity of work featuring my old friend...you shoot what is at hand, and Rich was always at hand. As I look back over this quantity of work I realize that "it stands up". The images taken across the years, through the ups and downs, have a lot of power. Rich was and remains a great photographer and a photographic subject...he is as unique as they come. I have thought that one day my "Richie Mo" collection might make a good photographic book.
Over the next couple of weeks I intend to post selected images from this series. They will appear out of context and outside of any chronological order. I will attach a couple of captions to each one. Many of these images have appeared in public display and I have been fortunate to get a lot of feedback on them. That being said; if you have an impression, please do not hesitate to share it with me.
"It Came Out of the Desert" was created for an early digital manipulation class I took at the SAIC in Chicago in 2002. To make this image I used elements of Rich and his goalie mask, a picture I made of Monument Valley, UT, and the Presidential Marine helicopters as they were landing at the White House.
I have chosen to post this photograph as a way of introducing a re-occuring series to the blog.
A comment from my friend Heidi Zersen caused me to revisit these images recently...Thanks, Heidi
2006/04/06
"It Came Out of the Desert" 2002
Allow me to introduce "Richie Mo" to the blog. I met Rich Modjeski in 1967 in Sister Mildred Eileen's Second Grade Class at Most Holy Redeemer Grammar School in Evergreen Park, Il. Modjeski, a known crayon eater, would get a trimming from the sisters when he was found with wax on his teeth. But, like a junior "Cool Hand Luke" you couldn't keep him down, he would be right back... leaning back on his seat.... head in the clouds...savoring a beloved Binney & Smith.....only to suffer again, Sister Mildred Eileen's flying fists of fury.
They never broke him.....You gotta like a spirit like that.
My life would intersect with Rich's many times over the following decades and a camera was always nearby. Rich's father built a darkroom in the basement of their house and Rich and I tried to teach ourselves how to use it. Our early attempts at making pictures did not go so well, it wasn't until we learned more about the camera and basic photographic skills that we produced anything worth keeping.
Over the years I have assembled a large quantity of work featuring my old friend...you shoot what is at hand, and Rich was always at hand. As I look back over this quantity of work I realize that "it stands up". The images taken across the years, through the ups and downs, have a lot of power. Rich was and remains a great photographer and a photographic subject...he is as unique as they come. I have thought that one day my "Richie Mo" collection might make a good photographic book.
Over the next couple of weeks I intend to post selected images from this series. They will appear out of context and outside of any chronological order. I will attach a couple of captions to each one. Many of these images have appeared in public display and I have been fortunate to get a lot of feedback on them. That being said; if you have an impression, please do not hesitate to share it with me.
"It Came Out of the Desert" was created for an early digital manipulation class I took at the SAIC in Chicago in 2002. To make this image I used elements of Rich and his goalie mask, a picture I made of Monument Valley, UT, and the Presidential Marine helicopters as they were landing at the White House.
I have chosen to post this photograph as a way of introducing a re-occuring series to the blog.
A comment from my friend Heidi Zersen caused me to revisit these images recently...Thanks, Heidi
