Humanity: A Photo Essay (#23)

For my photo essay, I wanted to focus on humanity-what it means to be human, what makes it worth being human, and the things that remind me of my own humanity. All that great glass-half-full stuff. I wanted to portray humanity without using photos of people, though. At least not candid photos of people. In each of the photos I've selected for this essay, one of two things is demonstrated: emotion or motion. The two main focal points of life.


And because Prezi doesn't want me to write lengthy paragraphs, I've turned this into a blog post.

1) "Curtain Call"- One of my very favorite things in the world is going to the movies. Whenever I watch a good movie, I'm reminded of my own humanity-whether I'm intellectually or emotionally stimulated. A few of my favorites are The Royal Tenenbaums, Amelie, Synecdoche, New York, and Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Each of them evokes a really unique emotion or mindset for me. Thus, movie theaters are sort of heaven for me.

2) "Dear Stranger"-Where I lived last, there was this great used book store that my family went to almost every weekend. I could pretty much always count on there being some little trinket in one of the books I picked up-a note to a friend regarding the book, a phone number, ambiguous annotations. It was a treasure trove of quirky little insights into the lives of people I'd never meet or personally know. But I guess through that one little note, our stories were somehow connected.

3) "Profane Vandalism"-After a light snowfall in Manhattan, vandals took to the streets and immortalized Alex in a profane fashion. Poor Alex will have to deal with the repercussions of an unflattering public portrayal. (except dorks aren't all that bad)

4) "Freeway Flow"-I can't adequately express how much I love driving without sounding hyperbolic. There's something about the perpetual forward motion that really gets me."...You think only about driving - not coming from any place; not arriving any place. Just driving, counting off time. Now you are here, at 7:43. Now you are here, at 7:44. Now you are...gone." The way we pass each other without taking much notice, instead getting caught up in the route to our own destination summarizes so much of our lives.

5) "Waiting to Know"-I loved that this pair of raw, somewhat weary hands conveyed so much emotion without a face. Tested patience is such a universal thing and we spend so much of our time waiting for things that never come. A bit of a stark picture, but not without hope.

6) "Star Trail"-There's this type of photography known as star trail that uses long exposure to document the motion of stars throughout the night. This photograph in particular took 90 minutes of footage to string together. The whole concept reminded me something in a Kurt Vonnegut book; this idea of time being a series of snapshots that we can revisit at any time. A string of photos almost that compose your life.

7) "Pursuit of Happiness"-This final photo is probably my favorite. Taken in Italy, this photograph documents a young boy looking out on Rome. I think it perfectly portrays the persistent hopefulness of humanity-the sort of yearning for things that seem so far out of reach, and the determination that if we just had that one thing, we'd be happy.

One Man's Trash (#22)

After watching the documentary Waste Land, I was drawn to the idea of capturing the "human factor". The experiences these people shared with each other among trash was heart-warming (yes, I just used that term, what of it?). There was something really stark about the contrast between the humor and lightness the catadores shared, and the unfulfilling labor at the recycling center. There was a great moment in the documentary when Vik's collaborator pondered over how inaccurate their original assumption that the workers were happy with their jobs really was. It was clear that the workers yearned for something more, though they were content in the moment with each other.

Magna's portrait,"The Gypsy Magna-Pictures of Garbage"

The worker, Magna, had a story that struck me a lot. A hard-working employee at the recycling center, Magna regarded her job as something to be proud of. As she put it, "at least I'm not turning tricks in Copacabana". In fact, not soliciting their bodies was something a lot of women at Jardim Gramacho took pride in. Comparatively speaking, working amongst the trash was dignified. At the end of the documentary, Magna left her husband. Her story was powerful; she stated that she had felt like an obsequious mule before, and after leaving her husband felt liberated. Personally, I found Magna's portrait to be the most beautiful. There's something magnetic and graceful about Magna's warm personality and expression-and beyond that, something deeply strong.

I couldn't help but smile when I saw the catadores' reactions to their portraits. It was clear that the workers were touched by the fact that Vik Muniz was representing them-making them artwork, as Tiao put it. It's amazing to me that through the work of Vik Muniz, the workers and everyone that bought the portraits, were able to find beauty in what was normally regarded as just trash. And I guess sometimes that's what it takes-an outsider to point out the beauty in the things you typically overlook.

Photograph by Vik Muniz, courtesy of Vik Muniz Studio

Delicate (#21)

Groundbreaking Feet

According to the Word English Dictionary, delicate is used to describe something of a soft or fragile beauty. So of course my initial idea was to take pictures of my feet, which I am deeply in love with. My feet exhibit an exquisite sort of beauty, in my humble opinion.

Title credits go to Abhishek for that one. Kind of an ingenious pun. I think the way the sunlight is streaming through my window really elevates the beauty of my feet. If you look really closely, you can see small, illuminated specks of dust floating around. It's like, pretty existential, bro.

Then I decided to create a stop motion film after being inspired by a great quote in a really awful book. I liked the idea of making these really delicate paper cranes from something so indignant. It resulted in a short 1-minute film that I'm really proud of. I should mention that it was SUCH A PAIN to edit, but the end result couldn't be more pleasing to me.

Bill and the Sagittarius (#20)

3.5.13

(In a bar somewhere in Chicago, two men in their late twenties lament about their mundane problems and celebrate the meager happiness in their lives. All over a few beers.)

Bill: She was the type of person that got tattoos that say "peace" or something in Chinese. 

Ray: You're kidding me. (has a tattoo of marijuana on his neck)

Bill: Not even. And you know what's really rich? 

Ray: Hmm?

Bill: She said she was a Sagittarius within ten seconds of introducing herself.

Ray: HAHAHA!

Bill: That just about made me get up and leave and make her pay for her damn tempeh, but, you know...

Ray: I know. But you're a nice guy.

Bill: Something like that. 

Ray: How do you mean?  

Bill: I don't know. She was just...different, I guess.

Ray: Oh god. Don't get all sentimental on my ass.

Bill: (lets out a nervous chuckle, resolving in hearty laughter) It's not that. I mean, she was just cool, okay? She made goofy faces without being self-conscious. She laughed at my corny jokes and was whip-smart. She didn't mind just being silent when we walked throughout the city. I don't know...she was different.

Ray: (raises an eyebrow and snickers) You're a fool in love, my friend.

Bill: (pulls out the photo booth pictures he and said girl took the day before) I mean, just look. 

Ray: (sips on his beer and continues to smirk) Look, you don't need to defend yourself or anything to me. You wanna go and live the romantic comedy of your dreams, be my guest. Just tell me what I can do to ensure you never make that face again.

(the two laugh and leave the bar) 

(Bill and the Sagittarius continue their relationship for a solid year until the girl leaves for art school in Europe)

(so it goes.)

(the picture still serves as a souvenir of the memorable night)

I found this photo courtesy of http://www.randomselectioninrandomimage.com/
This short little dialogue was something I'd written about a week ago in my English class when I got bored, but not knowing how to incorporate it into something larger, I decided to scrap it. Here it is again, with something of a story to tell now. Maybe it'll become something even grander someday. We'll see.