Look What I Did... (podcast)
I sat down with idea broker Daniel Quin and he interviewed me for the Look What I Did podcast. #getsome
So stoked to have had the opportunity to sit down with Daniel Quin a couple of weeks ago and chat on the Look What I Did podcast. The conversation covers a lot of topics so I’m sure that some part of it will speak to you.
https://www.lookwhatidid.net/
Drop me an email after you listen to it and let me know what you think, or ask me a question if there was anything you wanted to discuss a little more in-depth.
hello@davidscottholloway.com
Hi-fives!
Hey Tony, I told you so.
The knife belonged to Anthony Bourdain. It was crafted by one of America’s greatest knife smiths, Bob Kramer. It was forged from a blend of steel and meteorite. Bourdain had been wanting one since he did an episode of Raw Craft with Kramer…
Space Knife © 2018 David Scott Holloway/All Rights Reserved
Since I’ve posted this photo on my LinkedIn profile several people have asked me about it. So here is the story.
The knife belonged to Anthony Bourdain. Crafted by one of America’s greatest knife smiths, Bob Kramer, it was forged from a blend of steel and meteorite. Bourdain had been wanting one since he did an episode of Raw Craft with Kramer. Then in 2016, Tony told me he got one of Kramer’s knives. I told him I had to photograph it. I started calling it “Space Knife.” Every time I’d see him I’d ask if he brought the space knife for me to shoot. Or when we were traveling he’d glance over to see me standing off to the side miming a cutting motion and I’d look right at him and doing my terrible Jim Carrey impression say “Sssssspaaaaaace Kniffffffe!”
Obviously, he didn’t travel with it. I hadn’t even really seen it. He had shown me a photo on his phone. Then in April 2018, we were in town at the same time, he said I should come over and check it out.
He got it out and handed it to me. He told me I could cut up anything in the kitchen, but I had to eat whatever I cut up. I used it to cut up a couple of apples and a chicken sandwich that I had been carrying around in my backpack.
He was hilariously critical of my terrible knife skills. He said his daughter could cut better than I could. This is most definitely true. I wanted to cut my finger off so I could say that I had meteorite in my blood. He gave me some guidance and then watched me use it again, then told me I should stick to washing dishes. I have had a couple of great jobs doing dishes and I find it to be really meditative.
I set up a light and wiped the knife off and made this photo and a few others. We started talking about art and I started digging through some of his things I hadn’t seen. He had a lot of cool art; an exploded skull, a polished Michelin Man statue, a portrait of his friend Iggy Pop, a few Ralph Steadman drawings, his Simpson’s script, lots of curious and cool things.
I kept opening drawers and pulling things out, I’d say “What’s this?” or he would say “Come look at this…” and lead me into the other room and pull a book off the shelf or print off the wall. As it often did the conversation turned darker. Tony had a dark sense of humor and was introspective about everything. I kept commenting on how cool this thing is or that thing and he said “It’s all just shit that someone is going to throw in a dumpster when you’re dead.”
I replied, “Well maybe my stuff, but I think someone is going to want most of your stuff.” He said “We’ll see.”
Well Tony, I told you so.
202 of Bourdain’s items were put up for auction as part of The Collection of Anthony Bourdain and were sold at "amounts significantly higher than their estimates," according to the auction house, taking in $1,846,575 in total.
Tony paid $5000 for the Space Knife. That was a steal, but at the auction, it went for $231,250. I often try to wrap my head around that number, nearly a quarter of a million dollars. Maybe that might have also been a steal, that knife has a bit of Bob Kramer’s heart and a bit of Anthony Bourdain’s soul. That’s pretty powerful stuff.
Much of the auction proceeds will support the Anthony Bourdain Legacy Scholarship at The Culinary Institute of America. That’s pretty great too.
Imagine Yourself As Anthony Bourdain
When people would see Tony in a place, the same place that they were, they often professed disbelief. They couldn’t grasp the idea that world famous TV personality, celebrated writer, celebrity chef, cultural ambassador Anthony Bourdain was in the same place that they found themselves in…
I recently stumbled across this CNN story by Steve Hurlbert again. I loved it from the first time i read it. It’s an excellent tale about his chance encounter with Anthony Bourdain in a random bar in NYC. It’s the sort of thing that tons of Parts Unknown fans dream of but don’t believe it happened. The story always makes me happy because I witnessed it many times. You can read it here.
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/anthony-bourdain-chance-encounter/index.html
“Tony was present that night with us at the bar, just as we've seen him be with the people he meets along his travels. Whether with the people of the Congo or chefs in Los Angeles' Koreatown, you get the sense that he's paying attention. It's not a routine or schtick, and we got to see that up close and personal.” - Steve Hurlburt
When people would see Tony in a place, the same place that they were, they often professed disbelief. They couldn’t grasp the idea that world famous TV personality, celebrated writer, celebrity chef, cultural ambassador Anthony Bourdain was in the same place that they found themselves in.
