Common Grounds by Stephen Lipuma will be released by Deadly Chaps Press on April 28th, 2017. The collection of photographs turns a lens to the countless intersections of culture and lifestyle that form the contemporary communities of Brooklyn. Lipuma spent a couple hours with Deadly Chaps Press senior editor, Joseph A. W. Quintela to explore some of the finer points of the book.
Joseph A. W. Quintela: Common Grounds captures an amazing cross-section of what might be called the “real” Brooklyn. Tell me how the project started. What was the first photograph you took in the book?
Stephen Lipuma: The projected started almost immediately after I moved to Sheepshead Bay. I had been working as the night and weekend photographer for Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz. While trailing him across Brooklyn, I fell in love with the Sheepshead Bay and Midwood areas. In these areas, I felt time had stopped. Midwood, in particular, is the greatest melting pot on earth. Each avenue is home to a different group of people. In fact, if you bike Ocean Parkway from Ditmas Park to Coney Island you will see just about every race and culture along the way. It’s remarkable.
The cover of Common Grounds is actually the first photograph that I took for the book. I had started the project with an interest in capturing landscapes, but the woman in the photograph made me shift gears, entirely. It was not only her t-shirt, it was also her attitude. I was sitting outside a Russian cafe having a coffee when she came walking toward me. I smiled at her and asked to photograph her. She immediately said, “Why on earth do you want to photograph me?” I said, “That shirt is amazing, I need to.” During the picture she is motioning to me and exclaiming, “This shirt makes you want to photograph me?? OK….sure...whatever?”
It was hilarious: her gesture matched the shirt perfectly.
JQ: I love that! Yes, her personality really comes through in the photograph. Tell me about another one of the people that has really stuck with you in creating this project. How do these stories become a place of common ground, as your title suggests?
SL: I feel connected to all the people in the book. I have a story for each of them and I mean that honestly. Coming of Age stands out for me. I was there photographing the landscape sans people.I had done it many times before. There are a few different shots that didn’t make the book from this exact location. I always had great success there so I would return every spring. On this particular day, the light was just perfect and the brush had turned lush green. As I was photographing the landscape, these kids ran into my frame. I turned around and saw that this beautiful girl was accompanying them. She was the older sister of the boys in the photograph. They seemed so out of place and in stark contrast to the last photograph I had made there. That one was of a man sitting on a log crying for his dog. I imagine he must have been planning to put him down soon afterwards. This girl was full of life. She actually asked to be photographed and did her best poses for the camera. I could tell she must of practiced these poses many times in front of the mirror. She said she wanted to be a model, but her parents wouldn’t allow it. She was just a kid, but seemed older in the way she dealt with her siblings. When her Dad came over, he was so nice and said she should stay in school. Which I agreed, but mentioned that her look was very in style: so you never know. We spoke for a while and watched the boys run through the brush. They were in town for a family wedding and staying at a hotel nearby. It made sense, because most locals wouldn’t let their kids play in such a desolate, vacant lot. Soon the girl faded back to the family van. I gave her Dad my card, so that he could get a photograph, but he never contacted me. Sadly, this location was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. Every time I pass it now, I remember this photograph and the many others I took there.
JQ: You touch on something at the end there that is very distinctive about Brooklyn: it's always changing. This is portrayed variously as Brooklyn’s greatest problem and it's greatest asset. But I'm less curious about that and more curious about how you think your photographs might put a face to the dynamic nature of the borough. Which photo do you think best captures change in Brooklyn?
SL: I think a lot of the images capture change in their own way. However, there is something about the image No Diving that really brings it to life for me. Obviously, with this image a lot could be left to the viewer to interpret. For me, the woman on the pier was looking back into her past. Maybe looking back to her childhood or reminiscing about her first love. When this photo taken, the boardwalk she is sitting on was only recently re-constructed. It had been down for a number of years. Thus, for the first time in years, the vantage point of the reconstruction is exactly as it was 50 years ago. When you see the old photos of Coney Island, the beach would be at full capacity (WeeGee’s famous photo). My father tells me stories of it being elbow to elbow from the boardwalk to the water. It wasn’t until the last decade that people starting coming back to Coney Island. For a while, in between, it was a very dangerous place day or night. I like to say, looking back in time is the first step into the future.
JQ: Speaking of packed, you keep very busy between running Court Tree Collective as a pop-up space/gallery, curating at BROOKLYN WORKS at 159, and being a father...what do you see in your own future, right now?
SL: I just want to keep going with my own photography and expanding my curations outside of Brooklyn. This past October we curated a show for the Urban Outfitters headquarters in Philadelphia. My wife and business partner, Amy and I had a great experience. It was the first time we saw an artist that we represent in such an enormous space. We also curate for a building in Times Square, which has been an incredible opportunity. We are currently working on doing more of this in the near future. As far as my own work, I am currently working on my next project which will be about Sunset Park. Kind of like a closed in and more pin-pointed approach to Common Grounds. I hope to focus on the Chinese and Mexican communities there.
Most importantly I want to be the best Dad I can be to my daughter. Everything changed the moment she arrived, but all for the better. Like for most new parents, life takes on a new purpose with a child and I feel like my wife and I have embraced it really well. Obviously it’s not easy, but there is a patience in all of us that comes out when you have that parent/child connection. For me, that patience has also leaked into my work ethic as an artist and curator. Which I am truly grateful for.
JQ: One last thing: I know you have some fascinating hobbies and interests. Anything you want to tell me about Skating, Records, or UFOs?
SL: Hahaha. These interests have been with me since my teens. Music and skateboarding is what shaped me. Literally! I think those two things always kept me on the fringe so being interested in UFO’s doesn’t seem so odd to me. I think each of these things has guided me to be the individual that I am.
I do have a strong theory on UFO’s that I’m open to share to anyone that is interested. : )
Start a conversation with Stephen Lipuma on instagram: @courttreecollective
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