Kathy Drive

Kathy Drive

Sep 2–25, 2010

September 2 – September 25, 2010
Gallery 4

Featuring Kathy Drive

ARTIST STATEMENT:

I grew up on the Southside of San Antonio in the 60’s and 70’s. To be specific Kathy Drive. A neighborhood of small frame homes. A neighborhood built for the returning men from WWII. All of our dads were verterans. Some of our fathers experienced great horrors, all were heroes . I grew up at time where most of the homes had two parents and the wife stayed home and cared for the house and the children. Not only did she care for her own off spring, but for all the children in the neighborhood. Houses were not air conditioned , windows were left open during the summer to let the gulf breeze in. As we played, we could hear the conversations of our neighbors or smell the dinners cooking . We played close to the Prewitt house; Katherine was always baking and loved to share. During the summer, our mothers would send us out of the house in the morning and we would not return home until supper. All the homes on Kathy Drive ate at the same time. We spent the summer outside in the Texas sun. We never said it was hot; we played hard and drank water from the garden hose. We were soldiers, cowboys, scientists, artists, and athletes. When you play outside everyday, everything and every living thing becomes your toy or playmate. We built planes,rockets,cars,space ships, we destroyed things. We sat under the trees and played for hours. We caught birds, toads, frogs, and snakes; sometimes we let them go.

Forty years ago, Neil played golf on the moon. Forty years ago John, Paul, George, and Ringo played at Abby Road. Forty years ago I played on Kathy Drive.

As time has moved on, children don’t play as we use to. Air conditioning, TV, and electronic games are keeping kids indoors. Children who play sports are on organized teams. Often neighbors do not know neighbors. This ongoing photographic project is a collection of my childhood memories. Each memory is broken down into its most basic component and then photographed in my studio. All images are pure and simple; there is no Photoshop or digital manipulation. My hopes are that this technique will invoke memories of your childhood or at least make you smile.

-Kemp Davis

BIOGRAPHY:

Kemp Davis’ images are seen nationally on a daily basis. This San Antonio photographer understands communication, marketing and advertising. He has dedicated most of his life to the learning, teaching and looking at the world through his viewfinder. Kemp is constantly learning from his experiences and thoroughly enjoys the craft he has chosen for his career. Photography has been Kemps lifelong passion. His on going art project entitled Kathy Drive, takes his expertise in the studio and combines it with his love of life, sense of humor, memories and experiences to a hyper real state where childhood meets formal exquisitely crafted compositions.

Kemp’s first commercial assignment was shot at the age of sixteen. With a master’s degree in photography from East Texas State University Kemp has run a commercial photographic business for over twenty years. Experiences include photographing international celebrities, magazine work, product photography, and travel photography. While being a master at traditional processes Kemp is a pioneer of the digital realm.

As well as being an artist, Kemp finds time to give back to the community. A teacher at the Alamo Community College District, and a constant volunteer for organizations such as the Susan G Komen Foundation and Segs For Vets.