WEBVTT 00:01.368 --> 00:02.769  - If you've been in Memphis   during the past decade, 00:02.769 --> 00:05.472  you've probably encountered   Jamie Harmon's work. 00:05.472 --> 00:08.909  His mobile photo booth Amurica   has been a fixture at Memphis 00:08.909 --> 00:10.410  social events, 00:10.410 --> 00:13.981  but when the COVID-19 pandemic   shut down the city in 2020, 00:13.981 --> 00:16.483  the photographer   developed a new project. 00:16.483 --> 00:19.186  Instead of taking portraits   of people out on the town, 00:19.186 --> 00:21.488  he took his camera to them. 00:21.488 --> 00:24.558  This is A Conversation   with Jamie Harmon. 00:24.558 --> 00:27.127 [upbeat music] 00:31.331 --> 00:33.400 Hi, I'm Chris McCoy from the Memphis Flyer 00:33.400 --> 00:37.037 and we are here in Crosstown Arts Gallery with Jamie Harmon. 00:37.037 --> 00:39.540 Jamie, thank you so much for joining us today. 00:39.540 --> 00:41.041 - Thanks for having me. 00:41.041 --> 00:45.279 - So I guess the first question is about Amurica. 00:46.480 --> 00:50.584 You have done this photo booth for, 00:50.584 --> 00:51.518 when did you start? 00:52.519 --> 00:55.923 - It was January of 2011 was, 00:55.923 --> 00:58.258 actually I purchased the camper, 00:58.258 --> 01:01.528 the original camper in December of 2010. 01:01.528 --> 01:05.532 And then by the end of February of 2011, 01:05.532 --> 01:09.569 it was in its first round of what it was gonna be 01:09.569 --> 01:10.704  which I didn't know   what it was gonna be, 01:10.704 --> 01:12.039  it was really just gonna be 01:12.039 --> 01:15.042  a mobile portrait thing   for just a project. 01:15.042 --> 01:17.678  It wasn't meant to   be what it is today. 01:17.678 --> 01:20.380 It was definitely a very simple 01:20.380 --> 01:22.316 something to do to roll around 01:22.316 --> 01:24.418 and take weird pictures of people. 01:24.418 --> 01:26.954 - Okay, so why Amurica? 01:26.954 --> 01:28.522 I don't know this, I've always wondered-- 01:28.522 --> 01:31.291 - Oh yeah. This is a pretty, it's a pretty decent story. 01:31.291 --> 01:34.795 Actually, on one of the first dates with my now wife, 01:34.795 --> 01:37.564  Leah Keys, I don't know. 01:37.564 --> 01:42.569  I had seen a Bank of   America sign laying behind 01:43.637 --> 01:46.840 Tad Pierson's warehouse home downtown, 01:46.840 --> 01:50.177 and it was discarded and we were, out on a date 01:50.177 --> 01:52.346 and I probably was like, maybe I was trying to show off. 01:52.346 --> 01:53.880 I don't know. 01:53.880 --> 01:55.148 I was like, yeah, I like to scavenge things off the road. 01:55.148 --> 01:56.450 And anyway, so I went 01:56.450 --> 01:58.919 and I had been planning on grabbing that sign to 01:58.919 --> 02:00.420 do something with it. 02:00.420 --> 02:03.523 This was before the photo booth was even than a thing. 02:03.523 --> 02:06.126 - It was, you know, before it was a thing. 02:06.126 --> 02:07.828 So I had that, I had taken that it was discarded, 02:07.828 --> 02:11.231 put it in my some storage thing that I had. 02:11.231 --> 02:13.834 And then when the trailer was done, 02:13.834 --> 02:16.370 I was with a friend of mine, Sally Russell, 02:16.370 --> 02:19.106 and she saw the sign and was like, oh, 02:19.106 --> 02:22.075 if you take the N from the bank part and turn it upside 02:22.075 --> 02:24.711  down, you have a U and   you can have Amurica. 02:24.711 --> 02:26.346  And then we talked   about, you know, 02:26.346 --> 02:28.015  what is the   definition of Amurica? 02:28.015 --> 02:30.283 Like there's an Urban Dictionary definition. 02:30.283 --> 02:33.720 And then it all came together with like the photo booth was 02:33.720 --> 02:35.989 a trailer and it was kind of the, 02:35.989 --> 02:39.826 the Urban Dictionary said that Amurica was the land of the 02:39.826 --> 02:41.795 red, white, trash and blue. 02:41.795 --> 02:43.597 So it was like, oh, it's a trailer, 02:43.597 --> 02:46.967 trailer trash, Amurica on the side of a trailer. 02:46.967 --> 02:49.002 And that's really, that was it. 02:49.002 --> 02:51.138 That was all it was. 02:51.138 --> 02:53.707 - And you decorated the interior of these, 02:53.707 --> 02:55.509 the Amurica photo booths. 02:55.509 --> 02:56.810 'Cause there have been several at this point, right? 02:56.810 --> 02:58.912 - There's been two that were mobile. 02:58.912 --> 03:02.949  One was just destroyed by a   traffic accident six months ago 03:02.949 --> 03:05.018  And that was the original   one, unfortunately. 03:05.018 --> 03:07.587  But the second one   was built a few, 03:07.587 --> 03:11.591  like a year and a half   later, so like 2012 probably. 03:11.591 --> 03:16.129 And yeah, so my son and I, who was 11 at the time, 03:16.129 --> 03:18.465 he kind of, was just a project for us to do together. 03:18.465 --> 03:21.401 We stapled old pictures up and then put the lights on it and 03:21.401 --> 03:25.672 then it became a software issue, which you know, 03:25.672 --> 03:28.575 that came into being over the next couple of years. 03:28.575 --> 03:30.577 You know, like the technology was there. 