Moment of Focus Exhibit Curated by Jaypix Belmer - Celebrating the Past, Present and Future of Boston Hip-Hop

Pacey Foster from the Massachusetts Hip-Hop Archive at UMass Boston connected me with Jaypix Belmer, as Belmer was curating an exhibit on Boston Hip-Hop at Black Market Nubian in Roxbury, MA.

During our initial phone conversation, Belmer and I hit it off.  We discovered a mutual love of creating multiple exposure photographs.  We also both find inspiration in the work of photographer Eugene Richards.

I was honored to have my 1980s images of the Boston Hip-Hop scene on view along with Belmer's contemporary images.  The exhibit coincided with Hip-Hop's 50th anniversary.

Photo by Jaypix Belmer

The Boston Globe's James Sullivan attended Moment of Focus and wove vignettes from the event into his article:  In the early days of hip-hop, Boston made its own history.

He made mention of me and my work:

"His photos from various venues around the city were a prominent feature of the recent “Moment of Focus” exhibit, and they made up the bulk of “Hip-Hop: Seen/Unseen,” an exhibit that ran from August until mid-November in Dewey Square on the Rose Kennedy Greenway.

“When I see my photos, it’s about the youth,” said Nordell, now a professor at American International College in Springfield. He recently donated his negatives to the Hip-Hop Archive."

My images were used to illustrate the article.

A history of Hip-Hop in Boston without acknowledging Rusti Pendleton, shown above scratching with his toes, would be woefully incomplete.

Photo by James Bynum

A scant few of my Boston Hip-Hop images were published in the 80s. The rest would still be unseen if record store owner and historian Brian Coleman had not tracked me down to find out if I had more.  Thanks again Brian!

A big thank you as well to Jaypix Belmer for including my work in the Moment of Focus Hip-Hop Exhibit.

Professor John Nordell teaches courses in the Arts, Media, and Design Program at American International College in Springfield, Mass. He blogs about the creative process at CreateLookEnjoy.com and teaches online Zentangle drawing workshops.  

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Hip-Hop: Seen/Unseen - My Archival Images Included in Boston Outdoor Exhibit

Having my images from the 1980s included in the Hip-Hop: Seen/Unseen exhibit is a highlight of my creative life.  I recently donated prints, negatives and writings to The Massachusetts Hip-Hop Archives at UMass Boston.  My hope was that the community and scholars could benefit from access to my work.  This Boston exhibit is near South Station, in Dewey Square Plaza on the Rose Kennedy Greenway.  The following images and curatorial statement are from the opening reception.  The exhibit runs through October.

FEATURING
The Massachusetts Hip-Hop Archive at Mass Boston, the personal collection of Chico Silvera, and select photography by John Nordell, John Brewer, Gabriel Ortiz, and more.

Curated by: Liza Quiñonez @streettheorygallery, Edo G @edogpics, Chico Silvera @chicosilvera77, and Pacey Foster @libraryofvinyl

Visitors examine my photographs on the left panel.

In honor of Hip-Hop's 50-year golden anniversary, Street Theory and The Greenway Conservancy are proud to present Hip Hop: Seen/Unseen, showcasing a carefully curated collection of early concert flyers and rare photographic archives from 1979 to the present. This mini-exhibition, nestled within the Dewey Square Plaza on The Greenway, is a tribute to the raw, captivating allure of Hip-Hop and its deeply embedded roots in Boston's social and cultural tapestry.

T. Nyne looks on as curator Chico Silvera points to T. Nyne's younger self in one of my images from The B-Town Rap Battle held in 1986 at The Institute of Contemporary Art.

Hip-Hop: Seen/Unseen explores the rich cultural heritage, historical journey, and pervasive influence of Hip- Hop in Boston, thereby exposing the vibrant yet often hidden heartbeat of the City.

So thrilled to be part of this historic event.  Note the Boston Bruins logo manhole cover.

