Friday, January 07, 2011

I’ve begun a portrait project: 365 portraits in 2011. At the end of the year I’ll make a 20X30 poster... something I’ve had in my mind for awhile. The portraits will be black and white. I am asking permission of people whose portraits I am taking, so I won’t be breaking any laws if I decide to do something public with the poster at the end of the year. I’m carrying around a permission slip (I prefer the language of school) which I will ask people I don’t know to sign. When I take a portrait of someone I know, I won’t ask for a signature. If I ask you if I can take your picture sometime in the next 358 days, you won’t hurt my feelings if you say no; but I’ll be grateful if you let me do it.
I decided to shoot myself today. I came across a self-portrait I did in 1990 with an old typewriter. I brought it up-to-date by adding gray... digitized the 1990 image and touched it up on my computer. Then I used the timer on my camera to get my photo du jour.
It seems appropriate to ask Emily Dickinson to say her piece. I was tempted as all getout to change the last word in Ms. Dickenson's poem from "bog" to "blog," but I was afraid lightening would strike me.

I'm nobody! Who are you?
Are you nobody, too?
Then there's a pair of us -don't tell!
They'd banish us, you know.

How dreary to be somebody!
How public, like a frog
To tell your name the livelong day
To an admiring bog!

4 comments:

gsimms2 said...

Great Idea! Every face tells a story. What fun it will be to let those stories unfold in our daydreams.

With regards to your first portrait,during the short time we spent together the only time I saw you without a smile was when you were enjoying a short refresher nap.

So what is this story?
Good Luck

Anonymous said...

I met a man the other day who forgot his name and introduced himself only as the role he played. Portraits are important if only to remind ourselves we have always been the person we are named and nothing more and nothing less. It was good to see Jerral! Bob

Unknown said...

What a great idea that is. I'm sure that will be fun for you and for us, your fans.

Unknown said...

And one more thing.....
Your self portrait..
I'm thinking Sean Connery.