In Persona – What’s in your bag?

In Persona – What’s in your bag?

Awesome series of photographs by Jason Travis. Make your inner voyorist happy and visit his Flickr set In Persona. Also, there is an interview with him on Dashboard Co-Op.

Found on the 14th of July 2010.

81 Comments

  1. Name change. “What’s in your hip(ster) bag?”

  2. Haha, true! That would be an appropriate title too. :)

  3. I want to marry the [hipster] girl at the top.

  4. The squirt gun is for booze.

  5. Also find it hard to believe that none of these women keep a tampon in their bag.

  6. I’m in shock right now. I stumbled across this page and was stunned to find out as I’m scrolling down that the black guy, second from the bottom, is my cousin. Well my cousin married him. They live 2 1/2 hours from where I live and I’ve met him once..

    Just scrolling through when all of a sudden, “WAIT! I KNOW HIM! THAT’S PENIVEK!”

    This is so weird. Crazy chances.

  7. Hmm, a breeze card and a guy standing standing on that bridge with the “Team Danger” tag over Ponce… Maybe all the cool cats do live in Atlanta.

  8. Holy God, these people are so fake they can’t pile enough fake on their bodies that they have to carry fake in their bags! What, are they afraid the hipster police will do a stop-and-search to prove their hipster credentials? Like ironic mustache guy, carrying around a Norman Mailer article…get real. The only way this is forgivable is if its a meta-art photo shoot and the photographer imagined what was in their bags and arranged the shot. Unbelievably lame.

  9. 9.
    justin phillip hill
    Jul 19th, 2010

    super uber not bad…

  10. @Jeff

    Glad someone said it.

  11. 11.
    bluesbird11288
    Jul 19th, 2010

    Our generation has become so image-concious that we edit our bags the way we edit our facebook/myspace/blogger site.

    The personal has become public, thus we modify our behaviour accordingly.

  12. @Jeff and Nick

    who gives a shit? people like you fall into their own stereotypical category. one of self-proclaimed omniscience. save your diatribes, we can already see you hovering on your clouds above us all.

    as for the posted artwork. it is what it is, real or fake. just let it be, its not the damn loch ness monster or bigfoot. let your mind create a story and personality for these people based on what is “in their bag.”

    and i’m sorry if the only personality for these people your progressive minds can create is “dick.” or as you so eloquently put it, ‘fake’ and ‘lame’

  13. 13.
    Ivar Lee
    Jul 19th, 2010

    haha i was going to say hipster bag too. look in a regular person’s bag and you would not find all that fashion statement items.. or mustaches

  14. 14.
    Ivar Lee
    Jul 19th, 2010

    those**

  15. None of them carrying condoms. Ha ha. In this day and age eh?

  16. I find this extremely annoying. Just sayiiiinnnn

  17. Awesome List
    starte to think whats in myne

  18. This seems to be fairly common, hipster-issue rations and uniforms. I see these images less as individual studies and more as recipes for conformist lifestyle. If only the individuals were shot from head to toe. It would make a more robust checklist.

  19. 19.
    sir jorge
    Jul 20th, 2010

    that is quite cool, i loved the juxtapozition

  20. I think it would be more interesting if you mixed up the pictures. Like if the moustached guy was carrying the binoculars, and Penivek was carrying the sales book and the norman mailer article.

  21. why does the black guy have 3 sandwiches? that’s all i wanna know.

  22. 22.
    avisioncame
    Jul 21st, 2010

    It’s as if everyone of these people loaded up their bags every morning thinking to themselves, “Hmm, I better make sure everything in this bag is incredibly hip, you never know when a photographer will want to photograph all the stuff in my bag.” laaaaame

  23. Looks like the tattoed one enjoys the usual cannibus. (dimebag)

  24. My god, that GameBoy system looks sweet even to this day! I want to buy one so I can mount it on my wall. (also that girl is hot.)

  25. nice breeze card. atlantaaaaa

  26. damn hipsters

  27. Title says, “In Persona”..I’m sorry, but as an artwork it doesn’t question or open up anything. It’s narrowing things by choosing only hipsters as the only “persona” in the artwork. Quite weak as an artwork in my opinion.

  28. 28.
    Web design yorkhire
    Jul 24th, 2010

    I quite like the idea of mixing the photos up with what’s in their bag. But I’m presuming these are set-ups because there are some things like the knife in one that I just don’t believe. Either way thought provoking.

  29. very different idea and working though , The things in bag helping in personifying the respective person :)

  30. the only actual genuine bag is the dude with the sandwiches. I just want to know where the random bits of tobacco, mints and receipts are….

  31. The black guy looks like Wesley Snipes, but with accessories

  32. This is pretty cool. Just stumbling and realized hey, i have a Marta card like that girl, and I have a Gwinnett county public library card, and i’ve raved with the black guy before at the Colab. http://colaboratory.net/ kickass

  33. She has a gameboy… I think I’m in love

  34. all of them have this things: phone, key and wallet!

