4000 Photographs All The Same

But not really.

Watched the film ‘Smoke’ recently and enjoyed it immensely. A quite wonderful, thoughtful, engrossing, human piece of work, seemingly about nothing much in particular, revolving as the central narrative does around the comings and goings of the proprietor and clientele of a New York cigar shop, yet ultimately, through its various episodes, about the great value of relationships and human interaction, expertly played by Harvey Keitel, William Hurt, Forrest Whittaker et al. Just a great, slow-burning, deeply rewarding film I’d recommend is well worth anyone’s time.

Although not a smoker myself, I can appreciate and identify with the circumstances of being partial to the quiet, reflective consumption of a cigar, either alone or in company, being disposed towards the leisurely and contemplative enjoyment of a glass of red wine or otherwise a pot of tea in similar circumstances.

One element of the film is of particular interest to myself, as an artist, especially concerned with the processes of making work, and features the project being carried out by the proprietor of the cigar shop during the course of pursuing his hobby as an amateur photographer which, incidentally, he regards as defining himself more essentially than does what he does, or is seen to do (i.e. pass merchandise across a counter in exchange for and receipt of money), on an everyday basis.
Anyway, to the project itself. Each day, at the same time (8 am), he mounts his camera at the same street corner spot, establishing the same view of the opposite corner, and takes a single photograph. To the untrained eye, all the pictures - over 4,000 in total - look the same by virtue of their architectural aspect, but, of course, each of the photographs is in fact unique, rendered so by its incidental details - seasonal, weather, light, human presence and activity or, indeed, absence of - and time spent looking through the albums, studying the sequences of photographs contained within, rewards the viewer with such a revelation as to their differences and individuality.
I love the concept of this project, it's such an admirable one, exploring the 'never-changing, ever-changing' nature of life, people and things in such a simple but effective and poignant way: it’s most certainly something to be filed away for future reference, with perhaps a view to undertaking a similar endeavour as and when circumstances may be propitious for doing so.

There's also another little incident during the course of the film which tickles my creative fancy. One of the characters - who has already been exposed as disguising his given name - introduces himself to another as bearing the name of the last person he has enjoyed any significant interaction with. This act of reinvention poses an intriguing question: could one assume such an endeavour as a viable creative project? Might it be possible to assume the name of, e.g, the last person one has met and also either their character or otherwise create one, distinct from that person's and one's own, around that name, and to do so convincingly? I'm imagining this project to take place in the real world, among the world of everyday relations, rather than, for instance, in cyberspace, over the interweb, where it's quite possible to create an alternative personality or tailor the representation of one's character towards a particular aspect of it. Much food for thought, anyway.