03:30.577 --> 03:33.980 I mean, I have actually used trailers for photography 03:33.980 --> 03:35.482 since the early '90s. 03:35.482 --> 03:40.187 I had a 1-hour photo lab in an old camper in 1991 and 03:41.354 --> 03:44.157 I would go to events, shoot them on film, 03:44.157 --> 03:46.359 go out to the parking lot, process 03:46.359 --> 03:50.130 and print the pictures in an old '60s camper. 03:50.130 --> 03:52.566 But back then, you couldn't do what you can do today. 03:52.566 --> 03:56.903 'Cause it was, digital allowed it to go into the next mode. 03:56.903 --> 03:58.839 - I think people who've never done it have no idea 03:58.839 --> 04:01.975 how much more convenient digital is than film. 04:01.975 --> 04:04.811 - Oh, man, yeah, yeah for sure, for sure. 04:08.048 --> 04:12.185 - The interior of these photo booths were spectacular 04:13.320 --> 04:14.121 and you had all kinds of stuff in them. 04:14.121 --> 04:15.589 Still do, you know? 04:15.589 --> 04:17.858 I shouldn't say speak of it in the past tense. 04:17.858 --> 04:20.393 - Oh yeah. It still exists. - Yeah. Yeah. 04:20.393 --> 04:23.864 But, you put all kinds, are you like a pack rat? 04:23.864 --> 04:26.366 - Well, I think I have a pretty decent rule 04:26.366 --> 04:29.136 of if I'm not gonna use it, I'll get rid of it. 04:29.136 --> 04:31.938 But that was one of those things where the trail, you know, 04:31.938 --> 04:35.075 if I saw, I started collecting weirder things in the, 04:35.075 --> 04:39.446 you know, 2011 to put inside the camper 04:39.446 --> 04:42.182 and then, you know, eventually you lose interest 04:42.182 --> 04:43.717 in that kind of stuff. 04:43.717 --> 04:46.086 So it's like, I don't really seek out that stuff as much. 04:46.086 --> 04:48.989 But you also develop a reputation and people just start 04:48.989 --> 04:50.457 giving it to you, you know? 04:50.457 --> 04:54.661 Like if you like, oh you like frog, you know, figurines. 04:54.661 --> 04:56.730 If somebody thinks you like those then every time they 04:56.730 --> 04:58.598 travel, they're gonna bring you one back. 04:58.598 --> 05:00.267 So that stuff like that happened, 05:00.267 --> 05:01.601 which I really appreciated, 05:01.601 --> 05:03.703 'cause it was nice to have things that were, 05:03.703 --> 05:06.406 were belong to people from their childhood, even, 05:06.406 --> 05:07.874 that were put in there. 05:07.874 --> 05:09.376 If I was shooting their wedding, they would be like, 05:09.376 --> 05:11.811 I brought this for you to keep in the photo booth. 05:11.811 --> 05:13.313 Stuff like that. 05:13.313 --> 05:17.150 So it, it just kind of, it began a life of its own. 05:17.150 --> 05:20.687 - So, and yeah, it does have a life of its own. 05:20.687 --> 05:23.089 These photographs are all over social media. 05:23.089 --> 05:24.491 You know, people go into parties 05:24.491 --> 05:27.427 and they get their picture taken at Amurica. 05:27.427 --> 05:28.628 I've got three or four, you know? 05:28.628 --> 05:30.997 - Yeah. It was very distinctive for, 05:30.997 --> 05:33.300 it was definitely built for social media at the time. 05:33.300 --> 05:34.801 I mean in 2011, 05:34.801 --> 05:37.003 I don't even think I was on Instagram at that time. 05:37.003 --> 05:40.307 It was around, but I just wasn't using it, you know, 05:40.307 --> 05:41.741 at the time. 05:41.741 --> 05:44.110 And then I adapted of course, and it was definitely a, 05:44.110 --> 05:46.780 it became one of those Memphis people have said, 05:46.780 --> 05:48.815  it's like your   Memphis passport. 05:48.815 --> 05:51.585  I mean over the   past 11 years now, 05:51.585 --> 05:54.721  I mean the last two don't   really count cause it's kind of 05:54.721 --> 05:56.256  been shut down, 05:56.256 --> 05:58.792  but there's probably half   a million photos that I've 05:58.792 --> 06:00.327  archived of people in there. 06:00.327 --> 06:02.796  And people that were   like on their first date 06:02.796 --> 06:04.731  and then I was at   their wedding and then 06:04.731 --> 06:07.801  they're in there with their   kids and then so forth. 06:07.801 --> 06:09.869  And of course there's   other, you know, 06:09.869 --> 06:12.372  there's divorces as   well, but it's yeah. 06:12.372 --> 06:14.641  The kids have grown up   with pictures in there. 06:14.641 --> 06:16.509  So it's kind of   been a cool project. 06:16.509 --> 06:18.445  I didn't know what,   I didn't know, 06:19.779 --> 06:22.015 the first year when it started getting some traction, 06:22.015 --> 06:24.017 my instinct was to run from it. 06:24.017 --> 06:28.121 I was like, this can't be, I can't do this forever. 06:28.121 --> 06:30.490 But then, you know, it, it was all positive. 06:30.490 --> 06:33.660 Everything became a, it's only been positive 06:33.660 --> 06:35.495 since it started, really. 06:35.495 --> 06:39.633 - So you've been doing event photography for a while. 06:39.633 --> 06:43.370 Like that kind of was your roots right? 06:43.370 --> 06:47.974 - I started out actually almost right outta high school, 06:47.974 --> 06:51.077 photographing people that rode the riverboats downtown, 06:51.077 --> 06:52.979 the Memphis Queen line riverboats. 