Will Steacy, Fence, 2006; Your Credit Is Good, 2008. Courtesy of the artist, Michael Mazzeo Projects, New York, and Christophe Guye Galerie, Zurich.
Silvereye Center for Photography 1015 e Carson Street pa 15203 Pittsburgh États-Unis
Silver Eye Center for Photography is proud to announce the opening of No Job No Home No Peace No Rest: An Installation by Will Steacy, one of the most acclaimed and influential young photographers working today. The exhibition is on view from September 14 through December 15, 2012.
Presented against the backdrop of the 2012 election season, Will Steacy’s new installation is both a chronicle and a critique of a nation where a once-attainable “American Dream” has been replaced, for so many, by a desperate effort to survive. The exhibition’s title comes from a line in Bruce Springsteen's song, The Ghost of Tom Joad, which in turn alludes to John Steinbeck's classic novel, The Grapes of Wrath. Both of these artist-activists have influenced Steacy and, like them, he fiercely identifies with those who are disenfranchised, invisible, and suffering prolonged economic hardship.
© Will Steacy, Portrait of the Artist with The Beast, 2012. Courtesy of the artist, Michael Mazzeo Projects, New York, and Christophe Guye Galerie, Zurich
“I am one of the millions of Americans fighting every day with my back against the ropes struggling to find a way to make ends meet,” Steacy writes. “[This] has allowed me to harvest the fear, anxiety, stress, etc. that I feel every day and to use it as not just my voice but the voice of millions of Americans who are right there with me, going through the same thing—my voice is their voice, their voice is my voice, and our voice is that of a troubled nation.”
The exhibition's centerpiece is Steacy’s 170-foot collage, which he dubs “The Beast.” A systematic, often eviscerating dissection of American policies and politics, the collage is made up of thousands of clippings from newspapers collected over many years, his own photographs and writings, and found objects. It is shown here for the first time in its entirety, along with thirty-two photographs from earlier and ongoing projects—Down These Mean Streets, All My Life I Have Had The Same Dream, and We Are All In This Together.
About the Artist
Will Steacy (b. 1980) comes from five generations of newspaper men and was a union laborer before turning to photography. It is not surprising, given his upbringing and work history, that writing is as much a part of Steacy’s DNA as picture-making. “While most may be familiar with my images, it is the words that got me there. Both words and images are an integral part of my process. During the course of a project I fill tons of notebooks with ideas, plans, notes, experiences, dreams, etc., and I continue to fill these notebooks as I make photographs. I am writing as I am shooting and it is my writing that I return to between trips/shoots. The words allow the pictures to happen; they are the bridge to the other side.”
Writing often accompanies the display of Steacy’s photographs. He has also taken full advantage of digital platforms to give us stories and commentaries that are, by turns, intensely introspective, poetic, uncensored, and full of insight, outrage, and bitter truths. Will Steacy’s personal reportage can be found in his much-discussed blog, Will Steacy, Too Tough To Die (http://willsteacy.blogspot.com).
Born in New Haven, CT, and raised in Philadelphia, PA, Will Steacy received his B.F.A. from New York University in 2003. He was named one of Photo District News’ 30 Emerging Photographers To Watch in 2011, and is also the recipient of prestigious awards such as The Tierney Fellowship and The Aperture Foundation-Illumination Fund Green Cart Photography Commission.
Will Steacy’s work has been widely exhibited, collected, and featured on CNN, NPR, and BBC, and in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Esquire, Harper’s, Time, Newsweek, and The Guardian, among others. His books include The Monstropolous Beast (Christophe Guye Galerie, 2010), Photographs Not Taken (Daylight, 2012), and the forthcoming Down These Mean Streets (B. Frank Books, fall 2012).
The artist currently divides his time between New York and Philadelphia. He is represented by Michael Mazzeo Projects in New York and Christophe Guye Galerie in Zurich, Switzerland.
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© Will Steacy