The photographs of Los Angeles Tricia Zigmund are explosive. Using her own body as a tool to guide her compositions, the images are filled with an undeniable energy and urgency. Zigmund uses her body as means to explore the influence of an action and the reaction it induces.
Why did you decide to pursue your artistic practice on the West Coast?
I moved to Los Angeles in 2007 when I was offered a position in a museum there. At the time I was unsure as to how my work would translate in this environment. On the East Coast, there were many peaceful and quiet locations that resonated with me, mainly because these places were neglected and deserted. Most of these locations were outside of the city in farm areas and old mining towns. There are comparable places like this on the West Coast, but I felt that I could not relate to their history in the same way. Because of this I began creating my own environments in a studio and at home.
Why not New York?
I was unhappy about leaving New York but I gladly accepted the opportunity I was given in Los Angeles.
What do you find distracting about your urban environment?
In both New York and Los Angeles, it’s simply the number of people that keep me from feeling like I can truly discover something. Of course there are always new places to see for myself for the first time, but it’s a different feeling when you are in a remote place and you know that you are the only one who has been there in some time. As time has aged this place you are likely seeing it in a different way than the last visitor, and that feels like a more authentic discovery that I can mold into the foundation of a new work.
What do you feel is unique to your city?
In Los Angeles I often come upon places that feel as though they were frozen in time. Usually it’s a place that doesn’t seem to have changed in any way since the 1970’s. I have rarely experienced this in New York or elsewhere, but in LA it’s quite often. From old restaurants, buildings, cars, roadside curiosities, even Disneyland, I’m inclined to feel like the weather has just preserved all of these things and they belong to a different era, which I’m lucky enough to get a glimpse of, decades later and through a foreign (East Coast) set of eyes.
What do you find most appealing about New York?
The endless possibility for adventure. It’s a whole world that you really would never have to leave, and there is a lot of pride that people feel in that world. Not living there anymore, I feel like I am always in some of those places in my mind. At the Cloisters, in Coney Island, and quiet small neighborhoods where I would get lost in Brooklyn. You can leave a part of yourself there forever.
What artists have influenced your practice?
Jerry Uelsmann has been an inspiration from the beginning. But after learning the whole history of photography, it feels like a big family or a movie and you feel such a connection to all of the characters, and the greater or lesser roles they play as an influence in life and work.
THE 20+20 PHOTOGRAPHY ISSUE
Tricia Zigmund 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.