06:52.979 --> 06:55.749 And I would, it had a Pentax film. 06:55.749 --> 06:58.385 It was all film, and I would process 06:58.385 --> 07:01.721 and then run to the lab, which was on Beale Street Landing, 07:01.721 --> 07:03.456 which is no longer there, 07:03.456 --> 07:05.659 and then bring the pictures back to sell them. 07:05.659 --> 07:07.927 And I did that for a decade in the '90s. 07:07.927 --> 07:11.197 So my 20s was, was meant, was doing that. 07:11.197 --> 07:14.234 So I really got used to a camera. 07:14.234 --> 07:15.702 And do, you know, 07:15.702 --> 07:16.870 I didn't even have to think about the metering. 07:16.870 --> 07:18.371 It was just like, 07:18.371 --> 07:21.174 I can look and know what to do 'cause I was doing it all day 07:21.174 --> 07:24.844 every day, same with printing and processing color. 07:24.844 --> 07:27.180 You know, I was using machines that were 10, 07:27.180 --> 07:28.615 that were over a decade old. 07:28.615 --> 07:30.550 So in the '90s, that's where 07:30.550 --> 07:33.353 I just became more of an obsessive photographer 07:33.353 --> 07:36.356 and just documented everything 'cause it was easy. 07:36.356 --> 07:38.124 I had access to all of the machinery and all of the, 07:38.124 --> 07:40.960 the film was cheap 'cause I'd order it in bulk. 07:40.960 --> 07:45.231 So really my obsession of like this project 07:45.231 --> 07:46.800 is over 800 images. 07:48.201 --> 07:53.173 It was like 15 to 20 miniature creative jobs per day. 07:54.574 --> 07:58.445 Like every shoot was a new, you've got 15 minutes to do it. 07:58.445 --> 08:00.914 That's for later in the conversation probably. 08:00.914 --> 08:02.382 - Well let's go there. 08:02.382 --> 08:03.983 - But it's connected, you know, it's connected. 08:03.983 --> 08:05.952 Like you just start something when you're young and then you 08:05.952 --> 08:07.387 never stop. 08:07.387 --> 08:10.056 - The only other question I have about that or 08:10.056 --> 08:13.026 that seems to be important is to me is like, 08:14.227 --> 08:16.196 you just are so good at shooting people. 08:16.196 --> 08:18.832 And like, I mean some photographers do landscapes, 08:18.832 --> 08:23.837 some photographers do like, very posed kind of stuff, 08:23.837 --> 08:27.907 but you seem to thrive on spontaneity and specifically 08:27.907 --> 08:30.176 taking pictures of people's faces. 08:30.176 --> 08:33.380 I mean... - Yeah. I think that took time. 08:33.380 --> 08:34.681 In my 20s, I was not, 08:34.681 --> 08:37.484 I was too intimidated by approaching people. 08:37.484 --> 08:40.387 You know, as you get older, that becomes a little easier. 08:40.387 --> 08:43.823 And I think it was just a good natural progression 08:43.823 --> 08:45.892 of my interests when I was younger. 08:45.892 --> 08:48.962 And then you get bored with taking pictures of things 08:48.962 --> 08:51.865 that are inanimate, or finding things 08:51.865 --> 08:53.700 or using props or whatever they were 08:53.700 --> 08:57.804 and only shooting stuff of your family. 08:57.804 --> 08:59.439 I mean, when you, you know, it's easy to shoot 08:59.439 --> 09:00.974 pictures of your family, if they're into it 09:00.974 --> 09:02.609 because you're with them, it's close, 09:02.609 --> 09:05.779 the intimidation factor isn't there. 09:05.779 --> 09:08.081 But I do like to work fast because it doesn't allow me to 09:08.081 --> 09:12.185 have to sit there and think about what could go wrong. 09:12.185 --> 09:15.955 Or the awkward silences of what's next. 09:15.955 --> 09:18.625 So I think it works better for me to 09:18.625 --> 09:22.162 be in a situation to where let's just figure it out when 09:22.162 --> 09:26.199 you get here, instead of trying to pre-plan everything. 09:26.199 --> 09:28.501 - Which brings us to the, what do you call it? 09:28.501 --> 09:30.003 Is this the quarantine project? 09:30.003 --> 09:31.871 - You know, in the beginning it was Quarantine Memphis, 09:31.871 --> 09:33.807 but I wanted Memphis to be first. 09:33.807 --> 09:36.309 So now it's called Memphis Quarantine. 09:36.309 --> 09:39.212 - Well obviously March 2021 happens, the city shuts down. 09:39.212 --> 09:41.748 Amurica is not happening anymore. 09:41.748 --> 09:44.484 - Yeah. - So. 09:44.484 --> 09:46.953 - Yeah, so that's, it all started that we were, 09:46.953 --> 09:50.590 everyone was sent home here in Memphis from school 09:50.590 --> 09:53.526 and most jobs on March 13th. 09:53.526 --> 09:58.531 I think I was initially a little panicked that I wasn't, 09:59.966 --> 10:02.235 that I was gonna be stuck at home because that was the 10:02.235 --> 10:05.071 literal, you know, words that were used, stay at home. 10:05.071 --> 10:07.173 And then I started thinking about the rules of like, well, 10:07.173 --> 10:08.374 what are the rules? 10:08.374 --> 10:10.143 Like, don't go to a bar, don't go to church, 10:10.143 --> 10:11.578 don't go to have a party. 10:11.578 --> 10:13.680 Don't just, stay away from crowds. 10:13.680 --> 10:14.948 You can go to the park, 10:14.948 --> 10:15.882 you can walk around, you can talk to people, 10:15.882 --> 10:19.786 people from 20 feet away outdoors, it's perfectly fine. 10:19.786 --> 10:23.423 But still the social norms kind of still worried me 10:23.423 --> 10:25.225 that if I start taking these pictures, 10:25.225 --> 10:26.793 am I gonna be targeted, you know, 10:26.793 --> 10:29.195 and canceled or whatever you want to call it. 10:29.195 --> 10:32.165 So I first started with friends, Ryan Azada 10:32.165 --> 10:35.568  and Maria Applegate were the   first people I called to say, 10:35.568 --> 10:37.504  "Hey, can I just come   take your picture 10:37.504 --> 10:38.972  through your windows?" 