genea barnes photography

Draft of poster for upcoming benefit show.....

2012-01-31T13:28:00.000-08:00

They wanted something more upbeat, not so somber..... back to the drawing board. I still like this one though.

latest ghost bike piece

2012-01-14T14:03:00.000-08:00

THE COMPLETE BAR SERIES

2011-08-06T16:48:00.000-07:00

Here is the complete bar series. I shot this stuff in 1999, and was so over the project when I was done that I burned all the negatives.

Every time the door swings open, all eyes reach discreetly in that direction hoping a familiar shape will fill the doorway. Strangers are greeted with indifference on thinly veiled disappointment from the babble around the bar, a friendly bartender their only salvation. Friends are greeted with smiles, handshakes and a certain amount of relief.

The Crack of the pool balls resonates ubiquitously among the cacophony of voices, music, glassware and laughter. The distinctive smack of a breaking rack, the thud of a solid rail shot, these are the sounds that define competitive friendships that occasionally border on volatile.

There is nothing surprising about the sort of relief one feels when walking into a bar and finding a friend. The easy familiarity of sitting down and falling into conversation, greased to ease by beer and whiskey; a friendship forged stronger for the moment, or a lifetime, or something in between.

Often the relationships in a bar are developed due to convenience or timliness, the bouncer who wouldn't let you in because you forgot your ID, you conceeded to the bartender who knows more about you than you think. Now you have both in your fold and you within their's. The subtle and inevitable politics stepping forward to pick up where personalities leave off.

Inexplicably, there are times when the barstools are crippling, conversation is lagging and no amount of beer will calm restless hands nor minds. It's these times when rolls of quarters are invested in pool and video games in order to distract from general restlessness or tiresome drama.

There are so many reasons, excuses, explanations for going to the bar that have nothing to do with drinking. Shooting a couple of games of pool or pinball, some liars dice, four-one-twentyfour, all conveniently located at your neighborhood bar, all, of course, best when accompanied by at least one beer...

Business begets business. The relationships that develop between product reps and bars often become relationships among bar patrons; official business abandoned more with every drink as reps become customers and friends more than associates.

It is rare and strangely ominous that a bar falls silent. The moments between songs are little bits of emptiness that make all eyes lean towards the jukebox, fingers unrumple dollar bills, voices fall into whispers, all, soon to be drowned out by the Reverend, Beastie Boys, Sinatra, Digital Underground, Ella Fitzgerald, the Clash, Spike 1000, any number of options with which to fill the silence.

There comes a point each night when things begin to swim, when everything gains a certain easy liquid quality. One or two beers has become five or six, with some whiskey added to the mix, and everything becomes soft, gellid and deceptively graceful.

Bars, saloons, pubs, freehouses, inns, throughout time have been sanctuaries, meeting places, social necessities, volative and boisterous in turn. But in any situation the sound of laughter will always distinguish itself in the bar room cacophony.

The restaurant crews are generally the best customers a bartender can hope for. They arrive around midnight, one at a time, or in droves with relieved smiles pockets full of cash and succinct and knowledgeable drinking habits. The presence or absence of these friends can make or break an evening socially and financially.

Conversations braid themselves across shoulders and under chins, words skipping the ears of one person to command the attention of the next. Smiles float around the words of the eyes of someone further away.

There is something ironically solitary about bartending. The job is rooted basically in money; the bartender's base function is to collect cash in exchange for intoxicating substances. This chilly aspect of the business is whitewashed with jokes, smiles, conversations, fun. A good bartender will strike and easy balance of all these factors. But, on slower nights, that balance, that mood can be a long time in coming.

Between the time on the barstools each to his own life and ways. But among pints and shots and cocktails, respective days and thoughts are exchanged and pondered by those who's friendship is created, bound and permeated by beer, booze and cigarette smoke.

There is little some of us find in life that is as comfortable as our regular bar. No matter how intrusive the atmosphere may become, the barstools are tantamount to lazy boys and the conversation abundant. Each of us has a story in our posture, elbow atop bar, cigarette smouldering, drink sweating.

A quiet bar is sometimes best. In the winter, when the nights are long, the early evenings in the softness of the dim light sharing a paper and some conversation create a quiet intimacy within a space usually defined by reckless and loud joviality.

