Treece, Kansas 66778

Photo of chat piles courtesy of Danea Males

Since 2009, Danea Males and Derek Rankins have been working on a collaborative photography project about the town of Treece. The collaboration evolved into a website that features contributions from other photographers, documentarians, and the residents of Treece themselves.  More than just an online gallery, TreeceKansas.com includes recorded memories from the townspeople written accounts of life in Treece, and a link to the Treece Kansas Facebook Group established to keep the community connected.  We talked with Danea about the experience of documenting a vanishing American town.

The Recollective: What prompted you to start photographing the town of Treece?

Portrait of Wayne Kirk courtesy of Derek Rankin

Danea:  In the fall of 2009 my friend and fellow photographer, Derek Rankins, directed my attention to the New York Times Article, “Welcome to Our Town. Wish We Weren’t Here” by Susan Saulny.  That story was the first time I learned about the mining history of Treece, and the hazards of living in that community.  Derek was particularly interested in this story because he is originally from Kansas, and had previous knowledge of Treece.  He knew that he wanted to create a series of portraits of the remaining residents, and he invited me to come along to photograph the town and its surrounding landscape.

The Recollective: Were there any people to whom you became particularly attached?

Danea:  Yes!  As a result of our project, we have met some wonderful people.  Pam Pruitt, Jan Leatherman, Bill and Judy Blunk, Dennis and Ella Johnston were all incredibly welcoming, and championed our project.  About a year after we starting going to Treece, we created a Treece, Kansas Facebook Group.  That Facebook Group has grown significantly.  It’s amazing to read the stories from the former residents, and start conversations with people.  I love the fact that people from that community stay connected with one another because of the technological innovations of social networking.

Derek Rankin shows his portraits to residents of Treece

The Recollective:  How long have you been photographing or otherwise documenting Treece, Kansas?

Danea:  We started photographing Treece in 2009.

The Recollective:  At what point did your individual photography projects evolve into Treece, Kansas 66778, the website that is now a hub for all things Treece?

Danea:  In July of 2011, Derek and I were experimenting with how we wanted to present our photographs.  At that point, we were considering how we could bring awareness to the story of Treece, and how we could connect with others who shared our interest and concern.

The Recollective:  How did Treecians initially react to your interest in documenting their town?

Danea:  Once people got to know us and understand our intentions, we received a tremendous amount of support and interest in our work.

The Recollective:  What have you been most surprised by in creating the website and the Facebook Group?

Danea Males photographing at Christmas

Danea:  The connections that we have made have been the most surprising and rewarding part of creating the website, and the Treece, Kansas Facebook Group.  We have met other photographers and documentarians, like The Recollective, that have their own projects about the same topic.  Also, creating the website has been a great learning experience.

The Recollective:  Is there an end date for this project or do you see it continuing to evolve?

Danea:  I’m not entirely sure.  Derek and I have continued to work on this project because we have enjoyed its evolution.  This was the first time that either of us worked collaboratively too.  We are still exploring ways to make the website a resource of information about the town of Treece.

The Recollective:  Can you talk a little bit about the other contributors to Treece, Kansas 66778?

Danea:  Shelly Cervantes is a friend and fellow photographer who also created a body of photographic work about Treece.  She started travelling with us in the beginning, and was able to collaborate with us on this project.  She is a commercial photographer in Dallas, TX.

Vaughn Wascovich is a photographer who created a series about Picher, Oklahoma. Picher is the sister city to Treece, and has suffered the same fate.  Vaughn is a photography professor at Texas A&M University-Commerce.

Dina Kantor is a photographer from Brooklyn, NY.  She also created a series about Treece, Kansas.  Her environmental portraits show some of the last residents of the town.

Pam Pruitt is former resident of Treece.  Her words and memories became a vital part of the website, and were the primary reason we began to start collecting written and oral histories from other residents of Treece.

Derek Rankin photographing Colton

The Recollective:  Can you briefly describe how your individual approaches to documenting Treece differ or are complementary?

