Vain + Alone is nothing serious.  On the other hand, despite its’ whimsy, it is dead serious.

I don’t pretend to understand much about the selfie culture: there seems to be a lot written about it that you’re welcome to read, but I don’t really give a fuck.  This is not that.

At the root of V+A, of course, is my vanity and at the root of that vanity is, of course, insecurity…along with a nod to self-deprecation and my long held attraction to solitude.  There is something about turning the camera on ourselves with a particular intention, in a manner that has nothing to do with the selfie shot but more to do a with a kind of introspection.   I think Vain + Alone is an extension of the kind of song I’ve written over the years…attempts at, as Leonard Cohen puts it, self-investigation without self-indulgence.  Not pure confession, but confession filtered through skill and hard work.  I recognize both the pics and the songs as self portraits.

The rules are simple:

Minimal technical muss ‘n fuss.  This isn’t an Annie Leibowitz Vanity Fair shoot.  Extra points for MacGyver-ing stuff.

You need to be vain enough to make the following conceit work:  you agree to be shadowed by a particularly devoted paparazzo that has an All Access Pass to your life.

You need to be alone. You can’t excuse yourself from a walk along the beach with your lover to pop off a quick Vain + Alone because the light is nice.  There is a documentary (mockumentary?) tone to these things.

You can’t ask someone to take the picture.  By definition, that would a portrait, NOT a self-portrait.

gh