They Left Me Out Of The Picture So I Created My Own Chapter 15
Before the Union Station exhibition came down, the public projection project caught the attention of WGN News.
A reporter emailed, asking for an interview with the “rising art star from the Chicago suburbs.”
Professor Dunn forwarded it to me. “You can say no,” he said. “The media will ask about your work, but they might also ask about your family.”
I read through the proposed interview questions.
“I’ll do it.”
The crew came to campus. Once the lights were set, the reporter started with *The Absent Presence*.
“You often photograph empty chairs, the edges of frames, and subjects who are partially cut out of the shot. Why?”
“Because for a long time, my role was to be the observer,” I said. “Standing outside the frame lets you see a lot of things the people inside it never notice.”
She paused, then asked, “Has your family always been supportive of your artistic path?”
The camera was aimed directly at me.
I smiled. “My family taught me the importance of independence and how to be a keen observer. Without those lessons, I wouldn’t have the body of work I have today.”
The reporter didn’t push. She just gave a slight, knowing nod.
The interview aired that evening.
Leo immediately texted me: *You looked like some battle-hardened pro. Every answer was airtight.*
I watched the replay, studying how calm I appeared on screen.
It wasn’t that my answers were airtight.
It was that every word I’d said was true.
Less than ten seconds after the segment ended, my father’s name lit up my phone.