Want to Subscribe?
Sign In or Sign Up now!

http://justinnethercut.com

The Present:

Since the completion of my digital photography course, I have embarked on another independent project expanding my final class project into a larger photographic series documenting places in Baltimore and once more using the seamless cylindrical panoramic style. This project has given me incredible insight into where I want to take my art as well as the environment within which I want to pursuit it: Baltimore. Since fall semester, I have expanded the series to 23 photos and have started to get more connected with photographers and filmmakers in Baltimore. I have arranged a paid internship with Baltimore photographer and MICA graduate Chris Hartlove. I am very excited to start working with Chris, learning through his artwork, and getting a first hand look at artistic entrepreneurship in the Baltimore arts scene. This summer, I plan to photograph a south Baltimore industrial park using Chris's 35mm panoramic film camera. I have also recently become increasingly aware of social-minded entrepreneurship in Baltimore. I have arranged to sell prints at Pedestrian, a clothing and street art store in Fells Point and in the coming months, my photographs will be exhibited at Common Ground, a coffee shop in Hampden where I once worked as a barrista. Also this summer, I intend to volunteer at Megaphone Project.

My Intent:

Over the last months I have done an incredible amount of thinking about where in life I want to take my interests in photo and video production. Perhaps I can best explain it by saying that I am a Baltimore boy, and I want to use Baltimore as my palette to express my own style, to make my connection between art and community, and to learn about the issues of social entrepreneurship within the Baltimore arts scene.
One thing that is very distinctive in my style is the urban nature of my art and once somebody sees my portfolio they will know that. I have always been most visually psyched by the urban landscape, architecture, decay, and distinct vibe of the city. In my work I have always had a high focus on place in the images I create.
A very distinct visual style is evident in my work. I am interested in the creation of feeling using such methods as juxtaposition of image, montage, and digital layering. Visually, I am really drawn to surrealism and visual experimentation with light and color. In both photo and video I am interested in the creation of environment and the alteration of environment as a method of fogging the boundaries between the real, un-real, and super-real to create an alternate reality in which to work with other aspects of the image such as composition. I have always been visually excited by the aesthetic and composition of colors as a way of controlling the mood of images. Although not a primary interest, I am interested in the simplistic beauty of poster art, especially when using methods such as collage and montage.
Something that is very important to me as I follow my interests in photo and video is community. I really like the idea of having my artwork act as a vessel to solidify people's connection to the city and building community. I love showing my artwork to people and having them say "oh, I know where that is." I have come to realize the importance of connections and networking within the Baltimore scene in particular. Using my art, I intend to collaborate with different photo/video organizations, local stores, galleries, and non-profits. An example of how I intend to do this is by taking photos and making advocacy videos for the Algebra project, a student organization I belonged to that advocates for city school board reform.
Although Baltimore is the environment in which I intend primarily to develop my work, I also intend to pursue my interests in photo and video outside of my hometown. In particular, I hope to combine my art with my interests in Latin America. Being somebody who is very morally invested and philosophically inline with the Zapatista movement and general resistance to neoliberalism, I hope to use my art for the benefit of the movement. Somewhere along the line, I hope to do work with the Chiapas Media Project (CMP), a media organization that teaches video and digital media to young Zapatistas as a way to strengthen their society as well as to modernize the movement. I have also learned from and anticipate that I will be influenced by, international filmmakers and photographers.
Finally, it is really important to me that I learn about the issues of social entrepreneurship within the Baltimore arts scene and learn how to make a living without selling my soul. I want to use my internship with Chris Hartlove this summer to get a better look into the business side of art. I also hope to take social entrepreneurship courses at MICA.