William Alsup
Vernal Falls and the Mist Trail
Silver gelatin print, 1989

"Nature, like the law, plays no favorites."

- William Alsup

Judge William Alsup, of the District Court, Northern District of California, is a longtime photographer whose images have been displayed and published for 20 years. Working with traditional photographic film and printing techniques, he personally performs each step from beginning to end. In addition to his photographic work, he is a Sierra historian and Honorary State Park Ranger. He is the author of a historical novel, Missing in the Minarets: The Search for Walter A. Starr, Jr. (Yosemite, 2001) and also assembled, annotated, and illustrated the 1864 letters and notes of William Brewer, published as Such a Landscape! (Yosemite, 1999).

© William Alsup

Francisco Garcia
Two Young Muslim Men
Silver gelatin print, 2000

"This photograph shows two Fruit of Islam members in front of artworks of African-American iconography. I think the image conveys hope and shadow, in uneasy dialogue. In this country, justice is a dynamic struggle, especially for young black men. But despite the current war and the requisite demonization of the 'Other,' Americans are still free - for now - to follow Islam, or any religion, and to find their own truth among the competing byways of American life. That is justice enduring."

- Francisco Garcia

Francisco Garcia's award-winning photography has appeared in numerous exhibitions and publications. Born and raised in San Francisco, Garcia is a decorated Vietnam War veteran and combat medic and recently began an extended photography project revisiting former battle zones in Southeast Asia. He is also known for his distinctive, smoky photographic portraits of jazz musicians, including Max Roach, India Cooke, Jon Jang, Francis Wong, and many others. Garcia received his M.F.A in photography from the California College of Arts and Crafts, and has taught in various community and university art programs. For more information on his work, visit www.franciscogarciafotography.com

© Francisco Garcia

Gale Jesi
Approaching Liberty
C-Print, 1999

"The seven spikes in the Statue of Liberty's crown traditionally symbolize the world's seven seas and continents, and thus a universal idea of liberty. The contrast of two crowns, one grand and ideal, the other flimsy and disposable, struck me as symbolic in itself. Both the foam crown and the child looked very vulnerable and I was reminded of how much children are dependent on us for their rights. As I took the picture I remember thinking, 'with liberty and justice for all.'"

- Gale Jesi

Gale Jesi received her M.F.A. from U.C. Davis, and has shown her work both locally and nationally. She has had numerous solo and group shows both nationally and internationally. She has been a curator for the Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco, and was on the Art Selection Committee for the Federal Courthouse in Sacramento. Also an educator, Jesi has taught photography for 15 years at local high schools and colleges, and recently founded Photocrit.com, an online teaching site dedicated to bringing visual literacy to a wider audience.

© Gale Jesi

Aneesah Khalif-Duke, 9 Years Old
We Bloom Like a Flower
Tempera paint on paper, 2006

"Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force."

-Martin Luther King, Jr., from "I Have a Dream" (1963)

Aneesah Khalif-Duke is a participant in the Bayview Opera House's Global Arts Projectan arts and education program that involves children from the Bayview-Hunter's Point community of San Francisco in art classes and journeys to Africa and Europe. Over several weeks in the spring of 2006, Khalif-Duke and her classmates engaged in a line-by-line study of the "I Have a Dream" speech of Martin Luther King, Jr. and created paintings interpreting the metaphors in his oratory. This image was one of many exhilarating works that the children produced, in the spirit of freedom, balance, equality and rising above life's adversities. Special thanks to the program's artist-teachers, Suzanne Couture and Heidi Hardin.
Click here for more information about the Global Arts Project

© Aneesah Khalif-Duke

Reagan Louie
Student Demonstrations, Shanghai
Color photograph, 1989

"During the 1989 Chinese student demonstrations, most attention was paid to protests in Beijing, specifically Tiananmen. But the entire country was in protest, informed by media, faxes, the new Internet, and telephone. This photograph of protesters holding a fax image of Li Peng, the iron-fisted Chinese premier, shows how the power of media and the power of the image cracked the Chinese government's tight control of information. And for a moment justice and freedom prevailed."

-Reagan Louie

Reagan Louie is an award-winning photographer whose work has been widely published and exhibited at such venues as the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. The New York Times named his book, "Toward a Truer Life: Photographs of China 1980-1990" (Aperture, 1991) the photography book of the year. For more information on his work, visit the Rena Bransten Gallery website.

Cynthia Tom
Gee Li Keng, 1933 - Age 7
16" x 20" acrylic on canvas, 1 of 4

"Anomaly in the Veil is a personal series of portraits derived from 'mug shots' of Chinese immigrant women and girls. Due to the Chinese Exclusion laws, they suffered internment and interrogation on Angel Island, San Francisco Bay, from 1910 to 1940, and often had to assume and memorize different identities. I pay homage to these women through my paintings."

- Cynthia Tom

As a third generation Chinese American, Cynthia Tom draws inspiration from divergent cultures, and the contradictions that implies are expressed in a variety of ways. Her widely exhibited paintings have been described as "Cultural Surrealism." Tom was most recently a Guest Artist-in-Residence with the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. For more information, visit Cynthia Tom's website.

David Wolf
I Am
Toned gelatin silver print
From the series, Street Level, 1998-2001

"Empathy is at the heart of both justice and art."

-David Wolf

Photographed from a fixed vantage point over an extended period of time, Street Level reveals a universal humanity as seen in the faces of passersby that extends beyond the specifics of personality and place.

David Wolf's photographs explore worlds both seen and imagined. Whatever his subject, making photographs for Wolf is a process of transformation. "By making a connection between one's inner life and the greater world," he writes, "art transforms not only what we see but who we are."

Wolf's photography has been exhibited nationally, and can be found in museum, corporate and private collections. In the San Francisco Bay Area, he is represented by Michael Shaprio Gallery.

For more information on David Wolf's work, click here

© David Wolf