ISSUE 06 THE VISUAL ARTS GUIDE
PROCESS Kelli Anderson
Jessica Lehrman
Maira Kalman
Aundre Larrow
An exploration of multiple mediums and the artist’s well trodden path
In conversation with a rebel photographer always looking for her revolution
The whimsical art of brilliant, Manhattan based author and illustrator
Finding new ways to look at art, others and ourselves through the camera lens
PROCESS
36 Kelli Anderson
F E AT U R E S
An exploration of mediums and the well-trodden path
42 Jessica Lehrman In conversation with a rebel photographer looking for her revolution
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51 Aundre Larrow Challenging the assumptions we have about ourselves
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Maira Kalman
James White
ARTICLES
The whimsical art of Manhattan based author, designer, and illustrator
The 80s called and they want their jacket back
01 How to Contact Art Directors
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The right and wrong way to send a cold email with tips to get their attention
05 Stories Behind the Lens
How to facilitate your best ideas
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14 Art is a Gamble
Critique Like a Pro How to Stay Cool Under Pressure
for Artists
How to keep your work from taking over your life
Pivotal People of Inspiration Sometimes all you need is someone to tell you that you can
How to use portraiture as a form of storytelling
09 Time Management
Attack the (Creative) Block
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Outsider Art The undone style that influences the most established artists
Why taking risks can help to move you forward
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Jessica Lehrman is a New York based photographer whose work has been featured in publications like the New York Times, Rolling Stone, Vice, Vanity Fair, and Spin. She’s been exploring New York City’s underground rap and hip-hop scene and documenting a six-week road trip with her family, examining the Occupy Wall Street movement, touring fracking sites with Yoko Ono, or collaborating with fashion designer John Varvatos.
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Describe your path to becoming a photographer.
learn a lot in art school, but I’d also spend a lot of money that I didn’t have. I wanted to do nonprofit work and collaborate with artists and make money and help people
I fell into photography by accident. I originally wanted to
instead of only helping myself. Don’t get me wrong: art
be a painter, but I was horrible at it. The problem was that
school is amazing for lots of people, but it didn’t feel right
my parents are so supportive that anytime I did some-
for me.
thing, they’d say, “That’s so amazing! You’re so talented!
You should do that for a living!” My dream was to go
Central America and photographed there for a while
to Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), so I applied
before moving to Santa Monica, California. I ended up
for their pre-college program. Since I didn’t go to high
getting hired as a photographer for the Santa Monica
school, I needed to get some experience with that type of
Mirror after I met the art director, Deborah Daly, at a yard
structure. The RISD program was basically a three-month
sale. It was so random. That woman changed my life. I
introduction to college, so it was perfect.
love her. Around 2008, some friends of mine were attend-
After I left RISD, I took two years off. I lived in
ing Purchase College, State University of New York. They
Were you homeschooled?
told me to look into enrolling, saying it was like the cheap version of RISD. I didn’t necessarily want to study art, but
Kind of. I did a super alternative state-funded homes-
I still wanted to be around artists, so I decided to apply.
chooling program. We were required to study regular
Unfortunately, they denied my application because I
subjects like math and science, but we also took classes
didn’t have a transcript. The closest thing I have to a tran-
about sacred geometry and read books like Howard Zinn’s
script is a list of all of the feelings I had about my classes.
A People’s History of the United States. If I ever have kids,
(laughing) That didn’t work for Purchase, so I had to call
they’re definitely going to do it.
them numerous times to convince them to let me in.
When I went to Purchase, I triple-majored in
When I was 16, I accidentally got hired to do a commer-
new media, arts management, and media, society, and
cial for Cingular Wireless and made a shit-ton of money.
the arts. It sounds more artsy than it was: most of what
I did not grow up with money, and it was the perfect
I learned was about marketing, how to run a nonprofit,
amount of money I needed to attend RISD. I applied at
and how to set up a business in the arts. It was amazing. I
the last minute, so I didn’t get into the painting program.
learned so much from it. I was able to work for the college
Instead, I ended up majoring in traditional photography.
doing photography and marketing, although I didn’t make
I borrowed my friend’s Canon AE–1 without knowing how
much money. It also set me up to enter the music world,
to use it at all. After shooting my first roll of film, I was
because Purchase was super music-focused, so there were
completely hooked. I thought, “I’m done with everything
a lot of musicians and bands that I could photograph.
else—I’m going to do this forever.” Looking back, I’m so
glad painting didn’t work out.
