Hey Nineteen
The Sequel to Ace Eleven
If the economy is judged (as many suggest) by the number of construction cranes you see in a given city, Lexington is booming.
On 9.19.19, we asked Ace readers to set their alarms for 9:19 am and pm, to capture their unique snapshot of Lexington in a designated moment. We asked them to share and post their photo(s) on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter using the hashtags #AceNineteen and #AcePalindrome. Each photo on each channel was an entry for a Yeti Roadie.
This year’s project yielded photos of dogs, kids, babies, and food — from downtown to the suburbs and surrounding area — and a huge glut of construction pics. The Jefferson Street viaduct is in ruins. High Street at Rupp Arena is nearly unrecognizable. City Center is still rising. The quest was: think global, shoot local.
More than 100 photos were submitted, showing us the moment. Many of the morning shots were of work and non-work related screens (computers, tvs, iphones, dashboards etc). Enough feet were photographed to comprise an entire gallery of feet. The evening photos showed more home settings, but also some beautiful cityscapes, and an especially imaginative sports moment.
The Yeti-winning photo was submitted by Letha Drury, who snapped a selfie at 9:19 am on 9.19.19, announcing that it was also her birthday!
This year’s Palindrome Project was a sequel to a recurring Lexington photo series called the Ace Eleven Project. In 2011 (11.11.11) and the sequels, 12.12.12, and 11.12.13, hundreds of photos were submitted and shared via social media, from pros and amateurs alike, each presenting a unique portrait of Lexington, both individually and in the aggregate. Technology has come a long way since 2011.
The original idea was inspired by the Lexicon Project, the late great not-for-profit photo collective. They had asked Lexington to do the same thing at 6 pm on July 6, 2005. Their concept was to invite everyone to capture one moment, for all of you to take one beat to think about where you are and what you are doing, and share it with the rest of the city.
9.10.19 marked the beginning of Palindrome Week. What’s a palindrome: a word, number, or phrase that can be read the same, forwards and backwards (e.g., mom, pop, madam). Palindrome Week is a rare consecutive ten days when each date can be read the same backward and forward (9.10.19, 9.11.19. 9.12.19, through 9.19). The next Palindrome Week won’t happen until 2021.
The first Eleven Project gave us an explosion of Fall colors in the bluegrass. The Twelve project offered a reflection of Lexington during the Holiday season. If the Nineteen project had a theme, it was “under construction.”
See you back here in 2021. In the meantime, expect a few calendars, t-shirts, and other fine collectibles along the way.
