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WOMEN HOLD UP HALF THE SKY

Limited Edition Printing of New Book "Women Hold Up Half the Sky."

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WOMEN HOLD UP HALF THE SKY

WOMEN HOLD UP HALF THE SKY

WOMEN HOLD UP HALF THE SKY

WOMEN HOLD UP HALF THE SKY

WOMEN HOLD UP HALF THE SKY

Limited Edition Printing of New Book "Women Hold Up Half the Sky."

Limited Edition Printing of New Book "Women Hold Up Half the Sky."

Limited Edition Printing of New Book "Women Hold Up Half the Sky."

Limited Edition Printing of New Book "Women Hold Up Half the Sky."

Gerard Exupery
Gerard Exupery
Gerard Exupery
Gerard Exupery
1 Campaign |
Montclair, United States
$4,679 USD 43 backers
31% of $14,750 Flexible Goal Flexible Goal
Choose your Perk
I just want to help.

I just want to help.

$10 USD $11 USD (9% off)
Est. Shipping
May 2021
4 claimed
Book 10% OFF LIMITED TIME

Book 10% OFF LIMITED TIME

$67 USD $75 USD (10% off)
Est. Shipping
May 2021
16 out of 20 of claimed
The New Book + SUBWAY

The New Book + SUBWAY

$90 USD $120 USD (25% off)
Est. Shipping
May 2021
16 out of 35 of claimed
Book + 1-13x19 Print

Book + 1-13x19 Print

$150 USD $225 USD (33% off)
Est. Shipping
May 2021
2 out of 25 of claimed
Book + 2-13x11 Prints

Book + 2-13x11 Prints

$250 USD $375 USD (33% off)
Est. Shipping
May 2021
0 out of 40 of claimed
Book+Critique+1-13x19 Print

Book+Critique+1-13x19 Print

$500 USD $725 USD (31% off)
Est. Shipping
May 2021
1 out of 5 of claimed
Book /10 13x19 Archival Prints

Book /10 13x19 Archival Prints

$1,099 USD $1,575 USD (30% off)
Est. Shipping
May 2021
0 out of 3 of claimed

My first job was driving a New York City taxi.

I drove a Checker Cab; The front seat had so much room it could have been a sub-let.  I always had my Nikon up there with me, and I used it every day.

I never stopped.

I knew from the age of nine that I wanted to take pictures. Seeing the catalog from the 1972 Diane Arbus retrospective at the Met blew my little mind.

I didn't know that it was even possible to make images like that. Then I discovered Josef Koudelka, Lisette Model, Bresson, Stephen Shore, Francesca Woodman, Meyerowitz, and Lee Friedlander. My camera club aesthetic got the boot, and I never looked back. It was to be many years before I found my eye, but now I knew the direction I was going.

In 1978 I was accepted to Lisette Model's master class at the New School. I also attended the School of Visual Arts, and I continued driving a cab while doing so.

For forty years, I've been quietly documenting the people, streets, and subways of New York City. I didn't talk about it much or show my work to very many people. As a young man, I knew there would be a time when I was an older (exceptionally handsome) man to give my images the attention needed for them to have a life out in the world.



"Women Hold Up Half the Sky" is my second book about New York City. It is a loving tribute to the women who have passed in and out of my life during the last 40 years of New York City, Street Photography. The 100 images cover the period 1975 - 2020. They are complemented by ten essays written by me about coming of age in New York City.

Book Specifications:
100 Pages
10 Original Stories  
Hardcover- Imagewrap
11x 13 Landscape  
Premium 100# Lustre Photographic Paper
Signed & Numbered 
Limited Edition

Images and an excerpt from a story in the book follow:

Delancy Street New York City 2019

Girl Who Ran From Her Nanny  Madison Avenue New York City 1976

Corner of Lexington Avenue at 54th Street New York City 1976

Two Women Descending a Staircase The Occulus New York City 2018


Coney Island Fishing Pier Coney Island Brooklyn NY 1983
 


 


Linda

When You Pray, Be Specific

– By Gerard Exupery

December 31, 2020

It’s another beautiful day in paradise. Dark and rainy. It’s one of those days that suggest the beauty of film. F-stop wide open, the darkness and grain, the feeling of an impressionist painting. It makes me think of being with someone I love hidden away from the world. There’s a bottle of Merlot we’ve been nursing, and we are creating images together. Clothing optional.

I don’t know how many days I have had like this in my life; I know the number is not enough. Those kinds of days are mostly remembered at my current age, the possibility of more dwindling rapidly.

I’ve been really pissed off at the universe lately. My lower back looking like Chernobyl and being unable to roam the city I love, is one reason. I still think like I’m 18, yet my body keeps telling me that I am 65.

