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July/August
2007 |
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AOD:
There is something intriguing
and mystifying about your new
book Transitory –
The Abstract. Beautifully
crafted yet the photography
jumps out at you. How were you
able to capture such crisp,
vivid images that resonate a
quiet and unfamiliar beauty?
SEAN PERRY:
Thank you...I want to communicate
the stillness and power of these
places, their grace. I really
do believe we leave behind a
resonance in the things and
objects we create, echoes of
our intention and energy.
When I’m making images
I’ll spend time and look
for what I can start to remove..
what is unnecessary. I try to
find a singularity where one
more abstraction would collapse
the whole. When the images are
successful, what remains is
the moment you remember something
you knew...a small passageway
between. |
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Sentinel
v.2 |
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AOD:
When capturing images you only
use the traditional (non-digital)
method of photography. What is
it about the process of the darkroom
you enjoy most? Do you feel photographers
should first learn how to expose
film before going the digital
route?
SEAN PERRY:
I love the time alone I spend
in the darkroom, both for the
discipline and craft and also
for the time it allows me to work
in a physical way - with my hands,
finishing the day tired and dirty.
I am so thankful for the time
to be mentally still.
With that said I usually print
@ 120 decibels and just rock.
My view about digital capture
and process is a photographer
should reach for tools that allow
them to express themselves in
a direct, potent way. Working
in analog or digital mediums are
equally creative, sharing benefits
and limitations at each end and
core relationships in the middle.
I think it’s wise to be
savvy in both languages.
For me, having an analog captured
negative is the purest way to
express my images...I can’t
take a digital file into the darkroom
and the animate nature of chemistry
and silver is where the life of
my images begin. I use digital
tools...extensively for my website
(www.seanperry.com),
the book’s website (www.transitorybook.com),
promotionals like postcards -
it is a valuable medium for me. |
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Sea
of Tranquility |
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AOD:
The titles of your work are exemplary.
Each title really helps you understand
the emotion behind each of the
themes – electricity, shadow,
and solidity – in your book.
How did you come up with the title
and themes of your book? What
inspired you?
SEAN
PERRY:
My titles are clues as to what
is beneath, the undercurrent of
where the image begins. In reality
they happen last, but when it’s
right I wonder how it could be
called anything else. I think
of them akin to finding the lyrics
of a favorite song.
A theme throughout this body of
work is a metaphor about communication
and the small epiphanies where
understanding blooms.. that moment
is the essence of Transitory.
Seeing how light reveals a sentience
to structures and architecture
inspired me to make pictures about
that phenomena.
I am also inspired by the opportunity
to be a participant with my collaborators;
Cloverleaf Press and Jace Graf
who is the book’s designer
and master craftsman, has given
me a beautiful stage to present
the work. I make the platinum
prints with Chris McCaw (www.chrismccaw.com),
whose new “Sunburn”
series is just gorgeous. My websites
and multimedia is developed by
Tim Harold, who contributes a
sounding-board and many of the
titles. Mary Virginia Swanson
(www.mvswanson.com)
has been irreplaceable in helping
me develop and evolve a clear
voice for the work and identify
new audiences. |
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Amelioration |
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AOD:
Your closest friend and mentor,
John Christensen, who is a sculptor
in Austin, Texas, said your work
says, “Let me show you something
you may have missed”. That
statement perfectly describes
your style and treatment of each
subject you photograph.
How has he helped you develop
your work over the years? How
do you digest and reconsider an
image? When do you know when it’s
finished?
SEAN
PERRY:
John (www.christensen-oko.com)
is a force. Unmercifully honest
and he possesses the kind of stamina
I aspire to. I’m motivated
by how his work contains such
an absolute; as if what he has
made has existed all along.. Observing
his process has allowed me insight
into building my own path and
discovery. There are a handful
of his expressions I can’t
forget that reveal his influence
such as “a mutual exchange”,
“I make things because I
need to see them”, and from
his artist statement, “Physical
works - first felt, later thought
- that claim their own place,
that breathe, that have a specific
posture.”
It’s hard to see your own
work at first...it sometimes takes
years to gain insight to what
was really going on inside of
you when it was made. I learned
that from John...
I don’t print images right
away, I try to live with them
for a while.. listening to what
might or might not be there. I
believe something is finished
when I can look at it and feel
the only way to make this better
or more potent is for me to get
older - I’ve left nothing
behind that wasn’t my best
effort. In your guts you know
when you cheat. |
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Revelation |
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AOD:
Simplistic images are never easy
to translate onto film nor are
they ever simple to capture. How
long does it take you to come
up with an idea? Are you more
structured and organized when
you work or do you allow your
emotions to guide you to your
next subject?
SEAN
PERRY:
I don’t feel I create things
in so much as I compress experiences
and atmosphere that are greater
than I can say, into a small container
you can see. I want to make images
that are cinematic and viscerally
felt and practice that in the
simplest way.
When I make a successful image
it is so much better than ANY
fully preconceived idea I would
have. I find things and places
that I can feel, spend time to
get at what is the purest essence
of it, then get out of the way
and let the image reveal itself.
I like to work within series and
themes.. as they develop it becomes
easier to identify which parts
of the story need to be refined.
Outside looking in I’m fairly
organized - inside looking out,
I’m working through each
step, leaving a little room to
be surprised. What guides me is
the belief that as I evolve as
a person, new ideas and work will
reveal itself to teach me. I trust
everything I need to know is in
the next photograph I have to
make. |
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The Sentinels |
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For
more information about Sean Perry
visit:
www.SeanPerry.com
www.TransitoryBook.com
Transitory –
The Abstract
is available directly from
the publisher and photo-eye books.
Cloverleaf Press
512.494.9596
1906 Miriam Avenue
Austin, TX 78722
photo-eye
Bookstore
800.227.6941
370 Garcia Street
Santa Fe, NM 87501
Prints
are available through the gallery.
Stephen
L. Clark Gallery
512.477.0828
1101 West 6th Street
Austin, TX 78703 |
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