Author: Sean Eve
I hope you enjoy the photo essays below. These represent the first piece of graded work submitted in one of my freshman writing classes, and are informed by both social media and the students’ residual assumptions about what is expected of academic writing. They were submitted approximately three weeks into the Fall semester and represent a range of levels of sophistication and confidence.
The first is Grace Allende’s piece, exploring mannequins and gender imperatives as she wanders the nearby streets of NYC.
The second is by Alex Palazzo and shares his experiences in the punk world. This piece uses archival materials and memory.
The third is by Angela Betancourt and investigates the personal cost of a creative life through portraits and interviews with New York City artists of many types.
Note: In transferring these files some minor changes in formatting occurred.
Check out the chick with the bright colors. Vibrant as fuck. That’s me!
Today I feel casual or maybe a little grey. So I put on an over-sized,
itchy sweater to suck me in and hide me from the rest of the world.
“She has skin as white as snow. Snow White is her name. She is wearing
more white on white. I just feel like throwing black paint on that shit.”
– Gabriella Hernandez
“Flawless. I want her confidence.”
– Salesworker at Strawberry
“She’s the first black mannequin I’ve ever seen. I wonder why?”
Melissa Coureau
I was going for professional. Not sexy. I want to be a woman
who is seen as an equal among her male colleagues.
Is this considered sexy? I am showing skin. Did I catch his attention? Does he like what he sees?
“They have the same hair and body. Conformity.”
– Rosalety Galea
“My mother died of Breast Cancer. It’s nice to know people care.”
– Salesworker at Forever 21
“It’s about time they made a better selection of clothes for bigger woman. We want to be fashionable too!”
– Terri Vanzo
“Does that say, ‘Follow your heart’? What a cliché!”
Ashley Arnold
“This Punk Shit is Cool…”
Alex Palazzo
SADIST, Boston
Their set began with 5 minutes of just guitar feedback while the singer played a rusty carpenter saw. It sounded peaceful almost, as if whales were singing. All of that ended shortly after the saw being played flew from the stage into a girl’s forehead. Her boyfriend rushed the stage and threw a punch at Ghost. which ended their set in a fight.
NICK, Los Angeles
“Dude, I can’t get hard anymore. I think I’ve been doing too much molly and ketamine with those hippies lately. I have erectile dysfunction and I’m 19. Isn’t that fucked?” he says after pulling yet another all-nighter fuelled by acid and an 8 ball, travelling from Clint Eastwood’s nose to his through a $1 bill. “Maybe I should stop doing drugs soon, I mean they’ve kind of fucked me over already. I don’t really know what I’m going to do with the rest of my life. I’m probably just gonna assassinate Donald Trump’s entire family and kill myself so I don’t have to join a gang when I spend the rest of my life in jail. Either that or I’ll start a cult with Ian and brainwash people and perform rituals in the woods for the rest of my life.”
STRIATIONS, Oakland
The thing I like most about going to shows is how you can see some of your favorite artists perform in a room no bigger than my dorm. I met Mike outside of Mata after his show and talked to him for a bit. He has one of the most gentle voices I’ve ever heard.
L.O.T.I.O.N., New York City
This was the show that brought me to New York in August. That, and to visit my girlfriend who was in New York at that time. Armed in tactical gear and a ghillie suit, the floor looked much more like the front lines of combat than a punk show. Halfway through the first song and one of the PA speakers toppled over on top of my newly purchased LP but only the sleeve got bent.
THIS IS BOSTON NOT L.A. KAM (right), Boston
Expressions used during Kam’s visit to Los Angeles: “What’s up little bro?” “Inhale the bullshit, exhale the bullshit. That’s what I always say anyway.” “Get a tattoo of a skull. Skulls are mad wicked sick.” “I’m from Boston! How’d you like to see the bottom of that dumpster bro?” “That weed you guys smoke out here is gonna rot your brain out. Trust me I used to smoke so much of that shit. Now I just stick to cigarettes and beer. Smoke so many of those things. I love ‘em. Tastes like poison!”
Creative Destruction – Deconstructed Couch – something is always lost, is it worth the cost? Are we willing to sacrifice everything for the sake of creativity? Do we have to?
Is creativity extreme?
Everyone wants to be an artist. It’s in, it’s hip, it’s “different.” (Since when is being different the norm?) Is it about being true to oneself or an attempt to fit into society in a cool, discreet way? Choosing to be different is nothing unique; you’ve become a member of the masses that tries for the sake of others.
I gave up 
Alex – Audience of 9
“I have a math test tomorrow… Can I borrow three bucks for the subway?”
Artists are slaves
Believe they’ll be free one day
Write lyrics that never reach the world, go to bed, and put on the same broken record the next day
Patiently strumming their guitar, the law will come to their rescue
Forget the book. Keep hitting that note, maybe they’ll hear you
I lost everything
Eva – confined within the walls of her canvas – speechless
“I was alone in a motel room in Vegas for two years working on my art. Shortly after, my husband filed for divorce.”
“I was rushed to the hospital after not eating for weeks.”
“I remember the old me… I put all of myself into my art, now there’s nothing left.”
Eva developed an emotional disorder at 26
Now she works beside an intern for 8 bucks an hour
Borderline personality, she tells me
Borderline genius, I think
The system is just fucked.
Do we have to paint to be artful? Isn’t creativity a quality we carry intrinsically? If we are artists, we must apply our artistry in all aspects of our lives. We must allow art to coexist with reality.
I’m a coward
Natasha – College graduate – opens bottles and legs for a living
“Art is becoming redundant. Every dance has been danced before.”
“My grandma thinks I’m a natural”
(she didn’t actually say these words, but her face screams it)
Doesn’t anyone have hobbies these days?
Art has always been always glorified. Now people take the “artsy” route as a lazy escape from reality.
Disappointed? Here’s a thought…
- Get an education in something other than “stylistic dance”
- Implement art programs you say lack funding
- Enlighten the “ignorants” you speak of on the therapeutic benefits of art and dance
- Change the shit you complain about every day and allow others to see the world through your lense
Does your intellect only extend so far as to bring drinks to the nearby table?
Are you dreamchasing if you’re wearing a lace bra and apron for extra tips?
Keep on keepin’ on
living in void
Julian – Highly Creative Brain Inside of a Psych ward
He gave his life to his lyrics, his soul to his drawings, his brain to his beats.
Drugs expand my mind.
Where are all these prized possessions now? In the dumpster or lost in the realm of cyber world.
Where is he now? Fresh out of the asylum, on his way to rehab.
Everyone is against me, no one understands.
Was it worth it man? Did the acid trip help you find your musical style?
What are you talking about? There’s nothing wrong with me.
We get it, you’re creative. Aren’t there other ways of expressing it? Are you limited to the direct action of creating, can you not be a part of the creative?
You’re all trapped within the system
What is normal? Who says I have to be a certain way? What is the truth? I’m living mine.
Stop trying to control me, my life. Leave me the fuck alone.
Creativity
Indebted my family more than I know
Pushed everyone away
Confined his brain
Stole him from me
He never felt accepted, an outsider in his mind.
I envied him, he had everything I didn’t.
My wants weren’t worthy. Rationality made me quit.
“Don’t go down the same path as him.” He took that from me.
I did not risk. I am not free. I am afraid.
Artists are out of the box, become trapped within their own abstractions.
When does creativity become destructive?
Life is safe in the box.