Ten Things with Tyler Raso

Tyler Raso’s piece “Material History of the Closet [Soft Serve Ice Cream]” has the power to transport us entirely into the world of a photograph, a photograph that holds not only ice cream and sunset but an exploration of identity. As part of celebrating Split Lip’s 10th Anniversary, Tyler listed ten things that incite joy:

1. 10 things that incite joy
   

   1. The moon

   2. Getting honey on my fingers, and then touching things with honey on my fingers

   3. Going for a walk in a light rain, then getting dew in my hair, shaking it like a dog, or keeping it like grass

   4. The smell of a candle just blown out, or how the light of a candleflame shivers and wiggles, even when you look away from it

   5. Playing dress-up with my little phone, and seeing how many faces my face can make, in a mirror I stole from my neighbor’s trash

   6. The moon, especially in the daytime

   7. Forgetting the word for something, and having a word-shaped hole in my mind all day, and remembering that word later, when it’s not needed, but is welcome like a friend

   8. Looking at people look at something they love, or do something they love, or be somewhere they love

   9. Discovering all the miraculous things, like that some flying squirrels glow in the dark

   10. Cooking a meal that makes my apartment smell like the meal, until I go to bed, at which point the smell does not really disappear, but stays and lightens like a blanket

Tyler Raso at 10 months old