About a month ago, let’s call it a month and a half… whenever the Uptown Art Crawl was going on, I received a call on my way out of the Walker, a hard day of copies and data entry.

Emmanuel: “D-DON!”

Donald: “Yo, what’s good.”

E:”Nothing, what are you up to?”

D:”Shit, I’m just up here at the art crawl, met some guy who takes flicks of graffiti. He’s looking for someone to take him out later tonight. You down?”

I’m silent at this point. Who is this guy? You just met him and you’re trying to lurk with him in the dark?

E:”Yeah, I’m down, let me meet you up there.”

Hopped on the old rusty chain and made my way up the hill, where I spotted Donald, who was with his friend Jeb, and we quickly made a detour toward some cheese curds. Donald realized he had been short-changed at the taco stand earlier by almost ten dollars, and it prompted me to discuss a book that I bought a couple of years ago, “HOW TO CHEAT AT EVERYTHING,” which exposes scams, such as short-changing at fairs and carnivals, (and art crawls).

We went on to the booth of Xavier Nuez, a tall Canadian man who definitely embodies the French look. Not the beret and striped shirt, but the olive skin and dark features… Listen to me, I sound like I’m beginning a romance novel.

We talked with Xavier for a while, and I took a look at his work. I had to say I was really blown away to hear that he did not use any photoshop techniques, but rather employed long-exposures and a creative approach to lighting which involved switching different color-filters on his camera and lighting each scene with a series of bright color flashes, or a sort of ‘painting’ with a flashlight. The end effect is really dope. Tight. Fresh. 90’s slang.I also learned that Xavier’s focus was not graffiti, but rather the subject of urban decay, and the beauty that can exist in crumbling industrial wastelands. This was something that caught my attention, as people who know me know that I spend a fair amount of time searching through abandoned buildings, rooftops, walking dead track, and exploring tunnels. I knew what he meant when he referred to the beauty present in destruction.

We agreed to meet later on, in the Cosetta’s parking lot. Donald, Jeb and I kept making jokes about how Xavier was probably going to bludgeon us to death with a tripod in an alley. (If you’re reading this Xavier, these jokes were quelled once we actually got to know you a little better).We drove to three different locations. First some dilapidated loading docks off of the Mississippi river off of Warner road. Then to an abandoned factory, and finally to an alley/fire escape.

Xavier decided that the best spot to set up for the night would be the alley, and proceeded to position the tripod and whip out his light meter. I don’t know anything about cameras, but I was in charge of holding a black piece of cloth over the lens and removing it whenever Xavier would light up a certain section. As I understand it worked as a sort of shutter for a long exposure, so that we could stretch a 40 second exposure time over the course of 45 minutes. We started with a sample Polaroid, then off to some other sort of film.It was an interesting evening, Donald, Jeb, Xavier and I joked, got to know more about one another, and we all got to witness the very cool process that went into Xavier’s photography.

We wrapped up the shoot at around 1 am and Xavier gave me a ride home, in his Ford Econoline van. Also his temporary hotel.

The next night we met up again, at the loading docks, without Jeb. As we were shooting drag racers began to speed down Shepard road. It lent an interesting atmosphere to the evening. One side of the street, a decaying moldy terminal for old trains and trucks, the other zooming with high tech machines.

The police came and broke up the party, and Xavier and Donald went to go make sure their cars were not getting towed. While they were off on their conference with the authorities, a man named George came up to me and the tripod.

G:Are you filming something?

E: Yeah, it’s a long exposure, but it’s only got 5 minutes left. Do you need to go in there (I point to the docks).

G: Uh… no, uh. I mean, I think my friend is in there, I’ve gotta get him out. Er.

E: Don’t worry, it’s cool.

G: You’re not a cop?

E: No, I’m not a cop. You’re going to sleep in there?

G: Yeah, I got drunk and my girlfriend kicked me out. Sometimes she kicks me out, and I used to sleep here all the time. I just need a place to sleep man. I swear I’m not homeless.

E: No, it’s cool. Don’t worry, I’m not going to tell anyone.

At this point, Xavier and Donald came back, and George then began to deny he was going to sleep, but instead just wake up his friend. I tried to tell him that they were also not cops, but he was visibly more uneasy than before. After the exposure was over he went on in, and went to sleep.

Donald left, but Xavier wanted to redo the shot from the previous night, he said he realized he had made a mistake. So we headed back off into the ally, and continued to talk and share stories.

We were both pretty hungry by the time the shot was over, so I suggested a trip to Mickey’s. We ate some food, conversed about bad porkchops, and got on our way. Xavier gave me a ride back home, arriving close to 4 am, I wished him well, and he promised to send prints once he got them developed.

The next morning I woke up at 7…bright and early, headed over to Pizza Luce in Seward, took down some art I had hanging, and went back home. As I came down the block I saw the econoline rolling down past my corner. It seemed Garfield ave served as the Double Tree for the night.

Check out Xavier’s work at www.nuez.com, and be on the look out for him at your local art fairs. You can pick up one of his amazing prints, or if you’re lucky, hang out in alleys with strangers.