Like most of the south and east coast, we were iced in for a week. In Tennessee, we don’t remotely have the infrastructure to deal with winter storms. While I’m thankful to have a week home with my family, a slow building anxiety crept up…
I came home from my first day at the office on Monday and just felt terrible. I couldn’t figure out why I was so on edge. Nothing particularly bad happened at the museum, just lots and lots of chipping and shoveling ice. I sometimes find my consciousness and my subconsciousness at war with each other.
The previous week at home was full of hot chocolate and chicken nugget lunches with the kids… but also the terror and murder in Minneapolis. It took until yesterday to realize that I watched January 6th happen while glued to my phone just five years prior. All of the same feelings of powerlessness and anger washed over me for days. If the rule of law isn’t observed by those in power, who will save us? What will we do when there is a knock at our door?
On a lighter note, I was asked by musician and friend LOLO to make a few portraits for her upcoming tour. I haven’t taken on a commission in ages, so it is nice to put the camera to work again. I look back on the last 15 years of making photos and music videos for my artist friends and am thankful for their trust.
When I gave Lauren the photos, she said her favorite thing was looking like herself. Maybe that is an odd thing to say, but I find it deeply important that people look real and living. I want to see an earned wrinkle from years of laughter. I want to feel like I’m seeing a human and not a painted, plastic figure.
Thanks for reading. If I can make a picture for you, feel free to reach out.
-Aaron