ANTHONY R. VIZZARI | ARCHTOGRAPHIST

The Statue of Liberty: A perfect symbol of freedom, long journeys, and triumph over struggle. This a photo post card I found a month ago... now part of the collection. Well, we are headed back to Chicago tomorrow (Tuesday) morning! We met with Dr. Botha this morning and he gave me the OK to take off, if I felt up to it. Well, I'm ready to get home. We're not out of the woods, I'm only running on 30% of a liver and my WBC is high. He's not worried though. We just need to keep an eye out for ascites (excess fluid build up in the body cavity...). If this were the happen, I've have a fever, a ton of pain, swelling and general badness. The fix is basically being admitted to a hospital to drain the area. This happens in about 10-15% of patients, but if it were to happen, it can easily be treated in Chicago. I won't have my next set of scans for a few months when we will look at how the liver grew. Immediately, I'll just need to monitor labs and take it easy. T...

From the collection: 1908: I found this glass negative at a local fair. It's one of Chicago's first fireboats, sunk in 1908 at 16th & Canal. This was a great little score and piece of Chicago history! 03/22/2010: CT Left & X-Ray Right. Note the size of the liver in the CT and the 3 white areas in the X-Ray. Those 3 white spots are the wires used to clog the veins... (AKA - PVE) 03/22/2010: 3 CT sections. In the first image, you can see some growth of the left lobe. Note the center of the large tumor in the 2nd and 3rd images. You can see a bit more necrosis forming... at least, that's what I'm told it is. This could be via PRRT killing NET cells, or from the right lobe & tumor having a decreased blood supply? Or, both? The blog has been SILENT this week… That is not surprising, since all I’ve been doing is trying to get some rest (Spending a lot of time catching up on bad TV). I can’t stand it… If I have not returned your calls or emails, it’s because I j...

Mold-A-Rama "Miniature Plastic Factory": Don't think I haven't already looked into buying one! I have leads and a potential location already. These things rule! We'll see what pans out? Alex using the Mold-A-Rama... Andrea and I (Circus Exhibit - Museum of Science & Industry). Moose? Field Museum Display... Goats? Field Museum Display... I've been away from the blog since my PVE because I've been both busy...and tired. I've started to bounce back and I'm getting things in gear prior to the big surgery. The date has been scheduled (tentatively per scan results) for April 21st (pre-operation stuff) and actual cutting on the 22nd. My next scan will be April 15th. On the work front, things have been VERY busy. Some new digital projects are in the works which are exciting prospects. Also, we have two new locations about to be installed, one digital and one chemical. In addition, there are a few international and domestic sales in the mix, for bo...

I love this... Irving Park just west of Kedzie

Art Sinsabaugh: Chicago Landscape #23, 1964 (printed 1966) One of my favorite photographers is Art Sinsabaugh... and, one of my all time favorite writers is Sherwood Anderson. In 1964 Jargon Press (Jonathan Williams) put together a killer book pairing 15 pieces from Anderson's Mid-American Chants with Sinsabaugh's photos. I have the book, a limited edition of 1550 copies, which is a PRIZE in my collection. I think I once told Andrea that this book made me fall in love with the Mid-West. It's more than a piece in a collection, but an inspiring artifact. When I need a minute to escape, I take it out and flip through the long panoramic pages. I also have a great first edition of Mid-American Chants with a nice corn colored cover, and of course, a few orginal Sinsabaugh photos. Those too hold a special spot in my life... In the Forward to Mid-American Chants, Anderson writes: "I do not believe that we people of mid-western America, immersed as we are in affairs, hurried a...

Family Portrait with Casket: Silver-Gelatin print mounted on period board: Circa 1910. From the Museum of Mourning Photography ( MoMP ) Collection. No, I'm not dead yet... and yes, it has been over a week since my last real entry. With the event season now nearing the climax (June/July), I've been stupid-busy. I've been working on a new photobooth in the shop and it's looking great! Photos to come soon. My sister-in-law, Sarah, finally had her baby on Wednesday the 20 th (10 days past-due). Her name is Nia , and I'm an uncle again. (She's a beautiful little gem...!!! So Congrats to her and Ryan!) Unfortunately, I spent almost all of that day (5hrs) at city hall trying to get permits for my booths in bar locations. One of our locations got pinched by a city inspector, and we were shut down for 24hrs. Everyday we're down, we loose money. Thankfully, it happened on a weekday, so we didn't have to go into the weekend when the licensing office is closed. ...

Postings on photobooth.net of two of our glorious vintage photobooths on location. Click the images to view the site. After much hard work, we finally installed a model 20 at The Crossroads. It's a great local place with plenty of outdoor seating in the summer! Can't wait! And, the they have a good menu of BBQ delights, etc....yum.

My monthly shot! Gotta love it. The shot doesn't hurt, but it's sore for 2 days after! Sandostatin LAR: 30mg. I think they increased the dose from 20 to 30? Some new photos from the photobooth convention courtesy of Brian Meacham / photobooth.net: click photo to view the set. Note my workshop images. Doing some rewiring on the bench: fixing credit units! These are relays that attach to a bill validator, i.e., thing that takes and counts money! The Fabrication Facility on Chicago's South Side: Note the photobooth! A Vintage Model 17C getting ready for refub. I'll post the "after" picks when it's done. It's currently a sad sap, but going to be a gem! My appointment with Dr. Benson yesterday was long and uneventful. I got the impression that he was not a fan of Woltering's agressive ideology, but he was reserved in his comments. I'm still taking my huge shot everyone month, and have a MRI scan scheduled for June to track disease/ tumor growth. ...

Above: Some photo strips from the 2009 Photobooth Convention (Sponsored by your very own http://www.312photobooth.com/ ): Featuring Tim Garrett ( photoboothart.com ) & Brian Meacham, both of photobooth.net . Also, UK Artist Mr. Mix-up , founder of the original photobooth convention, Andrea Vizzari (The Mrs.) & Eric Hay, of 312photobooth , Connie Begg , + Carole Evans & Siobhan Mackay ( photomovette ). And last but not least, me. File Under A for Amazing: Photobooth frame mounted on paper w/ type. A. Vizzari 2009 Photobooth Convention Photos: April 3rd, Opening Night. Courtesy of Photobooth.net / Brian Meacham (All rights reserved). CLICK PHOTOS TO VIEW MORE IMAGES on Flickr After what feels like an eternity, I’m back at the blog. This last week was a blast, but it was a ton of work setting up for the convention. I had to prep 3 machines, set-up for the event, workshop, and a mess of miscellaneous items. And of course, had to unpack and organize the mess of boxes and equip...

Chicago & Damen Avenue: Food Paintings. How can you not love these?

A few images of the photobooth we installed at the 44th Ward Dinner Party. The photos are not great, but you get the idea. Also, a sample photo produced by the booth.

"God Bless America" after "American Gothic": A new sculpture on Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL. 03/22/2009 Are you familiar with a little painting by Grant Wood, called American Gothic ? It’s probably one of the most famous 20th century American paintings? Well, someone, or some artist, had the foolish idea to turn it into a massive sculpture. This new incarnation of the painting is an obscene steroid-injected effigy that hulks over awestruck Michigan Ave. tourists. –To make matters worse, the piece is entitled, God Bless America . This sculpture is despicable in that it is less about art, and more of a tourist trap. I could expound about my disdain for this work, but I will spare you the rant. All I can say is that Grant Wood is turning in his grave right now! What struck me most about this piece was not its lack of imagination, but the homeless man sleeping on it. Swarming with tourists, all standing in front to get their photo taken, it was a zoo. And n...