Monday, April 26, 2010

Interviews!

This Saturday, I took part in interviewing three influential figures who all had plenty to say about the changes in Harlem. Dr. Muriel Petioni, a lifelong Harlemite, was definitely the most helpful one. Her insight on the matter made me look at the entire project in a different light. She said while gentrification occurred, the culture of Harlem will survive. With this message enforced several times throughout the interview, I could truly say that my thoughts about the project were rocked. After hearing so many contradictory statements in my readings, such a passionate person who cared so deeply for Harlem and has (and still does at the age of 95) fought for it was telling me something that was so different than anything I heard. I can truly say at this moment, I had a breakthrough. My one reason to getting into this project was to see how Harlem's culture would be persevered throughout it's "cleansing". While the displacement of the lower class is concerning, the gentrification of Harlem, according to Dr. Petioni, has brought much more good than bad. The faster emergency response times, better schools, cleaner streets, and a more beautiful Harlem have made the neighborhood she has grown up in and loved a much better place. The culture will always be there she said. The morals and ideas brought to us by the Harlem Renaissance will always be present and they will survive. While whites are moving in, there has also been a resurgence by the black middle class.

I plan to get two more interviews done by next week. Those interviews are scheduled, and after they are done, I should be on my way to completing my book. Since I have the basic layout down, all I really need to do is pick and choose quotes and pictures. I am very excited to finally be done and get this book sent in. My only real obstacle is attempting to get funding by the FOCUS program. While I would be able to spend the necessary funds to get the books, it would definitely be helpful if the FOCUS program had enough in the budget to help pay for the books. This would take a large burden off of me and my family as we prepare for college and all the expenses that come with that. I plan to send an email to Mrs. Schwartz regarding this, and hopefully we can establish an agreement.

Creating the Book

As I wrap up field work, one thing that will be very crucial for me is how my book is presented. My book will make or break my final project grade, and therefore, I have dedicated the past week to really making sure that I have a proper layout when everything is wrapping up. I have decided to go the route of using one of iPhoto's premade books while designing pages in Photoshop. In order to do this, I have to design every page on a page by page basis and then import it into iPhoto. While this is very tedious, this will allow me the freedom to make the design whatever I desire. It will allow me to be able to play with font, picture placement, and text in a creative manner that can also effectively put my message out. I have decided already decided on fonts that I would use throughout the book. For bigger texts (titles of chapters, important quotes, etc.), I decided to go with "Arial Black" or "Elephant". Both of these fonts offer me a bold and clean type that I can play with creatively. For smaller text (such as quotes and titles of pieces) I decided to go with either Helvetica or Georgia. Both are very simple, yet clean and effective.

In terms of the other aspects of my project, I am progressing nicely. I have added a few more photographs to my portfolio which should be developed soon, as well a couple of interviews have been done. I got in contact with my mentor, who gave me some sound advice about my pictures. She said as I progress with my project, I should focus more on the people and "personalities" of Harlem rather than just the physical changes. She encouraged me to enhance my story telling while still maintaining my good eye and composition.

Monday, April 12, 2010

Interviews?

While I have had several informal interviews, I fail to have achieved formal interviews so far. It is not because I haven't scheduled them, but rather they have either been cancelled last minute or due to weather I could not get into the city. However, in these last three weeks, I have scheduled my formal interviews with some pretty amazing people who will have a lot of insight on my topic. I am really excited to continue to meet with people and learn more about the topic at hand. Picture wise, however, I really need a couple of days of concentrated walking. This is going to be expensive, however, because I will have to buy about 5 or 6 rolls of film for about two days of pictures, however in the end, it should all be worth it. Mr. Emery suggested I focus now more on people rather than the architecture, which I agree with. The one fear I have to get over is taking pictures people even when I don't know them. I either have to be extremely discrete, or just get the courage to just do it. Considering I am not breaking any laws, I don't see the reason to not be somewhat "nosy" with my camera. If this project is to succeed, I am going to have to conquer my fear of being seen.

While the interview aspect of this project has proved to be annoying and frustrating, I am confident that everything will turn out very well. What has helped me persevere and succeed so far is my hopefulness and my willingness to adapt. These last three weeks of field work will provide me with a time to compile everything I need, and hopefully developing this book won't take a long time. I need to research publishing sites, page sizes, etc., and really explore how I am going to design this book, which shouldn't take more than a couple of days. One thing that concerns me is my budget. I really need to think of cost efficiency, and how to save as much money as possible.