The Found Object

This is a picture of Tom. This photo was found in the mystery dresser at Shane’s house. No idea who Tom is.

This is a picture of Tom. This photo was found in the mystery dresser at Shane’s house. No idea who Tom is.

Okay, so I’m in the dumpster at MassArt. I spot a big cardboard box and look inside. It’s filled with boxes containing practically brand-new slide carousels! Jackpot. Apparently, the admissions office got tired of hanging onto the carousels that the 1999 MFA applicants never picked up and threw them away. Slides and all. Honestly, I thought most of the work was crap but Kae Nishimura’s stuff was pretty cool. Several collages depicting dinosaurs riding piggy-back on other dinosaurs, if I recall correctly. Art doesn’t get much better than dinosaur piggy-backs as far as I’m concerned.

Okay, so I’m in the dumpster at MassArt. I spot a big cardboard box and look inside. It’s filled with boxes containing practically brand-new slide carousels! Jackpot. Apparently, the admissions office got tired of hanging onto the carousels that the 1999 MFA applicants never picked up and threw them away. Slides and all. Honestly, I thought most of the work was crap but Kae Nishimura’s stuff was pretty cool. Several collages depicting dinosaurs riding piggy-back on other dinosaurs, if I recall correctly. Art doesn’t get much better than dinosaur piggy-backs as far as I’m concerned.

There is NO WAY this death-trap contraption has not been recalled since this photo was taken. We can hope anyway. For the babies’ sakes. The back of this found photo says the kid’s full name, May 1985, age 6 months.

There is NO WAY this death-trap contraption has not been recalled since this photo was taken. We can hope anyway. For the babies’ sakes. The back of this found photo says the kid’s full name, May 1985, age 6 months.

Somebody got some new nail polish for xmas. This photo was found in a dresser drawer at my friend Shane’s house. Must’ve come from a yard sale or something since he doesn’t know these peeps.

Somebody got some new nail polish for xmas. This photo was found in a dresser drawer at my friend Shane’s house. Must’ve come from a yard sale or something since he doesn’t know these peeps.

Two people swimmin’ at the swimmin’ hole. That’s it.  I forget where I found this photo.

Two people swimmin’ at the swimmin’ hole. That’s it.  I forget where I found this photo.

My friend Jessie gave me a handful of photos that she found (including the ones from the 10th Annual Boiled Corn Bonanza) and I thought this one was particularly interesting. It took a lot of photoshopping to be able to make out the people through the dark-brown on this one. I think dad (the one with the pipe) was experimenting with home photo development and never got to the chapter about using FIXER. Anyway, I thought this family looked kind of like a 1950’s live-action Simpsons.

My friend Jessie gave me a handful of photos that she found (including the ones from the 10th Annual Boiled Corn Bonanza) and I thought this one was particularly interesting. It took a lot of photoshopping to be able to make out the people through the dark-brown on this one. I think dad (the one with the pipe) was experimenting with home photo development and never got to the chapter about using FIXER. Anyway, I thought this family looked kind of like a 1950’s live-action Simpsons.

My friend Kate and I went to hear Kiki Smith talk at MIT last winter and this wet and sticky CVS-Photo envelope was outside. It was mostly filled with prints and negatives of her pet cat staring at random things and doing silly stuff.  Then there were these photos of the girl that look almost like stock photography except that she has this same intense look in all of them.

My friend Kate and I went to hear Kiki Smith talk at MIT last winter and this wet and sticky CVS-Photo envelope was outside. It was mostly filled with prints and negatives of her pet cat staring at random things and doing silly stuff.  Then there were these photos of the girl that look almost like stock photography except that she has this same intense look in all of them.

This is another of the photos that I found outside of the Kiki Smith talk at MIT.  Same girl.  Same intense stare.  Looks like it was shot through a window screen - presumably for dramatic effect.

This is another of the photos that I found outside of the Kiki Smith talk at MIT.  Same girl.  Same intense stare.  Looks like it was shot through a window screen - presumably for dramatic effect.

I found this polaroid on the ground in front of Ursula von Rydingsvard’s ence pence at DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park a couple years ago. This hoodlum is walking on one of the sculpture park’s picnic tables.

I found this polaroid on the ground in front of Ursula von Rydingsvard’s ence pence at DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park a couple years ago. This hoodlum is walking on one of the sculpture park’s picnic tables.

I found this negative on the ground and scanned it. I don’t think it could get more normal, as family portraits go. I just remembered that I had a few more random negatives that I found and scanned but I can’t find them. That sucks.

I found this negative on the ground and scanned it. I don’t think it could get more normal, as family portraits go. I just remembered that I had a few more random negatives that I found and scanned but I can’t find them. That sucks.