Jack

The meeting with Jack in August of 2009, to photograph and interview him, was one of the most successful sessions I’ve experienced to date with the project.

There was a small skylight in the roof of his apartment, and the light that came through it moved across the kitchen while we conducted the interview until it was centered on floor when the time came to shoot the photos.  We positioned a small futon cushion, a plush green blanket and Jack under the beam from the skylight, and the results are below.

Although Jack didn’t want his face to be shown, I feel that the photo works.  I have had no desire to re-shoot, neither for technical reasons nor for the content of the image itself.  I am interested to hear your  impression of it.

In the interview, you will hear quite a bit.  Jack is smart and funny with much to tell about his life and process.

As I listen again to the recordings, I am struck how the major points of his story seemed to have been in pairs. He talks about his two parents, two colleges, two psychiatrists, to name a few. Within these pairs, the elements seemed, at times, to be opposite one other, like black and white, yin and yang, leading to an apparent search for balance, which can be seen in the tattoo.

In keeping with the theme of pairs, Jack’s ink-work represents two major stages of his life, a tattoo within a tattoo, one story that holds another, all in balance.

You can hear about it here — Interview:
Part 1