Gallery

Teaching Dickinson

Emily, 2001
By Ellen Bayer

Artist's Statement:

I had a difficult time coming up with a creative project for this class. I had even considered writing a formal paper, as opposed to taking the creative route. However, an idea began to form in my mind, and I at last found a project I could be excited about and enjoy spending time on. I wanted to do a photographic journal of what Emily Dickinson would do if she could come back to life in the year 2001.

Using her poetry as a guide, I would photograph my modern Emily as she explored her new surroundings. I really wanted to "play" the role of Emily myself, but knew it would be difficult to set the timer on my camera and get the exact shot I was looking for. I decided to use a "model" (a friend I thought had an ED look). We set a date to do the shoot, and I spent the time in between finding poems to highlight in Emily's journal, which would help me to plan specific shots I wanted to take. On the day of our planned shoot, what seemed like a major blow to my project came: my model bailed on me, with no warning. At first I was pretty much perplexed, but soon it became a blessing in surprise. I could have asked another person to be my ED, but decided I needed to stick with my original idea of myself of Emily. It was in fact myself who had taken the class, and gotten to know ED through her poetry, and I felt I needed to be the one to portray her. I found myself suddenly much more excited about the project. As for the problem of how to take the pictures, I turned to my only option, my brother Alex. This was for many reasons. First of all, he is closer to me than anyone else, and I knew he was the only person who could understand exactly what I wanted each shot to look like. Another important factor was that I had introduced him to ED, and throughout the semester we looked at and discussed some of her poetry together. He was perfect for the job.

I had first envisioned the journal to consist of both black and white and also color pictures, but when it came time to shoot, I went with all color. If Emily came back, she wouldn't want to be limited to black and white. She starts off her visit in the cemetery, and sort of awakens from the dead. The poems and fragments of her poems start to tell her story, as she walks around realizes she is alive. She sees the cemetery gates, and considers the possibilities that await her outside.

The first thing she has to do is get rid of those funeral clothes. She needs something bright! She then stumbles upon a collection of her poetry; she knew she'd be famous! She indulges in some of her old favorite pastimes, and then discovers the modern city. She is having a great time until she learns of some current events, especially the recent terrorist attacks. Emily is very disturbed by this. She expresses her feelings in a way she's comfortable with -- she writes a poem. Emily then decides that only her poetry should live on, and that her spirit must return to where it came from. She returns to her grave, leaving only her poems behind.

I am happy with the way the pictures turned out. They captured the ideas I wanted to express, and I feel the poems help to emphasize those ideas and feelings. I wanted the project to have a journal-like feel, as if it were actually put together by Emily. I felt the inclusion of the events of September 11 was crucial to the project, as that day had a profound impact on all of us, and in the way we read her poems. Overall, I am happy with the finished project.