Photography has been a hobby for as long as Janine Dupree can remember and for the most part is entirely self-taught. She credits her ability to learn the craft to her father, who always challenged her to look at the world from a slightly different perspective.

In addition to taking photos whenever she can, Janine works full time as a corporate event manager, organizing conferences and meetings throughout the United States. Although she has stated that she will always be a Philadelphian at heart, she currently claims New York City as her home.

I’m Al Benkin, a 21st century punk folk artist.  I paint stories through my perspective being a queer punk with vagabond tendencies, a crush on life and the unknown.

The meat of my work is humans interacting, living and struggling in this time: HERE AND NOW. Layers of comedy, tragedy, love, rebellion, transcendence, perversity, timelessness, and communication without words is what I want to convey and practice doing.

Found objects , like broken guitars, scraps of wood metal and plastic are canvases as well as happy ghosts. Their history inspires me to trace the cracks, glue, nail, screw, paint and manipulate it all together and have it metamorphosize into it’s new self.