Unpacking A Career
Defining my work and vision used to be a bit easier. Landscapes and unveiling the hidden surrealism lurking within them, that was my focus. Time does unique things when you're constantly creating and sure enough my work has certainly expanded over the last five years. Cities and their towering structures, award winning plates of food, and controversial social issues have infiltrated in my work, and I couldn't be more excited. I've welcomed the constant artist evolution and have embraced the challenges that come with it.
Recently I was asked to present my work to a prospective client. Upon receiving the invite, I had less than 24 hours to get my shit together and put together a complete and thorough presentation of my work for an office full of strangers. At least it was going to be happy hour... To be clear, I love sharing my work and felt no pressure or nerves, but I did have an interesting task. For the first in my career had to compile a breadth of work that spanned half a dozen genres, investigated various themes, and explored shifting subjects.
I realized I wasn't just presenting my work, I was presenting my life.
The further I continue down this road the more intertwined my personal and professional life have become, and frankly, that's the point. Sure I love to take photos and I love to edit them and I love everything that accompanies those two things, but anymore I really love to tell stories. As it turned out, this presentation was the story of the past 5 years of my existence on this floating space rock.
In the time it took to have one drink, I unpacked five years of my life.
Like any artistic evolution, influences have become more crucial in how I tell stories. My past as a video editor and film maker takes center stage, but my love for music complimented how I presented on this afternoon. I was a DJ playing a quick warm up set, 30 minutes to keep the crowd moving and hopefully, leaving them wanting more. As if I were assembling a video project, I selected various time eras, cherry picked themed series, and tee-d up key career points to unfold my work in 118 images. I had to create story arcs and craft climatic high points; in the time it took to have one drink, I unpacked five years of my life, reflecting on the devotion to creating images.
Unwinding that evening at home and feeling the mental exhaustion of the previous 24 hours, I realized how interesting that showing was. Usually we view images on our smartphones one thumb scroll at a time, or perhaps via a series or an album when we have time, but the idea of a left to right, downloadable slideshow seemed intriguing in today's digital consumption pool. So that's what I've done here, available for download is my entire presentation from that afternoon. I refrained from editing and refining it further. Stemming from my experience as a video editor I love and value the methods, practices,and results from assembling something while under a deadline. Hopefully this PDF illustrates not just progression, but passion. Early in my career I wrote a note to myself, that I wanted to be defined by my images, and ultimately,my stories. I'm pleased to say this PDF file reminds me that every day I'm working closer and closer to honoring that note.
