"He is going to DIE!"

Nov 30, 2008
Tokyo, Japan

Last night we went out with our friend Brian and some other friends of his from his building for dinner and a little karoke. We walked out of the building with 6 child in toll, all under the age of 8, only to come upon a group of small children all about the same age. This small group of children that had gathered were talking about something in a very animated manner, but not as if they are excited but more concerned. One girl had a small dog on a pink leash and another girl had a butter fly net while 3 of the other kids are on bicycles. I was intrigued by whatever drama that was unfolding between the children and I made a mention of it to Brian. He then translated the last thing we heard one of the girl has said, "He is going to DIE!"

I only wish I had a picture of this for you!

Still no service on the blackberry and there will be none until I am in Taipei. *Sigh* The bank is still refusing to give me money although the BofA costumer rep did assure me that there is no problem with my card and that they are not holding my money hostage. Still have not fully proceeded any or all of the information that my brain has gathered here so far in these 48 hours - but I do think that we have got a handle on the subway system and after　ｔｏｍｏｒｒｏｗ　ａｍ　ｂａｃｋ　ａｔ　Ｔｓｕｋｉｊｉ，　ｗｅ　ｗｉｌｌ　ｂｅ　ｏｆｆ　ｔｏ　Ｋｙｏｔｏ　ｆｏｒ　ａ　ｆｅｗ　ｄａｙｓ．　
Ｉ　ｈａｔｅ　ｆｏｒｅｉｇｎ　ｋｅｙｂｏａｒｄｓ！　

Tsukiji and First Impressions

Nov 29, 2008
Tokyo, Japan

First full day here in Tokyo and of course the first order of the day is to Tsukiji,the world largest fish market. I have been wanting to see this market ever since "Wok the Dog" became the project that it currently is. So naturally there is a lot of anticipation and a lot of expectation riding on today. After being some what disappointed in the markets that I found in Argentina, I was trying not get my hopes up, trying not to have any expectation.

We got off the subway and I smelled fish! My heart quickened and I was immediately excited by what could be waiting for me. Lets just say that I will be spending every available day shooting at Tsukiji for all the mornings that we will be here in Tokyo. It lived up to any expectation that I might have had.


After about 2 hours at the market, we wondered around for some coffee, shared a bowl of noodles for breakfast number 1 and proceeded to wait in line for a spot at a tiny sushi restaurant just outside of Tsukiji for some of the freshest sushi in the world! We waited 2.5 hours for a seat! Yes, it was amazing! As we waited in line, I had a silly thought, "What if they ran out of fish?"

We are in one of the most technologically advanced cities in the world and yet we have had nothing but tech troubles here. Our blackberries do not work since Japan is on their own cell network, I can't get money out of the ATM because Bank of America is stupid. So I am having a bit of crackberry withdrawl here. It seems rather ironic that I can get money out of the ATM in the boarder town on Laos without needing to inform BofA of my travel plans and yet here in Japan, they wish to hold my money hostage as a means to protect me. Blackberry was happily delivering me emails at the base camp of Mt Everest but not here in Tokyo. Ironies of ironies.

First impression of Tokyo is that its a lot like Taipei, Taiwan. With the only difference being that I can only understand about a third of what is going on and have virtually no ability to converse with anyone. I have wanted to see Japan ever since I was a child, how strange is it to find that it is a lot like HOME?

Well...that is the first impression at any rate. There will be more concert thoughts on Tsukiji and everything else later, after a little recovery from the jet lag and crackberry withdrawal.

A Life Open to the World

Nov 25, 2008
Los Angeles, Ca

The recent issue of The New Yorker has an article about Jeffery Alford and Naomi Duguid. They are cookbook authors but a more accurate description would be culinary anthropologists or culinary geographers. They have published 6 cookbooks since 1995 and I currently own "Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet" while the rest are logged into my 28 page wish list on Amazon.

The thing that really caught my attention in the profile piece about Alford and Duguid is not just the partnership that they have and how they essentially raised two child on the road but their attitude towards traveling..."they travel light, on anything headed in the right direction - a riverboat, a mountain bus...when nothing shows up, they hitchhike or rent a bike or walk....[Duguid] call this 'staying vulnerable' to the people, the place, and the possibility of a new taste where ever they get dropped off...they talk about arriving in a place and having no idea of what they'll find there. The awe that comes with that - it's always present."

