Anders Goldfarb Photographer

Anders Goldfarb Documentary: Buildings as Buildings by Peter Mattei—a look at Greenpoint and Williamsburg Brooklyn 1987 - 2007

***Williamsburg/Greenpoint 1987 – 2007.*** *Photographs bynAnders Goldfarb. Text by Bonnie Yochelson.*

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A very very long time ago I had a friend named Anders Goldfarb. I knew him way back when, in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the 1970s. He was from Brooklyn like my Dad, passionate about photography and always such a character--funny with a self-deprecating sense of humor, dark, garrulous, irreverent, compassionate. Son of Auschwitz survivors, his parents' past was never far from his psyche…

Somehow he popped into my head recently and I looked him up. I was so glad to see that he is still pursuing his passion and I love his photographs as much as I used to. He is old school all the way and is also now an adjunct professor of photography at Pace University in downtown New York.

In the days of digital everyone can do it photography, Anders was and remains a total purist, shooting exclusively in film and often with his old Rolleiflex--he is a product of the old school photographers, who he still greatly admires, including Robert Frank, André Kertesz, Berenice Abbott, Walker Evans, and Sergio Larrain, to name a few.

Anders' work is particularly relevant today--for many years he rode around on his bicycle, documenting Greenpoint and Williamsburg, Brooklyn before it disappeared to development, gentrification and its current renaissance. His book Passed Remains by art historian and curator Bonnie Yochelson is a beautiful and haunting testament to Brooklyn's history and is available today at Spoonbill Books on Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn and also on Amazon. For any of you Brooklynites out there, this book might be of special interest to you.

Anders can be reached at andersgoldfarb@gmail.com and follow him if you like on instagram.

Uniontown Band

My friend Eddie Holm and his two bandmates Chris Long and Fred Royal just released an album of original music entitled Uniontown, after recording it a few months ago in North Carolina. They have been playing together one way or another since the 1980s and have a deep longstanding friendship in and out of music. It shows.

Guitarist Chris wrote most of the songs and is the lead singer, Fred is a master on drums and provides some of the vocals along with writing a song or two and Eddie rocks it out loud and clear on bass…

The album Uniontown is now available on Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music. and I invite you to listen and enjoy it. I personally think it is really great—a mix of good old rock and roll along with a slight mix of swamp and country. The songs are varied and multi-layered but they have a definitive sound which makes them stand out. There is not one bad track on the whole album--hard pressed to pick favorites but I do especially love Shotgun Never Aimed , Caledonia, and Higher Ground.

You can follow Uniontown Band on Facebook, Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music or email them at theuniontownband@gmail.com.

Wayne Dyer on Letting Go

Of all the myriad of self help gurus we are surrounded by these days, one of my most favorite is Wayne Dyer, who passed away a number of years ago but who is still my go to person when I am looking for a little wisdom and a reminder of how to stay centered…

Here is one of his brief and wise talks—this one on letting go. You can find a lot of his other enlightening videos on youtube if you google him.

Here is a song to go along with the theme: Turn Turn Turn, written by Pete Seeger, sung by Judy Collins and Pete Seeger. Reminds me of the quote "let go or be dragged." And just by coincidence, came across this Pete Muller tune just now entitled Letting Go, which is also apt.

Painting of the Week

Gert Mathiesen, Red Guitar, mixed media on paper, 11” x 15”

Charity of the Week:
Food Bank of NYC

About The Author

New York City based contemporary artist, Pam Smilow, began writing the creative lifestyle blog “things we love” in an effort to foster a sense of community during times of isolation and reflection. To read more about her and her art, visit her website and check out the essay written by the Hammond Museum's Frank Matheis entitled The Sophisticated Innocence of Pam Smilow.