Alec Soth needs your help! He's heading out West next week for a new project entitled, The California Sleepwalker's Treasure Hunt and is actively seeking leads to the following people, animals, hangouts, and actions-in-progress:
-Condors
-Sleepwalkers (specific individuals would be best)
-Punk hangouts
-Self-mutilation/flagellation, scarring
-Horror film (in progress....otherwise horror makeup artist)
-Star Wars iconography / Star Wars collectors
-Dolores Huerta / United Farmworkers
-Bats
-Hare Krishnas
-Metal detector enthusiasts
-Hang Gliders
-Frankenstein
-Emo's in Tijuana or Mexicali
-anything else that fits this stream of thinking
Alec Soth's treasure hunting route
If you're familiar with Alec's work, you know that he has a proclivity to wander along the wayfarer's path, whether that's down the Mississippi River, to and from Niagara Falls, or on a birthday trip to Las Vegas. Some of these travels are now being documented in his new blog in The New York Times, "Continental Picture Show"; last week's first installment took viewers to New Orleans in the aftermath of Mardi Gras, which begins with a shot of a barelegged Alec watching celebrations on TV from his hotel room then continues with an annotated foray into Nawlins. As expected, Alec's wanderings reveal a few truths beneath the celebratory veneer and those revelations surface much to the viewer's delight.
In an interview with the Walker Art Center in May 2006, shortly after completing NIAGARA, Soth spoke of his lists, and how they inspire his framework for looking:
PS: If you're starting a new project, how does that work? Do you just start shooting and see where it takes you?
AS: No. I did this project recently in Niagara Falls, and it started before I'd ever been to Niagara Falls. I had these pictures in my head of things I'd hoped to find. I have a list of things I want to shoot. One thing is "men in pajamas." I've yet to find a man in pajamas, but it's something I'm looking for. Why is that? That's the way I go out into the world, is looking for certain things.
This time around, Alec is crowdsourcing your insight and expertise to guide him from Los Angeles to San Francisco by way of condors, Hare Krishnas, hang gliders and punk hangouts. If you have hot tips you can leave them in the comments over at Little Brown Mushroom, where there is also an ever-growing discussion about the list itself.