I studied violin beginning at a young age, and was always looking for a way to expand on that language.  I loved playing, but learning violin repertoire felt a little too formulaic and strict. I had always had a 35mm camera and would spend hours in any darkroom I could find. When I entered college I started thinking about photography in a more conceptual way and it became the only thing that I wanted to do. I learned about 19th century printing techniques and the history of photography, but also about how to think for myself as an artist and to take definitions or categories and trends lightly. A lot about my education was very ad-lib or improvised and I think that is really valuable. I attribute some aspects of my style of photographing to my experiences studying music.
My practice can be very disciplined and structured, but I also like to leave room for interpretation.

I am always drawn to images that contain some kind of ambiguous narrative or some type of question. In an ART21 segment Sally Mann says “If it doesn’t have ambiguity don’t bother.” I feel the same way. The best photographs draw the viewer in and then don’t necessarily release them from an emotional/psychological space.

I really enjoy teaching and I find that it energizes my own studio practice. It's inspiring to be part of a continuous dialogue about the medium, and to do what you love to do and teach others about it.

Make a point of regularly looking at art that interests you in galleries and museums - so much of the art that younger artists see exists in an online format.  Have diverse experiences and travel as much as you can. Do everything that you think of and edit it later.  Think for yourself and take risks.

I think like anything there is a limit to what you can do if you don’t have the right tools or knowledge. An example I sometimes give to students is that Pablo Picasso learned technical drawing and had a rigorous art education, but could not have helped revolutionize painting if he wasn’t rebelling against those rules that he had to understand first.

There is no specific story connecting all of my images, but I’ve been working on the same body of work for several years, so the images seem to create a timeline of a language that is established slowly and seems to continually re-invent itself.

This is different each time. The place is always my studio and the wall that I continually re-dress for each photograph.

I think any type of research in art is really just about paying attention and being a sensitive human, then finding some kind of balance between being scientific and being emotional about it. I take walks, collect objects and images, travel, read lots, listen to music, keep a sketchbook, etc. I think having your “antennae” up and being aware of your environment and your own interactions with it is one way to be a good human and to make good art.

I am interested in the photographs as documents of events in space that are somehow transformed by the media as a container. Choreographing an event that takes place in front of the lens, almost like a ballet, is what is most interesting to me about making photographs. So, editing digitally often feels too easy and uninteresting. I’m not against others doing it in their work - I just chose not to in my own work.

This is usually after a few negatives have been made and one or two of them work. I usually have an immediate reaction to seeing a good image and don’t have to study them or think about whether or not they are successful. Sometimes you are pleasantly surprised with the first image, and other times it takes more work and frustration. I am usually happy to move on and clean up the mess.

Most of the time the set or backdrop that I am photographing is not really any more colourful than the black and white film, so there isn’t much information that is missing. I draw using black charcoal, and colour is definitely secondary to the forms or objects themselves. Black and white is more interesting to me in some ways because of its limitations.

Some artists make work that is more personal or specific than others. This is maybe similar to asking a writer if the character in her novel is meant to represent her. It could be argued that it usually does in some way.  I don’t know if I’m a dreamy person, but I am definitely reaching for something that is dreamlike through my photographs.

I am preparing for a solo exhibition opening this September at Bonni Benrubi Gallery in NY. I'm very excited about that, and at the same time it's always refreshing to finish a big show and then feel new ideas forming…