Quick Draw Artist Interview #8: Jason Lazarus
Quick Draw Artist Interviews is a new series of interviews conducted by Otino Corsano using Facebook's IM Chat feature. Spontaneous conversations with international artists are recorded and documented specifically for publication on this blog.
Quick: speedotron, so durable, so built for the real world, so evolved to meet changing needs, so dependable - to make it pop, shine and interiors glow; just real and raw. Draw: art about art.
Portrait of Jason Lazarus
Jason Lazarus lives and works in Chicago, Illinois. Born and raised in Kansas, Since receiving his MFA in Photography (2003), Jason has actively exhibited around the country and abroad while teaching photography part-time at Columbia College and the School of the Art Institute in Chicago.
Selected exhibition highlights include “Black Is, Black Aint” at the Renaissance Society in Chicago, Image Search at PPOW Gallery in NYC, “On the Scene”at the Art Institute of Chicago, and solo exhibitions at Andrew Rafacz Gallery in Chicago, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, Kaune, Sudendorf in Cologne, Germany, and D3 Projects in Los Angeles.
6:05pm
Otino
Hi Jason
6:05pm
Jason
on phone...brb
'Visiting the Mary Boone Gallery (NYC)'
8x10" archival inkjet 2005
6:15pm
Otino
wondering if you would be interested in a "Quick Draw" interview about your work?
6:15pm
Jason
yeah i think so...when?
6:15pm
Otino
how about oh... now?
6:15pm
Jason
how about in 20 minutes?
6:16pm
Otino
I'll try to be on.
Your work is great.
I'm seeing it all for the first time.
'Self portrait as an artist burning down the Museum of Contemporary Art (Chicago, IL)'
16x20" archival inkjet 2005
6:16pm
Jason
thanks!
i make coffee-then we do interview.
6:17pm
Otino
Sounds like a plan.
'Jerkface'
*reads 'Thanks for calling jerkface (heart) sierra' 30x40" archival inkjet 2006
6:29pm
Jason
okGO!
6:29pm
Otino
Alright!
As I was looking at your photographs,
I found I had questions for all of them.
So I'm wondering if we can start by viewing your most recent work
and discuss starting with a single question for each image?
Game?
6:31pm
Jason
k
6:31pm
Otino
1.
'Untitled'
text reads: 'William Eggleston at his first American retrospective'
hand applied ink to photographic print
20x16" archival inkjet 2010
6:32pm
Jason
yes…
6:32pm
Otino
You seem to have a several of these types of portraits featuring photographers. Are photographs of photographers "meta-photographs"?
6:34pm
Jason
sure... but more importantly, it's about the strange joy of meeting someone who is in the canon of your chosen medium.
the pic of Wolfgang Tillmans for instance: i thought was a failure because his eyes were closed, but then i realized it was a great play - a failure of the first rule of the snapshot.
'Untitled'
text reads 'Wolfgang Tillmans with his eyes closed'
hand applied ink to photographic print
20x16" archival inkjet 2008
6:35pm
Otino
2.
'Eric Becklin, first human to see the center of our galaxy'
40x50 archival inkjet 2010
6:35pm
Jason
yes.
6:35pm
Otino
Is Mr. Becklin an albino?
6:36pm
Jason
no, the picture is shot a bit high key.
6:36pm
Otino
3.
'Obama election night rally, the sky above, November 4, 2008 (Grant Park, Chicago, IL)'
54x70 archival inkjet 2008
This photograph’s aesthetic seems a tad academic to me - white tower conceptualist in the way the textual reference sets the context for the visual image.
You have to admit without the text I would be at a loss to find the source.
So in fact the title of the photo is just as much the "art" as the photograph itself. True?
Also the photo’s minimalist beauty makes me feel coerced when the secondary meaning is sold to me. Propoganda?
6:39pm
Jason
sure, but that's part of my practice...
once you see the title you need not see it again.
you know you're entering the night of the election, the aura, spectacle, etc…
i was interested in tapping into the night's importance in a way other than traditional document
it's a long exposure: about 2 minutes
6:40pm
Otino
4.
