What makes life worth living?

In response to the film "Manhattan," here is my list of things worth living for and a bit why.

{ Short Version }

• the photographic work of Richard Avedon & Cindy Sherman
• The Black Parade, Songs About Jane, & lovestrong.
• "The Merry-Go-Round of Life" by Joe Hisaishi
• Tim Walker's portrait of Jennifer Lawrence
• Annie Leibovitz's portrait of the Queen of England
• Life of Pi by Yann Martel
• The Silver Linings Playbook with Jennifer Lawrence & Bradley Cooper
• caesar salad topped with grilled salmon
• the feeling of home
• long car rides
• quietness
• good bourbon
• naps
• sunny days
• close friends
• chocolate

{ A Bit About Why }

AN ARTIST:

In the past year or so, there are two significant artists that I have discovered and have since then held near and dear -- photographers Richard Avedon and Cindy Sherman. Avedon was a fashion photographer and pioneered many of the elements used in fashion photography today. Avedon's work greatly influenced my own photography my junior year of college; his elegantly simplistic compositions in conjunction with his use of motion and positioning of the female form in his fashion work caught my attention and helped me produce more effective work. Many of his images bring power and confidence to his female figures, adding more emotion into his work, which is something I would like to bring into my own work. Cindy Sherman is my other artistic hero; she is a conceptual portrait photographer who mainly works with the idea of identity as well as the human body. Although Sherman has created some truly weird and bizarre images, which at first are generally off-putting, her work is unique and has several elements that I envy. One of her more famous series is her Untitled Film Stills, in which Sherman uses herself as a model but creates several different roles and identities for herself in her images. In a way, each image is its own stand-alone narrative, bringing to her audience a different kind of presence in each photograph. I love the sort of "story-telling" facet of her work, which I hope to take a better grasp on in my own work.

TL;DR, I'm really passionate about portrait/fashion/conceptual photography.

AN ALBUM:

There are many, many albums I can return to over and over; my top three are My Chemical Romance's The Black Parade, Maroon 5's Songs About Jane, and Christina Perri's lovestrong. All three of these albums are charged with emotion, and over the years of listening to them I have developed a connection with all three of these works.

A SONG:

A song I can always go back and listen to is the theme to one of my childhood favorite movies, Howl's Moving Castle. The piece, titled "Merry-Go-Round of Life", is written by my favorite composer, Joe Hisaishi. This is a piece I've always enjoyed playing and it always sounds so happy and whimsical. To me, as odd as this may sound, this piece captures what the feeling of falling in love might sound like in musical form.

AN ARTWORK:

An element of any artwork, either paintings or in photography, is surrealism. One of my favorite images was taken by British fashion photographer Tim Walker, who created a portrait of Jennifer Lawrence posing with a peacock. I also really enjoy dramatic or purposeful lighting, such as in Annie Leibovitz's portrait of the Queen of England.

A BOOK:

Yann Martel's Life of Pi has been my favorite book for years -- although I don't read it often, it is always a powerful and beautifully written work of art that I can always reflect on differently with every read.

A MOVIE:

While I don't necessarily have a favorite actor/actress, my favorite movie of all time (though it is difficult to choose) is The Silver Linings Playbook. I love the chemistry between the characters and how frustrating and likable the storyline is; I can watch this movie over and over again and still tear up at the end.

A FOOD:

Can't pass up a Caesar salad (especially with grilled salmon) or a good ol' club sandwich.

LOVE:

I love that I always feel at home whenever I'm with the person I love.

MISC.:

Long car rides, quietness, good bourbon, naps, sunny days, close friends, and chocolate