The begining of the Ghost Bike Project

2011-07-05T16:49:00.000-07:00

This work is currently hanging at Gallery 28 (1228 Grant St @ Columbus, San Francsico, CA) and will hang until July 28, 2011. This work looks way better in person, so try to get over there and take a peek.

Missing Ghost Bikes in Portland

2011-07-05T16:46:00.000-07:00

Last week I went to Portland, OR for a couple of reasons. One of these reasons was to do some shooting for my ghost bike project. According to GhostBikes.org there were supposed to be 20 ghost bikes installed in or around the Portland area. I expected that I would not find them all, because previous ghost bike hunting experience has taught me that often, the bikes are no longer where they are supposed to. So I went with the hopes of finding 10.

My first day in Porland, I managed to find 3. One of which wasn't even listed on the ghost bike site. We sought out 16 that day. So out of 16 bikes that were supposed to be there, 14 of them were missing. I found this to be incredibly disheartening, but also very strange. Portland is supposed to be one of the most bicycle progressive cities in the country. Why would such a high percentage of ghost bikes be gone? Was the city removing them? What was going on?

That night I did a little research to find out what was going on. What I discovered broke my heart. People were stealing them!!!! I know that times are hard, but really? Stealing ghost bikes.

See for yourself:

Bike Portland
Bike Portland Update
Oregon live blog

I was hopeful when I found this story: Ghost bikes, bike awards and map. Apparently a troupe of boy scouts took it upon themselves to install a bunch of ghost bikes in the Beaverton area. They did this in the middle of May 2011. Surely, some of them would still be there. In the morning, I tried to get in touch with the boy scout troupe, and some other bicycle organizations to try and find out the location of these bicycles. Nobody got back to me, but I was able to figure out where the one in the picture on the article should be. I set out to find the bikes that were West of Portland.

The Ghost bike that the boy scout troupe installed, after a month and a half, was gone. Seriously? Some stupid thief couldn't leave it there for a few months? What is the world coming to. I continued further west, hoping to find one of the other two bikes that were supposed to be out that way. But to no avail. One spot had numerous memorials put up. (It is obviously a dangerous intersection); but, no ghost bike.

I had all but given up, when I found out that my uncle lived near one and told my step father about it. They said they drove by it that morning, and it was still there. So the next morning, my last day in Portland, I decided to try and find the one that was way out East in Gresham, and the one down south in Millaukee.

The one in Gresham was no longer there. Obviously, some one had stolen it. It had been replaced with a cross and a picture of the woman who died. The other one was still there. It was for a little girl that died on 10/10/10. Out of a total of 22 bikes that were found or were supposed to be there, only 4 of them were actually there. Two of them were adorned with many decorations, perhaps discouraging the thieving community in Portland, and two of them were small children's bikes, which of course would be way too small for the average thief. All in all, pretty sad.

2011-06-21T16:42:00.000-07:00

If you got a Christmas card from me last year, you have seen the first piece from the Ghost bike series. I am part of a group show next month where the theme is remembering. I will have 5 Ghost Bike pieces in this show. This is brand new work that has not been shown before. I have worked very hard on these pieces. Hopefully you will come out and see it. The show hangs at Gallery 28, 1228 Grant Street @ Columbus, in San Francisco, from June 29, 2011-July 28, 2011. The opening reception will be Friday, July 1, 2011 from 6p-9pm.

Statement

A ghost bike is a bicycle that is painted all white and locked to a sign near where a bicyclist was killed or hit. They serve as a memorial for those who have been injured or who have lost their lives on a bicycle. Ghost bikes were created in St. Louis, Missouri in 2003. They have since appeared in many cities around the world. More information on ghost bikes can be found at ghostbikes.org.

