?What is home? Is it just a place you live? Is it important to you? Do you share it with friends and family? Do you have photographs of it??
Alex Steed, Cornish, Maine, 2011
Relationship: friends, art, met on FB through Bakery Photo Collective
Years known: 0-5
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On New Year?s Eve of 2010, I found myself sitting at my kitchen table, simultaneously writing a letter in pencil to a friend deployed in Afghanistan and on Facebook, instant messaging a friend working on a film in Jakarta. I woke up in 2011, thinking a lot about friendship and relationships, and how we communicate with one another in the 21st century. On one hand, the letter has a tangibility that makes it seem more genuine and real, while on the other hand social networks provide an immediate way to be part of people?s lives all over the world, often through photographs. For the next couple of months, I started to analyze my use of Facebook and the ?friends? I had accumulated in this online world. What I found were some people I hadn?t met in ?real life?; a few people I was not speaking to in ?real life?; ex lovers with new partners; ex-partners of friends; art dealers, curators and high school friends who I hadn?t seen in over 20 years. I asked myself, ?am I really friends with all these people?? So, at the end of February, I set out to find the answer, using the only tool I know ? photography. I decided to visit every one of my Facebook ?friends? in their homes and make their formal portrait. The only thing stopping me was money and time. I quit one of my jobs, started writing grants and crowd fundraising and ?Are you really my friend? The Facebook portrait project? was born.
In the last eight months, I have raised almost $20,000, completed over 100 portraits, photographed 163 Facebook ?friends?, traveled to 11 states across the country and nearly 50 cities/towns. I have traveled by plane,
train, subway, bus, car, bike and on foot. I continue to be surprised by the number of people, especially (the real life) total strangers, who have opened their homes to me, sharing their lives, their stories, their food, their gardens and their families while allowing my camera to document it. What started out as a personal documentary on friendship and environmental portraiture has turned into an exploration of American culture, relationships, generosity & compassion, family structure, community building, story telling, meal sharing, our relationship to technology & travel in the 21st century, social networking, memory, and the history of the portrait.
I made a conscious decision to travel lightly and unobtrusively, with a digital point & shoot, a film camera and a tripod, and to shoot in each home with only available light. I then process the film, scan it and put it online as quickly as I can. I have crawled on the floor, played legos and read books with children I just met, admired chickens and prize roosters, shared a bowl of gumbo in New Orleans (with a friend I hadn?t met in real life), toured the West Wing and listened to stories of family tragedy and strength. I have learned how people live and create home. When I asked on the project?s Facebook page: ?What is home? Is it just a place you live? Is it important to you? Do you share it with friends and family? Do you have photographs of it?? I received some compelling responses.
More on the Facebookportraitproject.com
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Alicia Sindel Vega, Juan Pablo & Sofia Vega, Clayton, Missouri, 2012
Relationship: friends, family friends, met through Toby Hollander
Years known: Alicia 25-30, Juan Pablo 0-5
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Jenn Sichel & Kristine Moss, Chicago, Illinois, 2012
Relationship: friends, art, met through Laura Fried
Years known: Jenn 5-10, Kristine 0-5
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Gar Allen & Larry Bennett, St. Louis, Missouri, 2012
Relationship: friends, met through Tania Allen
Years known: 30-35
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Bernadette Magrath Brown, Kennedy Brown, Sheila, Sidney, Eric & Carlie Miranda, Webster Groves, Missouri, 2012
Relationship: friends, family friends, met through Toby Hollander
Years known: Bernadette & Sheila 30-35, Sidney 0-5
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Kyle Durrie (in Type Truck), Brooklyn, New York, 2011
Relationship: friends, art, met at Local 188
Years known: 5-10
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Sarah, Joe, Genevieve & Ellie Francois, St. Louis, Missouri, 2012
Relationship: friends, met through Tania Allen
Years known: Sarah 25-30, Joe 5-10
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Rosy Ngo & Plum Vagnetti, Brooklyn, New York, 2011
Telationship: friends, art, met at Hampshire College
Years known: 20-25
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More images and other interesting facts about the project on Facebookportraitproject.com or on the Facebook Page. Tanja Alexia Hollander (b. 1972) St. Louis, Missouri is Bachelor of the Arts (1994) and her works can be found on www.tanjaalexiahollander.com.
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