Please note that my site shows the profiles and portfolios of 317 young California models, ages 16 to 18, new to MM, from Alexis Woods to Kye Kucinski. It has been my pleasure to critique their first photos, admire their aspirations, and make them available here to photographers and agencies in one location. Once again I am reaching out to models from around the world, making this site so special for everyone.
SEE MM #750 FOR HOME HERE IN PENNSYLVANIA & MY WORK
http://www.modelmayhem.com/member.php?id=750
PLEASE VISIT MY BLOGSPOT TO SEE MY COMMITTEE REQUEST AND DESCRIPTION OF MY IMPORTANT GLOBAL PROJECT: THE INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR THE ARTS
http://webberstudio.blogspot.com/2008/1 … s-for.html
http://webberstudio.blogspot.com/2008/1 … posal.html
____________________________________________________
THE INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR THE ARTS, A PROPOSAL
with my 11-p elegant mailing to all Pennsylvania Senators:
________________________________________________
Alfred C. Webber, Jr. Friday, September 5th, 2008
WEBBER STUDIO
P.O. Box 97
Chadds Ford PA 19317-0097
Pennsylvania State Senators
The Capitol
Harrisburg, PA 17120
Honorable Senators:
I am Alfred C. Webber, Jr., 66, architect and photographer of Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. I have created, developed and communicated this “dream project” that is solely my own, without committee or funding since 1994. It is an International Center for the Arts, an elegant globally-owned and managed retreat and creative center for the best in all arts of all nations.
Originally, after much consideration, a site on the North Island of New Zealand was selected and received the praise of their own Arts Council. A photographer sent slides of his favorite sites and the area, residents and businesses were considered. Prime Minister Helen Clark, after reviewing the project, has since stated that she feels New Zealand is not the ideal site, and I have considered others over the ensuing years. Wrangell, Alaska has an elegant 134-acre site on the Intercoastal Waterway that has been considered by their city and legislature and may yet become an Art Center and School with International ties from our joint efforts.
Today, I feel that my own state of fifty-seven years, our Pennsylvania, might offer more tranquil beauty and natural security than possibly any other. Our love and preservation of our natural lands and waters is apparent on the last page here: our Protected Places. I am proposing the consideration of an International Center for the Arts, in any form, that might include a small portion of that beauty to share in permanent and elegant form for all peoples for all time.
I believe the nobility, permanence and value of the project is something suited to that which we hold dear here in Pennsylvania, and America as well. As one of the founders of the first Spring Arts Festival at Penn State in1963, leading to our wonderful Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, this springs from that vision. I believe it can, and should, happen here.
Very truly yours,
Alfred C. Webber, Jr.
1-610-793-1129
webberstudio@aol.com
________________
A PROPOSAL
FOR PENNSYLVANIA
THE INTERNATIONAL
CENTER FOR THE ARTS
BY
AL WEBBER JR.
CHADDS FORD, PA
TO THE MEMBERS OF THE PENNSYLVANIA GENERAL ASSEMBLY:
PLEASE CONSIDER, IF TIME PERMITS, THIS PROPOSAL FOR PENNSYLVANIA:
THE PENNSYLVANIA COUNCIL ON THE ARTS
Room 216, Finance Building,
Harrisburg, PA 17120
August 22, 2008
Dear Sirs:
I created this project, an International Center for the Arts during the ice storms of February, 1994, and the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, inspired (as now) by the Global Interaction underway. It was intended and initially accepted for a site near Napier, New Zealand (by their Arts Council, but rejected in the past years by their Prime Minister, Helen Clark). Many persons in the arts and government globally felt it had great merit and were enthusiastic in their praise. A huge display in the HUB at Penn State during an Arts Festival was well received. I was one of the founders of the first Spring Arts Festival there in 1963 which lead to the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts...and, no doubt, my enthusiasm for this project.