This idea of staying vulnerable to possibilities is I think one of my favorite things about traveling and why I think I am always itching to get back on the road. Yet something happens once the plane hits the tarmac at LAX - somehow the mind shifts and I becomes less vulnerable. Why do we feel less safe at "home" than we do in a strange land? Is it because when we are here, we feel that we are measured by our accomplishments and if we don't have enough then we must fake it? Especially in a place like Los Angeles?

How do we stay vulnerable to possibilities and yet still protect ourselves?

Where to next is a frequent question that I get at my Q&A sections and I have been thinking of South / Central America and Africa. Yet I have had Central Asia and Mongolia stuck in my teeth for over a year now - and Burma since this summer. The article ends with Alford and Durguid writing a cookbook that is focused on Burma. Burma again - is the Universe trying to tell me something? Meanwhile, I am tentatively slated to go down to Mexico / Cuba next spring and Chile next winter. But all of this could change depending on my grant status.

As I try to define and refine the "partnership" I wish to have, I can't help but look at the Alford/Durguid model to be a measuring stick of sorts. The profile describes them to be opposites yet symbiotic. They were able to agree on all the big important life questions within days after they meet in the low oxygen city of Lhasa at 3600km.

Irrespective of what the final definition is, what I do know is that I would like a life that is open to the world, where I am vulnerable to possibilities, adventures, regardless whether I am in LA, New York or a nameless town in middle of no where.

Nov 24, 2008, The New Yorker, The Hungry Travellers by Jane Kramer

The Revolution Starts Here

Nov 23, 2008
Los Angeles, Ca

I am off to Japan in a few days - two weeks there for more images for "Wok the Dog" and then home to Taiwan to spend the last couple weeks of the year with my family. Which means that I will be back to chronicling adventures on the road here real soon.

But first things first. I did a photo shoot on Thursday for an update of my commerical portfolio (yes, I work as a commerical photographer as well) and one of the shots I executed was inspired by John Lennon and Yoko Ono's honeymoon protest where they were in their bed at their honeymoon suite for all the media to see. They effectively turned something that is supposed to private into something public, an event that is a celebration of their love and union into an event with greater global implications. Not to mention that is not a bad piece of performance art.

All of this got me to think about "where does the revolution start?"

In the minds and hearts? Then does that not really begin in the subconscious? In sleep - while you are dreaming?

This began simply as an exercise to update my commerical work and now I feel like maybe there is some truth in it. The revolution starts here - in our minds - in a fundamental place - bed - in this case.

I have always felt a bit like a rebel when it comes to my commercial photography. I can shoot pretty girls in clothes, standing there, all day long. But I reject it somehow. I want the images to have a message, to have a narrative, to have meaning. To be more than just a body, a pretty face and the product of the day. I strive for something more, a sense of humor, a bit of intrigue, irony and sarcasm, a message that does not distract from the ultimate goal of advertising and yet provides you with just a little bit more.

If President Elect Obama is really ushering is a Brave New World, then I hope that we will start seeing advertising to go beyond the traditional and communicate a better message.

A Generation of Thieves

Nov 14, 2008
Los Angeles, Ca

I had a discussion with a friend of mine via IM yesterday about Intellectual Property and its applicable laws protecting it. Then last night, as I was slugging my way through The New Yorker, I noted a book that is mentioned in the "Briefly Noted" section of the magazine.

The book is called "Remix" by Lawrence Lessig,
"As Lessig, a law professor at Stanford, sees it, if intellectual-property law is left as it is an entire generation will be criminalized. He argues that the ways in which young people break copyright laws help them to become the sort of people we want them to be—creative and collaborative. Kids today are simply not going to give up downloading music and using copyrighted material in YouTube videos: they belong to a culture for which “remix” is “the essential art.” Lessig’s proposals for revising copyright are compelling, because they rethink intellectual-property rights without abandoning them. He argues that hybrids that combine the “commercial and sharing” economies can create value for both sides (as Harry Potter fan sites and Lostpedia have done); indeed, one problem is media companies’ appropriating the work of fans without returning the favor. “When both benefit,” Lessig writes, “how do we say who is riding for free?”

