I was first introduced to Jennifer Uman by way of Brian Coleman, who asked me, “Who is your favorite writer? Who is your favorite musician?” Giving this some thought, I decided on Raymond Chandler and Miles Davis. Flash forward a couple of weeks, and I am at WFMU, doing “Coffee Break for Heroes and Villians” with Janette Beckman. Our host was none other than Noah Uman, Jen’s husband, who, after the show, told me he had a gift for me from Jen… I opened a small envelope to discover two petite portraits of my favorite artists, and was charmed by their casually groovy attitudes.
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Artwork © Jennifer Uman
Artwork © Jennifer Uman
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I emailed Jen about a week ago, and we just started talking .. and talking .. and talking. She sent me a link to her Flickr page, which contained, amongst other things, a series called “Photo Booth,” which I immediately adored, and, about which I wanted to learn more. Jennifer graciously to chat about her work with me.
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Please talk about how you got started painting.
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Jennifer Uman: I found a box of poster paint and a paintbrush in my apartment about seven years ago. I sat down and painted a small picture on scrap paper. It was a portrait of Willie Nelson. It came out horrible, but I loved it because it came from the most pure part of myself and making it was the best feeling.
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So I began painting. Living in a predominately Hindustani/Pakistani neighborhood their culture, music, and traditions inspired and influenced me a lot….they still do. My life was chaos at the time so I fled into this space where I was painting every person I saw. That evolved into painting memories and places, historic figures I learned about in 4th grade and everything else inside my head.
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It’s funny because most of my friends went to art school. I never even thought this was a possibility for me because I never painted before. I’ve still never taken an art class and I know nothing about technique but it works for me and it’s still the best feeling ever.
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Please talk about the Photo Booth project. What was the inspiration for this series?
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I love flaws.
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Teeth, hair, toes, broken car doors, a crooked nose.
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I wanted to make a series that could capture these flaws in a distinct environment. Also I liked the idea of taking creating one piece using 100 small works rather than how I have done previous series made up of four or five large works.
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I have two photo booth photos above my desk. They were screaming for me to recognize that sometimes the best ideas are born from the things right in front of you. Truly!
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What do you think it is that is so compelling about photo booths? Is it the instantaneousness of the images, the fact that they are shot in a series, the privacy behind the curtain, etc ?
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I love the old photo booth photos. one little photograph can mark history and a sense of the era. That is what compels me to them. and of course… that instantaneous moment! it’s in these moments all of who we are comes out. The defects, insecurities, the ego, but captured in in an image.
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From the Photo Booth series, Artwork © Jennifer Uman
How did you come up with your subjects? Are they based on people you know, photos you have seen, or purely drawn from your imagination?
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Most of the subjects come from experiences. Of course there are photos and films that inspire me or that I have stolen from and made my own but mostly my ideas come from being alive. For this series it is great because I can create whatever scenario I want and see it through in a form that will help me to complete this puzzle.
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I think my best ideas come when I follow a thought from beginning to end. For example, I was walking through a park and there was a drum circle. It was annoying BUT it triggered my memory of the the toy bongos my grandfather gave me when I was little. It was from this memory that turned into an idea of painting a man with a mustache and holding the bongos and that is how the man with the bongos ended up in the series.
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I recently watched the Kurwisawa film “Stray Dog.” In the commentary I learned that this was the first film to use slow or classical music set to a fight scene. In some way I relate to this idea for this series. Perhaps people don’t think of a woman wearing a hijab in a photo booth, or something as simple of a girl eating a donut in a photo booth. Why does she even have a donut in a photo booth? Each character has their own story but together its a totally different idea.
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Have you done any of your subjects in a series of 4, or are they just individual shots—a best of if you will?
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I originally planned to do a series of ten strips of photo booth panels. I like to paint in series form but for this project I felt rather than putting my strength into repeating the same person/people I could develop different people and scenarios. I have a huge appreciation for small keepsakes, objects, and pocket sized sentimentality so I made each painting the exact same size of an actual photo booth photo.
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Hmm….so perhaps each individual shot it’s own best of. I never thought of this before. i like it.
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From the Photo Booth series, Artwork © Jennifer Uman
What is your ultimate goal for this project ?
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Great question. I would love to make them into posters, notebooks, book covers, a book of stories, flip books, wallpaper, playing cards, everything! Also base or contribute to a group show around a similar idea. Ultimately this project has helped me grow and hopefully people will find something new every time they look at this series.
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I read about the importance of taking pictures of the things you will forget. I am a horrible photographer so I’m trying to apply this to my painting. It has always been the small moments are the most important for me.
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From the Photo Booth series, Artwork © Jennifer Uman
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See More of Jennifer Uman’s Paintings Here