Friday night, 17 January 2014, Troy Holden’s “Neighbors” opened at the Lower Branch Gallery on Eddy Street. If you’re looking for sentimental or sensationalist images, go somewhere else. Shot entirely in the central city area, the large-format color prints in “Neighbors” are compassionate, unflinching portraits of people in their personal environments. Given that the central city is the neighborhood people love to hate, this show is bound to be an eye-opener for many, revealing directly and undeniably just how much each of us has in common. Do yourself a favor and see this show at 233 Eddy before it closes.
I love what you are doing, so much for me to learn from. In London story telling for a neighbourhood is on the increase too. Spitalifieldslife.com is amazing for east London. I focus just on Islington in north London – but how I wish i could photograph well. Great job and thanks I know your city differently now. Nicola http://islingtonfacesblog.com
I like your Islington Faces blog, Nicola. It brings to mind a similar storytelling blog by an acquaintance of mine, I Live Here: SF. Also, I see no reason for you to be so disparaging of your photography. i like your portraits. Keep at it. And thanks very much for letting me know that you enjoy my own work.
Thanks toby marx! Nicola
Mark,
I came across your website a few months ago and immediately recognized it as something remarkable, but life with an 8 year old and a full-time job can divert one’s attention for awhile. Today got the chance to read through the Tenderloin and Sixth Street sections, as well as your personal story, It was well worth the time. You have a natural gift for narrative and an artist’s touch with a camera. Your photographs put me back on familiar ground within the realm of memory. I lived in Oakland for nearly five years, then moved over to SF for a couple of years. Over that period of time, when I wasn’t working, I liked nothing better than to walk around aimlessly, taking it all in. I used to enjoy the spectral fog seeping eastward through the Tenderloin: even now I can see it veiling the magenta neon of the HaRa bar on Geary Street in the early winter darkness. In any event, thank you for compiling so much amazing material on some of my favorite subject matter. Regards to you!
Ah, the good old Ha-Ra! Sad to say, it recently closed its doors forevermore and future plans for the space are at present unknown. Thanks very much for commenting, Chris. Happy to know my work has brought back pleasant memories for you. As to my writing, I’ve actually worked very hard the past few years to develop my skills. That you think I have “a natural gift” tells me my work has not been in vain. Thank you, and best regards to you, too.
By the way, if you like stories about the neighborhood, you may find these enjoyable: “Cultural Imperatives and the Riviera Hotel”, “The Parlor Houses of Jessie Hayman”, “Temple of the Heart’s Imagination”, “This is San Francisco, Too”. There are more to be found here in the blog section, but these are among my personal favorites.