30 Strangers Exhibit – Artist Statement

Artist Statement – 30 Strangers exhibit

A famous war photographer once said, “If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.” He meant close, as in proximity. He meant move in close and leave anything out that isn’t necessary. And for a long time that’s the only way I read the quote, until a friend suggested it could also mean emotionally close.

So people come to be photographed. I want to like them and I want them to like me. I don’t know if I should admit that or not. They come to the studio, and I fish a little for some common ground. I ask where they grew up, what they studied in college, why they chose to study law instead of chemistry. I ask myself, How can I relate to these folks? And I try, like the quote suggests, to move closer.

On April 1st, 2009 and for the following 29 days, I photographed strangers. Mothers and daughters. Sometimes grandmothers, mothers, and daughters. We talked some, and then I took pictures.

This is where those conversations took us.

…….

Last Thursday we had our 30 Strangers exhibit and I had such a great time. I want to thank all of those of you that attended. On that night we extended our fund raiser for the Center for Women and Children in Crisis and we were able to raise another $1,000 for their organization.

The exhibit was the culmination of hundreds of hours of work that started in April and it felt good to see it on display. We’ll do this again. Oh yes, you can count on that. If you’d like to be informed about our 2010 30 Strangers project and other related matters, sign up for our occasional newsletter.