Today we talk with photographer Bryan Sansivero, whose work has been described in The New York Times as creepy, sad, and beautiful. He travels widely looking for abandoned houses to shoot inside and out. His short documentary, “Shadows of Kings Park,” about a closed up mental institution, can be found on YouTube, and his book, American Decay, is in its second edition. You can find him on Instagram @st.severus and his website.
Inspired by Christo while in college, Kristin Jones enlisted the help of an army of volunteers to “draw” a parade of she wolves, the emblem of Rome, by powerwashing away biological growth from the walls of the Tiber River. Her hope is to someday animate the procession from her archive of more than 90 drawings. In our visit, she talks about that project; another in Rome, her first there, created from dust; and others, including some in New York City, where she lives. As much as she’s interested in such cosmic subjects as the fluidity of light and the continuum of time, she’d like us to know that, using her years of experience as an architecture model maker, she also work on a miniature scale. Often working collaboratively, her mission is to “render the invisible visible and awaken a sense of wonder.” You can explore her oevre at kristinandreajones.com and eternaltiber.net.
A 2011 New York Times article about “persistent public artist” Jones and her Washington Square digital project honoring an almost 350-year-old tree known as Hangman’s Elm.
Open Studio 