10:38.972 --> 10:41.441  And just to give   me something to do. 10:41.441 --> 10:45.178  And then after that I kind   of put it on reluctantly, 10:45.178 --> 10:47.714  I put it on social   media thinking 10:47.714 --> 10:51.518  it's either gonna backfire   or it's gonna keep me busy. 10:51.518 --> 10:53.152  And we were all told, 10:53.152 --> 10:54.921  yeah we'll shut   down for two weeks. 10:54.921 --> 10:56.189 And then we can, you know, 10:56.189 --> 10:58.124 so I was thinking it's a two-week project. 10:58.124 --> 11:00.960  So I was trying to get as many   in a day as I could for two 11:00.960 --> 11:02.762  weeks because I knew   it was gonna end 11:02.762 --> 11:04.497  or I thought it was gonna end. 11:04.497 --> 11:06.866  And after that happened, 11:06.866 --> 11:09.569  I was getting text messages   and messages from like five 11:09.569 --> 11:13.106  different sources from emails   and Facebook and Instagram. 11:13.106 --> 11:14.641  And that got outta hand. 11:14.641 --> 11:15.742  I couldn't keep up with that. 11:15.742 --> 11:18.044  So Leah, my wife, said, 11:18.044 --> 11:20.813  "Look, let me take over   the organizing of it," 11:20.813 --> 11:23.783  because at that point   there were too many people 11:23.783 --> 11:26.386  and she made a   Google signup sheet, 11:26.386 --> 11:30.490  which then went almost   within weeks to 1200 people. 11:30.490 --> 11:35.495  And then she organized them   all by zipcode and area. 11:36.362 --> 11:37.830  So if I was going   to Germantown, 11:37.830 --> 11:40.500  I needed like 15 people,   they were in the same area. 11:40.500 --> 11:42.635 So I could just go from one house to the other, 11:42.635 --> 11:44.137 kinda like going to the grocery store. 11:44.137 --> 11:45.939 You don't want go to the produce and then immediately to the 11:45.939 --> 11:48.374 eggs and then back to the produce, like plan it, right? 11:48.374 --> 11:52.545 - Well that's how I act in the grocery store. 11:52.545 --> 11:54.581 Ideally, you shouldn't do that. 11:54.581 --> 11:55.848 - Yeah. Yeah. 11:55.848 --> 11:57.083 So I was, when I was doing it, I was like, 11:57.083 --> 11:58.384 oh yeah, I'm driving to Collierville 11:58.384 --> 11:59.986 and then I'd have someone downtown. 11:59.986 --> 12:02.622 I was like, I can't, that's too much driving 12:02.622 --> 12:04.157 and that's not efficient. 12:04.157 --> 12:07.827 So she broke it down and did the schedule for two months. 12:07.827 --> 12:09.262 And it was like, I would, 12:09.262 --> 12:11.497 she would just put it in a Google map and I'd open my phone 12:11.497 --> 12:13.800 and there would be a list of people there, 12:13.800 --> 12:15.268 and I would just go one after the other. 12:15.268 --> 12:17.870 So I could just focus on showing up, 12:17.870 --> 12:21.240 doing the job and going to the next one and then sitting and 12:21.240 --> 12:23.409 editing for six hours at the end of the day. 12:23.409 --> 12:26.412 So it was, we didn't have that many rain days either. 12:26.412 --> 12:30.049 So it was almost every day for, you know, 12:30.049 --> 12:32.619 two and a half months, a little over two and a half months. 12:32.619 --> 12:35.254 - See, that's my memory of the beginning of the pandemic 12:35.254 --> 12:36.556 is how beautiful the weather was. 12:36.556 --> 12:39.392 - It was beautiful until the end of May. 12:39.392 --> 12:40.827 - Yeah. I was like, 12:40.827 --> 12:42.662 it feels like it should be storming outside 12:42.662 --> 12:44.297 or something like there should be 12:45.632 --> 12:47.767 some visible like manifestation of all this. 12:47.767 --> 12:49.936 - Yeah. That was a great, that really helped 12:49.936 --> 12:52.705 because my vehicle is not air conditioned. 12:52.705 --> 12:56.476 So driving around all day would've been brutal 12:56.476 --> 12:58.444 if it would've gotten into the 90s 12:58.444 --> 13:00.013 in the beginning of May. 13:00.013 --> 13:02.682 By June 8th, it was hot, and that was one of the factors. 13:02.682 --> 13:04.417 It was like, yeah, I gotta stop. 13:04.417 --> 13:05.685 It's just too much. 13:05.685 --> 13:07.720 - Yeah. So all these pictures were taken 13:07.720 --> 13:08.955 between March and... 13:08.955 --> 13:10.123 - Between March 13th and June 8th, 13:10.123 --> 13:12.358 June 8th was the last one that I shot. 13:12.358 --> 13:15.728 And then it still took me another 25 days to edit 13:15.728 --> 13:17.930 because I wasn't able to keep up 13:17.930 --> 13:20.033 with the editing of every day. 13:20.033 --> 13:22.669 I couldn't shoot and edit those the same day. 13:22.669 --> 13:24.537 And by the time I stopped, 13:24.537 --> 13:28.207 like early May still hadn't even been looked at. 13:28.207 --> 13:30.176 So I had a month of editing to do. 13:30.176 --> 13:32.211 And so I was finished totally with that 13:32.211 --> 13:34.781 by the first week of July probably 13:34.781 --> 13:38.151 and then every single family or person and dwelling 13:38.151 --> 13:42.021 that I showed up to, I would send them a link 13:42.021 --> 13:43.956 with their images that were edited 13:43.956 --> 13:46.559 so they could have those to do what they wanted with. 13:46.559 --> 13:50.063 So like every single 830 of those is all a separate link and 13:50.063 --> 13:53.166 all a, you know, a private thing for them to have 13:53.166 --> 13:54.901 'cause it was, there was no charge. 