Day 57 - Masa

Day 57 - October 27th, 2007
Location: Marriott Hotel, London, England
Setting: Wedding

1. Preferred nickname?
Masa
2. Birthplace?
Belgrade, now Serbia but used to be Yugoslavia.
3. Paper or plastic?
Paper
4. Favorite childhood toy?
My Little Pony
5. Where were you on 9 -11?
In Montenegro, and a lot of people cheered for it.
6. Best piece of advice you could give?
Oh my god. (Pause) Don’t trust anyone.
7. Favorite way to spend an afternoon?
It’s not really possible in London, but on a beach in Montenegro.
8. Song of the week?
(Long pause) Come back to it.
(Later) Kanye West, can’t remember the name of the song. “Why does everything that feels so good make me feel so bad”

9. Do you know any racist jokes?
(I forgot to ask this question this day... Ooops.)

10. Latest book or movie you’d recommend to a friend?
Movie is Atonement. Book, I know all the Harry Potters.
11. Who wins in a caged battle-to-the-death match: Rosie O’Donnell or Oprah?
Rosie

Day 56 - Emily

Day 56 - October 26th 2007
Location: London, England
Setting: South Bank, outside of Eat (a restaurant)

1. Preferred nickname?
Emily
2. Birthplace?
Maryland
3. Paper or plastic?
Paper
4. Favorite childhood toy?
Oh man! (Laughs) Do you know the little yellow dog spot? I had a stuffed animal of it.
5. Where were you on 9 -11?
In high school.
6. Best piece of advice you could give?
Enjoy yourself.
7. Favorite way to spend an afternoon?
Reading a book.
8. Song of the week?
Since I’m in London I’ll say Belle and Sebastian, Mornington Crescent.

9. Do you know any racist jokes?
(I forgot to ask this question this day... Ooops.)

10. Latest book or movie you’d recommend to a friend?
I just finished reading Everything is Illuminated.
11. Who wins in a caged battle-to-the-death match: Rosie O’Donnell or Oprah?
Oprah

Day 300

At some point in the next 23 hours, I will meet, interview and photograph my person of the day for Day 300. Cue the self-congratulatory pats on the back, e-celebrations and then my return to normal. (Or as close to it as I ever get.)

300 days. By the end of today I will have meet or gotten to know better, 300 people. Actually more than that. Because one day I met four people (only one interview was on the record but I spoke to four people). It’s not uncommon that I get to hear answers from not only my interviewee but their friends, family, dates, or random strangers within earshot. So I’ve met... a lot of people.

And now.. I’ve a little more than two months till the completion of the interview and photography portion of this project. Then of course there’s the huge task of typing all the interviews, uploading all the photos, all the post processing, e-mailing the people I’ve met with their copies of photos and organizing all of it in some presentable way. But for now- I shall celebrate how far this idea has come from the whim that I cemented into place with the creation of a logo, blog, business card and butterflies in my stomach last August. Thanks for being here for the ride!

Song(s) of the Week:
Sunshine Lady - Two Spot Gobi
(How far we've come - Matchbox Twenty ... more in regards to this post)

Observations - Living in Labels and 365 Faces of the Year

I’m working on two projects which are very different: 365 Faces of the Year and Living in Labels. One is a portrait project that seeks to compare first impressions with assumptions from a stranger and the other is a portrait project that seeks to compare first impressions when seen with assumptions from strangers. Wait...

365 Faces of the Year is a noteworthy project not due to the quality of the photographs or the answers received, but rather for the sheer number of photographs and answers. The similarities and differences, the unexpected answers and unusual perspectives... they all contribute to some greater whole that is hard to define (given that I’m not done, I don’t think I can or should try to define it now). But everyday is a new day, and it’s hard to push the envelope when everyday is a new quest.

Meanwhile while working on Living in Labels instead of starting on a fresh page everyday I come into the studio with a goal and go from there. Weeks before a shoot I start collecting the labels, organizing them, and when I go into the studio my model is ready to face how other’s perceive them while taking a portrait. There’s a lot of preparation involved in the shoot and rather than being a snapshot portrait, the photos are legitimate portraits.

Both of these projects look at what is and what appears to be within an individual. One asks others how they judge and then presents the individual with those judgements. The other asks individuals questions and presents them for judgement. The central theme of identity seems to be something I can’t get away from, especially given that it wasn’t something I consciously thought I should shape my major projects around.

Something I’ve noticed especially with Living in Labels is the difference between what people assume people think, and what people do think (or at least what thoughts they present). Despite the fact that people are given the chance to provide anonymous feedback, the amount of negative feedback has been almost non-existent. Although I received a some negative labels when I tested the project on myself, less than a dozen out of 150 labels I received were slanted in a negative manner. In fact for the latest model I had labeled nearly 50% of those who submitted labels said she was beautiful. My models were pleasantly surprised to discover that rather than being given offensive slurs, they found ego boosting compliments to their positive actions.

