this site was created to stimulate conversation about hope. you may have found a polaroid with this website on the back, or happened upon it through the internet abyss. no matter. you are here. so please leave a comment and answer this: what gives you hope?
(to respond, click on "# comments" under the set of photos where you found the polaroid (or any entry) and share what gives you hope.)
17 October 2008
chicago
a friend and i hitch hiked from grand rapids to chicago earlier this week, giving each of our 7 rides a polaroid on the way, and one to our friends who gave us a place to rest our heads. once in the city, i posted these:
Today I found one of your polaroids. I was really excited that somebody had taped a polaroid to a news paper stand and had written "take me" on it. On the backside there is a small declaration but a question is asked, "What gives you hope?"
Well this art gives me hope. The fact that some people, in some place, are still motivated to create and love is enough to give me hope for something, although I'm not sure what.
Just wanting to love and enjoy life is really enough hope to get me through the day to day, I suppose. Great friends and great people help me get through it all.
I am aware of a hurting world where tragedy strikes daily. I can best articulate my response to these tragedies and my understanding of hope through finding colors and details with the camera. So, when a typically beige building displays a piece of street art, a scrap of ribbon lies on the sidewalk, or the grass presents a newly fallen treasure, I notice. When I recognize these aspects of life that are easily missed, I find a hope that I address in my art. Particularly through photography, I present images as a challenge for viewers to ponder their own hopes and to become more aware of their world. I remember being repulsed by the idea of always carrying my camera because I felt like in doing so, I would be stepping out of life rather than enjoying it fully. But since doing so, I have learned to see better. In this piece, I present these photographic explorations of hope. I call for others to see beauty in the ordinary and desire for this to spur them to change their world.
i am an artist striving to recover hope and beauty through photography, growing food, bartering, biking, living closely with community and as simply as i can.
the images that are taped around the world are fakes. i create polaroid looking images by assembling a printed image and white frame. this dimension brings me deeper into the project, making a greater connection to the work and those who find the polaroid. (admittedly, it did begin because polaroid film is so expensive. but ive chosen to continue it in this way. they are my hand made gifts to the world.)
do you want to participate in this polaroid community by taping polaroids wherever you are? email kelleyjordan@gmail.com with your mailing address so i can send you a package.
Today I found one of your polaroids. I was really excited that somebody had taped a polaroid to a news paper stand and had written "take me" on it. On the backside there is a small declaration but a question is asked, "What gives you hope?"
ReplyDeleteWell this art gives me hope. The fact that some people, in some place, are still motivated to create and love is enough to give me hope for something, although I'm not sure what.
Just wanting to love and enjoy life is really enough hope to get me through the day to day, I suppose. Great friends and great people help me get through it all.
I should add:
ReplyDeleteI found the polaroid in Grand Rapids, near Cherry Deli, while walking home from a delicious breakfast at Gaia.