Topics: Arts

Miranda July

Nov 15, 2012

Miranda July is a filmmaker, artist, and writer. July wrote, directed and starred in her first feature-length film, Me and You and…

http://www.mirandajuly.com

Recently, on Instagram, I saw that Miranda July had become a verb when someone photographed a pair of her own red shoes that she had written on. The left shoe read, ‘Me’, the right, ‘You’ and her toes were pointing to one another. The caption read: “I’ve Miranda Julyed my flats.” You know you have an avant-guard influence when you’ve become a verb on Instagram.

As the author, filmmaker, and performance artist of many cult favorites, Miranda July is a name you’ve likely heard before. From her viral book launch website, http://noonebelongsheremorethanyou.com/, to her award winning film, Me and You and Everyone we Know, Miranda’s works has wowed audiences in private and public ways. Her projects take you in slowly, begging self-reflection and inquisitiveness, and many of her performances involve audience participation and on-the-spot creation.

Even though she is young, (still under 40), I don’t think it’s too soon to call her a prolific artist. She continues to create while her new baby grows and maintains an accessible yet mysterious air about her. As a Makers Muse recipient, she is precisely the kind of quirky and contemporary intellectual that captures Kindle’s attention. Her written works, some published by renowned publishing house McSweeny’s, are evidence of that. Her audience seems to be made up of all kinds of people, around the world who share something in common: the desire to take a moment to reflect.

When we ask our recipients to share something with us for the blog, one of the things we offer them as an idea is a day-in-the-life portrayal. Miranda took this suggestion and made it her own by sharing with us excerpts from her personal Photo Booth diary. Here you’ll get to know her a little better: how she works, what she can’t work, and what moments in her day consist of. True to her artistic persona, Miranda’s Photo Booth essay gives us the feeling of closeness that we’ve come to know from her creations.

Stay in touch with Miranda’s work via her website and her Facebook page. Her next performance will be in Seattle on December 5th.

Photo Booth Diary by Miranda July

I use the “Photo Booth” function on my Mac almost daily, usually to communicate something to someone. Sometimes I use it instead of scanner because I don’t really know how to use a scanner and also I don’t have one. Over time these accumulated pictures become a very mundane sort of diary. Here are a few recent ones.
–Miranda July

Photo on 9-30-12 at 8.23 PM Taken for my friend Sheila Heti to show her the book I made for my 6 month old son. The book was to teach him that babies like to sleep on their backs.

Photo on 9-10-12 at 4.23 PM Testing out a tinfoil wig. Later that day I was trying to cook fish wrapped in kale and the recipe called for tinfoil and guess who had used it all up for art? I had to take this piece out of the recycling and wrap it around the fish.

Photo on 2012-03-11 at 16.40 Taken for my friend Dena deCola because she wanted the info of the tarot card reader I met at Stories bookstore. A great tarot card reader if anyone is needing information about their future.

Photo on 2012-01-31 at 12.48 This was taken for my business manager to show him what I thought was a “fishy transaction” in the parking garage of my dentist. It turned out to be on the level.

Photo on 2011-12-23 at 11.38 Taken for my friend Lindsay Beamish to show her how I was wearing the decoration from her birthday present to me as a bracelet.

2011-12-09 at 12.30 Taken for my husband Mike Mills to show him the unusual fruits (vegetables?) Juan had just given to me. Juan is a quasi-homeless gardner/repair man who cares for the neighborhood that my office is in. He and I have been exchanging gifts for the last ten years.