we’re all gonna blow

from Aaron Rose’s “hamburger eyes” article in ANP Quarterly #10

Aaron Rose: “….Why do you think photography has such a transformative power for people?”

Ray Potes: “It’s because the end is near. So record life as you know it for future archeologists. Actually, it’s probably because life is moving way too fast these days, record it and onto the next and why use your brain-power when you can just upload. All this technology meant to bring people together is actually isolating them even more. Why call your friends to say what’s up when you can just peep and comment on their blog? But the irony is the future anthropologists won’t need it because they can’t read it anyway. I got the first two issues of Hamburger Eyes on zip disk. No one I know can get to those files. Actually if you think about it, they won’t need to read disks because everything will be shared with collective conciusness. It’s like analog wifi. If one person just looks at something, then we can all access that info. But maybe it won’t be natural and analog and scientists have to invent this system involving microchips and quantum computers. We’re fucked.”

AR: “In your opening statements about the magazine you talk a lot about photography as a vehicle for sharing. Why do you think it is important to share? What is the role photography can play in this?

RP: “Well the sharing thing I think is just as built in aspect of photography in itself. If you get a good photo, you gotta show someone otherwise it never happened, you were never there. Part of that validation is getting it published. Here’s a bunch of guys who can’t get published, publishing themselves and their buddies. What’s the importance? It’s just note taking for a brighter future. Sounds super whack, I know, but people write in their notebooks, journal, diary to try to figure stuff out and photography for me isn’t much different than that.