This is the start of yet another concept in which I ask people to interact with someone they don’t know well (their Other) by discussing the chalkboard questions (see previous post). Then I ask the “Other” person to also approach someone they don’t know well, and so on, creating a “Chalkboard Chain.” — We are the Other - Charles & Hai at Tip Top Haircut, Minneapolis, Minnesota (2012) I don’t have much information about Charles, except that he’s a regular at Tip Top, lives in the neighborhood and has a passion for donuts, as do I. We excitedly discussed the merits of the holed pastries at Patisserie 46, A Baker’s Wife (my favorite), Wuollet Bakery (his favorite), SugaRush Donuts and The Donut Cooperative. I don’t believe I’ve ever had a passionate discourse on dounuts before, with a stranger no less. I have another photo of Charles, almost exactly the same except that he has his eyes open. I couldn’t decide which one I preferred and asked several people for their opinions. One person commented that with his eyes open, what he wrote seems like a demand. With his eyes closed it’s more like a prayer.
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This is the start of yet another concept in which I ask people to interact with someone they don’t know well (their Other) by discussing the chalkboard questions (see previous post). Then I ask the “Other” person to also approach someone they don’t know well, and so on, creating a “Chalkboard Chain.”

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We are the Other - Charles & Hai at Tip Top Haircut, Minneapolis, Minnesota (2012)

I don’t have much information about Charles, except that he’s a regular at Tip Top, lives in the neighborhood and has a passion for donuts, as do I. We excitedly discussed the merits of the holed pastries at Patisserie 46, A Baker’s Wife (my favorite), Wuollet Bakery (his favorite), SugaRush Donuts and The Donut Cooperative. I don’t believe I’ve ever had a passionate discourse on dounuts before, with a stranger no less.

I have another photo of Charles, almost exactly the same except that he has his eyes open. I couldn’t decide which one I preferred and asked several people for their opinions. One person commented that with his eyes open, what he wrote seems like a demand. With his eyes closed it’s more like a prayer.

We are the Other - Eric & Mike with Cup Foods Employees and Customers, Minneapolis, Minnesota (2012) Chalkboard Pairs: A concept where people who don’t know each other well answer together these questions: What are you? How do you think others see you? What don’t they see? What advice would you give to a stranger? What is your favorite word? Describe an incident that changed you. When do you feel that you’re different from the those around you? When do you feel you’re the same? How has race affected you? — Mike (“Please”) is the second youngest of four brothers who own Cup Foods. Eric (chalkboard words below) is the second oldest of four brothers. They had not met before the taking of this photo. Eric has lived in Powderhorn Park for twenty years and has always stayed away from Cup. I introduced Eric to Mike and when I asked them both the chalkboard questions a conversation between them ensued that touched on Mike’s passion for football (he’s a linebacker in the Minnesota Spartans, a minor league) and Eric’s passion as a photographer. They were also pleasantly surprised that both had been to Jerusalem, albeit with contrasting experiences, what with Mike being Muslim while Eric is Jewish. But talking about their respective religions seemed more like they were sharing interesting, serendipitous facts rather than pointing out differences. — Eric’s chalkboard: “I used to feel intimidated by the people hanging out in front of the store but after spending some time here I feel comfortable.”
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We are the Other - Eric & Mike with Cup Foods Employees and Customers, Minneapolis, Minnesota (2012)

Chalkboard Pairs: A concept where people who don’t know each other well answer together these questions:

What are you?

How do you think others see you? What don’t they see?

What advice would you give to a stranger?

What is your favorite word?

Describe an incident that changed you.

When do you feel that you’re different from the those around you? When do you feel you’re the same?

How has race affected you?

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Mike (“Please”) is the second youngest of four brothers who own Cup Foods. Eric (chalkboard words below) is the second oldest of four brothers. They had not met before the taking of this photo.

Eric has lived in Powderhorn Park for twenty years and has always stayed away from Cup. I introduced Eric to Mike and when I asked them both the chalkboard questions a conversation between them ensued that touched on Mike’s passion for football (he’s a linebacker in the Minnesota Spartans, a minor league) and Eric’s passion as a photographer.

They were also pleasantly surprised that both had been to Jerusalem, albeit with contrasting experiences, what with Mike being Muslim while Eric is Jewish. But talking about their respective religions seemed more like they were sharing interesting, serendipitous facts rather than pointing out differences.

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Eric’s chalkboard: “I used to feel intimidated by the people hanging out in front of the store but after spending some time here I feel comfortable.”

We are the Other - Hai & Sam, Minneapolis, Minnesota (2012) I’m introducing a new concept—Neighbor Diptychs—in which neighbors who don’t know each other well are photographed in each other’s spaces. — Tip Top Haircut is two doors down from Cup Foods. I have driven past Cup Foods hundreds of times over the years, but my first time inside wasn’t until shortly after I moved into my new gallery space across the street last May. From the outside it looked like your typical corner grocery store that just stocked convenience items, but I was surprised to find a butcher shop, 60-item deli, fresh produce, great selection of food items (including Middle Eastern and Spanish ingredients), a thriving mobile phone business, and The New York Times. Samir, or Sam as he usually introduces himself, opened the store 23 years ago. He works six days a week and has 16 employees. “I care about the customers and my employees. This is my life,” he says. “It as an Islamic belief that when you’re in the womb and your heart starts ticking at 40 days, your whole life and destiny is determined at that time. Well, this is what I was meant to do.” The constant bantering of customers and the loud sports announcing from the flat screen television is momentarily silenced for the late afternoon call for prayer. After Sam’s mother passed away 14 years ago from leukemia he decided to build a mosque in her honor in the basement of the store. Cup Foods is the most visible business on a corner that has had a sketchy reputation. “The perception is getting better,” Sam says, who served five years as President for the 38th & Chicago Business Association, and is currently the treasurer. “But there is no perfect place. Even the Holy Land where I come from has the longest history of war. Things happen everywhere.”
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We are the Other - Hai & Sam, Minneapolis, Minnesota (2012)

I’m introducing a new concept—Neighbor Diptychs—in which neighbors who don’t know each other well are photographed in each other’s spaces.

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Tip Top Haircut is two doors down from Cup Foods. I have driven past Cup Foods hundreds of times over the years, but my first time inside wasn’t until shortly after I moved into my new gallery space across the street last May. From the outside it looked like your typical corner grocery store that just stocked convenience items, but I was surprised to find a butcher shop, 60-item deli, fresh produce, great selection of food items (including Middle Eastern and Spanish ingredients), a thriving mobile phone business, and The New York Times.

Samir, or Sam as he usually introduces himself, opened the store 23 years ago. He works six days a week and has 16 employees. “I care about the customers and my employees. This is my life,” he says. “It as an Islamic belief that when you’re in the womb and your heart starts ticking at 40 days, your whole life and destiny is determined at that time. Well, this is what I was meant to do.”

The constant bantering of customers and the loud sports announcing from the flat screen television is momentarily silenced for the late afternoon call for prayer. After Sam’s mother passed away 14 years ago from leukemia he decided to build a mosque in her honor in the basement of the store.

Cup Foods is the most visible business on a corner that has had a sketchy reputation. “The perception is getting better,” Sam says, who served five years as President for the 38th & Chicago Business Association, and is currently the treasurer. “But there is no perfect place. Even the Holy Land where I come from has the longest history of war. Things happen everywhere.”