8 minute read
Parker Day
PARKER DAY
BY GABBY LOVAZZANO
She is a HELL CAT! This woman has no limits when it comes to her art.
She does not conform to
society’s social standards and is living by her own
rules. When first discovering this boundless babe
I thought, what the fuck? Her characters are oddly
familiar and hilariously portrayed. Toothless
new port smoking chicks, that freak your parents
would hate that you hung out with, and that
handsome bell - these are just a few characters
that will get your wheels spinning. But of course
all her images are totally up for interpretation.
You see what you want to see and that is
the beauty behind each image. Her character
portrayals are accompanied by complimenting
set design. Each element in the photos are
strategically placed with purpose. I invite you to
gaze into the weird world of Parker Day with an
open heart and mind because, what is beauty if not
It’s really hard to guess how you conceptualize your shoots with each one being so different and out there! What comes first, the subject or the concept? Also how did you connect with your subjects?
It varies but for my Possession series each photo has a theme related to being in a physical body, so I started with idea first, then how to flesh it out so to speak and who could bring it to life. But for my ICONS series or a lot of my other work, it’s subject first and then I run with what they inspire in me, often bouncing ideas off of them.
It seems you have a pretty awesome team that works beside you. Who is it and what do they do to help make your visions come to life? For example, who is your Makeup Artist, Hair Stylist, Prop Stylist, Prosthetics Artist, etc.?
More often than not I do everything myself (I do happen to be a licensed cosmetologist) but I do have a core group of people I like to bring in to help with specific shoots or bigger project, like wardrobe stylist @ orchidsatellite who is the most colorful and sunny person I’ve ever met and makeup artist @allydoesmakeup who gets camp and kitsch on a deep level.
A lot of your subjects are Instagram influencers; was this on purpose and how has their popularity grown your own influence?
Nah, I live in LA. Everyone’s an influencer. And besides, I find my subjects on Instagram and resonate with people who have a strong presence. I mean, yeah it helps grow your Instagram when people tag you and vice versa but only if their followers are aligned with what you do. Promoting yourself and growing your audience is important but that’s always has to take a back seat to the actual work created.
What do you like about shooting with a 35mm film camera?
I like the texture of the film grain and how it feels more raw & real. I also like the immediacy of working with my subject without screens between us. Shooting digitally, it’s too tempting to stare at the back of the camera or another monitor if shooting tethered. I think it makes for a self-consciousness on the part of the subject and photographer that’s good for nothing.
Since you are portraying people in a way that is very raw, have you ever had an issue with a subject once the photos of them came out? If so, what do you do in these situations?
Very rarely. My work is about what I call “character portraits.” I’m not shooting people as themselves but as a projection of a fictional identity so I think that helps me subjects feel less ego attached to the outcome.
What’s your typical soundtrack playing while you work?
It’s all over the map! From Patsy Cline to X-Ray Spex to Nina Kraviz to Sheck Wes to Britney Spears (though that last one would be at the model’s request…)
What’s a typical shoot day like for you?
Lately I’ve been doing a lot of outdoor shoots so I make sure to have some location I’ve scouted on Google Maps in mind and of course have all my wardrobe and props ready. Yesterday I had a shoot with Raven Artson so he came over to my house, got in the medieval wardrobe we had collaborated on in advance—chainmail hood and brown suede pants—and we hopped in my car to go shoot on people’s suburban front lawns where he wielded a broad sword in the late afternoon sun.
How long do you take to prep your shoots?
It depends on the complexity of the shoot. I usually have a number of shoots I’m working on at once so it’s hard to say.
When did you know you were going to art school? Why the Academy of Art in San Francisco?
I decided while I was in high school. I went to AAU because I didn’t know any better. I’ve talked a lot of shit about AAU in interviews. I feel like they discouraged me from becoming an artist while pushing me to fit into the narrow confines of what was expected of a successful commercial photographer circa the early 2000s. With that being said, I’m grateful for the technical abilities I learned and for the fact that all my classes were film-based since my school years were just before digital became ubiquitous. But now there’s something called YouTube which we didn’t have back then so you can learn all your technical skills from there and just practicing which counts above all. I consider what I do to be a practice. I’m always practicing, I’m always learning.
What was your favorite class?
I’m not sure but I’ll tell you the most important thing I did learn from school: how to look at photography. I learned about how to analyze an image to recognize in what way the viewer’s eye is being drawn through a frame and the choices the photographer made to achieve that. I learned how everything included in a photograph is important and should work together toward the same goal. Photography is as much about what you exclude as include. I learned about how to look at the lines in a photograph, like the line formed from a subject’s gaze and how that contributes to the meaning of the photograph. I’m constantly looking at photos, including my own, and analyzing how they’re effective or why they fail.
How do you get your subjects to be comfortable in such avantgarde settings?
I pick the right people! Also, I think I’m a bit shy but highly excitable so my enthusiasm and sense of play makes people comfortable. I try to suggest things and see what my subjects want to do with it. Like “what if… you pour SpaghettiOs on yourself?” or “what if… you’re buck naked and covered in blood?” I ask a lot of “what if’s!
What kind of activities spark your creativity?
Running, meditating, driving, about anything where my mind can go quiet allows the ideas to bubble up. Otherwise I’m soaking up TV, movies, books, YouTube videos (my latest obsession is vintage “Psychiatric Interviews” on YouTube. Wow! Major character inspiration. I believe there are no truly original ideas, what’s seen as new is the remixing and rearranging of preexisting elements. I embrace that and I think that’s why my work has a nostalgic feel while also being new and strange.
How would you say your work comments on social norms?
I’m flagrantly unaware and unconcerned with social norms. It’s not something I really think about. I focus on celebrating the people that inspire me.
Do you have any words you live by?
“Be Here Now” which is a statement and book by Ram Dass. It’s a reminder to be fully present in the moment because that’s all there is. So much suffering is generating through detachment from the present.
Do you ever have moments when you are unsure of your work?
Of course, fear and doubt seep in from time to time which is an alert that I’ve gone astray from my intuition and I’m out of touch with who I truly am. It’s usually because I’m getting too in my head and need some time to relax my mind.
How much control do your subjects have over their personas?
I try to be very aware of what my subjects want to express and embody and follow their cues. So I can’t give one blanket statement because it depends on the subject. Some people like to be led; others prefer to lead. I can go both ways though I’m definitely a default leader. But what I found is most people are just waiting for the slightest nudge to be loud, weird, and wild.
Who are some of your favorite emerging artists?
I don’t know if they count as emerging artists but Jeniva Ellis is a goddamn genius painter (www.instagram.com/ducatimist), I love Anna Koak’s work (www.instagram.com/annakoak), and I’m very inspired by the photography of Moni Haworth right now (www.instagram.com/monibelle).
