Today we’d like to introduce you to Kirby Gladstein.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
For as long as I can remember I was curious about science and medicine. My favorite show even as a little, little kid was ER, and instead of playing house, I played doctor. My parents picked up on that and pushed me to pursue it. My entire education leading up to my undergrad was an easily maintainable balance between creative endeavors like photography, video tech, and yearbook and academic endeavors in science. But once I got to university, I couldn’t do both. I almost completely stopped shooting during those four years of my undergrad. The anxiety and panic disorders I’d experienced my entire life got worse and worse. The winter of my junior year I went on a medical brigade in Ghana, and it was there that I finally realized I couldn’t walk down this path that didn’t belong to me. I wasn’t elbowing the other med students to administer vaccines. I just wanted to take my little film camera around the community and document their stories. When I returned to school, I incorporated a film and video studies minor into my curriculum, still thinking I couldn’t make photography into a career. After graduation, I freelanced for production companies and worked on the crew of every reality show that came through town. But things still didn’t feel right, so I slowly started picking up photography gigs, and eventually, I realized photography was what I was truly meant to pursue.
Please tell us about your art.
My work can be a little all over the place, so I like to use the term “multidisciplinary.” The current focus has been music (concerts, festivals, and promo portraits for artists) and a blend of self-portraiture, lifestyle, and documentary photography on 35mm film. I’ve been fortunate to be able to take some of my less traditional applications like stereoscopic film photography and use them in commercial and music settings. Music has been an obsession and inspiration of mine since I was a child, so being able to combine my love for music with my passion for creating images is a huge privilege, I want people to see my shots from a show and really be able to feel the power and energy of that moment. The objective is very similar when it comes to my film work. Whether it’s a wild, imperfect shot with harsh flash from a fleeting moment at a party or a meticulously planned self-portrait, the goal is to always make the viewer feel something. I’m always trying to manipulate light and space to distill emotion.
What do you think about the conditions for artists today? Has life become easier or harder for artists in recent years? What can cities like ours do to encourage and help art and artists thrive?
It’s hard to know for sure since I’ve only truly operated as an artist within the last few years. The world we work in now seems to make things easier on the surface, but it’s as if every benefit comes with additional challenges for artists and their creativity. Social media has supposedly made it easier to share your work and get it in front of the right eyes, but it’s also flooded the market, shortened the attention spans of viewers, set up a system of toxic self-comparison, and put immense pressure on creatives to crank out the most content they can as fast as possible. I’ve definitely felt the negative effects of it all. While that’s a large scale issue I don’t think one city can tackle, there are definitely thing Houston can do to support creatives. Offering more affordable housing/studio space to artists and working to take a lot of the politics that serve as a barrier to entry out of our art world could make a huge difference. I also like to think that cultivating an appreciation for and stressing the importance of art to everyone would make artists more successful as a whole and enable them to lift each other up rather than viewing others as their competition.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
My Instagram and website are definitely my main avenues for sharing work; however, I’ve recently started showing in art shows and exhibitions. My next show is at Arka Art on April 20.I’m really stoked on that because getting art off a screen and onto something tangible really brings a whole new life to it. The musicians, brands, festivals, and publications I shoot for also post my work regularly; I try to share those posts on my Instagram story so people can tap through to see them if they want. As for supporting my art, I understand that what I do is not for everybody. But coming to art shows, purchasing prints, and even just sharing a post on social media (you never know who it could reach) are all amazing ways to support artists.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kirbygladstein.com
- Email: whatsup@kirbygladstein.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kirbygladstein/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kirbygladsteinphotography/
Image Credit:
Kirby Gladstein
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