It was fun to attend and participate in the opening reception via Zoom of the 2020 Davinci Art Alliance Members Exhibition. The staff really did a nice job of showing everyone’s work and a number of the exhibitors (including yours truly) spoke about their submissions. All and all a very nice time!  As previously mentioned, DVAA said the “exhibition reflects on light in what has been a dark year.”

When I saw the other work and heard what the artists had to say, it really was pretty much light and full of optimism.  What I presented and what I said about it was far from light and cheery. But it needed to be shown and said; at least I thought so. We have come through one of the darkest times for our country I can remember.  And as much as I am thrilled about the outcome of the election, I know that every day will be a challenge, in terms of governance and fighting the pandemic. Yes, the vaccine is coming, but we will also have close to 500,000 dead by March 1^st no matter what. And it could be worse if strict measures are not enacted and adhered to.

So was I wrong about showing Our American Gothic and being a Debbie Downer amidst all the good cheer that was visually presented and spoken about?  I don’t think so. Looking and talking about what we are living through will help us see the light at the end of the tunnel and get to the other side more quickly and less painfully.

Believe it or not, I’m a glass half full kind of guy. Really!  I am hopeful we will get passed what 2020 brought us, but it won’t be easy and it won’t be fast. So while I am usually an optimist, I also consider myself a realist.  I will continue to look for the good … look for the light. I did that when I made my Covid-19 series of photographs earlier this year, but I know that if we don’t work together, make the sacrifices that need to be made, and hold all of our elected officials accountable, then my friends we all will be SOL.

I’ll make the pictures I see that move me and make them in a safe way.  For now that means very few candids, just as it has been since about March, but that’s all right. For me there has been a silver lining here … photographically that is. I’m thinking much more expansively than I was pre-Covid in terms of the types of pictures I am looking for. And that’s a good thing. So while Our American Gothic was dark and what I said that night was too, I am hopefully optimistic for brighter times ahead. Photographically speaking, I am seeing more of the light, even if my photographs may not always depict it.

Stay safe,

Michael