I have since wondered if Pennsylvania, itself, might be the ideal location for such a Center, and, in that light, I present it now. We have vast (and no doubt, sacred!) areas of isolated and beautiful State Forest and State Game Land, not far from Interstates, that might allow a square mile or so for such a center. Building on the Pacific Rim, as in New Zealand, Hawaii, or California...or in other nations, is risking earthquake damage to structures intended to survive centuries in elegance. We are generally free of major forest fires, earth slides, hurricanes and tornadoes and have a climate that is friendly, with still the beauty of the seasons. My desire to place the ICA in a new quadrant of the planet is explained in the proposal attached, leading me to the remote elegance of New Zealand. It is only in the past few years that I have realized we may be one of the best locations right here in Pennsylvania.
It would certainly be a wonderful asset for the State and the Nation if it could be realized, one piece at a time, perhaps. Even an initial campus in the "campus-plan concept" would be wonderful, the Global Center possibly established much later. Wrangell, Alaska is still considering this option for the 134-acre site of gorgeous land there, given by the State for elegant development. The climate, however, has heavy rainfall for a portion of the year, making outside activities and concerts possibly difficult at times. Carol Rushmore, in charge of Economic Development there, has been so very supportive in every way, and a center with international aspects may be built in time.
Please note that the homepage for my ICA was allowed to lapse several years ago, and the same title was used for the wonderful ICA program at San Francisco State University, with which I have no affiliation. They are now established and published and my title might have to be changed in the future. Without new structures and a separate retreat for interaction of the global artists, their wonderful program annually brings in assorted artists from around the world. I have written them with praise and sought comments on my dream project without response. I am thrilled with all efforts anywhere to achieve our mutual goals.
International Center for the Arts (ICA) SF State University
I will attach my simple and condensed web site for any consideration there at your office, and trust that the dated and vigorous presentation can be appreciated in its present form. The dream is there, and I would give it the rest of my life in a second if there were a chance it could bloom anywhere, especially in Pennsylvania. To this date, I have acted alone with simple critiques over the years and no real efforts were ever made for a grant or funding, but Bill Gates was very kind! Ideally, I would love a location where initial staff might assess all aspects and consider sites and the evolution of a project and the feasibility and international funding of such a project.
An adjacent and elegant ranch home here (in our artistic Brandywine Valley!) has been vacant for five years and would be ideal if available in a rental or lease agreement as previously for ten years. Its owner was the son of the President of the Thai Bank of New York in NYC and his intent is uncertain. He was a great friend of the family when the house was being expanded and renovated. Now some repairs due to leakage and tree work would be needed first, but he might be pleased to have a noble tenant. Its many rooms and elegant views could make a proud center for some time. This is just a separate vision! I also have commendations from many important people in government and the arts available.
Very truly yours,
Alfred C. Webber, Jr.
WEBBER STUDIO
registered architect, professional photographer, writer, PSU BArch ‘66, APX, age 66
1-610-793-1129 (phone, fax on request)
Email: webberstudio@aol.com
Mailing address: P.O. Box 97, Chadds Ford, PA 19317-0097 USA
Shipping address: 1105 Brintons Bridge Road, West Chester, PA 19382-8113 USA
THE INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR THE ARTS
THE PROPOSAL
August 30, 2008
Dear Members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly:
Please encourage anyone there to comment on any aspect of this three-page proposal of mine on an International Center for the Arts, originally tentatively planned for the North Island of New Zealand, possibly near Napier.
Alfred C. Webber, Jr.
WEBBER STUDIO
Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, USA
In the winter and spring of 1994, I conceived and pursued the idea of an International Center where artists of every discipline of the arts, and from all nations, might assemble to develop their specific art or a merging of art forms.
I feel that the inspirational power of the arts has increasingly been lost on a world growing progressively more mobile and possession-oriented. The artists are also caught in this pace, the busy cities now dictating their passions. Retreats and summer camps for artists are common. Should there not be the ultimate retreat, a single global location where all the arts might unite to produce a purer, more powerful force. If crime and violence seem to permeate our daily news, can't the combined efforts of all artists achieve a stronger voice...helping to unite a world only beginning to touch on its cooperative global potential?
