Street Portraits—an Exhibit From Portrait Photographer Joe Van Wyk
Dear Friends,
On February’s first Friday I was blessed to put on a photography exhibit in Bastrop, Texas. The images, of a body of work I shot during our four years living in Austin, feature striking portraits of homeless people in downtown Austin.
Please join us this coming Friday nigh for the opening of “Street Portraits” exhibit. All proceeds go to finish out two mobile homes house homeless di…
This is the first art exhibit I have held since…are you ready for this? High school! There is probably good reason for that. First, this is the first time I have really created a “body” of photographic work. Funny thing is, I wasn’t really doing it consciously. Over those four years I went downtown frequently, practiced street photography, and created YouTube videos of my escapades, like these here and here.
I got so much encouragement from friends on social media. Every so often someone would say “exhibit” and I would recoil, rattling off logical reasons that wouldn’t happen.
Looking back, I now see how I was unable at the time to transcend the “reasons", because life needed to unfold a little more. I needed to heal from a rough stretch of depression and anxiety. I needed to progress more spiritually; mainly through meditation and acceptance. And most importantly, I needed to wake up!
Eckhart Tolle tells the parable of a beggar who sits on a box, day after day, with hand outstretched. One day a regular passer-by asks the beggar what’s in the box he is sitting on, and he replies that he had never even opened it. To his surprise, he discovered a lifetime of riches inside the box. They symbolize internal riches that each of us have, just waiting to be discovered and owned.
My mom Peggy Van Wyk generously funded the exhibit, and enabled us to donate all proceeds to help fund Pastor Nava’s homeless shelter and ministry
I suppose my own previously undiscovered riches include a gift for approaching strangers in the streets, quickly gaining their trust, and loosening them up for long enough to get the shot. I’m pretty good at the technical stuff too, and I chose some amazing gear with which to practice the craft of photography. I’ve spend many hundreds of hours shooting and editing images for fun and for hire, practicing, practicing, practicing. I developed a love for the art of portriat photography, and the connection I feel with my beautiful subjects. All of this came about through the grace of God. Truly. If you knew me well, you’d understand.
I walked through so many years of black depression that it became my identity. I was a “mentally ill”, it was going to last forever, and nothing would change that. I had tried all of the meds and delved deep with therapists, programs, and spiritual teachings. I “did the deal” the best I could, and sought to serve others less fortunate. Yet still, the gray skies persisted. My main prayer for years was “please God, heal me.” That prayer was unanswered for so long that it deteriorated into “please God, let me just accept the depression and learn to live with it.”
Suffice to say, I’m a walking miracle, culminating in me putting myself out there! It reminds me of that scripture about not putting our lamp under a bowl. Instead, to put our lamp (our inner light) out there for people to see. Not in an egoic way of course; but simply letting the Universe and all of its creativity flow through us.
On Main Street in Bastrop with Pastor Roland Nava. He and his wife Rosie founded the Hands Up High ministry, tirelessly housing and feeding people needing help to get back on their feet again.
So many things went into the exhibit and testify to how it all happened at the perfect time and place. We moved out here to Bastrop, 30 miles east of Austin. We quickly made friends. I met people who saw my work and really cared about me and wanted to foster my pursuit. One of them, my good friend Joe Grady Tuck, invited me to show in his amazing space (Chicago Title on Main Street). My heart wanted to use the exhibit to bless a charity, and Joe Grady and other neighbors told me all about this amazing husband and wife team—Pastor Roland and his wife Rosie. Pastor Roland and his team have a homeless shelter and kitchen just outside of Bastrop. The exhibit was going to cost some serious bucks, and I needed a benefactor who has money and thinks I am the best artist who ever lived. Up stepped my mom! Love you Mom!
You get the idea. This exhibit meant a great deal to me, and helped me grow so much. It blessed others and raised awareness. And now, who knows what might happen? Perhaps we will get to re-exhibit again, benefitting charities that help those struggling to get back on their feet again, physically, mentally, and spiritually.
If there is every anything I can do to help you put yourself out there into the Universe, please let me know.
Love, Joe =)
