japr interview

Interview of me by KC.

kc - Do you have a title yet?

Lucid Premonitions. It just made me think about foreshadowing of dreaming and stuff like that. Dreams can foreshadow, they can repeat, they can be a reflection of the day or they can be something you want to see in yourself, such as wishes and hopes… I think they serve lots of different purposes for different people. I would hope and I think it'll be different for every viewer. However, I don't want to say this one is about this and this one means that. It’s about the dreams, but I don't want to narrative every dream for every person.

kc - With your video do you still want it in a frame alongside your other images?

If it works out. I have 5 boxes that I'm creating. I might cut pieces of certain transparencies out and overlap them to give an optical illusion. That way they create this narrative going through different layers. I was thinking of 4 images for sure, and in one box maybe having a movie. I want it to look similar with the same box structure so it's not disconnected.

I liked the idea of having to look into these boxes and have it be really small and personal like that person is entering the dream state on their own. I think it is a way of looking at how different people dream differently. Such as black and white, really realistic, weird abstract images, flashes, or sometimes your brain connects them like a narrative so they seem super real. It seems like a whole event you went through throughout the night. Being able to watch something and have it feel like a whole story. I thought that trying to control what your subconscious is doing is weird. I wanted to do that by taking these images and turning them into a tangible object. I plan on cutting out parts of the images. Some of them seem to start repeating in a weird way, so if I had little hints of certain images hopefully you start to see this connection like “oh I've seen that before, like déjà vu”... I wonder...

kc - A certain symbol?

I wouldn't say that. But if I deal with repeated images I wonder if they would start to become symbols. After you see something so many times... does that make it a symbol? I think that certain things can definitely become a symbol if it repeats itself enough times and starts to represent something else, remind you of something.

kc - An installation more than just photographs. Was that important? Why?

Technically I guess you could take them off the wall and they could be these little boxes you carry around with you. With it being lit up I think the image begins to be projected in your mind. I don't want to slap a picture on a wall and I've dealt a lot with alternative processes in the past. I don’t want it to read as just here's a picture. I almost feel as though sometimes an image loses its value in a way. It becomes another piece of paper and I don't like that. While at the same time, I don’t think just putting it in a frame necessarily adds importance either. I thought it'd be interesting to separate the images and see how they could work together and relate; and I think that goes along with the theme of the dream state. I thought it'd be interesting to work in a different way.

kc - Do you think everyone will see it as photography? Or will it be a question?

I don't know, I don't think so. What else could it be besides photography? It's not really a photograph, but I’m still playing with that idea. I don't want it to demean my work but if someone were to label it I suppose it could be a photographic installation? But not really.

kc - Do you think this is going to change the way you work? Layers, one dimensional?

I think it’s broadening what I'm capable of. I am definitely acquiring new skill assets through my JAPR. Physically having to build things is an important experience to have so you don't get stuck in the same craft. It's nice to be talented and very skilled in your field but it’s also nice to have a wide range of skills. I've done images with multiple layers before but they just felt flat. I wanted to enter in and explore this more because you could tell there was more to the image and I think that shows more in these layers. But I don't want it to be super obvious. I think it'll let people in more and allow them to bounce back and forth within the image. I think it might open up a new door.

Working commercially I felt like it's a lot of the same thing. I was finding a way to make it different and I always got the comment.. oh that's a Christy picture and I took that as a compliment more so than anything else. I guess it was the start of me finding a style.

kc - It's definitely in color?

Mine are color. I'm still debating about dealing with black and white though. I was wondering about making one layer grayscale. I was working with getting my structures built and now I'm going into the images. I’m thinking more into cutting them down, taking parts out and playing with them, and mixing them around. It might create its own new dream. It's like I'm dreaming while I'm working. Now I'm in control, which is something I was thinking about. I want to keep it somewhat personal; my dreams are color, but to let others get into the work I feel like I might have to explore the black and white, and if that's important? And if that matters? I guess that's something that I'm struggling with.

kc - sound with video?

I don't know if that will enhance or take away from it? To dictate what people are hearing, to help them get into it more? Those are two questions I probably need to ask in class.