Heather Mull - ProfilesArchive

About Me

Although I was born on Long Island, I'm a SW Pennsylvania gal by nature. By that, I mean that I don't mind the sparsely populated hills, the grey, rainy climate, the rust and working-class attitude. My peeps (on my mom's side) came out of the coal patches and mill towns and I think that's what keeps me grounded.I don't say "ain't" or "warsh," but I do root for the Steelers.I grew up in Somerset County, but migrated to Pittsburgh after finishing college back in '91 and somehow never left. Not like I haven't thought about going elsewhere, but the longer I stay, the more I like it. I'm now convinced that it's, like, one of the best places on earth. Sooooooo, I bought a house this past December and here I be.I work as a photographer for a weekly newspaper...The Pittsburgh City Paper. It doesn't feel like work, so it must be a decent job. I get to meet a lot of interesting people and poke my nose into a lot of unusual places. I do a lot of freelance photography too---magazine work, food, portraits, whatever gets to me.My new house is in the neighborhood of Hazelwood....that's down on the Monongahela River, where the old LTV steel mill used to crank out flames and black smoke. Now it's sitting idle, waiting for development of some sort. I like that it's a rather "down and out" neighborhood. It's unpretentious and humble. Hazelwood used to be a Hungarian enclave; there still are a lot of those names in the phone book and you can buy a special paprika-laden bacon at D'Imperio's Market on Second Avenue.There are two special felines in my life....Enid and Mr. Peanut. They share my digs and keep my heart rate down.

My Interests

Cinema -- mostly of the independent "non-Hollywood" variety and documentaries; good food and wine; travelling off the beaten path, even if it's just to another Western PA county, and searching for the ever-more-elusive "authentic culture"; architecture and design, especially the idea of preserving and re-using nice old buildings; meeting new people of all sorts; cultivating the lost art of conversation; yoga; playing sports rather than watching them on tv; music, all kinds of music; and, of course, photography.

I'd like to meet:

Everyone, as long as they're not an asshole.Jacques Cousteau, Rene Magritte, Neil Young, Diane Arbus, Julia Child, Walker Evans, Margaret Bourke-White, Walter Cronkite (whom I used to pretend was my grandpa!), Richard Pryor, Bruce Springsteen, "Philly Sound" composer/producer Thom Bell (LOVE THAT PHILLY SOUND!)

Music:

I like too much to have to make choices about what to list. Let's just say that there's room for a little of everything...from Cole Porter to Public Enemy; Astor Piazzola; Thin Lizzy to Ted Leo; Les Paul to all the dudes playing Les Pauls; Guided By Voices; The Modern Jazz Quartet to The Modern Lovers, and so on, and so forth. Did I mention Philly Sound??? The Spinners "Pick of the Litter" has to be one of my most played albums over the past year. (Yeah, that's on vinyl.)

Movies:

Anything by Jacob Young, documentary filmmaker from West Virginia (best known for "Dancin' Outlaw," the Jesco White story, but has made so many other masterpieces.)Tend to go for flicks that balance dark realism and humor....like Mike Leigh's catalogue, for example, or Ken Loach.I like contemporary British and German films....even when they're predictable and mainstream, they seem to have more substance than Hollywood fodder. I waver on Woody Allen, but have probably more liked than disliked his work. Todd Solondz and Hal Hartley. Jim Jarmusch.I've always enjoyed documentaries. Have you seen "Tarnished?"I also have a weakness for rock and roll movies....Spinal Tap, School of Rock, Rock N' Roll High School, High Fidelity, etc. I just saw "Brothers of the Head" at the Cleveland Film Festival.....it's about conjoined twins who front an English proto-punk band in the early 70's. Having seen this, I think I've seen all the conjoined twin films out there...."Twin Falls, Idaho," "Freaks," "Stuck on You..."

Television:

I hardly watch tv at all. I don't have cable, so that sort of puts the kybosh on regular weekly viewing.FREAKS AND GEEKS, Sopranos, Law & Order (but only with Jerry Orbach, R.I.P.) Steeler games, and documentaries.

Books:

My all-time favorite book from childhood is "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn," by Maggie Smith, that and "When We Were Very Young," poems by A.A. Milne."Five Stories Up" by Toni Schlessinger, a compilation of her columns from the Village Voice. I also like the documentary interview/photo collaborations of David Isaay and Harvey Wang, such as "Flophouse."Andres Dubus. James Joyce.

Heroes:

Originals...people who continue to "do their own thing" no matter how kooky the rest of the world thinks they are. John Fetterman, the mayor of BRADDOCK, PA. He rules! Photogs Diane Arbus, Arnold Newman, David LaChappelle, Duane Michals, Sebastiao Salgado, James Nachtwey, Bill Burke, Bill Owens, Harvey Wang.