Radio Flyer © Keith Carter
*note: this interview was published in the first issue of the aforementioned ISO magazine
I have discovered a place where dreams are alive, where dancing bears and checkered walls are found among wizards and floating boys. In this literal blur of my imagination, there is a force that twists the literal into something completely obscure and exciting. This place, too alluring for reality, is found within the mystic pages of A Certain Alchemy. Welcome to the world of Keith Carter. In his tenth book, Carter continues the proliferation of a place all his own. To describe this work as beautiful vastly oversimplifies these images, which transcend meaning beyond any silly string of written words. A Certain Alchemy has a poignancy of emotion that can reignite the creative corners of even the most analytical personality. In speaking with Carter, I found that our conversation worked to support the notion that Carter holds within his spirit a child’s eye with an elder sensibility. This combination of youthful imagination and clever composition resonates throughout, forming a coherency between a myriad of subjects. If there is any downside to the potential adventures within A Certain Alchemy, it is that, like all dreams, their end is as imminent as their existence is magical.
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MG: A Certain Alchemy is bookended by two sections that not only bring a new tone to your photographs but also a new way of looking. The first of the two sections is reminiscent of taxonomy; a physical description of animals, plants, and objects. Was this your intention, and what has inspired this new facet of your work?
KC: I’ve always loved those small fragments of paper that Fox-Talbot used in his early experiments making his “shadow pictures” – what we call photograms. Where I live, near the Big Thicket in East Texas, everything either flies, slithers, buzzes, or stings, hence some of my subject matter. Mostly, I was just trying to replicate the beautiful mottled tonality of some of photography’s pre-history images.
Daydream © Keith Carter
MG: Images like Crossed Fingers, appear scientific but the action of the object is consistent with the mystical nature of your work. How do you think these attributes play with one another?
KC: I don’t think science is necessarily incompatible with mystical or spiritual sensibilities. I often weigh them equally in my thinking, which sometimes finds itself into the work. Crossed Fingers was intended as a dialogue between hope and mortality. I should have titled it Good Luck.
MG: In the main body of work, you continue the style that is so prominent in your previous books. I find it’s like visual poetry, an exploration of the ethereality only the photograph can accurately capture. Do you find yourself inspired by romantic literature or any particular poets?
KC: Like Joseph Cornell or Ralph Meatyard, I’ve been inspired by both romantic and surrealist literature. In my earlier days, I used to run both through the “southern gothic” realm also – which got a little weird. I don’t much care for images that illustrate poems, but I read and have been heavily influenced by the non-linear aspect of poetry. I like what Wallace Stevens said: “Poetry must almost successfully resist intelligence.” I just change the word “poetry” to “my photographs.”
Dancing Bear © Keith Carter
MG: How much searching do you do? Are the images conjured in your mind and then brought to fruition, or are they products of exploration?
KC: The answer is both. I like to work in the real world, so I do a lot of searching or just simple looking. But I’m not above tweaking reality and making something up. I don’t think there are any rules in art. It’s not so much what you see as it is the significance you, the artist, see in it.
MG: Many photographers find themselves attracted to animals for various reasons. What’s yours?
KC: There are lots of them around where I live, and I grew up around animals. They move me in ways I am unable to articulate. My idea of heaven on earth would be to have been present with a camera when Noah was loading the animals two by two.
MG: You place a certain emphasis on the physicality of traditional processes. If this magic comes from the alchemy of the medium, what value is there in digital photography?
KC: I love digital photography and Photoshop. I think it’s the future. However, for me there’s no romance in pixels. I came of age when the camera, film, and the darkroom were the heart of photography. I enjoy the physical process of it all. I think the smart students will learn both traditional and digital platforms. I love the history of photography and one process has always replaced another. However, very, very few have disappeared.
MG: The repetition of children, animals, and dreamlike sequences creates a feeling of an imaginative world. I believe our imaginations allow us to see beauty in things we would otherwise dismiss. Is there always something more to see?
KC: I would refer you back to the earlier Wallace Stevens quote.
Crossed Fingers © Keith Carter
MG: In compositional terms the single point of focus tells the viewer where to look. Do you believe this guidance is important?
KC: For me it is. When I started using the extreme short depth of field and single point of focus, I was trying to replicate my changing eyesight. We have binocular vision; one eye perceives space from the other. I don’t experience a scene visually at F32. It’s more like F1.4.
MG: Have you ever prescribed narratives to your images or are you fond of their inherent shroud of mystery?
KC: I’m fond of implied narratives, oblique angles, and leaving a little room for the viewer to finish a picture.
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If you are interested in purchasing A Certain Alchemy you can visit this link or hop on over to your favorite book store. For more information on Keith Carter please visit his website.
Michael George :: Dec.08.2008 ::
Interviews, Photographers, Publications ::
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