Snow Snow Snow

So far, my project has been being ceased by a little something called snow. I have had to cancel interview after interview because snow seems to love Friday's and I get snowed in my house. Unfortunately, Friday's are my main day to do interviews, so I have been getting really annoyed at that. Luckily, I was able to hop into Harlem today and get some nice pictures of 125th. I'm currently waiting to get the film developed, but as soon as that happens, I'll scan them and post them. While I stated in my project proposal I might do a lot of digital, I realize that as an artist, that is not something I want to do.

What I have been really focused on in these last weeks has been the guiding question "is there a depleting culture in Harlem, or have things stayed the same?" My struggles have simply been that I haven't had enough time to see Harlem. I need to start vamping up my visits if I truly wish to answer this question. What I have found through books and research has been quite revealing though. Several sources have been contradicting others, and I think this really calls for me to go to Harlem myself and really analyze this guiding question. Some sources are saying that now a days a majority of whites have been taking over housing and commerce in Harlem, while other sources are saying there are just as many blacks in Harlem, but just a different socioeconomic class of blacks are living there.

Another thing I have had to think about is budget. Through buying all the chemicals, film, camera batteries, metrocards, etc., I figure I have to plan how to use my materials efficiently. In two hours alone, I used two rolls of film, which is good and bad. I figure that it is good to have a lot of photos, but at the same time, I don't know if I can afford to keep up that pace for too long. I need to plan a way to make more of each picture I expose.

The snow days have hit two of my Friday's, and I was sick one, causing me to lose three. It is extremely frustrating to lose such a key day. This makes the whole process frustrating because I haven't been getting enough data to analyze and make conclusions from. What I need to learn is to how to use the hours I have more efficiently. As with the my film and photography, time needs to be used just as carefully. I feel as if when I'm in Harlem, I seem to get lost in such a world that provides so much wonder to me and is right now so mysterious to me. While I studied it carefully in the fall, the world that I see now through my own eyes and lens is one very different that no book could possibly prepare me for. I need to start making plans to learn the city through an experts mouth rather than attempt to learn it all through my eyes. While that style of learning has merit, I don't think for a project of such academic standards it would be the best possible approach. I think comparing my observations with the thoughts and opinion of an expert (such as someone from the Schomburg), I can learn a lot more.

These past weeks have proven to be tough, though I'm starting to overcome some obstacles due to some things starting to come together. While before I was really focused on interviews, I now focus on photography. Interviews being canceled multiple times can be frustrating, so I decided that for right now I would focus on my photos and make sure that I have a solid foundation to work with and answer some guiding questions with. I want this project to show how much of a research tool art can be, and I hope that my art can help me answer a few guiding questions. While one could explain with words and essays, I feel as if one picture is powerful enough to explain the exact same thing.