Today we’d like to introduce you to Kenneth Moss.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
Where to begin? I have always been into the arts. I was always the overly animated person who was the loudest and made sure my presence was known in any building I walked into. Ever since I was little anything that had to do with art captivated me; whether it was theatre (my parents were against me getting involved in), Band where I played the Alto Saxophone, Writing, Drawing and Painting, which I was terrible at but at the same time loved it. The way I viewed the world and still do is that anything can have an artistic twist on it.
I didn’t really get into photography until my Junior year in high school when I took a Yearbook and Photoshop Editing class, honestly I took the classes as blow off classes because I slacked a lot and really did not take school seriously until my Senior year. I never really opened a magazine to look at the pictures or find out about the artist behind the photo, until one day I came across the picture of the Afghan Girl photographed by Steve McCurry, and immediately was obsessed and inspired by the photograph to the point I could not look away from it and realized I wanted to have photos featured and published in magazines.
When I went to college, I was expecting to Major in Journalism and Photography, however, when I was signing for my major, my mother told me I would not make any money coming out of college so I settled for Criminal Justice and Sociology, which I later realized was a mistake since I didn’t love it or feel passionate about. By the time I made up my mind about not wanting to go the Criminal Justice route (I was also contemplating going to law school) it was too late and I was graduating. I ended up getting a job in Juvenile Probation in Houston while at the same time working on my Masters in Public Administration.
It wasn’t until I visited some friends in New York City in the summer of 2014, where we decided to have an impromptu photoshoot on the Brooklyn Bridge and I snapped a photo of my friend Tempestt Perrin and did the edit where I rekindled my love, passion, and drive for photography because the photo grabbed me like the photo of the Afghan Girl. To this day the photo of Tempestt on the Brooklyn Bridge is still my favorite photo I have ever taken and keeps me inspired to continue going forward with my dreams of becoming a world re-known photographer.
Please tell us about your art.
The type of artwork that I do is photography and edit all photos taken myself. I like to create photos that tell a story and leave the viewer wanting to know more behind the photo. I think photos that evoke an emotion are the most powerful because depending on the person and what they are going through, they have a way to connect with the photo and interpret it in their own way. Most of the photos that I have taken are based off my own emotions of feeling Inspired, Lost, Weary, Joyful, and more. This also goes into the editing process as well, how I choose to edit the photo for the feeling that I am trying to convey.
What I want people to know about my artwork is that I am making it for the viewer to think about the photo, and what is going through the mind of the photographer and the subject at the time. I want people to know that there is not a wrong way to interpret my artwork, because like the saying, “A photo is worth a thousand words.”
Given everything that is going on in the world today, do you think the role of artists has changed? How do local, national or international events and issues affect your art?
I wouldn’t necessarily say that the role of artist has changed, because artist can be anything, and most artist in today’s time are using their platform to speak up about social inequality, especially here in the states at this time. Really those well-known artist who are famous and speaking up on issues like political unrest, inequality and racism are doing a good thing with their platform because everyone wants to emulate them and listen to what they say, even if it does bring in extreme criticism because it’s not a comfortable topic to discuss and most people don’t like being put out of their comfort zone even when it is needed for them to be. I think now, artist are more vocal than previously because most are working for themselves and have created their own brands.
I think the way national and international events and issues affect my art is primarily in the way it can be interpreted and also I can see myself constructing a photoshoot that highlights the issues.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
People can see my work on my Instagram page @k.moss_photography. I am also working on my website currently which will be up and running soon. People can support my work by liking photos, sharing the photos, word of mouth, screenshotting and sending to other people to follow, booking me or referring me.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 832-367-0429
- Email: kmoss.photography23@gmail.com
- Instagram: @k.moss_photography
Image Credit:
Cordarrel White, Kizzie Frank, Pulat Batirbaev, Tempestt Perrin, Quinton Cole-Gillard
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