Women In the Arts, 2020, photographic film, Brooklyn
This is a study, admiration, and highlight of creatives in NYC. The photographs are personalized to each individual as much as possible. I have asked people here to represent themselves; bring an accessory, or wear something relevant to their identity.
In a time when the majority of photography is severely manipulated, self-absorbed and more about the place (or object) than the person, I am using the camera cautiously, to create portraits of real, everyday people with genuine opinions, struggles, and creations. Paired with the photographs are brief descriptions of their lived experiences, what it is like to be photographed, adding depth to each individual. I also granted subjects a disposable camera to photograph me photographing them to level the power structure endemic to the photographer/subject relationship.
How does the process of being photographed make you feel?
“self-conscious, excited, awkward, beautiful.”
Tell me something that motivates you:
Injustice. My intuition. Dreams. The goodness in people. Animals. The unseen connections. Play. How crazy it is to be alive at all?!?!
“I am a filmmaker primarily focusing on writing and directing. I began writing stories at a young age with a particular interest in creating new fairytales. When I was 16, I realized I was gay and turned to TV for guidance/therapy. I wanted to find characters that I could relate to. They were few and far between, most ending up unhappy or dying. From that moment on, I decided to pursue directing so that I could make films and tv shows that provide representation for the underrepresented. If my work has the capability to help someone or connect to them in a deeply personal way, then I will have succeeded.”
What is surviving in NYC like for you emotionally, financially, mentally? Do you have a side hustle, a meditative outlet, a boxing membership?
“Surviving in NYC is being $50k in debt. It's walking through Manhattan after a subway ride from Brooklyn and feeling overwhelmed with the fact that I actually live here. It's feeling motivated to create and accomplish and persist. I currently have some sort of hustle blossoming that started with shooting and editing content for the dominatrix I worked with on my film, “Velour. I occasionally attend a yoga class or use my Planet Fitness membership. NYC for me right now is constantly feeling like I have to get my life together and having hope that things will fall into place.”
“I do a lot of devised, ensemble-based, experimental theatre making and composing of my own music. I love it when these two things intersect. I started by watching Annie (the 1999 re-make) over and over and over again as a five-year-old. Theatre and performance and the intrinsic collectivism that is the foundation of these practices, are what kept me tethered to the earth as my family moved all over the world, what I clung to every time I entered a new community”
What made you decide to do this open call?
I've only ever worked with male photographers. What's up with that?! I put out into the ether that I wanted to work with a female photographer and this popped up. And every step of this process so far has felt full of compassion. Thank you for that.
Tell me a totally random thing about you:
I used to live in Niger, West Africa and Paris, France where I learned to speak fluent French.
What made you decide to do this open call?
“I've been working really hard on myself for the past year, and when I heard about this open call I wanted a way to document my progress. Of course, I trust you Katelyn, out of all people to help me translate this time of growth and emotion through photography!”
“I am currently juggling a handful of jobs, two of them being real estate photography and preschool photography. I found both jobs in 2019 after finally quitting my soul sucking nannying job I’d had since graduating college in 2016.”
How does the process of being photographed make you feel?
“Definitely intimidating, I did a series of self portraits for my senior thesis but to this day find it difficult to like how I look in photos.”
“I work as a digital technician on photography sets but I'm working towards moving into a producer role. I've been working in various roles in the photo industry for the last 9 years (studio manager, production manager, assistant and now digital tech). I started as an intern for a small magazine and then worked in a bunch of photo studios.”
What is surviving in NYC like for you emotionally, financially, mentally? Do you have a side hustle, a meditative outlet, a boxing membership?
New York has beaten me down more times than I can count but it will always be home to me and I'll always love it here. I recently moved back to my hometown in New Jersey because financially it became too tough to take on the career risks I wanted to take. Emotionally and mentally it can be exhausting commuting to Brooklyn (where I work) everyday so I'm all about practicing yoga and making sure I go to my weekly Sunday morning spin class to decompress. It helps clear my mind and it's good for my physical health too.
“I began writing when I was 14. My mother always kept a journal and that really inspired me to start. I write like there’s no tomorrow. It’s my water. My writing was something that I started for fun turned therapeutic outlet turned artistic outlet. The place I turn my energy into poems. I’ve never shared my poems with anyone ever. I still take acting classes post graduation from AMDA and frequently go out to auditions for tv/film.”
Tell me something that enrages you: “People who can’t see the other side of the story. When people start a conversation just to talk about themselves. When you pour your heart out and no one listens..... (THIS IS WHY I WRITE!)”
Do you have an object // outfit you're thinking about bringing or wearing? “I want my shoot to be very vulnerable and simple. I plan on bringing all of my journals from the years and incorporating them into this shoot.
