me kissing you: me kissing Big Joe Dancer

Friday, January 20, 2012

me kissing Big Joe Dancer

Big Joe Dancer, as he likes to be called, is probably the person I know least well among the people I've kissed so far. But of course, I've seen him dance multiple times since I've moved to Houston.

He was at the Frame Dance showing tonight and Donna (who I kissed a couple of weeks ago) sort of set this up. I can tell that Donna is going to become my agent for this blog. Which is good, because, as I may have mentioned, I'm not too gregarious about this yet.

Anyway, the lighting was dim at the Photobooth (our setting for this picture) but there were candles. So I suggested we try a candlelit photo. Joe liked it so here it is. I certainly has a different mood from the other photos so far.

I should mention that Joe is dancing primarily with Hope Stone Dance these days, and works behind the scenes with their HopeWerks program.

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about this blog . . .

So 2011 saw me dealing with a bad 2010 by posting a picture of myself, taken first thing every morning, as some kind of conceptual art project. You can see all 365 blurry, bleary photos here.

As it was, at it's core, a response to loneliness, I knew it was not something I could or should sustain beyond the one year boundary I initially set for it. But I sort of liked this photo blogging thing . . .

So I decided the next logical step was to reach out to other people. Not just reach out, but cross some of my own comfort zones and kiss them. Not on the mouth, not in a romantic or sexual way, just a kiss on the cheek.

So, this year, I plan on kissing as many people as I can. I won't even try to kiss someone everyday, but in various situations, I may just ask someone, "hey, can I kiss you and photographically document the event?" If they say no, no worries, I'll move on. If they say yes, I'll say, "I have this tiny release form granting me permission." (It is a tiny release form, postcard size.)

It's a small way to get me out of a rut I'm in and also to spread a little love. In the ancient Christian church, there was the custom of the "kiss of peace" (which survives in liturgical churches today as "passing the peace," usually signified by a handshake). I think of this exercise as something of passing the peace, too, of offering a kiss of peace to whoever will let me do it. And document it.

Wait---there's more! You can be kissed, too! If you're in the Houston area and would like to be kissed by me, let me know. Or if you're coming to Houston. Or even if you're not in Houston or coming to Houston, but want to be on a list of potential kissees, in the event that I might be traveling to where you are (I get up Austin a few times a year, I hope to get to Chicago this year, etc.), let me know that, too. you never know where I might pop up. Email me at neilellisorts (at) yahoo dot com.