Danea:  When Derek, Shelly and I started photographing in Treece, we knew that we were going to take different approaches to documenting the same story.  For example, Derek made portraits that did not contain an environment.  I photographed that landscape, and the homes in Treece.  Our work is complementary because our images were created to support one another.  As we began to find other artists exploring the same topic, we were really interested in sharing the different projects, experiences and perspectives.

The Recollective:   Can you describe how your perceptions of and feelings about Treece have changed over time and how you feel now?

Danea:  In the beginning, it was challenging for me.  When I started photographing in Treece, I was outside of my comfort zone.  The act of pointing my camera at the homes of strangers forced me to interact with people.  As a result, I got to hear stories, make friends, share experiences, and learn from others.  I will be forever grateful for that opportunity.  At first, I was an outsider.  Now, I feel like I am forever connected to Treece.  I love being an artist and documentarian.  I feel fortunate that the people of Treece allowed me to photograph their town.

Wonder Women!

I love comic books, especially the old-school superhero variety so I am really excited about this new documentary from Director Kristy Guevara-Flanagan.  Wonder Women! The Untold Story of American Superheroines premiers nationwide on the PBS series Independent Lens Monday, April 15!

The film goes behind the scenes with Lynda Carter, Lindsay Wagner, Gloria Steinem, Kathleen Hanna, comic writers and artists, and a few everyday wonder women who share their views about heroism and female empowerment.  You can read an interview with Guevara-Flanagan posted on the Newsarama comics site here and check out the trailer below!

– Jeremy

Environmental Portraiture

Image from DinaKantor.Com. Water Tower, Treece, KS, 2010

The great thing about any documentary project is the people with whom you collaborate to tell the story.  The Recollective’s upcoming audiodoc about Treece, Kansas enabled us to meet dozens of people who are dedicated to making sure that this little town near the Kansas/Oklahoma border isn’t forgotten.  One of those people is Dina Kantor.

Dina is a Brooklyn-based photographer who, for the past few years, has been documenting Treece in the midst its buyout by the EPA.  In an interview with James Pomerantz for the New Yorker Dina explained why she has been photographing the town and the people who called it home. “Ultimately, I want my photographs to serve as an archive of the community, a document of its transformation, and an investigation into the environmental and economic impact of past practices on both individuals and the landscape.”

Image from DinaKantor.Com. Water Tower, Treece, KS, 2012

On May 1, the Kansas State Historical Society opens “Formerly Known as Treece” an exhibition featuring select photographs from Dina’s gorgeous and haunting series.  Visitors will also be able to hear The Recollective’s half-hour audio doc “Treece, Kansas: Ghost Town in the Making” which will be playing during the exhibition.  You can catch the half-hour special again when Kansas Public Radio airs it on May 19 at 8 PM.

To see more of Dina’s work go to http://www.dinakantor.com/index.php?/work/treece/.

Dust Brothers

Recollective producer Chaela Herridge-Meyer found this great film on YouTube while she was doing research for “Treece, Kansas: Ghost Town in the Making.”  Produced by noted Great Depression era photographer Sheldon Dick, ”Men and Dust” was shown at the conclusion of the 1940 Tri-State Silicosis Conference in Joplin, Missouri.  Attendees of the conference included industry and labor leaders and Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins. The film is a surprisingly experimental exposé based on the findings of the Tri-State Survey Committee.  It highlights the danger of silicosis, a debilitating lung disease from inhaling the dust produced from mining lead and zinc.

On May 19, you can hear The Recollective’s take on the former mining town of Treece, Kansas when it airs on Kansas Public Radio’s KPR Presents.

