theme: how photography helps me with being alone “each in his own private blizzard.” -margaret atwood
people watching & the art of the cull my favorite part of the guggenheim wasn’t the art — it was observing people observe the art, their heads craned to squint at the skylight, their hands pointing at the different exhibits. there’s that word, sonder, to describe the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own. i adore the street camera’s ability to peel back a stranger’s layers and project a story. on the 6 line uptown, i listened to dhruv’s new album, which he sums up as “maximal, intimate, soulful.” i stared out the window, submerged in dissonance, as the outside blurred: “chaos, in a musical way.”
it’s far too easy to get overstimulated in the city. this chaos intensifies when i am alone: navigating the barrage of tourists at times square on the way to work, hurtling past an obstacle of bodies on my morning run by the hudson. i am a people person and for the most part, people please me.
in a book on cinematography, it comments that good directors treat the setting as another character. in this personal movie, treat the city as another beast. hear the low rumble underneath your feet that threatens to swallow you whole.
maybe this is a vague statement: culture feels visceral in nyc. aesthetic sensibilities pop out on the street even the way passerby carry themselves is distinct
but crowds can feel constricting, especially when you are untethered from a companion or a purpose. i mytholize it; the open jaws of a subway swallowing commuters whole,
tattoeed with words, pockets of vulnerability on your morning commute.
poems about new york city are unapologetic about its cultural markers — these neighorhoods are so iconic they demand no explanation. this is why i love being a writer & photographer here — everything i write and photograph automatically carries a deeper level of connotation.
“New York” ‹ Literary Hub (lithub.com)
the art of the cull:
this is just to say: go stream “private blizzard”! go take a walk without music! go take a photo in black and white 