Back for more

Yes, I am back...finally.  I am sorry that it has taken me so long to write, but sometimes life get's in the way sometimes, as well as artwork.

However, with that in mind, I am very happy to say that I am getting some new photography done.  Finally, I know.  No, I didn't get a new digital camera or anything like that.  No.  I went through and finally bought some more new 4x5 black and white film and went through started using my large format pinhole camera again.  Yes, it is the same camera that I went through and used for my gallery showing in the UK and earned me that interview with BBC Radio, and started taking a lot of new photographs.  I have spent a lot of money on it yes, but you know what, I missed the darkroom.  I have a sample of the new work below.

In future updates (since I'm running low on time right now) I will relay some of my tales from traveling and art galleries from my home city of Lawrence Kansas, Kansas City Missouri, Mt. Vernon IL and other places that I've ventured to over the past several months, as well as the stores of the road.

©Chris Ortiz Photography 2011

Pinhole in the UK

It is not normally that I will go through and push out my own art work, yet this is one of those times I will.

I am very happy to announce that in a couple of days, I have a show of my photography opening up at the Jersey Arts Centre in St. Helier Jersey.  This is not New Jersey, but Jersey in the UK, in the Channel Isles.  The collection, titled Untitled Pinhole, will open on the 21st of this month and run for two weeks.

If anyone has the ability to go through and check out this collection and report back, that would be amazing.  Some of you might have heard an interview that the BBC Radio did with me back on Jan. 11th, which I had received a lot of good comments on that. 

I have also invited a lot of the top art gallery owners and critics from the UK there to the show, so maybe you'll see something in the paper or in a magazine in regards to the show.

The Death of Art

Okay, this blog is going to be a little different.  This blog is going to be featuring no travel.  I know...it is supposed to be about both art AND travel, and yes I do have a couple of places and galleries I would like to talk about, this topic I choose for today is one that close to me, in a way that I never thought would be since I've never gone through and dealt with these guys personally, minus a few emails.

The state that I live in is Kansas.  Yes, we are right in the middle of the United States, for those of you who do not know, and yes, it has been scientifically proven that the state is flatter than a Pancake.  Har har har.

The reason for my writing today though is because the new governor of this state that just turned 150 years old this year, the HONORABLE Sam Brownback (Yes the same prick who used to be on Capital Hill for too many years) has proposed that the state Government close down the Kansas Arts Commission and cut all state spending on the arts in the state and to turn the KAC in to the non for profit Kansas Arts Foundation.  He is proposing that the state cut funding to save less than $800,000/year in the state budget.

Those who are against this (like myself) have figured that while this might save less than $800,000/year for the budget, which in the grand scheme of things, isn't that much compared to the entire debt that the state of Kansas will be facing in the future, will cost more than $1,000,000 to actually make happen.  So first of all, where is the logic in that?  You are going to be spending more money closing down something than you will be saving by closing it down?  Yes, I know that this those figures are short term and don't reflect the next up coming years, but one would have to go a year and a quarter to start seeing saving on the budget by closing down the Kansas Arts Commission.  By that time, Gov. Brownback's term will be about a third over, before any savings are seen.  Not only that, but by taking the KAC from a government agency and making it Non-for-profit, that will go through and most likely make it uneligable for grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, or at least a vast majority of grants that they are already receiving.

Another thing is that one must look back at history.  If there is any one saying that is true, it is "Learn from your past".  It is very true that everyone should.  And how can one learn from the past on this situation?  It is easy...Look at the past super powers of the world (and I'm not saying that Kansas itself is a super power, but the US is) and their art scene.  Think about Da Vinci, Monet, Manet, Picasso, Pollock, Warhol, Van Gogh, Hugo, Arbus, and other famous artist through out history, and then look where they lived, look to see who was the leader during that time.  Some would be surprised to see that names like Kennedy, Elizabeth, and Napoleon, associated with these names, or that we are talking about times when France ruled the grater part of Europe, or when the United Kingdom was in it's strong hold or when America was at it's most prosperous time.  One wouldn't be amazed then to see that every major power through out the western world has had a very strong art scene, outside of Nazi Germany during World War 2. 

Now history will show that Hitler was a failed water color painter before he became the dictator of Germany and tried to take over the world.  It wasn't until after he rejected as an artist did he flip.  It is said that one reason why he broke down the way that he did was because the rejection board for the art school that he tried to get into, was made up of mostly Jewish Men.  Now I don't know how much truth there is behind this yet, it would explain somethings, and this has been looked into during the research for the documentary The Rape of Europa.  This documentary also goes through and discusses that not only did he ransack ALL of the art galleries of the countries he took over (most of the time this was one of the first things he did after taking control) but also in his new world capital, in the center of the city, was not the capital building itself, but rather an Art Museum.  This building would be filled with art that HE liked...and whatever he didn't like was destroyed or sold very VERY little as "degenerate art". 

