There’s a newly minted zine on the market that has recently become available that we think you’re going to want to check out. Pardon My Creep is fascinating, fun, and a current reflection of today’s society, particularly the social scene. Photographers and authors, Kellye Eisworth and Britland Tracy have parlayed their dating world communications and vernacular photo collection to take us into their world at a time when we are being socially distanced due to an ongoing pandemic. This seems like the perfect time to reflect on where we have been and where we are going as a society, and this wonderful zine might just be the perfect guidebook to lead you into this brave new world.

Using found photographs gathered online and from flea markets, they are coupled together with messages from the men our intrepid authors have received through various dating apps. The images from a bygone era are used to illustrate the changed perspective on human connection in an often humorous way. Some messages appear desperate or aggressive, while others, lost or even void of any emotion at all. Being about as far away from this world as could be, I still found relevance due to the connection these words and images conveyed. I see this as a plus when it comes to regaining our freedom to roam about the world again. Maybe, just maybe, this will prove that the digitally distanced form of making valid, emotional connections is a losing battle, and we will be brought back to a personal space to find that actual face to face interactions might be the better way to go. Whatever the case, this zine is a wonderful portal into a world many can relate to.

Losing the atypical style of showing an actual smartphone with recent text messages on it, Eisworth and Tracy have instead isolated the words into a clean and easy to read statement that responds well with the photographs on the page. They have even elevated the form of the zine itself by using paper stock and printing of high quality, adding to its neat, easy to digest aspect. In true style, and with a nod to the semi-anonymous message senders, each of the men are even thanked and listed by their first names only at the end of the zine. I wonder if any of them will ever see their names and words heralded within these fascinating pages? Would they be horrified or honored? Pick up a copy of Pardon My Creep for your collection and decide for yourself.

ABOUT THE PROJECT

PARDON MY CREEP is an investigation of intimacy, desire, and the performance of the self in the digital age. Weaving together found photographs of couples alongside messages they have received from men via online dating apps, artists Kellye Eisworth and Britland Tracy explore contemporary notions of relationships, both real and imagined. Each unanswered message offers a glimpse into the effect of digital mediation on human connection. The emotions conveyed in their words range from sad, thoughtful, bored, aggressive, and desperate. Some messages feel cold and impersonal, like automated form letters; others are inundated with aggressive, masculine bravado. Some men seem to genuinely want to connect. Placed together in conversation, their words become a surrogate for the connection the other is seeking. The photographs were purchased online or in flea markets. Forsaken or forgotten by their subjects, they no longer function as personal mementos. Instead, they serve as visual aids to describe the intimacy the messages are hoping to produce. 

Pardon My Creep by Kellye Eisworth and Britland Tracy

Self Published, 2020
8.5 x 5.5"
34 photographs
68 pages
Perfect Bound
Soft-cover
Designed and Edited by Kellye Eisworth and Britland Tracy
2020
Trade Edition - $18 | 200 copies
Limited Edition - $35 | 30 copies
{Signed by artists and include a unique photograph and anonymous message from our archive)

Available for purchase at: www.kellyeeisworth.com/pardon-my-creep 

Artists’ Websites:

Kellye Eisworth: www.kellyeeisworth.com

Britland Tracy: www.britlandtracy.com

Instagram: @pardonmycreep

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Kellye Eisworth is a Los Angeles-based artist utilizing the photographic medium to explore themes of memory, pain, vulnerability, and the concepts of innate and constructed identity. Though often entering into a dialogue about larger social norms, much of her work is rooted in the autobiographical; whether through direct self- exploration or through empathetic encounters with others, her artistic practice allows her to interpret and understand her own personal history as well as the world around her. Eisworth has exhibited her work across the country, including First Street Gallery in New York, NY; the MPLS Photo Center in Minneapolis, MN; and The Center for Fine Art Photography in Fort Collins, CO. She received her BFA in photography from Louisiana State University in 2012 and an MFA in interdisciplinary media arts at the University of Colorado in 2016. Eisworth currently serves as the is director of marketing at Lenscratch.

Britland Tracy is a visual artist from the Pacific Northwest whose work engages photography with text to illuminate the intricacies of human connection and discord. She has published two artist books, Show Me Yours and PARDON MY CREEP, and exhibited at the Griffin Museum of Photography in Winchester, MA, the Davis Orton Gallery in Hudson, NY, the Lucie Foundation in Los Angeles, CA, the Photographic Center Northwest in Seattle, WA, and the CU Art Museum in Boulder, CO, as well as a number of other experimental and collaborative spaces. Her solo exhibition, Rupture, will open at Rule Gallery in Marfa, TX, in the summer of 2020. She holds a BA in French and Art History from the University of Washington, a Certificate of Fine Art Photography from the Photographic Center Northwest, and an MFA in Interdisciplinary Media Arts.

ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Michael Kirchoff is a photographic artist, independent curator and juror, and advocate for the photographic arts. He has been a juror for Photolucida’s Critical Mass, and has reviewed portfolios for the Los Angeles Center of Photography’s Exposure Reviews and CENTER’s Review Santa Fe. Michael has been a contributing writer for Lenscratch, Light Leaked, and Don’t Take Pictures magazine. In addition, he spent ten years (2006-2016) on the Board of the American Photographic Artists in Los Angeles (APA/LA), producing artist lectures, as well as business and inspirational events for the community. Currently, he is also Editor-in-Chief at Analog Forever Magazine, Founding Editor for the online photographer interview website, Catalyst: Interviews, and a Contributing Editor for the column, Traverse, at One Twelve Publishing. Previously, Michael spent over four years as Editor at BLUR Magazine. Connect with Michael Kirchoff on his Website and Instagram!

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