George Forss launched his Kickstarter Project “The Way We Were” a few minutes ago, it looks wonderful and is wonderful. The brilliant photographer Gordon Parks wrote of George’s work nearly 30 years ago that “the photographs of George Forss confirm the notion that true genius will emerge despite the greatest odds.” I was very proud to be the first backer of “The Way We Were,” I pledged $500 and will receive a silver gelatin print of one of George’s New York City landscapes, brilliant evocations of the world before the tragedy of 911.
George has offered a range of pledge choices from $25 to $500, all with different rewards so that almost anyone can support his project if they wish. George is a true genius and his creativity has never waned, despite some of the greatest odds a human being can face. His priceless work was interrupted and overshadowed by the tragedy of 911, he moved to upstate New York and opened an art gallery, he has never stopped taking wonderful pictures. George and I have become close friends, he is like a brother to me, he is a gift and light unto the world.
His New York photos need to be seen, they are important, they must not be lost or forgotten. They show us the majesty of New York, it’s power and glory, and also what was lost in that awful destruction, that sense of peacefulness and confidence. The famous photographer David Douglas Duncan – the man who discovered George peddling his photos outside of a Manhattan hotel – said of George that despite the poverty from which he emerged, the things he suffered, he never stopped looking for the beauty and romance in the world. In these photos, we can all see it. We are planning a fund-raiser for George here in is hometown of Cambridge, N.Y., details to come.
There are a lot of demands on the money of people, but if you can, please consider supporting George’s Kickstarter crowdsourcing project. Every dollar will help him reach his goal of $8,000, what it will cost to publish this book and his photographs. Every dollar above that will be very important to George, he will use it well. You can follow George on his blog (he is a veteran UFO investigator, among other things, his idea of the universe is never dull) and also on the website of his beautiful gallery, The Park Slope Gallery in Brooklyn.
Ansel Adams wrote that George has given all of us the gift of “extraordinary vitality. He sees with an incisive eye and haunting spirit.” George is a romantic, a warrior for love and the nobility of the soul. You can join him in that quest. Help him bring his work back into the world if you can. George has 30 days to meet his goal of $8,200. If he does not receive all of the money, he will receive none of the money. He may keep any funds over $8,200. No money will be charged to anyone until the funding goal is met. People can lower, raise or cancel their pledges at any time. Anyone with an Amazon user name and password can pledge in seconds. Right here.