Alec Soth and Stacey Baker: This is what enduring love looks like
አሌክ ሶዝ + እስቴሲ ቤከር: ዘላቂ ፍቅር ምን ያመስላል
Stacey Baker assigns photography for the wide-ranging vision of the weekly New York Times Magazine. Full bioAlec Soth - Photographer
Alec Soth makes large-scale projects that are as much about dreams and heartache as they are about charting the landscape of Middle America. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
I got a call from a woman in Texas,
in an art exhibition
me to take a portrait of her parents.
and I thought this was some sort of
to make this happen.
about photographing Stacey.
one of my best-known portraits.
Stacey was working as an attorney
to study photography in Maine,
she ended up meeting
at the New York Times Magazine
Alec and I have done
to Alec about a fascination of mine.
with how couples meet.
and his wife Rachel met,
of a high school football game
in doing a photography project
but I was actually much more interested
Stacey to have a boyfriend.
I thought it'd be interesting
go speed dating
as the world's largest speed dating event.
breaker questions to get the ball rolling,
of animal, what would you be?"
after placing an ad for a Capricorn.
at the end of the evening,
at one of the concession stands.
to the date-a-thon together.
you notice about a woman?"
with muscular calves.
triathlons, I run half-marathons.
if I was attracted to him, but I wasn't,
attracted to me either.
running late for a meeting.
about a woman is her teeth,
to help prevent gum disease,
that was flossing more
about auditing. (Laughter)
about a woman is her complexion.
wear too much makeup,
to accentuate the features that they have.
that that was a good thing.
I was willing to be vulnerable.
remember my most embarrassing moment.
but at the end of the night,
a box of chocolates.
was the MC of the event.
"The Young and the Restless."
give their phone numbers to him.
any of the men that I went on dates with,
a particular connection with me either.
is the quality of vulnerability.
in which you can get a glimpse
I saw so many examples of that,
and talked to her about them,
photographic love is from real love.
and to figure out how someone goes
to having a life together,
retirement community in Las Vegas.
who runs the community's photography club.
in their makeshift photo studio.
Anastasia's husband died two years ago,
an old wedding picture.
when she was a 15-year-old waitress
the year in Las Vegas two years in a row,
that he met his wife, Judy,
to look at beautiful women,
his decision to marry Judy.
at a parish dance.
they weren't especially philosophical
that really stuck with me.
you just go with it."
when she was still in high school.
attracted to each other
married soon after.
president, and his wife, Mary.
second marriage.
in Louisville, Kentucky called the Sahara.
and she was with friends.
he owed the IRS 9,000 dollars in taxes,
get out of debt,
his paychecks over to Mary,
when they married, and Mary knew it.
he says he consumed
he threatened to kill Mary
was called to the house.
in Alcoholics Anonymous
after we left Sun City,
were all that interesting.
quality of endurance,
and the singles were out there
were holding onto each other
were of Joe and Roseanne.
if they had an old wedding photograph.
pulled out of their wallets
I thought to myself,
who has just fallen in love
holding onto this image for decades?
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Stacey Baker - Photo editorStacey Baker assigns photography for the wide-ranging vision of the weekly New York Times Magazine.
Why you should listen
Stacey Baker | Speaker | TED.com
Alec Soth - Photographer
Alec Soth makes large-scale projects that are as much about dreams and heartache as they are about charting the landscape of Middle America.
Why you should listen
Alec Soth is a photographer born and based in Minnesota. He has published several books, including Sleeping by the Mississippi, Niagara and Broken Manual. The New York Times once wrote that Soth has made a "photographic career out of finding chemistry with strangers." His editorial work routinely appears in The New York Times Magazine, he is a member of the Magnum photo agency, and his work was featured in the Whitney Biennial in 2004.
In 2008, Soth started his own experimental publishing company, Little Brown Mushroom, that explores the possibilities of combining images and text. After publishing seven issues of his own newspaper, Soth compiled this work into his latest monograph, Songbook.
Alec Soth | Speaker | TED.com