Sanctity of Marriage

…i’ve got your “sanctity of marriage” right here…

A bit of a back story:

i’ve always felt very strongly about equal human rights, not just gay rights. whether its a racial injustice, or an injustice that has happened to the gay community, i have a strong conviction that all human beings should have the same equal rights.

for this project, i wanted to project the same “slap in the face” feeling i get with the injustice of the passing of Prop 8 in California.

Funny side story – at the end of this shoot, we had one final setting to shoot at a playground. while walking there (and throughout the day), we had people stare and laugh which was definitely anticipated. What wasn’t anticipated was the “sandbox man”. we were at the playground minding our business and shooting as we have been, when a man came up to us and gave us the stare down. no, seriously – he gave us a stare down trying to intimidate us.

the first thing that came out of this ignorant’s mouth was:

- “what kind of impression are you trying to set here?!”

- “we’re not trying to set any example. are we offending you?”

- (raising his voice at this point) “i want to know why this is happening!” <– i suppose the world is ending at this point because there is a man in a dress. apparently, we hadn’t a clue.

- “it’s an art project, sir.”

- “is this for school?!” <– 3 letter words are obviously too big for him to comprehend; a.r.t. / g.a.y.

- “uh…sure…yeah, its for school.”

- (his eyes are about to pop out of his head at this point): “this is what your ‘college education is’?!”

- (calmly, i say): “sir, what about this makes you uncomfortable?”

- “oh, now you’re a journalist?!” (i think he just took a shit in his pants at this point)

- (internally laughing) “um, sir? i’m trying to have an open dialog with you. if i don’t understand something, i’m going to ask questions so i can try to see where you’re coming from.”

- “IS THIS WHAT COLLEGE IS TEACHING YOU?! DO YOU HAVE A COLLEGE EDUCATION?!”

- (now i’m ON FIRE): “sir. do YOU have a college education?!”

- “no.” (i have to at least admire the man’s honesty).

- “evidentially not, sir.”

- (as we’re walking away): “I’M ALL GROWED UP!” <– yes, “growed up”.

- “obviously not, sir.” <– i couldn’t give him the courtesy and decency of turning around.

I didn’t know that adults still had staring contests and threw hissy fits. if that is the case, i’m glad i’m a somewhat immature, college educated, communicative individual…although, i kind of suck at staring contests.

needless to say, this made the shoot worth while. i refuse to lay down & lay dead because i may make someone uncomfortable ESPECIALLY when what we’re doing is not harmful or detrimental to anyone else’s well-being and health.

maybe brent’s right, maybe “sandbox man” just needed his helmet and an ice cream.

anyhow, over 300 shots were taken for this project. once i’ve finished editing them, i’ll post more.

fun times.