While doing 365 Faces of the Year the thing I’ve been most continually surprised by is how easy it is to meet someone. In line for coffee, in bookstores, at shows, through friends, at parks, on planes... it really doesn’t matter. I’ve been turned down for interviews by people who were busy or just not in a particularly talkative mood, but despite the fact that I’m 281 days in, I would say the TOTAL times people have rejected my requests for interviews would be less than 100. And that’s including a few bad days were I’d get turned down by 4 people in a row. Almost every person I’ve asked to be in the project seems interested and I hope (though I can’t speak for them), they enjoy themselves as much as I do. It truly amazes me how easy it is to meet people, and how after meeting someone once the doorway to a friendship is opened. The vast majority of people I’ve interviewed were total strangers when I began, but now when looking down the list I see more friends than strangers. Furthermore, appearances don’t seem to matter, approach and attitude is everything. When I started this project I had long curly hair and was much more “socially acceptable”in appearance. However now I’m sporting a mohawk, and despite the fact that some perceptions of me have changed, I noticed no difference in how people have responded to my project. Even if people make an initial judgement, this in no way seems to affect their willingness to change their minds.

I guess if there’s a point to this reflection it is to share my current optimism. In my experience with these projects, strangers are willing to give their time and aren’t as judging as society says they are. And the barriers between us and the people we encounter tend not to be due to a lack of interest in new relationships and friendships or due to judgements and prejudice, but rather because we’re too lazy to initiate them.

Song of the Week
Breathe of Life by Erasure
or Butterfly by Jason Mraz

Following Your Advice

I was recently told:
"Worry is pain suffered for something which hasn't happened yet"

And on that note, I'm not going to worry about the lag. I'm going to continue to do things on a daily basis with meeting, interviewing and photographing people. That was the project statement and I've stuck with it. After all nighters, during finals week, when busy with work, when socially awkard... I’ve kept going with the daily commitment. And I don't want to ruin the results by rushing the post processing. Every time I stress about the backlog, and then try to do edits I find the results are atrocious, and I'd rather do it right. I feel like every person I’ve interviewed has trusted me to do my best, and to half ass a portrait is a disservice to them as well as myself. So I’m going to take the advice offered to me and not worry. The next month will be insanely busy as I’m going to do some traveling to figure out where I’ll be for the next two years while simultaneously taking a full course load, TAing a course, and working on a side project (which while it takes time away from this project, aids me in keeping myself visually aware so I don’t go into auto pilot). I will be trying to organize the files so when I have time to properly post I have everything laid out in order, but I’m not going to worry. Thanks for your patience.

Song of the Week:
I’m Yours - Jason Mraz
or
Childlike Wildlife - Jason Mraz

Google it!

365 Faces of the Year can now be easily found through google without putting the name in quotation marks! Not sure if this will last the gap in posts, but I’m hopeful that it will remain the case. And I’m glad that any participants now have an easy way to find the site if they loose the card with the link on it.

Absent Not Inactive!

Sorry for the absence of posts and updates, I assure you this project has not died yet. I’m trying during the wee morning hours of the 24th of September, and thus far have done 23 days of interviews and photos. My hand has fully healed and there is only a bit of light brown scarring where the burn was. If you didn’t know my hand was burnt you’d probably not even notice, or if you did you’d more likely assume I had residue of mocha on my hand. (I work at a starbucks thus the mocha assumption isn’t that far from the truth sometimes). I was rather surprised at the strength of the pain killers they gave me. Very effectively they stopped the pain, but they also made me drowsy and I wasn’t too safe for driving. Thus in the morning for the next three days I only took aspirin that way I could still go out. Then in the afternoon I took the pain killers that were prescribed to me. Also despite getting the burn on a Sunday evening, it hurt enough that I kept it on ice until Tuesday night and then on and off for the Wednesday. One interesting adventure down- many more to come? School has also just resumed, thus I’m now juggling classes, work, TAing a class, trying to do this project and figure out where I’d like to go once I’m done with Foothill. While some days are harder than others, I’ve had the dumb luck to be invited to various social events where I only know one or two people. Such events are utterly ideal as there are many people to meet and potentially interview, and this project ends up being a great conversation starter. The other perks is at social events the answers I get are also more in depth. Though I don’t know how much time I’ll have for social activities now that school is in session.

Also I’ve just finalized plans for a family trip this October. During the end of the month we’ll be visiting Portugal, London and Spain. Which I’m thinking will be an excellent opportunity to meet new people. I’ll definitely have to get someone during the stop over in New York so I don’t lose a day during the extended flights. But that’s a few weeks away. For now it’s nearly 3 am and I should go to bed so I can get 3 hours of sleep before work starts. I’ll try to get my act together with uploading, processing and posting- but no promises. I’m keeping up with the interview side- and for now that’s challenge enough.

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