The Discomfort of Strangers
I'm a blonde again...yay! But that's not really the point of this entry. If there is a point in the first place.
I went to Thousand Oaks yesterday to see my friend Ryan in a show (The Scarlet Pimpernel). I might as well have driven to Nebraska, it was so far. Anyway, I never really liked that show, but this was a very good production, nonetheless. Kevin Bailey, who played Scar in "The Lion King" both in New York and L.A. was in it, and I got to meet him afterward and hang out for a bit. Regardless of how humble and down to earth he was, I couldn't help but be a little star-struck. But that aside- me, Ryan, and my friend Karen ended up going to a deli down the street after the show. We ended up sitting there and talking for about 3 hours. I don't know what it is...I have a lot of friends, and a lot of them I feel very close to...but certain friends, when I get together with them...it feels like coming home. Ryan and Karen are definitely two of those friends. I literally could have sat there all night. They are truly amazing, and I am blessed to have them in my life.
Moving on, I have found myself as of late exploring and discovering all kinds of new things. It's a little mind-boggling, because I feel myself being pulled in so many different directions. There are so many things out there to learn about and it seems, not enough time to learn it all. My mind is constantly being stimulated. I've been reading a lot about music, art, poetry and photography...suddenly I want to be an expert in all fields. Problem is, I don't know how to play an instrument...I can't even draw a good stick figure...poetic I am not, and I don't even own a real camera (I buy disposables).
I was reading an article about a photographer by the name of Diane Arbus. She committed suicide in 1971 by slitting her wrists and taking barbituates. She died fully dressed in her bathtub. She had a reputation as a photographer of "freaks"- which she hated. She was quoted as saying, "Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They've already passed their test in life. They're aristocrats." And also, "Everybody has this thing where they need to look one way but they come out looking another way and that's what people observe. You see someone on the street and essentially what you notice about them is the flaw. It's just extraordinary that we have been given these peculiarities. And, not content with what we were given, we create a whole other set. Our whole guise is like giving a sign to the world to think of us in a certain way, but there's a point between what you want people to know about you and what you can't help people knowing about you." I just thought that was brilliant. She was brilliant. And if you could see some of her work....wow. Very poetic, sad and beautiful. You can look at her subjects and feel like you know their entire life stories- just from one still photograph. And I thought, that is so amazing. To be able to relate to your subjects so closely that they literally open their lives up to you. The level of trust they had with her is mind-blowing. She photographed a couple from a nudist colony in their home. A man by the name of Irving Penn once asked how she got the nude photographs. "Do you think she's nude herself? Has a Rolleiflex hanging between her bosoms?" (She did.) Anyway, after reading the article, I instantly wanted to be a photographer. Not just any photographer, but a photographer like Diane Arbus. She was a phenomenal human being, and her suicide is such a tragedy. I wish I had known her...I've always believed I was born too late or too soon.
I went to Thousand Oaks yesterday to see my friend Ryan in a show (The Scarlet Pimpernel). I might as well have driven to Nebraska, it was so far. Anyway, I never really liked that show, but this was a very good production, nonetheless. Kevin Bailey, who played Scar in "The Lion King" both in New York and L.A. was in it, and I got to meet him afterward and hang out for a bit. Regardless of how humble and down to earth he was, I couldn't help but be a little star-struck. But that aside- me, Ryan, and my friend Karen ended up going to a deli down the street after the show. We ended up sitting there and talking for about 3 hours. I don't know what it is...I have a lot of friends, and a lot of them I feel very close to...but certain friends, when I get together with them...it feels like coming home. Ryan and Karen are definitely two of those friends. I literally could have sat there all night. They are truly amazing, and I am blessed to have them in my life.
Moving on, I have found myself as of late exploring and discovering all kinds of new things. It's a little mind-boggling, because I feel myself being pulled in so many different directions. There are so many things out there to learn about and it seems, not enough time to learn it all. My mind is constantly being stimulated. I've been reading a lot about music, art, poetry and photography...suddenly I want to be an expert in all fields. Problem is, I don't know how to play an instrument...I can't even draw a good stick figure...poetic I am not, and I don't even own a real camera (I buy disposables).
I was reading an article about a photographer by the name of Diane Arbus. She committed suicide in 1971 by slitting her wrists and taking barbituates. She died fully dressed in her bathtub. She had a reputation as a photographer of "freaks"- which she hated. She was quoted as saying, "Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They've already passed their test in life. They're aristocrats." And also, "Everybody has this thing where they need to look one way but they come out looking another way and that's what people observe. You see someone on the street and essentially what you notice about them is the flaw. It's just extraordinary that we have been given these peculiarities. And, not content with what we were given, we create a whole other set. Our whole guise is like giving a sign to the world to think of us in a certain way, but there's a point between what you want people to know about you and what you can't help people knowing about you." I just thought that was brilliant. She was brilliant. And if you could see some of her work....wow. Very poetic, sad and beautiful. You can look at her subjects and feel like you know their entire life stories- just from one still photograph. And I thought, that is so amazing. To be able to relate to your subjects so closely that they literally open their lives up to you. The level of trust they had with her is mind-blowing. She photographed a couple from a nudist colony in their home. A man by the name of Irving Penn once asked how she got the nude photographs. "Do you think she's nude herself? Has a Rolleiflex hanging between her bosoms?" (She did.) Anyway, after reading the article, I instantly wanted to be a photographer. Not just any photographer, but a photographer like Diane Arbus. She was a phenomenal human being, and her suicide is such a tragedy. I wish I had known her...I've always believed I was born too late or too soon.