Vintage Selfie

In addition to the self-portraits I have been making over the last several months, I also have been shooting a lot of Impossible Project film; I will be publishing a zine of my Impossible Series within the next few months. I stumbled upon this image while scanning my Impossible images so they can be displayed on my new website; which should be live in the next four weeks, and I thought it was well suited with what I have been sharing. It also got me thinking about the “selfie” vs. the self-portrait. In a society where selfies are everywhere, literally, everywhere, what separates the two? If you think back to the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s, Polaroid cameras were the iPhone’s and Android’s of today. However, the term “selfie” as we know it today; amongst many working photographers and art enthusiasts alike, is somewhat frowned upon. Is it simply because cellphones are a digital tool? Or is it more of a nuisance than anything else because we are constantly bombarded with that “selfie face”?

Both Robert Maplethorpe and Andy Warhol used Polaroids as a medium for self-portraiture and the work is revered by most. Is it because these images were taken with an “analog” format? And furthermore, in 50 years will our modern day selfie be as revered as the work of both Maplethorpe and Warhol? I personally prefer to not take selfies, yet I will snap one with my Polaroid. This separation fascinates me merely because, it is so pretentiously hippocratic. Art itself is both pretentious and hippocratic, so it is no surprise that many enthusiasts feel the way they feel about selfies. Artists contradict the culture in which we reside all the time. I find it funny, its only a perpetuation of what has been happening all along.

 

The Impossible Series

In the event to start blogging more, as I am in the process of rebranding, I’ve decided to show my Impossible film series here. I hope to create a zine of this work someday, and this will force me to think about sequencing and the like. The fascinating thing about Impossible film, that I find, is in achieving the aesthetics of Polaroid, it must be approached like a medium or large format process. Relatively long exposure times (30-45 minutes) and with the price being what it is, you certainly don’t want to waste your film if you can help it. There is a certain nostalgia that comes with using this process, and a certain maturity as a photographer as well. It is both childlike and adult, nonchalant yet taken seriously. I hope you enjoy this series as I post them.

Letters From Home: A Home Away from Home

One of my many homes away from home.

Insta-Looks

The necktie.

A staple in male and female fashion for centuries. The perfect accessory to add a masculine and distinguished look. Male, female, gay or straight. The necktie remains constant.

From sixties skinny to fifties fat ties to bow ties. The necktie makes cleaning up, sexy. However, not just any tie will do… What I’ve found about ties, they are like wine; they are personal.

To this day they remain the topic of conversation between men and women. You can grab them, tie them to the headboard, tie the tie of the man you love around his neck, among all the other (dirty) things they are good for.

All in all, ties are cool.