Artist Statement
This project combines two elements: My love of photography along with the playfulness of the playing cards. The structure is comprised of two canvases, back and front, stretched over reinforced 42” x 76” stretcher frames.

My plan is to set up the cards in various locations in and around Philadelphia and photograph them. I constructed them so they can be display in any number of ways. They can be hinged to form one continuous line from eighty to 133 feet. I can suspend them using 50lb fishing line, in a sense floating them, I can build a house of cards either falling down or being erected, or build them up to over eighteen feet high and putting them on top of buildings or on passing barge Then photograph them in the juxtaposition in the various locations Video taping peoples reactions to the cards as well at there assemble. Then hopefully have an art gallery opening.

I love the opportunity of showing this artwork to as many people as possible.

I look forward at seeing people’s reaction as I try to shock and awe them with this spectacularly large house of cards, photographing them as they stumble across it.

The one question that I am asked most often is why I am doing it. I can only wonder if Cristo or Oldenberg were asked the same question. I could get philosophical and say it represents the fragility of society or how it reminds us of our childhood, or how it bridges childhood with adulthood.

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Artist Statement

We were all children once. And then we grew old. And each day has etched itself into our minds, our bodies and our spirits. Survivors. I photograph survivors.

These homeless men are a different kind of a survivor. Except for them it is day to day and merely keeping alive.

I have to tread lightly when selecting to photographing the homeless. Some of those that sleep on the street were kicked out of the shelters. Others may not be taking there medications. I empathize with them and listen to their stories. I actually get to know and like them. They need help! One does not just approach them one must establish a rapport and trust, along with a hand out. They also clue me in to which homeless to stay away from They touch my heart, and often Ifeel that I ought to give them more.

Artist Statement
The feeling I get when I am inside this church alone surrounded by all the beauty is at times overwhelming. I am in awe of its entire splendor. It’s just me and my thoughts and my camera. I could not be happier.

Everywhere I look, even the floor I stand on, is magnificent. Not a sound to interrupt my thoughts. Everything is laid out to perfection and the light coming through the stained glass bounces off the 250-foot partite ceiling. I am at peace.

As it is with all of us, it is our experiences that shape who we are and how we think. With me it is my travels starting at the age of 18 and seeing all of Europe and spending much time in museums and marveling at the space encompassed by cathedrals.

As I got older the travel bug never left. I journeyed to over 50 countries in Africa and Asia. What sticks in my brain is the poverty. The young children begging; the bloated stomachs of the children I saw traveling down the Nile. People digging through garbage. The smell of the squalor everywhere.

Going overland from Egypt to Tanzania by riverboat, by camel and hitchhiking. Waiting at water holes. Having guns pointed at me in Uganda during the reign of the crazed dictator Idi Amin. All are vivid memories even now. Then there are the homeless in this country and the way we treat our veterans.

I cannot shout from the rooftops about the injustices I see; I also cannot shout of what is beautiful out there. What I can do is photograph what I see all around me. If I can arouse emotion and get people to stop for a moment, that makes it all worthwhile for me. With my work I am laying myself open for all to see.

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Images copyright © Bruce Kravetz

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