THE EXHIBIT
Illuminated by Problak's 2022 mural Breathe Life Together as the backdrop, the exhibition strives to create an authentic portrayal of Hip-Hop's far-reaching influence on Boston's culture. It aims to provoke conversations about music's role in everyday life, the power of grassroots art, and now such movements can redefine a city's identity.

A panel discussion was held at the base of Problack's mural: Breathe Life Together

The show flyers trace the roots of the movement by capturing the genesis of the New York and Boston Hip Hop scenes, while the photographs transcend mere portrayal of iconic figures. Instead, they spot daily life, jam sessions, and gatherings through the lens of the five core elements of Hip-Hop: MCing, DJing, breakdancing, graffiti, and knowledge.  These artifacts reveal how Hip-Hop has been intricately woven into the fabric of Boston's everyday life, profoundly influencing its language, fashion, and communal spaces.

The event featured vendors, break dancing, an expert panel discussion, free food, graffiti artists at work and giveaways.

A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO OUR SUPPORTERS
The Greenway Public Art Program is exclusively funded through grants and private sources, Hip-Hop Seen/Unseen, 2023 was made possible through the generous support of The Barr Foundation, The Greenway Business Improvement District, Goulston & Storrs, and G. Ortiz Photography.

Trailblazing Rusti Pendelton stands between me and curator Pacey Foster.  He was known as Rusty the Toe Jammer as he scratched records with his feet.  A set of my images documenting him performing was in offered in Sotheby's first ever Hip-Hop Auction in 2020.  Click and scroll down to view.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT:
The Massachusetts Hip-Hop Archives at UMass Boston - www.masshiphoparchive.org

Located across from Boston's train station on busy thoroughfare, the exhibition garnered attention from passersby.

I had a chance to meet and connect with another featured photographer John Brewer.  Of course, we were talking technique and cameras. Find him at @jbrewerphoto

Mad Mike of The Floor Lords poses with archival images (not mine). Curator Pacey Foster remarked, "It's magical seeing grown adults turning back to teenagers when they see themselves."  The Floor Lords, a Hip-Hop Breakin Crew since 1981, performed at the event and posted a wonderful video collage.  @floorlordsboston

Shawn Peete then and now.  He poses in the middle of the lower photo that I captured during Maurice Starr's 1986 Hollywood Talent Night.

Professor John Nordell teaches courses in the Arts, Media, and Design Program at American International College in Springfield, Mass. He blogs about the creative process at CreateLookEnjoy.com and teaches online Zentangle drawing workshops.  

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Stepping Out of the Comfort Zone Part 327

I contacted Anna Hepler about doing a collaborative project involving her creating art and me playing drums. Anna is a friend, mentor, brilliant artist and collaborator on previous projects.

My father played jazz drums, leading a combo.  I inherited his bare-bones drum set.

At a minimum he wore a coat and tie for gigs; for fancy events, he and his band wore tuxedoes.

Following my father’s lead, I suggested to Anna that we dress up for our art and music experience.

We had a brief planning phone call before getting together.

When I arrived at the former industrial building that houses her studio, Anna emerged on the loading dock and upon seeing each other we just burst into laughter.

I said, “If I ask my students to step out of their comfort zone, I have to do it myself!”

She replied, “Yes… but for some people stepping out of their comfort zone means using more yellow paint, not getting dressed up and doing this (entering unexplored territory).”

We decided to do one take with me as leader.  Then another take with her as leader. And then one with both of us leading.

We changed outfits for each experimentation.  I somehow thought the video camera angle of view would only capture my waist up coat and tie formality.

The first take was slightly stilted as we were like two individuals operating mostly independently.  By the second take, a synergistic, natural call and response type of thing emerged.

We hoped ultimately for cohesive improvisation. And found it.

It was a joyous experience.  We each brought our own strengths to table.

Reflecting on the collaboration, we at first discussed possible meanings and interpretations.   In the end, we wanted the performance to speak for itself.

As Anna concluded, “I want to treasure the experience as an experience.”

My dad performs at a gig:

Rod Nordell

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Redefining Boundaries: Shedding the Parenthesis of Normal Existence

Usually held at Community Yoga in Greenfield, MA, Alexander Technique teacher Lisa Harvey guided us via the Zoom portal to slow down and notice how we use our bodies.