Now I'm not comparing Brownback with Hitler at all.  I was giving the above example simply to show that when art is suppressed the powers to be are fucked up, they don't have the best ideas in mind and generally people have a huge regret for following them...or in the vast majority of the world where art is suppressed, you don't remember the ruler or even the civilization at all.  The western powers to be in the past and those who have been considered "progressive" have had a great and amazing art scene.  That is why the United States as a whole is still a great super power.  Hell, one only has to look at the art scene of New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles and Dallas just to see that, but right here, in the heart of the country, we want to go backwards for one reason or another?  Do we really want to be a state that keep the arts in the back, not fund it and keep the state behind those of our other brothers and sisters in the Union. 

Also, I was told at one point in my life, that I personally could become an amazing computer programmer.  I asked why, and then I was asked if I ever learned to read music.  I said yes (I was in band for 13 years), and he said that is why.  In his experience in teaching HTML and programs/code like that that those who have been able to learn to read music have had a better understanding and are able to grasp computer code better than those who haven't learned to read music.  Even if that is true (I'm not saying it isn't, but don't know how truthful that statement actually is or if he was just trying to make me feel special), music is an art form, Theatre is an artform, Dance, creative writing (and this is the state that produced William Allen White and Langston Hughes and housed William S. Burroughs in his later years in life), so we are not just talking about visual art like Painting, photography, sculpture, and so on. 

Now how will this effect me?  Well as a photographer, if I ever needed a grant to help fund a project, where would I turn to?  I would turn to some place like the Kansas Arts Commission for help.  The National Endowment doesn't do grants for individual artist, and the only other one I'd think about going to is the New York Foundation for the Arts is because they have the money...but really, you look locally first right?  But what if the local funding wasn't there...then what?  The reason why Kansas isn't like New York are many, but we don't need to have the arts be one of them.  One can't use the reason "well shit, you're in the Midwest, what do you expect", then I'd say "Well then look at Dallas and Chicago...".  Hell, the world doesn't even know that Kansas City houses one of less than 20 Caravaggio still left.  When the New York art scene does pay any attention to the art scene here, it was on the design on the new Block Building at the Nelson-Atkins Art Museum and didn't pay any attention to the amazing collection that is housed within the two buildings. 

It is sad that we have the chance to be as good as some of these other art cities in the are if only given the chance, but the chance is constantly being taken away by people like Sam Brownback and I know for a fact that this will keep our state further back in the development of future great minds and business in the state.  That is a proven fact shown by other states.

Richmond IN - on the Border...

Alright, so recently I spent some time in the city of Richmond IN.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with the city...it is on I-70, right as you cross into Indiana from Ohio.  This city is an interesting little city, filled with a ton of Indy Colts and Green Bay Packers fans.  I was stuck there for about four days in total, and with no transportation, which in this case, now looking back at it, is all for the better because it just adds to the story. 

The city, for being as small as it is, is actually spread out.  Unlike my home town, where one can walk almost anywhere they want to in a matter of minutes, Richmond seems more spread out.  However, the drivers there seem a little more people friendly than what one would expect.  The Taxi service is a good one, even though I can't remember the one that the hotel recommended.  But between the smoking redneck and the old circus run away (yes, this guy was born in the circus and left it...usually little kids want it the other way around right? At least that is what I thought) who know some interesting bits and pieces of the city, such as the old train depot and the old district that used to be the downtown area.

It is an interesting "downtown" district, with something that looks like it could go through and have history behind it, but I was actually really disappointed when I was told that it is no longer the "downtown district".  I didn't see the "current" downtown district, but if it was that much different than the old one, then I don't want to see it.  The old downtown is really amazing, filled with lots of little stores, bistros bars, art galleries, theatres, and much more.  It is a very people friendly area and a place that I could see myself personally visiting a lot.  There is several commercially successful chain restaurants like Cracker Barrel, McDonalds, Bob Evans, Stake and Shake and others, but if you want to get down to a city, one of course has to visit the little places, the local places.  So, instead, I went down to what was said to me the best and classiest bar in town, Smiley's Pub and Beer Garden.