  35. This is a really cool idea.

    It would have much more impact for me, however, if I knew that the things in each person’s bag weren’t there ironically. A lot of the above items are clearly there to serve the purpose of identity formation, and nothing more.

    I’d me much more interested to know what was in the bag of a 50 year old Ukranian woman, or a sketchy Thai nightclub owner–basically anybody who’s been around the block a few times, as the above subjects clearly have not. If one of these people had a gun in their bag, I’m guessing most people would think, “Oh look, they’ve got a gun so they can show it to their friends.”, not “Oh look, they’ve got a gun so they can defend themselves/shoot people/shoot animals/kill zombies/etc.”

    What I’m trying to say is that for the above subjects, insofar as possessions go, function clearly follows form. Find some subjects for whom form follows function and you’d have an even richer story to tell.

    Just my two cents. Still thought it was awesome.

  36. Puh-Teh-Tik

  37. I, personally, agree with the whole hipster thing. Not to say that it’s bad, everyone has a phase in their life. However, I do think that the “artist” could have photographed some “normal” people, as well. It seems to me that it was intentioned to pick out the most hip people on the side of the street.

    Picking out normal people, at least a couple, would have seemed a bit more interesting, and probably less annoying and hipster-ish. I’m pretty sure, also, that normal people would have some pretty strange stuff in their bags.

  38. Hm.

    Odd.

    My bag:

    Wallet. Keys. Cheap-ass cell phone. Tube of concealer. Goldfish crackers in a ziplock bag. Loose change. Three size 4 Luvs diapers. Fourteen mini Tootsie Roll pops (for bribing the toddler to not whine in the grocery store). Random paperback book – I think it’s either my dog-eared “Silmarillion” or equally battered “Tell-tale Heart and Other Writings by Edgar Allan Poe”. Box of Apple-Grape Juicy Juice.

    I understand handle-bar moustache camera-bag guy… but everyone else looks staged. And not even well-staged.

  39. what’s with all the ‘hipster’ hatred in the beginning?? It seems like you are just hating because they fit within YOUR definition of ‘hipster’.
    how do you know they are fake? you don’t know them personally, just because of appearance and what they carry with them? it makes me wonder what you carry with you. probably nothing, that’s boring.
    what demographic would you have rather been photographed? because in my opinion these seem like interesting people.

  40. ^^^^^^^^
    hipster :D

  41. 41.
    Jason from Geeky Coupons
    Aug 9th, 2010

    if there was more variety instead of all these hipster dudes it would be a goooood idea :D

  42. 42.
    aninnymouse
    Aug 9th, 2010

    Three womens bags, not one of them has tampons. Right.

  43. 43.
    Zoey Carr
    Aug 9th, 2010

    Why is it that all of those above me seem to think that these are set up? God forbid people actually carry around a camera, or a gameboy, or parliament cigarettes, right? People carry around things they like. These people like those things that are shown. Why can’t you accept that and move on with your lives instead of trying to tear down people for their interests?

  44. ALSO
    women dont carry around tampons every single day. stop commenting on it. There are only three women. It’s not that unlikely that they wouldn’t be on their periods (they could also be on birth control that causes less periods)

  45. this is pukey.

  46. isis don’t get so mad, especially when your wrong. someone’s bag contents don’t make them interesting, the whole thing is staged and based on what is hip. not only is it fake it also promotes materialism and identity through brands and products.

  47. seriously, this is one of the most inauthentic things i’ve seen all week.

  48. 48.
    spacecamp
    Aug 21st, 2010

    Hey! I have that exact Gwinnett County Library keychain card!

    Anywho…real or staged, hipster or not, I really liked the idea for this photoblog. Mayhaps the reason why all the individuals shown here all have ironic stuff in their purses (or…satchels?) is for just that reason: they KNEW they had cool stuff with them! I mean c’mon, if some random dude came up to you and was like “yo! can I photograph all the shit in your bag?” the majority of people would keep walking. Why? Because they knew what they had was boring like old receipts and antacids. Because no one wants to appear uninteresting. It’s possible that the photographer initially set out to find “normal” people and the only ones that would comply were the hipsters. So to the hipsters, I applaud you. Thank you for making such entertaining images. I know if I carried with me an outdated Gameboy or a watergun or some sweet skeleton shades, I’d want to share too.

  49. 49.
    spacecamp
    Aug 21st, 2010

    Also–if you look closely, all of them do carry ordinary things.

    Keys, wallets, cellphones, ipods, ciggerette lighters, mints, cough drops, cash, pens; it’s all there.

    @Zooey Carr–completely agree, all women do not carry tampons with them at all times. Just goes to show how misconceived men really are about these matters.

    @Web Design–I do carry a knife with me at all times (minus airports, schools etc.) in lieu of not being old enough for a gun permit. It must be nice living in safe cuddly Wherever-You-Are-Ville.

  50. 50.
    spacecamp
    Aug 21st, 2010

    @Alyson–thanks for the list of crap in your diaper bag, but no one cares.

