This is what it feels like to live in New York City. Everybody is somebody here (or at least trying to be somebody), so nobody gives a shit who you are. To survive here, you have to be constantly moving forward in life. If you’re not giving it your all, then you’re falling behind. At least that’s how this city feels to me, and I’ve crafted this image to reflect those feelings.
This image has been marinating in my brainpan for months. I came up with the idea for this shot shortly after the NSA leaks broke out last year. However, I wasn't able to find a suitable setting to serve as its backdrop until this past June. Furthermore, until these past few weeks, I've had neither the time, nor the resources to develop this picture to its completion.
For me, this image represents one of America's biggest fears – that our government is secretly recording us from the shadows, all the while pretending to be our white knights in shiny suits. Or that, even worse, the Chinese government is recording our every move (you know, because I’m Asian American and all) while watching us from the shadows. This work touches upon one of the reoccurring motifs in the World of One: how we as a society are constantly watching each other, all the while we are constantly being watched ourselves.
A very special thanks to the very beautiful and patient Princess Yen Norah Lo for assisting me on this shoot!!!
"Good luck seldom walks in pairs, but bad luck never walks alone" - Chinese Proverb
One of my favorite philosophical questions to ponder is: "How can I tell if the reality I'm seeing is real?" That is, how can we tell the difference between the reality we see before us and a convincing illusion? As an artist, this is a question that I often allude to in my work, particularly in regards to the authority we give photographs over how we perceive the world around us.
Illusions of Progress is inspired by the feeling of being not quite sure if your efforts are paying off.
Photographed on a chilly weekend morning in January, I think this is both one of my best and worst photographs. From the technical standpoint, there is nothing "correct" about this picture. Nothing is in proper focus, it's crooked, and the guy on the far left is cut off through his eye. But, of my photos that make use of this composition, I think Illusions of Progress is one of the most successful.
The shot was taken in Manhattan's Chinatown, on Courtlandt Alley, a street that nobody seems to notice except for the occasional delivery truck driver. I picked this spot because I got kicked out of my first choice in location, which happened to be next to a funeral parlor. I had to regroup ten minutes into the shoot when several parked cars started flooding my frame by 8:00am on a Sunday (man, do I feel sorry for that guy's family!). In terms of composing the collage, this was one of the most difficult pictures I've undertaken. Anytime I have black and white figures mixing into a grey scale like this, deciding where each different character should go becomes very complicated. Having many of the figures in the image that are out of focus also made it very difficult to tell where the silhouette of one suit ended and another began. I think my efforts have paid off, however, as I have achieved an atmospheric and moody image that, to me, is reminiscent of film noir (that is, if you were to mix film noir with the Matrix). I love film noir, so, whatever — I'll take it!
Thanks to the lovely Yen Norah Lo for assisting me on another early morning shoot before a workday!!!
Just in time for Chinese New Year!!! Glory of Shame was photographed on Manhattan’s historic Doyer Street and in front of the oldest dim sum restaurant in New York, Nom Wah Tea Parlor. I had to wake up early…oh so early… one Sunday morning in order to get to Chinatown before the hordes of Chinese families arrived to lay claim to their dim sum. According to Wikipedia, Doyer Street used to be called the "Bloody Angle" due to the number of triad-related slayings that took place there in the early 20th century. According to my girlfriend, Doyer Street is also lined with barbershops because this is where the Americans used to cut off the long braids of incoming Chinese immigrants (citation needed).
My intention for this image was to show the contrast between glory/success and shame/defeat. Creatively, I was concerned with the challenge of visually conveying a sense of shame, and this is why I placed the “shame character” so prominently in my frame. Shame is something I have been thinking about a lot recently because it is something I feel like I live with every day. While I'm surrounded by successful friends who have all started promising careers, I find myself now five years out of school, still jobless, and struggling to survive. While I know that I intentionally chose to walk this path, it's still hard for me to shake off the feeling that my life's opportunities have already passed me by. Having to live off my family's support, in particular, is a source of both shame and pride for me. I feel guilty because I feel like I should be able to support myself by now, but I also feel pride because I know how lucky I am. It is because I have a family that supports me that I can make the kind work that I want to make.
This picture is dedicated to all my friends and family currently going through some hard times. Even though times are tough, we must continue to move forward and find our own paths to glory.
A very special thanks to the beautiful Yen Norah Lo, for waking up at 5:00am to assist me on this shoot before going to work!
