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Archive: F

Justin French

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NR · World
Published · Online

Feature · Justin French
Words · NR

“The beauty of creating imagery is that ideas do not have to be completely finished or expertly manufactured”

When did you start taking pictures?

I began taking images professionally around 2014. A friend recommended me to a brand that needed a photographer to get imagery during NYFW and for the next two seasons I covered most of the backstage activity. From there I just continued photographing friends. 

How do you find the balance between the vision you have and the mediums you are using?

I don’t really think so much about it, I usually just have the idea and find a way to achieve it. The beauty of creating imagery is that ideas do not have to be completely finished or expertly manufactured, they simply need to be developed enough such that the image can be executed, the rest is up to viewer imagination.

What inspired your style of work?

A combination of classic and modern photography, as well as fantasy and documentary photography. Most often I’m reading, listening to music or watching films and a particular aspect about something within that content will inspire me to create.

Where do you get inspiration from? 

I draw lots of inspiration from cultural imagery and films, also lots of inspiration for me comes from music and songwriters. Helps me to imagine and develop visuals.

What is the process behind a photography, if there is one?

There is a certain emotional intensity I strive to have present in my work. Much of that is achieved by trying to establish some level of comfort between myself and those I am working with.

Would you say that there is a main thread connecting all your photographs and if so, which is it?

I believe the tie that binds the imagery together would be this aspect of aspiration to the images. I feel as though however serious or playful in tone the images appear, there is a level of strength and honour present in each.

What kind of talks would you like to hear around your photographs? 

I am really excited when I hear diverging dialogues regarding my imagery, my intent is to create impactful imagery that can conjure reactions like nostalgia, comfort, amusement, familial, imagination, and also possibility.

Credits

www.justin-french.com

C. Fitz

Posted on by nr

NR · World
Published · Online

Feature · C. Fitz
Words · Ellie Brown

“sometimes, it’s really not reinventing yourself, it’s just finally coming into what you’ve always been”

As a filmmaker, director and producer, C. Fitz has built up a wealth of experience working within the industry. Starting out working on the commercial side, Fitz worked on the pilot of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy back in 2003 – a gig that introduced her to TV work. Yet, documentaries and short films have always been a passion for Fitz, something that is clearly apparent in the way that ShowGirls, Provincetown, MA (2009) and Jewel’s Catch One (2016) are shot. Whilst ShowGirls, a documentary about the showgirls of Provincetown’s legendary talent show, has become something of a cult hit, Jewel’s Catch One was picked up for release by Ava DuVernay’s distribution company, ARRAY, in 2018. The documentary tells the story of Jewel Thais-Williams, whose nightclub, the Catch One in LA, provided a safe space for LGBTQ, Black and Aids-affected communities over the four decades it was open. During its tenure, the Catch became a haven from the outside world for many, as rare footage of Madonna at the club in Fitz’s film demonstrates. With interviews from Thelma Houston, who heard her hit song Don’t Leave Me This Way for the first time at the Catch, Sharon Stone and Evelyn “Champagne” King, Jewel’s Catch One is a loyal and endearing tribute to the legacy of Thais-Williams. In the time since the documentary’s release, Fitz has been working on other projects; a few days prior to our phone call, Fitz enjoyed her TV scripted directorial debut for an episode of the fourth series of Ava DuVernay’s TV show, Queen Sugar. Speaking to Fitz, it is clear that the opportunity to watch this debut alongside Ava at Array’s Amanda Theatre, LA, is as valuable as the opportunity to tell important stories and create thought-provoking content.

NR MAGAZINE: Something that is striking about Jewel’s Catch One is the need to preserve the memories of the space as the club was being wound up. Did you anticipate this change when you started out filming to documentary?

C. Fitz: When I started making the film, I did not think of Catch One without Jewel as the owner because, at that time, it was all that that building and its stories had known for a little over three and a half decades. I did feel strongly about recording the history so that her story and the stories of our community’s perseverance were not lost. To me, the film was like a huge unwritten textbook that needed to be made.

NR: Would you agree that some aspects of Jewel’s Catch One, in the short time since filming, now feel bittersweet, as the political mood seems to be operating in reverse?

