It's Kind of a Really Nice Day

Photobook 2015

One of my favorite films is a hand drawn animation called It's Such a Beautiful Day by Don Hertzfeldt.  It's absurd, profound, and dark, starting off with a scene I continue to quote today after seeing it the first time in 2014, in which the main character Bill sees someone he recognizes walking in his direction but can't remember his name.  And in a moment of uncertainty and nervousness about what to say and how to handle the impending interaction, he says "How's up?" as the he walks by.  To which the person replies, confused, "Thanks."  And Bill's words get caught in his throat and he says, "Weh."  And they keep walking and by the next day both forget about the interaction altogether.

Then there's a scene where Bill comes home and drops his keys on the counter and thinks about all the times he's come home and dropped his keys on the counter.  And all the days of his life he's wasted doing mundane routines, like vacuuming, brushing his teeth, turning on his light, microwaving food.  He wonders, then, "What if this is his life, and the unusual parts are everything he does in between?

Later on in act three, Bill is old and intense dementia has set in.  He opens his front door and glances outside and says to himself, "It's kind of a really nice day."  And he decides to go on a walk around the block.  He sees a woman's tennis shoe filled with leaves and it fills him with inexplicable sadness.  He returns to his front door and looks around for a moment.

"It's kind of a really nice day."

And he decides to go on a walk around the block.  He sees a woman's tennis shoe filled with leaves and it fills him with inexplicable sadness.  He returns to his front door and looks around for a moment.

"It's kind of a really nice day."

And this happens a dozen times, until the last walk around the block when he somehow starts to see.  In incredible colors of the leaves and the sky, the beautiful people walking past him on the street.  He goes inside, he admires the way paper towels drink up water, his bath mat is beautiful.  He marvels in his aliveness.

This photobook I created is a journey through a year, separated into summer, fall, winter, and spring.  Routine and pattern is central to the flow of the story.  Seasons cycle without end.  You could flip from the last page to the front page again and relive the story over and over in a seemless loop.  But each day is beautiful, and excitement can be found in the routine of every day, every year.  Look for the way the colors, shapes, and patterns connect moments.  The way fire turns into fall.  Things big and small are beautiful and important.  Find passion and energy in every breath that reminds you how alive you are.