Glass Half Full — A Music Photographer’s Vision of Hope

Another great article from our Australian correspondent, Sue Barrett

Glass Half Full — A Music Photographer’s Vision of Hope

By Sue Barrett

OCTOBER IS BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH.

Irene Young is a music photographer, whose clients have included Laura Nyro, George Thorogood, Suzanne Vega, New Kids on the Block and XTC. Irene is also a breast cancer survivor and producer of the Glass Half Full breast cancer awareness CD, which contains songs of comfort and hope from 23 women musicians, including Jennifer Berezan, Barbara Higbie, Anne Hills, Laurie Lewis and Deidre McCalla.

IRENE YOUNG — HOW IT BEGAN…

“On 5 July 2005, I discovered that I had breast cancer. I had gone to my general doctor because my knee hurt. She is a great doctor and because it had been a year since my last physical, she did a complete check-up. She felt a lump in my left breast and sent me to a wonderful surgeon at NYC. I will never forget it. I went to the first appointment expecting her to say it was nothing, and that she would get back to me later. However, she had a pathologist there the minute I arrived. They did two biopsies, and while I was there alone in her office, she told me I had two choices — a lumpectomy or a mastectomy. I looked at her and said, “This is the real deal?” She said, “yes, ‘the real deal’.” I called my best friend who immediately met me for a glass of wine and one of our inspiring chats about the mysteries of life. Feeling emotionally nourished, I then called my sister. Everything in my life stopped so I could keep on living. I had stage 2A breast cancer and I have never been so focused in my life. I opted for a lumpectomy. I ended up having two surgeries to make certain of clear margins. Twenty-seven lymph nodes were removed with only one having cancer. By the way, my knee never hurt again.

“I learned that step by step, we can accomplish something even if it feels monumental. When I became conscious after my first surgery, the first thing that literally flew into my mind was “Irene, you can do anything!” Even when I felt awful, I would pick just one little thing I could do that would get me closer to a goal. But getting a potentially life threatening diagnosis is the real stuff of life. It affects families, I think, most of all. The feelings can become too immense to feel. Love and the fear of loss look everyone right in the face. It is all a huge opportunity for everyone to grow emotionally and spiritually. I also learned the power of community and friendship.

“Music has helped me through various tough times in my life. A great piece of music has the ability to make me feel better at the end of a song than I did at the beginning. Music has the power to transform and transport — so we can see and feel from a different angle. Before I photographed musicians, I was a amateur musician myself. It was a natural progression to photograph the artists I admired. Coming from a musical background has been an asset in many ways. For example, I feel the ability to compose a photograph is closely related to the talent of composing a song. Both have a lot to do with rhythm and with being receptive.

“After I was diagnosed with breast cancer, many of the musicians I have photographed over the years called and asked what they could do to help. We came up with the idea of a compilation CD, so that not only they could help me, but their music could help other people.

“I had done photo work for the Breast Cancer Fund [BCF] and I know their focus on the chemical and environmental causes of breast cancer is bold and important. I also chose to benefit SHARE because they help women with breast or ovarian cancer — and the legendary Laura Nyro, who was a beloved client on this CD, died from ovarian cancer. So, one organization wants answers before a diagnosis, and the other is there for someone after a diagnosis.”

NOW ON TO SOME GLASS HALF FULL CONTRIBUTORS…

Among the things that musicians Jennifer Berezan, Anne Hills, Barbara Higbie, Laurie Lewis and Deidre McCalla have in common are that they have been photographed by Irene Young. Now they share with us some thoughts about music, cancer and being photographed by Irene!
About the track contributed to Glass Half Full

JENNIFER BEREZAN — I was honored to contribute my song ‘Refuge’ to Glass Half Full. It’s a song about finding places of refuge in this increasingly technological and often alienated culture. It describes my own experience of the healing power of nature, silence, slowing down, music and connection with others.

BARBARA HIGBIE — ‘Line of Gold’, the song of mine that Irene chose for this compilation, is one that speaks to the truth that we are on this earth to love and only to love. All the achievements, worries, heartbreaks and battles are only to hopefully open us up to love. If we are getting less loving as we grow older, we’re doing something wrong! Irene is all about love and healing and she has made this beautiful piece of art to support that.

ANNE HILLS — While Irene was thinking and choosing songs for this incredible project, we spoke a few times on the phone and discussed the possibilities. She said she wanted the music to inspire, encourage, and reassure, as the music had done for her. Above and beyond that, she had to make the songs fit together in a beautiful way, a challenge of which she was well aware. Different songs were considered for both their inspiration quality and how they fitted in the overall composition. My song was written by friend and colleague David Roth, rather than one of my original songs, because it worked best within the whole. Of all the songs I perform, written by others, ‘May the Light of Love’ and ‘Woman of a Calm Heart’ (recorded on the compilation by Ilene Weiss, the writer) are the two most requested.

LAURIE LEWIS — I learned ‘How Can I Keep From Singing?’ from a Pete Seeger LP sometime in my teenage years. He credited it as being Quaker in origin, but it was, in fact, written by Baptist minister Robert Lowry in about 1860. The last verse was written by Doris Plenn. No matter, really. The song always stuck with me, and when I started playing in the band, The Good Ol’ Persons, in my mid-twenties, I remembered the song and we worked it up as an acappella trio, with Kathy Kallick and Barbara Mendelsohn. Some twenty years later, Kathy and I recorded it, along with Tom Rozum filling out the baritone line. The song has a powerful message that never seems to get any less pertinent. I knew as soon as Irene approached me about including something on her beautiful CD, that this was the song I’d like to contribute. It is an honor to be included among such a powerful group of women, singing for such a good cause.