“Looks like you’re waiting for something to fall out of the sky…like your future!” – Martin Bell
Hopeful Despair is the twelfth image I made in 2013 for the World of One series, thereby completing my goal of making one World of One image a month for the year. This means that in 2013 I made more World of One pictures than I did in any previous year. Although, at times, focusing all my energy on one project has been stifling, I have enjoyed the continuing challenge of pushing my creativity and finding different approaches to this subject matter. In 2014 I’m hoping to make even more World of One pictures, and, with some luck, even surpass my 2013 achievements.
Like many of the images in this body of work, the idea for this picture was marinating in my brain pan for months before I ever got around to shooting it. While the photo was shot around Thanksgiving, December proved to be an insanely busy month for me. Between work picking up at both my internships and a family vacation around Christmas time, I had little time to devote to my craft.
Readers who have been following this body of work over the years may have noticed that the style of the composition in Hopeful Despair is similar to the composition in some of my previous images, such as Focus, and Invictus. The positions of the black and white figures in Hopeful Despair, however, have been inverted from the positions in those older compositions. This time the dark suit is in the center, surrounded by a crowd of white-suited figures.
As the title of the image implies, the central themes I wanted to express in the making of this picture were that of hope and despair. Despite the overwhelming representation of despair (that is, the figures in white) in the image, I believe the real focus of the picture is that of hope (that is, the sole figure in black). I chose to photograph the image in this fashion in part because my personality tends to lean towards pessimism, but also because I think it more accurately illustrates my personal experiences with finding hope. In my life, I often can’t see hope until I’ve been totally overwhelmed, and feel like I’ve hit rock bottom. It is only then that those elusive rays of hope become the most valuable.
Special thanks to Coco Philly Kevin Lim for assisting me with this shoot on such a blisteringly cold day!!!
The internet is not a good place to see this image. Indeed, I think I will be hard pressed to find any place that will be suitable to show it. At exhibition size, it measures in at 24 x 120 inches – which is long, absurdly long.
Diligentia II, the image I’m sharing today, was shot way back in August -- on the same day I shot Somnium. Though it normally doesn’t take me two months to produce a new image, my personal work has been moving at a glacial pace since September. Though I’m pleased to announce that I have begun internships with two of my photography heroes, Mary Ellen Mark and Platon, between the time I spend interning throughout the week, and my busy travel schedule, I have been struggling to find time to develop my own personal work.
My pictures usually begin with some notes in my sketchbook, which I always take notes in, but in which I almost never make sketches. Sometimes I have a clear image in my mind of what I want to make, but I have no idea what that image means. Other times I have the title of the picture scribbled on a piece of paper, but no idea how I want it to look. In the case of the image being presented today, I had a clear idea of how I wanted it to look, but I had no idea if it had any intellectual depth. Whenever I come across these situations, I always err on the side of creation, and make the picture anyway. I assume that if the picture looks interesting enough, the meaning will float up from my subconscious through the process of creation.
Girlfriend says (as she points at my yellow socks): “It bothers me!”
This is my 100th blog post! While I’d like to celebrate this milestone with shameless debauchery on an epic scale, it instead looks like I’ll have to settle for buying lunch and unveiling my latest creation.
Odysseus’ Rock was shot the same day as The Paradox of Choice, and was actually photographed just a little further up the street. Originally I had wanted to shoot a photo with all the figures in line and staring straight into the camera, with the central figure looking away. However, when I arrived at the scene, I decided to put that plan in reverse in order to better suit the setting.
Completed in just 18 hours, with only 13 frames collaged into the final picture, this was much easier to put together than Paradox of Choice. In many respects, I think it is also the more successful of the two, particularly because I enjoy looking at it more.
I got the idea for the title after reading this line from the Odyssey’s Wikipedia page, under the paragraph about the Character of Odysseus:
“Odysseus’ name means ‘trouble’ in Greek, referring to both the giving and receiving of trouble—as is often the case in his wanderings.”
While that might not be exactly accurate, reading this made me feel like I could identify with the way in which Odysseus is troubled by his lack of a sense of security. For Odysseus, the ultimate goal is to get home, a place of safety and comfort. Similarly, I am also searching for a means of comfort and security, albeit the financial kind.
When I look at this picture, I think it illustrates my feelings of being unemployed and searching for a better solution. The figures are surrounded by prosperity, but they are marooned on a rock and looking for a way out.
