Aaron Farley

So how long have you been taking photos?

I got my first camera for my 20th birthday. So almost 16 years.  A Konica with a couple zoom lenses. Although I found an old photo I took with my mom’s point and shoot, probably from 1988-89, of Craig Kelly doing a method in a half pipe competition at 49 degrees north in WA.  So maybe that was my first taste.

Do you still work with film at all?

Every once in awhile, but not in a serious way.. I have a small collection of weird old cameras that I shoot film through, but mostly I like the old technology better than the photos that I get out of it.

Was school a positive experience for you?

Yeah for sure.  Not only because WSU was where I met the people who I eventually moved to LA to live with.  But my eyes were opened to a lot of art and art history and I met a lot of people who weren’t from a small town like I was and that opened my eyes to more of what was out in the world.  Growing up I never thought you could really move to some place like LA, it was just for visiting, or seeing on T.V.  But as far as the actual school part, the program was pretty lacking.. but I came out of it fine.

Who or what are some of your influences?

Robert Frank, William Eggleston, Juergen Teller, Nan Goldin, Wolfgang Tillmans, Andy Warhol, Terry Richardson’s older stuff, are big influences now.  Arnold Newman  Alec Soth, Chris Buck, Helmut Newton.

When I started though I loved the polaroid and snapshot collages of David Hockney and was more into the idea of cutting and pasting photos together, which i’m getting back into now.

Also, all our friends are super inspirational, and all the work coming into the gallery for shows definitely keeps me on my feet, pushing with new ideas all the time.

You have been in Los Angeles for a while now.  I this a good home base for you?


Yeah, it was 10 years last May.  LA is really amazing.  There’s so much going on here all the time.  So many people come through here or move here to do their thing, that it’s constantly changing and evolving.  But also, you can live in a quiet neighborhood and still be close to the city.  There are three ski resorts within 2 hours, the ocean 20 minutes west, a waterfall hike 20 minutes from the house.  Hollywood, Malibu, Beverly Hills, East LA.. what else could you ask for?  Oh and, its January and its been 70-85 degrees this week.. bummer.

You have done vast array of projects for a really broad list of clients.  Can you tell us about any projects that were personal favorites?

Going to Kuwait had to be the craziest/weirdest shoot. Myspace was doing their version of a USO show for the military who was shipping out for their first tour in Iraq 3 days later.  It was surreal, because on the one hand there was Jessica Simpson, Distrubed, Z-Trip and Pussycat Dolls, and on the other hand, everyone in the crowd was carrying machine guns.  It was eye opening how quickly everyone tried to get you psyched on the military right away.  Getting off the bus they asked who wanted to go to the shooting range, really surreal.  Z-trip killed it with Jello Biafra quotes thrown in with Sweet Home Alabama; genius.

Also when I got to shoot Neil Young I was clicking away and he asked how I knew when I got the right photo and I asked him how he knew when he hit the right note and he said..you never know when you hit the right note.

Your book “Look Don’t Look” came out recently, is there any story behind the idea?

It started out as a series of promos that I was going to send out, of images with missing heads.  Then as I kept going through my old shoots, I kept finding all these images of in between moments, where the people were not focused on the camera, but looking away, doing their own thing, blinking, breathing, focusing on something in the distance, laughing, etc. and they all just started coming together as a series.  It seems like the camera is with them.  I tend to feel like I’m imposing a lot, I think its just my personality, and this series of images to me just seems comfortable, and relaxed.  Maybe for me it breaks down the who’s looking at who that portrait photography always deals with.   With no eye contact it seems to be a bit more honest.

You’ve been traveling a lot. Any favorite spots you can tell us about?

Australia is amazing. Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane are so fun and good people all around.  Didn’t see much of Kuwait, except the airport and an army base.  I always love Montana.  Shot in Turin, Italy for a couple days last year and was blown away by the mountains and the kindness of the people.  I counted the other day and noticed that I’ve been to 43 states in the US.  so I hope to get to all of them at some point.

Can you tell us anything about the show you have coming up at “THIS Los Angeles”?

The show coming up on Feb. 4th is our one year anniversary. I can’t believe we winged it for a whole year. It’s been pretty mind blowing thinking back on everything that happened in between the first show and this one.  The idea for the first show began when the 5 of us put all the names of people who we knew or worked with that we thought would show a piece, the list topped out at 102 people, and we realized our list would be a really great show.  1 piece, framed in white, from 100 people.  And it was a great show, we met so many wonderful people, and continue to meet great people and people making great art all the time. This show is the same idea, but with a one year anniversary vibe.

Any other projects or shows we should look for in 2011?

I’ve been directing and editing more: http://www.goincase.com/this/

http://goincase.com/room205/la-sera/devils-hearts-grow-gold/

MoonSunMoon is another project I’ve been working on recently, but its still in its beginning stages. I’ll have a print set coming out in March.
http://moonsunmoon.tumblr.com/

And be sure and check the show next week if your in L.A.
www.thislosangeles.com

For more information about Aaron Farely, contact www.aaronfarley.com/

Aaron Farley is a post from: The Citrus Report | Art, Culture, News, Graffiti, Music, Street Art, Clothing, Politics, Reviews