DEIDRE MCCALLA — When Irene asked me to suggest a track of mine for the Glass Half Full project, this was a difficult task for me. I know how my songs impact my life but I am always surprised by the ripple effect my music has out in the universe. I had recently performed in Boston and one of my fans at the show was undergoing chemotherapy. Her partner and I had exchanged a few emails so it occurred to me to tell this couple about the project and ask them which song of mine did they think would be most helpful to others undergoing a similar challenge. ‘Playing For Keeps’ was one of their suggestions. They voiced the same reservations about that choice that Irene and I discussed as we mulled things over. An important aspect of the song is that life is finite; there was a concern that this message might come be taken as somewhat harsh. However, the overarching message of the song is to live life with passion and intent no matter how much time we have left. The healthiest person in the world can get run over by a bus in the blink of an eye. None of us really know how much time we have left. Let us live and love to the fullest; now is all we’re really promised.

On the impact of cancer on their life

JENNIFER BEREZAN — I have had a number of friends and family who have died from cancer and many who are survivors. I am especially concerned about the environmental connections to illness and feel very strongly about addressing those on a personal and more political level. Like any life threatening illness, I have learned so much from my loved ones who have struggled with this disease…the importance of living each moment as though it is all we have, seeking out joy and gratitude for daily gifts that this wondrous life brings us, the importance of community, friendship and self love.

ANNE HILLS — As a part of a rich and encompassing community of artists and musicians, I have seen too many gifted artists slowed down or stopped by cancer. What is unique about our community is how most artists use the adversity of cancer to create new art, art that challenges ineffective social structures, and/or reaches out to bring beauty and comfort to others. This project is a perfect example of that.

DEIDRE MCCALLA — As I get older the tally just keeps getting larger. Irene and I lost a good friend to cancer in our twenties. Both my parents had stomach cancer. When Irene was diagnosed my first thought was, “O god — I am not going to lose another person in my life to this!” And so far, in Irene’s case, I haven’t.

About the power of music to comfort, heal and inspire

JENNIFER BEREZAN — Music is one of the most healing forces in the world. Whether in the form of the sounds of the rain, wind, ocean waves or beautiful human compositions. Vibration as sound and music can effect our brains, our cells, our whole beings. Many cultures in the world know that music is “medicine”. It can be a healer, a great friend to us in difficult times and a dear companion on our life journey.

BARBARA HIGBIE — We were all devastated and worried sick when we learned that Irene had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Cancer affects all of us these days. Everyone knows someone close to them who has battled it. Music has the power to quickly remind us of our higher selves and the miraculous possibilities of love and connection.

ANNE HILLS — When a project is tailored to a specific audience, such as Glass Half Full, the power of the music to effect the world, and the individual, is magnified. Irene succeeds in helping others on so many levels (through the music itself, through the sales income benefiting cancer organizations, through connecting, as well as, informing others of resources and exposing them to new music). Her work putting this together is an inspiration itself.

DEIDRE MCCALLA — When I talk about Glass Half Full in my shows, I remind people that sometimes we want to extend comfort but there is really very little that can be said. Music stretches out beyond words to soothe, to mend, to shine a knowing light on a path.

On the pleasure (or otherwise!) of being photographed by Irene Young

JENNIFER BEREZAN — Irene has been taking my picture for over 20 years! I have been so fortunate to have her as my photographer. Being photographed by her is magic. Her talent is huge and she is a compassionate, intuitive, and brilliant artist.

BARBARA HIGBIE — Irene and I have been good friends since 1981 (26 years ago!) when she first photographed me in her NYC apartment when I was 22 and she was twenty-something also. She was already a fabulous photographer and had worked with many famous people at that time. As the years progressed, her work has grown along with her spirit.

ANNE HILLS — Irene has the distinct gift of putting people not only at ease but in a place of pleasure, enjoying the dance between the photographer and the subject of the photograph. She lightly tugs on the thread that connects us all, finds the time and space to seek out the light in the person before her, and a photo session is never “just” a photo session, it’s also a laugh fest and a philosophical discussion of the finest kind!

DEIDRE MCCALLA — Irene and I have known each other for a very long time. She has been friend, photographer, and Muse to me. A number of lines in my songs were sparked by Irene; ‘Home In My Heart’ was written for her. As friend and client I’ve watched and worked with Irene from a number of angles. We shared a duplex on Bleecker Street in New York where Irene kept her upstairs living space/studio and I saw her calm the most nervous of clients as her gentle manner allowed the best in each person to bloom. I am actually not all that comfortable being photographed and Irene and I laugh that we are still working on relaxing my smile. But I love my sessions with Irene; she just makes you feel so incredibly special. You get the test prints back and you see yourself in ways you always hoped you looked but deeply feared you didn’t. Irene’s eye finds the you in you and captures the intimacy of that discovery for all the world to see. I don’t think I know anyone with a more generous heart and it’s a spirit that radiates through every frame.

AND BACK TO IRENE…
“I am working on my health with great determination. October through December 2007, as every year, we will double our donations to BCF and to SHARE. We are planning a 2nd Annual Glass Half Full concert in NYC in the spring of 2008. I am also developing a website to centralize art and products that make us feel better called comfortpie.com.

“I hope Glass Half Full helps people feel better when times seem at their worst. I hope it does a small part to raise awareness about breast cancer. And I hope the music lets people hear that independent music is alive and powerful.”

More Info:

Sue Barrett is an Australian music writer, with a special interest in women in music. Her record/CD collection includes many recordings with Irene Young photos and her library includes Irene’s book, For the Record.
© Sue Barrett 2007

The FolkBlog is the opinion of the Online Folk Festival – http://www.onlinefolkfestival.com
October 6th, 2007 | Tags: | Category: artist profiles, Sue Barrett | Comments are closed

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