I believe that as artists and creators we should be able to benefit from the "art" that which we create. After all, this choice of a life is a gamble, there is no guarantee that you will ever be successful, or even be able to pay your rent in the life time in which you spent creating the "art." But I think certain amount of content should be available for "free" for other users to amend, absorb and repatriate into something new, even if the new "art" is unlike the original at all. Which brings to mind the Creative Commons model and or how NIN offers tracks of their songs for download without charge online and you can remix and re post to be shared by other fans.

As I wonder about this model of "collective creating" and how I could incorporate it into my life as an artist - slightly difficult since my primary medium is rather "fixed" - I came up with an idea. What if a collaborative process was offered, I could either provide digital files of a selection of images, or actual prints, and a small group of artists (working in both photography and other mediums) utilized the "base" in which I have provided and do what they will to it. Then we will have collectively created something new.

But here is where the sticking point in Intellectual Property Law begins - who would own that piece of new art that is created? Or do all participating artists goes into this with the agreement that we are all owners of the new art?

Does the idea of "ownership" only truly matters when there is a perceived value for the "object"?

Art does have value. Radiohead proved that the fan will pay for the music by independently releasing their last album with the "pay what you will" system. NIN gave away its latest album for free online - Trent Reznor said "This one is on me!" I paid for the Radiohead album because I wanted to be heard that art has value. I happily accepted Trent's download and respected him all the more for acknowledging the fans who have supported him for nearly 20 years.

Is it the corporation in between who will rake in the largest profits from our angst and demented dreams that we have a problem with then?

I don't have the answers to any of these questions. But I am excited about the idea of "collectively creating," think I will buy Lessig's book and see his opinion on IP laws, and believe that the more we give the more we will be given in return.

Babies and James Bond

Nov 13, 2008
Los Angeles, Ca

I never pictured myself as a mother. I don't want children cause they don't really make any sense to me. I wanted to be James Bond plus MacGyver . To be working for a "greater" cause, ruthless and suave, unshaken by anything. Women are never mad that Bond could never committee and they are simply happy to have the pleasure and privilege to have been the ONE for the night. Bond girls knew that Bond is never meant to be the husband who takes out the trash and mows the lawn. I wanted to be MacGyver just in case when the issued gadgets fail, I could make my own instead. How liberating life can be when all you need is a coke can and a stick of gum to get you out of any situation?

Last night at our friend Elif's, I watched her interact with her 4 year old son, Anatol. If I ever had a moment in which I wanted a child, I think I felt it last night. It is not a child that I want, but what I envied was the bond and connection between the two of them. All Anatol ever needs is his mother, it wouldn't matter that there are riots on the street or the house is on fire, as long as he can be held by his mom, all is well. To see that contentment and pure joy in Elif when she is with her boy - so untainted by anything - it made me wish for the purity of that love.

Looking at Anatol, I can't help but be excited for him and yet sad at the same time. There is still so much for him to experience, to learn. First love, first kiss, first car, first epiphany, first everything. Yet, he still has to learn about heart break, disappointment, rejection and bell bottom pants. Elif's heart will travel with him through all the ups and downs and I wonder if this is not a devil's bargain after all.

Maybe that is why I wanted to be James Bond. It is easier when your life is your own and there is no one waiting for you at home. Bond might be more glamorous and exciting, but maybe he is not the brave one after all.

Home is the edge of the world in the mind of god

Nov 12, 2008
Los Angeles, Ca

I have been having much trouble with the concept of home of late as you may know. There is desire to not just see the world, to go to some of the most outer edges. Tibet, base camp of Mt Everest case in point. The top of the world! Now its the end of the world, Patagonia.

Ironically, few days after I returned from Argentina, the Patagonia catalog arrived at the house. I have never made any purchases from them before as I am far more of a fan of NorthFace products, but somehow, somewhere, they got my name and a catalog came.

The catalog have little essays inside with some great images accompany them about Chile, conservation in Patagonia and etc. There is this one essay by Jeff Johnson, titled "Home."

