Lara Morgan

What is your senior thesis?

This semester I have not defined what my project is. Initially I intended to photograph within the wine industry in New England. However, this has started in a lack luster way. I have not completely abandoned the idea but am looking at small mom and pop places. Ultimately, I am looking to make great portraits but to also have the opportunity to explore landscapes and still lives. The quality of light and time are of great importance to all three categories.

What motivated you to start this project? What inspires your creative process?

I began this project because I wanted to push myself out of my comfort zone and make work that is very different from what I have made since I have been at MassArt. I am realizing now that I desire to incorporate some of the themes of my previous work into this new way of working and seeing.

Is this a new project or a continuation of previous work?

In some ways what I am working on is both a new project and a continuation of previous work. I feel that the confine of time within school and semesters is limiting and unrealistic. I have been working in a “project” state of mind for the past two years. I feel there are many similarities to the manner I am working now to how I was working just before transferring to MassArt. Perhaps it is an internal feeling of obligation to be a well-rounded photographer before moving on to the next stage of my career. Likewise, I feel it is important for me to step back and make photographs without burdening myself with the rules and regulations of a “project.”

How has your work developed or changed over time?

My use of light has improved tremendously over the past year. I feel that using strobe exclusively for two years has allowed me to view natural light in a different, more articulate way.

What artists or works of art have inspired or influenced you?

My inspiration draws form great portrait photographers including Richard Avedon, Diane Arbus, E.J. Bellocq, and Irving Penn. I also draw inspiration from moving pictures; I am especially fond of film noir, and Alfred Hitchcock films.

What kind of response do you hope to get from your viewers? Is there a certain experience you want people to take away from your photographs?

I desire my viewer to have a strong response to my work, specifically my portraits. I feel that I have achieved something when I take a photograph of someone that transcends language and speaks to the complexity of being human.

What is the ideal setting to view your work? Do you picture your photographs in a book? In a gallery?

I feel that my work can exist in a variety of settings, but my first preference would be a gallery. I tend to make choices in presentation that are linear and traditional, I feel they function best on a wall.

Do you have any ideas or plans for future work?

One project that I have wanted to begin requires me to go back to Tennessee where I was raised. Since leaving, I realize there are many opportunities for my photography. I hope to examine my relationships with people, space and the land, specifically looking to how they have changed.

What do you see yourself doing after graduation?

Immediately after graduation I hope to go to travel, for at least one year, with the intent of making pictures in an entirely different setting and structure. I hope to go to Alaska, to travel through Europe, to spend sometime in my hometown and to go at least one place I have never desired to go- just to see what happens. I plan on applying for graduate school approximately three years after completing my undergraduate studies.