Who says photography isn't art? Does anyone still dare utter such poppycock these days? I'm in love with photoblog Chookooloonks. (Surprise.) Through the blog's photo-essayist creator, Karen Walrond, also author of The Beauty of Different, I've learned about some uber cool women across the country (many of them "the love bomb"). These women with whom I'd love to hang write thoughtfully, photograph beautifully and send out other forms of gentle love and inspirational art via the blogosphere.

So, when Nashville artist activist friend Andee Rudloff sent me news of a Holga photography exhibit sponsored by a current, yet another congressional-budget-cut-threatened-arts-organization–VSA–it was time to give that long-intended shout out to some of those bloggers whose work I admire and who also use toy cameras. They'd be Portland, Oregon's Andrea Jenkins of Hula Seventy. Nearing publication of this post, I couldn't find many examples, at quick glance of Holga photography on her site. I confess, it's been too long since I browsed there. (Starting a new household has altered my blogosphere habits.) A tweet confirms she does shoot with the camera I'd never heard of before I discovered the wonder of photoblogs out there on the wild web. Here's a google search about the camera and many mentions of Andrea. Regardless her blog is full of cool, especially the visual kind. Also of note for old-style yet fresh camera art, is Jenkin's lovebomb friend and amazing writer, storyteller and photographer Jen Lee of Brooklyn, NY. Known for piercing vulnerability in her writing, she illustrates her work with another camera which I'd never heard of, the Diana. (I blame my ignorance on the fact that I'm doing good to shoot a standard Olympus back in film days and now Canon and Nikon. Period.)

Back to Rudloff, who has roots in Bowling Green, Ky., where the VSA Kentucky ArtsACCESS Gallery today opens Seeing Ourselves: Photographs of Safe Haven. The exhibit features 22 color and black-and-white photographs taken by members of homeless families while living at the Safe Haven Family Shelter, including the one featured here. The exhibition provides insight into the human side of homelessness and was originally organized by the Frist Center for the Visual Arts in Nashville.  A photography workshop using Holga cameras will be facilitated by Rudloff, the exhibition curator, on Sat., April 16 from 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. at the ArtsACCESS Gallery.  The workshop fee is $25 and includes use of a Holga camera and disc of photos.  (The Seminar Slut may just have to tramp up there.)

"The photographs selected for Seeing Ourselves represent life patterns and happenings that are experienced by people, with and without disabilities, living in a variety of circumstances," said Rudloff who is the Frist Center's community relations manager. "Instead of simply documenting the conditions of homelessness, the images remind us that we all share common hope, dreams, and goals."  The photographs were taken by the residents of Safe Haven who were provided with a Holga 120N camera and invited to create images that reflected their thoughts and feelings about their lives now and in the future.

Exhibit organizers elaborate that the Holga 12N is a toy-like camera that uses medium format film to create 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 inch negatives.  Holga enthusiasts believe that flaws in the camera's plastic lens and body mechanics give images an appealing look.  Light leaks, vignetting, loss of sharpness, and other "imperfections" produce interesting colors, perspectives and unique effects to create works that transcend straightforward documentation.

Like Tennessee's award-winning chapter, VSA Kentucky provides arts education and inclusion programs for children and adults with disabilities throughout the state and offers an under-served population equal opportunity to explore the arts in a way that is fully accessible. And, also like Tennessee, VSA Kentucky is a member of the international network of VSA, an affiliate of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Do you, like me, think it's crucially important to keep access to arts programs, such as those offered by Tennessee and Kentucky VSA organizations, the NEA and in our public schools? I know you do. Please spare a few moments to fill out this easy peasy online form to voice your important beliefs to your U.S. congressional representatives: http://paa.convio.net/site/Advocacy?s_oo=cbnd7-XV4i-n6tqoSouZEw..&id=329  (Thank you!)