Inside Out began in 2007 with the vision of showing artists work within the McKinney community to help infuse inspiration, creativity and discussion into our daily work lives.Today I am happy to curate the first show of its re-launch, Belize It Photography by John Hagerty. His photographs are quiet, dream-like narratives of the water, land and people he encountered while visiting Belize this spring. The pace is slow and relaxed. The repetition of waterscapes throughout the series creates a kind of meditation drawing us into the movement and peaceful solitude of its expanse. A dog rests in the sun in one image while bright yellow sheets hang limply against a pale home in another. These vignettes slow us down creating a sharp contrast to our vigorous pace here at McKinney.
John’s work will be hanging at McKinney between Reid and Strickland through August. I chatted with John more in depth about his work and this is what he said:
I've been interested in photography since I was a kid. My earliest memories are both from photographs and of looking through family photos albums. I didn't start thinking about photography seriously, or as a creative expression, until I went back to grad school about six years ago.
I hardly ever have a specific idea of an image before I take a picture. I usually go somewhere new and meander until something catches my eye. Sometimes I'll have a general idea about a location. But the ideas wait until I get there and start to explore. I primarily shoot in color. I’ve used black and white film in the Holga a few times but have more luck with the Kodak Vivid Color Film. And it feels weird to make a digital pic black and white. I would like to explore black-and-white film more, however. Maybe I’ll get into it someday. For now I like rocking the color.
I went back to film a year ago because I got tired of how perfect digital can look. I was getting sick of the computer in general and the coldness of digital. I think there's warmth to film that just looks better and feels more real. I also found that I was retouching my digital shots to look like film, which was time-consuming and felt a little like cheating. Also, you have to be more intentional and thoughtful with film because you have a limited number of exposures, and film and processing is expensive so you don't want to waste money. Film is nice in that it slows you down. A lot of time with digital I find myself back at my computer with 200+ photos, and editing can be overwhelming.
I love photography because it lets me get out and explore. I love to meander and go places I’ve never been before. Especially overlooked, everyday places. I also like that it’s very easy to just grab your camera and go. That’s one nice thing about digital. It’s a very convenient outlet. And a free pass to trespass. These photos are special to me because I had an amazing time in Belize. It was my first real vacation in five or so years, and I got a lot of great shots. I picked Belize because I wanted to go someplace where I could completely disconnect and relax and do some good photo hunting. It was the first trip where photography was a key factor in deciding where I would go. And I had at least one camera with me the whole time. I love all the Holga shots I took—so, the three that I picked are basically my favorite. But the three digital pics I included work together as a nice triptych. And that was something unplanned that came together after I got home and started editing. I love how each photo has a punch of color and backdrop of horizontal lines in the wood siding. There’s a nice rhythm with the color and lines and shapes in each shot and between all three shots as a whole.
The low-angle shot off the kid on the bike heading toward the camera was really cool because it was unplanned, and I love the expression on the kid’s face. I was just squatting in the middle of the street looking around when this kid came around the corner and gunned it toward me. He had a mischievous smirk like he was going to run me over, and I took the shot a second before he swerved out of the way, laughing. It was great because I was a punk like that when I was a kid and would have done the same thing in his shoes.
One of my favorite photographers is Henri Cartier-Bresson. I like what he said about there being a natural geometry in what we see and how taking pictures means discovering rhythm, lines and gradations in reality and finding order within all the chaos of life. There’s also something mildly OCD about that sense geometry that I really appreciate.
Besides photography, I like to collage and draw. And I’ve recently been experimenting with different forms of print-making like screen printing and acetone transfers. I’d like to do letterpress next.
If I could go anywhere and photograph I’d like to go to Antarctica and shoot the next Pirelli calendar.
To view more of John Hagerty's work, visit his Flickr account:
