NATHANIEL C. SHANNON

^{“STREET DICKS”

NATHANIEL C. SHANNON

This massive series was began
in the spring of 2014 while walking from my former office in midtown Manhattan
to the lower east side to meet some friends at a bar. I was incensed at pedestrians psychically walking
into me, more engaged with their cell phones than paying attention to where
they are walking. The incident that begat “Street Dicks” occurred when a young
man on his phone walked directly into me, then physically tried to throw a
punch at me. I dogged it as he screamed about how it was my fault that we
collided. I had recently been making a lot of street photography and happened
to have my camera in hand and snapped a few photographs of him moments before
he walked in to me. I informed him that
I have photographs of him ignoring his pedestrian responsibilities, and he
might want to reconsider his position since he just tried to assault me. He
took off running once he realized the situation. I spent the rest of that walk documenting
similar incidents. “Street Dicks” was thus born. It’s basic conception serving
as art therapy for me to deal with my own frustrations of humanity and
technology coexisting, especially living in New York City. The “Street Dicks”
narrative is documenting how lost people are engaging with a piece of
technology that is here to connect the world, but has begun to drive us further
apart. These photographs reflect the disregard of consciousness of people’s
physical surroundings, which affects everyone around them. Walking from midtown
Manhattan to where I live in Brooklyn is great exercise, physically,}^{artistically, and mentally.}