© Jaime Permuth, 2024
Saturday marked eight months of Luca and Olin being born.
One thing is certain: babies teach parents to live in the moment. And to be selfless.
That’s as powerful a life-altering force as any religion, philosophy or meditation practice I’ve ever encountered.
What a gift!
After a day of shooting on the streets of SoHo for our NYFA Summer Camp, we piled into the elevators back at school. One of the kids - sweaty and eyeglasses misting over from the AC - turned to me and said:
“I used to think my math teacher was the most bad-ass teacher I ever had. But I think you just outdid him”.
So really, how does a blind man throw a pitch from the mound at Yankee Stadium?
Minutes before going out on the field, Olmedini and I discussed the issue with Yankee's PR maven Dolores Hernandez.
I was of the opinion that Olmedini should be discreetly pointed in the direction of the catcher and then throw the ball straight underhand, like a softball pitch.
He countered that major leagues pitchers always throw overhead. He then went into an elaborate parody of their body language down to chewing tobacco and spitting from the side of the mouth.
Olmedini said in no uncertain terms that he would need something to chew on when he went out there. Somebody was dispatched to get a pack of gum.
Out on the mound, with 40,000 fans cheering him on, Olmedini grimaced a few times, looked away and held the baseball tight to his chest. For a few beats, he shifted his feet and squared his shoulders for the pitch. Then he reached overhead and, at the last moment, threw the ball underhand. It sailed straight to catcher Gary Sanchez. All the while, Yankees starting pitcher CC Sabathia looked on, grinning from ear to ear.
When Olmedini raised his hat to salute the crowd, the noise in the stadium was deafening.
And I never felt so proud.
This morning six players from the New York Yankees arrived in East Harlem to surprise Olmedini. As part of their annual "Hope Week", the Yankees chose five individual stories to highlight and celebrate. After seeing my work in NYTimes Lens and Metropolitan they decided to honor Olmedini.
As part of the proceedings, Olmedini performed for a group of children at Yankee Stadium and was presented with a check for $10,000 to benefit a charity which helps to train young magicians. Also, the Directors of The Society of American Magicians were on hand to induct him as a member. President Trump honored him with The President's Volunteer Service Award and sent a signed letter to accompany the same.
Pre-game excerpts of an interview with Olmedini were broadcast on stadium screens and then Olmedini was formally introduced and asked to throw the ceremonial first pitch.
It was a truly memorable day in the Bronx!
Yesterday we drove out to the marketplace in San Antonio Aguas Calientes to soak up the small town vibe and get some last minute gifts. Also because Olin is fascinated by the bright colors of huipiles and other native weavings and objects.
As they always do in Guatemala, our twin babies created quite a stir around them. Women drifted over from their stalls to have a peek at them, others even got up from their looms mid-weaving.
One woman confided in me that her brother and his wife had twins born to them: a boy and a girl. Tragically, the girl passed away twenty days later. The young couple looked towards religion for solace. The surviving baby boy would sometimes sigh and tear up unexpectedly and the whole family would follow suit and wail with grief.
Following Kak’Chiquel tradition, they planted carnations in a pot and helped the infant water and care for them, giving him a companion to grow up with in her absence. A sense of peace was gradually restored to the household.
She also cautioned me that when you get angry with or scold a twin, they have the power to summon ants from the ground to bite your skin.
***
And a little postscript: this afternoon I was sitting with Olin on my lap and teased him about his trousers fitting a bit too snuggly.Next thing I know, a big black ant appeared on my forearm!
“Lenguajes de Luz” is a recently published anthology of Guatemalan photography. Its timeline stretches from the earliest days after the invention of the medium to its state-of-the-art contemporary manifestations. My work is represented with this image from YONKEROS.
“Lenguajes de Luz” es una antología sobre la fotografía en Guatemala. Su cronología abarca desde los primeros días de la invención del medio hasta sus manifestaciones contemporáneas más recientes. Mi trabajo está representado por esta imagen de la serie YONKEROS.
Six years ago, I had a solo exhibition for YONKEROS at the beautiful, zen-like Ryugaheon Gallery, only steps away from the old Imperial Palace of Seoul. I was so honored to be invited by Guest Curator Joanne Junga Yang. The show changed my relationship to the city and gave me a sense of belonging to it in a different way.
