The Vanderbilt Republic: ‘The Mechanical’

This week I got my reward for having backed The Vanderbilt Republic’s “Masters” project at Kickstarter — this one-of-a-kind Fujiroid print of one of the portraits from the project. So great.

I’ve backed a couple of Kickstarter projects so far, and there’s a visceral satisfaction that comes whenever I get a backers’ reward in the mail. We — or at least I — deal with so much that takes place as pixels on screens that physical artifacts are more meaningful, more important, than ever. I know I’m backing a Kickstarter project when I send the money, but I feel like I’m involved when I get something in my hand in return. Artifact is the only word I can find that fits.

The Vanderbilt Republic has a follow-up project at Kickstarter now, to raise funds to process the 1,600 sheets of 4×5-inch film they shot in Cambodia over six weeks. Count me in.

★ Friday, 26 March 2010