Her New York began as a way of standing witness to a mother (Florence) and a city (New York) that, despite the brutality of dementia, illness and ultra-wealthy development, insisted on still being who and what they really were.
Since Florence's death in 2008, what New York was became, at times, elusive and other times heartbreaking reminders of loss.
Yet the exploration has never ended. Small and big celebrations are still found in a city that refuses to completely die and in the spirit of a woman that continues to guide me forward, always.
Originally posted November 29, 2009
**
O'Keefe asked me to explain all this.
I said I was trying to illuminate where New York and Florence still were themselves even as they faded from recognizable forms.
And now a year after Florence died and New York continued in its odd way and the home I grew up in now looks like a nice apartment for other people we never were, there are places still here and there, still persistently themselves ....
....that I go to and feel at home.
