Index: UFOs

I Want to Believe
Uppercase Magazine #6

> Essays & Other Writing, > Transmissions, Culture

UFO_1

I staged these UFO photographs in the late 70s, when I was 9 or so, on the front lawn of my childhood home in Liverpool, New York.  When I look at these images now, they never fail to spark a small reverie — a welcome wormhole into kidhood.

Like the photos themselves, which have yellowed & faded with age, my affinity for the images has mellowed & deepened over the years. Now I think I’m as taken with the notion of staging UFO pictures as the idea of UFOs themselves.

I think the photos capture a profound human dynamic —inventing & crafting our own fantasies, while the same time ardently longing that they actually be true. Dwelling amid the tension is much more satisfying, ultimately, than being either a gimlet eyed rationalist or a wide-eyed true believer.

Uppercase_6

I want to believe…

> Transmissions

ufo1
ufo2
ufo31
ufo41

In the late 70’s, when I was 9 or so, I staged these UFO photographs. They were taken on the front lawn of our house in Liverpool NY, a suburb of Syracuse. They turn up every few years or so – a welcome wormhole to kidhood.

Like the photos themselves, though, my affinity for them has mellowed and deepened over the years. Thinking about them now, I’m as taken with the idea of staging UFO pictures as the idea of UFOs themselves. They capture a profound human dynamic – the craftiness of inventing our own stories as well as the longing that they actually be true. Dwelling amid that tension is much more satisfying, I think, than being either a gimlet eyed sceptic or a wide eyed true believer.