Good Fruit

Salzburg Mini-Project

2009-02-23T05:36:00.001-08:00

In January this year I visited Salzburg with the Hudson family. I decided I wanted to do a mini Good Fruit related project. I gave myself, Tom, Jack and Sophie a disposable camera each and suggested a few tasks - at least take a photo of yourself at the beginning and end, take a photo of your feet, take a photo of everything you eat (part of task #34), take a typical holiday photo, intersting signs etc...so here are a few of them. There are more on my facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/album.php?aid=86886&id=659138637&page=2and I'm planning on making this into some sort of zine/online zine type thing. It was much more relaxed than making the book as I wasn't trying to do hundreds all the time! Good fun.

The Finished Article

2009-02-23T04:05:00.000-08:00

So, it's been a while, I finished my book after hours and hours of going blind from InDesign, and ended up getting a 1st for it as part of my degree, which is pretty cool. Not that that's the point... I'm really proud that I've made something tangible that people (I've been told) enjoy. Apparently it makes for good toilet time reading, or at least coffee time reading - the kind of thing you can pick up and put down, and learn something different every time. At this moment, I have sold 29 copies (yey!) and continue to sell them through my website and myspace (www.myspace.com/linswilson) On my myspace are some tunes I've made which I've found a really nice to listen to whilst on a train/falling asleep/trying to fall asleep on a train. Buy a copy if you like, you get an activity book too! I'm currently trying to get it stocked in some lovely independent bookshops around the UK and maybe beyond, so hopefully other people will like it as much as the people who have bought it so far. I'd love to do a second edition, so if you have any more ideas, post them up on here or on the messageboard on my website.

Photos/tasks I like but haven't included in my book

2008-06-01T07:39:00.000-07:00

So,
The book is nearly finally made,as are the task books for everyone to use. Pictures of those up soon.
For the time being, I'd like to post up some photos/tasks of ones I didn't include in the book for various reasons - that they didn't fir with the overall 'narrative', that they focused on individuals who I didn't get chance to ask for permission to use their photo - which I'm a bit gutted about, because there are some really good ones. So here's a few -

People - children,women and men

More completed tasks!

2008-04-14T14:03:00.000-07:00

These are all continous tasks, so bear in mind that they are part of a collection for task #34 - Take a picture of the following things in every place that you visit: egs wallpaper, a woman, a girl, the sky etc.

'Berlin'

'Hamburg'

'Amsterdam'

'Prague'

Task #31 Go to a famous building/monumnet/bridge etc., line your camera up as if to take a picture of what's in front of you, then walk straight forward and take a picture as close in as you can (but in focus). Name the picture by the name of the famous structure.

'Auschwitz'

The next stage...week 2

2008-04-02T07:34:00.000-07:00

So, i havent posted as regularly as id liked, but it turns out its pretty difficult in terms of time in particular, and cost. this is a free internet but there is no usb drive as i found in a lot of places, so for now i will just write. photos and more task examples will come later.

last week - amsterdam, hamburg, copenhagen and today the last day in berlin. Its been brilliant, my favourite is still Berlin. i have noticed ive felt less inclined to complete tasks in the places that i have already been (here and amsterdam), so im not sure if that means i already feel accustomed to the place, or whether i should push them more because i can achieve more depth, potentially.

here and cop. we have met and spoken to the most people - mainly because they have spoken perfect english, or are other travellers that are english, australian and american. even though i wanted to mainly be talking to native people, ive found you canlearn a lot from other travellers and have had some interesting discussions around cultural difference, and also gage how interested people seem in my ideas - which turns out to be very positive. i cant help but notice its still all pretty western though, apart from the odd eastern european - off to krakow tomorrow so i guess i'll see if its any different. it also stands out to me that there is this world of westerners and even meeting a lot of people, you dont comeacross many asian or african people, i guess mainly because of economy differences. i would like to try going somewhere completely different and seeing if this kind of format would work, or whether i will have a very western approach to it. id like to think that im open minded, but i guess another important thing to say is that travelling reflects a lot on your own culture and you personnally,which i think its important to allow for within this project. i think you can also analyse the way you travel, which is also fundamental to the project - a few people have commented on the way i (and tom) travel. We tend to not go to places for the sake of it and would rather wander around endless streets than endless museums. it can be difficult, but id like to do a kind of tips section or some practical info if this end product is to be web based especially. we have found so many amazing little retaurants and bookshops and places that people tend to miss by sticking to the tourist areas - we're still just going from major european city to the next, but within that i think its important how you go about finding things and how you spend your time - which is the whole reason i started this project.

ive really enjoyed so far talking to lots of people and trying to look at a place diffenrently, but i also like the other aspect to this which is more creating art out of your trip, or out of the place. some tasks are working better than others, some of the continuous ones get a bit boring, but then i am trying to do as many as is physically possible! plus i think itll be worth it for afterwards - it kind of feels like when your waitin g to get a film developed (which i do actually miss after swearing an oath to digital! saying that, its allowed me to take upto 3000 photos...im going to have to pick carefully!). Being aware of how you use your camera is also interesting - how comfortable you feel, how others do, and where you can and cannot shoot. i've been trying to keep a written diary as well, which is to remember the details of the encounters and experiences more easily than i can do on here - its sometimes difficult to put your thoughts on hold until you can get to an internet cafe. so i will perhaps publish some of the best parts later if they are worth reading...

anyway, hopefully some photos soon, until then...

