Portrait of Megan Fox hangs outside the Fibers class.Every single day hundreds of students walk past me making me wonder about what they’re thinking or if they see the things that no one ever seems to notice.
Do they notice the janitors hard at work? Do they notice even the small details like a person leaving a can of soda at a table when there is a recycling bin within reach? Do students notice the little creepy things around campus, such as the abandoned bikes, Megan Fox’s ghostly face hung, and the monster tree with orange googly-eyes?
This is no ordinary tree. It's a tree turned into a creature.With the concept of overlooked or disregarded things in mind, I took my camera and photographed things I have personally never noticed and perhaps objects people have not been aware of in the past. During the first week of school I casually made my way to lunch and just as I passed Coor Hall at the Tempe campus, I overheard a student say, “Hey, has that piece of sculpture always been there?” He pointed to a chunk of bronze metal placed on scattered dirty gravel, and his friend responded, “I’ve never noticed.”
Have you ever noted the homeless who tend to camp on College Avenue during the day? Turns out one of them takes glue and paper to the corner of College Avenue onto the Mill Avenue District board for “art” purposes. I remember seeing a lanky guy in ragged clothing — obviously having not washed for days — gluing small pieces of assorted paper onto the board. I strolled sheepishly by thinking nothing of it, but when I turned to see his face there was this moment of playfulness in his expression. He seemed pretty happy about what he was doing. Maybe it was thrilling. The next day the writing and pieces of paper were gone, all traces of vandalism wiped clean as if that moment never happened.
What if we all took the time to simply enjoy the little things and change our perspective once in awhile? I think that allows someone to reflect on life, maybe even see things differently.
Two bikes lay abandoned.
A black mouse hangs out in a local Eastside Records store.
A very nervous cat hides in a bush when it sees or hear anybody approaching.
Someone left evidence of a whole case of empty Coke cans with a bag of unfilled goldfish crackers.
Bunny style: Cement benches secluded from humans.
Two pieces of sculpture display their curves, and wait to be admired by students.
Arizona State University lights up the night.
Reach the photographer at ptohonni@asu.edu
