Up from the Deep (The Hotel Project)

Julie Michelle, self-portrait

The vivacious and multi-talented Julie Michelle recently interviewed me for the excellent photo website Caliber. If you’re interested in photography and San Francisco, Caliber should be on your list of regularly visited websites.

Roman Cesario has been doing some fine work in the central city and past shows at his gallery (corner of Sixth and Howard) have been worthy of note. I have seven pieces in this show including some new cityscapes, all of them previously unexhibited and all most definitely for sale! I hope to see you at the opening–it should be a lot of fun!

Mark

“Uptown, Downtown”

While Up from the Deep is mostly about the architecture and history of San Francisco’s inner city, it is also a personal document of inner transformation and discovery. Those who wish to have a full understanding of this project’s genesis and evolution will find enlightenment in the preface and introduction.

“A View from Room #10″

I recently wrote a brief article for San Francisco Architectural Heritage that exposes some of the deeper roots of my love for the past. While Up from the Deep was begun several years ago in a Sixth Street hotel room, the seeds for this project were planted in my childhood.

My sincere thanks to all who attended my talk and slideshow at SF Architectural Heritage on 16 July. Every seat in the ballroom was taken and I couldn’t have asked for a warmer, more attentive and responsive audience. Special thanks to fellow photographer and lover of all things San Francisco, Mike Humbert, for snapping this picture of me during my talk.

On 16 July 2009 at 6:00 pm, I’ll be kicking off the 2009 Lecture Series for San Francisco Architectural Heritage with “Exploring the Architecture of San Francisco’s Central City,” in the ballroom of the Haas-Lilienthal House at 2007 Franklin Street in San Francisco.

“Incandescent”

For more information, please click on the above Lecture Series link. I hope to see you there!

I have found that, as a rule, people rarely look upward past eye level. They are most often surprised when their attention is directed above to something they have passed by without seeing, perhaps for years. One friend of mine had lived for a long time in a Central Towers apartment, across Turk Street from the old YMCA Hotel (now the Oasis Apartments). When he first saw one of my photographs of the Oasis, he asked me where the building was located. He was shocked to learn it was the same building he had seen from his window all those years, for he hadn’t noticed what was right before his eyes. He has since told me that now, when out and about, he often looks upward and has discovered many beautiful and pleasing aspects of his city that he had never before appreciated, which delights me no end. Cast your gaze aloft every now and then, just to see what is there . . . you might be surprised.

Photo by Theo Rigby

Just about the time I began photographing the architecture of San Francisco’s inner city, Serge Echeverria came into my life, offering not only his friendship, but also both encouragement and critical assessment of my work. To him, Up from the Deep is dedicated.

(See also “Temple of the Heart’s Imagination” in Part Four: Encounters & Stories.)

Do you have a story about the Black Hawk?

If you remember the Black Hawk nightclub and have a personal story you would like to share, I would love to hear from you. I am putting together a history of the club based on the personal experiences of both patrons and performers for inclusion in the Tenderloin Museum and with an eye toward eventual publication.

Be a part of this historic endeavor and send your story to truth_tl@yahoo.com.