It was an opportunity for many to enjoy art outside of a museum, as thousands gathered in Austin’s 2nd Street District for the 60th annual Art City Austin.
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| The picture of the Vietnamese woman's hands is featured on Davis' website. (Screenshot) |
The event, which was put on by Art Alliance Austin, marks the end of Art week Austin, which started on April 21 this year. Among the 190 juried artists who set up shop in Downtown Austin for the two-day event were local artists like Greg Davis. This is the fourth year Davis has showcased his photography from his journey all over the world.
"I have about 200 to 250 from the last five years of traveling," Davis said as he flipped through and organized his prints.
If you stop to ask him how he got started in the art of photography, you may be surprised by his answer.
"I was sitting in a cubicle selling computers, and I thought, 'This doesn't work. Something is missing.'" he recalled.
That eventually led him to quit his job as a corporate salesperson, but quitting his job was not enough.
"I sold everything I owned and traveled around the world for one year," he said. "I wasn't a photographer, had no training."
That did not stop him from documenting his journey.
"I was just a traveler, seeing beautiful things and capturing beautiful things so I can bring things home with my family and friends."
He said it was not until he showed someone his pictures that he realized he may have an eye for photography.
"I showed them to her on my computer, and she said 'You've got to be kidding me. You took these pictures?'"
That is when Davis said he decided to display his work at an open lot on Sixth Street in Austin.
"I set up and the first day it was obvious when people would walk by, they would go, 'Wow'," he said.
Not only did Davis bring home pictures, he also brought back personal stories about the interaction he had with each person in the photographs. Although it is one picture, one story in particular, continues to stick out in his mind.
"Nine months into my one-year trip around the world, I came across a woman here on a trail in Vietnam," he said. "She was walking away from me and I noticed a blue and green in her hands flash... and I had no idea."
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According to Davis, that curiosity lead him to tap this stranger on the shoulder. Because of the language barrier, he could not communicate with the woman, but through a series of gestures he figured out that she was a weaver, whose hands were stained with bright blue and green dye.
"I had her hold her hands out and took one picture," he said. "I didn't think twice about it. Then I returned to the United States after my one year trip, someone discovered my photos and I started exhibiting this piece, and it just absolutely grabs people. No pun intended."
The close-up picture of a complete stranger's hands has no name or even a face associated with the single photograph. However, Davis said the woman had a hand in changing his fate.
"My life was really reborn when I took his shot," he said.
Although he said life as a professional photographer is not always easy.
"Sometimes you scratch your head and go, 'Wow, what am I doing? This is crazy,'" he said.
But just five years after he decided to quite his job, he has already received recognition for his work. He said his accomplishments include an award for 'Best Environmental Message' at the Art Expo in New York He said one of his photos was recently published in National Geographic.
"Making it, I don't know when you make it in this business," he said. "I'm just glad people want to have it on their wall, appreciate it. If I could make a living out of it, continue doing it, sharing it, I'm winning."
Davis said he hopes to go back to Vietnam in the near future to find the woman whose hands helped change his life. He said he plans to write a book and make a documentary about his story.
