What it is

Here’s what it is; We are using this blog to document a 1500 mile train journey through 11 US states starting in Miami and ending in New York. Things kick off on March 12 at 11.50am. The trip will be recorded as much as possible with video, audio and photography.

Hy Mayerson, Videographer, USA.

Sean Corcoran, Artist/Photographer, Ireland.

Here’s some background on Sean and Hy and on the journey;

On Monday January 18th, 2010, I rang my friend Hy Mayerson in Philadelphia;

Happy new year Hy, how are things? I’m thinking of coming over to see you, how would you fancy meeting up in Miami and taking a 1400 mile train journey to New York, recording the trip with video, photos and stuff? About this far into the conversation Hy replied; Say no more, count me in, when do we start? That night I booked my flights.

I will arrive in Florida on the 9th of March and leave from New York one week later on the 16th….and thats not all; Now Hy has agreed to travel back to Ireland with me so this should prove to be an eventful few weeks. The first expedition of  The ImaginAIRium !

The basic idea at this stage is to capture as much of our train journey on the Amtrak Silver Star as possible. We will be creating what we call “Drive By Shootings” of the zooming landscape and interviews with staff and passengers. I reckon the trip will take about 30 hours. We will be creating something with the footage, not really sure yet, maybe a short film and maybe some live broadcasts.

Hy Mayerson and I met in 2005. I was exhibiting my Photo Distortions and Hy and his wife Colleen were in Ireland touring with Sean Tyrrell.  Hy is a well-respected attorney with a practice in Spring City on the outskirts of Philadelphia. Over the past year Hy and I have discussed the idea of creating what would be called the Imaginairium based in his Meeting House Law Building. He’s 72 and I’m 40 so between us we have 112 years of wisdom. Hy is a prolific videographer with a huge archive of video footage that he created over the decades. He embraces technology, is a huge music fan and has a great You Tube Channel that showcases his video work.

Hy Mayerson’ s response;

When Sean called I was driving 2 grandsons to Atlantic City to get Cheese Steak Supremes at the White House, and to visit Aunt Bess (92 years young )& Cousin Marvin (Tilt) – a great humorist,raconteur (as in Bill Clinton) & sea gull gatherer – in their Atlantic City rent protected high rise, The Raleigh.

I have a hard & fast rule – do not  drive & cel phone , but I saw it was Ireland calling ME!!! I caved and took the call, knowing that  I had to get off the iPhone  quickly.  I had to quickly capitulate to Sean’s entreaties… because I was on the Eye Phone , talking “…at 70 MPH, staring at the camera with a toothpick in my mouth…”  (That is an old Jim Croce line from Rapid Roy, That Stock Car Boy)

Next thing I knew, Some days later, Sean also Sean collared me into returning  to Ireland with him, and we would land on the emerald isle on St. Patrick’s Day, 2010.
That was familiar ground to me for making extended videos – the last extended St. Patrick’s Day video I made was deep in a Jamaican Jungle, deep into a bat cave, to hear Rastafarian religious music, rumored to be made by beating stalagmites with 2 by 4’s.

It turned out to be  far more than that.

I have posted the video from that St. Patrick’s Day, 1989 on YouTube in 3 parts, the 4th & final part remains to be published publically.

Part 1 ,  Part 2 and  Part 3.

 I put together a chant, describing somewhat, the adventure :
Deep, Deep, Deep
in the
Green, Green, Green
Jamaican Jungle…
Deep Deep Deep
in the
dark, dark, dark
bat cave…
Delroy, Take I to the fire room
Dragon, breath the fire, … fire,… pure fire…

Eye Ball to Eye Ball
with Cat I

Deep, Deep, deep
in the
Dark, dark, dark
bat cave

St Patrick’ s Day March 17 1989

It was there and then that I met this incredible Buffalo Soldier:
Cat I

Below are a couple of videos by Hy that will give you an insight into the man.

…and here is a video portrait of Hy created by Sean Corcoran ;

…and here is an example of the style of videos Sean Corcoran is currently making;