C.F: The political climate today; it seems like we’ve got so far to go to reach equality….one step forward, two back, three back…..I don’t think we ever imagined that we could feel like we are going in reverse. I think there is a lesson there too. Is it reverse, or do we just need to keep on fighting and not get distracted from making change happen? We need to dig in like Jewel, the patrons, and supporters of Catch One did for years to fight for our rights and our community’s rights. Change, real change, takes time and tenacity to believe it will, and can happen. This is one of the takeaways from making this film. During the four decades the Catch One operated there were many times the police tried to tear down communities  – whether it was raiding and targeting the Black and Gay clubs at hours that would hurt their businesses the most, or arresting patrons for false acquisitions. The film sheds some light on what that felt like, and what not giving up looks like…

NR: As a filmmaker, what compels you to tell someone’s story for an audience that may have little connection to, or knowledge of, their circumstances?  

C.F: Jewel’s Catch One has a very important history that I wanted to preserve in a format that would carry its message for a broader audience in, for, and outside of Los Angeles. I felt this film contained so many different histories and lessons for everyone, and everyone should know this story so they can reflect on how we got here as a country, and how we can persevere in the future towards equality.

NR: In Jewel’s Catch One and ShowGirls, there’s a real sense of community forged around the shared enjoyment and appreciation for the spaces and entertainment involved. How do you achieve the warmth in these films that can be felt as a viewer? 

C.F: I feel you need to spend as much time as you can as a filmmaker, recording what you can document, and then reflecting back on the footage in the edit room to tell the best story to your audience. With each film, I spent a lot of time with my subjects – and did whatever I could to learn about them, their environments and basically submerse myself in their worlds. In both instances, I was already a part of some of the ‘world’ but needed to learn more, to find out why they are doing what they are doing.

NR: Do you think you can tell stories if you’re not really part of that world, or do you have to have a connection to it to be able to tell it well?

C.F: I think, as a filmmaker, especially in terms of documentary, you have to have some connection to it. That doesn’t mean you have to be of that community, but you have to have that passion to tell that story. How you tell it is what you have to figure out next, and hopefully you figure out so you can tell it the right way. You have to immerse yourself, talk to people, find out all the different stories you need, and then find the ones that are the best to support the story you want to tell.

NR: Being around Jewel and the spaces she’s involved with, was there a sense of community that struck you as unique to that space? How did people react to Jewel, and respond to what she was doing?

C.F: It was amazing, it really, really was. Whether it be at the Catch or the Village Health Foundation, I got a little sense of what the soup kitchens that were held in the parking lot back in the ‘80s-‘90s would have been like. In the documentary, there are scenes from the 2016 Pride Parade in LA, which Jewel was a part of, and people were thanking her for all the work she’s done. That’s the community she built and supported – and supported when nobody else would. So the sense of community was incredible, and the sense of her being the mother of it all was incredible to watch and really feel.

NR: How did the relationship with Ava [DuVernay] come about? 

C.F: We met her at Urbanworld Film Festival, our New York debut. She was speaking there, and was our top choice of distributor. How we were going to get there, we weren’t sure. It’s a great story – how we actually, physically, met. She was leaving after giving a speech on the last day of the festival, and Jewel and I were behind trying to catch up with her. We weren’t doing so hot, but we were close. And then it was kismet and she was pushed back into me by the crowd  and I helped her back up;(It was so crowded and every one wanted to talk to her) and she turns right around and says, ‘good catch’, which was so funny considering the film’s called Jewel’s Catch One. Anyway, then she was off again, but when I had the chance, I grabbed her and said, ‘Hi! My name is Fitz, I have Jewel’s Catch One which is my documentary and this is Jewel’; she turns to Jewel and she says, ‘you’re Jewel? I’ve heard so much great stuff about you’. She told me that she definitely wanted to review my film, that she’d heard great stuff about it. These things are never instant; it took two years to distribute the film. But, Array is where the film was supposed to be. They take such great care of their filmmakers and are celebratory of their filmmakers, and that was really important to me, And it was such a gift. It was such an interesting meeting the first time, but it was meant to be.

NR: Have there been any major obstacles that you’ve had to confront over the course of your career?

