50 Genes in 50 Days

The following images are from the 50 Genes in 50 days project. I was watching Young Frankenstein with a friend, for maybe the millionth time. I just started to notice that I could never take my eyes off Gene Wilder anytime he was in a scene. He was an incredible actor, very intense. Whenever I see a film with him in it I feel an overwhelming urge to go watch everything he has ever done. I started watching youtube interviews with Mr. Wilder. I borrowed one of his books from a friend. He has three books out, the one I have read so far is called “Kiss Me Like A Stranger”. I plowed through the book and I was even more obsessed. He talks a lot about how the tiny choices you make every day change your entire life. You walk outside and you are heading across the street but there is a fountain in the way. The route you choose changes everything. Point A and point B are clear but the improvisation that occurs in between has an enormous impact on your life. Not an original idea granted, but it got me thinking.

I also enjoy his approach to acting. He tries to come to each take fresh, trying to experience it rather than trying to be“funny”. Many of his films include a large amount of improvisation, or changes that were made post script during the actual filming stage. Wilder has a script, he knows where the story is going – but the small bits in between, the dialogue and blocking tend to have some wiggle room for things to occur that were unplanned. 50 Genes in 50 Days is a similar idea. I had a script every day. I woke up, I knew I had to do a portrait of Gene that day, but the choices, they were always different, and so was the outcome even though it was still a Gene Wilder portrait. It provided me with a way to explore fifty different paths across the street. I thought it would be a good growth exercise for me and an interesting project in general to try to come up with 50 different ways of depicting this person without being repetitive or dull.

The days were not consecutive, and I took a bit longer than the one day for the final Gene;)  Still the project was a really fun endeavor and I learned a lot so I consider it a success!