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On Saturday morning, I collected my Life & Fighting photos from Crossroads Coffeehouse on Southwest Boulevard, where they were the featured exhibit for July. Thanks to everyone who came by and made ridiculously flattering comments–it was a good run!

Since you won’t find these photos on display for awhile, I’ll be posting them here, maybe a couple a week. This one I took in the West Bottoms in the mid-afternoon. Not thrilled about the lighting, but I like the sense that my brother Peter is striding around the corner into some kind of urban neo-Western showdown.

High Noon

Ezra deserves some face time since he doesn't appear in the installation this time out.

My photography will be on display this First Friday (July) at Crossroads Coffeehouse, so we’ve been printing and matting photos all week, which is much more difficult than, say, changing your desktop wallpaper.

When you have a art installation, you’re also supposed to have an Artist Statement. Some artists hate artist statements because “I’m a sculptor/painter/sketcher, not a writer!” Not me. I had a great time drafting an artist statement, and here it is. If you’re in Kansas City’s Crossroads District on First Friday, be sure to come by (310 Southwest Boulevard).

Artist Statement (draft, anyway)

I take pictures the same way I make compliments, which is impulsively and from the hip. My favorite shots yell at me to make my index finger click. They’re somewhat belligerent, like my three boys. In my favorite pictures, things are usually fighting each other. Often, life is fighting decay.

I’ve always taken pictures, used to spend hours in dark rooms, enjoy taking pictures, will always take pictures. For better or worse, I’m not a Photoshop pro. The colors and light you see are the colors and light I saw–and are why I took pulled the trigger.

Like a lot of people in downtown KC, I’m not a fan of disposable culture, much less urban sprawl and disposable cities. When I look at old masonry, I see brick chic and wish I could live in a warehouse. When I walk through a junk yard, I see cars I would drive if I could fix them.

I love renovation and it drives my work. Surprising twists of scene. Salvaged alleys. Everyday resurrection. More things can be saved than we realize. There is more hope for us all than we think.

[Ariel James (AJ) Vanderhorst is married to Lindsay and daddy to Aidan, Asher and Ezra. Other than taking pictures, he is good at writing, basketball, and taking flak. He is a pastor at Crossroads Church in the Crossroads District, downtown KC (CrossroadsChurchKC.com).]

I’ve been neglecting this blog, and when I signed in and saw all the update alerts on my dashboard, felt like I was crawling into a forgotten attic. I’m going to continue leveraging arieljvan.com to think out loud and pass on updates on the Crossroads Church Kansas City plant, and nothing is better for re-awakening the blogging habit than posting pictures. Baby steps.

So here are some shots from our new place by downtown, which Aidan affectionately calls “the homey.” Technically, we’re in the Crossroads Art District, although our street, Washington, tends to be claimed by the West Side as well. So on a given day, we are residents of the West Side or Crossroads, depending on our mood.

Before moving in

We love the hardwood floors. The faux-antique-chandeliers, not so much.

Scene of my first demolition project. Exposed brick wall on right.

An exterior shot for perspective. Got a little work to do.

With a little help from his grandma Vanderhorst.

While he has also adapted to the Living Room and Bedroom environments, the Kitchen is Asher’s native habitat.