JUNE 2022: Featured Artist

Fine Art Photographer Supports First Nation's Life and Culture
Photographer & Founder of Loma Kachi:
Dan Goldman
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Photo Credit: Rob Goldman

Dan Goldman has enjoyed taking photographs since he was 20 years old. Inspired by the likes of Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, and Paul Strand, he was attracted to their work because they were much more than photographers – each of them cared deeply for the environment and shared heartfelt connections to landscapes and subjects. A study of the work by these photographers led Dan to the environmentalist and philosopher John Muir as well as John Burroughs, a naturalist and essayist. Both men were strong conservationists. This incredible amalgam of artists made a deep a lasting impression on him.
 
After working on a documentary film which focused on the people of the Hopi and Navajo Nations, Dan decided he wanted to support these Native Americans and founded the not-for-profit Loma Kachi.
 
Dan also teaches classes in photography and Adobe Photoshop to people of all ages at the Rhinebeck Photography and Art Center. 
 
His work has exhibited widely throughout the Hudson Valley Region of New York and in Vermont and has been featured in several news outlets.​

Dan's Website

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Dan discusses several of his series and projects and the inspiration behind founding the not-for-profit Loma Kachi.

Cooper Lake 1
© Dan Goldman

Cooper Lake 2
© Dan Goldman

What is it about Cooper Lake that drew you to study its beauty?

Years back, I moved to a one-room cabin in the woods in Lake Hill, NY, which was within walking distance to Cooper Lake. Breathtakingly beautiful in every way, the water and sky there were always changing. The air was refreshing, and an abundance of wildlife appeared wherever I turned. The lake, surrounded by hills and hollows, exuded a feeling of sacredness. I suspect the lake could feel me, as much as I was feeling her during these times. I was drawn to the water, air and trees, and to whatever else was going on that I couldn’t see. We formed a unique bond, and in my walks and silent conversations, I asked for and imagined her sharing a photograph with me. The resulting iPhone images take my breath away to this day.     

Cooper Lake 4
© Dan Goldman

Cooper Lake 5
​© Dan Goldman

What moved you to found Loma Kachi, a not-for-profit to support the elders living in the Hopi, Navajo and Lakota territories?

In my thirties, I worked on a documentary film titled If the Silence Could Be Broken, which was focused on the Hopi and Navajo Nations. Our small group of filmmakers met and worked directly with traditional grandmothers and grandfathers. The stories they shared had a profound effect on us all. They explained what has happened to the land and their culture. Their wisdom was remarkable, and they offered us ways to live better, healthier and more harmonious lives. As a result of that experience, I continued to visit and document their lives. 
 
When I returned home after making the documentary film, I began raising funds and awareness in support of First Nation’s life and culture. From this work, Loma Kachi, a 501c3 not-for-profit organization, was founded. Loma Kachi, words suggested to me by my Hopi friends, Karen and Manuel Hoyongowa, means “a life in balance.”
 
Currently, the organization is re-working its website and seeking a volunteer to assist in building a clean and simple look.

Between Then and Now
© Dan Goldman

Native Americans have a strong, spiritual connection to their natural environment. Do you have a similar connection?
 
I share a similar connection to nature as the First Nations people of this land. I have a strong spiritual connection to the natural world.

Between Now and Then
© Dan Goldman

What was the inspiration behind your series "Smoke Signals?"

Soon after receiving an M.F.A. in interdisciplinary art, I curated the exhibit “Smoke Signals” at TAG Gallery in Tivoli, NY. This activism was my way of taking responsibility and was inspired by my experiences on the reservations. Through paintings, sculpture, photography and poetry, this show served as an expression of the humanities, social justice, the environment, and the earth's balance. I would like to curate a similar exhibit for 2023, showcasing artists and art activism in all its forms.

What was the vision behind the Icons project? 
 
The Icons project began over a year and a half ago to shed light on Indigenous Peoples' lives and their homeland. By making these Icons (triptych), they became sacred works of art, which is important to me. The story they tell is of a people stripped of their rights, lands, religion and identity. So many living behind the veil, invisible to many others.

Lance, Honor the Treaties
Icons Project
​© Dan Goldman

Reservation Life
Icons Project
​© Dan Goldman

Shortly after beginning the Icons project, I began photographing migrant workers. These images, born out of the Icon series, responded to our cultural view of migrant workers and undocumented laborers. These photographs are of workers from Ecuador, Guatemala and Mexico. Their identity is shielded, as they are local kitchen workers, field laborers and wall builders. They are but a few who represent the many who fear our government. They also live behind the veil – casualties who are invisible to so many.

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Immigration Man 2
© Dan Goldman

Immigration Man 4
© Dan Goldman

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Dan's Website

Loma Kachi

Follow Dan on:
INSTAGRAM
FACEBOOK

To support Loma Kachi:​
EMAIL DAN

EXHIBITIONS:

"Risk and Experimentation"
WAAM
Woodstock, NY

Hudson Valley Landscape Art
Emerge Gallery
 Saugerties, NY

IDEA Black Lives Matter
Organized by Arts Mid-Hudson
Bethany Arts Center
Ossining, NY