My lil internet claim to fame
I am writing this both to memorialize and document a piece of my internet history. Without this article, in fact, for some reason unbeknownst to this very author, this photograph of a/my piano might have been scrubbed off the internet! For as you see, or really ‘cannot see’, the very site I shared it on, Society6, has removed it at some point from its vast art collection.
It’s the year 2011. High school seniors proclaim chants such as, “2011, All Seniors Go To Heaven” and soffee shorts rolled over thrice are still in style and all the rave for camp apparel.
I have a bright pink Nikon camera. I use it to capture things I find “artsy” or know will look cool in only the way someone unexperienced with camera settings and manages to make everything slightly out of focus could pull off.
It was sometime around Spring, if I am recalling correctly… and I took my bright pink Nikon out of its drawer resting place. Zoomed in slightly on my piano, catching some interesting reflections off the plant in the background and possible dust particles(?). And then I turned off the camera, ejected the SD card and loaded that baby into my Dell PC. First thing I do, I eagerly press the B & W filter option of course. This photograph was made to be black and white I remember thinking. It was the aesthetic I dreamed of and I was pleased.
Next, what to do with this newly minted Nikon to inspiration to B&W masterpiece?! Surely, there was a place I could share this with the masses. And yes, there was one platform I was growing an attachment to and even an audience. And that was Society6 — here would be a great place to link my art page and do some self promotion but alas most of my art was taken down since it was uploaded over ten years ago… I will investigate what happened there because I myself did not remove them from the site and some pieces, like even — crazily enough — the original “Piano” image file has been lost to the computers of time… meaning I do not even have the original, I repeat: it is gone :(. But back to the story at hand, because there is more to it than just a mere upload to a site… otherwise this may be a lame story of losing one’s original work.
So, drum roll pleaseeee, Urban Outfitters chose my print of MY PIANO to be in their Print Shop. They had a relationship with Society6 at the time and would occasionally chose work from S6’s own artists to sell on their site. And as a senior in High School, having my work on UO was the epitome of success… even if I had to admit it was simply an “artsy” photo I took of my piano at an angle with a manufactured B&W filter. I was even featured in my High School’s paper. It has been all downhill from there… that was my peak. No, I’m sure my other articles on this site can attest, other cool stuff has happened to me as well!
Oh and luckily I found an original file of sorts on my old Tumblr… huzzah… check it out below:
Thank you for reading my story about what happens when you put your work in the right place at the right time. Cheers — CF
