This is my friend, Kat Powers. She might be my favorite person in the Universe. One time, when we lived together, I got up at like 3am to get a glass of water and she was in the kitchen, covered in glue, making couch-sized papier-mâché dragonflies for Redmoon Theatre. She had three pans of eggplant parmesan in the oven (“I had a lot of eggplant!”) and was also knitting a King-sized blanket and making a costume for my dog, Mojo, so that he could convincingly portray the very important role of “Wall” in a scene from A Midsummer Night’s Dream that my husband and I would later drunkenly perform at a friend’s birthday party. She also had a vodka tonic and a cup of coffee. She is amazing. She is a painter and a photographer and a theatre designer and a sculptor and my friend. I’m a little in awe of her, and the way she thinks, and the art she makes. When I tell her this she laughs really hard and gives me an origami bird that she made out of gum wrappers. I’m lucky because I get to hang out with her and see the world through her eyes.
It’s a better world; the one that she sees. I’m happy to be a part of it.
(she also shot my wedding. This is me with champagne and my dog).
So here’s the thing: I know a lot of fucking amazing artists. And what I’ve been doing is giving them stories, and then they make work around those stories, and when I gave Kat my story about the girl who hides the Incredible Hulk under her bed in order to have sex with him she said, “I could take pictures of where people hide their secrets,” and I was like, “Oh my gosh, Kat, you’re so brilliant I can’t even handle you,” and she laughed really hard and gave me a small chair made from the wire that holds down your champagne cork.
Anyhow: we’re looking for folks who’d like to be part of the project. Here’s the call Kat wrote up, over on facebook:
Hi, Friends! I am working on a collection of photographs that will be paired with The Amazing Megan Stielstra’s story, “Incredible,” about the secrets we hide (in the case, the secret is a girl who’s sleeping with The Incredible Hulk). Megan has a story collection coming out in October, and her new website will feature different artists’ interpretations of different stories in the book. I am thrilled to be a part of this unique collaborative project. The proposal: Would YOU pose for a portrait alongside an object or place (real or imagined) that you keep secret? You can pose with the item in a number of ways: it can be suggested, partially revealed, or exposed fully. Your identity can remain a mystery, if you prefer, or we can link to your own website. We will only publish the photos you approve. Please let me know if you are interested in participating in this photograph collection.
We’re looking for all sorts of people, and all sorts of secrets, and all sorts of hiding places. If you’re interested in participating, you can email me or email Kat or leave us a comment on the facebook page.
