Artist Statement for Final Project.

I decided to title my final project A Collection of the Elderly. The inspiration behind this project was my 84 year old neighbor, Bob. After shooting him for my environmental portraits assignment for class, I realized that he would be a good subject to further explore on. Being that I really liked taking portraits of people, I thought that it would be a good idea to combine the two; to take portraits and use Bob as my main concentration for my final portfolio. When I was asked to write my proposal for my project idea, I thought it would be a better idea to use 'the elderly' for my concentration as a whole because it would offer more range and options. There is something so historic, revealing, and deeply human about this choice of subject that I wanted to portray through these photos. I wanted this project to tell these people's stories. Environmental portrait is also something that's rather personal, for it reveals something about the subject's life. It helps one to learn from one another and to view surroundings differently. It can make one feel humble or grateful for what they have and it makes people more aware of what's going on around them, whether it's socially, politically, or economically. I wanted this series to be more of an intimate moment between the audience and the subject. I wanted the viewer to get a sense of who the subject is, their likes/interests, and a little bit of their history. In order to do this, I chose to avoid shooting at harsh angles. I wanted the camera to be a 'fly on the wall'. I wanted the subjects and photos to look natural and not staged, as if the photo was a window into their everyday lives. I wanted the color to look as natural as possible and tried to use natural lighting for most of my pictures. It was a really interesting experience shooting all of these people. As I was taking pictures, I was able to talk to each of them on a one to one level. At first, I could sense that they were uncomfortable in front of my camera, but as they felt more comfortable and relaxed, they opened up to me as well. I learned that all of my subjects were in their late 70's and over; the oldest, Theresa, being in her 90's. Bob's favorite pastime is fishing and he collects Betty Boop nick-knacks in memory of his wife. Gene and Helen have been married for 51 years and their house is jam packed with stuff ranging from their grandparents wedding photos to their grandchildren's latest arts and crafts projects. Gene has an obsession with cars, preferably older models, like the Chevy in his pictures. His garage is his "office", decorated with his family's gas station's signs and newspaper clippings of his father's boxing matches. Theresa is in her 90's, and works as a lunch lady in the local catholic school. She plans on retiring this year but says that the job has kept her young at heart and gave her a purpose. Shooting this project for me was a very rewarding experience. I've discovered a lot about these people and it has changed my perception about 'growing older'. Society creates a negative outlook on becoming older and the reality of the matter is that it's nothing negative whatsoever. Life does not stop at a certain age and age should not stop one to live their lives to the fullest potential.

Final Project.