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Spraygraphic Interview with Photographer Daniel Shea
By Spraygraphic | August 2, 2010
Spraygraphic Interview with Photographer Daniel Shea
SG: Please tell us about yourself. Where do you currently live and work?
DS: I live and work in Chicago, IL, although my more documentary practice takes me to other places. I survive by teaching photography to youth through the Museum of Contemporary Photography and taking freelance and editorial work.
SG: What mediums do you work with?
DS: The work I put out into the world is all lens-based. I also work in other mediums, although my ideas and materials always seem to reference photography’s syntax. I haven’t decided if I’m ready to show people my sculptural objects yet.
SG: What kind of equipment do you use?
DS: Digital and analog, sometimes lighting.
SG: Describe your working process when creating a new work.
DS: For my projects I decide on the topical direction before hand. In the case of the work I’m doing in Appalachia, the picture-making is driven by investigating very tangible conditions and sources - coal mining, industry, survival, the surface of history, etc. After spending time in a region and collecting images, I can then adjust my approach to handle photography’s more protean disposition. Out of this looser embrace, an edit develops that is driven by narrative. However, the work is still held together by the objects in the photographs that tie it all together. In the case of Plume, the smoke stack is the obvious example.
SG: What kind of things do you do when you get blocked or find it hard to create something or simply uninspired?
DS: I think about the material world and how weird objects actually are. When you look at something long enough, form and content inevitably start to feel strange. Also I read about politics or look at art.
SG: Where are you currently finding your inspiration?
DS: Recently when feeling stuck with my working methodology and wanting to do something new, I realized how weird the gestures people make in public parks are. So I’ve started to shoot that.
Actually, as I type this I’m in rural Ohio doing an amazing residency program called Harold Arts. It’s hard not to be inspired by the grandeur of the natural world when in such a setting.
SG: What do you look for when you are picking models/subjects to work with? Is it a physical feature? Personality? Photogenic? etc…
DS: I usually try to pull anyone and everyone into my field of view when I’m out shooting. I don’t just look for eccentric people or situations, to me that’s just as boring as what we perceive to be normal and uninspired. The world feels full of people doing useless gestures in different environments, which is more than enough to work with. I don’t necessarily mean this in a cynical or even esoteric way. But in a portrait, if I can highlight gesture as something ultimately requisite to the purpose people feel in their environment, then I’m happy.
SG: Do you bring your camera with you everywhere with you or do you leave it home when you go out on the town?
DS: I definitely don’t take my camera with me everywhere, there’s something about that that has always bothered me. I’ve forced myself to do it in the past, but it wasn’t for me. 90% of the things I make that I’m satisfied with are premeditated.
SG: Where has your work been seen?
DS: I imagine many, many more people have seen my work online than in galleries, but I’ve shown previous work in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Portland, among other places.
SG: Where will it be seen next?
DS: I’m preparing Plume for a show at The Appalachian Center in Kentucky for a couple of months at the end of this year. This is really important to me, as it is the first time the work will be shown physically in a region close to where I’m working. Getting feedback from the communities I’m working in is invaluable.
After that I hope to show it in Chicago and other cities. I have a few shows in town here this summer, and I’m also going to be showing Removing Mountains in France next year as a solo show, which I’m very excited about.
SG: What is your dream art assignment?
DS: A commission to spend a year photographing and researching the world’s coal mines, or being sent to Chiapas to work with the Zapatistas.
SG: What is your favorite color?
DS: Grey, honestly. Brown is a close second. For someone who mostly shoots in color, I love desaturated light.
SG: Who is your favorite photographer? And Why?
DS: I can’t choose one person I like more than any other. Artists I’ve been studying lately - Richter, Robert Irwin, Isa Genzken, Tillmans, Imi Knoebel, Roman Signer. Oh, I saw William Eggleston’s show at the Art Institute a few months ago and it gave me goose bumps for the next 5 days.
SG: What book/magazine are you reading this week?
DS: I’m finally getting around to reading some Walter Benjamin essays. Also trying to tackle Faulkner. I just picked up the new ArtForum, I actually like looking through the ads.
SG: Where is your favorite place to hang out?
DS: My house/make shift studio. I’m a total homebody and prefer to spend a lot of time alone. With my computer, books, a sketchbook, scanner, etc., I can be at peace for a long time! I like coffee shops too, and the beach.
SG: Any final words of advice?
DS: Be bold, have confidence, work out more, eat healthy, practice talking to strangers, understand why certain things inspire you and others don’t, don’t settle for mediocrity, and always work harder.
Additional Links:
http://www.photodreamboats.com/
Topics: Artist Interviews, Photography |
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