I have visualized a Center as a part of the United Nations, under UNESCO, so that it might belong to, and be managed by the entire world. Location became an interesting problem, but the site tentatively selected was on the North Island of New Zealand, above Hawke's Bay on the east coast, possibly against the mountains of a beautiful national park. The Ministry of Culture in New Zealand is enthusiastic, and has given the project its blessings, though it is unable to help financially. A professional photographer in Napier, David Lowe, had made slides of several sites for me.
It was felt that a remote, natural location, preferably English-speaking, "between" the two hemispheres, apart from the United Nations branches in the western culture, would be best. Suggestions for alternate sites are welcome. I was looking for a beautiful natural environment where the artists might not be pursued by tourists, and could concentrate on their artistic endeavors...or relax with artists of all disciplines and nationalities.
The first project would be to prepare a Program for a Conceptual Design Competition. The International Union of Architects (UIA) in Paris has been supportive from the start. They are funded by UNESCO, and they have the task of creating and managing global architectural competitions. The Sydney Opera House, now almost the symbol for Australia, was one of their achievements. They have roughly estimated that their phase of the project might cost one million dollars.
The competition results would be publicized and displayed in centers for the arts worldwide until support and funding might be obtained. My intention is that the complex would be the finest possible, built only of timeless materials. I had envisioned a core that might include ultimate centers for the performing arts with all their support facilities.
I would like to provide housing for groups of artists, such as symphony orchestras, theater, musical, and dance companies. I propose also beautiful separate and remote studios, linked possibly by footpath, tucked into the mountainside or coastline. Writers, poets, photographers, artists of all types, might be chosen to spend a period of time at one, having it outfitted for his or her specific needs. It would be a Thoreauvian retreat with the best of neighbors. Each studio might have within a log of the artists and their work developed there.
The infrastructure for all aspects of this project is non-existent. A National Center for the Arts is not present in most nations today. My intent is that no artist can "buy" his or her way into the International Center. One might be elected by an International Council of the Arts, possibly based on the site, that studies worldwide the most notable candidates, be they individuals or groups. In addition, art students might likewise be selected to apprentice under an artist, or work alone with all the advantages of superb facilities and mentors.
It is my intention that this Center remain as elegant and timeless as an ancient temple. I don't visualize individual names being attached to buildings, studios, or portions of the complex. Visitors may be welcomed to provide audiences for the performing arts, but the serenity and beauty of the setting must never be compromised. The security and tranquility of the artists and staff must be paramount. It is not, in any way, to become a commercial windfall for anyone, lest it be forever tainted.
The International Center for the Arts is to remain open-ended in welcoming new arts and artists. The definition of The Arts is one of the most challenging parts of the preparation of the Design Program. I'd also include the latest forms of graphic arts with fine computer centers. I would include the laser and hologram arts that never existed decades ago. I need at this point recommendations from artists worldwide as to which arts of their nation should be included and globally recognized. The ICA would have centers for both broadcasting and publishing, and the work underway at the center would be shared with persons everywhere.
President Bush and all past U.S. Presidents have been sent information on the concept. Artists from most disciplines have been contacted. A ten-page bound dissertation was sent to all delegates of the United Nations. Many embassies in Washington have been mailed and faxed requested information. The National Endowment for the Arts has been sent the conceptual package by my congresswoman. All sixty-four State and Regional U.S. Arts Councils have been sent the same proposal, with very positive responses.
The town of Wrangell, Alaska on the Southeast Passage, is presently studying the possibility of building a Campus of the International Center for the Arts on a beautiful large and wooded site with a beautiful view that they have available. It is possible that regional centers or Campuses might be built in many countries so that more artists and guests could benefit from the international exchange of ideas and dreams.