As part of the public programs, I was invited to give an Artist Talk. I agreed but also imposed upon HRM to be my translator. She graciously accepted. My Mother-in-Law, who does not speak English, was in the audience that day.
Every so often I glanced at her expression as HRM translated my words. Looking at her, I felt as if finally, after years of knowing her, she was truly meeting me for the first time.
A beautiful photograph of Borges in his library in Buenos Aires by Eduardo Comesaña, 1971. For the past several months, and as an extension of my project “Olmedini El Mago”, I’ve been researching the ways blindness is represented in art, particularly in photography. The results of my inquiry are posted to my instagram account: @jaime_permuth
“Nadie rebaje a lágrima o reproche
esta declaración de la maestría
de Dios, que con magnífica ironía
me dio a la vez los libros y la noche”.
A few days ago, Olmedini mentioned how he often used to take the Staten Island Ferry in the days before he lost his sight. He also said that trying to do magic onboard was a waste of time because everybody was so enamored by the views of Manhattan.
So I asked him to join me for a boat ride, after I was done teaching for the day at New York Film Academy, right down the street from the Ferry Terminal.
Through the many years of my professional practice, I have never before done a long-term documentary project that focused on a single individual.
Inevitably, this means that there are two different roads that stretch into the future: one is the path of the project, which extends as long as there are photos to be made; the second one is the path of friendship, which continues as long as there are words and moments to be shared.
I spent my Friday afternoon sitting with three Chinese seniors in a small cafe on Pell Street. The youngest one was in his late 80s; the oldest one 95.
The guys were twice my age and had known each other longer than I’ve been alive. I asked Mr. Ling (95) how long he’d lived in the neighborhood. They looked at each other with sheepish grins. Then one of the friends laughed and said: “He’s Chinatown #1”.
They ordered plates of steamed chicken feet, sautéed snow peas with thick cut bacon and Cantonese sticky rice. One of the guys brought out a pint bottle of Hennessy cognac in a brown bag and we drank straight glasses of that with the meal. Toothpicks and cigarettes after that.
Now I know what I want my life to look like when I’m in my 90s.
These days Olmedini has lost some weight and is looking trim and debonaire. There’s a spring in his step!
Since the publication of my photographs in the NY Times, TV crews from around the world have done features on the 78 year old, blind magician.
Most recently it was TV Globo Brazil shooting for their program “Fantastico”, which according to them, has an audience of 100 million people. And before them, Telemundo Miami and national channels from Russia, Colombia, Spain and France.
The international fame, which had eluded Olmedini for so many years has finally arrived! Big things are on the horizon and this late-in-life blooming is so beautiful to witness.
Six months ago, at the tender age of fifty, I became a father for the first time. Honestly, I had no idea what to expect: emotionally, physically, or financially. Sometimes I get to work lucky to find my shoe laces tied and surprised I'm wearing matching socks. When the day is done I stumble out of the subway, mystified when my legs find the strength to hurry on back home.
After not seeing them for so long I am at a loss, not knowing which of the boys to pick up first. If it's Olin, he laughs and laughs as I hug him. If Luca, he grabs on to my shirt with both hands and buries his little face into my neck, nuzzling in and refusing to let go.
Sometimes I wish my body was ten years younger. More money or leisure time sure would be nice. Not every day is a good day and I definitely don't have all the answers.
My biggest regret is that we live so far away from our loved ones in Guatemala and Korea.
But I've never felt happier.
Photo by James Nachtwey
When you think about it, there's only a handful of fundamental rules in photography. They have to do with the optics of lenses, the physics of light and the mechanics of photographic machines. All things being equal, when I teach I prefer to illustrate these simple principles with masterful photographs. That way, students pay them due respect and begin to realize the expressive and creative potential they hold.
Earlier this week, I revisited some of my favorite photographs by Jim Nachtwey during class. It was not a lecture about the ethics of photojournalism or a considered survey of Jim’s work. Nothing like that. My lesson plan called for an overview of aperture and depht of field.
