Laura Valenti
Portland, Oregon
Tipitina’s, New Orleans
C-Print
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I got my first camera at five and took weird little pictures of my parents, garden, friends, stuffed animals, and the world around me - much the same work I do today, only I no longer use a camera with flash-cubes. I photograph what I find beautiful in the world - often beautiful light. Lately I’ve begun to see ties between my work and favorite writing, and think my reading has influenced what I create visually. Photography and literature seem to conjure up imaginary worlds in the same way. Flannery O’Connor wrote about the “moment of grace.” I like to think I’m working towards this in my photographs - that my images, as tiny moments, express a sense of grace. The poets William Stafford, Naomi Shihab Nye, and Mary Oliver, and novelists Annie Proulx and Cormac McCarthy are other favorites. This image was taken in the New Orleans club Tipitina's - we were there to hear a funky brass band play. It was a warm May evening, the floor of the club was sticky with spilled drinks, I was eating fried grits in vinegar and looking conspicuous wearing flat-soled shoes.
Artist Biography
Laura was born in New York and grew up in Asia. She attended Reed College and is currently Program Director of Newspace Center for Photography. She also teaches photography at Newspace and is on the board of Photolucida.
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