elgyn Park yes it’s a very neutral place
there’s no conflict there it’s colorless
people who look at my photographs will
bring their own stories they’ll say oh
this reminds me of the house that I grew
up in we were in a car crash it looks
something very similar to that so it
brings those stories out in people
there was a Popeye cartoon when olive
oil was walking on a building being
built and every time she was about to
step off a girder came that’s my life my
resume looks like what’s available in
the job force for a cabinetmaker mailman
got bit on the first day I said I’m
sorry I quit I was the art director for
a UH a national company and I fall on
the floor and I turn blue from that job
I went to become a bartender a very
sketchy bar I got fired because I would
not wear hot pants and that’s one now my
next job from that I said I’m gonna be a
lawmaker everything you do you will
learn from it and you’ll use it later on
in life when I was a mailman it made me
aware of how streets are laid out how
towns grow my photographs read well
because there is a logic to it Alton
Park is not just my little fantasy I’m
documenting the 20th century in a way
I put my stuff out on the web for body
here and over a year I got around 1,000
hits but someone in England who worked
for car magazine sent me an email and
said can I show one or two of your
photographs you know just as though oh
isn’t this interesting kind of thing the
day it hit the stands
it went from a thousand hits to a
million hits in you know within a day
and then it kept going and going and
going
I was delighted and I got emotional
about it and then it was the oh my god
what have I done kind of thing and then
people I’m I’m a Rekluse I mean I’m very
personable and I can you know go outside
and talk to people and but recognition
is tough for me it actually stems from
when I was young I was bullied in school
and I was bullied because I was
different
who I think I’m still dealing with that
still struggling with what that means
and all that I don’t think about it a
lot but you know it does bubble up I
just realized I’m slightly I’ve come
into this reality at a slightly
different angle there was the whole
issue of being gay finding from
kindergarten I absolutely knew from
kindergarten because there was what boy
came in I went I liked that person the
bullying got so bad that the teachers
let me leave class 15 minutes before the
bell rang because they knew how I
c-can’t romped on
it’s like minded people say you know I
want them to say I like you you know
you’re interesting if anybody has been
depressed I mean you kind of know that
what that road feels like and then it
gets more and more narrow and narrower
and narrower and darker and darker and
then for myself it got to the point
where it was a form of liberation
because it’s like I can end this I try
to kill myself number of times because a
lot of reasons and each time it was it’s
almost like my I got my messages from my
future self that said you’re gonna get
through this and you’re going to make a
difference in in your own little way in
the world so I needed a place that I
felt comfortable in and also to be
incredibly creative to my constructed
Elgin Park which is a sort of a
dreamlike recreation of my past
Elgin Park is never a lonely place for
me it really is a fountain of creativity
because I never know what the next scene
is gonna be so it’s always challenging
me and inspiring me I admit 40 years ago
recreational drugs definitely LSD of
choice I remember taking it for the
first time ago here we go
I learned a very interesting lesson
while taking it is that I didn’t have to
go to foreign lands to meet before him
people and stuff like that I mean I went
in wordly and I was in territory that I
had absolutely no idea where it was
I created Elton Park so anybody can be
there in some ways it’s mirrors it’s a
miniaturization of real life when I’m
creating my scenes and all that because
this period take care of details and
making sure everything’s in its place
elgyn Park does have a darker side it’s
it’s not even or anything like that but
some of it is based on stories that I’ve
heard when I was little I’m finally
about the more gruesome parts but yeah
that’s and I kind of you kind of need
that
spookiness or whatever makes it
interesting I think the longest I’ve
taken for a project was four months and
that’s the house they built the house
that I grew up in it was it was therapy
there were some questionable stuff
happening in my family back then we kids
were asked to go outside and play but I
knew that they had with a fascinating
story so I would hide and listen to the
adults talked I had some relatives that
were missing a father and after he was
dropping I found out why people were
murdered people were mutilated
those are pretty tough stories some of
the stories on for Elgin part are
inspired by those
so there’s hints in it okay yeah I won’t
go down there’s too much bad on the
world I don’t need to play Elgin part
does not need the bad you know in when I
was a kid I always wanted to change the
world in some way and I didn’t know how
to do it and you know all these jobs
I’ve had and all that maybe this can
make the world better and better and
then then it come to find out it’s it’s
the thing that I like to do the most
well I put it out there and it has
changed so many people a lot of people
say why can’t they’ll write to me and
say I can’t do photography and I don’t
know I have a camera and I said that’s
not that can you sing or you know so
we’ll have conversations like that what
else can you do somebody found out he
wrote you know can write really well and
started publishing some stuff I’d like
to think that I have helped and it has
helped and and it is still helping Elton
perk now has atmosphere and gravity I
mean it is it’s on its own so if it ends
for me I think it will continue it has
made an impact I almost feel like I’m
finished I’m finishing up the loose ends
of my life I mean I don’t maybe I’ll be
here another 20 years I don’t know but
you know if I if I passed away tomorrow
that’s perfectly I feel like I’ve done
something my tag line is the keys are in
the car there’s a full tank of gas and
the food is good at the diner
you know that’s Elgin Park I don’t care
who you are
