An Overflowing Bucket Of Shit, It's The American Way

A new interview is in the current issue of NY Arts Magazine. To read the full conversation click here. Here is an excerpt:

Leah Oates: Your images deal with working-class people and environments in the United States, and have a melancholy side to them. How did you come to this theme in your artistic practice?

Me: The working-class people, as you refer to them, the workingman is the victim lab rat of this great experiment called America. America is founded upon a man at the top of the pyramid shitting in a bucket and then handing it down to the man below him, then that guy shits in the bucket and hands it down to the man below him. As each man takes his turn shitting in the bucket and handing it down, it eventually reaches the man at the bottom and that is the workingman. The workingman is given a bucket of shit filled so high that there is no room for him to shit, and no one below him to hand the bucket down to, so he is stuck with it. He has no other option or choice, and he is forced to eat and deal with everyone else’s shit, everyone else’s mistakes, failures, miscalculations, and selfishness. And, well, that ain’t cool with me. This bucket of shit or perhaps a nice way of referring to it is the trickle down society we have built our politics and economy on, doesn’t work for everyone, and problems can’t just be pushed downward, swept under the carpet and forgotten about. It takes Americans the absolute worst to realize that there is problem, and usually at that point the pile of forgotten problems under the carpet have become so big that the carpet looks like the tiny white snow cap on top of a mountain. And by then it is too late.

The Daily Beast

I am excited to have Down These Mean Streets featured on The Daily Beast. Thank you Rachel!

You Down With POC? Yeah You Know Me!

"We are the Union
The mighty mighty Union.
Where ever we go
People want to know
Who we are
So we tell them
We are the Union
The mighty mighty Union."

-A little jingle sung in front of the blow up rat during Union protests of scab worksites.


The start of a photography Union (or something kinda like it) has arrived in America. And like most good things these days in America, it comes from Europe, The Piece of Cake (POC) network of photographers. We have been in great need of something of this nature for some time, I hope we can all unite and grow stronger as a union of individuals with unique visions. Here is an excerpt from a past interview that never made it to the final edit:

Interviewer: Finally Will, what advice would you give to any young or up-and-coming photographers who are reading this?

Me: I have always been a big fan of the story about the old bull and young bull on top of a hill overlooking a field of cows. The young bull says, "Let's race down to that field and fuck one of those cows," to which the older bull replies, "Let's walk down there and fuck them all." I never really understood how this whole "emerging" photographer thing became so popular, other than as a means of business and really just a sales pitch. Young or old, established or just starting out, we are all artists and photographers regardless of where we are in our careers. I think the most important thing to understand about this game is to see not just what's right in front of you but to look far down the road. As we learned from the outcome of the Mexican revolution, you must have a national plan as well as a local plan, because you may just win a fight or two, but there will still be a war to battle through. No matter where you are in your career there will always be that next step to climb. There will also always be someone standing on the step you are attempting to climb and so as artists we must learn to organize and unite and not regress into labels and categorizes, me must walk together and not run reckless and short sighted, we must help each other climb up those steps with open arms and lift each other up, united and strong.

1,000 Words

Some of my work and a new interview are featured in the new summer issue of 1,000 Words. Be sure to check out Troika Editions they have a special offer on limited edition prints available until the end of July and proceeds will help support 1,000 Words. Support the scene!

Come See What Everyone Has Been Talking About

Come see what everyone has been talking about. Come see what photography on crack and steroids looks like. Come see this journey I have made through our country's streets. Come see what I have given myself to. Come see what I now give to you. Come see what I promise you is worth seeing. This is it folks. Right this way. I hope to see you there.


-Conscientious
-A Photo Editor
-Rachel Hulin
-MTV
-Bomblog
-Inside The Loop
-We Can't Paint
-Jake Stangel
-Art Most Fierce
-Eyes of Artists
-Slow Century Magazine
-Justin James Reed

Thank you my friends for all of the support, kind words and fuel for that fire.


Down These Mean Streets

Photographs by Will Steacy

Opening Reception TOMORROW NIGHT!

