Two Masks, Two Backstories
By Steve Bennett | September 26, 2020
Lately I’ve been stopping passersby during my photo walks and asking them why they chose whatever mask they’re wearing. The answer of this masked guy topped them all: “People are afraid of vampires, so they’ll stay back!” Actually, he was kidding. He said vampires have intrigued him for years, and proudly showed off the intricate Dracula tattoo on the inside of his forearm. Ink you can sink your fangs into! When I asked if I could take his picture, it was a, “Rock on!” response, and I found our teeth and greet encounter inspiring. Hope your week is off to a rocking good star
Asking people about their masks is an easy way to strike up conversations on the street. That’s what I did yesterday during a photo walk through Harvard Square. I asked a fellow named Sang about his mask and he explained that his parents, who live in South Korea, had given him the mask EIGHT years ago because they were concerned about the air quality in the U.S. Little could they have known that the mask would later protect their son from something far more menacing than airborne pollutants.
Copyright © 2020 Steven Bennett
Steve Bennett is a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based visual artist. He began taking photographs more than 40 years ago, in the age of film, and transitioned to digital photography in the late 90s. Today, in addition to taking and making traditional street, macro, and landscape photographs, he creates photo-based abstract composites designed to take viewers on fanciful flights of the imagination through virtual realms. His work has been displayed in numerous juried exhibitions, and at Google’s Kendall Square, Cambridge offices as well as various technology, biotech, and financial service companies in the Boston area.