JOE PATTON BARR

I believe it should be the goal of the artist to create his or her own formula for image making. I feel that it is important that with each opportunity to make a decision, that decision should be informed not by what the artist has gleaned from classes and books, but rather by the artist’s own experiments, explorations and instincts. For me, the pinhole camera is one part of that process. From the time that I first started playing with pinhole cameras, there was something that felt very natural about it. I like the idea of being completely in control of the image from the very beginning, starting with the creation of the tools. But the camera is only one part of the process. How I light my subjects, how I create the colors; all of these decisions are informed by years of trial and error. What I gain is a very concise way of looking at and presenting the world. A way of singling out the specific moments of light and shadow and interaction that I feel speak of the beauty and complexity of existence.