john messinger

"a few years ago i met joseph a. porter, a 63-year-old homeless man living on the streets of new york city. shortly thereafter, joe, a self proclaimed 'renaissance man,' became the subject of a photo-documentary, which i was planning to submit as my masters thesis....five months ago, i was notified by the pine street inn, a new york city homeless shelter, that joseph a. porter had died of hypothermia in a city park. on the pine street intake form, joe had listed me as his next of kin. i was subsequently shipped his surviving possessions, which included family photographs, a notebook containing journal entries and sketches, three unprocessed rolls of color slide film, and other personal items. after close examination of these materials, i discovered more about joe and his past than in nearly two years of documentary study." see more here.

[all john messinger. from the series the estate of joseph a. porter.]