Me and My Shadow
It began as a mistake. A shot of a group of pigeons in Central Park gone horribly wrong. When he looked at the image, what he had actually taken was a photograph of his own shadow. His legs tremendously elongated. His head terribly shrunken so that proportion was frighteningly wrong.
That was four years ago. And now, "Me and My Shadow" is appearing on bookshelves throughout Manhattan and well beyond.
When I caught up with Bobby N (he keeps his full name a secret for his shadow is as much as wishes to reveal) he was at a coffee shop on the Upper West Side. Hat worn low on his forehead, dark sunglasses hiding his eyes, a mask (N-95) covering the bottom half of his face.
"The idea grew of its own volition. I have a friend, an excellent photographer, exhibited often, who suggested I run with my concept. And so I did. Scouring the city for the best places for me and my shadow to show ourselves."
The book celebrates the city as well as the artist. Casting shadows outside some of its most familiar haunts from Zabar's to the MOMA, from Times Square to the West Side Highway, from the Empire State Building to the Metropolitan Opera.
Was there a favorite location? "One time, I hoped to get an image near one of the best bagel shops on the lower East Side. Just as I arrived, so did the clouds. When they refused me permission to proceed after an hour, I gave up. But standing there I had started talking to a stranger. We have been continuing our conversation every day since."
This is Bobby N's first stab at what he refers to as “an amateur’s attempt at professional photography.” He "appeared" to be a man somewhere between 60 and 75 ("you are very warm" he told me) and said his career path has nothing at all to do with a project like this. "Life" he said "takes you on its own journey. Often you just have to strap in and go along for the ride."
He said he had no immediate plans for a "Me and My Shadow" part two. "One and done as far as I am concerned. I am too long in the tooth and far too short on discipline to go through this all over again. And a lack of talent can only take you so far. Unless, of course, you happen to be the President."
"Besides", he stated, "my shadow has signed its own three part mini-series and starts production in L.A. next month. And I am just an East Coast boy."
THE ABOVE IS AN INTENDED FICTIONAL PARODY OF A TALE ONE MIGHT READ IN THE NEW YORKER’S “TALK OF THE TOWN”