C.F: In general, I think, as a filmmaker, you really hope you’re picking the right projects and the right subjects, especially when it’s a passion project. You know, Jewel’s Catch One took me six years to make, and another two to distribute. That requires perseverance, and you’re also praying that you’re choosing the right things. You also have to be connected to what you’re doing and feel strongly about it – like I felt so strongly in my bones that I wanted to tell Jewel’s story. Again, with Queer Eye, I helped develop and create the pilot, and I wanted for that to be a masterpiece and make a difference in the world. It’s the same with being assigned as a director on Queen Sugar by Ava; I wanted it to be perfect and, I don’t know if that’s an obstacle, but you’re hoping that you’re choosing the right projects.

You’re talking about reinvention, and I think that that’s also about choosing what you’re going to be passionate about and what you’re going to really have that crazy tenacity for, in order to make content in the right way. Like Jewel’s Catch One, that could have been done a million different ways; it certainly could have been done in a shorter amount of time, without the music in it, without Thelma Houston, Evelyn Champagne King, and Sharon Stone… But, all those things matter to that story around Jewel being the central figure around them all, you know? So, yeah, time is always the hardest obstacle. But you know that; that’s part of the job. If you’re going to reinvent yourself, I think you really need to know what your passions are to have the perseverance that you’re going to need to get there. And sometimes, it’s really not reinventing yourself, it’s just finally coming into what you’ve always been and people seeing it finally.

Ed Freeman

Posted on by nr

NR Vol. 10 Reinvention · Autumn Winter 2019
Published · Print Page Unnumbered

Feature · Ed Freeman
Words · Ellie Brown

“I don’t deal in messages and meanings; my job is ask questions, not to answer them”

There is an otherworldly quality to Ed Freeman’s images of buildings, where hangovers of the twentieth century, such as motel signs and fast food joints, are captured within a desolate environment. This is deliberate, as Freeman resituates iconic elements of the American Dream within a digitally-configured landscape he has careful created. By inserting different landmarks into the same, but nevertheless slightly altered setting, Freeman challenges the viewer to look more closely at the subject matter, and in turn, at the built environment proper. Freeman’s imagined scenes take on a more obvious appearance in his series of dreamlike underwater nudes. What seem, at first glance, as painterly visions of figures gliding deep below the sea, are, on closer inspection, derived from photographs taken of models shot in a swimming pool. Digital enhancement and manipulation drives Freeman’s work, and by immersing the viewer in this constructed world, the qualities that make up the ‘real world’ return to the fore.

How does your work capture emotion in a way that non-manipulated photography cannot?

Non-manipulated photography is unmatched for capturing emotion. What I can do with manipulation is remove elements that distract from that emotion, modify lighting to enhance that emotion. It’s difficult or impossible to invent emotion where none existed before.

Do you envision the final outcome of an image when you’re taking photographs prior to editing?

Absolutely. When I look in the viewfinder, I see what’s in front of the lens, but I also see what the final print looks like. I’m always very conscious of what I can and cannot do in post-production. When I’m photographing old buildings and I know I’m going to erase the surrounding structures, I’m careful to shoot some nearby empty land to fill in the parts that I’m going to erase. When I’m photographing underwater nudes, I think, “that was an almost perfect body shot. Her eyes were closed, but there’s that great facial expression I shot five minutes ago. I think I can splice that head onto this body. And maybe I have a better foot someplace; I’d better check.”

What is the importance for you in documenting the landmarks of a bygone era in the Realty series; What do you want the viewer to take from them?

Viewers can take from my pictures whatever they want; it’s not my job to control their experience. But for me, these old buildings are part nostalgia and part a commentary on the death of the American Dream. I grew up in a time when America was an optimistic land of opportunity. Now it seems to have devolved into a land of xenophobia, racism, polarization and paranoia. These crumbling buildings hark back to a simpler, happier past and by extension, maybe point the way to a happier, albeit less naive future.

Similarly, many of the buildings you have photographed have since disappeared, so what can they tell us about the present and the future?

Everything changes, everything ages and evolves. Today’s hip will be tomorrow’s kitsch, next year’s laughing stock and next generation’s quaint gem waiting to be discovered and revived. That has forever been true yet each generation has to learn it for themselves.

“For me the solution is to be passionately invested in the present, fascinated with the future and at the same time know and love the past – sort of the same way you know and love your goldfish.”

