I was just looking at photos of my art piece that I made for the Senior Winter Art Show at my high school, Urban. The project was about people watching and I decided to document my findings. I think I would like to continue logging people watching in a journal here in New York. Above are a few photos of the project and here is my artist statement:

I have always had a curiosity about other people’s habits and rituals. Also, I find it intriguing to observe how people interact with others in public spaces. Combining these two interests, I decided to study people waiting at the N Judah bus stop on the corner of Cole and Carl and record three elements that are involved in constructing a first impression. The first element is a physical description of the individual, including age, gender and clothing. The second are the habits, movements and mannerisms of the individual. The third element is in the eye of the beholder: the imagined back-story of the individual that the viewer creates and imposes. From these three layers, I decided to use a variety of transparent papers to convey how all three ingredients are mixed together and overlap to create a depiction of the person.

This art is a documentation of regular people who may seem disconnected from a distance, but when examined more closely, are very similar and share many qualities and characteristics. Though I did not interact or speak with these individuals, I now realize that it is impossible to get to know a person unless you take the time to get to know them personally. I became conscious of how physical characteristics and behaviors influence how others perceive a person, even though these superficial traits do not reveal an individual’s true nature. Furthermore, a strikingly small range of behaviors were exhibited while they were waiting for the bus, including pacing, checking the time, reading, and stepping out into the street. I expected to recognize some of the same individuals waiting at this corner since I observed the same place repeatedly, but never did. When the bus came each time and collected all of the people I was watching, I always felt this odd attachment and loss, feeling that I would never see or meet these people, nor would I ever know their true stories. Please flip through the booklets and read about each person.