Studley Final Exam – The Documentary

Once Chris and Narayan arrived the dynamic of the week would change completely.  In the preceding three days, I was alone in the room studying the portions of the tool cabinet and workbench I needed to confirm my notes, images, and observations from visits over the previous five years.  Did I get the description of the bench top correct?

And the tool nests in the elegant little drawers?

I am pleased to say that I had it all right, but it is never a bad thing to get confirmation.  Now I could return home and do the final polishing on the manuscript.

At times I found myself sitting quietly, just staring, and thinking, “Who was this guy?”

With Chris and Narayan present, the tenor of the work changed to follow strictly a “shot list” we had compiled during the last year as I was writing the manuscript, and we needed to make the shots that wee missing from the final portfolio needed for the book.  The time working together is great, filled with raucous good spirit and some generous helpings of humor in bad taste and great micro-brewery pub food.  With his artist’s eye, photographer’s skill, and premium equipment, I think Narayan could actually make Rahm Emanuel seem warm and trustworthy.  Making Studley look good was a walk in the park compared to that.

When we were here last year we filmed a documentary about the project (since it was all digital, do we now say we “electroned” a video?) but a technical malfunction rendered it mute.  The video was great, but unless we were going to create a silent movie it was not the ideal.  So, we shot the whole thing again.  And again.  And again.  It took us almost a full day.

I’m not sure where this documentary will be shown, but at least it is in the can, er, SD card.  It will almost certainly be part of the exhibit programming, and Chris mentioned that the documentary he and Narayan shot of the Anarchist’s Tool Chest was a very popular enhancement to that project.  Stay tuned here or at Lost Art Press for more details.