Everyone knows it is a major undertaking that would take lifetimes of dedication. I believe it will happen, and that it will be one of the greater achievements of man.
Thank you so much for any comments,
Alfred C. Webber, Jr.
WEBBER STUDIO
registered architect, professional photographer, writer, PSU BArch ‘66, age 66
1-610-793-1129 (phone, fax on request)
Email: webberstudio@aol.com
Mailing address: P.O. Box 97, Chadds Ford, PA 19317-0097 USA
Shipping address: 1105 Brintons Bridge Road, West Chester, PA 19382-8113 USA
THE INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR THE ARTS
PROPOSED COMPONENTS
OPERA HOUSE
SYMPHONY HALL
MUSICAL THEATER
BALLET THEATER
DANCE THEATER
CINEMAS
I-MAX CINEMA
THEATER
THEATER-IN-THE-ROUND
OPEN-AIR AMPHITHEATERS
CONCERT HALL
ARCHITECTURE PAVILION
SCULPTURE PAVILION
GRAPHIC ARTS PAVILION
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE PAVILION
LITERATURE PAVILION
FOLK ARTS PAVILION
VISUAL ARTS PAVILION
CRAFTS PAVILION
ENTRANCE PAVILION / MUSEUM / SHOPS
ALL-FAITH CHAPEL
PUBLISHING CENTER
MEDIA CENTER
STORES / TRAVEL AGENCIES
POST OFFICE
FOOD SERVICES
LODGING
GYMNASIUM
MEDICAL FACILITIES
FIRE HOUSE
SECURITY OFFICE
STAFF FACILITIES
PARKING AND TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES
________________________________________________________________________
THE INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR THE ARTS
THE DREAM
...thoughts at 6:43 am, Tuesday, February 15th, 1994...
Crystal new morn...
So many arts.
So many lands.
What have I embraced with this dream?
Can it be achieved...and what can I do?
Barbra could build the nucleus with proceeds from a single concert...if just to hear her own voice on a morning such as this, clear and strong, echoing from mountain slopes of a New Zealand dream...
in harmony with Frank again...a lone piper from Peru interpreting...
a string quartet from Vienna...
Malaysian dancers intermingle with pastel holograms that catch the dawn...
...and it appears live over toast and coffee in homes from Katmandu to Nome, the ICA channel...the free channel.
Caress the dream...you will never take me back...there is no going back...
Charles Parks has already begun, this Maori morning, the clay form of an infant, born at the International Center for the Arts on the first day of the new year, 2001.
Spielberg, inspired as always, sat up all last night contemplating the reflection of the southern stars in the mountain lake...
Andrew Lloyd Webber beside him...
The best is yet to be.
Make it happen.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
This site reaches artists, photographers and models and associates in most nations around the world. I sincerely ask all of you to consider this global enterprise and facility that many have said will make a better world. I welcome all comments, positive and negative by any means at any time. The International Center for the Arts is paramount in all that I do and dream. The Olympic Spirit inspired it fourteen years ago; let it inspire us all today to make it a reality. Al
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
SEE MM #750 FOR HOME HERE IN PENNSYLVANIA & MY WORK
http://www.modelmayhem.com/member.php?id=750
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
LONGWOOD GARDENS 5 miles west WHERE I LOVE TO SHOOT
http://www.longwoodgardens.org/
http://search.pbase.com/search?q=Longwo … s&c=sp
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
A letter tonight to Aubrey Lee on a lighter note...
http://www.modelmayhem.com/591054
Subject: I have to tell you this story about this evening...
WebberStudio
05/10/08 10:20 PM
(Unread)
and it's true and it's all your fault...
...we have a maid come clean this big house once a month whether we need it or not...and we all have a good time with eloise even though at 77 she should have retired long ago.
