Sunday, January 17, 2010

Inside the artist's mind: DerrickT in Spotlight Seven

Turn off the TV, put the kids to bed and take the phone off the hook. Then give yourself 20 or 30 minutes to read & really comprehend DerrickT's interview in Spotlight Seven, the 40th in the series. We've had some amazing photographers featured over the past 2 years, and I can honestly say that none of the interviews have been as complex, layered and insightful as DerrickT's.


The Artist

When you have some serious time to learn about DerrickT's photography, his process and his thoughts, wander over to his blog. Dig deeper and explore his videos, or just go along for the ride as he Tumbles across the web discovering great images. But for now, I just want to convince you to read his interview and view the photos in the pool.

The Professor of The Corruption of Melancholy

I can't do the interview justice even with this extended format. So I'll just give a preview, and share half of his response to the first question. Read slowly, and try to appreciate the depth of information that Derrick shares in his layered response.

1) Tell us about one of your flickr sets named The Human Condition. There seems to be a lot of covering and manipulation of the face, what's that all about?
I have always been fascinated with the human condition, in a variety of facets, predominately since I was a teenager, when I started observing and pondering fellow high school students (strange, but true). Since then, there has been an invariable evolution in regards to it, as there is with most anything. One that ponders and contemplates the nature of things and what they subsequently mean often finds oneself wanting to know more, or at least to know as much as possible. I have always been a visionary, primarily starting with words and language, and from there I began experimenting with other "mediums" to see what I could "discover" and create. Thankfully the combination's tend to work wonderfully for me. Obscurity has always been of interest, too, which I feel is a part of the human condition itself; what worlds, labyrinths and galaxies are going on within people's minds, free-flowing thoughts as well as those that are circumspect, what is plaited within the brain. Not to designate the psychological aspects of it all, because I am just as much interested in the emotional and physical aspects of the human condition, as well.


That's really just a taste of what smoothdude & DerrickT have in store for you this week. It's an amazing interview, and worth every second to read. And explore his photos-- a true original on Flickr, you won't be disappointed if you spend hours digging through his work.

Great Raisin

Link