I discovered Ghost Bikes while shooting in New York in May 2010. I was touched by the sentiment, and profoundly affected by the visible reminders of how fragile life is and how we as a society must be more aware of our surroundings if we are going to keep each other safe. One can pass a memorial hundreds of times and eventually forget that it is there to commemorate a human life. In an effort to remind us that these installations are to signify a spirit that is no longer with us, I have taken photographs of (living) people in my studio and transformed them into “ghosts” to serve as a symbol of the person who may have lost their life at the ghost bike location; to further emphasize that these people will not be forgotten, and that their lost lives will inspire others to be more cautious when riding a bicycle or driving around bicyclists. It could have been you or someone you love.

http://www.geneabarnes.com/
http://ghostbikes.org/
http://www.gallery-28.com/
Bicycle Coalition

The bar series

2011-06-21T16:11:00.000-07:00

Some of you may remember all the photos I did for Fulton Street Bar and Crowbar way back in 1999. Some of them are on display until the end of the month at Bender's Bar and grill on the corner of South Van Ness and 19th Street. If you have a chance, stop in for a trip down memory lane.

Memorial piece

2011-02-16T23:02:00.000-08:00

Here is a memorial piece I did. We shot Dave in my studio on 10/10/10 (on his mother's birthday {she has passed}), and I put this together.

updated bobcat photo

2011-02-16T23:00:00.001-08:00

So I tweaked a few things on the Zodiac death valley bobcat photo. Go here to listen to them: www.myspace.com/zodiacdeathvalley

In the window

2010-03-31T10:49:00.000-07:00

So, I just found out that my skateboard art piece has been selected to be in the window display for the Skate this Art show at Gallery 28. Pretty cool.

skateboard art

2010-03-27T15:10:00.000-07:00

So after completely screwing up my first attempt at making skateboard art, I started from scratch and ended up with this.

Evolved Perspective goes to the desert

2009-09-21T12:41:00.001-07:00

So I brought this monster to the desert and built it all over again. I think it looked pretty good. Now it is all dusty in storage and I have to figure out what to do with it. If anyone has any suggestions, I am all ears.

Building of evolved perspective-phase nine

2009-08-19T00:03:00.000-07:00

Monday has arrived, August 16^th. I didn’t have to work a double yesterday, and it is so good. I have so much stuff to get done. Besides finishing the box, I need to cook a turkey dinner and vacuum seal it.

I really don’t know if I think I am super woman or what, but I never can get what I want done in a day. Today I cut the moulding , which was way harder than I thought. It would have been easier, if my box had turned out to be perfectly square. Once the moulding was cut I painted all the pieces that I still had to attach. I feel like I spent the day waiting for paint to dry. But I had plenty of stuff to do to keep myself busy between coats.

I made polenta lasagne, cornbread, green bean casserole, stir fry vegetables, stuffing, candied yams, and I got the turkey ready for cooking.

It is now 1am and I have painted the last coat of the pieces, off to shower and sleep….for a minute.

My alarm goes off at 4:30am I get up and put the turkey in the oven and paint one last thing that I forgot. I was going to go back to sleep until 7, but I just couldn’t. I started to attach all the pieces and of course I ran into may obstacles. By 8:30am I am tired again, so I take a nap until 10:00am.

The turkey comes out of the oven at 10:30am, and I run to builder’s emporium for some last minute things. Heather and I need to do a bunch of shopping to prepare for burning man, so I pick her up and we go to: Costco, trader joes, sport authority, target, bev mo, haigh street, then I take her to work and come home to finish my project.

Once home, I am too exhausted to do anything, so I nap until 7pm.

I get up and get to work, and guess what??? This monster is finally done!!!! I really can't believe that I thought I could crank this thing out in 2 days. Thank god I didn't leave it till the very last minute. Tomorrow we take is apart, and Monday I leave with my monster in tow to Burning Man.

I want to thank everyone that has helped and supported me through this project. Lot's of blood and sweat went into this project, surprisingly no tears. I am really surprised at myself for not freaking out at any point, especially with people not being able to help on certain days, and everything taking five times as long as anticipated. This is the first thing I have done in a very, very long time that I actually needed help with. Those of you that know me, know that it is hard for me to ask for help.

All in all I am pretty stoked about this project. It is the first thing I have ever built, so even though it is imperfect, I feel pretty satisfied and definitely relieved that it its done.!!

Building of evolved perspective-phase eight

2009-08-18T23:41:00.000-07:00

On Friday, August 14th, I was able to get into the shop and pick up the scraps of plywood that I needed to cut the last of the wood to finish this project.

