this series of photos is something i thought of to try to help us pass the time more interestingly and productively. we took the teacher’s desk and put student desks on top so that i could get a better perspective on the classroom we spend our advisory time in. i shot the portraits with black and white film with a medium format camera– the mamiya 645. i had the boys choose how they wanted to be photographed. it actually was a pretty decent time.

peace.

i’ve been thinking about this image a lot lately. even though i was only 11 years old at the time, i remember trying to record this moment on a crappy tape.

i don’t really remember what i was thinking at the time. its a bit presumptuous to think that i actually thought anything grand…i mean, i also remember trying to record an audio tape of a match between Hulk Hogan and Macho Man Randy Savage on tv.

maybe what i was thinking was how impacting the images on the screen were. how do you, as a lone person stand up fearlessly against a tank? against a nation’s army and government? i consider myself a bit of a deviant, and a bit of a rebel (well, at least an angry person), who hates much of what the U.S. has come to represent, but i would definitely question whether i would have the courage and strength to stand up to a barrel of a gun, let alone a tank.

i remember seeing this person on tv. it was a pretty wide shot. i remember having fear for this person, and a bit of pride. he had the strength i wanted. he believed in something strong enough that he would be willing to stand down a group of tanks. he was Chinese. and yet just like many of the asians in the U.S. now, he is unknown. someone whose conviction forced him to stand up to an army, and we don’t even know his name. just like so many asians in the U.S. that have accomplished, suffered, realized, survived, activized, fought, won, lost, succeeded, marginalized, silenced, expressed, soared, represented, and loved, are unknown to most of us. even us who live within those communities.

because of all that’s been happening in China with Tibet, and even thinking now with how the U.S. is being run, represented, and dictated, i wonder at what point will the people who aren’t disillusioned or bought-in will start to stand up in empowerment against those who would have been abusing privilege and power in this country for so long.

in actuality, the more i think about it, i know people who are already doing that type of stuff, its a matter of making bigger statements. making statements that will resonate in people as has the “unknown rebel” image has.

peace.