'Untitled'
text reads 'R.I.P. Derrion Albert Feb 1, 1993 - Sept 24, 2009'
30x32" archival pigment print on rag paper, hand applied ink to print
Is the fact Derrion Albert's death occurred in Chicago more relevant to you?
6:44pm
Jason
yes, it is.
Derrion Albert, 16 was beaten to death as a sort of "collateral damage" in an incident involving two rival gangs.
i've lived here 16 years and i'm really interested in Chicago's problems: its embarrassments, its grace, and its significant contribution to culture.
6:45pm
Otino
5.
'Untitled (Vienna, Austria)'
16x20 archival inkjet 2008
6:45pm
Jason
yes
6:45pm
Otino
You got me on this one Jason.
Something to do with exposure?
6:46pm
Jason
0815 is a German slang term that originated from a rifle that tended to fail often...
the term evolved to mean ordinary/nothing special.
it's my studio wall when i was on residency in Vienna, Austria.
6:46pm
Otino
It is a photo of a rifle?
"Null acht funfzehn"
28x40 archival inkjet 2008
6:47pm
Jason
it's a bit of a journal entry
it's a photo of a clock radio
that happened to be at 0815
which created the word play
6:47pm
Otino
No… no.
wrong pic
this one is solid blue except for a red stripe at the top.
6:48pm
Jason
oh
haha
sorry.
that's an extra unexposed frame at the end of a roll of film from Austria with some light leak.
6:49pm
Otino
That's what I thought.
6.
'The first time I saw my father unconscious (the pillow my sister placed under his head) May 24th, 2008'
16x20 archival inkjet 2008
More autobiographical material?
6:50pm
Jason
yes.
6:50pm
Otino
How does your personal history play into your strategies as an image producer?
6:51pm
Jason
i'm really interested in the intersection of public/private...
exhibiting the Obama image next to a pillow my father passed out on seems to open up possibilities in both...
6:52pm
Otino
Sorry... I think your statement requires more explanation.
How do the two relate?
6:53pm
Jason
i am interested less in the traditional authorship/expertise photographers have sought to relay in their work, for example: the photographic exploration of the 'other'.
whereas i am interested in the continuum of experience i have as a single individual, reconciling individual and public ongoing narratives.
6:55pm
Otino
I'm going to toss in two works in together at once since I believe they apply the same technique:
7.
'Above Sigmund Freud's couch'
40x50 archival inkjet 2008
&
'The top of the tree gazed upon by Anne Frank while in hiding (Amsterdam)'
30x40 archival inkjet 2008
Are these photographs just simple visual puns?
6:56pm
Jason
?
nah...it's the real thing.
same with the Anne Frank tree.
they could be puns.
6:57pm
Otino
The Freud work does appear as a gag - right? People lie on coaches during therapy – the view above Freud’s coach?
And the Anne Frank photo is all about perspective as well.
6:57pm
Jason
but that wouldn't be interesting for me.
yes that perspective lends into an empathy.
6:58pm
Otino
Maybe "pun" was the wrong word.
6:58pm
Jason
yes, they are devices to help myself and the viewer.
6:58pm
Otino
You have to admit they are all about the third meaning once text and images are subsumed.
6:58pm
Jason
penetrate history and experience...
yes third meaning is a great insight.
6:59pm
Otino
8.
'Untitled'
26x36 archival inkjet 2008
6:59pm
Jason
gonna come?
7:00pm
Otino
Yes. Did you create and burn the text sculpture reading "Your Time Is Gonna Come"?
7:00pm
Jason
yes.
i did it right after a prairie burn in Illinois.
7:01pm
Otino
Was it an anti-racist maneuver?
7:02pm
Jason
haha. no - it's part motivator - part macabre declaration...
depends how you view it.
i try to create things i would want to live with.
7:02pm
Otino
9.
'Spencer Elden in his last year of high school (January 2008)'
*Spencer originally appeared as a naked baby on the cover of Nirvana's Nevermind record
30x40 archival inkjet 2008
This is one of my favorite of your photographs.