Saturday comes and I really hope I can get all the wood cut and maybe start painting.

I really am ambitious. I don't really understand how something should take an hour in my head, but takes four in reality. It probably doesn't help that I have never used a saw (I just learned how to use a chop saw, but this is a hand held saw--I don't know what that is called). I think I did an okay job. But I only got the plywood cut, and didn't even come close to getting the moulding cut before I had to go to work. These photos are of where the box is at this point.

building of evolved perspective-phase seven

2009-08-18T23:39:00.000-07:00

Tuesay August 11, 2009 is the day of painting. I taped up the pictures, then Heather and I primed and painted. I did the last coat in the evening before work. Even the painting took way longer than I had anticipated.

Building of evolved perspective-phase six

2009-08-11T01:08:00.000-07:00

Today's theme: ERECTION

Heather provided this link for todays theme: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzk0vdxTfas

Long Day!! I took care of some errands earlier today, then started building about 2pm. I finished the framing and mounted some plywood. It is now 1am and I am almost finished with what I need to finish. I finished the framing and the boys showed up around 5pm. Mike found Nick along the way and brought him to help. Rick also made a surprise visit. I am so glad I had stevo's drill (that's why rick came by--to get that, but he said he would help too--I really lucked out!!!) Today was the first day that we got everything done that I wanted to get done. Miracles do happen! Rick kicked some serious ass!! The rest of the boys managed to help us get this thing erected and they managed to have fun with the bottle of jim beam :) It is probably a good thing we stopped when we did....I don't know how safe it would have been to have too many drunky monkeys with power tools. Anyway, I am very happy at where things stand today. Tomorrow, Heather and I will paint this monster.

Building of evolved perspective-phase five

2009-08-08T18:58:00.000-07:00

I got up early, to get a couple more 2x4's, and because people were going to come at 1pm to help. Well, nobody showed up to help me. It was so so sad. Okay not really, I still managed to get a fair amount of stuff done. I fixed the frames that were not square. After 2 1/2 hours of screwing with one of them, I figured I needed to trim a bit off a couple of the 2x4's. The saw that Matt left me didn't seem to work. Either that or I am completely retarded.....which is entirely possible. So I ran over to Action Rentals and rented a chop saw. I finished all the frames and they are all square. Thank God!!! Tomorrow I will mount the rest of the plywood and start piecing this monster together. In the evening, some folks are supposed to come through to help out. Now I have to get ready for work. :(

Building of evolved perspective-phase four

2009-08-06T12:49:00.001-07:00

Phase four happens on Wednesday, August 5th. It is a full moon. And here I thought I would be able to build this thing in two days. Everyone that was going to help today was at least an hour and a half late.....I am beginning to wonder why I haven't freaked out yet. Who knew building a square box would be so hard. And of course my building plans were perfect.....haha. Eventually everyone showed up. Mike helped me lug the metal sheets up 45 stairs again. He is such a trooper. Like a pack mule but way better. After bringing up the metal with me he carried up all the plywood. The man is a rock star. One by one my helpers showed up and we made a fair amount of progress....but man there is still so much to do. Wish me luck, I really need to finish this thing by Wednesday at the latest. Thanks so much Stevo, Zueks, Matt, and the film and camera crew Dave and Christine!!!!

Building of evolved perspective-phase three

2009-08-06T12:44:00.001-07:00

Tuesday, August 4, 2009 I picked up the art that is printed on galvanized steel. Fuck that shit is heavy, and the plywood.

Then, I met matt at the shop and we cut plywood and piloted holes in the metal panels. Matt cut part of the tip of his finger off with the table saw on the last cut.

We were at the shop until 11:00 or so. We were really hoping to get back to my house and chop all the 2x4's, but it was too late to be chopping wood with a loud saw. I am now beginning to wonder if I bit off more than I can chew.

Building of evolved perspective-phase two

2009-08-06T12:42:00.000-07:00

Delayed, delayed, delayed. Nothing seems to be working the way it is planned, but there is still time......

Building of evolved perspective-phase one

2009-08-06T11:53:00.000-07:00

Monday the July 20th, Matt and I went shopping at Home Depot to get supplies, and Zueks helped lug up everything the 45 stairs to my apartment.