Week in Review

The last week has been blistering in pace and intensity. There has been so much happening and more that needs to be accomplish.

A major highlight of the week was meeting with Lisa Curtis at FDR High School. After a prolonged period of trying to reach each other, we finally had a moment to talk. FDRHS has a great program that was developed in the 80's focusing on documentary film made through the eyes of students. Under the rubric of English, History and Sociology, the students tackle ideas of subjectivity and engagement. I was delighted to hear what they have be working on in the hopes that I can engage the students in the project. Next week, I will be dropping off flyers for teachers in English and the Arts to pass around to students, including pick up some video of previous students efforts.

Meeting with these groups continually brings me back to to the underlying goals of the project, mainly this desire bridge the past and the present. Thus far, I have a good amount of material of the past and these efforts at the High School, I will have a connection to the present. The next goal being to fill in the space that spans these times.

Plus, I'll say that the more I've spoken with people, the more interested they are in getting involved. This type of project can fall outside the communities every day reality. So much so, that it takes time and a personal effort to meet with people. I've had to continually adapt the way I talk about the project to up it into terms that people can connect with. This has happened and it is opening up the dialogue.

Finally, I will say that I am continually amazed by the people here. They are so real and engaged in the community. In working on this project, I have begun to see the networks that connect Hyde Park, making such an interesting place.

Connecting the Past and Present

Thus far, I have been receiving numerous images of places in Hyde Park, many of which no longer exist. This had made me think a lot about how our environment evolves. Sometime for the better and sometime for the worse.
As one of the major goals for this project is to bridge the past and the present, I have decided to make a specific response to these images. What I plan to do is re-photograph the sites, allowing me to connect two moments in time. This idea is not something that I can take credit for. There have been a multitude of photography projects that have used this technique to document the urban structure of a place. What I think is interesting about is that makes apparent the effects the people have on their community and how the urban fabric is always shifting.

Pare Lorentz Film Center

Last week, I had a delightful meeting with Phillippa Ewing at the Pare Lorentz Film Center. Dedicated to understanding the Roosevelts, the center creates media for education from its historic holdings. Phillippa has graciously said that she would assist me in my efforts, plus given me a great number of contacts to follow up with. I look forward to collaborating with them.

Moments

There are moments in a project when the pace comes to a standstill. You are neither moving forward or backward, but are positioned ready to encounter the next step. Then there are moments when an event takes place which re-invigorates you, giving you endless amounts of energy to put toward your work. One of those experience took place last night for me in terms of this project.
I spoke with Susan Schryver at the EverReady Diner last night.
Her wealth of knowledge about people and goings on in Hyde Park further excited me. She gave me a sense of real life in the town, how it works and where it has come from.
I have a large list of people to contact and meet over the next few weeks, which should make for some exciting moments in the next few weeks.

Efforts

The project is moving forward well now. I've been getting content from several sources. Much of which I have tried to upload to Blogger, but I've been having issues with that. Will try to get them onto youtube.com in the next day or so.

Next week, I will be meeting with Phillippa Ewing at the National Park Service and several teachers at FDR High School. I also need to get in touch with Dot Chenevert at the Hyde Park Farmers Market.

As always, I'm applying for funding to cover equipment costs. The New York State Council on the Arts Grant is due at the end of the month.