Exquisite Arts Magazine Vol 6- Summer Issue- July 2017 | Page 8

Your photography is unique and very creative.
What inspired you to become a photographer?
What is your artistic background?
My oldest brother is actually the one who introduced
me to photography when I was in 8 th grade and he
brought home a film camera from school and let me
play with it; since then I’ve been glued to this medium.
My childhood is ultimately what inspired me to follow
my passion for photography. Growing up in a family
where we all truly value art, no matter the medium, we
were always encouraged to find what we love and
explore it and make sure that we always loved what we
were doing.
Your artistic style includes creating photography
that is almost ambiguous in nature. Why do you feel
that it is important for the audience to draw their
own conclusions from your work?
I feel it’s important to draw your own conclusion from
my work because it’s almost like a cycle I go through.
I’ve always been fascinated by storytelling and a lot of
my work is based on actual stories I’ve read or heard
somewhere but I tend to skew them in a way where
they’re almost unrecognizable… and so that goes into
why I find it important to keep it ambiguous, it’s as
simple as saying, I like to hear the stories people come
up with for my work because I’m a sucker for a good
story.
You mentioned that literary stories and myths play
a central role in the creation of your art. Why does
literary work have such a profound impact on you
and what are some of your favo urite literary pieces?
Literary pieces have a central role in my work because
I was raised on storytelling. We were always
encouraged to dream in my house. I remember always
coming up with stories with my twin sister growing up
and pretty much just roleplaying around the house.
Some of my favorite literary pieces though? That’s a
tough one. There are so many to choose from, but I
think I’ll have to say Pride and Prejudice by Jane
Austin and Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. Those
are two of the first books I ever got my hands on when
I was younger. Maybe I’m just a sucker for a good love
story and strong women.
As a photographer, do you feel that traditional art is
becoming a dying art form? If so, why?
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I wouldn’t necessarily say traditional art is a dying art
form, but I do believe that technology in art has
become a top priority. While artists are turning to the
latest and greatest of technology now to create art,
we’ll still have traditional art in places where it
matters. Art shows and galleries I believe, will still
continue to showcase traditional artists as well as
digital artists. It’s just a matter of knowing where to
go to find this kind of work. Traditional art, as in
pencil to paper, film photography, painting, and
sculpting, (etc.) will still always be the base to
learning your art and then growing within it, even if
that means moving into digital.
When designing the concept for your art pieces, do
you prefer to create your own characters or would
you rather to take a pre-existing story and skew it?
I do a little bit of both. I’ve skewed stories I’ve read
or heard, but I’ve also just created my own characters
and placed them in a setting where the audience is
forced to come up with their own stories. I have no
preference in that topic if I’m being honest. I find
pleasure in creating work surrounding either one.