Uncategorized: curiousity lucy naughton photography story telling writing
by david
i like your brain
Lucy Naughton, I like your brain.
Lucy is from England. She is a photographer. And a writer.
I have never met Lucy. But I have seen her photos. And read her writing.
I like the way she sees the world and the way she sees herself. I am envious of the way she sets up her shots. They are full and rich and dripping with narrative.
In Made to Stick, Chip and Dan Heath write about the importance of curiousity in getting people interested in one’s ideas. Situations become interesting when one becomes curious. And one becomes curious when one has a gap in one’s knowledge.
They cite George Loewenstein of Carnegie Mellon University who argues that curiousity is the result of a knowledge gap and that gaps are a source of pain; an itch that needs scratching.
Effective story tellers open gaps. They pose questions.
Where do gaps come from? The Heaths argue that gaps start with knowledge and, citing Lowenstein again, that the more one learns the more curious one becomes about what you don’t know.
As I was learning my trade, a more experienced co-worker impressed upon me the importance of knowing what I don’t know.
Lucy’s photographs do this and do it very well.
Thanks to her flickr site I know she’s female. I know she lives in England. I know she’s single. I know she’s gorgeous. I know she’s highly talented.
But what is she about? Where do her ideas come from? Where did those roses come from? Why does she own all those ties? What is she really thinking as she lies in her bed surrounded by books? Does she really do that or was that part of the set up? Who is this person her comes up with these fascinating photos?
Lucy’s photos do all of that. And that’s all she needs.
And then she writes.
She writes fun stuff. She writes, as Chip and Dan would say, concrete stuff. Human stuff. Unexpected stuff that relates back to the photo in a way one could never have predicted.
But my absolute favourite is the way she writes.
When I am reading her work my brain clicks into gear like a cyclist clicking into gear on a stretch of road where the perfect amount of effort is being exerted, the tires humming, the cadence never wavering, the heart thumping (not pounding). One is left feeling invigorated, exhilarated. Thrilled.
I can count on one hand the number of writers who make me feel this way.
Go and see what I mean for yourself.