more from the michael reese hospital

since chicago did not get the olympics, there is still the lingering question as to what exactly is going to heppen to the michael reese campus. all the landscaping has been completly removed and the rest is almost ready for demolition. there was a meeting on friday to discuss these issues between the city and interested parties, including concerned citizens of chicago. i have yet to get the news on any resolutions.

i am almost done editing the images that i feel are strong enough to represent this place and my own work. I will add a few from that collection here. I am designing a proposal to the chicago cultural center and other venues for exhibiting my work along with the photographers that shot the transition of the michael reese hospital over the past 6 months or so: tim long, mark marano, david schalliol, and dirk mathews.

again, i hope you have a chance to visit the gropius coalition chicago's website and keep informed as to the fate of the MRH.

 The Serum Center

Baumgarten Pavillion From The Kaplan PavillionOn top the Parking Garage

The Max Strauss Tumor Clinic

Looted Plaque and The Singer Building

Overgrown path

Sculpture removedSunshades on the Baumgarten Pavillion

LabratoryDivider Lot 45

MRH

i have been working on a new project with two of my colleagues on and off and shooting often solo. we are documenting the michael reese hospital on the south side of chicago, which 8 of its buildings were designed by walter gropius, founder of the bauhaus in weimar and scholar at the new bauhaus in chicago. the hospital began closing down over a year ago and only two or three of the centers are scheduled to close over the next few months. the mrh is set for demolition for the olympics in 2016, which chicago has yet to secure. if it looses the olympic bid, the area will be sold and used for new condos and the like. looters are stripping the buildings of valuable decorative elements/sculptures and security has failed to keep squatters from breaking into the facilities. 

i recently started communications with an architectural preservation organization, the gropius in chicago coalition, that is fighting to preserve the hospital. we are discussing ways to reach a greater population and inform the public the issues involved at the mrh. we are planing to host a number of informational gatherings and photographic exhibitions. please visit the gropius coalition's website, www.savemrh.com/, i believe it is worthy of your time.

here are a few images from the site.

Update on Thursday, June 18, 2009 at 12:42AM by kgm photo blog

also, i redesigned my website: kevinmalella.com for the thesis show and includes only my thesis work. i am not sure how long that will last, but i doubt i will go backwards from here; only new work perhaps. i may add some of the older work to a portfolio for this blog, but only time will tell.

time to get back to work....

ok.. after a long break due to final projects and travel... mostly travel, it is time to put my nose to the grind stone again. i am taking a long look at current grad students around the U.S. and have found a few noteworthy photographers. i will upload a few from that list when i have access my personal computer + internet. until then, i will patiently await new posts and leave you with some good news; i was awarded the jeannie pierce award for the 2009 spe conference in dallas. hope to see you there.

bests,

kgm

here's a few new pics for you...

pda photobooth project updated.

nick veasey

i briefly overheard a science friday segment on npr's talk of the nation highlighting x-ray photographer nick veasey. i was quite impressed as they described his x-ray of a commercail airliner and other unlikely objects such as a tractor, teddy bear, and electric chair. veasey recently published a collection of his work entitled: x-ray: see through the world around you. i think it's worth a gander.

reflections

two things i would like to mention here... first off, this morning while driving my lady-friend to work, she reached over and lifted a fallen eyelash from my right cheek. ritually, she asked "which finger?" i chose the thumb, and as usual she flips today's finger of choice on the bottom to let gravity increase my odds. i won the toss up, and as usual, felt like i had nothing to wish for... i have everything i need and appreciate all that i have. i usually pick a topic seemingly pressing and either close to my heart or to my loved ones. this time, for some reason, i wanted it more than other wishes... i thought, not speaking a word of course, i wish the hostage situation in india will come to a swift and peaceful end... i'll take 1 out of 2 in this situation. an hour later, i heard on npr that the situation had nearly been resolved, less the one missing gunman "presumably dead". my heart lifted slightly with much weight to bare... i am so sorry and offer my love to the nearly two hundred human beings that lost their lives and those locally and globally close to them.

secondly, i want to reflect on the stampeding, 4:50 am, maniac walmart shoppers in new york on black friday that killed on walmart employee. nothing is more deranged than this complete and utter... no words seem to describe it well enough here. i am completely blown away and ashamed by the values perpetuated in this money/commodity driven society. seems like the fellowship we so admired in each other, post 9/11, has risen its white flag in the heartland of humanity. may i so naively and rhetorically ask the question, what the hell is the matter with people?  to top it off, the customers where aggravated that the new york walmart store was evacuating and closing the store upon learning of Jdimytai Damour's death. the police were the only authority able to force the shopping crowds from the retailer's floors. i hang my head in disbelief.

Photos courtesy of Newsday