Adventures in food media

Food is everywhere, and now, storytellers are finding the stories behind the food we eat.  Daniel Klein and Mirra Fine are the creators of The Perennial Plate, a video series about food and sustainability and the people that work for both.  For their first season, their videos focused on food in their home state of Minnesota.  Their second season documented an American food road trip. The current third season is a round-the-world adventure tour of food and culture and people.  Daniel took a moment out of filming in Italy to answer our questions. (P.S.  If you want to try your hand at making some food media, check out the rules for this year’s audio shortdoc challenge from the great minds at the Third Coast International Audio Festival.)

The Recollective: How did the Perennial Plate grow from an idea into a reality?

Daniel Klein: It was really  just a matter of starting it.  I had an idea and picked up a camera (that I had) and started filming.  After filming for a potential TV pilot, it morphed into a we series.  I wanted to combine my cooking, film and activism into one project.

The Recollective: How do you do your pre-production research and how do you decide who to visit?

Daniel: It depends from country to country and place to place.  The first step is just to think about what interests us in certain areas.  For our international travel, we’ll buy some cookbooks and travel books to gain inspiration.  Then we will do a lot of googling.  We also have an incredible partner Intrepid Travel, who has people on the ground in the countries we visit and can help bridge the language gap and organize a lot of the travel.

The Recollective: Travel brings a lot of the unexpected.  How spontaneous are you?   How many places do you film that ultimately don’t end up working for The Perennial Plate?

Daniel: When we were filming  around the US, we were very spontaneous.  Finding stories the day before or the day of. For the international travel we have to have an pretty solid itinerary.  We only spend two weeks in each country and there is a lot we have to capture.  That being said.  There are times when we film something and half way through realize it would make an amazing story.  There have also been a number of things we don’t end up using, or we combine stories together into one episode.  We are very spontaneous on the editing table and in the actual filming.  We don’t script anything, we let things happen and film.  Then we take the best moments that capture the spirit of our characters.

The Recollective: How much of the story develops in the editing process and how much before?

Daniel: Ahh, I just answered that.  The story develops almost entirely in the editing process.  When we are filming, we know there are some things we need to try and capture so we will ask certain questions.  And sometime a story will be clear, or come out and make itself known and we will follow that lead.  But in general, we see what we have and construct from there.

The Recollective: A video a week is a lot of content.  How do you keep up?

Daniel: We did a video a week for two years, now we are doing every other week.  Our schedule is to film for a month and then edit for a month and a half. Around the US, we were editing in the car.  Traveling the world, we don’t want to be stuck in a hotel editing when we could be out exploring the streets of Mumbai, Rome, Galicia, Hong Kong…

The Recollective: What are some of your tricks for producing on the go?

Daniel: Tricks to producing quickly are letting things go.  You can get the video/product so good, but at some point you have to release it.  Doing these videos regularly makes a big difference.  We are editing for the internet, so we really have to think about what the core of the story is and cut away any extra content.  I use music as an inspiration and that can really help me edit a piece that I ‘m stuck on.

The Recollective: How has finding funding been?

Daniel: We’ve been really lucky with funding.  We had incredible support from our fans the first two years through Kickstarter.  Then we had support from NCGA (National Cooperative Grocers Association) and Stop Global Warming.  And this year we found a dream partner with Intrepid Travel.  They put on responsible and adventurous tours around the globe.  They think food and getting to know people in countries is a great reason to travel and that our content can help get people excited about it.  The partnership is great for us because of their on the ground knowledge in these countries, and of course the financial aspect.  But really, they are just a generous company that is completely respectufl of artistic vision and so many things.  We love them.  And its not in our contract to be so complimentary!

The Recollective: You approached Intrepid Travel to fund your third season of travel and episodes.  How did you develop your pitch?  How does this sort of funding compare to crowd funding (w/ Kickstarter?)

