My friend, Caroline at work suggested this entry after hearing about my latest photography experiment.
Last Wednesday, March 9, I started something new with my photography. I placed a framed photo on a bench in the New Alliance Walkway in Madison Connecticut at 630 AM. I also left a note in an envelope. On the outside of the envelope I wrote in BIG block letters:
Take this and give it a home.
I was following the lead of another artist who did the same thing. My friend Kate Wilker forwarded for me a link to a newspaper article about the other artist. At 1220 PM on my lunch break I walked by the bench and the photo was still there. I went into Ashley’s Ice Cream and while I was eating, I sat and watched as nearly two dozen people walked by the bench. A few stopped, picked up the picture, looked around surreptitiously, then carefully put it back on the bench and walked away.
This happened intermittently for about twenty minutes. It seems that people are unwilling to accept gifts that are presented to them. Do they not deem themselves worthy? In the article I read, the artist had the same experience and arrived at the same questions. My question after watching from the window of Ashley’s is how many people walked by that photo from 630 that morning until I arrived at 1220.
Why you may ask did I place the photo there? I was planning on putting it on the bench outside the post office. But I thought why not put the photo where I actually took the picture? So that’s what I did.
We should all learn to accept the gifts that are given to us. Sometimes there is no hidden meaning behind anything anyone does. Sometimes someone is just looking to spread a little joy.
Be Happy! Be Well! Be Positive!
—
Chris