I would usually say something like “Well have you seen the show? It’s about people in places. Real people and real places. Currently it’s this place. The same one that you are in.” Then they were usually surprised that this person, the one that they admired, maybe even idolized, was so much like the personality from his television shows.
So I would continue with something like “What were you expecting him to be like? It’s not acting. That’s just him, with his thoughts, being himself. But you know, being himself in this place.”
As they tried to wrap their mind around the reality of Tony, I would challenge them and say “Could you do me a favor? Next time you come into this place, look around the room and realize it is an interesting place, full of interesting people. Really interesting people. Choose one of them. Someone that you don’t know, or maybe someone you don’t know so well. Buy them a drink. Sit with them. Have a conversation. Listen to them. Share your thoughts. Start the conversation anywhere; ask about their drink of choice, or how they came to choose this place. Then steer the conversation towards the things that person really wants to talk about. Imagine yourself as Anthony Bourdain. Put yourself in his shoes. Be curious. Dig deep. Recognize the interaction with a bartender or a waiter as a collaboration. Engage the people around you. Then write me a note and tell me how you feel about your world now. “
My hope is that they will have a deeper appreciation of their own surroundings, life and experiences and at the same time, be able to recognize those things everywhere. That they will start to recognize that this world and the people that inhabit it are interesting. It makes the world seem smaller and more accessible. Maybe they will start to reach out and connect everywhere they go. I hope they are less afraid and less surprised to find that people have a lot in common with them, even Anthony Bourdain. He was a father, a fan of movies and music, an illustrator. He had jobs. He had friends. He had responsibilities and romances. He was smart and insightful. He was sometimes shy or reserved, but he was approachable. He enjoyed having a drink and a conversation. He had more in common with you than you probably could’ve recognized.
So recognize that now. Go into the world with curiosity. Make some friends. Look at things around you in a new way.
"I love New York..." - Anthony Bourdain
Tony said “I love New York. I’m a guy for whom a New York accent is a comforting thing.” I’m not there yet.
“I love New York…” - Anthony Bourdain
LONG ISLAND CITY, QUEENS, NY - 2018: I love travel. I love going to the farthest and most extreme spots. I’m never disappointed in far away, but the New York episodes of #PartsUnknown were always the most surprising to me. I always learned the most about the city that I live in. The city is at times both vast and Lilliputian, but most of all it is accessible to me. Every morning I can walk out the door and explore as far as my feet will take me, or hop on a bus, the subway, #lyft, a #citibike or water taxi and the city has an abundance of not so obvious gems to discover. I’ve been here a decade and I’m just getting started figuring it out.
Tony said “I love New York. I’m a guy for whom a New York accent is a comforting thing.” I’m not there yet. A southern twang or a redneck mumble still makes me feel most at home, but NYC is mine now, it’s where my son was born and where I live so I plan on knowing it better than I know anywhere on earth.
Let's get to work...
We are incorrect when we say we don't have enough time. We have exactly the same number of hours per day as every person we’ve ever marveled at…
We are incorrect when we say we don't have enough time. We have exactly the same number of hours per day as every person we’ve ever marveled at; Jasper Johns, Leonard Cohen, Alex Honnold, Jane Goodall, Norman Mailer, Malcolm Gladwell and even Anthony Bourdain.
I admired quite a few things about Tony, but one of the things that inspired me most was that he realistically got a late start. He was in his mid-40s by the time he got on TV. He was the age I am now before I had ever even met him. He made himself schedules and to-do lists and he accomplished so much in the last decade. All of us who aspire to accomplish things, should be inspired by his productivity. In my opinion the key take-away is that it is honestly never too late to pursue your dreams. Let’s get to work.
Last week I spoke with CNN’s Kyle Almond about some of my time on the road with Tony. You can read about it here.
On Photographing Tony...
I got to travel and photograph the world with Anthony Bourdain.
Sounds like a dream job right? It was.
I traveled thousands of miles to far-off places like Vietnam, Tanzania, and Russia, as well as to places not so far away like South Carolina, Montana, and all over New York City. Along the way I learned to be a better traveler and, hand in hand with that, a better person. I’m thankful for the experience. It’s hard to imagine that I’ll ever have a better job…
I haven’t spoken much publicly about my travels with Tony. I’m still processing a lot of it. Being part of the Parts Unknown family has been a gift to me. It has been remarkable. Transformative even. Cengiz Yar at Explore Parts Unknown asked me to share a few of my favorite photographs that I made of Anthony Bourdain. So follow the link below and when you’re done, I’d like to know what your favorite photo of Tony is. Leave a message or drop me an email.
I got to travel and photograph the world with Anthony Bourdain.
Sounds like a dream job right? It was.
I traveled thousands of miles to far-off places like Vietnam, Tanzania, and Russia, as well as to places not so far away like South Carolina, Montana, and all over New York City. Along the way I learned to be a better traveler and, hand in hand with that, a better person. I’m thankful for the experience. It’s hard to imagine that I’ll ever have a better job…