"I had sailed from California to Chile, a four-month journey that led me far off the beaten path. An extended stay on Easter Island had been the turning point for me as I finally let go of the trappings back home - a slow and difficult process. But it was here, floating in a river on the every edge of Patagonia, that I realized home is not a physical reference to a specific place on earth but a boardening of the consciousness. Home is, after all, where you are."

Yes, Home, maybe just that, where you are and nothing more. Not the trappings of cable TV or running water, not the smell of coffee or the warmth of your duvet. But home is the unspoken love in my mom's hug or the embrace of a loved one.

I sometimes wonder if my desire to see the world, and the extreme ends of the world is not to somehow to have a peak inside our significance by seeing "...the Earth; the Solar System; the Universe; the Mind of God.” as Thorton Wilder described in Our Town.

Land Reform - Do the East only dreams of the West?

Nov 8, 2008
Los Angeles, Ca

A friend of mine and I are applying for the Dorthea Lang- Paul Taylor Documentary Prize offered by Duke University. The prize funds a collaborative documentary project for a writer and a photographer. We had been discussing our interests and what our pitch for a month now. We wanted to ask a question, a question that would need research, time and dedication on our part instead of simply using the grant money to merely document a foregone conclusion. We both felt that it would be a more interesting way to approach the project. After all, if we already knew the answer, then is not the documentary simply a way to prove that we are right?

We wanted see about a comparative analysis of American market culture compared to the emerging market culture of China (food market that is). As China industrializes and the middle class expands, do they shift towards the American style of sanitized supermarkets and give up on the traditional markets that I have spent the last few years photographing? Or is there something so deeply ingrained to their attachment of that style of markets - knowing that the chicken is freshly killed that day - that China would never become a version of America as they industrialize.

As American becomes more and more conscience of their food choices and the impact their purchases has, farmer's market thrive, Buy Local and Grass Fed gains momentum. What will the future of American markets be like? Will it ever become a clean version of the traditional markets in China. Will Americans ever be brave enough to look at death in the face and see an animal killed for their benefit and be ok with it?

Are the developing nations have another example to look at, another model to emulate than the West? Without it, will it be able to dream of a different dream of prosperity and progress?

As we finalize our grant application here, NPR had a news story this week about land reforms in China:

" In China, land issues and peasant rebellions have traditionally brought down imperial dynasties. Land reform was at the heart of the Communist Revolution in 1949.

Now China's leaders have quietly announced a new rural revolution, making it easier for farmers to lease or trade their land-use rights. This will transform life for the country's 700 million farmers...

Under the new reforms, Beiping village is the first in the province to set up a cooperative. It will lease farmers' land, consolidate the patchwork of plots, then modernize and mechanize farming.

In return, it promises each farmer 440 pounds of grain a year or the cash equivalent at market prices. After three years, each will also receive a share of the cooperatives profits. They won't have to do anything for it, unless they want to work for the collective, earning about $8 a day.

Chinese farmers don't actually own their land, but they do have land-use rights — and these reforms make it easier for farmers to lease these rights or sell them to agribusiness. Any land transferred can only be used for farming, in order to guarantee China's food security...

'Our leaders are rolling out policies to help farmers get rich," Liu says. "They want to close the gap between the city and the countryside. They want to urbanize the countryside. The small fields will become big fields, and we'll have rows and rows of houses like in the city...'

Details aside, these reforms are far-reaching — China's Communist leaders rose to power by liberating peasant farmers from the reviled landlord class; now they're promising to liberate peasants from the land itself."

(All Things Considered, NPR, Louisa Lim)

I curious as to what China dreams of becoming.

The Rebuttal

Nov 8, 2008
Los Angeles, CA

Here is my reply to the letter of objection sent to Gastronomica magazine:

The point of my project is to raise cultural awareness and cause viewers to rethink ideas about Western cultural superiority. My work questions whether we have modernized and sterilized our food industry to the point where we have lost something of value that less-developed nations still retain. How can we impose our own standards of right and wrong on those who must eat, on those who do not see a dog as a companion but as food, given their cultural norms?

