digressions: a blog

From the series You Can Be Anyone, © Brian Guido

First, a rant. Invariably, when you go to a photographer’s website, and there is a list of their projects, you click the one located on the most top-left of the list. In the majority of the West, that’s how we read things. So, maybe I’m stating the obvious here, but that should be your strongest or most relevant work! /Rant.

My favorite work by Brian Guido is You Can Be Anyone. And it’s a self-portrait project in 2008, who would have thought! You Can Be Anyone features staged photographs of Brian acting out different professions in the urban environment. And for some reason, it’s the third link in his project section! The horror!

Brian, much like Mr. Lazarus (see post below), mixes humor and keen contemporary observation with these images. Humorous because, well, he embraces the stereotypes of each profession so convincingly, and keen, because they poignantly address mainstream America, and concurrently photographic history.

From the series You Can Be Anyone, © Brian Guido

I really wish the word “smug” didn’t mean what it meant. For example, its arrogant, and subsequently negative connotation, makes me frustrated when I want to describe something as “smug” in a positive way. That’s how I feel like describing Brian’s work. Maybe I should just use a different word, like “good.” Or maybe Brian just has an amazingly satisfied smug look on his face in these photos.

Although You Can Be Anyone is definitely the strongest work on the site, it’s worth looking through other projects. Examples:

From the series The Civilized, © Brian Guido

From the series Good Morning Sports Fans, © Brian Guido

Full disclosure: Brian is not technically a Chicago photographer, as he just moved to Texas a few weeks ago. We miss him here.