Uncle Charlie says he never had a friend. That no one listened then, and no one listens now. I am the last guy standing.
My uncle was born into dysfunction and he bred dysfunction throughout his life. Much like his father, Uncle Charlie has ended up by the window, a shell of himself, looking out onto a world that never had a place for him, waiting for a chance that didn't come. But he survived. Through it all, he survived.
People often ask me what Uncle Charlie is about. After thirty years of photographing him one would think I would be able to easily sum it up. But this book is life, raw unintelligible life; the life of one man, my uncle, and as in life, there are no easy answers or summaries. It's about broken dreams, disappointment, and having the resiliency to find slivers of happiness in an oppressed existence. It's about consequences, missed opportunities, delusions and loss. . It's about a relationship between two men, from two generations, living very different lives, bound by family. It's a collaboration of sorts: his words and my images. It's my dance with my godfather.
To be ignored in life and eventually forgotten in death is a terrible thing. I think this book has given my uncle the dignity to tell his own story in his own words, a chance to step up onto an imaginary stage before an anonymous audience and be heard. He has always considered his life an untold tragedy. He got the chance he always wanted: to be heard. In exchange, the world also gets the chance to look back in through the window that Charlie sits by everyday and see what's on the other side.
Awards HONORS & AWARDS
• Dextra Baldwin McGonagle Foundation
• Aperture/Paris Photo First Book Award Short List 2012
• London International Creative Competition 2008
• Black & White Spider Awards 2008
• Society of Publications Designers, 2006
• Indiana University Distinguished Citizen Fellowship, 2002
• Alicia Patterson Fellowship, 2001
• Mother Jones Documentary Grant, 2000
• Eugene Smith Grant 1993
• NYFA Fellowship, 1992
• Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Artist in Residence, 1991-1992
• NEA Fellowship, 1988
• NYFA Fellowship, 1988
• Life Magazine, Photographer’s Grant, 1987
• Society of Newspaper Designers, Award of Excellence, 1984
BOOKS & CATALOGUES
• Uncle Charlie, Contrasto, 201
• New York in Color: Bob Shamis ,Abrams 2011
• BLINK, Phaidon Press, April 2002
REVIEWS & INTERVIEWS
• Photograph Magazine / Vince Aletti 20
• After Image,2013
• The Observer / Sean O’Hagan Jan 5 2013
• The Story- WUNC / APM/ NPR Recorded Jan 4 2013
• Photograph Magazine / Vince Aletti 2013
• American Photo Jan/ Feb, 2012
• The Observer / Sean O’Hagan Dec 21 2013
• Time Magazine Top Book Books Of The Year 2012
• Photo-Eye Magazine: Top Photo Books Of The Year 2012
• The New Yorker / Photo Booth Dec 6,2012
• The New Yorker/ Going On About Town: Art Dec 2 2012
• The Takeaway / NPR, 2012
• Le Journal de la Photographie (Exhibition Review) Nov 2012
• Le Journal de la Photographie (Book Review) Nov 2012
• The Independent, England, Nov 24 2012
• Art daily.org,USA, Nov 16 2012
• La Repubblica Italy, Nov 11 2012
• Hot Parade, USA, Nov 2012 • 20 Minutos.es
• Click Blog It, Nov 2012
• CNN Photo Blog Nov 29 2012