I first found the bar online, and it is the only bar I found in the city.  But the photo on the main web page of the made me feel like it is something that you would find a happy little "Cheerish" crowd...so I was a little hesitant going in at first being the outside crowd. However, when I walked in with a buddy of mine, the bar felt like any one I would visit back at home.  Josh, the bar keep wasn't as helpful as what I would have hoped for, but he was friendly enough to make a good impression.  However, after that first beer, he tended to remain down with the locals.  I don't believe that my buddy and I saw him down at our end of the bar for the remaining part of his shift.  However, when the three other bar keeps came on, they were able to talk with the locals and still be able to serve us.  The kitchen closes at 9, but after our first beer, my friend and I went through and got hungry, it was 9:15, but Paige, the cook, was amazing and allowed us to get anything that we wanted to as long as it could be deep fried.  That is perfect for bar food.  So we got on it with peppers and cheese sticks and a couple more drinks.  The bar was really amazing, with three total rooms, one filled with a couple of pool tables, one with your classic Irish pub setting, and then the room devoted to a dance club.  It was interesting, and at 11pm, the bar changes from a pub to a dance club where the locals come out and listen to the oddest things, from Rod Stewart ballads to the top 40 club mixes of the day to Bon Jovi.  We went in on a Saturday night and left when the bar switched over to a night club, they are not open Sunday and Mondays.

The next day, Sunday, was one of the last football days of the years, two games left...the Bears vs. Packers and Jets vs. Steelers.  Another friend of mine and I went out to a bar that one of the bar keeps at Smiley's told me about the night before, Sheridan Pub.  They have a couple of new TVs and had some good food as well.  Outside of all of the betting that was going on there for the games, and the cheep beer (it was like 32oz for $2.75 that day of either Bud or Bud Light), the pub was good.  It reminded me of a lot of local dives I've been to, so it was rather comfortable sitting down at the bar and have the two drinks I had.  The one thing I will say though that threw me a little was that smoking is still allowed in public places, which can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how you look at it. 

The one time I did eat not at a major chain restaurant while I was there is when I ordered out from Pizza King. I was told by the hotel clerk that they were really good, what I wasn't told is that it is a SMALLER chain restaurant.  The food was okay, not the best I've ever had by far.  It was nothing compared to my favorite local sub or pizza place (I was told to go through and get a sub from Pizza King because they are "really good" from there).  If I where to put it up against something like Yellow Sub or Pizza Shuttle locally, I would hands down give it to my locally guys.  For one thing, it says no where on there on the menu that you have to order a certain dollar amount before they will deliver. It is understandable, but a little bit of a shocker when going through and it is not said anywhere. 

All in all, I was pleased with my stay in Richmond IN.  It is a city that I might take a night's stay at or go through and spend one more day, just so I can go back to Smiley's and have another drink, but I would have to take my own car this time and might have to stay at a different hotel, but we'll see when the time comes around.

Legally Blonde - The Musical travels Pt. 3

Okay, I'm going to try and sum it all up right now.  Lowell Mass was amazing little city.  Their downtown area is amazing.  There is a little Irish pub there that has some amazing beer and even better food.  I went there with a couple of guys from Legally  Blonde the Musical and we had a great time.  Our waitress was rather attractive as well, which is a very nice bonus.  The Theater there is a very beautiful building that I would love to personally revisit and photograph.  I would also like to go through and say that regardless if Boston is the city that is full of Toll Booths and Tunnels, it is a beautiful city.  I didn't have hardly as long of time in there as I wanted to have, but when I have the chance to go back, I really really really want to go through and photograph it properly and do a proper posting of the city. 

Pittsburgh PA is a beautiful city as well.  Most of my time in the city was done at night and when I was tired, but from what I remember, it is a city that I wouldn't mind coming back to sometime soon.  The problem that I really kind of had was in I-70 at night in PA.  I am sure that the drive is a beautiful one, but when you are driving by yourself, through there for the first time, it's at night, snowing, ice is on the roads, it can put one on edge.  I would really love to go back through there during the day time, in the summer (when I went through was on Dec. 19th 2010) but I am sure that it a beautiful sight going through there. 

Columbus Oh is an interesting city to say the least.  I ended up spending most of my next day in the city, and if you don't get off of I-70, you will think that the city is nothing but an industrial city, which from my observation is mostly right, but the airport is a rather nice one, better than MCI (Kansas City International Airport) by far.  However, I will give a personal endorsement real quick.  If you are ever stranded there in the West side of Columbus and you need a taxi, call up Paul Devitt, the owner of Hilliard Hometown Taxi.  he is amazing.  The cab fair is cheap (I used him three times in the 12 hours I was there, and the most that i had to pay was $30 when I had to go across town to get from the hotel I was staying at to the Airport).  He is a very friendly guy and knows a lot about the city.  He is a great guy and will come to get you basically any time of the day, for cheap.

New York City, the little bit of the city that I was able to go through, was more or less what I had pictured it to be in my mind.  A little grit, a little bit of the old city feeling going through the Bronx and Queens.  I know that it is saturated with "artist" but really, that is another city that I really want to go through and photograph to an extent.  I know it will be hard to go through and actually get a shot or two that maybe no one else has, but I believe that I should be able to get SOMETHING that would be at least a little different.  But then again I know I need to go through and just do a long road trip and take my camera and redo this trip.