13:54.901 --> 13:57.570 Didn't even want to really talk about money because I, 13:57.570 --> 14:00.707 we wanted it, when I talked to Leah about it a lot to just 14:00.707 --> 14:01.941 brainstorm it. 14:01.941 --> 14:04.644 And she was like, it needs to be equitable. 14:04.644 --> 14:06.546 You know, like it doesn't need to, 14:06.546 --> 14:08.047 you don't need to feel like it is something that you have 14:08.047 --> 14:10.650 to purchase, like a private setting of a photographer. 14:10.650 --> 14:13.720 It needed to be, like any, just sign up. 14:13.720 --> 14:15.221 It's just something for all of us to do. 14:15.221 --> 14:17.356 And many people did donate money 14:17.356 --> 14:19.926 to keep things going, which was wonderful. 14:19.926 --> 14:22.061 And I appreciate all of those people, 14:22.061 --> 14:23.663 but I never discussed it 14:23.663 --> 14:25.832 just because there were so many people 14:25.832 --> 14:28.768 that were trying to figure out even how to navigate the 14:28.768 --> 14:32.271 government assistance system and all of those things. 14:32.271 --> 14:33.606 - So you said you did about 800? 14:33.606 --> 14:36.175 - It was about 833, I think, 14:36.175 --> 14:38.511 was the total number by June 8th. 14:38.511 --> 14:40.012 - Wow. 14:40.012 --> 14:42.782 And yeah, and it was also 15-minute conversations 14:42.782 --> 14:45.318 with 830 people over those first 2 months. 14:45.318 --> 14:48.788 So it was a really great perspective of 14:48.788 --> 14:51.758 trying to figure out what is gonna happen. 14:51.758 --> 14:54.093 So I wasn't really paying attention to those conversations 14:54.093 --> 14:57.497 until May, and then it all became clear that, oh, 14:57.497 --> 15:00.199 this is gonna be the best we get. 15:00.199 --> 15:02.402 Like these are the golden days 15:02.402 --> 15:04.737 and then it's just gonna go to hell, you know? 15:06.272 --> 15:09.075 - And it kind of did. - Yeah. 15:09.075 --> 15:11.010 It's weird to think about, to look back on that time 15:11.010 --> 15:14.680 and think, it was, things were pretty okay. 15:14.680 --> 15:17.884 But they were, and in the meantime... 15:17.884 --> 15:18.718 - Scary but temporary at that moment. 15:18.718 --> 15:20.186 - Scary but temporary. 15:20.186 --> 15:21.420 - Everybody thought it was temporary. 15:21.420 --> 15:22.889 You know, like we're going to fix this. 15:22.889 --> 15:25.892 - Did you let people decide where they were gonna get their 15:25.892 --> 15:27.126 picture taken? 15:27.126 --> 15:30.897 - Well, yeah, I'm pretty flexible. 15:30.897 --> 15:33.166 And I like to start things off with like, 15:33.166 --> 15:35.434 I would start things off by saying, you know, 15:35.434 --> 15:37.303 good to meet you, all this other stuff 15:37.303 --> 15:40.706 and ask how things were going and then say, look, 15:40.706 --> 15:42.175 there's things that I want to do, 15:42.175 --> 15:43.876 and I would like to do things that you would like to do. 15:43.876 --> 15:47.413 So where would you like a nice family portrait just to, 15:47.413 --> 15:49.315 for your vision, whatever you see. 15:49.315 --> 15:50.783 And a lot of them had it all planned 15:50.783 --> 15:52.518 and they had costumes on. 15:52.518 --> 15:55.254 Most people were just like, do whatever you want to do. 15:55.254 --> 15:56.689 And then it would become clear 15:56.689 --> 15:59.625 that I did what I wanted to do 15:59.625 --> 16:01.861 and pick the windows and areas that I wanted them to be in, 16:01.861 --> 16:04.430 then they came up with their own ideas. 16:04.430 --> 16:06.299 You know, it's like once it got started, 16:06.299 --> 16:09.302 they always ended it with, well, can we do one here? 16:09.302 --> 16:11.804 They were reluctant to be the director in the beginning, 16:11.804 --> 16:15.141 But by the end, almost everybody wanted to be the director. 16:15.141 --> 16:16.108 Which was fine. 16:17.410 --> 16:20.179 - When you did me and my wife, 16:20.179 --> 16:21.681  we were like in our robes. 16:21.681 --> 16:24.283  - Yeah. And that was just,   I happened to be next door. 16:24.283 --> 16:25.751  - Yeah, you called us. 16:25.751 --> 16:26.686  - I was like, I gotta   knock on your door and say, 16:26.686 --> 16:27.987  hey, I'm here. Can we do it? 16:27.987 --> 16:30.423  Because I wanna get as   many as I can, so yeah. 16:30.423 --> 16:32.225 You were one of the, just happenstances. 16:32.225 --> 16:37.230 - What did you learn about people during this time? 16:37.230 --> 16:38.965 - I probably learned more about my, you know, 16:38.965 --> 16:42.735 people say I learned more about myself and I think, 16:42.735 --> 16:44.637 I didn't learn a lot about the people 16:44.637 --> 16:46.372 because it was 15 minutes. 16:46.372 --> 16:47.807 I mean, I learned where they lived 16:47.807 --> 16:50.343 and you know that they all have a dog. 16:51.310 --> 16:54.347 - But you stared at their faces. - Yeah. 16:54.347 --> 16:55.781 - You know, 'cause you were taking multiple frames. 