Thanks again to Jenn Boudreau for assisting me with this image!
Earlier this year, my brother introduced me to Sergio Leone's classic gangster film Once Upon a Time in America, which tells the story of a New York City street gang during the Great Depression. When I arrived in Brooklyn, my brother sent me on a mission to find this area, and specifically this shot, which was used for the movie poster. This is probably one of the most photographed areas of Brooklyn; in fact, if you look at it on Google street view, you can see a whole gallery of images from people who submitted their own shots of the intersection at Washington and Water Street. It was extraordinarily difficult to get a clean shot of the background, as there was a constant stream of tourists walking into my frame. There even was an Asian couple that was literally in 3/4 of my shots, who I've magically erased with Photoshop.
I recently watched the Matrix trilogy again because my girlfriend had never seen it (forgive her, she's a bit of a FOB). This time, I paid extra attention to all the scenes featuring multiple Agent Smiths. Usually one of the first things people say when they see my World of One collection is, "oh, it's like the Matrix!" So I thought it was appropriate to study up on my doppelganger imagery. The composition and placement of the figures in The Paradox of Choice was inspired by the last shot in the playground scene from the Matrix Reloaded. In this scene, Neo flies off after fighting with the small platoon of Agent Smiths, and the camera cuts to the crowd of Smiths staring at the flying Neo before slowly walking off in disappointment. I originally tried to replicate that shot by placing a central white figure close to the camera and looking up, with a central dark figure looking at him. They didn't work too well with the rest of the figures in the photo, so, in the end, I decided to take them out.
For me, this image illustrates my search for success. I keep trying to walk forward, but I can't help but look back. It doesn't matter which side path I choose, they all seem to head towards the same final destination. While there are rays of hope here and there, for the most part I still have to walk through the darkness to get to where I'm going.
Special thanks to honorable pusher of buttons Jenn Boudreau for assisting me with this image!
Girlfriend says: "Looks like Darwin!!!"
I'm alive! Apologies to my regular readers for the lack of recent updates. In my move to Brooklyn this past June, I did something I have never done since the conception of this blog: I went over a month without any updates whatsoever. When I first arrived in New York, there was a period of about a month when I wasn't shooting anything, and was instead trying to find my bearings/frantically looking for work. When I finally emerged from the chaos that had become my life, I shot this picture. It is titled Diligentia, which is the Latin word for persistence. Though I'm slowly beginning to feel more settled in my new surroundings and things are starting to get better, back at the end of July, when I shot this picture, I still felt like it was me against the world. Everything in this city is loud, confusing, and crowded, and I was feeling somewhat lost and fatalistic. In order to force myself to take action and be productive, I kept telling myself that I had to get out and forge my own opportunities.
My goal for this picture is to illustrate those feeling -- of trying to find the motivation to push forward, past my fears and into the unknown. That being said, I actually don't think this picture is very successful. Instead, it occupies this grey area in which I don't think it's awful but I wouldn't necessarily want to look at it all day. I feel like it's lacking all elements that make the other images in the World of One interesting. It's hard to tell that they are all the same guy walking in the street, and there's no sense of depth or distance in the picture. Though I think the idea is good, the execution is not. I felt very indecisive during the shooting of this photo, in a large part due to not having had a very clear vision of the final product in my mind. The idea was to have a group of the guys in black tapering off into the sunlight (thus creating a gradient of values), and to have the white figure in the middle of the darkest part of the group. But during the shoot I couldn't decide where I wanted to place everything, so instead of a crowd of black suits I ended up with something looking more like a line.
Shit.
In any event, after failing at my first photoshoot in my new city, I felt fantastically motivated to get out and redeem myself. "I was bound to fail at some point," I kept saying to myself, "it might as well have been sooner than later." So the week after I shot this photo, I went back out and shot two more pieces for the World of One. Just from looking at the contact sheets, I can tell that they will be much better. I will be posting them up in the next few days so you can all judge for yourselves.
My buddy Dave (who regularly assists me as "Honorable Pusher of Buttons" on my World of One shoots), asked me recently if I’d be interested in turning him into a Popping Monster. While I am much less familiar with the intricacies of Popping than I am with Breaking, I was up for the challenge and excited to venture into new territory. Dave also insisted on making a behind the scenes video of the entire operation, which I’ve included here as well. Hope you guys enjoy!
