Jason Evans (b. 1968) is a multidisciplinary photographer who, since the early 1990s, has had a broad cultural practice. His output developed to include writing and teaching alongside applied image making. He works around art, fashion and street photography tropes making images which are often influenced by vernacular culture. His long term projects with musicians Four tet, Caribou and Radiohead resulted in influential sleeve imagery and portraits which seek to redefine the relationships between sound and image.
His work is exhibited internationally, and his game changing series Strictly is held in the Tate collection. Solo shows include nomination for the Grange Prize at the AGO in Toronto and a retrospective of his Fashion work at the Hyeres Festival du Mode. He has been published and exhibited in several significant contemporary photography surveys, notably David Campany’s defining survey Art and Photography and Charlotte Cotton’s Photography is Magic. His monographs include NYLPT (Mack 2012) andPictures for looking at (Printed Matter 2014).
Cover image: ISSP 2016 final exhibition (at Kuldīga Arts House), a view of Jason Evan's class wall.
Pictures by Wikus de Wet and Laima Dance.
This year ISSP hosted 72 photographers in 6 workshops leaded by Anouk Kruithof, Paolo Woods, Federico Clavarino, Jason Evans, Alejandro Chaskielberg and Taiyo Onorato.
I was there for the whole duration of the program, in a relaxed and informal environment, where students and teachers (or masters as they are called at ISSP) work side by side in this intense learning/teaching experience. Teaching photography is a topic a lot discussed especially during the last year, this has brought an important attention on the educational system, made by institutions and alternative photography programs.
I wanted to know more about the perception people and professionals have of the meaning of studying (and teaching) photography today, so I went to Latvia to spend some time with the ISSP 2016’s masters talking about their personal experience both as teachers and students.
- What is your main focus and interest when you teach photography?
I put the 'student' experience first: where they're at, what they need versus what they want etc. In my current 'teaching' practice, providing workshops for people with 'special educational needs' in my community, I see my role as facilitator. Honesty is important. I always give an honest opinion. Sometimes I find when I teach I also learn.
- Talking about your experience as a student, if you could have the chance to go back in time there is something that you would like to change in your educational path?
I went to the traditional model British Art School in Sheffield in the late 80's. There were many facilities to explore from audio to video and pottery to foundry facilities which caught my imagination, plus a good library. Class sizes were small and camaraderie was high. I was in my late teens which was too young to study at that level, much of the theoretical stuff was too advanced, and was taught to an academic standard that seemed exclusive and problematic. If I could change one thing I would have waited until my mid 20s to study, so I had a chance to 'grow up' first.
- Nowadays teaching photography seems a kind of a trend, what do you think about the educational system? And how is changing in your opinion?
Educational systems vary greatly internationally so I will only comment on the UK model. I believe there is too much emphasis on concept and theory on the majority of British courses which discourages many young minds from using a camera to respond to their environment, use their intuition or gain self awareness.
All too often photographs become illustrations of ideas, a kind of second rate conceptual art. The relationship between art and academia and photography education is problematic when that is all there is. I believe that photography can be many things, it's such a general term and always has been... but the majority of courses follow an academic model that indoctrinates to produce a very specific kind of work. One positive change in my lifetime has been that more women are studying photography now and we are seeing a shift away from a male dominated photographic culture. I apologise for a non specific generalisation about gender roles, but I hope we will see a (long term) difference in representation politics that is not dominated by patriarchal models. Having said that the impact of social media photo platforms is having a more profound effect on image culture than education these days.
Website
Jason's workshop at ISSP 2016: Fantasy Cocktailwww.jasonevans.info
