To strangers who asked if we were mother and daughter I replied, “We are friends”. We are contemporaries, members of a mutual admiration society.
I introduced myself to Katarina after the 1/19/12 Bogart Salon Confronting Bushwick panel to thank her for the Bushwick Daily coverage of my exhibit Here I Am: Bushwick In The 1980s at Soho Photo Gallery. Effervescent Katarina was enthusiastic when I told her about my plans to walk every street in Bushwick for my series in progress Walking Bushwick: Now and Then. I suggested we go photographing in Bushwick together sometime, and we did this summer.
What a duo. One, a life long New Yorker, came to Bushwick in 1981 to teach art. Constantly taking photos throughout a 31-year public school teaching career (14 in Bushwick) that were stored away. Decades later sifts through to discover diamonds in the rough, polishes each facet carefully to begin exhibiting the gems. The other came from Eastern Europe to NY a few years ago to study (and then abandon) law and two years ago decides to photograph and write about Bushwick and put it out there on the web on a daily basis. What we share is a fascination with NYC, Bushwick in particular, everyday people and events. I sense we share an awe for the role of photography in art and society.
