Natalie Rose

What is your senior thesis?

I’m interested in testing the boundaries and possibilities of light in a way that relates to thinking about and creating a painting.

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

I was not ready to completely move on from my project last semester. I felt as though I had taken every picture I could take, but still felt compelled photograph light. At the end of my last semester I took two photographs that steered me in the direction that I’m going now. That was the explosive flashlight picture and my shadow. I was excited that it was something I fully created and was curious if I could continue working in the same manner. I was also intrigued by a double exposure I took that I continue to recreate as a photo-collage.

Do you work in film or digital? Please describe any technique or process relevant to your project.

I work in color film with a large format camera and then scan and print digitally.

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

I’m trying new things, but this really is a continuation of my project last semester.

How has your work developed or changed over time?

I began photographing windows inspired by the light entering a space and utilized the predetermined frame. Then I moved onto to experimenting with camera obscura. I then removed the dark plastic from the windows and let the light naturally transform the space day and night and documented what happened. Now I am creating my own constructed instances of light.

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

Jan Groover, Joan Miro, Jeff Wall, John Pfahl, Uda Barthe, Tim Davis, Moholy-Nagy, Henri Matisse.

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 hope that they find them interesting and can’t stop looking. That they think about and pay attention to the world around them more and how light alters and affects it.

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

I would prefer a gallery but would never limit myself from opportunities that come up.

Do you have any ideas or plans for future work?

Honestly my work could take me anywhere.

What do you see yourself doing after graduation?

I am definitely going to travel as much as possible after I graduate, maybe temporarily move to New York City and try to get into galleries. I’m also going to apply for grants like crazy, and I haven’t ruled out grad school down the road.