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07
Jan 08
For a time, I worked at Image Bank and then at Getty Images (when Image Bank was absorbed by them). I was an editorial account executive for four years just before stock photography became this self-serve digital stockpile of images open to the public. I was there at a really great time– when you knew all of the designers and art editors by name and they would call you and discuss their projects with you (and probably four other photography houses) and then you’d go and research the images. I was really in on some big projects, and to me, it was really exciting. I knew one of Oprah’s book selections before anyone else (because an image of ours was on the cover and they had to buy rights for a huge printing).
Perhaps one of my most favorite covers is the one I worked on for Mariner Books. The title was Unweaving the Rainbow by Richard Dawkins. It involved science (of course) but the designer left it up to me to conceptualize the title (with very little background — we don’t get a manuscript at this stage in the game). I ended up digging into our images of fiber optics. I knew it was the one — she did not, yet. I slipped it in the slide sheet, with other images, and sent some digital jpegs. A few days later, the fiber optics picture was selected. I still remember that phone call and the pure joy in her voice. The fiber optics were taken extremely close up, and you could see the swell of threads and glints of color picked up along those threads. She emailed me a mock up of the cover. A few months down the road, the designer sent me a copy of the book (which was such a great read by the way). Richard Dawkins is an incredible writer (side with him or not). Then, on a Friday night, Richard Dawkins was on Charlie Rose, talking about the book with ‘my’ cover on it.
Six degrees.
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12
Dec 09
Two things are the basis of everything I have done and everything I do: research and attention to detail. Hands down, they are the backbone of everything I do. It has been the foundation of my learning, but it is also the foundation of every succesful project, which brings me back to the little boy, the Plant Sitter, who was meticulous and did his research and then watched the fruition of his success.
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12
Dec 09
And then, without even looking for it, things fell into place and I was making a living doing just what I wanted to do.
I help people realize their projects: films, books, art.
So many people have great ideas, but how do you get to the next step? Where is your audience? Is there an audience? So many business models have changed recently, so many PR powerhouses are finding it hard to compete and keep up with the brilliance and might of the internet. There is so much information nowadays at our fingertips.
One may say that perhaps quality is getting lost in the blur or the rush of information but I don’t see it that way. We now have direct access to so many more sources and resources, so many more individuals, so many more networks of people and audiences than ever before.
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12
Dec 09
Across from my maid’s quarters, I looked into the quarters of an obviously well-to-do family. They lived on the very desirable fourth floor in the building across the street. They had,well, French doors instead of portals for windows, and they often left the lights on with the curtains open, well into the evening. I had a clear view of the children’s rooms. Three children each with their own room. The rooms were well-appointed, decorated and colorful. I wondered what it must be like growing up French….growing up Parisian in the right neighborhood.
I’ve always been somewhat of an observer, a guest looking in on the world which I attribute to the fact that, as a kid we moved around alot – changed continents three times, even. I became interested in photography in high school. No, I mean photography: pure, black and white, darkroom, honest photography. It was a perfect pastime for someone like me.
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12
Dec 09
About a year ago, I read a piece in the New York Times about this young man who was a ’starving artist’ in Philadelphia — he worked part time at some major museum and then devoted the rest of his time to his art. He made his own bread from scratch just to save a few pennies. He had a one room apartment. He was ‘doing it.’ I applaud him. I had an instant flashback to my first weeks out of college, flying back to Paris for a summer internship with a film company where I lived in a one room “maid’s quarters” on the sixth floor, with a communal toilet on the hall. The owner (a friend of my employer) was extremely generous to let me stay there for a nominal fee. He had filled this tiny space with massively clunky furniture that had no business being sold in Paris. It was, essentially, a bunk bed, over a perpendicular oversized desk (subpar Ikea). One folding chair. A sink. No closet. When I lay on the floor, I could touch one wall with my toes and the other side of the wall simultaneously with my fingertips by stretching my arms above my head. I was in a neighborhood with an address but I took my showers at the community pool. I loved it. I bought my demi-baguette and apple or a clementine after work and I walked, and I walked, and I walked. Paris is inside of me. It’s a part of my heart. It’s streets, paths and metro system are burnished into my bones.
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12
Dec 09
I’ve been very lucky to work on a lot of really great projects. I’ve really loved every one of them. What’s life worth living if you don’t love what you do?
I think artists and writers are some of the toughest people out there. Thick-skinned. Those brave enough to start out — and those who continue to pursue it. I was a studio art major in college but I fell into the business side of art because I like being behind the scenes. I don’t think I have enough confidence to ‘be an artist.’ So, I admire them instead. I know what I like, I know good when I see it.
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12
Dec 09
As a child, my absolute favorite book was a story called The Plant Sitter by Gene Zion. A little boy named Tommy decides to take care of all the neighborhood plants while the rest of the families leave on summer vacation. His wonderful care of those plants caused them to grow, and grow, and grow until they took over his whole house and eventually the whole neighborhood, symbolic of his outpouring of love. Take care of something, show it love, and it will grow in all kinds of ways. The book is still vivid to this day. Margaret Bloy Graham’s pencil drawings are simply and perfectly paired with Zion’s exciting tale of a young boy’s imagination, adventure and entrepreneurial skills.