My Own Personal Museum

Creating art is why we go to Columbia. Whether that art is a painting, play, or gallery show, its creation is done by artists, either collectively or singular. For me, I like to surround myself with art, whether of my own creation of from others. The most obvious example of “my own personal ‘museum’” is my bedroom.

By the end of the semester I hope to have my walls covered in art and they are well on their way to getting there.

Whether posters from events on campus, team pictures and posters from my past, movie posters, my tack-board with past concert and event tickets, to the large prints of my own photography dominate the walls of my room.

These prints are all shots I have taken over the past year and represent major parts of my life. Surrounding myself in the art I create not only reinforces my drive to create new works but also reminds me of where I came from and what I am building on.








This picture, taken at the ELITE Hockey Training Camp in Northfield, Vermont this Summer, serves as a reminder of one of the best jobs I’ve ever had, while also reminding me everyday of how I got started in filmmaking in the first place. The photo itself is one of my all time personal favorites that I have taken. The depth of field drawing your attention to the young hockey players face; his expression showing his focus and determination. In the background the viewer can make out other players, their sticks in hand yet the focal player sticks out in stark contrast to the rest of the image.
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This photo was taken in August at one of my high school's pre-season football practices. While Marfan Syndrome kept me off the playing fields in high school, nothing could keep me from the coaches box as I managed every possible team I could.

Working for the football team, I became an impromptu assistant coach, managing nearly all off-field activities of the team: paperwork, broken equipment, I was even the team medic. These were two of my favorite photos from the nearly 300 I took over two days during pre-season.

These two were some of the most visually striking. In the first, my friend Loren stared me down from across the field; standind out against the blurred background. A stone cold look on his face, his eyes squinting against the sun. In the second photo Ben and Zak share a fun moment in between plays.
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These two photos are near portraits of two of my good friends, and are the last of the 5 prints I have on my walls. Benny takes to the air snowboarding this past winter while Lee jokes around with me before the 2008 football season.



Surrounding myself with pictures of friends reminds me of home while I am away at school, also serving as a constant reminder as to how I got here. While a jock at heart, health reasons force me to give up sports, but through my video work and managing duties I have been able to stay connected to the teams I love. This reminder helps keep me grounded in both my past and future as a media maker by keeping my photographs and friends constantly in my mind and on my walls.



Moving forward I look to add more to my "personal museum". Building it with time to fill every available inch. Whether those new pieces are recently taken photographs, recent event posters, or new movie posters, I want to constantly surround myself with the art that surrounds my everyday life.