Bleed on Something…
I do not know a single artist in this city who simply sticks to one medium. We are not just writers, not just actors, not just musicians or set designers. We bleed our creativity on to everything we touch. But sometimes we need to birth new means of creativity when our main medium gets a little stale. In the pursuit of following up on some old promises to myself about not being JUST an actor, and hoping to feel a little less crunchy, I stumbled across nk. He did some promotional shots and the set for a friend of mines show, and l immediately connected with his work. I felt as if his photos were familiar to me. Like that deja vu you just can't place. So like the good little facebook-er I am, I friend-ed him before I really knew him, in hopes of seeing more of his work. Eventually, I was able to meet nk face to face, so we are real friends now, well at least acquaintances. He was even kind enough to agree to an interview, and share some of his personal photos with us. I hope you enjoy both, and remember to get out there and bleed on something else for a change, well…you know what I mean.
-Megan
Give us a little bit of background on yourself…where are you from, what are you doing in Chicago, is your name actually NK? or does that stand for something…
I am originally from California. I moved from there when I was 17. Since then I have lived all around the US from Alaska to New York. I've been in Chicago going on 4 years. What brought me here it a bit illusive save the fact that I have always wanted to live in all the large cities in this country and I was living in Minneapolis and ready for a move. Chicago happened to be the closest big city and so it was the logical choice.
My name is actually spelled nk, all lowercase. This is the name I go by and was conceived in an attempt to add some depth to my birth name of which will have to remain a mystery.
1.How did you get into photography?
Growing up I had a Canon AE-1, a stunning 35mm camera. I played around with that for years, came to understand the basic composition of a photograph. When I started moving around the country I started using a Nikon N60 35mm and a bit later in life a Nikon D40 digital camera. After photographing all the usual subjects (landscape, portrait etc.) I found that photographs of people speak a certain depth I can appreciate. Therefore I tend to only photograph people.
2.Are there any artists that you feel affect your work? stylistically or that inspire you?
Some of Emily Forgot's work moves me, namely the If You Could print series. Cristiana Courceiro combines photography and graphic design in a way I find very influential. She's one of my favorites. Jason Munn over at The Small Stakes gives me hope that graphic design can really bring people to a rock concert. Francesco Clemente's work for the film Great Expectations is a great example of perfect asymmetry I tend to really enjoy in my photographic subjects.
3.Where do you get ideas for shoots?
It helps if I am familiar with my subject whether they be a friend or an acquaintance. The more I am exposed to their personality the more ideas I have. Contrasting environments lends a lot intrigue to my expressions and so I usually put pretty people in ugly situations. Though it may be a subtle thing I find it very important to express the displacement of people from their 'natural' environment.
4.You do a lot of theatre and live event shots, is one more difficult then the other?
Recently I have had the opportunity to shoot a few events and just recently a photo run for a play for which I provided various design elements. I find indoor photography difficult without the proper equipment but the challenge can sometimes yield amazing things. Shooting indoors for me causes my subjects to condense especially in tight spaces. Depending on the type of feeling the photographs are meant to induce this can be a good or bad thing. On the other hand there is something about natural light and the way skin absorbs it, how the body yields to it's warm. I would say that any type of shoot is not a thing of difficulty more then it is a question of taste. Put me outside with a long lens and interesting people and I am where I want to be.
5.What was your most interesting shoot and why?
My most interesting shoot was many years ago when I was 18. I was at a concert in California where I met a young woman who had spent some time as a model. I asked if I could take her into a nearby abandoned wreck of a building to take a few shots. She agreed and I experienced for the first time a person who felt at home in front of a camera. I learned more about her in the dark room developing her photos then I think I could have in person. It was then I realized that a single moment captured on film can cause in the viewer an opportunity to discover details of which maybe the photographer did not intend. For me this is what is so great about art; boundless discovery.
6.What is your favorite photo that you've taken?
I recently did a shoot for a play in which my two subjects did a lot of posing outside of my influence. I enjoy when my subjects take just a little of my direction and expound on it. I took a photo of the male subject carrying the female subject over his shoulder. The contrast of her body draped over his, her ivory boned hand lightly grabbing at the back of his shirt, her sincere laughter hiding behind her tossed hair just wrecks me. 
7.Since all art is objective, what do you feel is interesting or unique about your work, what makes it "art" to you?
What I hope my photographs induce in the viewer is the feeling of how comfortable the subject is with expressing themselves. Hopefully people who see my photographs we'll see a part of the subject they wouldn't without my influence. What makes it art is how the elements allow the viewer to discover something.
8.What other mediums do you use to express yourself besides photography, I know you did the set design for 'Down the Road', do you use the same principles for photography when you work with other mediums?
Anything I make tends to be heavily influenced by obsession with balance. Whether it be with the amount of graphic elements, light, tones, I am only happy with a piece of art when the numerous variables settle into some sort of harmony with each other. I do a lot of graphic design and what I like to call gift design: single pieces of art for my friends and loved ones.
9. Do you have any showings coming up? A website where people can view your work?
At this time I do not. A website is in the works.
10. What type of baby(camera) do you have ?
I have a Nikon D40. I have intentions of getting a Nikon D90 along with a some new lenses.
–nk