During the summer of my freshman year, I went to India
Did you choose photography because you didn’t get into painting?
I went there for two years before dropping out.
with a friend. When I came back to school, everything was different. I thought, “I can’t do this.” During my next year there, I slowly started feeling disenchanted by the idea of college. Then I got arrested, which was super expensive,
Kind of. I wanted to get into the art world, and the pho-
and that basically served as the push to drop out. After
tography program seemed like the most obvious way to
that, I moved to Brooklyn, and I’ve lived here for six years.
see what it was all about.
It’s crazy! I feel so old. It’s the longest I’ve lived anywhere
After studying photography for three months, I learned
in my life. Growing up, my family traveled around a lot.
that I hated art school and didn’t want to be there. I
My parents are gypsies, and we moved every three or four
wanted to study business instead and become a pro-
years. We lived in an RV a lot of the time. I call Colorado
fessional photographer. I fell in love with photography
my home because I had most of my formative experi-
because I love telling stories, and I wanted to tell stories
ences there, but we only lived there for four or five years.
without necessarily being an artist. I’m more interested in
So living in Brooklyn for six years is a long time for me.
the journalistic aspect of photography. I knew that I would
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When you first moved to Brooklyn, did you imme-
diately start working as a photographer or did you
photo booth company. The photo booth job was actually the best, and it taught me a lot. It was all about getting
have a day job?
people to pose within a very short amount of time. I shot
No, I was crazy. I made the stupid decision to not get a
their friends at events, and it was a lot of fun. I did a lot of
day job because I believed it would deter me from look-
silly photo jobs for a long time, and I was poor for a long
ing for photo jobs. It was the worst summer of my entire
time. I’m still pretty poor, but at least now I’m at a point in
life. I was paying $400 a month to live in a closet in Bush-
my career where I’m actually turning work down, which is
wick with bed bugs. I was on food stamps, and I remem-
great. I don’t want to put my energy toward projects that
ber crying all the time because I couldn’t count up enough
aren’t positive or won’t move me in the right direction. I’m
change for the subway. I was completely miserable.
being more selective with what I shoot and how I shoot
it and who I want to be associated with. But back then, I
It was good, in a way, because that’s how you get
hungry. I was losing weight and thought, “I need to work.”
hundreds of people who all wanted to take photos with
took whatever jobs I could.
But I told myself that no matter what I did, it had to be photo-related. One of my first jobs was working as a club photographer. I went out in the middle of the night with all of my camera equipment and shot super sketchy places on the Upper West Side, then came home on the day train with a handful of cash—it was bad. I also worked as a bar mitzvah and wedding photographer before working for a
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Was creativity part of your childhood? Very much so. We didn’t have a lot, but my parents were able to create a whimsical, magical world for us where anything was possible. We traveled with the circus and
I have chosen to shoot stories that have a darkness to them, and that darkness has definitely taken a toll on me numerous times. My family has been supportive of me through all of it, even when they probably should have said, “If you’re unhappy, you need to come home.”
Was it difficult to photograph subjects like Occupy Wall Street and fracking sites?
Yes, but out of everything, the most darkness I have found has been in music. It’s difficult to witness the way people treat each other and how the industry works. There’s a lot of pettiness, backstabbing, and competitiveness; it’s a fickle world. I’m overly sensitive and I take what people say seriously, so sometimes it’s hard when I feel a certain way about something and the rest of the world doesn’t. For instance, I consider everyone I photomet incredible people and had artists stay with us. I
graph to be a friend of mine, so I feel hurt if a band asks
remember waking up in our one-bedroom apartment in
another photographer to tour with them. Letting myself
Tucson and seeing 26 clowns sleeping on our floor and
become so involved in that world brought me to a pretty
having to step over all of them to get to the bathroom.
depressed state this last year. I’ve been pulling myself
(laughing) My parents taught me that anything is possible
out of it slowly by doing documentary pieces on cultures
and that you can do whatever you want to do.
outside of music. I first got into music because it felt revolutionary, and I believe it still is.
