In four days, on Monday, August 15, I am moving from Somerville, Mass. to Syracuse, NY. I'm moving to Syracuse to centralize making in my life by studying for an MFA in photography at Syracuse University. Since graduating from high school in May 2000, I have moved 5 times. Here's a portrait of that progression that lists my geographical locations and the numbers of years I spent there:
Helmstedt, Germany: 1
Utica, NY: 2
Brooklyn, NY: 3
Hubbardsville, NY: 1
Las Cruces, NM: 2
Somerville, Mass.: 2
I'm sad to leave Somerville, where I have learned a way of seeing and finding images in my environment that is exciting to me and doesn't feel finished yet. (In some ways, it actually feels like it is just getting started.) I'm scared, as I was when I moved to Massachusetts, that in Syracuse, my new home, I won't find anything to photograph. Deep down, I know moving and pursuing an MFA is the right choice for me and that the solution to my unease is to walk around and start making images as quickly as possible. It's the most exciting thing about being an artist, a wild freedom I cherish about the pursuit- that I cannot predict what will happen but am committed to continuing to explore, that the solution to my fear lies in making something I cannot imagine.