Brussels.

2008-03-22T17:22:00.000-07:00

I came without many preconceptions of, or knowing much about Brussels. Just that I have a friend here and it makes sense to stop by between Paris and Amsterdam. It´s been amazing to have someone who has lived here for a while show us around, it´s always better. It´s very small which is nice after walking miles in Paris. There are brilliant flea markets and vintage and antiques shops everywhere which always give you a bit ,ore insight into the local culture I think - I didn´t mention, but we came across a very strange `market ´ in Paris, where lots of slightly shady-looking men were selling anything and everything - things they had found or the only possessions they had - from calculators to doll´s heads to tea cups and more. very bizarre, and a bit unnerving.
Anyway, on to Brussels. It´s really felt like I have lived here briefly, which i really want to try to carry on with on the rest of the trip. So far the highlight was winning random found goods at a bingo night and seeing an old lady do a high kick. Amazing. Here´s some more eye feasts...

Task #34. Take a picture in every place you visit of the following things: eg - a woman

"Brussels"

Task #4. Spend a day/the whole trip actively ignoring tourist attractions and document the experience: Walk up to the attraction then take a photo in the opposite direction.

"Grand-Place, Brussels"

Task #59. Ask people what they think is a stereotype of that place (before you go), then set out on a mission to find and photograph them

Brussels: "medium build, puffa jacket, American accent..."

Task #68. Take a picture of yourself everyday for the duration of the trip.

"Lindsay, Day 6"

Paris!

2008-03-22T15:45:00.000-07:00

So, Paris. Paris was less crazy than i expected. It did remind me quite a lot of london. i decided it would be a good idea to keep track of all the places ive eaten in, stayed at, drank at etc in case i decide to incude practical info. The tasks have been pretty easy to do (if you havent looked, see my links), just trying to keep track of the continuous ones and then also do one offs here and there. But its only 6 days into the trip and i´ve already taken over 600 photos, attempted brief conversations in french many times, and am generally really enjoying it all (you´d be daft if you didn´t). The little tasks kind of feel like little games of eyespye here and there and not like a chore. the couple i´ve found tough are recording all moustasches and also stereoypes - it´s not that i haven´t seen any, just that by the time you have realised or got your camera out its too late - unless you memorise them then draw them later! i definitely want to be a bit more ballsy and ask people if i can photograph them and try and talk to more people. this may be easier/different in Holland and Denmark where they speak really good English. I´m ok at French and can get by, but having a fully-fledged converation is difficult. That´s why i don´t just want this project to be about finding the most real/deepest/purest culture you can; but also having fun and creating art while you travel. I tend to just take photos but I´m going to try a few different visual approaches, as well as including Tom´s completed tasks - as i want to show that anyone can do it, and not all in the same way. Enough blabbing and figuring out a french keyboard, here´s a few completions/examples of continous tasks that will make more sense at the end...

Task #3. Create a series of repetitive images using the bed-linen/patterns in your accommodation.

"Hotel Commines, Paris"

Task #4. Spend a day/the whole trip actively ignoring tourist attractions and document the experience: Walk upto the attraction then take a photo in the opposite direction.

"Lindsay at The Moulin Rouge, Paris"

7. Leave a self-addressed, stamped envelope in lots of places with instructions for the person who finds it to write on it and post it.

"L´Atelier, Rue Au Maire, Paris"

Task #31. Go to a famous building/monumnet/bridge etc., line your camera up as if to take a picture of what's in front of you, then walk straight forward and take a picture as close in as you can (but in focus). Name the picture by the name of the famous structure.

"The Eiffel Tower, Paris"

"Oscar Wilde´s Grave, Cemetiere du Pere Lachaise, Paris"

Task #1. Take a photo of your own shadow but try for it to not look like you are taking a photo.

"Paris"

Task #61. Take a photo of the patterns on the seats of all the trains/other transport you travel on.

"Paris to Brussels"

Task #34. Take a picture in every place you visit of the following things: eg - every table you sit at.

"Near the Sacre Coeur, Paris"

Task #45. Take a photograph of the sky/the sun in every place that you visit.

"Paris"

Task #18. Lay out and draw/photograph everything in your backpack

2008-03-16T17:38:00.000-07:00

Lins' Backpack

Tom's Backpack

Beginning the adventure.

2008-03-15T07:49:00.000-07:00

And so it begins. What is hopefully the beginning of a long-term project of discovery, creation, self-reflection and cultural integration. Next stop Paris. Then Brussels, Holland, Copenhagen, Berlin, Poland, Prague an potentially more.

The aim at this point is to do as many tasks as possible (see my tasks blog - www.goodfruittasks .blogspot.com) as research into which work and which don't. I'm going to try to keep this blog going over the duration of my month long trip - as I, like many others, prefer to scribble in a diary on a train or in a cafe rather than restrict myself to sitting at a computer when there is too much to see in too little time! But I will do my best to keep it live so you can see the development of my research trip, and show a few of my completed tasks.