Daniel: Intrepid Travel invited us on one of their trips to Vietnam, and we made a video out of the experience.  That video did extremely well and so we got together to see how we could replicate that situation.  We were amazed and so excited when they wanted to help make this third season happen.  So it was serendipitious to a certain extent.  We pitched them only after a relationship had already started.With Kickstarter it is all about tapping into your network.  We got money from friends and family the first time around, because no one had ever heard of the show.  But after putting out 52 free videos, people were more than happy to support the continuation of the project.  But you have to push.  I think folk think that you can just put up a campaign and people will support.  Not the case.  You have to really ask people over and over again to support your work.  We don’t want to do it anymore for The Perennial Plate because our fans have given so much.  We might consider it for a separate project.

The Recollective: I was blown away by how shiitakes are grown on Sweden Creek Farm in Arkansas.  What food find has blown you away?

Daniel: We were just in Spain filming with a foie gras producer who doesn’t force feed his animals.  He lets them live in the wild, and because they are raised in the wild, they have all their instincts.  And their instinct is to gorge before they migrate.  So they naturally have huge livers in early winter.  Amazing stuff and so different than mainstream foie gras.

The Recollective: Have you ever had an expectation about the cuisine/food culture of a particular place and then been surprised by what you actually found?

Daniel: There are always treats in eating and I learn a lot about food while traveling.  But there aren’t a lot of surprises.  I guess it was a surprise when I realized how bad Spanish bread is (except in Galicia).

The Recollective: Tell us about collaboration.  How do your (Mira and Daniel) individual experiences and talents compliment each other when producing the series?

Daniel: Our collaboration works because we like each other and are quite different.  Mirra is a great listener and gets to know people and puts them at ease.  I run around more making sure we get every shot etc.  We’ve been doing it a few years now, so we just kind of operate as a team.  we spend 24 hours together, its pretty crazy, but great.  We both operate the camera, so if one of us is tired, we switch off.  We both do everything.

The Recollective: You blogged about being surprised that your fans and followers weren’t actually stopping and watching your videos (Not Quite a Sob Story).  What was the impetus to write that post?

Daniel: I think i was just frustrated by social media in general – the likes and the shares and all the fluff on the internet getting so much attention.  Our fans have been really great, and our viewership continues to grow, so it wasn’t that they weren’t watching.  It was more frustration and needing “likes” to make sure our videos got seen etc.

The Recollective: How do you see the role of food media in the food sustainability movement?

Daniel: It seems like it has become quite successful.  You see people getting upset about pink slime and GMOs and obesity and things starting to change.  I really think most of America is on the same page about wanting healthy and real food.  Food media also sensationalizes etc. so it can be tricky.

The Recollective: Your first season was a year of food in Minnesota.  Your second was a US road trip.  Your third is a round the world adventure.  How has The Perennial Plate evolved?  What’s next?

Daniel: I think each season we’ve gotten a little more professional.  Our videos used to be more “how to” and now they are mostly about people and the characters and love behind people’s work instead of the work itself.  What’s next? Space!  I have no idea.  Maybe a series on Food justice, or maybe about Animals.  We will see.

Keepsakes

Heirlooms are important to many of us in different ways. They connect us to our own past and to the lives of those who came before us.  StoryKeep, founded by Lisa Madison and Jamie Yuenger, is in the business of assembling future heirlooms, multimedia portraits that offer a glimpse into the past or a chance to preserve a special moment in the here-and-now.  We spoke with Lisa  and Jamie to learn more about their work and inspirations.

The Recollective:  In your bios on the StoryKeep website, you both describe life experiences that seem deeply rooted in family and ritual.  What are some ways in which your own memories of family influence the way you document the stories of families with whom you work?

Jamie: Wow. This is a big question! Well…my memories of my own family are both vivid and blurry. I know that when I’m interviewing people, that’s usually the case for them too. Some things stick out in their minds and some things, for whatever reason, fade. I’m always looking for the little and big stories that a person can vividly recall, but equally as important, their stories that point to a bigger truth. My own family experienced wonderful times, but also dreadful times. I get the joy, I get the underbelly. I try to bring that understanding to my listening and my questions.

