of dislocation & graceful unravelling

my parents’ garden, 05.13.12 | selenographie

top: rhododendron bush, pear tree branch in foreground.

bottom, left to right: dianthus, dianthus, rhododendron.

Bonus smartypants trivia: the phrase “redd up” is of Scotch-Irish origin and is used in Jane Eyre, a piece of Important Classic Literature. I got so excited when I read it that I called my mom to tell her.

& bonus personal anecdotes:

1. I can’t wait ‘til I have a kid and my I’m-becoming-my-mother transformation is complete. My Pittsburgh accent isn’t as thick as hers because: I read books more often than I spoke as a kid; I got a lot of phrases corrected into submission by overbearing grammar dudes (“you’re forgetting something, SM… your helping verb! loop-de-doo!”); and I was embarrassed about my accent when I moved away from Pittsburgh. Now I’m often homesick and am accidentally-on-purpose cultivating a Southern drawl with Northern snappiness and holding onto my old slang terms while trying to assimilate new ones. HEY Y’ALL WHADDAYA MEAN YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT A GUMBAND IS, GEEZ-O-MAN!

2. At work I processed a dictation that was clearly from a Pittsburgher; they said n’at and I was so bummed that we have to transcribe in “proper” English so I had to type out “and that.” Ugh, blasphemy.

(Source: pittsburgh-sports, via champagnelikealady)

Myra Greene, from the series My White Friends.

My White Friends extends my 10-year exploration into photography’s description of race. This body of images explores the challenges of describing whiteness and assumptions about social circles. For this body of photographs I ask those close to me who identify as white about the qualities of their racial identity. These color images depict confidants, mentors and peers who have shaped my understanding of identity even though we have different racial profiles. They are attempts to image a racial category that has an intangible description. Some images are documents of my time with friends, others are performances of whiteness by the sitter, and then there are images in which I impose my own stereotypes of whiteness.

— from Myra Greene’s Kickstarter page

This series is amazing & it is all of my favorite things about photography: technically proficient, aesthetically pleasing, simplistic, and hella thought-provoking.

Here’s an article about Myra Greene on the New York Times. I was pretty blown away by the comments section. There are a number of problematic, face-palmy remarks, but overall, discussion is happening amongst people of different races/ethnicities and it is happening in a very respectful and not-so-snarky manner.

& I feel, like, totally overjoyed about that. First, because these important discussions are happening outside the “radical” subculture among “normal” people, and secondly because the discussions are not disintegrating into yr typical chaotically offensive Internet debate…

Aside: I have wavering feelings about the necessity and permissibility of rage when dealing with problematic shit — I mean I get it, anger is a valid and appropriate reaction to oppression, and it’s not the oppressed person’s job to be available 24/7 to teach people how not to be jerks. But I also get that I’ve most effectively learned about things from others and explained about things to others by avoiding sarcasm, snark, anger, and general haughtiness. I don’t know, for me, it comes down to constantly learning how to pick my battles.

In any case, here is art project that just says everything that needs to be said with a title, a statement paragraph, and a handful of pictures. A+

05.19.12 | selenographie

My little sis explained to me about BOBBY PINS. I brushed my hair for the occasion.

macfoto:

untitled on Flickr.

I shot the show differently tonight, partly because I remember one photographer whose work I saw a few years ago that was grittier b/w that I was really into and partly because Homestead Lanes is a really lame place to take photos so I didn’t want the environment to be apparent. If you don’t like it, buh, sorry.

Why Are We Building Such a Big Ship? @ the Secret Squirrel, Athens Ga, 11.29.08 | selenographie

Bwahhh cool! I photograph bands this way all the time because most venues make for apparently boring image-environments.

Great work!

(via recklesschants)

Alright, so usually IDGAF about GPOYs with ~famous people~, but I found this on my computer tonight and it’s silly & ridiculous & just ripe for the bloggin’.

This is a picture (credit: Amul Kumar) of me with my favorite singer, Dax Riggs, backstage at the Howlin’ Wolf in New Orleans, July 2004. I had just discovered his music a few months earlier via a dangerous mix CD from a crushboy in Pittsburgh, and made it my Personal Mission to find someone to road trip with me a thousand miles to see him play in a bar because These Things Are Important. My new, older boyfriend at the time agreed to this absurd excursion because if you can believe it I was once a Manic Pixie Dream Girl who knew How to Have a Good Time & I’m sure he relished the opportunity to ~teach~ me about How to Have Sex in Hotels and Other, Sneakier Places.

In any case, after the show, I interviewed Dax for my zine and, like, nearly died. This interview is still on the Internet (?!) and I’m like, nearly dying. (If you click through, please note that, again, I was 20 & coming off a Serious Artistic/Existential Crisis & could often be found at shows shoving a tape recorder in strangers’ faces and asking them to define “what punk means to you” and “what is the role of the Artist in society?” WHATEVER.)

Noteworthy Self-Indulgent Moments of this Photo Include:

- You can tell I am hella nervous because arms crossed & forgetting to cover my teeth when I smile.

- I might’ve been drunk.

- Scally cap & plaid because this was during my Irish Punx phase because Dropkick Murphys and validating my watered-down broke-ass ~heritage~.

- Short skirt, y’know, just in case.

- OMG why did I ever get all these tattoos.

I FOUND SOME ARTWORK THAT I MADE IN HIGH SCHOOL, FEATURING A PICTURE OF WHAT I LOOKED LIKE IN HIGH SCHOOL.

1999 Y’ALL.

what is a blog anyway.

Ruth Street, Athens GA, 05.05.12 | selenographie

Sonny Vincent & the Bad Reactions at Spillage House, Athens GA, 05.04.12 | selenographie

Usually I’m not partial to (and would rarely post) such blurry photos, but I guess in this case it is appropriate considering ~punk rock~ and a need to document. These were taken while they were singing “MK Ultra,” my favorite Testors song.

Lauren E. Simonutti: Resume

Lauren E. Simonutti, 1968, USA, passed away last week due to complications from her illness. On March 28th, 2006 she started hearing voices and was diagnosed with “rapid cycling, mixed state bipolar with schizoaffective disorder”. She felt she was going mad and spent her last years almost in isolation. She turned the camera on herself and the space she was living in. She has left us with an impressive, honest and strong body of work. With her photographs she gave a voice to those that suffer in isolation.

“Over (five) years I have spent alone amidst these 8 rooms, 7 mirrors, 6 clocks, 2 minds and 199 panes of glass. And this is what I saw here. This is what I learned. I figure it could go one of two ways - I will either capture my ascension from madness to as much a level of sanity for which one of my composition could hope, or I will leave a document of it all, in the case that I should lose.”

(via 500 Photographers)