A Stranger In Pittsburgh

People who have been following this blog, have no doubt noticed my interest in the increasingly self selecting and global nature of identity. My post's on the Pittsburgh diaspora; City of the mind and on Paper Rad; all touch on that theme. So, anyway not that long after my gallery opened I met a person in Pittsburgh who is a great example of this. His name is Jeorg Colberg and he is an astrophysicist in Pittsburgh and also a photographer. Since, 2002, he has had a blog on contemporary photography, that is one of the more known sources for dope on current work. His special focus is current German and European photography and what is more facinating is that to a great extent his knowledge comes from what he can see and keep up with online. Here are some quotes from his profile.

Conscientious is a weblog about photography, art, and life in general. Predominantly, you will find contemporary photography, but I am not going to try to define what future or past posts will or did contain other than saying that it's photography or art that I like(d) or stuff that I was/am interested in. I am no professional photography critic, and I do not aspire to be one; hence there will be no long words. I think good photography doesn't need making too many words.
Photography has become an art form - with all the advantages and disadvantages that has for photographers. Conscientious usually ignores most aspects of the world of art. There are links to world famous photographers, whose work you can find in "important" museums, and there are links to virtually unknown photographers, many of who will never have a chance to display their work. There are also occasional samples of my own work. What all this means is that these photos are photos that I like. If you want to deduce any other statement from it that's your personal decision"

The extent of his knowledge and the obscurity of some of the work he digs up reveals a level of obsession. This is obviously someone living in two worlds.