PROFILE: Lee Grant
LEE GRANT // PHOTOGRAPHER
Happenstance: What does pop art mean to you, and would you consider yourself a pop artist?
Lee: I’m a child of the 70s and 80s so have learned to look at the world from numerous visual perspectives. I love pop art and the way it appropriates and reuses images from everything from comics to advertising to magazines. My work isn’t really pop in this regard, however I don’t doubt that the influence is there… How can it not be? We’re a much more visually literate generation than even our parents were and you only have to open your eyes to see how image saturated we’ve become as a culture. I think pop also defines a general attitude to and interest in the world, so in this way, then I consider myself ‘pop’. Also when I think of pop’s heydey I always think of the music revolution of the 60s and I usually always have a tune in my head when making photographs. My most recent series “Belco Pride” is definitely an Aussie hip hop soundtrack…
H: Tell us a little about what you’re showing in Hip Pop, and where you drew your inspiration for it.
L: I’m showing two works, one called “The Day Meg wore a Dress” from a series that explores siblinghood and the bond between brothers and sisters. Siblings are strange things. Most of us have them or are one to someone. The uncanny – and perhaps slightly freaky – thing about brothers and sisters are the codified behaviours, the funny habits and the more obvious physical likenesses, all of which by my observation aren’t necessarily confined to those who are biologically related. I guess I’m interested in those intense emotions that always seem to be present amongst siblings. It’s incredibly universal yet always unique.
The other is part of a more recent body of work called “Belco Pride” which is about where I grew up and still live in fact. I wanted to look at how belonging, connection and identity can be deeply rooted in the specifics of one’s inhabited landscape. So “Ginninderra Underpass” is just one image from a larger series of portraits and landscapes. I guess you could say that the work is an ode to my origins, part documentary and part visual poem.
H: You take some really great, interesting portraits. How do you choose your subjects and strike up the nerve to approach them? Do you have any favourite stories about this process?
L: Well thanks! Generally I’ll know that I want to photograph someone when I see them – it’s a funny thing really… a little like falling in love, a moment of recognition I suppose. I’m getting much better at asking complete strangers, but it’s still hard. I hate to say it but I think it helps that I’m a woman (especially when approaching parents of children). I’ve had very few knock-backs, mostly because I’m pretty persistent and am genuinely interested in the people I approach. This is terribly important actually, to really interact with that person, even if just for a short while… it makes for a fair and interesting exchange. I always give away prints in return too, so in a way you extend the relationship when you return with photos. It’s so interesting to see how people respond to their own image. I can honestly say that the process of photographing people over the years has had a massive impact on how I view and interact with the world. There’s so much going on in the world – especially in your own backyard – I find it hard to believe that you can’t be inspired by it all!
H: Do you have any tips, tricks or advice for young artists trying to get their work out there?
L: It sounds corny but I wish I’d received this advice when I was younger! Just trust your own instinct… it is very rarely wrong. Persist with your endeavours, work really hard and believe that you can achieve your goals, no matter what obstacles lie before you. And most importantly take all criticism with a pinch of salt but also with dignity. You never know what you might learn about yourself or your practice by listening.
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