Six-ish Questions
R50 Artist Interviews

How long have you been creating?

I was an official photographer for the United States Navy for most of my 20s. It was in the Navy that I learned the basics of photography, layout and design, and honed my writing skills. Several of my photographs and video footage appeared in news outlets around the world. Towards the end of my service, I wrestled a bit with my conscience as I considered my role in selling war to the American public. The battle between conscience, morals, and the sense of duty is one that I believe all veterans fight. In my case, I felt little desire to look at the world through a lens again. It was only within the past year (after my 35th birthday) that I became inspired to take photography back up. 

What was the most challenging part about this body of work in particular?

I also work as a first responder in the community that I photographed. I have been on just about every street and have met so many people at the worst moments of their lives. My particular community led all of Kentucky in fatal drug overdoses per capita in 2020, a direct result in my opinion of poverty and limited economic opportunity. I believe when a community excludes a people, they ultimately suffer, as this community has. There is a fear in that telling the story, it will bring anger and denial from those closest to me. In today's climate, history is being deliberately buried. Nobody wants to hear that their great-grandparents were responsible for horrific things, and certainly nobody knows how to fix it. Photographing and releasing the "Sundown" series forced me to step out of my comfort zone and create without regard for what people thought. As a caveat, I know that the people who live here today did not cause the problems of the past and for as much poverty as I have witnessed I can honestly question how much anyone truly benefited from those events. I believe the story still must be told regardless of those facts however. 

Would you say your art inspires your work or your work inspires your art? Or something else?

I live here because I fell in love with the beauty and tranquility of the mountains. In my everyday life I have encountered a community that does care for each other as best as they can. That is what made my discovery of the area's past so stunning-I had a hard time believing that such horror and heartbreak happened down the road. But as I snapped my images near sunset, I contemplated just how much the American story is full of this same heartbreak, pain, hope, and resilience in small towns and in big cities like my hometown. In my photo of the train cars stretching to the horizon, I ask the reader to consider the mountains in the backdrop. They existed long before any of us and have been a silent witness to all that has occurred over the past 1,000 years. Much like looking as the sea, there is a strange mix of beauty and hope that I feel when I see the hills every day. In future work, I want to convey those themes of hope and future healing.

Who is your favorite artist? Why?

I have a soft spot for photographers, naturally. Charles "Teenie" Harris, a long gone photographer out of Pittsburgh, spent his life documenting life in his hometown-the good, the bad, and the ugly. For years he steadfastly produced volumes of work, much of it appearing in grainy newspapers and more of it never seeing the light of day until after he was gone. You can tell from the images he produced that he had a love for what he saw in front of him.

 If your life was music, what would it be and who would perform it?

I listen to everything, which is cliche, I'm aware. However I often think of the links between the bluegrass music that is tied to this area and the blues music that originated in the deep south. I enjoy both as the two genres are beautiful because they are full of pain, love, heartbreak, and a stubborn hope for the future. And yet, one is predominantly Black and one is predominantly White. I try to see beyond that to the underlying themes that unite the human experience, and I believe that at its best, art should help us all do the same.