16:55.781 --> 16:58.618 - Everyone was happy. Everyone was happy. 16:58.618 --> 17:01.220 And they were probably happy because there was something 17:01.220 --> 17:03.422 happening, like I was there, something is happening. 17:03.422 --> 17:08.427 But the pictures I chose to share had that stoic look. 17:09.862 --> 17:11.330 And even though that's the one that I shared because I was 17:11.330 --> 17:14.533 trying to just convey like, this is how we really all feel 17:14.533 --> 17:16.903 at two in the morning in the bathroom alone. 17:16.903 --> 17:18.537 You know, like we're scared, 17:18.537 --> 17:20.239 we're not frightened all day long, 17:20.239 --> 17:22.174 but we're definitely nervous about this. 17:22.174 --> 17:25.912 And like that was just kind of conveyed the vibe of what I 17:25.912 --> 17:28.114 thought the world might be feeling, 17:28.114 --> 17:30.583 even not just the country or this city. 17:30.583 --> 17:33.386 But there are just as many pictures 17:33.386 --> 17:36.822 of all of these people smiling and laughing and having fun. 17:36.822 --> 17:40.426 And in the private link they got all those were there. 17:40.426 --> 17:42.228 I just chose to share the ones 17:42.228 --> 17:45.298 that were conveying what I thought, 17:46.165 --> 17:47.600 what I wanted to convey. 17:47.600 --> 17:49.268 But what I learned about, you know, 17:49.268 --> 17:51.437 I think really it's the, 17:51.437 --> 17:55.641 I just learned more and more and more about inequality and 17:55.641 --> 17:58.144 how privilege and things like that. 17:58.144 --> 18:00.212 I would go see these people that were happy at 18:00.212 --> 18:02.248 home because they were making more money 18:02.248 --> 18:03.749 than they'd ever made. 18:03.749 --> 18:05.885 Getting, you know, some of them $850 a week from, 18:05.885 --> 18:10.222 the government assistance or they already worked from 18:10.222 --> 18:11.891 home and they were fine. 18:11.891 --> 18:14.293 And they felt like, hey, I was set up for this. 18:14.293 --> 18:17.029 And then I would go to the grocery store and the checker 18:17.029 --> 18:20.766 would be in Kroger without a mask because it took a while 18:20.766 --> 18:22.935 for them to catch up, you know, 18:22.935 --> 18:25.638 for the masks weren't even available in the beginning. 18:25.638 --> 18:28.541 And those people just had to go to work. 18:28.541 --> 18:31.610 I think it was the contrast of seeing people in their homes 18:31.610 --> 18:34.380 all day and then seeing people that never quit working. 18:34.380 --> 18:36.816 Like that kind of thing was like, yeah, 18:36.816 --> 18:38.417 it's always been that way. 18:38.417 --> 18:40.052 Right. Not to bring it down. 18:40.052 --> 18:44.423 - No, no. But did you get some essential worker pictures 18:44.423 --> 18:45.725 at some point? 18:45.725 --> 18:47.994 - Oh yeah. There were definitely, 18:47.994 --> 18:50.062 I mean these aren't labeled, you know, 18:50.062 --> 18:52.999 I wish I could put names and places 18:52.999 --> 18:56.035 and all kinds of information on every one of these pictures 18:56.035 --> 18:57.603 that are hanging in the show, 18:57.603 --> 19:00.206 but that would've taken me a year, you know, 19:00.206 --> 19:01.941 like to get all the spellings correctly 19:01.941 --> 19:03.142 and get the things right. 19:03.142 --> 19:04.777 But there are nurses and doc-, I mean, 19:04.777 --> 19:07.046 most of these people were scheduled when they signed up, 19:07.046 --> 19:09.281 they would tell us the day they were available. 19:09.281 --> 19:12.018 They didn't just, some of them said any day we're home, 19:12.018 --> 19:14.720 but a lot of them were like, we got their occupation. 19:14.720 --> 19:17.390 We knew what they did, and we put a lot of people, 19:17.390 --> 19:19.125 a little maybe ahead of the line. 19:19.125 --> 19:21.327 If we knew like, oh, this person's a nurse, 19:21.327 --> 19:22.762 this is their only day off. 19:22.762 --> 19:25.131 So we need to get to their house today. 19:25.131 --> 19:29.769  And there's one of a person   in a T-Rex blow up outfit 19:29.769 --> 19:30.770  that's in here somewhere. 19:30.770 --> 19:32.705  - Oh yeah, I saw that one. 19:32.705 --> 19:34.273  - And that was a nurse   who would walk her dog 19:34.273 --> 19:37.843  in that to make the kids   in the neighborhood laugh. 19:37.843 --> 19:39.779  So every one of them   have some kind of story. 19:39.779 --> 19:42.815  I got information about   every single one of them, 19:42.815 --> 19:45.184  but yeah, there were plenty, 19:45.184 --> 19:48.788  there was infectious disease   doctors that do the research at 19:48.788 --> 19:51.323  St. Jude, I   photographed, you know, 19:51.323 --> 19:55.194  those types of people from   people that worked in warehouse 19:55.194 --> 19:57.630 and people that worked at FedEx and they were, 19:57.630 --> 19:59.665 you know, so some of them were all still working. 