Love story.

While I have spent most my time this past week peering into the lives of other people...I found myself thinking a lot about love today. It being Valentines Day and all that's not hard to do.

Back in September I found this video and wanted to share it again. Through all these survey responses I have been getting I have found some remarkable answers, answers that would have probably gone unheard of for a long time, if forever. This is a little story of two ordinary people, and someone to the time to listen.

Danny & Annie from StoryCorps on Vimeo.

Danny and Annie were married for 27 years, and this is their story.

A few blogs..

So a big part of my online life is this immense blog following I seem to have. I love catching up on all of the ones I follow, checking out cute things on etsy, inspiring room re-dos on design*sponge and peeking in on the lives of my favorite online families. It's funny how, for those in the blogging community, we start to feel a connection to these blogs. You become used to knowing whats going on, seeing new posts. It's like when your grandfather had to read the morning paper, similar concept.

The funny thing is how obsessed we become with people we don't know. Even the blogs that aren't about the author's life, their dialogue and commentary becomes a part of who they are, and in turn who you connect with.

I have been paying attention to some of the blogs I've been looking at lately to see which ones I have been drawing inspiration from for this project...some of my favorites are linked below...

What I Saw Today
hula seventy
Urban Weeds: Portland Street Style

Survey!

I decided in order to get an large amount of responses easily and in a short time (outside of the personal interviews I have been conducting) I would conduct a simple survey.

So far I am already loving the responses, the answers I am receiving have been great and very insightful. I'm pleased that people are so willing to share some intimate thoughts, meanwhile leaves me wondering if that is only due to its anonymity. Here is the survey, it is also available via facebook. If you felt like taking the time to take it I would appreciate it.

Thanks!

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world's leading questionnaire tool.

Vivian Maier, street photographer and nanny

I love a good story, and this is just that. Thousands and thousands of photographs found by a real-estate agent and some amazing work uncovered. It is not only the story of this particular individual that is relevant to the work I am doing, but all of her subjects as well. As a street photographer many of these photos must be of people she doesn't know. And if there are as many as they say there are then she certainly photographed hundreds of strangers each day. So when do they stop being strangers? Some of the photos they show in this short documentary are quite breathtaking and wonderful candid shots of life in her time. This woman is going to be living on through her photos, which she never even thought people knew about. It makes you wonder about all of the millions of others out there and what they are all doing they never thought people would ever know, or perhaps care, about.

Here is a link to the blog created in her name.
And a few of my favorite photos of hers.

Unreadable notes

Here is how my thought processes are going...not much drawing going on yet, but a lot of ideas scattered on paper.

I also recently spent a few hours in the library, mainly getting lost in the psychology section. Some titles I left with include "Culture and Self" and "Storied Lives" both giving me an interesting insight into these ideas. In addition to my research I plan on starting a survey to get a few varying opinions and answers to some questions outside of my individual interviews. I will post the link as soon as it is finalized.

Thoughts at the start

I am now the proud owner of not one but two blogs here in the blogger community! This one, contrary to my personal blog, however will serve as a collective for my final undergraduate project here at GVSU. I tend to think out-loud and talk in chaotic circles...so here is a chance to spill, read, and re-read, here is an insight into my thoughts as the project develops.

This piece is about people. The ordinary people, the everyday people, the idea that you come in contact with umpteen amounts of people in your lifetime and the lives they live. In comparison to that, the life you yourself are choosing to live. Your sense of self. Your identity. Your ego.

The definition of the term "Ego" is the attempt to mediate between Id (the Id being the inaccessible part of our personality) and reality. It employs defense mechanisms, creates self-esteem, memory, judgment, tolerance, and control. If you think about it, it creates who we are. It helps give us a "self-identity".

So what if we could caught a glimpse into the lives of individuals we don't know. Would we be surprised? Would we feel like we understood? I plan on creating, through research, interviews, photographs, drawings, a look into the lives of the individual. An intimate portrait. A layering of all the things that make us who we are, human, raw, and individual.

Oh so many thoughts...