These objects represent a cross section of my professional interests, my life history via historical objects, and my own OCD tendencies to hoard camera equipment. Some objects encompass all three of these categories while others simply represent my esoteric nature. For me, collecting inspirational objects has been a joy for at least 20 years, and occasionally, a problem if I collect TOO many objects (it’s happened a couple of times...). It turns out I have a hard time parting with objects that I love, especially if the object holds no real value or purpose other than being ‘Cool’.
To the people that know me best, it is no secret to what I have laying around my desks and workspaces and I am continuously eager to start a conversation about the things that students and coworkers can see. From Lego Car kits to vinyl albums and rock and roll concert posters to baseball cards. It’s a plethora of antiquities and personalized junk. I know that on occasion, I have put certain objects out to see what kind of reaction I can get from my students and co-workers. I once had a taxidermic squirrel sitting on a log holding a large walnut on the corner of my desk. It was the ultimate conversation starter and it worked like a charm. I named the squirrel Nutty. I miss him.
In my current workspace, objects are not arranged Willy-Nilly as almost everything is on display to inspire, to be picked up and used, and or both. The objects in my space are always curated, so there wasn’t much of any surprise about what I found. These days, I adore analog cameras and I have spent the last 25 years collecting them from a variety of stores, antique shops, and from friends. It is always funny to me that when people see a camera collection, they realize that they have an old camera that is taking up space in their attic/basement and 9 times out of 10, they ask if they can add it to the collection. I almost always say yes.
My collection of art and photography tools let my students know that I am ready to be creative and to make art happen. With antique cameras and Inuit block prints, bystanders will see that I take inclusion in art AND photography very seriously. My Boba Fett painting lets them know how old I am as it is from a small artist in Chicago who has been making block paintings for a number of years using characters from those born in the early-70's to the late-70’s. Almost all of Generation X loves identifying with the cultural icons of their youth. For me, my most interesting items are the Henry Napartuk prints (I inherited them from my grandparents who had a strange yet cohesive love of folk art) and my classic antique cameras, specifically the Kodak Pocket Camera #1A. Released as one of the first consumer cameras on the market, you can still buy film for the camera and take photos, more than 115 years after it went on sale. Pretty rad indeed....
As an educator, my collection of stuff shows off a few things about me that I hope shine through just by their physical presence in my space alone:
1. I like to spend time on the creation of things (Lego’s)
2. I haven’t forgotten where I came from (antiuque cameras)
3. I am up on modern photography (Aperture, Aesthtica, etc. Magazines)
4. Lenses are an important piece of the photography equation
