Final Project: As They Are

NICHOLAS

''I love cigarettes. I love tobacco in general. I equally love music. Listening to music, playing and writing music. Improvisational jam sessions are by far my favorite. So essentially, nothing could describe me better than these pictures. I like tobacco because I think it’s delicious, and it relaxes me; it is also beneficial in the social aspect of things. It also enhances certain aspects of my life without making it too unmanageable, for now at least. In the words of Maude from the movie ‘Harold and Maude’, “music is the cosmic dance. Everyone should play an instrument whether or not they know technically how.”

ANNIE

"Sarah took these pictures of me because it's where I feel the most comfortable. I have a very childish bedroom and if it were not for the vanity and make-up, you would think it belonged to a 5th grader. I've always loved cosmetics; it's a way of expressing yourself and how you feel."

JAMES

"We are all born a blank canvas, interchangeable with any other of our species. As we move through life, we experience both external and internal struggle, and I feel it is fitting that one’s outward appearance to the world should reflect one’s inner struggle. When I was young, I never felt like I fit into the mainstream of people my age. While other kids were off playing baseball, I was the one drawing or listening to music. Over the years, I decided that social acceptance was not all there is to life, and I chose to accentuate my looks and craft a style that I liked, and not one I felt was necessarily what was popular."

REBECCA

"I chose to be photographed in the library because it is the greatest source of peace and joy for me, a place most representative of my personality. I had a special copy of Alice in Wonderland with me at the photo shoot, given to me by my Portuguese-speaking grandmother; she used to read such books in order to help her learn English. Reading is my favorite pastime and to be surrounded by stacks upon stacks of literature and information is inspiring and comforting for me. I aspire to be a librarian."

BRENDEN

''I chose to have my picture taken near the river because I have always found that "spot" very peaceful. The old paddock under the tenth street bridge has always been a place I have gone to read and relax. The area surrounding the paddock, Riverview Park, has a unique blend of urban and natural environments. I dichotomy of concrete structures surrounded by trees.''

EMILY

''I love fashion, and I'm addicted to shopping. The setting of the photos is in the store Avalon Exchange which has a unique style. I've always loved putting outfits together and experimenting with fashion.''

BATES

"We are all confronted as adolescents with the decision of how to live our lives, which path to choose and how we will provide for ourselves as well as contribute to our society. In so doing, we choose which role we play in the overall experience of the human race. A lofty way of looking at things, to be sure, yet one I feel is valid. A student could aspire to be the first human to set foot on another planet. A child could aspire to be a president, a single person chosen to lead an entire nation into the future and to protect it from itself. In much the same way, one could choose to be an artist, one of only a handful charged with the task of recording and expressing what exactly it means to be human. All forms of art have always been, and will continue to be, one of the only aspects of how we live our lives that is impossible to automate; no machine could have painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel or could have carved Rodin’s “The Thinker”. Art is the last bastion of human ingenuity that will forever be safe from the onslaught of technological advancement, and for this reason it should be cherished for exactly what it is: tangible evidence that we were alive, that we thought."