7:03pm
Jason
thanks.
online.
it took me a year to track him down.
he wasn't on facebook or myspace
until one glorious day
when he was
and i proposed a shoot
and he put me in touch with his dad
who was protective at first, which i respected,
and then really enthusiastic to the photo shoot
and gracious in hosting me for an afternoon
as was Spencer.
Nirvana's Nevermind Album Cover 1991
7:05pm
Otino
Strange that everyone in the world has seen the poor fellow skinny dipping at such a young age.
How is he handling it?
Now 17 years old, Spencer Elden recreated the Nirivana "Nevermind" Cover 2008
Photo by Splashnewsonline.com
7:06pm
Jason
not sure...
didn't get to know him well...
i think the time in his life when i photographed him was the last chapter where he was defined more by chance then the decisions he will make as a young adult going to college.
7:07pm
Otino
10.
'The entire three minute duration of the 'America's Answer' fireworks package, $99.95, Independence Day 2007'
54x70 archival inkjet 2008
How did you ever manage to determine the correct exposure for this picture in advance?
7:08pm
Jason
i just kept the shutter open the whole time.
i bought three fireworks packages...
the hardest part was pre-framing the photo...
only the 3rd worked!
7:09pm
Otino
11.
"I'm Me' Lyrics from Lil' Wayne, as listened to by Michael Phelps,
pre-race, 2008 Olympics (eight gold medals, seven world records)"
57x42" pigment print on ragpaper floated in 48x63" frame 2008
Were these scrawls penned by Michael himself?
7:11pm
Jason
no, i did it.
this piece is my scrawled musing.
7:11pm
Otino
Got it.
What motivated the composition?
7:11pm
Jason
the lyrics helped motivate the notion of a diary entry that goes on and on...
dense.
the diary theme is one I continue to be interested in - along with celebrity and apology.
7:12pm
Otino
12.
'Lindsey's bedroom'
30x40" pigment print 2007
ixnay what I said earlier reagarding the Spencer Elden photo.
THIS one is definitely my favorite of your photographs.
7:14pm
Jason
: )
7:14pm
Otino
Is Lindsey an aquaintance?
I love the pink.
7:14pm
Jason
she's a good friend.
i always thought this is such a perfect portrait of her.
and also the iconography of JFK is great.
Lindsey, Jason and friend
7:16pm
Otino
That almost makes a baker's dozen.
I think we are good.
I wish we could continue... maybe a Part 2 soon?
7:17pm
Jason
just let me know anytime.
'Kashmir and Lindsey (Easter)'
11x14" archival inkjet 2006
7:18pm
Otino
Thanks Jason.
7:18pm
Jason
thank YOU.
8:14pm
Otino
Wondering if we could conclude the interview with a quick discussion about your planned "Michael Jackson Memorial Procession" to take place on June 25, 2010.
Is this a performance to create an environment for photographs or will it stand alone as an artwork?
2:46am
Jason
The Michael Jackson Memorial Procession is a re-imagining and harnessing of the sonic space that became so dynamic when Michael died. 50 cars, simultaneously playing a curated MJ hits list, will honor and celebrate his legacy, his place in our cultural consciousness. The participants will be given photo/video tools to each document their own experience... and the resulting art will be an amalgam of the video/still footage.
It's a new way of working for me, but syncs up with a number of existing examinations of culture, legacy, the idea of a memorial, and “the space in between” we spoke of...
mj
Invitation to apply/participate:
Michael Jackson Memorial Procession
June 25th, 2010
To mark the anniversary of Michael Jackson's death, a coordinated caravan of 50 marked cars (in the spirit of a funeral procession) will begin in the early evening of June 25th, 2010 from the childhood home of Jackson in Gary, IN, and proceed throughout the city of Chicago. Each participating vehicle in the caravan will play the same MJ song at the same time to provide a several block long audio blanket that will travel through most major neighborhoods in Chicago.
Each participant will receive a flag for their car and an edition print. Participants will be asked to document their experience via photos, videos, sound or any other measure to contribute to the project.
Please feel free to copy/paste/spread the news and excitement about this project!
'Heart (midwest)'
13x18 archival inkjet 2005
posted by Otino Corsano at 10:30 AM
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