What draws you to the themes you explore?

Well, first of all, I’ve always liked the way people look without their clothes on. I’d probably be a nudist if I weren’t such a prude. That pretty much explains the underwater nudes. Other than that, I have no insights to offer.

“I’m interested in EVERYTHING and if I had enough time, I’d photograph everything. Thank God I don’t because my filing system is complicated enough as it is.”

Visually, the Underwater and Realty series could not seem more different, but are there any shared meanings in them?

I don’t deal in messages and meanings; my job is ask questions, not to answer them. Sort of analogous to the chef who might say, “my job is to prepare food, not to eat it.”

Your practice hinges upon digital photography and manipulation; Do you think that over time it will be recognized as its own medium? 

Identifying what I do as distinct from traditional photography is not particularly important to me, but I think it is to people who collect photography – they have a legitimate right to know how much manipulation, if any, has been done to an image. Any serious collector of mid-century photography knows that Ansel Adams used every darkroom trick in the book to refine his images, whereas Edward Weston was a purist who never did any modification to his. They both made stunning works of art. These days, we have more ways to manipulate pictures than Ansel ever dreamed of. I’m not sure we have to invent a new term for altered photographs, but we certainly have to be upfront about what goes into the finished picture. Some people look down their noses at extensive manipulation, but most (including me, obviously) just see it as one option among many in contemporary photography. Any technology, including Photoshop, can be used to create art. “Whether or not it’s a great novel depends on the writer, not the typewriter.”

Credits

www.edfreeman.com/collections

Mary Elizabeth Ford

Posted on by nr

NR · World
Published · Online

Feature · Mary Elizabeth Ford
Words · NR

“Whatever someone thinks is out of my control, and I like it that way”

When did you start drawing and creating?

More intentionally, about 4 years ago.

How do you find the balance between the vision you have and the mediums you are using?

The vision I have is always so rough. I’m a moody person and because of that, I make things on a very emotional basis. I don’t quite set out with a vision of what I’m going to make. It just sort of happens. The mediums honestly differ by whats in front of me, or how much money I have to make something. When I started doing wire faces I was just too broke to buy paint and I had a lot of dry cleaner hangers, so I started furiously bending them. Most of my paintings on paper, are on really crappy paper because I don’t plan ahead and that’s usually whats lying around. So, it changes frequently and there is no method.

What inspired your style of work?

I don’t know if I can really control the style I have. I don’t even know what style it is, but every time I try to do something that doesn’t feel like me it really bleeds through and I have to scrap whatever I was trying to be.

Where do you get inspiration from? Are there any particular artists, photographers, painters drawers you look up to their works? 

The environment that I’m surrounded by plays a huge part in what inspires me. What I’m feeling, specific colors, where I live, structures, and personalities all play. Without thinking about it too much, Basquiat, Helen Frankenthaler, Vivian Maier, Kindah Khalidy, are what come to mind immediately. It really varies. I really lean towards following and getting inspired by people that have very different styles or approaches to me.

How long does it take to create a piece? What is the process being it?

Time varies. The process differs too. I tend to have an idea of what I’m feeling drawn too, go with it, hate it, rework it, like it, again and again, until it feels good, lots of layers. I’m a goddamn onion.

Would you say that there is a main thread connecting all your artworks and if so, which is it? 

I don’t know. I definitely get emotional with all my pieces. Maybe that bleeds through or maybe it doesn’t. But, I guess the main thread is I don’t hold back from all the things I want to make or how into it I get, so they are very honest to who I am and I guess I really hope that translates to all mediums and works of art that I do.

What kind of talks would you like to hear around your artworks? What kind of conversations would you like your artworks to spark?

You can not control what people say. If you make a thing and it’s out in the world, you cant get mad if someone feels differently about a piece than whatever idea or intention you had. I definitely put language to a piece after it’s done, not the other way around. Which is for context, not the only way it’s to be thought about. I don’t want to manipulate anyone’s thought process when viewing my work. I guess all I could hope is that someone felt something and wanted to talk about what that feeling is or lack of feeling they have about it. Providing a thing that encourages conversation is really what I want to happen. Whatever someone thinks is out of my control, and I like it that way.

Credits

@dressbetterpeople

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