Lisa: My understanding of stories started very young, when I heard my parents tell the story of starting the vineyard in New Mexico where I grew up over and over again to customers who stopped by the tasting room. It’s not like I’ve had a penchant for recording family stories my entire life though – in fact, it wasn’t until recently that I started to truly record my own family stories. I don’t actually think it’s the memories of family that influence my desire to document stories; it’s the recognition that stories are being made every day and our future memories if we capture those stories.

StoryKeep’s Lisa Madison and Jamie Yuenger. Photo courtesy of Michael Paras Photography

The Recollective: It seems like you both had a clear idea of what you wanted StoryKeep to be when you started up, but what have you found most surprising about your work?

Jamie: The most surprising thing, that nobody told me, is that your relationship with your business partner is more critical to your business success than everything else combined. You must establish an unshakable trust, a bond, that will survive hell and highwater. It is a self-actualizing process to realize that the more vulnerable you are with your business partner, the stronger you make your business.

Lisa: I absolutely agree with Jamie on this one. I would also add that I could have never imagined how incredibly satisfying it is to do this work. The pleasure that we bring families drives us every day.

The Recollective: Can you describe some of the more challenging requests you’ve gotten from clients?

Jamie: We were asked to document a family’s seder. It was an incredible experience, but it required me to interview 21 people within a 4 hour time span, this while Lisa shot b-roll of the dinner prep. The dining room where the two of us shot the dinner was just big enough to hold the dinner attendees, so we scrunched and slid past folks to get meaningful shots.

Lisa: The most challenging projects are those that are started too late. Either a storyteller’s memory or grip on reality is slipping or, even worse, they pass before they’re able to tell their whole story.

The Recollective: Even though you use digital technology to record stories, it appears that you believe in the power of objects to help tell stories or convey an experience.  Can you describe why that marriage of the two is important to you?

Lisa: I actually have a secret desire to put all of our work on records and film just so they can be a little more of a physical object in the world. The digital technologies that are available to us today help us capture stories and certainly make this process easier for anyone that takes the initiative to pull out their phone, but it’s a catch-22 because it also renders these moments a little more impermanent. The power of objects is that the stories embedded within them cannot be erased with a click of a button or the crash of a hard drive. They withstand the test of time.

The Recollective: Our culture feels increasingly materialistic and at the same time it seems to value heirlooms and memorabilia less and less.  I’m wondering to what degree StoryKeep is a response to or rejection of that trend.  Can you share your thoughts on the importance of tangible objects and materials and their role in connecting the past to the present?

Jamie: I’m not sure that I agree that our culture values heirlooms less and less, but I’ll say this; I think material objects are important because we can touch them. There is something in touching a ring, or a clock, or a StoryKeep album that is very much like touching the actual person you loved (and who you miss). We touched that person when they were alive and so to touch something that represents them is a similar act.

Lisa: I think that we feel like our world is moving too fast – materialism aside, the changes that our grandparents have experienced in the last 10 years far exceeds those of the 40 before it, especially in technology. I think that the nostalgic trend in our culture that values heirlooms and memorabilia is a reaction to this. It’s holding onto something that we can all relate to.

Innocence Project

As Women’s History Month winds down Docwomen.com is gearing up to spotlight films that highlight the social issues affecting women and girls.  Last night at the Maysles Cinema in Harlem, Docwomen Erika Howard, Tatiayana Jenkins and Amanda Lopez presented Inocente, Oscar Winner for the 2013 best “Documentary Short Subject.”

Directed by Andrea Nix and Sean Fine, the 40-minute short follows 15 year-old Inocente, a homeless teenage girl living in San Diego.  The film explores some dark territory but stays focused on the brightly colored horizon of Inocente’s burgeoning art career.  Producer  Yael Melamede was on hand to answer questions about the making of the film, its journey to the Oscars, and how the film is now being used around the country to foster awareness about homelessness, immigration, and the healing power of the arts.

The screening and Q & A was the first of a series of quarterly events presented by Docwomen aimed at inspiring advocacy and social change through outreach and audience engagement.