Author: postcardsfromsanantonio

Postcards from Amsterdam, Netherlands: ‘Stories that Matter’ told by the brave

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Above: Names of journalists and photographers killed in the line of duty memorialized at the opening exhibition of the World Press Photo 2024 Awards in the Nieuwe Kerk Amsterdam

In the two decades since 2003, at least 1,668 journalists have lost their lives while trying to shed light on issues of importance to us all, according to Reporters without Borders. In 2023, another 45 names were added to that list. The list prominently displayed in Amsterdam’s New Cathedral for the opening of the World Press Photo 2024 Awards must have hit the photographers hard – names of coworkers and friends they have made while covering stories in danger zones throughout the world.

The Nieuwe Kerk is hardly “new,” having been consecrated in 1409. While the “Royal Church” is still used for royal weddings and coronations, it also serves as a venue for important exhibitions, such as this one. With its soaring vaulted ceiling, floors embedded with tombs and cherubs overlooking all, the dramatic setting emphasized the seriousness of the meaningful topics delved into by the award-winning photographers.

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Postcard from Istanbul, Turkey: A far from innocent obsession

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Above: Detail of 4,213 cigarette butts collected and dated for exhibition in the Museum of Innocence

When those visiting my museum note that beneath where each of the 4,213 cigarette butts is carefully pinned, I have indicated the date of its retrieval. I hope they will not grow impatient, thinking I am crowding the display cases with distracting trivia: Each cigarette butt in its own unique way records Fusun’s deepest emotions at the moment she stubbed it out.”

Kemal, the main character and the narrator of Museum of Innocence by Orhan Pamuk

Nothing I could possibly dream up could convey obsession with such immediate clarity.

The top quotation from Kemal’s thoughts in Orhan Pamuk’s 2009 novel, Museum of Innocence, does not appear until Chapter 68 of the 83-chapter book. The entire chapter is devoted to these fetish souvenirs of unobtainable love.

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Postcard from Marseille, France: Vigilante ‘Street Doctor’ flacks cracks

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Above: Mosaic sidewalk patch by Ememem in Marseille

I’m just a sidewalk poet…. My work is the story of the city, where cobblestones have been displaced.”

Street artist Ememem, interviewed by Arnesia Young for My Modern Met

This mosaic underfoot in Marseille caught my attention, with no expectation of future encounters. Then we started bumping into similar tileworks in Lyon, where they transform annoying potholes, sidewalk trip-zones and missing chunks from buildings clipped by careless drivers into works of art.

As it turns out, the artist, who refers to himself as Ememem, is a native of Lyon. Ememem terms his work “flacking.” Flaque means puddle in French, but, instead of puddling, his hole-plugging repairs assume the role of a puddle-displacement public service.

Continue reading “Postcard from Marseille, France: Vigilante ‘Street Doctor’ flacks cracks” →