I have been thinking of something I posted on the blog a few days ago. Is
Gerry Yaum known more than my real name, the real me? It's not that Gerry Yaum
is famous or anything like that but with the reach of the internet there are
lots of links related to this imaginary dude! There are a lot more Yaum links than links to my real
name. Maybe he has become my Frankenstein monster, to quote Gene Wilder in the
movie "Young Frankenstein", "IT'S ALIVE!!"
Joking aside I kind of like the whole Yaum thingy, one of the main reasons I created him was I wanted to remain a bit distant, to keep my real name off the walls of the gallery shows, online etc. I have always felt really uncomfortable having the real name thing up there, so I thought why not just make up a pseudonym. My photography has always been about the people that allow me to photograph them, I wanted to tell their stories not mine. The work is not about showing off, getting famous or having my name in a book, magazine or gallery. The whole Yaum thing feels good in that way, it allows me to make the work, show the work but stay a bit apart, a bit anonymous at the same time.
Still it all takes a bit getting used to. In New Orleans I got introduced as Gerry Yaum, which was a bit off putting, a bit strange. Now Yaum is an article with the great photog Nobuyoshi Araki (real name) and doing interviews on Slate.com. If things are like this now, what might they be like in another 20 or 30 years. Its all a bit different, a little strange, sort of like I have this weird alternative twin out there. Hope my twin is not an evil one, I do not want to be shot in my sleep!
Joking aside I kind of like the whole Yaum thingy, one of the main reasons I created him was I wanted to remain a bit distant, to keep my real name off the walls of the gallery shows, online etc. I have always felt really uncomfortable having the real name thing up there, so I thought why not just make up a pseudonym. My photography has always been about the people that allow me to photograph them, I wanted to tell their stories not mine. The work is not about showing off, getting famous or having my name in a book, magazine or gallery. The whole Yaum thing feels good in that way, it allows me to make the work, show the work but stay a bit apart, a bit anonymous at the same time.
Still it all takes a bit getting used to. In New Orleans I got introduced as Gerry Yaum, which was a bit off putting, a bit strange. Now Yaum is an article with the great photog Nobuyoshi Araki (real name) and doing interviews on Slate.com. If things are like this now, what might they be like in another 20 or 30 years. Its all a bit different, a little strange, sort of like I have this weird alternative twin out there. Hope my twin is not an evil one, I do not want to be shot in my sleep!