Explaining how it is possible to become one with a tool by extending our nervous system beyond typical and limited boundaries, Lisa set us free to explore the concept.  I immediately went for my camera.  On this website's About page, the first line of text states, "I love the feel of a camera in my hand."

Eco-Friendly Packing Material

I prowled around my house for a few minutes seeking light and to merge mind, body and spirit with camera.  

Multiple Exposure of the Packing Material

Amazingly and wonderfully, for her exploration, pianist classmate Julia played a Beethoven sonata, providing a lyrical and emotive soundtrack.

Spice it Up

Minutes later we reconvened in our Zoom squares.  Amanda shared the revelatory nature of the experience as she was able to break through her trepidation of singing into a microphone.  

Intentionally and Specifically Out of Focus

Lisa encouraged us to redefine boundaries, to shed the parenthesis of our normal existence.  Look forward to our next out of this world class!

John Nordell teaches courses in the Visual and Digital Arts Program at American International College in Springfield, Mass. He blogs about the creative process at CreateLookEnjoy.com  Instagram: @john.nordell

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The Joy of Carving Out Creative Time for Myself

How do they do it?

Older Couple

How do teaching artists find time to regularly create their own art?  I finally had a day off.  In between watching La La Land (gorgeous light) and Hidden Figures (resilience), I had a 15 minute creative photographic spasm. The results here.

Portal

Likely due to the wondrous creative output of my visual and digital arts students, I found myself inspired as I worked with Lightroom, Photoshop and Topaz Adjust on these in-camera multiple exposures.

Father and Son

Up until now, I have been fairly tame as far as pushing my images to the edge with filters and extreme settings.

Sketch - Calm Before the Storm

 Above: A slice of the world before I used 3 exposures to create a fuller version of reality:

Evergreen

I began laughing at my self-imposed aesthetic rules.   I must always maintain my reserve.  Colors should not be too bright or garish.  How tacky!  Adjustment sliders should not be pushed to the extreme.

After Charles Sheeler (Hadley, MA Cinemark)

But today, listening to Sade, and working on these files, I broke through self-posed boundaries. Convert to a negative film look?  Add a fake filed out enlarger negative carrier frame?  Why not?  So what if I draw attention to the technique?

Sketch - Raw Material

Above:  Before.  Below: Four exposures later.

Open Air

Speaking of aesthetic rules, on Instagram (@professornordell), I never use filters.  Probably has to do with my photojournalistic roots.

Would love to hear from any teaching artists out there how they fit in their creative work with the demands of teaching.

Professor John Nordell teaches courses in the Visual and Digital Arts Program at American International College in Springfield, Mass. He blogs about the creative process at CreateLookEnjoy.com  

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"Pop Life" Exhibited Online and In a Gallery

This is an in-camera multiple exposure.  The Cubist painters inspire me to utilize multiple views simultaneously to portray a subject’s essence.  Shortly after the musician Prince died, I created this piece.  The bright colors evoked his song Pop Life.  I borrowed the title in tribute.

Pop Life

I donated a print of Pop Life to the In-Sight Photography Project (Brattleboro, VT), for the non-profit's annual benefit auction.  The organization provides photography classes to youth on a sliding scale. I invite you to bid on my image and support a good cause.  Bidding ends on October 30, 2016.

Photo by Katie Kohnfelder, In-Sight's Site Manager  

The image is also included in the 2016 National Art Education Association Member Exhibition Online Gallery.

The Best Way to Learn is to Teach - Stephen Covey

Without art, we have no culture. Without culture, we are not fully human.

Professor John Nordell teaches courses in the Visual and Digital Arts Program at American International College in Springfield, Mass. He blogs about the creative process at CreateLookEnjoy.com  Instagram: @professornordell

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Imagine There's No Electricity

There are three billion non-users of energy in the world.  I found this statistic at an exhibition on energy use at the Museum of Science in Boston.

