Tag: art

Summer 2017: California Dreaming

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DSC05391 RED BARN copy copy

According to the Farmer’s Almanac, “Hundreds of years ago, many farmers would seal their barns with linseed oil, which is an orange-colored oil derived from the seeds of the flax plant. To this oil, they would add a variety of things, most often milk and lime, but also ferrous oxide, or rust. … It turned the mixture red in color.”

DSC05337A barren tree en route through Yosemite National Park.

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An elf with his Pokemon contemplating life at Glacier Point, Yosemite National Park.

DSC05137 Petrified wood on Sentinel Dome @ 8,124 feet. Yosemite National Park.

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A lizard with blue dots on Sentinel Dome @ 8,124 feet. Yosemite National Park.

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A hiker on Sentinel Dome @ 8,124 feet. Yosemite National Park.

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A butterfly on Sentinel Dome @ 8,124 feet. Yosemite National Park.

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Snowmelt on Sentinel Dome @ 8,124 feet. Yosemite National Park.

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Bride Veil Falls, Yosemite National Park.

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Emerald Bay. Lake Tahoe, CA.

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Lake Tahoe, CA.

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Shipwreck with Lady Bug. Lake Tahoe, CA.

*All photographs copyright Neil de la Flor, 2017.

Bernice Steinbaum Returns With New Coconut Grove Gallery

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I wrote about visionary gallerist Bernice Steinbaum for the Miami New Times. Here’s an excerpt:

“Above the entrance to the gallery space hangs a neon sign that reads “Know BS,” a slogan Steinbaum has used in the past that cheekily references her initials. But in this space, the command takes on a solemn meaning: To “know BS” here is to understand culture. Inside Steinbaum’s home, the past, present, and future are transformed into a seamless tapestry composed of countless threads and seams. Steinbaum slips us inside that rarified world, allowing us to see ourselves, our hands, and those of our ancestors, weaving the threads that bind us all together.”

Read the entire article here.

When Pigs Fly

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“When Pigs Fly” by muralists Rei Ramirez and Ivan Roque demonstrates the power of art to literally stop traffic and spark a conversation with friends, neighbors and total strangers. 


True art challenges us to confront ourselves and each other. To respond to the critical issues of the day and of our lives. To question our individual and collective beliefs. 


This new family, like all of our families, will live in a country with either a racist xenophobic hate-mongering woman-hating country-dividing opportunistic bully or a leader who sees value and strength in our differences because we really are #strongertogether. 

I asked you not to throw them at me when you dance

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“I asked you not to throw them at me when you dance” (60″ x 40″) is a photograph from The Quarks, a series of micro stories revelaed through light. This image, like most of the photos in the series, was taken on the 4th of July or New Year’s Eve. The photograph captures the aftermath of dancing with fire and the politics of a relationship. The locus, or the curve formed by the attack of blue, reveals the condition between two coordinates moving relative to one another at the speed of light.

Exhibition information: Marriott Residences, 9200 Collins Avenue from October 22 – January 30th, 2017.

Crisis of Conscience 

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Photography calms, especially when I discover beauty in error. These small catastrophes sucker punch the insidious drive for perfection that moves me. “Crisis of Conscience” comes out of the conflict between error & perfection and opens up the possibility of seeing beauty in different manifestations. Recognizing that perfection isn’t an end in itself, but a messy, haphazard process where magic happens along the way. And that’s beautiful.

[The Quarks is a series of micro stories made visible through light.]

See more here: http://neildelaflor.format.com

When we rise, we rise together

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Life is exhausting and hectic, but I finally had the opportunity to stay still and work on a new image from the Quarks, which is a series of micro stories made visible through light.

This is an excerpt from “When we rise, we rise together”. The title was inspired by Michelle Obama’s speech to the 2016 DNC.

“When we rise, we rise together” | Photo by Neil de la Flor

See more of my work here > http://neildelaflor.format.com/

Week 3, Day 1: ArtWorks Creative Writing/Digital Storytelling Cohort

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Egos are fragile. The words we speak and the actions we take impact how we perceive ourselves and how we perceive the world. Sometimes the impact is negligible. Sometimes not.

Today, I convinced one of our creative writing/digital storytelling interns to perform one of her original songs. I had heard her quietly singing off stage behind the black curtains in our temporary home at The Lightbox at The Goldman Warehouse. She’s shy, not shy. She has that kind of voice that fights against her nature to be quiet.

Before her performance, we spoke about our projects and the progress that we’ve made. Progress sometimes means limiting ourselves. Cutting out what we can’t do down to what we can. Time is a creative force that pushes the the  megaphone in our face. Or not. We just have to decide if we’re going to speak or remain silent.

Today, the interns of the creative writing/digital storytelling cohort are finishing their individual projects–a new blog, a series of new blog entries, the first draft of a new novel, a collection of short stories, an audio book, a short documentary film, a performative book of dance poetry.

We won’t finish everything, which is fine. The unfinished will give them something to nag at them when I’m gone–a quiet force in the back of their minds reminding them there’s something left to finish.