Denver announces freedom of speech area at DNC

The city of Denver, in preparation of some lude and wild DNCers, has ensured 50,000 square feet to uninhibited, unfettered "free speech" zones. So make sure you are inside the corral when you want to speak your mind to avoid Denver police "involvement." Kinda sad that the First Amendment requires such control.

A Two-Point Perspective on "The House is Small but the Welcome is Big"

"The House is Small but the Welcome is Big" photography benefit show explores the daily lives of 15 women and children in Africa. Each photograph, taken by a child from Mozambique or a woman from Cape Town, is a documentation of their lives, all of which are affected by poverty and/or disease. So what makes these photographs so interesting and powerful? I'll answer that question with yet, another question: Would you be able simply to shoot photographs of your family, your friends, your town, etc. and be able to capture and convey your daily struggles, triumphs, thoughts, and emotions? It is the two-point perspective in these photos-- that of the women and children photographers and that of the viewer -- that makes these photos so remarkable.

Remember, these African women and children were simply trying to document their day to day lives. As the photos show, this includes everything from bathing to cooking to shopping to playing to spending time with friends and family. However, some photos show a collection of medicines for HIV/AIDS and children at graves mourning the deaths of their parents. With these photos, the women and children are still documenting the darker side of their everyday existence. Disease, poverty, and death have become the norm to these African communities, and unfortunately, remain a part of everyday life. And yet, we also see more positive photos that show the love between a man and a woman and boys playing games in the sand -- all of which are indicative of the joy and contentment experienced in the daily lives of these remarkable photographers.

It is our (the viewers') emotional responses that also prove the powerfulness of these photographs. While the photos may be simply documentaries, we are able to see and understand the continuous struggle to provide enough food for a family, the daily battle against disease, and the constant pain of losing a loved one. It is the fact that these women and children were able visually to capture their daily lives and, in so doing, allow us to understand those daily struggles that makes these photographs so extraordinary.

Participant Photography as social justice - The House is Small but The Welcome is Big

With Americans attention focused on the effects of inflation, global warming and the presidential debates, how does a human problem, a social problem - that of poverty compounded by AIDS - garner the focus of Americans and our influence on global culture today? One answer is powerful participant photography.

"The House is Small but The Welcome is Big" a photography show co-created by one of Hollywood's more influential producers, Dr. Neal Baer, and a non-profit called Venice Arts, launched this week and weekend in Denver at GALLERY M. Each photograph was taken, not by a paparazzi snap shooter but by orphaned children of Mozambique and women of Cape Town. Their daily struggle with AIDS and poverty is portrayed convincingly.

The P.O.V. of each photograph is that of the children and women behind the lens after "basic" training with amongst other's, Jim Hubbard - a Pulitzer nominated photographer. What do they see that a Western observer does not? The expected sorrow, tragedy and dire conditions which they live - of course. But the playfulness, the hope and the memories which nurture, empower and extend their lives beyond the "ghettos and shantys" of Africa.

According to Baer and Venice Art's director, Lynn Warshovsky, "...try to imagine living without electricity, running water, with the stigma of AIDS and then find a possible way out through a camera..." The impact is great. The question though is how to continue the influence of being able to communicate visually when basic needs like having electricity to power a digital camera remain the exception.

The expectation is that at $400 an image framed, sales to concerned and avid collectors will yield a lasting resource and allow Americans to contribute to efforts elsewhere. Initially the Maputo, Mozambique community will directly benefit from the show. The hope, according to Baer, is to extend the same project to other world communities needing their story told.

Pictured on the Wednesday evening gala are Law and Order's Baer, GALLERY M owners Mason Hayutin and Myrna Hayutin, Venice Arts Warshovsky and Denver Mayor Hickenlooper.