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James is pictured with a manikin he calls “Our Lady of the Hunt”. His friends call him Jimmy Fred and suspect he has an odd thing for head coverings.
PART III SHARING YOUR WORK
07_MP_234-277.indd 236-237
6/20/08
9:28:30 AM
ROGUES GALLERY:
ORDINARY SNAPSHOTS THAT CREATE A HAPPENING AND A COMMUNITY
time. It will take a couple of minutes to a couple of hours to prepare ideas, designate display space, and set up the hanging apparatus. Acquiring “objects” for your gallery can take as long as you’d like it to—an evening, a month, a year—or it can be an ongoing activity.
Mixing performance art and photography can yield explosive fun. This project uses a simple camera and inexpensive printouts to create a home-based installation.
The general rule is that, as with life itself, you only get one shot. That means I only take one picture, and if it’s good, it’s in the gallery . . . I’ve made exceptions, though, for poor exposure or focus.
step 2. start shooting. Start off with a few people you know well. Practice how to cajole them. It’s best to start slowly with this kind of participatory project. Over a week or so, you will learn what works best. James used the same head-on shot for his gallery, often done with a flash. This helps establish a unifor- mity that is valuable.
The idea is to create a gallery of photos that share an underlying theme or con- cept. The trick is finding a gimmick that can help transform ordinary snapshots into something more.
Quick work on my part is essential. Some of the best poses have been when the hat or earflaps sit at an odd angle on my model’s head. Similarly, some of the best pictures show the subject baffled by the whole idea and before he or she had time to think about how silly he or she looked.
step 3. mount the gallery. The set of parallel wires that James strung up provides a simple and effective way to create
a flexible gallery. But there are a lot of ways to get wire or string in rows on a wall with small nails or thumbtacks. Other options include using a bulletin board, attaching cork squares (ones that come with sticky backs) to the wall, or using a shelf or other ledge to prop the images. Keep the photos in close proximity so that it’s easy to compare one against another.
This project has two different but related goals. One is to create an informal gallery of portraits. The deeper goal is a way of celebrating a community.
And the word is out. Folks who visit the house for the first time are often told that something special will happen. Be- ware of James with the camera . . . he’ll take a picture of you wearing a funny-looking hat. But don’t worry about it—it’s fun, and everybody has to do it. —JW
James says, “If you look closely at the photo above, you can see the little clips my friend Mamaru found
in Japan. They make it easy to hang a new picture. I used turnbuckle screws from the local hardware store to make the wires that go from door jam to door jam in our hallway taut.”
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CHAPTER 7: PROJECT IDEAS [ 237 ]
CASE STUDY: james
James Wood is a lawyer in Denver. He was born in Dal- las and recently returned to his roots by buying a small ranch in the Hill Country near Mason, Texas. He is an avid outdoorsman and hunter. The object that organized his rogues’ gallery was a Day-Glo hunter’s hat.
gear. Digital camera, small printer (4 x 5–inch prints are big enough), and a set of wires and clips to mount the collection.
The Orange Hat has become a near-perfect catalyst for a
silly kind of art project. It is the common denominator, the ice- breaker, the creator of things in common, and the conversa- tion starter.
space. The gallery works well in narrow corridors where the viewer can walk close to the images, inspect them carefully, and grin at the looniness of it all.
Few refuse the call of the Orange Hat. Most participate gladly and instinctively place the hat on the pate and pose willingly. Debate continues whether to let my subjects view the rogues gallery before posting. The jury is still out on that one and the experiment continues.
step 1. find a “high concept.” Find a galvanizing idea that will appeal to your friends and yield a set of images that are fun to compare. Maybe there is a physical stunt they can all do. An object or a prop is a good catalyst.
REQUIREMENTS
budget. Less than $50 for the gallery construction. WORKFLOW