Mike Spitz

Biography

Mike Spitz grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio and was a stage and film actor in Chicago and New York where he attended NYU Tisch School of the Arts. He moved to LA in 2000.

In addition to photography, he wrote and directed several short films that have appeared in many film festivals worldwide and on international cable television. These films include the award winning “Taking Hy”, and “Dreams of Buses”.

Recent photo and book projects include Medicated for your Protection (Artists Corner Gallery), a portrait series about people living with chronic mental illness. Soon to be published by Rare Bird Books, The Record Store Book takes us on a nostalgic trip through used record stores of greater Los Angeles. Other photography books include Etranger (Xlibris), and Crumbling City (Blurb Books).

Spitz has a Masters in Social Work and psychoanalytic training, and works as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with children and adolescents. He has led photography groups for youth, using it as a therapeutic tool for teaching positive and creative self-expression.

He is a founding member of F9 Gallery, a photography collective in Los Angeles. His work has exhibited at the Los Angeles Center for Photography, International Juried Show at the North Valley Art League, Los Angeles Brewery Spring Art Walk, and the ADC Contemporary Art Gallery at Bergamot Station in Santa Monica for MOPLA (Month of Photography LA). Other exhibitions include F9 Gallery, Artists Haven Gallery in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, Amsterdam Whitney Gallery in New York City, Infusion Gallery in Los Angeles, and Groundwork Café in Hollywood, CA.

Artist Statement

CARACAS: From the car

Caracas is a mixture of breathtaking beauty and urban plight, with serious everyday dangers; it is not a tourist destination. Nobody says “We’re vacationing in Caracas this year.” I was likely the only American in town. Sometimes I did not know what I was taking a picture of – what a sign or mural meant, why a building was falling apart, or what a particular part of town used to be like and how it and why it fell into despair. Despite the dangers, it was an uplifting and eye opening cultural experience, not to mention the amazing food, kindness, hospitality, and warmth of the Venezuelans. This series is about an outsider’s unique perspective of a special place, one that the average traveler is not familiar with and may never have the fortune of experiencing if things don’t change for the better.

For more information click here: MIKE SPITZ -CARACAS FROM THE CAR STATEMENT

Medicated for your Protection: Portraits of Mental Illness

My goal is that these images and accompanying narratives will give a voice and a face to a small group of individuals who would otherwise go unnoticed. On a daily basis, they are faced with managing their own psychological and physical deterioration. Many of their mental disorders – Schizophrenia, Bipolar, and Major Depression – are life long, have no cure, but can be managed. I worked with a range of residents from their twenties to their sixties to further mark the progression and effects of mental illness through the years. In their personal narratives, some of the facts and timelines may not make sense, due to their delusional process, defects in memory, or general confusion that is symptomatic of psychosis. However, what they believed to be true was more important. I recorded their statements at face value.

For more information click here: MIKE SPITZ – MEDICATED FOR YOUR PROTECTION STATEMENT