Most of my images do, in fact, depict local and grass-fed livestock, because the majority of the cultures I photograph know little of the industrialized killing machine we have created here in the States. Experience has taught me that markets like those depicted in my photos waste far less than we do and make use of every part of the slaughtered animal. Their practices represent a far more profound display of respect for the sentient being that gave up its life than does the standard Western approach of only eating select parts and discarding the rest.

I urge Gastronomica readers to put aside outrage and take another look at my work, and at the fuller body of work that is offered on my Web site (www.charliestudio.com/). We must look beyond our immediate surroundings and think about the global society.

====

Brave New World

Nov 4, 2008
Los Angeles, CA

First time in over 2 years do I regret not having a live TV. All I can do is hit the refresh button on CNN with more frequency than necessary.

This has been long in coming. I feel that we are at the precipice of a revolution, of a Brave New World. 8 years of bad leadership and bad policies, domestic and foreign, 8 years of fear. Enough!

I have never been this excited before for an election, been this excited to exercise my right to vote. I voted today believing that I am choosing a better future.

The World is waking up, I can feel it in my bones, in my heart, all around me. Not just how the fate of the World is dependent on the outcome of this election, or how active voter turn out as been. But in other ways as well. We have finally awaken to problems that are around us, from global warming to buying locally, in all ways, we are finally AWAKE!

I am excited to be a able to contribute to the dialogue.

Despite my excitement for the Presidential outcome tonight, the phrase "Brave New World" is stuck in my head. So I wikied a refresher on the novel since its been over 14 years since I have read Huxley's novel. At the end of the wiki article, I found this which I thought was interesting:

Social critic Neil Postman contrasts the worlds of 1984 and Brave New World in the foreword of his 1985 book Amusing Ourselves to Death. He writes:

What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism. Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture, preoccupied with some equivalent of the feelies, the orgy porgy, and the centrifugal bumblepuppy. As Huxley remarked in Brave New World Revisited, the civil libertarians and rationalists who are ever on the alert to oppose tyranny "failed to take into account man's almost infinite appetite for distractions." In 1984, Orwell added, people are controlled by inflicting pain. In Brave New World, they are controlled by inflicting pleasure. In short, Orwell feared that what we fear will ruin us. Huxley feared that what we desire will ruin us.

Neither version of the future is what I hope for us all, yet, over 70 years since the publication of both novels, the prediction of the future is too eerily close for comfort.

I dream a better future for us all!

First Hate Mail

Nov 3, 2008
Los Angeles, Ca

As many of you may know, I was featured in Gastronomica magazine's Summer 08 issue for my series "Wok the Dog." It opens with a 250 word introduction written by me and a 7 page spread with images that were chosen from the series by Gastronomica.

The editor from the journal today had sent me an email, wanting me to respond to a letter of objection that she received regarding my work and series. My first hate mail!

Here is the letter:

Dear Gastronomica,

It was with great excitement that I awaited my first issue of Gastronomica: what I expected to be an epicurean resource. After receiving it recently, I wish to forward some rather despondent input. On so many levels it is hard to capture, I have issues with Charlie Grosso’s Market and Meat, photographic sample of her Wok the Dog project.

This is, at a minimum, sensationalist journalism but, more realistically, work that is the result of an individual’s fascination with the macabre. This opinion is exemplified by Ms. Grosso’s revolting and callous picture titles. Additionally, I see no connection between the statement “…but we have lost our connection not only to the vendors who sell us our food, but to life itself, to the animal our dinner once was” and the photographs shown, which depict the goriest elements of slaughter; not any correlation to the actual sentient being. It would have been so much more powerful, appropriate and value added if, after that statement, she had shown or detailed information on the Buy Local or Grass Fed movements, which actually do connect you with your food, where it comes from, and the vendors who provide it to the market.

Ultimately, the magazine carries much responsibility for giving this type of eccentricity exposure, so I have cancelled my subscription.

I wish to change the world with my art, what I dedicate this brief time that I have. I have gotten some real heart felt and positive responds from all sorts of different people regrading the series. The responds make me feel like I am on the right track and making some sort of impact. But this, a letter and a cancelled subscription, I almost feel that is just as a good responds as any that I have gotten. Maybe we should gauge the impact we make by the hate mail that we receive instead?!