Was taking the photography class at RISD the
“Aha!” moment when you realized that photography
But I’ve seen musicians come in with grand ideas about
was what you wanted to pursue?
how they’re going to change the world and say everything
There was a moment at RISD when I took a photo and was
fame dilute all of it. It’s disappointing to feel so excited
chased down by a bunch of dudes because of it. That was the moment I realized how much power there is in photography. The adrenaline of being chased by those guys because I did something that meant something to them was a crazy “Aha!” moment of recognizing that you can make a difference and influence people with this medium. You can tell someone’s real or false story, and there’s a lot of responsibility in that. That’s exciting.
they want to say, only to have companies and media and about a revolution, only to have it end so quickly. I don’t know what I’m going to shoot next, but I hope I can find a real revolution somewhere.
That being said, Kendrick Lamar is someone who
gives me hope, because he’s doing his thing and saying what he wants to say and not listening to other people. The underground artists I work with in Brooklyn are doing that, too, which is why I will work with them for the rest of my life.
Was there a point when you decided to take a big risk to move forward?
Going to college was a big risk because my parents
Do you feel a responsibility to contribute to something bigger than yourself?
weren’t supportive of it. My parents went to college briefly, so it’s not like they were unsupportive of me getting an education; they just didn’t think it was necessary. I had to take a stand and tell them that it was important that I do it. Moving to New York was another risk. Leaving college was scary because it meant the end of an era. College had been my life, and I was heavily involved with that community of people. It was risky to come to New York, especially without any money—which is super stupid, and I hope no one else does that. But it felt right. Lots of my experiences that have felt scary or intimidating at the time have turned out well in the end, so I keep doing it.
Contributing to something bigger than myself is the only reason I want to do photography. I’m interested in people who are doing something to better the world. Photography allows you to be the light that shines onto someone so that the rest of the world can see them.
When you become a photographer, it’s easy to
get caught up in thinking you need to photograph certain people and be a part of certain scenes. A couple years ago, that’s what I thought I needed to do. Now, I’m realizing that all I want to do is photograph people who inspire me and help them inspire others in return. I’ve pitched most of the underground artists I’ve worked with to every
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major outlet that I shoot for. I’m not saying they wouldn’t be able to if it wasn’t for me, but they’re now in the New York Times or Rolling Stone. The fact that I can give them that extra little push is the reason I do what I do.
Would you say that you’re creatively satisfied? No. I’m super depressed and I feel creatively stunted. I’m at a weird point in my career where I need to take a leap, but I haven’t figured out where I’m supposed to leap to yet. I feel very uncreative at this point in my life. I probably shouldn’t be saying this shit. (laughing) I should probably be saying, “I feel great, and my work is awesome!”
Actually, a lot of people we interview say they’re not creatively satisfied.
Really? Good. I feel like I’m at a place now where I’m shooting for the people I’ve always wanted to shoot for,
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but doing so doesn’t meet the same definition of success
say, “Yo, I’m so inspired right now!” Maybe I’ve just lived
for me as it used to. When I was young and hungry, it was
here too long to remember that there’s shit happening
much easier for me to go out and shoot everything. I’m
around me.
not that inspired by most of what I used to photograph anymore, but I don’t know what I want to photograph
What kind of legacy do you hope to leave?
next. I’m waiting—which is not good—and trying to be proactive and searching for a story that I want to tell, but I
No matter what I’m shooting, my main focus is to help
haven’t found it yet.
people’s stories be heard. I want to shine a light on peo-
ple who otherwise wouldn’t be visible. Saying that I want
I’m kind of disenchanted with New York right
now, and I don’t know if I want to live here anymore. I
to change the world may sound too lofty, but I’m inter-
want to find a movement or a group of people who are
ested in using my work to expose and promote incredible
doing more for the betterment of humanity than what I’m
people who can inspire others to be revolutionary and
finding in New York. Everyone here is struggling, and it’s
create positive change in the world.
hard to be creative when you’re struggling because you’re so focused on trying to survive. That means I’ll take jobs because I have to pay my rent. Maybe the right move is to live in a fucking cabin somewhere or live on the road: that way you don’t have high overhead and can shoot the projects you want. Maybe if I lived like that, I’d be able to
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