My friendship with Eric Mckenna began when he invited me to chat on his podcast when I first moved back to Pittsburgh almost three years ago. Since then it has been a great friendship of supporting each other. A couple of weeks ago I visited Eric’s “Boogie Street Studio” hidden in the great village of Coraopolis for the third time. I love talking to Eric. He is kind and smart and appreciates the promise of the road forward. His talks are not edited but they are guided. We talked about a lot of things - but most exciting was sharing my new work creating team building experiences around photo shoots and workshops and talks.
You can check out our most recent chat here:
After our recording, I came back to my studio and wrote this:
I was driving to be interviewed for a podcast with my friend Eric McKenna in Coraopolis - just up the river from Pittsburgh. I had to get my head outside of itself. I needed a song that would get me out over the guardrails. I needed it loud. I don’t like to listen to old songs much. I want to hear the next thing. Same with my work. I don’t get off looking at my old pictures or thinking of what I have done in the past - although sometimes it is like crawling under the house and studying the foundation. I am into the process of creating in the moment. That process is alive and well. But for this moment I reached back and cranked up Patti Smith singing, “My Generation”. The key line to that song is, “Hope I die before I get old”. Coraopolis is an old town. A very old town with a donut shop and a diner and a pizza parlor. The coffee shop had a sign saying they were closing early. McDonalds was staying open all day and night with a smaller staff so the line was creeping slowly. Driving up the main street every single street light post had a banner hanging from it of a young soldier. A man trapped in time who had died before they got old. The photos were either in B/W or hand tinted color. All the men were in uniform. We rarely stop to think about how photos freeze moments in time. Those men will never grow old, which makes the suffering of their families even more heartbreaking. Patti Smith was onto her rant, “The world is yours…. CHANGE IT MOTHERFUCKERS!” We only have a moment to do that. Sometimes lately it has felt like we missed our moment.
Instagram: @ericmckennaofficial
George Lange
LANGE STUDIO
cell: 917.608.2474