Sunday, September 11, 2011

Katrina Pallop: Eyes for New York

I first met Katrina Pallop at the reading party for the BSR no. 2. Phil and Katrina arrived just as we were bringing the furniture down from the rooftop after Eric received some threatening calls from his neighbors--allegedly, rooftop parties are dangerous (we went back up later, after dark). Soon after, I was introduced to Katrina's poetry and photography. I find in her photography a dreamy sparseness that speaks to a nostalgia I have for the old city and even places I have yet to visit. The photography is saturated with light and life--the lack of color gives the final image an austere and mesmerizing presence. Katrina has been kind enough to present the BSR blog with an artist statement and some of her recent works of photography--some of which Katrina has generously loaned to the site. As well, we'd like to extend an official blog congratulations to Phil on an phenomenal achievement. As of 2011/2012, Phil is the Editor in Chief at New York University's West 10th Literary Magazine!
--Andrew E. Colarusso

K A T R I N A   P A L L O P:   E Y E S   f o r   N E W   Y O R K

My education as a taker of photographs has been slap-dash, at best. Before this year, the most time I’d spent around a camera was as a three-year-old posing for Christmas portrait ads at my grandfather’s photo studio in North Jersey. Like most young ladies growing up in the age of the Kodak EasyShare, I went through my “photographer” phase as a fifteen-year-old (and went through it hard); but myspace photo sessions aside, most of my creative impulses have, until recently, expressed themselves through drama.
"For Francie" NYC 2010

As an acting student, there are phrases that one very quickly tires of hearing. Top among these are, “consider the space”, “find your light”, and “what’s the story, here?”. Originally, I began taking pictures to afford myself a new outlet of artistic energy, quite aside from my theatrical pursuits. It’s with a strange cocktail of equal parts amusement and chagrin that I realize, now, how directly and unconsciously I’ve translated those grating acting school axioms into my photography.
"Silver" NYC 2010

"Silver" NYC 2010

The seven pictures featured here are concerned with space, light, and story. Though I’ll own the fact that each of the photos is inherently dramatic, none of them were staged. In the same way that an actor, when doing his job well, acts as a vessel for another story, I found these images and performed the function of the messenger. The stark but striking composition of these pictures existed independently of me— I was just lucky enough to find them. 
"Rough" NYC 2011

"Elsewhere" NYC 2010
"Management" NYC 2011

"Canfield" OH 2010
--Katrina Pallop 9/10/11

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