Intrigued by experimental photographic methods, Matthew Brandt’s series Lakes and Reservoirs focuses on salted-paper printing. When visiting the bodies of water documented in the series, Brandt collected water samples and later introduced those samples while developing the images in the darkroom. The water literally soaks the photograph as it develops and inextricably links the subject to the material process by which it was created.
Why did you decide to pursue your artistic practice on the West Coast?
I’m from Los Angeles originally, and it is the place where I feel most comfortable (home). But also it may be the larger studio space. New York moves so quickly, store ownerships/buildings change so frequently that one inevitably witnesses these changes that makes one feel that they have a kinship to the city. In Los Angeles, I have more of that spatial and architectural nostalgia that perhaps more genuinely comforts me in a homie way. I lived in New York for about six years, I moved there to attend Cooper Union, and after school I had a great job working for the architectural photographer Robert Polidori. I was happy working and living in NYC, but I was also anxious about what I was making and what to do with it. I decided to apply to UCLA with the logic that if I didn’t get in that I would not go to grad school and continue living and working in New York. I was accepted and this is what brought me back to LA.
Why not New York?
I lived in New York for about six years, I moved there to attend Cooper Union, and after school I had a great job working for an architectural photographer Robert Polidori. I was happy working and living in NYC, but I was also anxious about what I was making and what to do with it. I decided to apply to UCLA with the logic that I didn’t get in that I would not go to grad school and continue living and working in New York. I was accepted and this is what brought me back to LA.
What do you find most distracting about your urban environment?
There is a fine line between distractions and inspirations. Often they are interchangeable. I suppose they are only distractions if you deem them as such.
What do you feel is unique to your city?
The urban sprawl and its cultural quilt-like gradients. A warm blanket all year round.
What do you find most appealing about NYC?
NYC is a dense diamond of attractive features. But one sculpture comes to mind. It is a sculpture called ‘the sphere’ made by Frits Koenig that was transported from the world trade center after the attacks on September 11, 2001. It held up with plenty of damage and is currently placed in Battery Park.
What artists have influenced your practice the most?
My father David Brandt.
Images courtesy of Yossi Milo Gallery
THE 20+20 PHOTOGRAPHY ISSUE
Matthew Brandt is featured within Installation Magazine’s special 20+20 Photography Issue, which highlighted 20 Los Angeles and 20 New York City photographers. Download the full issue on your iPad and iPhone.