Dsto Moore’s ‘Take a Walk in My Shoes’ exhibition highlights First Friday in Macon
People wonder where creative people get their ideas from.
Dsto Moore is a creative photographer who talks about “artistic vision” a lot and these days a lot of people are talking about his artistic vision.
It’s May’s First Friday and a lot is going on downtown including Moore’s “Take a Walk in My Shoes” exhibition opening from 4 to 7 p.m. in Macon Arts Alliance’s gallery at 486 1st St. It remains there through May on Tuesdays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“Dsto does beautiful, striking photography and is just so good at telling a story through his work,” said Julie Wilkerson, executive director of the Arts Alliance. “Though he’s just been into photography a few years other artists could learn from him not only about art but about his commitment, focus and how he developed his own point of view. He stays true to the artistic vision of what he’s doing. Plus, he’s good at using social media and other avenues to let people in on his work.”
Moore is a Macon native who grew up in the Pleasant Hill neighborhood. He graduated from Westside High School in 2001 and was inspired to take up photography just five years ago when he was 34.
His “Take a Walk in my Shoes” series features his signature street portraits but these are careful to show off the shoes of his subjects.
At the Arts Alliance exhibit, the actual pairs of shoes will be on display along with the photos.
“I don’t have a weird thing for shoes or anything,” Moore said. “I just realized people’s shoes – whatever kind they were and whatever shape they were in – helped tell their story. I figured I’d use that.”
Portraits are of people from many walks of life, strata and stories. Being diverse, inclusive and shooting people of many sorts is a hallmark Moore shoots for.
“My photos, my art, isn’t about me but about the people I’m displaying,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if they’re in a fine neighborhood or on the street or my 100-year-old granddaddy, the shoe thing just gives it all a twist. One picture I did at Amerson River Park was just an abandoned pair of shoes. I figured they had a story to tell all by themselves.”
Prints of photographs will be for sale – but about the shoes? And how did he end up with people’s shoes for the show, anyway?
“That was the kind of tricky,” he said. “Some people let me have them, some didn’t, some we had to work a deal for. Are they for sale? Umm, hadn’t really thought about that but I guess I might negotiate.”
Moore said it’s an honor to show at the Arts Alliance and was complimentary of how officials chose to display his work with photos and shoes.
He said he has other exhibits in the works.
Though he’s had a day job most of his photographic career, his dream is to travel the country taking story photos of people. He likes the idea of themed work like the shoe collection and one featuring Pleasant Hill residents.
But back to it: how does he get ideas?
“Really, it’s from looking at people, seeing them and what their story is and figuring out how to capture and tell that in a way that moves people and brings understanding,” he said. “I want to normalize real people in their situation and take them out of stereotypes. I like to plant a seed in people’s minds but I don’t really have a roadmap. It’s all new and discovery to me. As far as the shoe idea goes, it kind of came from a dream then I made an idea around it. After that, I thought it was a bad, bad idea but other people encouraged me to go for it. Then I just had to stick to it and do the work. It’s pretty cool how it works.”
There are plenty of other First Friday happenings and a good jumping-off point is to search “May First Friday Historic Downtown Macon” at www.facebook.com.
Another notable Friday event for those interested in creativity, Georgia creatives and who have musical roots from the early 1970s is a book signing at Gallery West, 447 3rd St.
Author Jerry Grillo will be signing his biography of Bruce Hampton, the legendary founder of Atlanta’s avant-garde Hampton Grease Band who led a wildly creative life and career. Hampton mentored Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi of the Tedeschi/Trucks Band, Jimmy Herring and Duane Trucks of Widespread Panic, Oteil Burbridge of the Allman Brothers Band and Dead & Company and was friend to actor Billy Bob Thornton.
Thornton wrote of the book “… Grillo completely loves and understands the magic, the talent and the importance of Col. Bruce Hampton, Ret. You’ll disappear into Bruce’s world … and you may not want to come out.”
The book’s forward is by Macon’s iconic keyboard player Chuck Leavell and the book is called “The Music and Mythocracy of Col. Bruce Hampton, A Basically True Biography.”
The signing is from 5 to 8 p.m.
Contact writer Michael W. Pannell at mwpannell@gmail.com.
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