My photograph First World Problem is now on exhibit as part of “Through The Lens” at the Artists Center in Palm Desert, on view through April 5, 2026.
The exhibit is presented in a museum-standard facility and is shown alongside a special presentation of celebrity photography by Harry Langdon and Jimmy Steinfeldt.
The photograph itself is direct.
These are not takeout containers. They are proof.
Portions continue to expand, whether or not appetite keeps pace. What isn’t finished is boxed and transported, a polite acknowledgment that even excess has exceeded demand. In Palm Springs, where many diners are older and eat less, the surplus becomes routine.
Stacked together, the containers resemble a monument. Not to hunger, but to overabundance. The problem is not that there is too little. It is that there is too much.
Issued as an Artist Proof and signed, the photograph is printed using archival dye infusion on aluminum.
Please visit Wednesday through Sunday, 11am to 4pm.
The Artists Center at the Galen 72-567 Highway 111 Palm Desert, CA
My photograph “LOUD” will be on view at the Artists Center in Palm Desert from December 10 through January 11, with the opening reception tonight, Thursday December 11, from 5–7 pm. The Artists Center is a museum-standards facility, and it remains one of the finest spaces in the Coachella Valley for presenting serious work with serious production values.
“LOUD” comes from the Palm Springs Gay Pride Parade in 2003. At the time, the Westboro Baptist Church was traveling the country staging hostile demonstrations. Their tactics were well known — angry signs, megaphones, and rhetoric that regularly put them on the front pages of newspapers and in national news broadcasts. Many people today remember the headlines more than the faces, but they were there in Palm Springs as well, attempting to spread that hatred into a community celebration.
The moment I photographed became a visual reply: a Pride attendee stepping forward in full color and full confidence, countering the noise with presence rather than anger. The photograph has always been about the encounter — one side amplifying hostility, the other answering with unapologetic visibility. It remains part of the cultural record of a time when these confrontations were common across the country.
The exhibit is open Wednesday through Sunday, 10 am to 4 pm, at:
Artists Center 72-567 Highway 111 Palm Desert, California 92260
You’re invited to stop in, see the work, and explore the new season celebrating five years of the Artists Council at the Artists Center.
SecondFocus Blog 
First World Problem
My photograph First World Problem is now on exhibit as part of “Through The Lens” at the Artists Center in Palm Desert, on view through April 5, 2026.
The exhibit is presented in a museum-standard facility and is shown alongside a special presentation of celebrity photography by Harry Langdon and Jimmy Steinfeldt.
The photograph itself is direct.
These are not takeout containers. They are proof.
Portions continue to expand, whether or not appetite keeps pace. What isn’t finished is boxed and transported, a polite acknowledgment that even excess has exceeded demand. In Palm Springs, where many diners are older and eat less, the surplus becomes routine.
Stacked together, the containers resemble a monument. Not to hunger, but to overabundance. The problem is not that there is too little. It is that there is too much.
Issued as an Artist Proof and signed, the photograph is printed using archival dye infusion on aluminum.
Please visit Wednesday through Sunday, 11am to 4pm.
The Artists Center at the Galen
72-567 Highway 111
Palm Desert, CA
https://www.artistscouncil.com
Thank you!
March 19, 2026 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: aluminum print photography, American excess, Artists Center Palm Desert, coachella valley art, conceptual photography, Contemporary Photography, dye infused aluminum print, fine art photography, First World Problem, food culture photography, gallery exhibition California, Ian L Sitren, modern art Palm Springs, Palm Desert art exhibit, Palm Springs Art, photographic art exhibit, social commentary photography, still life photography, things to do Palm Desert, Through The Lens exhibit | Leave a comment