'In the garden of memory, in the palace of dreams, that is where you and I shall meet'
The Mad Hatter'
Given my love of process, I had to add the two behind the scenes shots just above. We all require a little motivation to motivated, then stimulated, and Kings used a little visual aid to get firm and ready for the rest of his shoot with Jim from Studio1x.
It's a little overwhelming to think about how much of our lives we experience through glass. Every view we've ever had in a car, in a bus, a train or a plane was viewed through glass. Both the boring and mundane sights, the ones we see every day, and the incredible new visions, like flying into Newark and seeing the Manhattan skyline for the very first time.
When I was growing up, I spent hours staring out of classroom windows. I was often bored, especially in Law class and economics. I was lucky my high school was on a lake, and often got to watch students from gym class out swimming or canoeing. I watched the leaves turn color in Autumn, the snow fall in winter and the first signs of spring, (and the end of the school year)
We often also have our first visions of the male form through glass. Sitting in the back seat of my parents car, sneaking peaks at shirtless guys in the summer. Pretending to read, but checking out bathing suit bulges through my sunglasses at the beach. The silhouette or a naked guy in the shower through tempered glass at the gym or at the pool
I remember seeing both of my parents, when they got older, spending a lot of time in their chairs looking out the front living room windows. There was something both melancholy, yet also beautiful, about them watching kids play and families and people with their dogs walking by. I think the real sadness comes, when we're no longer interested in peaking through the glass. When we're too tired, or no longer care about what's happening on the other side.
I think the key to enjoying views through the looking glass is to make sure that you also experience great moments on the other side. I have a pretty busy and full life, so I still really enjoy, getting home in the evening, sitting down, sipping some coffee or wine, and peering through the looking glass.
I love how both Jim and
Kings used the looking glass in this series. Not only posing behind it, Kings interacted with the class. He not only looked through it, he touched and rubbed against it, as if trying to penetrate through. Of course you can't go through the looking glass without getting a few slashes and cuts. Although much safer to just look and enjoy, it's not nearly as fun as poking through.
If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn't be. And what it wouldn't be, it would. You see? Curiouser and curiouser....
Alice