...i meet her at the mall before it opens as the bus from wilmington, delaware brings in some of the workers for the shops at 8:30 am. she puts in a too-long day with just breaking for lunch and gets us all pretty by 5:30 pm when i drive her back the eight miles to the mall for her bus and second bus (crazy) home.
...to drop her off, as this evening, i often drive into a separate parking lot and stop free from traffic to let her out and we do our gracious goodbyes for another month. she then walks away from the car to the right and crosses the traffic lanes back to boscovs where she waits for the bus. so i watched her go, easing off the brake and looking right.
...so who should cross right in front of her right to left, on the lawn, but an amazing blonde of seventeen or so with her hair up in one of those loose knots that has a bunch stray and drifting to her left side, so casually you want to call her to your table and order two margaritas...
...and instantly (TRUE) i thought just of you. i watched her as she disappeared behind the first blue car and then guessed she was headed for one of the two red ones at the end of the mini row, their backs to me. i eased off the pedal further and started the turn to my left, watching carefully. sure enough, like my aubrey, she opened the door on the far side of the bright red new mustang with the puffy rear bumper and i watched as she slipped inside...just thirty feet to my right.
...as i was memorizing the image and thinking of you, i was suddenly startled to the core by a loud and long beep to my left and now front! i had made the left turn albeit slowly straight into the front of a honda suv and stopped immediately two feet apart, staring right into the driver's face. i backed, ashamed, and went properly around him to the right and let him slide by to my left without making eye contact again.
..."this is not a prop. this is my ride." how could i explain to
him.
i circled out of the lot and up to the light right at the main road, two left turn lanes with me on the right. i was unnerved and glanced at the light, the traffic and then the car at my left...some yuppie in a mint bmw black big sedan mostly hidden by the door post. but behind him was this fantastic profile of a baby girl in a carseat directly behind him on the back seat. i noticed that her two bare feet were stuck up to the back of his seat, somehow high enough to be just below the headrest. always having wanted a daughter, i was immediately jealous. the flawless little face turned to me and i was spellbound. very carefully i mouthed the word "beautiful" and looked at her intently and nodded with firmness. she looked and looked. i glanced away at the light and saw it change to green. the black bmw had begun to pull away and i took my foot off the brake to turn in unison. i turned back and there somehow magically attached to my angel, almost hidden by the sill of the car window, was this delicate wide open hand aimed my way with the fingers opening and closing in a wave as the car disappeared.
...it may not have been my day, but god help me, i haven't lost it. i drove across into office depot, bought in a flurry another 200 sheets of professional 10-mil print paper, one pack free, and a magenta 02 HP cartridge on plastic that should have bounced and then had to be called back for the receipt...i was sure it had overloaded. i cruised the back road home at 40-50 with the olds intrigue running high on the ether, hitting home in time to potty just before hot dogs and beans, my pulse still pounding from the ten mile rallye. sucking down the blue plastic frig bottle of chilled water, i thought, i have to tell aubrey about this because it's all her fault.
kisses, kid!
al
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
A note to a new favorite model, LaurenMarieW, here on MM:
http://www.modelmayhem.com/772214
"I just found your comment on my photo of Mandy...
...and this is the rest of the story:"
For the longest time, I think my MM site #750 was "frozen and retired" and they gave me this new one, #477863, in March. I was one of the first MM folk ever, referred over from OneModelPlace by my best friend ever, Tiffany Boyte, #720...
http://www.modelmayhem.com/720
...who competes for Miss Metro-Jackson next Saturday and the Miss Mississippi crown, again. I was just checking to see if I left my link to the #750 site when I pushed around the data on "About Me" on this site. I was reading my overly cute comments when I saw that you had a comment on my very favorite photo of all time, my "Mandy" Amanda Dzwil on her very first shoot ever at age 13. I had met her at a Fourth of July Carnival near my studio in Ambler, PA. She was with her sister, best friend and mother standing in line for one of these scream-machine carnival rides that lifts a ring of separate pods up on arms as they spin as directed within, and then drops them "whooosh" all at once, run by an attentive fellow in a raised booth in the crowd, looking like he quit school in third grade to join the carnival. I saw Mandy at about fifty feet, with her blonde ponytail, a kid having fun in a huge crowd. My first nine words were: "Oh my God!" (three times) without moving. I fought my way through the crowd and came up on them all in line. Mandy was facing the ride with the girls, but her mother saw me with my camera: "I know. You want to photograph Amanda. You're the 10th photographer to ask. Maybe we'll let you!"
