Afternoon in our neighborhood

Light, life, love.

Happy World Photography Day!

Tribute to the unknown artist

I got a box, a big one and I glued colored pieces of paper on it to make it look nicer. I think that’s how it started.

We put the box on the desk and we collected all the pictures, both finished and half way done. If anyone asked for their picture we would give it to them, but more often than not no one claimed anything and the pictures would just lay there by the window for days after they had dried. So we collected and put them in the box hoping that they would come back to get them. We waited for days, weeks and the piles of paper were getting bigger and bigger. At some point the big box I had made started to look small.

Some of the pictures were put up on the walls for everyone to see and admire. These were the ones that had been signed. But what about the rest? What about all those other pictures belonging to the unknown artists that left them behind?

I took it upon myself to be the curator of these works. I chose the ones that were, without a doubt, made by children and I selected the pictures that were made intentionally (as opposed to spills or the papers that kids used to wipe their hands). I bent the intentionality rule just slightly to make room for serendipity. I gave them titles and tried to offer them a proper tribute.

This project has given me the opportunity to contemplate. I found great delight in the few seconds I held each one on the wall and shot. I found great comfort in the though that they will never be forgotten.