Paige's Photography
My Journey to Attainment—from Mann to Freed
For me art, specifically photography, speaks volumes. Art has the power to give you chills just upon sight while you’re surrounded by a heat wave. The most influential and chill-provoking pieces that really move me and speak to me are Sally Mann’s Candy Cigarette and Carla Marie Freed’s The Last Time I and You. Photography has been a part of my life since I was born—my grandmother, mother and grandfather loved to photograph every moment of my life. My grandmother grew up very poor before the civil rights movement, so having a camera or taking photographs was rare in a home, especially a black household. Photography became my life and is still my passion!
Contemporary artists Sally Mann and Carla Marie Freed are the most influential sources for my own artwork. For one, they are women, and as a woman myself wanting to get my photography out for the world to see, they are inspirational. While they are my inspiration and are at a level I dream of reaching, I by no means want to copy them or their work. I want my own work to speak for itself. My personal goal of my work is to find my exact type of photography that I most enjoy. I know that I love to photograph people in exaggerated circumstances that don’t necessarily capture the moment spontaneously and would most likely be appropriate for editorials and fashion. I believe that I currently need more direction in my photography, so that it can become more polished. My professional goals are not only to sell my photography and to get my work into professional art exhibitions—although that is a part of my goals—but also to gain hands-on gallery and museum experience. I would love to work for an art gallery as an art curator or artistic director and to completely immerse myself in art.
My photography explores the diversity of gender, race and people vs. nature. While I prefer to photograph women, I enjoy having a wide range of options to choose from in my portfolio. I have done professional photographs for the St. Louis Treasurer’s Department, for their Financial Empowerment Fair, as well as for a non-profit organization called the OASIS Institution, also located in St. Louis, Missouri. The OASIS Institution also published one of my photographs in their Summer 2014 Catalog. Along with those freelance jobs, I also won the Juror’s Choice Award in the “2014 Emerging Artist’s Exhibit” with My Saint Louis Art, as well as the Visitor’s Choice Award in the 2014 “33June” exhibit through My Saint Louis Art, a non-profit organization. Any concerns regarding my artistic background could include the fact that I have never had any formal training in photography. While my lack of formal education in art may appear lackluster, I truly believe I have a natural ability to capture a beautiful moment.