So I left my card...and THEN walked around the Carnival grounds the OPPOSITE way that they did, after their ride. Each time we passed each other I made Mandy be SURE to get her Mom to bring her for a shoot. At 13, she was shy, but a bit intrigued. It was two weeks later that they called and wanted to come for the shoot. I was SO poor that they had to pick up the film at the supermarket on the way over. The first two rolls were in a tight studio set-up with the lights very close and hot, Mandy on a stool, all headshots. She was shy but got smiley, and eventually cute and silly with her Mom coaxing. Her hair was down, as she wanted it, the whole time. Just when we were going out to the front lawn from the studio, she pushed her blonde hair back and up with her hands in a stretch ... and I was totally blown away. She said: "Yeah, Mom likes it up, but I like it down." Outside with just the soft light of dusk under the trees on the front lawn, Mandy was mellowed out...and I was totally blown away by her beauty. We literally shot eighteen shots (film, NOT digital) without moving, and this photo was in the middle of the series. She was so precious. She knew how hard I was working to "get something" and with this shot, I had. She shyly and quietly whispered with a soft smile: "Did you get it?" I said I had. And that is the photo you saw, simple and beautiful:
http://www.modelmayhem.com/pic.php?pic_ … the_count=
It is upstairs now, and has been over my desk and in every show for years. It stunned people. I could put it at the front edge of my ten-foot-square canopy and it would stop people and bring them in time after time. I never got tired of looking at it. It's funny, really, with available light at dusk, good anywhere, with a camera and lens worth about $150, and grocery store Kodacolor, I literally have never done better. It was the mood...the two rolls of hot silly fun as an introduction on her first shoot ever, and then a third of whispers, silence..."...stay......beautiful...."
I did a shoot a month ago of my eleven-year-old neighbor girl, Austin, with Mom coaching as before. I hit the third roll against the soft light again with our stone old barn behind us...knowing the formula was working. It was just six shots at the end of the third roll and there it was, again. I was blown away, and the print is on our dining room windowsill downstairs. When I spread out all the proofs on their granite kitchen island counter across the street, the variety was super...but the magic was there at the end. They all were pleased...but Austin just came up and gave me a big hug. It doesn't get any better than that in this business!
I am so pleased that you found my Mandy. I still have her big "wedding album" downstairs of 24 pro 8x10s, all consecutive, that I can send her anytime I want to part with it, through her sister Daria Dzwil (rare name) nearby on AOL Search. It cost $300 to make but I always thought her children, some day, should see it. She went on to model Alfred Angelo gowns for ten years and I bought three albums. In one bridesmaid album, alone, she appears 32 times. I KNOW prom dresses were sold nationwide because high school seniors wanted to look just like Mandy! I went into my local florist shop, where both her daughters were models for me, and saw Mandy in an Angelo gown tacked above the work counter while the bouquets were being assembled to match her violet gown. I said to Lynn, the proprietor, "That's MY GIRL! She's only there because one Fourth of July I saw her at a carnival in a crowd and whispered to myself "Oh my God!"
So when I tell you that you are special and that your pastels on this screen are gorgeous when I close this page, I've been there and done that.
http://www.modelmayhem.com/pic.php?pic_ … he_count=5
We photographers are sentimental sorts. Watch for the tiny tear at the bottom of our eyes when things are getting good...because we can see it in your own. We whisper.
Love, Al
