Posted By John - Many thanks to Rich for coming up with the idea for this project/exhibition, and for taking the initiative in launching this blog. I hope to share my thoughts about this project as it unfolds, so people can participate and react as it develops.

I’m trying to capture images of things that you would think you’d NEVER see in New Jersey, as well as things that you’d think you would ONLY see in New Jersey. I’m hoping that when seen together it will look both weird and familiar – and that’s exactly the way that I see New Jersey.

Every state is urban and rural , tangled and desolate, hot and cold, old and new. But in New Jersey it’s the people, not the place, that can be described that way.

Ultimately, this project is about the people of New Jersey. Whether they appear in the work or not, they are the ones who built the quirky and majestic monuments to the human spirit throughout the state. And they are the ones who preserved the remaining open spaces and wilderness.

So, follow us on the journey, and tell us where you’d like it to go. I know I’ll be taking photos of diners, the shore, and the Pine Barrens. There’s a large altar in the woods in Mt. Holly with the inscription “Holy, Holy, Holy”. There’s a big tooth sculpture along the roadside in Hamilton. And I’m just getting started…