kayl parker

i’ve been reading the ongoing moment by geoff dyer and, in a roundabout way, it’s helping to clarify some of the ideas behind my current body of work. last semester, i was focusing on homes; this semester, i still carry the burden of a nomad with me wherever i take my lens, but i haven’t been solely focusing on houses. you can tell i am being heavily influenced by greats such as winogrand, friedlander. etc, as well as contemporaries like ghirri and soth. but it is still my eye that finds these things, so…what are they?

examples of winogrand’s and friedlander’s work, respectively.

examples of ghirri’s and soth’s work, respectively.

in the book i am currently two hundred pages into, the author highlights something winogrand once said to an audience he was lecturing; that was the fact that the best photographs [by robert frank] were those that were photographs of nothing, where “the sbject has no dramatic ability of its own whatsoever,” this makes it “one of the most important photographs ever.”

if i had to tell you why i take these pictures, i would start with the simplest reasons, hoping that they would grow in to something that people can understand, ever if i can’t articulate through language. photographs are my language, and i have a very hard time explaining why they exist, because i feel the photo is already conversing with its audience, even when i am not present. but in my own linguistic terms i would say that i began taking these photographs, not only to implant the viewer into a certain place that i once occupied, but also to document our footprint. a photograph becomes interesting to me when the human element is added, and by making an image of what i am seeing (more or less, through my viewfinder) i can continue to look (because what i photograph is something i want to keep looking at). (above: zoo wall, chicago, il, silver gelatin print, 8x10, 2011;; below: union, chicago, il, silver gelatin print, 8x10, 2011.)

i think other photographers speak better about what i am attempting to convey. going back to winogrand once again: “i photograph to find out what something will look like photographed; basically…in the simplest language.” eggleston once referred to his photos as “parts of a novel i’m doing.” (above: flower show, chicago, il, silver gelatin print, 8x10, 2011;; below: guard dog, evanston, il, silver gelatin print, 8x10, 2011.)

although we could always rely on the absence of an explanation about my body work, like jim nutt believes about his own creations. “i try to follow a line of interest without categorizing it. categorization seems to limit potential rather that expand it.”

above: like home/twin peaks, evanston, il, 8x10, silver gelatin print, 2011. below: suspensions, evanston, il, 8x10, silver gelatin print, 2011.

hey guys, just updated the website. it’s much simpler now, check it out.

often times, new year’s resolutions are made to be broken. last year, i made one resolution: stop biting my nails. It’s only seventy-five percent unbroken (i still have the nasty habit of chewing on my thumb nails constantly). this year, i’m going to publish my resolutions in a blog, so i can’t skimp out later.

1. slow down, work less; spend more time with friends and less time working.
2. run more
3. read more
4. do the work you want to do; no filler projects or classes
5. learn to talk/write about your work; or at least begin to.