19:59.665 --> 20:01.834 Not all of these people were just home. 20:01.834 --> 20:05.871 They were scheduled to get their day. 20:05.871 --> 20:07.039 - I walk through these pictures 20:07.039 --> 20:09.008 then I see faces that I know 20:09.008 --> 20:11.143 and I see faces that I don't know. 20:11.143 --> 20:13.279 And you know, we were talking earlier 20:13.279 --> 20:16.482  before the taping   about the diversity 20:16.482 --> 20:20.219  of the faces that   we see here too. 20:20.219 --> 20:21.487  - Yeah. Yeah. 20:21.487 --> 20:23.556  That was one of the main   goals too, is to try to 20:23.556 --> 20:24.857  reach out to as many people 20:24.857 --> 20:26.392  that might not even   have social media. 20:26.392 --> 20:28.194  By the time we got into May, 20:28.194 --> 20:32.164  I was talking to professors   at the universities and people 20:32.164 --> 20:35.835  that worked at schools, at high   schools and other places to, 20:35.835 --> 20:38.471  to send the message   out to reach people 20:38.471 --> 20:39.805  that might not   have a smartphone 20:39.805 --> 20:42.007  or might not have social media 20:42.007 --> 20:43.309  'cause a lot of people   do that on purpose. 20:43.309 --> 20:45.177  And a lot of people do it 20:45.177 --> 20:46.745  because they don't   have the option. 20:46.745 --> 20:49.815  And so there, you know, that   was starting to get momentum, 20:49.815 --> 20:54.253  being introduced to people   outside of maybe the connection 20:54.253 --> 20:56.922  that I had with people   on social media. 20:56.922 --> 20:59.125  And, and then it, that was, 20:59.125 --> 21:00.826  I could have gone on a year. 21:00.826 --> 21:02.995  But things changed   in the world. 21:02.995 --> 21:05.998  Things changed in the weather   and you know, it was just, 21:05.998 --> 21:07.133 it was time to quit. 21:07.133 --> 21:09.268 Physically, I couldn't do it anymore. 21:09.268 --> 21:12.338 It was just, I was just getting too worn out 21:12.338 --> 21:13.706 mentally and physically. 21:13.706 --> 21:15.508 So at June 8th was like, yeah, 21:15.508 --> 21:18.844 you've gotta stop or you're gonna have a wreck. 21:18.844 --> 21:21.247 - I think that's really interesting though, because you, 21:21.247 --> 21:23.149 you know, it feels like a lot of times it, 21:23.149 --> 21:25.818 social media is telling you like this is everybody, 21:25.818 --> 21:28.387 this is what everybody thinks, but it's really not. 21:28.387 --> 21:31.757 It's an extension of your network. 21:31.757 --> 21:34.960 And then which builds in biases, you know, 21:34.960 --> 21:37.196 to a certain extent for the information that... 21:37.196 --> 21:39.965 - Oh true. I mean there's plenty of posts on social media, 21:39.965 --> 21:42.234 which I, you know, this stuff like this made me think 21:42.234 --> 21:45.137 about the common people say, well, if you're from Memphis, 21:45.137 --> 21:48.340 you know these things and they'll take pictures of things 21:48.340 --> 21:50.843 around Memphis that everybody knows, and it's like, no, 21:50.843 --> 21:52.211 not everybody knows those things. 21:52.211 --> 21:54.246 It's like you lived in that neighborhood or, 21:54.246 --> 21:56.048 or you worked and you have a car. 21:56.048 --> 21:57.716 So you drove down Union every day, 21:57.716 --> 22:00.186 so you see this Sputnik thing or you see the other stuff, 22:00.186 --> 22:03.556 but man, not everybody sees the same stuff. 22:03.556 --> 22:07.059 So just, it can get very tribal. 22:07.059 --> 22:12.064 - Yeah. It can, but I commend you for trying to reach out, 22:13.265 --> 22:14.466 for recognizing that and trying to reach outside. 22:14.466 --> 22:18.370 So tell us how this exhibit came to be then. 22:18.370 --> 22:20.406 - Well, Crosstown Arts really supported me. 22:20.406 --> 22:22.041 I was working for Crosstown Arts. 22:22.041 --> 22:25.010 When we closed, I was running the shared arts space 22:25.010 --> 22:30.015 that they have, which is an amazing space and it shut down. 22:30.883 --> 22:32.117  And there were many members 22:32.117 --> 22:33.252  that no longer had   access to that. 22:33.252 --> 22:35.688  So, you know, we all went home 22:35.688 --> 22:39.124  and we have a 44-inch   Epson printer that 22:39.124 --> 22:40.659  printed every one of these. 22:41.860 --> 22:43.829  Crosstown Arts funded   the ink and the paper. 22:43.829 --> 22:46.665  I printed them all, but   they paid for all of that. 22:46.665 --> 22:50.536  And I was also like on their   payroll kind of when I was 22:50.536 --> 22:52.438  shooting all of this   and I would be talking, 22:52.438 --> 22:55.274  I would talk to my bosses   here and say, look, 22:55.274 --> 22:56.809  this is what I'm doing. 22:56.809 --> 23:00.312  And this was the plan from the   very beginning, in my mind, 23:00.312 --> 23:01.814  I was like, you guys   are supporting me. 23:01.814 --> 23:04.450  I would love when this   is over, when we can, 23:04.450 --> 23:08.053  to have all of these   pictures in the gallery here 23:08.053 --> 23:10.856  and have these people,   see these people again. 23:10.856 --> 23:12.958  I said, it might be five years. 23:12.958 --> 23:14.894  It might be whatever, I   don't know what it would be. 23:14.894 --> 23:18.764  And we're still kind of,   we're not having a reception 23:18.764 --> 23:21.600 because when we planned this in January, 23:21.600 --> 23:24.036 when we started the pick, 23:24.036 --> 23:25.137 when we picked the date in January, 23:25.137 --> 23:27.172 everyone was sick with Omicron. 