Alas, that might be all that I can write about right now for the Legally Blonde travels, but more and other cities and places will be coming very soon.

Legally Blonde - The Musical travels Pt. 2

First of all, I want to thank all for reading this blog as well as the last one.  As some of you know, Art is the main love of my life.  Travel is a newer found love, but a love never the less. But enough of that, time to get back to the reason why you came here.


St. Charles MO, a cute little town that could have a lot of things going for it, if it wasn't one of the most outter suburbs of St. Louis.  It seems like a nice enough city with a little unknown college located there (the college name I couldn't tell you as I don't remember from a month ago) but it is cute and I'd visit there again.  The Country Inn and Suites is a nice little place, each room with a kitchen and within walking distance of a grocery store, restaurants, police and a some other things.  I would say stay there, rates are good and the staff is friendly.

The next city I would be more than happy to go through and talk about is Albany NY, the capital of NY.  It is an interesting city that boasts signs that this neighborhood was voted the best neighborhood in this year or that year, but now, some hardly more than 10 years later, those same neighborhoods have become run down and according to one cop that I talked to, some of the worst for crime in the entire city. These neighborhoods are located not more a block up to a mile away from the downtown district and the Palace Theatre. This theatre is a beautiful building, that once you walk in reminds you of the theatrical days of yesterday.  The paintings on the interior are beautiful and it really makes one remember how good Theater could be, or maybe was.  However, where I stayed, the Ramada Inn about a mile or so north of the Palace, was something that I would not recommend to anyone.  The hotel was a combo of I think two or maybe three building put into one, the hotel staff was a little standoffish, the bed was a little stiff, but the the breakfast in the morning was okay. Driving around in the city is rather easy too, with major exits off of Highway 90 to basically any where you want to go to in and if you want to get back on 88 to go anywhere in the state basically without a toll involved (either 88 to go East to West or 87 North or South) Albany is your point, and you don't have to pay the part of I-90 that you have to drive on to get from 88 to 87 either, at least I didn't, when I was going through a couple days later from Binghampton (talked about in the last blog) and Burlington VT.

That brings me to my next city of Burlington VT.  This is a picture perfect city, really.  Vermont itself is so beautiful.  Going into Burlington, I came in on 7, and that is one of the most beautiful drives I've ever had.  When I arrived at the Sheraton Hotel off of 89 Highway and Williston Rd/Main St.  The Flynn Center of the preforming arts is okay, yet the security staff doesn't know their ass from their elbow, but I am not blaming that on anything but them.  The University of Vermont is located there and is a very pretty campus.  The night that I was there, December 13th, it started to snow.  The downtown area of Burlington is a like a photograph, and that with the campus mixed with the snow coming down, really was like a Norman Rockwell Christmas painting.  It made me really not want to leave. But alas, the life on the road demanded that I go.  I really want to go back soon.

Let's now talk about Elmira and Corning New York at once.  Elmira is a nice city, the preforming arts center there is rather nice. but there is not a lot of parking close by.  That is really all I can say about Elmira.  However, Corning is a different story.  The downtown district in Corning is amazing.  I was able to go to a couple of places while I was there that were either really nice, good food and fun times.  Now, myself being from Kansas.  I was amazed to see that Corning had a western museum there.  The Rockwell Museum of Western Art is a really cool place, even if you are not that much into Western things.  The building itself is three stories tall, and I am very sad to say that they had the 3rd story closed when I was there, but I will say that the second story of the Museum was really nice.  I liked their display of guns from the 1800s and what I like to call the Real western art, which is located in the Remington & Russell Lodge.  I was also able to go through, and since it was getting close to Christmas, was able to get gifts for my parents and had a rather enjoyable time. Who would have thought that a Western Museum was that far EAST of the Mississippi.
A couple of the cast members of Legally Blonde and I ate at the Sonora's Authentic Mexican Restaurant, and I must say that the food that I got, which was a large plate of Nachos, was rather good, and more than I could go through and eat in one sitting.  It was very reasonable priced and the wait staff was more than helpful.  Later on in the night, I went through and experience some of the night life around.  I was disappointed to see that almost every one of the bars and pubs were closed by 11pm, that is, except for the Glory Hole Pub and Eatery.  The place seems no different really than any other local little dive bar that you would feel more than comfortable going into, however the bartender there was a really fun and outgoing lad who really went out of his way to make sure that everyone there had an enjoyable time and so that people would want to come back.  I know that yes, he was working for tips as well, but when a blowup doll (thank you to my friend Jim Keen), the bartender didn't have to start dancing with it and actually having a good time, yet he did.  That will be most likely one of the most memorable night of the whole tour, even if the Radisson that I stayed at had no where to park anything bigger than a truck.

Well that is it for now.  More to come later I suppose from the road.

Legally Blonde - The Musical travels Pt. 1.

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