For the most part, I am a realist. This is the situation; let’s deal with it and move on to the next. So, I have agreed with The Black Dog and the Universe to accept my age, my systems breaking down, and the inevitability of the power being turned off.

I escaped the yoke of organized religion. Though I had been exposed to both the Jewish and Catholic faith when very young. I remember only that these things were not like the others in my life of sleep, eat, toys, and cartoons, and everyone was acting way too seriously.

I don’t believe in God, and I am a cowardly atheist. I only pray when I am terrified or desperately want something. When my mother got older, she went back to the church after 50 years of being outside. I had no opinion other than it seemed about right for her. I never criticize anyone’s religion, as it has nothing to do with me. In fact, I have great respect for those individuals who have deep unquestioning faith.

I only have faith in human behavior.

I have always enjoyed religion’s mythology, though, and I know a fair amount about the more popular ones. I don’t have to believe in a God or any organized religion to apply its philosophy. My favorite being, “What would Jesus do?” He wouldn’t vote for God damn Trump, and I can tell you that.

Before she died, my mother insisted I learn the Lord’s Prayer just if I was wrong about this whole atheism thing.

I live alone, and I like it. I like being able to finish a paragraph in a book without having to hide in the bathroom. I watch the TV and movies I want to watch. I also stay up as late as I wish to write or working on my pictures, or tending to my ant colony.

There are times, however, that I am lonely for the companionship of the opposite sex. I may have always been crap in relationships, but I sure as hell enjoyed the work.

Recently I asked God to let me fall in love one more time before my expiration date. A little while ago, and seemingly in answer to my plea, I did. The details aren’t essential, but it did seem as if our Lord, be He Hairy Thunderer or Cosmic Muffin*,  is a bit of a joker. I really should have been much more specific with my request.

Next time it goes like this: “Hello. It’s me. Not scared, but I do want something. Okay? Here goes. Just one more time before I do the dirt nap, I would like to fall in love. Also, I would like the person I fall in love with to love me back. Please, Lord, do not make her bat shit crazy like the last one. Please don’t make her anti-vax, anti-mask, gluten-free, conspiracy-believing, fortune teller going, and rabid Trump supporter. You know, like the last one. Thanks.”

They say God is in the details.

So after that short and rather unsettling journey into poor decision-making, I spent a lot of time thinking. Had I, in fact, reached my “best if used by” date? In my funk, I buried myself in the massive job of preparing a new layout for “Women Hold Up Half the Sky,” my new book.

PLUG: If you haven’t done so, please go to my Indiegogo page and leave your email address. UNPLUG.

Obviously, in the book, there will be images of women I have been in relationships with. Looking at each image elicits a different response from my head and my gut. One or two make me cringe, and one actually haunts me. It is an image of Linda.

See, she was in love with me, and I was even engaged to her at one point. At least until she figured out that I was never going to marry her and that I never loved her the way she did me. We parted company and stayed friends for a couple of years but eventually lost touch...

The full story is 1500 words, and you can read it here. My other stories and essays can be found here.

 

Linda

In his introduction to‘SUBWAY New York City 1975-1985’  Mark McQueen said of Exupery:

"Gerard Exupery is one of those people who always has something to say. He has an uncanny talent for prying poetry out of the most banal of topics, inspiring you to look at them anew. This talent is even more evident in the visual realm. He has always managed to distill the chaos of life in New York down to concise, sometimes profound, but always original reflections on the human condition.”

Why Crowdfunding?

My first book, "SUBWAY New York City 1975-1985," was a great success. It was softcover, measured 10x8, and had 70 pages with 60 images and 5 short essays. It has sold out twice.

"Women Hold Up Half the Sky"  will measure 11x13, have approximately 100 pages, and be hardcover with an image wrap. It is printed on premium paper by a photographic printer, and the quality is excellent. Worth every penny.  Our cost to print the quantity necessary to get a substantial discount is 3 times what "SUBWAY New York City 1975-1985" was.


The Bottom Line

The funds generated by this campaign will be used to print an initial run of 200 copies. If the campaign continues past its goal, there will be a second run of 100 copies printed. Should it continue past that point, the funds will be applied to our third book production.
 

What Happens if We Don't Reach Our Goal?

This is uncharted territory for us.  Regardless of the outcome, we will conduct ourselves in an open and transparent manner.
 

Questions?

Please send me an email at gerard@gerardexupery.com.


About me, Writing, Etc.

Print:  
Interview: A Lifetime of Photography 

 Video:
Interview: The Week in PhotographyTWIP 
Interview: The Beginning Photography Podcast
Interview: Black & White Photography

My Writing:  
Essays: Here
My Website

 

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