I will be showing some of this work at the COLLEGE OF MARIN Fine Arts Gallery in Kentfield, CA October 19 to Nov 12, 2009.
..........sometime in June of 2004, I finally followed my instincts and ventured down off of the 880
freeway fly over to the streets of West Oakland in search of an abandoned train station.
I had been eyeing the site for months, but other photographic interests had kept me away. I could wait no more.
The building I finally located is at 16th and Wood in northwest Oakland, CA. It was built at
the turn of the 20th century and served as a hub for traffic from L. A and San Francisco to Sacramento.
In 1988 after a substantial earthquake, the controlling agency CalTrans, abandoned it so the inhabitants
of the neighborhood and other urban adventurers made it theirs.
Probably since the early sixties when I first recognized that the images of Robert Frank were so
hauntingly and personally familiar, I have been drawn to places like this.
The fact that it was inhabited by Willy and Paul was a curious surprise.....their presence amplified the meaning of the project and made it substantial and worth pursuing.
WPM 2006