Digital Fingerprint

I decided to briefly become a non-user of energy and wondered what use I could make of electricity dependent technologies.

Printed Circuits

So I deconstructed (literally) an obsolete computer, inked the extracted innards and printed them on paper.  I made further use of the components as instruments.



Evocative and Provocative Pedagogy: Toward a Culture-Changing Curriculum, an outstanding seminar presented with verve and style by Olivia Gude at this year's National Art Education Association convention, no doubt influenced these explorations.  Thank you Olivia.

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Brattleboro Vermont Anti Nuclear Vigil Held on the 25th Anniversary of the Chernobyl Disaster

Looking at this still image, can you almost hear the chanting?

Namu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo

Now, take a look/listen to/at this video.



Six miles from Brattleboro is the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant.  Vermont Yankee's reactor is the same model as those at the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan.

Thank You For Honking

The demonstrators also received an occasional middle finger, or a driver revving his truck and intentionally spewing exhaust.

Smart - Safe - Sanitary

I ducked into a restaurant to use the bathroom and the concept of using electricity to dispense a paper towel in this age of the BP oil spill and the Fukushima crisis seemed excessively wasteful and unnecessary.

Peace

There were representatives from: Citizens Awareness Network, New England Coalition on Nuclear Pollution, Nuclear-Free Future and Taprock Center for Peace and Justice.  Also in attendance was Yukio Iimura from Japan, who is in America for three months, walking, chanting and drumming for various causes.

Hand and Shell

The Jabiluka hand symbol represents Aboriginal opposition to uranium mining in Australia.  The red and yellow background matched perfectly with the colors of a nearby Shell gas station sign. Using the image overlay function on my Nikon D200 digital camera, I combined two separate images to make this one.

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Living in Japan, Baseball and The Promise of America

Enjoy | Delight in Life

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

I spent 1980-81 teaching English in Japan.  While there, I read Thomas Wolfe's You Can't Go Home Again.  (Click any image to enlarge).

Take Me Out with the Crowd

His vivid descriptions of life in America glowed neon bright in my small tatami-matted room.

The packed stands of the stadium, the bleachers sweltering with their unshaded hordes, the faultless velvet of the diamond, unlike the clay-baked outfields down in Georgia.

Buy Me Some Peanuts and Cracker Jack

I recently watched the Triple A Pawtucket (Rhode Island) Red Sox lose to the Durham Bulls.

I Don't Care if I Never Come Back

After the game, families lined up...

Let Me Root, Root, Root for the Home Team

...to run the bases.

The above quote from You Can't Go Home Again, published in 1934, is from the chapter The Promise of America, which ends with this sentence:

So, then, to everyman his chance - to every man, regardless of his birth, his shining, golden opportunity - to every man the right to live, to work, to be himself, and to become whatever thing his manhood and his vision can combine to make him - this, seeker, is the promise of America.

Jack Norworth wrote Take Me Out To The Ballgame in 1908.

Tech Tips: Ansco Pix Panorama camera, no settings to set, Kodak Gold Max 800 Speed 24 Exposure 35mm Film (4 Pack), film processed and scanned at Walgreens.

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Old School Music, Old Buildings, and War Still Goes On

Look | Sensory Inspiration

Driving West from Hartford, Connecticut on Route 44 I listened the 9 o'clock Old School Block with 93.7 FM deejays Buck and Nancy. The interaction of the on-air personalities and callers, who often sang snippets of songs, was joyous and fun. My favorites: Strawberry Letter 23 by The Brothers Johnson, Freak of the Week by Funkadelic and I Wanna be Your Lover by Prince.

I wanted the set of energizing music to go on forever. However, this amazing house in New Hartford convincingly called me to exit my car and photograph. The structure sat next to a church and across the street from a war memorial.

Church, State and Home

Old Glory

Contemplating the price paid by the soldiers and their families, I continued on my journey.

TechTalk: Nikon D200, 17-55mm, ISO 200. Old Glory and Church, State and Home are in-camera multiple exposures treated with Topaz Adjust, a plug-in for Photoshop CS4. ©2010 John Nordell

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