FARGO - MOORHEAD

BIO

My interest in photography first began as a young child watching my brother-in-law, Joel, frame and matte his photos on the kitchen table. It was also Joel who gave me my first camera, a Canon TL, at the age of 17, so I credit him in nurturing my interest in photography. Throughout the last 12 years I have worked as a photographer in Colorado and North Dakota, focusing primarily on portrait work and sports photography. Currently, I work at Best of Times Photography and Design in Fargo, ND. As side projects I have also photographed bands, two of my favorites being Greenhouse in the late 90s, and most recently Keller Williams, and worked for the ND Council on the Arts documenting folk artists and their apprentices.

The BODYSPEAK concept arose from collaborating with my girlfriend during the final stages of her thesis project at MSUM. Her thesis, a collection of poetry, includes some of the photographs displayed in this series. I noticed the images of her poems written on her body conveyed an intimacy beyond the written page; they also connected her to her work.

My goal with BODYSPEAK is to portray the human body as a medium for self-expression. When we walk down the street, we notice people’s hair, glasses, or part of the tattoo peeking out of their shirt sleeve, and it tells us a little of their story. It’s the nonverbal story I’m interested in these photos. It tells a story without them uttering a word.

ARTIST MEDIUM(S)

Photography