MJ EMP Tribute Photo Essay

[jerslice]

My first attempt at a photo essay of sorts. Within hours of the death of American pop music and cultural/generational icon Michael Jackson, crowds of people and impromptu memorials began sprouting up at the Experience Music Project in Seattle:

Tribute in Chalk: The EMP provided sticks of Crayola chalk to passerby and fans alike to write their condolences, appreciation, and affection for MJ on the concrete surrounding the building. Within hours the area was plastered with mini tributes like these:



Inside the EMP, staff set up one of his jackets and trade-mark gloves for public viewing. Over the weekend, lines extended out the door.


With MJ hits blaring in the normally spacious but now cramped room, an older couple (husband out of the frame) stops to read the placard and reflect on his passing.


A fan writes a short and sweet salutation on a sheet of heavy-duty yellow paper outside the EMP. Staff provided sheets of the stuff that extended the length of the building along a concrete ledge. About every half hour the paper would be full and staff would replace it with a clean sheet, moving the full sheets inside the building.

[Matt Molnar]

I for one, don't understand the public's obsession with Michael Jackson, but these shots still caught my interest, so I think that means you did a good job. :)

[jerslice]

, so I think that means you did a good job. :)

:-)

I don't quite understand people's attachment to someone you've never personally known either. To me that's part of what made the Experience Music Project tribute things seem so fascinating - thousands of people mourning the loss of someone that they personally did not know.

[PhilDernerJr]

I think he's one of very few musical artists from the past two decades that actually mattered. His influence is seen in many other artists these days and he was the first major music event on cable TV.

I just find hypocrisy in people who suddenly feel guilt for previously labeling him a child molester. Technically, I am one of them.