Behind the Lens: The Mind’s Eye of a Photographer
By: Andee McKenzie
In the age of auto-focus, auto-white balance, and “portrait mode”, photography and modern technology are closer than ever. When I first met Barrett, it felt like I traveled through time. He used film cameras, developed in a dark room, and physically put his body in motion to get the perfect shot. Back in those days, it wasn’t an unfamiliar sight to find an empty roll of film left behind in the passenger side of my car. I knew when I met him, he was the real deal. As a writer, the call to be a storyteller is almost painfully obvious. For a photographer though, the answer to this call is what separates the good from the great. Barrett most certainly answered.
Q: What compels you to take a photograph?
A: I think there is a natural spontaneity to it because life is so fleeting. Photography teaches you about the temporary. Taking a photograph allows me to preserve space and time. It allows me to see things, communicate and also reflect on themes from my own life (love, violence) etc. I like the “fastness” of it- I don’t like to stage and I don’t want to fabricate- real life is beautiful enough as it is. Working with people at the top of their craft, it always makes me chase and question why I photograph and that challenges me to keep going.
Q: Some of the world’s most powerful images are often documenting the misfortune of another person or group of people. What are your thoughts on this?
A: I think it depends on the context. It depends on where it is published and the audience it is received by. Nick Ut’s Pulitzer Prize winning photo the “Napalm Girl” of a young child running naked through the streets after being burned is a good example. At that time, photography was used as evidence in news editorials to prove that these incidents were all happening versus the glorification of pain. Photography has also been a primarily white-dominated industry and there is an inherit form of “exploitation”with that. Steve Mcurry’s “Afghan Girl” has transcended meaning from being taken by a white man, but at the same time the image also changed the life of that young woman. Ultimately, you have to be connected to what you photograph and want to give back to the community, otherwise it is just exploitation.
Q: You’ve been experienced both the art scene in San Francisco as well as New York. What similarities or differences stick out to you about both communities?
A: I would say in my personal experience the Bay Area is more community- based in terms of the art world. The public services that surround the art community are greater. NY has a greater history of art and leans more towards the consumerism piece of the arts. New York just has much more art sales, people willing to pay $75,000–100,000K for a piece of art. The Bay Area has something that is more like grass roots. There is a strong element of individual hustle in the Bay Area. New York will always have this haute couture, avant-garde history which is great, but I also feel with that can come elements of being superficial. Stylistically, I think the Bay Area has more individual style that is more representative due to the inherit diversity of the Bay Area you know ? There is such a thing as “Oakland style,” versus “SF style”.The Bay has got it- it’s got my style.
Q: As you get older, do you find yourself having a larger appreciation for art curators as much as art creators?
A: They are definitely two different roles, but closely connected. The curators are trying to compel a message. For an artist, it is about taking that vision and completing it. It takes collaboration, art is about communication.
Q: Have you ever hit a slump in your creative process?
A: Absolutely 100%- When I first moved to New York, I worked with a famous photographer for about 3 months and made a lot of money. Then, all of a sudden, the work just stopped. After that, I was back to working in a hardware store. For over 7 months, I had to stop my entire creative process because I was just trying to make my rent. I had to sacrifice my art just to survive. When I hit a roadblock, it’s just about progressing to the next step.
Q: Who have been the most influential people in your life that made you want to pursue art as a full time career?
A: My mom, my mom is number one. When I was 13 my mom took me to this mural gathering to paint this huge wall in East Oakland. Me and my mom pulled up in our little Volvo, to this guy in a wife beater, chains, drinking a 40. She walked straight up to him and said “Hey, my son does graffiti”. All the people I met there on that day I am still friends with. My good friend Leroy, he taught me how to hustle, how to sell, how to produce working in his t-shirt printing shop. It was the coolest shit, seeing someone rock something that I made. My friend Sean taught me the foundation of art, we were partners in crime until he passed away six years ago.
Q: We are all familiar with the phrase “Starving Artist”- What is your biggest advice on how to make a living in an extremely competitive field?
A: Diversify yourself- you have to be well versed in things that aren’t just art. The way that I’ve been able to do that is by using my hands and being handy like building things- they aren’t my work, but they are still related to the gallery setting. You gotta be broke. If you never struggled and never really put anything on the line, then why the fuck are you doing this shit? You gotta risk it. Art is about communication and you gotta communicate when you are broke and when you’re on top. Photography is not a cheap medium. When I was broke working at a hardware store, I was given a camera by Leica. That was huge opportunity for me. It’s crazy to think that a company that makes the best camera lenses in the world and has produced some of the greatest images the world has ever seen, took a chance on me and said here’s a camera, go out. When they give you the tools, when you’re broke, that’s the beacon to your soul. It’s hard, there were nights in NY where I didn’t eat. That “hunger” makes you want to work harder and hustle so you can put food on your table.
Q: You were once a student at the prestigious and historic San Francisco Art Institute. Was there a particular class there that helped defined you as an artist?
A: Darcy Padilla’s documentary photography class broke me down as a photographer. She taught me about meaning, emphasis, and how to be a pure person. She embraced me, took me under her wing. To hear someone say that you have potential that has earned a Guggenheim Fellowship and a World Press Photography Award, it meant so much. She taught be that as a documentary photographer, you document the human condition. There is humanity within photography and when your documenting humans you need to be a human yourself.
Q: There are quite a few artists who’s fame comes from both their work but also their ability to remain anonymous. Do you think artist anonymity is just a trend or is it a valuable piece in the art community?
A: I definitely think it’s valuable. To be anonymous in such a public domain is beautiful. Elusiveness is a great thing because I think a lot of people want to go the typical route by finding fame by putting their own face out. I know a lot of graffiti artists that were painting for 10–20 years and are now just coming out with their true identities because their art was illegal. Barry McGee is a great example of that.
Q: What completed work are you most proud of and why?
A: I’m just happy when I leave the darkroom to be honest. Whether it’s two photographs or 100 photographs printed perfectly- the biggest accomplishment is making it tangible. The process of analog is slow and it takes knowledge of science, alchemy, and style. I’m the most proud when I find out that images that I took and gave given people that those people found a connection to it and keep it.
To view Barrett’s portfolio head to http://www.barrettmoorephotography.com/