The editor has requested a responds from me and I will post that here in the next day or two. Stay tuned.....

Selling to the Wrong Side of the Street

Nov 1, 2008
Los Angeles, Ca

I had asked for a consult with a photographer friend of mine, Jim McHugh. He is an amazing photographer and a kind of a mentor. I wanted to see what his opinion is of "What is next?!"

You may ask, why is Jim McHugh qualify to give such opinion? He has years of experience in the commercial world, has done very well in these last few years when he decided to venture into the art world, not to mention the experience and wisdom that comes with time and age. He was an advocate of my work early on and saw their potential before anyone else did.

Jim's opinion is that I am selling to the wrong side of the street. If I could transform my work somehow so that it is no longer just photography - it being the bastard child of the art world - and sell myself as a fine artist - then it would really be something!

It all makes perfect sense. In a way, I knew this already. I think that is why we talked about the scratch and sniff idea and to incorporate interactive and multi-media elements to the work and presentation.

Its interesting to look at the art market and see the fuss over "new media" and understand how there is this nearly arbitrary line drawn. Shepard Fairy for instance and the popularity of street art. It can be just as easily replicated as photography, after all, its a stencil, but the medium is relatively new and because of its influence in popular culture and its social-political guerilla-ness, he can command 5 figures for his art. Bravo! I applaud him for how far he has come. I simply find the irony in the art world's acceptance and preference of one medium over another "interesting."

You know how you are often asked to describe your art and what it is about, or the style of it? I am fully aware of the nuances of my work, yet I don't want to describe it to others. I want them to see it themselves. Jim described my work exactly as I hoped for it be described. Its not documentary or reportage, cause its not in their faces. Its not of crying children and dying men. Its studied, it takes a step back, it has a narrative and you want to be involved in it. You want to know more. Its quiet in a way and its a little melancholy. It felt so good to have someone describe your work the way you think it should. Not only do they "get it" - fully appreciate why you think its good or special - but they have the language to say such.

So, need to create new work, need to start re-inventing as an "artist", more grants and more gallery show. That is what is next!

Plan on Being Suprised

Nov 1, 2008
Los Angeles, Ca

Home again. 10 planned days and then 1 extra due to a canceled flight in Argentina was really not what I expected at all. As I mentioned before, the markets here are not what I was secretly hoping for. I was able to get myself out of that frame of mind and not be disappointed by whatever expectation I may have. After all, I want "Wok the Dog" to be about how people really do interact with their food and for it to be a social-political examination at the very basic action that governs our lives.

Yet I must admit, the interesting thing about Argentina and their markets is from the point of economics. There are large European chains in BA, such as Carrefour but its the small businesses that really seems to be everywhere. It makes you wonder about the fate of these small business over the next 10 years as Argentina strives to become a first class nation. I do wonder about countries who strive for modernity and advancement - if one day, they will all become a version of America. Or is it possible to dream of a different way of being a first world country?

"Do androids dream of electric sheep?"

Then what is the purpose of this journey then you ask? I had left in hopes of new images for the series, or inspiration for a new series that I can began...I am not sure that I came home with either but I was able to really reconnect with an old friend in new ways. Relationship is about relating right? The time we invest in each other and in our relationship with one another. I think that sometimes we get too preoccupied with simply investing time in our significant others that we forget that we need to invest real time in our friends as well. An occasion dinner in which you catch up on event highlights is not always enough.

If nothing else, I got reconnect with one of my favorite person and we got to share new experiences together. Maybe this trip was about living and not about working.

Bellamie and I talked a lot of about being "damaged" in these past 10 days. My thought was always that there are of us who are and then there are those you who are not damaged. She begged a differ and believes that we are all damaged. What is the point then I ask? The challenge is in how we deal with our damage, our scar tissues and how we move on from that. In the light of this view, I suddenly understand why we live in a city full of work-a-hoilics. Its easier to work than to deal with our challenges, our wounds.

Perhaps that reason why the shooting was not great on this trip is so that I can live for a moment, deal with my damageness again (as it never goes away apparently) and invest real time in my relationship with my friend.