Thursday June 4th, 6-8pm
Gulf & Western Gallery
New York University
721 Broadway
NYC

Sidelined With A Broken Arm

Yup. I'll be watching from the sidelines for the next couple weeks with a broken arm. So I spent Wednesday in the emergency room with what I assumed was a broken arm given that I was in excruciating pain and couldn't move my arm. I waited hours in the packed waiting room watching the paranoid New Yorkers who all thought they had the swine flu. Half of them had masks and the other half who didnt wouldnt go near them, one big game of keep away, shirts vs skins. I eventually grew bored of this and then remembered that several months ago I sat in this very same seat in the wee hours of the morning with my face mangled and covered in blood after being on the losing end of a bar fight. I have health insurance and pay a shit load each month for it, yet for some reason I have recently been getting bills from creditors wanting hundreds of dollars for the "surgery" I had....funny I thought the doctor called them stitches when she was putting my face back together. Hospital bills? aint no need for that, my insurance handles that...or so I thought. Anyway. Eventually my name is called, I walk through some doors so I can wait some more in a new seat before getting an X-Ray. I get one, eventually, and then eventually the doc has a look. As she looked over my X-Rays I asked what the deal with this swine flu was and is everyone just paranoid? Yes, she told me and that they havent seen a single case at the hospital (Beth Israel). Oh my paranoid New Yorkers I love thee. Maybe the swine flu is some conspiracy connected to the Mexican drug wars and an attempt to cut off ties to Mexico and fed to the Fox News types who have spun this into a spiraling out of control case of contagious fear? Hahaha. But this same doc also told me my arm wasn't broken, gave me a sling, a script for vicodin and sent me on my way. Only to get a call 3 hours later from her saying upon review it appears that, yes, in fact, my arm is broken and that I should see a specialist, thank you, goodbye, click, dial tone. Hey doc you there? Dial tone. Hmm, so then does that mean maybe everyone does have the swine flu?


Swine flu or not, here are some more recent interviews to check out, topics include Detroit, my new project Down These Mean Streets and how I fell in love with the game:

-In(side) The Loop

-Slow Century Magazine

Thank you Courtney and Janna!

Can I Get A Side Of Internet Action With That?

Been working away getting things ready for The Tierney Fellowship show at the New York Photo Festival and for my solo show at New York University, more info to come. In the meantime, here are some links to recent interviews, features and book reviews I have done.

-An in depth interview about my new project on the Bomb Magazine Blog. Alec, thanks for all the great questions!

-An oldie but goodie project of mine is featured on the Italian photo site Urbanautica.

-A quick interview on the PhotoLucida Blog that features the 2008 Top 50.

-I recently reviewed Josh Lutz's Meadowlands for 1,000 Words Magazine.

The Stare Down

Whether it worked or not I dont know. Trying to get that tension, that juice... Sarah and I definitely had a fun time.

Goddamn, I'm Starving And I Just Ate

I'm still in Detroit, but this is what's up in Boston...

The Steak And The Lobster

I recently did some stuff for the show called Viewfinders. I dread listening to myself, but they did a great job editing out the ummms and fragmented sentences, thanks guys for the wonderful opportunity.

The Current State Of The Art Market Series

I recently spoke with Ruben from Art Most Fierce about The Current State Of The Art Market, read our conversation HERE. Ruben is doing a series of interviews examining the art market and will be showcasing a wide range of perspectives including several artists at different points in their career, collectors, gallery owners, curators, non-profits, art fairs. Keep your eye out for more! Thank you for including me Ruben!

Hank Willis Thomas Interview

I recently interviewed Hank Willis Thomas for Photo-Eye Magazine and our conversation is now online. I admire artists who think big and are not afraid to take risks expressing their ideas in various mediums and venues.

Zoe Strauss: My Broad Street Buddy

I interviewed Zoe Strauss on Election Day for photo-eye magazine, have a read here. Zoe's book America is absolutely amazing to say the least and it was a great pleasure to spend a day in history with such a warm soul. Don't miss her opening at Silverstein on Nov. 22nd.