Like any photojournalist worth his salt, Nachtwey has stopping power. But unlike most of his colleagues, Nachtwey makes me linger within the frame and re-imagine the crude world he shows me: what that same street would have felt like to a child walking to the corner store for a quart of milk or a loaf of fresh bread; how that particular room would have welcomed a couple undressing for the night; how a woman’s smile would light up her eyes before violence and cataclysm took over.
Nachtwey’s moral gravitas is found there: in this strange impulse to rewind history. As viewers, we are confronted with tragedy and in the same instant experience the deepest regret for it. But we don’t stop there. The photograph urges us to consider if this was the only possible outcome or if somehow this moment in time was preventible.
First snow of the season.
Walking around the East Village, Leica in hand, the first snow coming early, it was impossible not to feel Saul’s spirit nearby. New York is still his city too.
So here’s my modest, heartfelt tribute to the great Saul Leiter
Set in Guatemala, a country utterly torn-apart by violence, El Sistema is a photographic document of symphonic youth orchestras and how the fellowship and discipline of learning classical music brings hope, self-esteem and the joy of culture to the lives of thousands of children who so desperately need it.
I am thrilled that a selection of 25 images from the project will be on view in Seoul, Korea as part of the Suwon International Photo Festival.
I’m honored to be a Finalist in this year's FELIFA Publication Prize in Buenos Aires. Fingers crossed - and a little prayer - for "The Street Becomes"!
Congratulations as well to my friends and colleagues Santiago Escobar Jaramillo, Juan Orrantia and Jose Diniz for being among the Finalists as well.
Winner to be announced on November 3d.
Gracias jurado de Feria de Libros de Fotos de Autor - FELIFA!
Shana Tova / Happy New Year 5779
"I gave you, for
your earlobes, for your fingers,
I gilded the time on your wrist,
I hung many shining things on you
so that you'd move in the wind
for me, chime softly over my head,
to soothe my sleep."
Words from Yehuda Amichai, "Love Gifts"
and a photograph from my series "Manhattan Mincha Map".
Good morning, Taos! We started the day off with waffles, coffee and a little Coltrane. Farmers market in Taos next. Now a two hour mountain hike before lunch. This afternoon students get individual half hour portfolio review sessions with the instructors. Then some down time before another one of Jonathan’s amazing home cooked festive dinners. Day one at Antidote Retreat.
The Meaning of Life according to Instagram:
#love 1,374,073,054
#hate 6,732,467
#hunger 1,204,553
#thirst 1,209,136
#hot 117,643,278
#cold 36,226,922
#high 12,714,045
#low 5,100,306
#friends 327,052, 786
#family 275,778,492
#home 104,724,492
#foe 2,336,545
#nature 344,158,164
#city 62,312,443
#job 16,457,859
#school 37,480,035
#soldier 2,954,696
#farm 10,221,827
#hands 4,785,269
#face 30,872,625
#tears 2,854,540
#laughter 4,053,562
#sky 176,923,972
#ocean 49,016,165
#mountains 49,018,069
#river 25,308,187
#snow 72,905,742
#flowers 129,930,024
#tree 45,445,443
#moonlight 5,066,763
#solitude 1,320,641
#poetry 22,489,239
#joy 19,575,990
#pain 9,421,365
#celebrate 11,367,147
#wedding 122,454,908
#funeral 522,641
#children 20,979,444
#war 4,969,215
#peace 61,777,106
#speed 12,203,536
#anxiety 8,808,445
#desire 2,413,078
#kiss 33,696,142
#morning 84,818,656
#sunset 184,190,231
#fly 14,275,518
#art 391,873,183
#public 1,191,773
#private 1,718,801
#sex 11,968,605
#toys 12,007,945
#photography 284,111,173
#writing 11,375,094
#puppies 20,999,161
#kitten 32,790,781
#bath 6,864,252
#coffee 93,914,804
#food 288,192,230
#drinks 32,792,556
#music 207,793,053
#dance 65,345,960
#party 134,248,741
#girls 139,310,602
#guys 11,899,949
#icecream 32,266,656
#fame 2,795,575
#fortune 1,284,580
#birthday 91,218,613
#death 7,433, 349
#lonely 6,058,649
#god 30,618,842
#blue 111,845,633
