stefano giovannini’s journals

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April 09, 2010

I was biking bike home and I turned left from Myrtle ave into Skillman instead of the usual Bedford ave. The traffic was stopped and I could see a crowd around a schoolbus.

A Mexican delivery person on a bike got hit by school bus. He appeared unhurt but shocked as he almost got ran over. He filed no report with the police. He needed an interpreter as he spoke no english even if he worked for the  kosher butcher Simon’s just around the corner. The Hasidic  kids surrounded me as they wanted to see the pictures I took. They appeared very curious after an initial suspicion. I had to tell them I was not Jewish and from Italy which is in Europe and it was a bit confusing, I asked the kids how many siblings they had and they replied “between 3 and 4 or so”. But someone said they know of a family of 15 kids and another one where the israeli mother has 20 children.

They wanted my business card but I told them I could only give it to a parent. There was a mother with a balck turban at the window, I gave her my info and told her I would email the photos.

A few blocks down took photo of chair in the window and hasidic woman told me it would be a nicer picture if her 2 year old daughter would be sitting on it but she was now asleep.

I remember in 1997 I was going to a loft party in the area and the Hasidic women would not even stop when I asked for directions. Now they are ok at being photographed sometimes and have Mexicans with big crosses on their chests working for them by doing deliveries or selling flowers.

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April 09, 2010

I took a dollar van on Flatbush avenue. Private vans pick up and drop off passengers for a dollar between Kings Plaza and Downtown Brooklyn. The subway stops at avenue I and MTA buses are slow and not very frequent. Some vans are legit and licensed while some are not. You can tell just by looking at the license plate.

In the West Indian neighborhood private drivers imported the transportation concept of their native countries like the Tap Tap in Haiti and the Route Taxis in Jamaica.

Toanna Nixon of Flatbush got on the dollar van after the gym and said: “I take the dollar van because it is easy to commute from home to work and it is perfect to take when I am running late”.

Torianna E. Merritt got on to go to work at Kings Plaza: “I ride the dollar van because it’s convenient. They get me to work as quick as possible. They don’t make as many stops as the city bus. I am a make-up artist so sometimes I need to finish my face on my way to work. It is a challenge but I get the job done.”

The driver is Winston Williams. He runs the company which includes other vans and drivers.

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Gallery on E64th and Madison. Hard to see from the street but a whole townhouse. Veuve Cliquot Champagne and words on the wall. Old friends and acquaintances here and there. Got there too early biking from Gravesend Brooklyn after a brief stop at home. Some water and countless of glasses of champagne, after which I could not drink the too sweet Prosecco,

Artist Tony Oursler had a show in Milan just before I moved to NYC. I remember the opening after party at Bar Jamaica. Chloe Sevigny told me she has still one of my photos on her wall. I remember the day I moved to NYC getting off teh subway and walking up on E7th street with my life in a couple of suitcases on wheels.

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Vodou celebration for Damballa (sometimes represented by St Patrick) in East Flatbush.

Many Vodou celebrations have been cancelled after the quake in Port au Prince. The woman that gave me a plate of rice and beans at the end of the ceremony told me with teary eyes that she had lost family and friends.

There were many young kids, especially the priest’s daughter being active part of the ceremony.

Last minute show after my quick but dense trip to Jamaica.

an instinctive edit.

Opening at Habana Outpost on Monday 29th of June. 6 to 9 pm

757 Fulton street in the Ft Greene section of Brooklyn NY.

pass it around

http://cafehabanablog.wordpress.com/

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=113901361404&ref=nf

“A display of photos I took on my trips to Jacmel, Haiti and the West End of Jamaica.

In September I spent 2 weeks in the South East of Haiti. The town of Jacmel had been hit by 4 hurricanes. Food crops and many homes had been wrecked by storms and floods. I witnessed the daily life of different people. Daily struggle combined with dignity and passion.

This June I spent a week in the West end of Jamaica. The town of Negril with the contrast between the inclusive resorts with partying tourists and the peace of the countryside and the west end. I rented a bicycle and went over the mountains on the other side of the west end. I met people that shared food and stories. Windswept rocky coasts, goat trails and mountains with lush mango trees.

15 miles away from Negril, a different reality”

Prints will be for sale at affordable prices.

I will use part of the net profits to send some additional funds to Guerline Laguerre.  A single pregnant  Haitian woman I met on the beach in Jacmel.

I  raised money through Facebook fundraiser so she could pay for  a Cesarian section delivery as in Haiti health care is not free.

She now has a baby daughter she named Stefania and very little money for food.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=43964902495

Another part of the sale will help me cover the costs to send photos back to all the nice people of Jamaica that showed me a bit of their lives. Many had no camera nor many photos of themselves. They loved the idea of having a good photo of themselves.