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Perspective - Pill
By Stephen Boyer
Highlights from Breathing Room Collections: Perspectives
“One Day at a Time: Living with Cystic Fibrosis”, 2004
“Pill”
A Perspective by Stephen Boyer, Photographer
For me, working on Pill with Todd was cathartic. He is a very intense person and I think he was going through a difficult time when we did this piece. I think it was the first photo shoot where I really understood my mandate as an artist and a facilitator: my role as a Through the Looking Glass Photographer is to deliver an image which is true to the Participant’s vision, which underscores the emotional tone of their statement, and in the most successful instances creates a resonance between the image and the text which makes the total piece stronger than the parts. I think Pill has all of these qualities.
Todd was very specific about wanting Pill to be confrontational, that it convey his anger and frustration. He was also very concerned that it not be seen as playful or funny. In some ways that is a tall order when creating an image of somebody sticking their tongue out. We were extremely careful both when we were shooting and at the editing table to try to get the nuances of facial expression right, to get him into the frame of mind he wanted to convey. The technical execution was also deliberate: a little too close and highly distorted. I am very proud of the work I did on Pill, it is exactly what I think Todd wanted. And I do think that the text and the image resonate powerfully.
A number of people have confided to me that Pill makes them uncomfortable, or even that they dislike it. I think it probably should have that effect. Not everything that needs to be said about CF is happy or hopeful. Sometimes people need to get the venom out before they can heal. And sometimes the rest of us need to be reminded, every so often, that some days the burden of chronic illness can be too much.
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