How Can I Help? – An Artful Dialogue is an unique exhibition / installation of a psychotherapeutic office environment in which artists hold “office hours,” offering sincere responses to visitors with creative interpretations of psychotherapeutic consultation.
Visitors are encouraged to drop-in or to schedule one free, 15-minute “initial intake” session, during which time they may discuss, for free and in complete confidence, any topic they wish. The participants have been chosen for their sensitivity helping others as artists, educators, and consultants, and for their interest in doing so as a creative experience. We are particularly interested in how participants on both sides of the room respond to the opportunity of speaking with a complete stranger in this uniquely non-traditional setting.
Sessions available in 6 languages: American Sign Language, English, French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish.
Participants: Violette Bule, Jean Miele, Francisco Ramirez, Saul Robbins, and Sheri Sandler
Special Performance: “Dr.” Lisa Levy’s Ego Challenge, Saturday, Sept. 20 6-7:30 pm
While How Can I Help? – An Artful Dialogue is motivated by serious intentions, the participants are not licensed in any way, and our “meetings” are not intended to replace working with a professionally trained and licensed psychotherapy professional. Visitors wishing to speak with us are required to sign a consent form acknowledging their understanding of this important detail.
PHOTOVILLE
SEPTEMBER 18-28, 2014
BROOKLYN BRIDGE PARK, PIER 5
Bios:
Violette Bule’s photographic projects consider her subjects within the context of their social character, highlighting complex social problems and their immediate context through fiction. Using photographic education as a medium for social change, Bule has also introduced pedagogical projects within some of Venezuela’s most notorious prisons. For Bule, urban space is the main stage on which to generate actions while highlighting social problems through photographic practice and visual literacy. Her work moves beyond the documentary record, using theatre and humor as primary means to channel scathing criticisms and reflections on socio- political situations.
Bule studied at the Active School of Photography in Mexico and holds a Diplomat in General Studies of Photography from the National Center of Photography of Venezuela. Her work has been exhibited internationally at art centers and museums, including Centre of Contemporary Art Tokyo Wonder Site, Japan; Museum of Contemporary Art, Caracas, Venezuela; NEGPOS Gallery and University Paris 7, France; and Gallery EspacioMAD in Venezuela. Bule has participated in several art fairs including Iberoamerican Art Fair, Venezuela; PINTA Latin American Art Fair; Gallery Studio 8 in the UK; Artfair Hong Kong PSH Project; October Salon Art Young, Venezuela; Life in Photography PIP, China; and Context International Contemporary – Modern Art Fair Miami – ArtBasel, 2013. In 2013 Bule’s Odalisque in Red Trousers became part of the collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art, in Caracas, Venezuela.www.violettebule.com
Jean Miele’s photographs explore the borderlands between fiction and reality, and reflect his lifelong interest in perception, spirituality and mysticism. Miele’s image-making process approaches photography as a hybrid of alchemy and divination. Miele’s images remind us that moments of perfection are possible, and that we create our own reality. He believes the photographs we make tell us more about ourselves than about what was in front of the lens, and that every photograph is an act of transformation.
Miele’s photographs have appeared in thousands of publications, including “Fotografi,” and Houston Center for Photography’s “Spot.” His work has been exhibited internationally, and acquired by collectors worldwide. Solo exhibitions include “The Vintage Series: Scientific Inquiries;” “Classical Landscape Photography and the Digital Darkroom” at the Fernbank Museum, Atlanta, Georgia; “Seeing Is Believing” at Oslo’s “Fotografiens Hus” gallery; and “Vestiges of Industry.” As an educator, Miele’s workshops, seminars, and one-on-one instructionals demystify digital, empowering students to realize their own photographic vision. He has taught for: Adobe; Apple Computer; ICP; the Maine Media Workshops; the Santa Fe Workshops; Fuji USA; Anderson Ranch; the Norwegian Fotografiakademiet; and many others. Miele lives in Brooklyn, NY. www.jeanmiele.com/
Francisco Ramirez, MPH, answers tough questions on sexuality, health, relationships and dating. An accredited sexual health consultant, public speaker and media personality, Francisco has more than 15 years of experience working with organizations including the United Nations and MTV on issues related to sexual well-being in multiple languages and in more than 10 countries.
Since 2008, Francisco has offered Free Advice on Relationships, Sex & Dating” to passersby in New York City’s parks and streets. Francisco has been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and guest-hosted Dan Savage’s Savage Love podcast.
Find Francisco and his upcoming Free Sex Advice hours on Twitter @FranciscoNYC (hashtag #FreeSexAdvice); Facebook, andwww.franciscoramirez.org
Saul Robbins (Curator) is interested in the ways people interact with their surroundings, and the psychological dynamics of intimacy. His photographs are motivated by observations of human behavior and personal experience, especially those related to loss and unity. He is best known for the series Initial Intake, which examines the empty chairs of Manhattan-based psychotherapy professionals from their clients’ perspective, referencing viewers perceptions, associations, and responses to this particular environment and the work that takes place there. In 2012, Robbins created How Can I Help? – An Artful Dialogue in a pop-up office / exhibition environment in Midtown Manhattan, inviting passersby to speak with himself and other artists about anything they wish for free and in complete confidence. Photoville, 2014 is Robbins’ largest presentation so far of this unique interactive photographic experience.
Exhibitions include The Bolinas Museum, Blue Sky Gallery, chashama, CurateNYC, Deutsche Haus at NYU, Griffin Museum, Massachusetts General Hospital, MICA, Museum of Fine Arts – Houston, New Orleans Photo Alliance, Photoville, Ost Gallery, Moscow, Portland Art Museum, The Philoctetes Center, Rayko, The Wellin Museum of Art, and many others. Publications include Art Photo Mag, Aufbau, Berlin Tagesspiegel, CPW Quarterly, D – La Repubblica, The Daily Mail, DART, Feature Shoot, FlavorWire, Love Issue, More, The New York Times, Real Simple, Slate, Wired, and others. Grants and awards include chashama Windows Award; Clarence John Laughlin Award (Finalist); The Covenant Foundation; Sony World Photography Awards (Finalist); AJPA Rockower; Gunk Foundation; and New York Foundation for the Arts. Curatorial projects include Projecting Freedom: Cinematic Interpretations of the Haggadah (2010); Regarding Intimacy (2007); and No Live Girls, Peep Show 28 (2002). Robbins received his MFA from Hunter College and teaches in New York City at the International Center of Photography. Since 2011 Robbins has also been consulting privately and leading master workshops internationally about professional development for artists and photographers.www.saulrobbins.com
Sheri Sandler was raised in the South, has a degree in Finance, a Graduate degree in the History of Decorative Arts, and has worked with both financial and cultural institutions. She has served on many boards and now, in her 50s, is engaged in a wide variety of civic activities and loves to help individuals whenever possible. Sandler carefully listens, is thoughtful in her approach to identifying the “elephant in the room” and responds by helping to find gentle ways to connect issues and problems with possible resolutions. Sandler is tremendously tenacious, thoughtful, resourceful, and sensitive. “Specialties” include: self worth / net worth balance, money and relationships, releasing blockades to achieve goals, single parenting, family business dynamics, and PTSD. She also loves to share her amazing “rolodex” — so just ask.
Visit How Can I Help? – An Artful Dialogue on Facebook, with more photographs, including “Dr.” Lisa Levy’s Ego Challenge.