  51. SmArT idea

  52. only hipsters use the word hipster!

  53. damn hipsters photographer is probably one too

  54. People really don’t like hipsters. Wonder why?

  55. 55.
    November
    Sep 27th, 2010

    I don’t understand why everyone (or most of you) here is so uptight. I’d rather see pictures of this than pictures of people that carry just a wallet and keys (what’s the fun in that?).

    These people have some interesting items they carry with them (maybe the squirt gun and the skull glasses are a little hippster-y). I mean I carry a DS just in case I get stuck somewhere waiting, a little sketch book and pencils in case inspiration strikes, and a digital camera in case of an emergency or something. I also carry a roll of electrical tape and scissors just in case i need them for something because of past experiences taught me that you always can use them for something.

    The point is, you don’t know why these people carry the things they do. They might find joy and comfort in having these items close to them. Can you say that about the things you carry everyday?

  56. 56.
    November
    Sep 27th, 2010

    On a side note:

    To all you guys who claim these people are hipsters. Thank you for assuming and stereotyping these people as hipsters because, of course, you’ve seen them participate in all those things hipsters do. Good job at being awesome human beings.

  57. 57.
    the cool guy
    Oct 7th, 2010

    theses are all fucking hippsters

  58. i know hipsters who carry crap like that just so people can think they’re cool. so lame. “even the things we carry are obscure and ironic.”

  59. Damn, so much hate.

  60. +1 on noticing they were all stereotypical hipsters…

    +1 on the fakeness of it all (whether in the person’s life, or the staging of this photo blog, it’s really the same thing, isn’t it?)

    +1 on the hate of same

  61. 61.
    winelips
    Nov 4th, 2010

    funny how the dudes carry more shit than the chicks.

  62. lmao @ the hipsters. probably all in the same poetry class at berkley. would have been more interesting if you had a needle junkie included in the mix! syringe, bag of heroin, condoms, lube ect ect. =p

  63. 63.
    not a hipster
    Dec 7th, 2010

    some hipsters… no dimebags? no baggies with substances unknown to the unknowing? pffff…
    hipsters are so boring

  64. 64.
    joe giveafuck
    Dec 11th, 2010

    i am what i buy…how fucking lame

  65. 65.
    greetingsfromderpistan
    Dec 21st, 2010

    As soon as I saw the pic of the first girl my hipster senses started tingling.

  66. 66.
    IBRAHIM MANSOUR
    Jan 25th, 2011

    Relationship is the substance of our connections: things like family or blood relatives, as well as covenant relationship like marriage or adoption. Even beyond that, relationship can also be defined by association (church family, workplace, neighborhoods, students, etc.), or just the frequency in which we connect with people (if I see someone often, then I might say I have a relationship with them).

  67. 67.
    leif Husselbee
    Feb 8th, 2011

    if they would have checked my bag they may have found a, machine file, non taxed cigaretts, black fetal rabit fur lined dearskin gloves, cloroform, a pasport, swiss army knife google earth printouts of back yards conecting to public parks and highways, the book of mormon,and of course a copy of a catcher in the rye.

  68. HIPSTERS….HIPSTERS EVERYWHERE
    AND THEY ARE FEELING SUPERIOR….

  69. ———————————————————————–>
    69!
    woot woot

  70. the objects in the bags are actually all quite average, or at least regularly useful to the individuals carrying them, even if they appear pretentious to some. its just the artistic nature of the photos and arrangement of the objects that makes them look like the props of a hipster. rather than insult i would compliment the artist on a good eye for aesthetics

  71. 71.
    b.r. III
    Mar 12th, 2011

    way too stereotypical, but i like it. fack you, okay?

  72. 72.
    imaginae
    Apr 5th, 2011

    Hahaa! I know one of these guys! He’s a good friend of mine in Atlanta. Small world.

  73. lol black guy’s a pothead

    lighter but no cigs

  74. I’m not sure what you all mean by hipster but I cant see anything wrong with the bag contents….
    They look like the usual sorts of things people would have except for one or two things (like a water pistol and opera binoculars).
    I have pens, wallet, cell phone, cameras, keys, cards, sunglasses, drink bottle, mints etc.
    And I dont get why you would need to carry round tampons or condoms (unless you had ur period/were out to sleep with anyone).

  75. What do Hipsters keep in their bag?

  76. 76.
    fckaduck
    Jul 4th, 2011

    I also have my Gameboy Color in my bag :D
    And I’m also a female who doesn’t have tampons in my bag, it’s not like I need them at all times o-o

  77. Hipsters, seriously….

  78. That black person is a guy……..?

  79. 79.
    Alexandre
    Jul 13th, 2011

    In my bag there’s my cellphone, my ipod, a camera, a pencil case with a 3 pencils an eraser, a permanent market, my wallet, some pieces of paper, my wooden amulet that I found on the beach, some spare guitar strings and some picks

  80. 80.
    Carlo Lucchesi
    Jul 14th, 2011

    three of them have knives!!??!? who just carries a knife