23:27.172 --> 23:31.377 So it was, we thought we can't announce an opening 23:31.377 --> 23:34.914 in February because it would just seem a little reckless, 23:34.914 --> 23:37.049 especially for a quarantine exhibit. 23:37.049 --> 23:39.118 But we're planning to hopefully 23:39.118 --> 23:41.654 have a closing reception in April. 23:41.654 --> 23:46.392 So that would be that's April 10th or somewhere near there. 23:46.392 --> 23:47.593 We'll figure it out. 23:47.593 --> 23:49.328 But yeah, so they were really supportive. 23:49.328 --> 23:54.166 So, that's why it's in these galleries is because, you know, 23:54.166 --> 23:57.036 this is where I was connected for the last four years. 23:57.036 --> 23:58.671 I no longer work here, 23:58.671 --> 24:00.939 but I still do freelance photography work 24:00.939 --> 24:03.776 for the Concourse building and Crosstown Arts 24:03.776 --> 24:06.879 and you know, whatever else comes along. 24:06.879 --> 24:09.481 - Yeah. So you're putting some of these photos 24:09.481 --> 24:11.483  in a book, right?   - Yes. 24:11.483 --> 24:15.220  The book will have one   image of every person 24:15.220 --> 24:16.789  or family that was shot. 24:16.789 --> 24:19.725  So it will be a 250-page   hardbound book 24:19.725 --> 24:21.660  and it will have   at least one image 24:21.660 --> 24:23.595  of every single family. 24:23.595 --> 24:25.964  - So what do you   have for the future? 24:25.964 --> 24:30.970 - Actually, I'm looking, I'm supposed to meet today, 24:34.373 --> 24:36.375  Craig Brewer and I are, 24:36.375 --> 24:40.946  and Jodi Brewer are working   on a studio space to share, 24:40.946 --> 24:42.981  so it, but it has   to be built out. 24:42.981 --> 24:44.683 So that could be six weeks. 24:44.683 --> 24:47.386 That could be, I don't know, two months or more, 24:47.386 --> 24:48.787 depends on how long that takes. 24:48.787 --> 24:50.322 But yeah, the plan is to open up, 24:50.322 --> 24:52.491 just kind of a basic photo studio, 24:52.491 --> 24:54.960 not in the style of Amurica across the street, 24:54.960 --> 24:57.429 the old studio, 'cause that was really more an event space 24:57.429 --> 24:59.832 that was shared and used to rent out. 24:59.832 --> 25:02.601 This would just be more of a studio space. 25:02.601 --> 25:03.936 And see where it goes from there, 25:03.936 --> 25:06.872 'cause I've never really had a clean, you know, 25:06.872 --> 25:09.041 it's always been junked up. 25:09.041 --> 25:11.543 So we'll, you know, the plan is to just see what happens 25:11.543 --> 25:15.247 with a clean slate in another direction and yeah. 25:15.247 --> 25:16.482 See what happens. 25:16.482 --> 25:17.950 - And you gonna take Amurica back out? 25:17.950 --> 25:20.552 - The photo booth? - Yeah. 25:20.552 --> 25:23.389 - It has been out periodically for private events 25:23.389 --> 25:26.592 in the past month of just, just a couple days ago. 25:26.592 --> 25:29.995 So it's still, I mean the website still has it 25:29.995 --> 25:31.764 where you can book it for things 25:31.764 --> 25:33.565 because we can show up and wear masks 25:33.565 --> 25:36.802 and I've gotten to the point where, you know, 25:36.802 --> 25:39.204 it's gotten where like you do what you do. 25:39.204 --> 25:41.974 It's a little safer, you know, I don't feel, 25:41.974 --> 25:44.009 if the people hire me don't have a problem, 25:44.009 --> 25:45.177 I don't have a problem. 25:46.345 --> 25:47.646 I can keep myself protected if I want. 25:47.646 --> 25:49.782 So yeah, it's still there. 25:49.782 --> 25:52.184 It's still moving, it's just not open to the public. 25:52.184 --> 25:54.353 Like at Overton, you know, at places-- 25:54.353 --> 25:55.821 - You had it at Overton Square. 25:55.821 --> 25:58.057 - We used to sit out at Overton Square and places like that. 25:58.057 --> 25:59.858 But that also got just a little tough on me, you know, 25:59.858 --> 26:01.894 like standing out there 'til midnight. 26:01.894 --> 26:06.899 You know, and so we're inside the Concourse building 26:07.499 --> 26:09.034 when we are open to the public. 26:09.034 --> 26:11.136 That's usually 'cause it's sheltered. 26:11.136 --> 26:12.704 They have a huge atrium. 26:12.704 --> 26:15.107 They've been wonderful to me and you know, 26:15.107 --> 26:17.543 been able to work out where I can bring it inside 26:17.543 --> 26:19.044 and use it there. 26:19.044 --> 26:21.146 But we haven't really done it a lot because it's just, 26:21.146 --> 26:23.982 it's still been like just when you think you're ready to go, 26:23.982 --> 26:26.351 something happens and everybody gets shut down again. 26:26.351 --> 26:29.588 So it's still the timing has just been off for that. 26:29.588 --> 26:32.090 But it still exists and it's still around. 26:32.090 --> 26:34.059 - Well, Jamie Harmon, thank you so much 26:35.661 --> 26:36.862 for taking time with us today 26:36.862 --> 26:38.096 and showing us around these photographs 26:38.096 --> 26:42.067 and thank you for documenting Memphis 26:42.067 --> 26:45.370 at a really strange and unique time. 26:45.370 --> 26:46.738 - Thanks for having me. 26:46.738 --> 26:49.341 [upbeat blues music] 27:19.104 --> 27:21.106 [acoustic guitar chords]