there’s no conflict there it’s colorless
people who look at my photographs will
bring their own stories they’ll say oh
this reminds me of the house that I grew
up in we were in a car crash it looks
something very similar to that so it
brings those stories out in people
there was a Popeye cartoon when olive
oil was walking on a building being
built and every time she was about to
step off a girder came that’s my life my
resume looks like what’s available in
the job force for a cabinetmaker mailman
got bit on the first day I said I’m
sorry I quit I was the art director for
a UH a national company and I fall on
the floor and I turn blue from that job
I went to become a bartender a very
sketchy bar I got fired because I would
not wear hot pants and that’s one now my
next job from that I said I’m gonna be a
lawmaker everything you do you will
learn from it and you’ll use it later on
in life when I was a mailman it made me
aware of how streets are laid out how
towns grow my photographs read well
because there is a logic to it Alton
Park is not just my little fantasy I’m
documenting the 20th century in a way
I put my stuff out on the web for body
here and over a year I got around 1,000
hits but someone in England who worked
for car magazine sent me an email and
said can I show one or two of your
photographs you know just as though oh
isn’t this interesting kind of thing the
day it hit the stands
it went from a thousand hits to a
million hits in you know within a day
and then it kept going and going and
going
I was delighted and I got emotional
about it and then it was the oh my god
what have I done kind of thing and then
people I’m I’m a Rekluse I mean I’m very
personable and I can you know go outside
and talk to people and but recognition
is tough for me it actually stems from
when I was young I was bullied in school
and I was bullied because I was
different
who I think I’m still dealing with that
still struggling with what that means
and all that I don’t think about it a
lot but you know it does bubble up I
just realized I’m slightly I’ve come
into this reality at a slightly
different angle there was the whole
issue of being gay finding from
kindergarten I absolutely knew from
kindergarten because there was what boy
came in I went I liked that person the
bullying got so bad that the teachers
let me leave class 15 minutes before the
bell rang because they knew how I
c-can’t romped on
it’s like minded people say you know I
want them to say I like you you know
you’re interesting if anybody has been
depressed I mean you kind of know that
what that road feels like and then it
gets more and more narrow and narrower
and narrower and darker and darker and
then for myself it got to the point
where it was a form of liberation
because it’s like I can end this I try
to kill myself number of times because a
lot of reasons and each time it was it’s
almost like my I got my messages from my
future self that said you’re gonna get
through this and you’re going to make a
difference in in your own little way in
the world so I needed a place that I
felt comfortable in and also to be
incredibly creative to my constructed
Elgin Park which is a sort of a
dreamlike recreation of my past
Elgin Park is never a lonely place for
me it really is a fountain of creativity
because I never know what the next scene
is gonna be so it’s always challenging
me and inspiring me I admit 40 years ago
recreational drugs definitely LSD of
choice I remember taking it for the
first time ago here we go
I learned a very interesting lesson
while taking it is that I didn’t have to
go to foreign lands to meet before him
people and stuff like that I mean I went
in wordly and I was in territory that I
had absolutely no idea where it was
I created Elton Park so anybody can be
there in some ways it’s mirrors it’s a
miniaturization of real life when I’m
creating my scenes and all that because
this period take care of details and
making sure everything’s in its place
elgyn Park does have a darker side it’s
it’s not even or anything like that but
some of it is based on stories that I’ve
heard when I was little I’m finally
about the more gruesome parts but yeah
that’s and I kind of you kind of need
that
spookiness or whatever makes it
interesting I think the longest I’ve
taken for a project was four months and
that’s the house they built the house
that I grew up in it was it was therapy
there were some questionable stuff
happening in my family back then we kids
were asked to go outside and play but I
knew that they had with a fascinating
story so I would hide and listen to the
adults talked I had some relatives that
were missing a father and after he was
dropping I found out why people were
murdered people were mutilated
those are pretty tough stories some of
the stories on for Elgin part are
inspired by those
so there’s hints in it okay yeah I won’t
go down there’s too much bad on the
world I don’t need to play Elgin part
does not need the bad you know in when I
was a kid I always wanted to change the
world in some way and I didn’t know how
to do it and you know all these jobs
I’ve had and all that maybe this can
make the world better and better and
then then it come to find out it’s it’s
the thing that I like to do the most
well I put it out there and it has
changed so many people a lot of people
say why can’t they’ll write to me and
say I can’t do photography and I don’t
know I have a camera and I said that’s
not that can you sing or you know so
we’ll have conversations like that what
else can you do somebody found out he
wrote you know can write really well and
started publishing some stuff I’d like
to think that I have helped and it has
helped and and it is still helping Elton
perk now has atmosphere and gravity I
mean it is it’s on its own so if it ends
for me I think it will continue it has
made an impact I almost feel like I’m
finished I’m finishing up the loose ends
of my life I mean I don’t maybe I’ll be
here another 20 years I don’t know but
you know if I if I passed away tomorrow
that’s perfectly I feel like I’ve done
something my tag line is the keys are in
the car there’s a full tank of gas and
the food is good at the diner
you know that’s Elgin Park I don’t care
who you are
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