-Where did you find a hog on a
couch? Was that just something that you randomly came upon or did you set it up
with a specific idea in mind?
Last summer I worked for Ryan
McGinley which was always an adventure, often finding myself traveling to the
far and forgotten corners of New York City. On one of those occasions I was
asked to head to Ponchron Studios which happens to be in Red Hook. After a
train ride followed by a bus ride followed by a walk, I found the studio and
appeared to be the only one surprised by the massive hog sleeping in the
waiting room. I later found out his name is Emmitt and was the face of Vice's
Fashion Issue, I don't remember the year.
-What is a "video
zine"? I like that term.
I loosely call my Recital series "video zines" in reference to the traditional printed zine. Each video contains no specific narrative but rather contains a collection of information, all of which happen to have been shot on my iPhone. -On your site, you have your work organized under headings such as "prisms" and "1:11", do these titles represent a premeditated connection between photos or are they an afterthought? Also, what would you say is a common thread through your work or what are your favorite things to capture?
The titles to my series' are
labeled specifically but only after the body of work is completed and not
before. I usually sit on the photographs for months before actually doing
anything with them, curating the photographs down, then eventually assigning a
title. Prisms is a reference to my obsession with light; beautiful yet
temporary, enjoyed only in the present. When I was 6 or so my Mom told me that
when the clock falls on 1:11 you could make a wish, which will come true. I'm
still making wishes on 1:11.
I wouldn't say there exists one
common thread within my work, maybe more of a feeling; a combination of
nostalgia, the uncanny, the surreal…
-Do you still work with Ryan
McGinely as a videographer? What is it like and has working with him impacted
your approach to your own work at all?
I don't still work for Ryan. It
was a priceless experience and I'm sure his style of creating work has indeed
impacted the way I work.
-Who was Atticus Jackson and
why did you stop using the pseudonym?
Is Atticus any different from Levi
Mandel?
Atticus Jackson was an
experiment in identity. I was curious how viewers would perceive the same work
I've been making under a different name. I stopped making work under Atticus
because I think the project ran its course. Things started getting complicated
professionally, and I found it much easier to just use my real name. Atticus
and Levi are the same.
-You were born in Seattle but you
live in Brooklyn..how do the environments compare to one another and
how have they affected your work? Would you ever move back to Seattle?
Seattle and Brooklyn are
physically and psychologically polar opposites. Seattle is green, calm, has relatively
mild weather…clean. Brooklyn is colorful in different ways, aggressive, has
extreme weather and there is trash everywhere. That said I love Brooklyn. Even
before I moved to Brooklyn (having never been) I knew I would fall in love with
the city. Once I actually got here it was exactly how I imagined it. I think in
my description of Brooklyn you can see the advantages of being a photographer
out here - you don't need to look far for an interesting photo; they
practically present themselves to you at every moment. You just have to be
aware of what’s going on around you and be prepared to make photographs at any
moment. I will always love Seattle and very well might move back after I get
the rest of the world out of my system.
-You study at The Cooper Union.
I know they are big on making students experiment with many different media
before zoning in on one thing, when you started at Cooper were you as into
photography as you are now or was photography something you were exposed to
only after you started going there?
I entered Cooper as a
photographer, which most likely is what helped me get in, as I'm not the best
painter. Ironically, your first year at Cooper Union is called Foundation,
where you have your entire year of classes already mapped out for you. This
meant that I was thrown into drawing, sculpture, welding and color-theory
classes, among others. This is an obviously wise choice by the school as it
exposes students to mediums outside of their practice, which is good because I
most likely would have been taking all photography classes if I had the choice.
-Do you always have your camera
on you or do you only have it on specific occasions when you know that you will
be taking pictures.
I always have my camera on me.
-What fascinates you?
Shape-shifting, black holes,
natural light, youth, animals, the forest…
-What other forms of art are you into?
I'm less interested in specific
mediums of work and more interested in something that will emotionally impact
me in some way.
-What are you listening to
these days?
Hype Williams, Wayne, Beach
Boys, Black Dice, Joy Division, The Sugarcubes, The Pharcyde, Modest Mouse
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