Almost Went Down the Rabbit Hole…
It was Saturday morning, and I decided to watch YouTube. I know, it can be a rabbit hole sometimes if you're not careful. But I have Apple TV and can stream it there, it’s a new thing for us since we got rid of cable and started streaming all of our content. But this morning I went into it with the idea that I would watch it with purpose, that I would sit there and watch two or three things that might have meaning and purpose to what might be going through my head at that moment.
I found a “show” or series that Netflix posted to YouTube called “Abstract-The Art of Design”. From what I can gather after two episodes is that it’s a series about artists or creatives. In different fields sharing unique stories about their journey, their art, and the way they express themselves in that medium. And what it means to them, from that perspective. It’s really very insightful….and thought provoking (we’ll get back to that).
So, the first was about a portrait photographer who I really did know anything about, but who’s work I recognized from magazines he has worked for and organizations he has worked in collaboration with. Platon Antoniou, but, known by the art world as just Platon. His story was inspiring, made me question my work in a good way. He had humble beginnings as an immigrant (like most all of us, in some form or another), from the Greek Islands to England. Dad an architect, Mom an art historian. His father would take him to building and say “look at the rhythm, look at the fenestration, look at the sense of human scale. How does that relate to us?” That thought struck a chord. His upbringing allowed him the opportunity to discover his inner person, that and the fact that he got beat up for nothing more than being a foreigner in a different land. From that broken body and defeated spirit arose a person with empathy. he spent years after, taking pictures that went against the grain of the status quo. As his reputation grew his core stayed the same, he was always interested in the person, telling their story through his connection with them.
We’ll get back to that.
The second was a wonderful story of Ilsa Crawford, an English interior designer who got her start after university to work as a studio manager in an architectural firm. Then on to an to a couple of editorial staff and editor jobs at some pretty cool rags (magazines) [Architects’ Journal and Elle Decoration]. She was interested in having a conversation with her readers, seeing thousands of interiors, having those conversations on how those spaces worked and what her readers thought about those spaces. And so, her first plunge into interior design came, after she left Elle Decoration, at the behest of Nick Jones, offered her the chance to design the interior of his SoHo House hotel he was putting together in the UK. And so her interior design studio grew, but always with the notion that interiors she and her team designed continued to speak to her clients and have conversations about what works and what doesn’t to make that space about the human experience. That human connection within the structure.
And hold that thought.
And I follow soccer, football to the rest of the world. I am a fan of our Philadelphia Union in MLS, and the MLS is doing pieces on some of the players in the league. One player in particular, from my club, was interviewed and his story was equally inspiring. Coming from Columbia, moving to the states with his parents, playing soccer was all he knew from a young age. But as he has grown and as he nears retirement, he knows that he has to make a life for himself after his career in soccer has ended (which I fear is soon, his contract ends after this season). He has diversified himself and is working in multiple fields: from Entrepeneur of a business venture in NYC to working with a graphic design firm. He wants to explore his passions and interests and be in a position of transition, to a life after sports.
We’ll get back to that too.
Right now.
It was kind of ironic that found these series, honestly, or that I found these videos at this moment. Because, I have been questioning and trying to best understand my storytelling through the images I create, and what my process is, and how to improve on that idea. You see in commercial architecture you are constantly training yourself to see the lines, the structure, shooting for the perspective, showcasing the intent of the design, etc., etc... But I always want to dig deeper and find the who, what, why of the design, the form, the process to get to where the design and implementation of the construction of the building suits both the designer, architect, and their clients. I mean, for someone, from some company, to come to a firm and say hey, we want you to design us a building to [fill in the blank]. We need it to [fill in the blank]. And we want it to [again… fill in the blank].
And that is where I am trying to position my work as a photographer, to not only help firms document and showcase their best work. But I want to build a story, to tell not only the beauty and thought behind the design and the application of that design in the build. But also to tell the story of the conversation that happens between the first email/phone call/meeting and when the keys are handed over to the client with that fresh new paint smell. Thats the meat and potatoes (coming from the vegetarian) kind of story I want to draw out of my images. I want to show the “why did they design this?”. The “What purpose did their client want the structure serve, and to what end?” The “How does the space get used as an interaction with the people that inhabit it or use it?”.
Their stories inspired me to dig deeper, look harder, ask questions and discover what the story is all about. To be in a place where I am ready to make choices in my career, to take a leap of faith and plunge neck deep into my passion. To make a choice and follow through with my decision as a photographer at large and to serve the clients I have and those I have yet to meet.
I am closer every day, in writing my story of independence, and being able to help those who call on me.
Link to: Abstract-The Art of Design | Platon: Photography
Link to: Abstract-The Art of Design | Isle Crawford: Interior Design
