I accidentally fell in love with tumblr, and have been giving a lot of my attention to http://thevest.tumblr.com/
As I have been considering how to deal with this website, and this blog, it has all become neglected. In the next few weeks everything should be back in order, while I will continue to keep The Vest running strong, I will also properly maintain this blog, and update the portfolio side of things with new (and newish) work.
I swear.
I love this photograph. I love this stunt. I love the idea of the success of failure. Obviously this stunt was designed to play out exactly as we see it in this photograph, a complete, wonderful disaster. Although taken here to an extreme and dangerous level, it is nice to see such a forward example of embracing failure.
When I was in grade school I used to perform my own version of this stunt on my bike for my classmates—by jamming my foot in between the fork and the front wheel and then leaping over the bars. Maybe, subconciously, my audience appreciated the contradiction that made my trick so entertaining, but I imagine they were just like little NASCAR fans hoping to see me bust my ass.
Failure is not necessarily bad and I’d say that unless someone is getting hurt or set on fire or ruining motorcycles (and somtimes even then), it is a positive thing. It is too easy to get completely wrapped up in the bullshit of perfecting details to the point where something never gets finished. I’m getting to the point where I’d rather just drive into a van.
Note: If you know the provenance of this image please let me know.
Initially I thought I was going to make a project that would be some funny but small sliver of the Canadian identity. Touque (or toque or tuque) being both one of the first Canadian words that I learned and a very common one at that, I figured it was a good place to start. At the end of every winter day I spent in a touque, I was going to photograph its impact on my hair.
Unfortunately, rather than a clever self-reflective social comment it turned into a question of how long it would take me before I cut my hair.
Toronto, 2007
People only deserve as much privacy as they can muster between the time I decide to take their photograph, and when I actually make said photograph.