"I took the picture of Kelly's butt, I saw she was naked and I took it."
October 22, 2002 9:18 AM   Subscribe

"I took the picture of Kelly's butt, I saw she was naked and I took it." Theresa King, Photographer, Age 5.
posted by pedantic (17 comments total)
 
six year old Sean Choi took some interesting pictures, I like the one with the shadow silhouettes.
posted by dabitch at 9:23 AM on October 22, 2002


..here.. I like his quote about it being hard work too. My he takes it seriously. Might be a pro soon. *grin*
posted by dabitch at 9:26 AM on October 22, 2002


is it just me or are most of these "artists" not all that unique? i would think that even given their ages, their shots would require better composition and lighting to make it on this site... guess not.
posted by adamms222 at 9:32 AM on October 22, 2002


It struck me as funny that one girl took photos of her toys and said they reminded her of home, while another girl took photos of her family. My favorites were from the jewish boy, Isroel Freeman. Great portraits from a 14 year old.
posted by Hall at 9:34 AM on October 22, 2002


I always find these kinds of projects fascinating. It really does give you a fresh perspective on the everyday life of those kids.
posted by cx at 9:35 AM on October 22, 2002


I found it astonishing. Many of the photos show a dead-on sense of vitality, composition, and meaningful engagement with the subject.

These photos are worth enjoying in the company of those of Eugene Atget, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and Gary Winogrand.

By the way, do not miss the Gary Winogrand show at ICP, if you live near New York City.
posted by e.e. coli at 9:36 AM on October 22, 2002


is it just me or are most of these "artists" not all that unique?

Maybe, maybe not. It is more or less a matter of your personal taste. I thoroughly enjoy the photographs because unlike many adult photographers, these kids took photographs just because. As we get older, we tend to become more deliberate about our actions.

i would think that even given their ages, their shots would require better composition and lighting to make it on this site... guess not.

It isn't really about the technical expertise of the children. It is about their perspective and a project that tries to capture that.
posted by pedantic at 9:43 AM on October 22, 2002


shameful kid pr0n. call out the ashcroft army.
posted by quonsar at 9:52 AM on October 22, 2002


i was particularly struck by choi's photos. the slightly-above-knee level shot of the phone booth was, to me, incredible; perspective of a child, and, likely he realized it as well, based on the other shots. then again, i suppose we must ask how much of these photos were the whim of the child versus that of the "mentor"
posted by quadrinary at 10:28 AM on October 22, 2002


Thanks for the Winogrand show link e.e. coli. I read about it in NYT, but didnt get to figure out where is it going on.

..For some reason the links to the actual photographs are not working for me.
posted by justlooking at 10:46 AM on October 22, 2002


and at long last, adamms22 reveals himself as the webmaster of maddox.jadebuddha.com/irule.html.
posted by dvdgee at 10:47 AM on October 22, 2002


Fascinating stuff... Especially to notice how much better photographers the younger children are. Royce Meier, age 14, took rather disturbingly bad scary face pictures (I'm going to have nightmares about those, I just know it). Sean Choi, on the other hand, took my favorite picture on the site - the New York city street from just below knee level.
posted by wanderingmind at 11:02 AM on October 22, 2002


kids are naturals! :D
posted by kliuless at 11:46 AM on October 22, 2002


When I took pictures as a kid, it was always during vacations when I was pretty bored with the scenery and my parents gave me the camera to keep me interested.

Parents: "Look at those beautiful waterfalls, why don't you take a picture of it?"

Me: "Look at my shoes! The strings look like noodles! That's like the coolest thing ever! *snap snap* Wow! Look at that twig, it looks like a hand! *snap snap* I wonder if I can take a picture of my brain if I took a picture up my nostril."
posted by Stan Chin at 11:51 AM on October 22, 2002


This is an excellent example of what one of the lecturers back in my film school days called the "gallery effect:" if these photos were mixed into a stack of someone's holiday snaps, you wouldn't give them a second glance. But because of the presentation -- which is excellent -- the "this is art" part of your brain engages, and the photos suddenly become a lot more meaningful.

F'rinstance: the knee-level view of NYC is beautiful, and very evocative. But of course it's a knee-level shot: six-year-old kids are short! (Which reminds me of another lecturer who went on and on about some cinematographer's unique habit of positioning the camera much higher than normal -- the artistic effect of which was noted by more than one critic... and of course it's just because the guy was really tall, and set the camera where he wouldn't have to hunch over to look through the eyepiece.)

Not that I'm dissing the project: it was probably a lot of fun for both the kids and the photographers, and anything that inspires kids to think of their own creative product as worthwhile is a Good Thing™. But let's not read too much into it.
posted by ook at 2:50 PM on October 22, 2002


ook, I think that by spending the time on that post, you show that you're reading too much into it.
posted by Hall at 8:08 PM on October 22, 2002


You may have something there :)
posted by ook at 10:50 AM on October 25, 2002


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