SIde Project

I am calling it "table top photography", but everyone knows its a disgusting little habit, possibly a step away from dressing ones dogs in costumes and forcing acquaintances to join in cooing compliments with a straight face. How can I ever expect to be taken seriously? I have excuses, something about mindless activity freeing the mind, something about the need to catalogue these odd items for a time when I will not be able to hold on to them. An artist is more easily accepted for heroin use or heavy drinking, I am absolutely certain of this fact. Here are examples of the beginning stages, test photos, while I am building little sets and buying Re-ment and whatever else, these are pretty much practice.

Part of something I posted.

I saw a great film involving photography: Tierney Gearon: The Mother Project ( http://www.themotherproject.com/ ). It is one of the better movies in the subset of documentaries involving film makers/artists exploring their own family, childhood, past etc.(also quite interesting: My Architect, Bruce and Me, Tarnation, though many may find The Mother Project much easier to watch than these examples). The film follows Gearon through a visit to photograph her mentally ill mother, who seems to slip in and out of lucidity, and photographing her children, along with the ordeal in the mid 90s when her photographs were yanked from a gallery show with accusations of child exploitation, and worse, by British police. Ok, it may sound like a downer to some, but I found parts of the movie to be quite endearing, including funny moments, and an interesting look at how one artist deals with family/past/etc. It contains great footage of her setting up shots, and the resulting photographs. I found great pleasure in watching her coax common snapshot fodder into photos that transcend into both universality and the glaringly personal.