In my freshman year of college I had to take a writing intensive course based on a topic of my choice. I was instantly drawn to a history of photography course and signed myself up. I always enjoyed the class and was able to learn about some amazingly talented photographers. The photographer that stood out the most to me was photographer, Nikki Lee.
The interesting thing abut Lee is that her snapshots are not displayed in the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, and the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago, among other places, for their aesthetic value; they are shown in these reputable institutions because of the way they came about. Also, she does not take the photographs herself. She is a subject in the photo.
"Projects" (1997-2001) is a series of photos by Nikki Lee that came about after Lee fully integrated herself into subcultures around the United States. Some of these projects include posing as a drag queen, punk, swing dancer, senior citizen, Latino, hip-hop musician and fan, skateboarder, lesbian, young urban professional, and Korean schoolgirl. Lee tranforms into these personas and then appears in snapshots with the "natives" to these subcultures.
Hip Hop Project
Lesbian Project
School Girl Project
Skater Project
Yuppie Project
Hispanic Project
Lee is almost less of a photographer and more of a sociologist and what I love about Lee's work is that her projects are a commitment and they require alot of time and patience on her part. I guess a part of me is jealous too. We all get that feeling once in a while where we want to be someone else and experience new things. That became a reality for Lee during "Projects".
I would love to sit down and have some tea with Lee. I imagine that she would have some pretty wild stories to share.
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