In college, my friend (and current roommate) was doing a graphic design project, and yours truly got to be her special assistant. She had a vision, and that vision was a final product that would somehow include photos of a homeless person. Not really wanting to go downtown and bother potentially drugged up bums that could be offended by her photographing them, she asked me to pose as a homeless person. I jumped at the opportunity.
I had completely forgotten about this whole situation until the other day. If you remember from prior posts, my old laptop died. Well, I just got my new one, and in the midst of transferring my photo files to the new machine, I stumbled upon the amazing shots of me pretending to be homeless. I find them highly entertaining (and I may very well be the only one), but I figured they were worth posting and analyzing.
Here I am looking rough in the basement of our old house. I guess we thought it would look like I was, as they say, "squatting" there. We worked very hard to make me look homeless. To give my shirt a tattered look, we ripped it and stuck lit cigarettes into the fabric. I think we even ended up setting part of the shirt on fire. Then I put tons of bronzer on my face to appear as if I hadn't showered for days. Come to think of it, I probably hadn't...but the bronzer was to add extra grime. Then of course I have my "Got Beer?" trucker hat, flask and blanket (that I still use on my bed). Okay, moving on:
Here I am looking helpless by the road. If you look closely, you will notice our dirty old carpet behind me. The dogs peed on it so much that we didn't want it anymore. We set it by the curb, and apparently the trash men never wanted to pick it up. It was there for a few months. I think it adds a nice touch to the image.
Jen decided we should change locations. Not wanting to be around lots of traffic or bystanders, we opted for the parking lot of the RBC Center. Not really sure why. I can't imagine homeless people hanging around there. We brought along some props: a backpack, an empty 12 pack and a cup (for panhandling). And if you're thinking that the crutches and large orthopedic boot are merely for show, you're sadly mistaken. I actually had broken my foot (cuboid bone to be exact) while dancing at a heart-thumping performance of The American Hunks. I'm being serious.
Here we have, what I would say, is the shot that shows the most desperation. I'm managing to hobble away from my pile of belongings with only one crutch. I look downtrodden. I look blue. And let's not overlook the fact that the composition of this photo is nothing less than remarkable.
I love this one. My car is in the background, and if you look hard, you can make out the handicapped sign dangling from my rear view mirror. If I can tell you one thing, my friend, it is this- the handicapped sticker is the silver lining to any broken cuboid bone. You can also see the employees' cars behind me. I wonder if they noticed us.
And finally, we have the close up. I look highly disgruntled here. You can really get an idea of how much bronzer I smeared on. We also put something disgusting in my hair. I can't remember what it was, but I remember I said "DO WHATEVER YOU WANT TO MY HAIR," so it probably was gross.
I hope you enjoyed those as much as I currently am. The joy that I have experienced as a result of finding these photos is priceless. The pictures are ridiculous. I do not look homeless, and I'm pretty sure that Jen wasn't able to use any of these in her project. I had a great time doing it though, and I'll treasure the images for a lifetime.
these are truly the greatest pictures i have ever seen. i propose that we do a photo shoot this weekend. does jen have any good ideas?
Posted by: Meg | November 06, 2008 at 02:57 PM