This summer marks the 100th birthday of Pike Place Market, and Seattle is celebrating this--and, of course, the year of the Golden Pig by the Chinese Zodiac--with its seventh annual Parade of Pigs, wherein one hundred local artists have each sponsored and decorated pig statues to be displayed around downtown Seattle.
Of course, being a mere stranger ambling down the streets near the Market, I had never heard of the Parade of Pigs tradition, nor of its origin. Armed with the ever-present camera, my only thought was: "This could be a cool photo series." Actually, the whole thing reminded me of the dozens of horse--then ram--statues that local artists had displayed back in Billings over the last few years.
And thus began what I lovingly began to call the "Pigging Out" series, which involved setting out from my friend Mike's apartment each day for two-, four-, or ten-mile treks around the city to, among other things, capture each pig on film. Naturally, many other natives and tourists had the same idea, which gave me built-in models (whether they knew it or not) to pose beside the statues. I have yet to photograph all of the pigs, but nonetheless, here is what I have of "Pigging Out."
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(If the posted series doesn't work, you can also view it at: http://www.rockyou.com/show_my_gallery.php?source=ppsl&instanceid=73545816 )
