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  • [Elliott Hundley: Evoking Emotions]

  • I'm staging imaginary operas.

  • One of the things I find appealing about opera is it's kind of a ludicrous proposition.

  • [LAUGHS]

  • It's a convention that we all read as normal, but it's a funny convention.

  • I like how artificial it is.

  • But being so artificial, it definitely strives to evoke strong emotions.

  • The music is the vehicle for the intensity of the emotion,

  • and that's the priority, I think.

  • That's definitely my goal--

  • creating some sort of emotional response from the work that I make. Absolutely.

  • During the day, I spend my time collecting all of this stuff.

  • And that I can do with help.

  • It's easier to work when I'm by myself,

  • when it’s quiet.

  • And there's also no time limit, you know, when you work in the evening.

  • Collage has been one of the most relevant forms of art making.

  • I think it's resonant because it is made of the stuff that we see every day.

  • So it's familiar. It reflects our reality.

  • And it's self-evident.

  • There's no esoteric technique to make a collage.

  • Because some of my subjects or the things that I'm trying to make

  • are maybe trying to get at something mysterious or something unknown

  • or something emotional,

  • I think what's appealing to me about collage is the fact that it's so straightforward--

  • that it's a good foil to my subject.

  • I use stories to get the picture started, or to find components,

  • or to locate a compelling narrative--

  • or a compelling situation. Maybe that's even a better word.

  • Or a compelling psychology.

  • And I'm interested in staging--

  • you know, all the tricks of creating the scene.

  • I don't know for what high school musical this backdrop could've possibly been made.

  • It's called "Sci-Fi Office".

  • I got this backdrop just for the photo shoot;

  • I rented it.

  • --[HUNDLEY, OFF CAMERA] It looks good...

  • --Three, two, one...

  • [SOUND OF CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING AND FLASH FIRING]

  • [SOUND OF CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING AND FLASH FIRING]

  • --Perfect.

  • I like to include images of the people in my life.

  • All my friends know this about me, that I spend a lot of my energy asking their opinions.

  • What's important to me about including my friends and family is that it raises the stakes;

  • that theyre not just images.

  • It's not just color.

  • It's not just a model.

  • But it's people with identities.

  • I think that if someone encountered my work, they would not necessarily know

  • that the model in my photograph or painting was someone important to me.

  • But I do think that it changes my attitude towards the subject,

  • and I think that ultimately that's what changes the picture.

[Elliott Hundley: Evoking Emotions]

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