Hank's Blog!

The guidelines for our latest Photography 2 project were as follows:

- Construct Images (i.e. Create Something That Wasn’t There Before)

- The Images Should Speak To The Theme Of, “Who Am I?”

I appropriated a toilet from a local junk yard, and the rest is history.

Here are some of my favorites from the series.

It’s so taboo, no need to be private about it.

Comments on the solitude associated with the act.

Been doing it since the day I was born, and will continue to do it, “down the line.”

Shitty weather.

Party pooper.

I had other locales picked out for shooting (including Boulder Creek, Flagstaff Mountain and Downtown Denver), but some run-ins with local sheriffs and also some upset citizens prevented me from completing all goals.

One encounter is especially noteworthy.

A nature lover, adorned in feathers and wielding a walking stick, approached me as I was setting up on Flagstaff Mountain. I revealed my intentions to the curious stranger, and he promptly inquired why I was using toilet paper as a prop. I simply stated that I’d “already used it in other images, and it was thus required for purposes of unity and cohesiv-.” He interrupted…

“The production of every toilet paper roll kills innocent creatures, just like you and me!”

He continued, “You should turn this into an eco-art project. Don’t you have any school papers in your car that you can use as a substitute to the toilet paper?”

“That’s a nice idea! Perhaps I can consider that for my next project,” I remarked. “But unfortunately, I don’t have any paper in my car and, like I said before, I’m using the toilet paper because it’s already appeared in a few of my images.”

“Well if you don’t have any paper, you should use a rock! In my house, we don’t use toilet paper because we’re actually concerned about the future!”

Taken aback, I explained that I certainly appreciated his input, and too cared for the well-being of the environment.

“Obviously not enough,” he muttered, and he continued down the trail.

After a few paces, he spun around and questioned whether or not I was a “CU art-student.” I answered “yes, indeed.” He proceeded to commit the name of my professor to memory. “C-H-O-N-G,” he repeated as he carried on down the path. And that was that!

Alas, Professor Chong has received no e-mails or phone calls, and the project was a hit amongst my classmates.