Student Jeffrey Hertz’s art is born from his travels around the world. His work, located at Yoberri on Harvard Drive, features photos that one might expect to see in National Geographic. There’s an old Indian man jumping naked into a river, another of Tibet at Sunset and less exotic ones of a flaming long board in front of the Humanities building. Hertz said his photos serve as a sort of silent conversation between him and his audience members. The topic? Whatever happens to be on their mind.
Daily Lobo: Can you explain where this all started for you?
Jeffrey Hertz: I graduated a semester early from high school, so in my second semester I took off. I started in Japaan and worked my way to China, Vietnam, Thailand and into India and Nepal.
DL: That’s quite the graduation gift, or was it?
JH: No, I was actually working for the local newspaper in Socorro. I just saved enough money to go on the trip. I took a few classes at New Mexico Tech trying to get credit so I could graduate early. Really, I just worked my ass off that semester.
DL: Had it always been your plan to travel?
JH: Oh yeah. My dad and I had been planning for a couple of years.
DL: Yeah, but was there a moment, or was it just a building thing throughout your youth?
JH: My dad has always traveled. He’s always loved to travel, and he’s done whatever he could to travel every year. I finally realized I needed to go with him — that I had a bug for it. Since that trip, I haven’t traveled anywhere. I have been busy with school, but I feel I am gaining the tools to go out on a trip again. When I graduate, I will have that shiny piece of paper, and with that I kind of just want to put in my back pocket for a while and then go traveling again.
DL: You know there’s an old maxim that goes something along the lines, “You are defined by the people around you.” When you’re traveling, obviously, the people around you change. Did you ever feel at a loss for an identity in your travels?
JH: Definitely, I still feel that way now. These experiences, because they are so foreign, are very meaningful, and it really showed me that I needed to slow down. As the trip went on, and the more I got to stop and talk to these people, the more I got from these experiences. It takes a toll on your identity and what you plan to do. You know, traveling, I was heavily influenced by Buddhism. As much as I hold onto my traditions, I have this new mindset from traveling that’s changed my life.
