Focus on: Gabriel Dean Roberts

Welcome to a new series of posts where I focus on (pardon the pun) the work of other photographers. In this series I share my thoughts about their art, and interview them so that they can provide context and background.

This seems like a nice way to contribute to the photography community, and not just endlessly highlight my own work.

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So, I’m delighted to start this series with Gabriel Dean Roberts, whose work I discovered recently on Twitter.

Gabriel, hailing from New York City, is an active participant in the NFT revolution that is currently transforming many photographer’s lives. The NFT scene is full of flashy, animated and digitally enhanced work, so Gabriel’s work stood out for me due to a more classical approach.

“Xerxes”

While I have learned since then that Gabriel is well versed in various photographic disciplines and subjects, his photos of flowers struck a chord with me, not the least because flower photography has been an interest of mine for a long time.

Gabriel’s flowers feel different to me. These are not often-seen exercises in pure aesthetics and form (although that can be a worthwhile pursuit) but they seem to carry something darker, something more profound in themselves. The images often feature a dark background, and the flowers themselves feature strong detail and character. Frequently divorced from context they inhabit their own universe.

“Aeterna 3”

 

They remind me of David Lynch’s work at times, insomuch that they offer a beautiful tension between everyday beauty and a murkier, surreal world that lies beyond it.

This is an approach that I sometimes see reflected in his other work as well. I was particularly taken by a photo titled “Pretty Bird”, a portrait of a parrot which is quite moving. The parrot looks old but dignified. There is real character in his stance and expression, and I wondered what kind of life he had lived. I found myself unexpectedly moved by the photo. Perhaps this is what attracts me to Gabriel’s flowers, and his other work. A sense of emotional depth.

I asked him about this and other matters in our interview which you can find below. Please have a read, and if you like his work and would like to see more, follow the links provided underneath.

“Pretty Bird (detail)”

 

 

Interview 29/04/2021:

RK: Looking at your portfolio website makes it clear that you are a bit of a veteran, with an impressive list of clients, exhibitions and initiatives, in various styles and disciplines. But what was the first spark? How did it all get started for you, and how surprised are you at where you are now in comparison to the early days?

GDR: I fell into photography almost by way of osmosis. I was in grad school and wanted to start a progressive blog site/news pundit source, and I needed to make videos for the site. I kept making videos and doing interviews. That led to a private party helping me finance a full length documentary. While I was shooting video I took photos inbetween and the more I did it, the more I realized I had an “eye”. It wasn’t till about 4 years ago that I started to really hit photography hard. About 2 years ago, I basically decided to lean more toward recognition as a professional photographer than anything else.  Since photography and a strong understanding of the mechanics, philosophy and composition is also the basis of film production, I kinda can do it all now. I’m surprised and also not, that I fell into flower photography. Most themes in photography have already been expressed by prior masters, but there are new interpretations and modes of thought that move past old tropes of “the male gaze” and “the picture telling the story”. Now there are no fucks to be given. If all the heroes really did everything right, then why are we still blown away by new artists. There’s still endless room in an endless universe. I’m grateful for where I am now, and for the visual trail I’ve left. Even more grateful for that which I’m about to produce, as it is the culmination of my story up till now in every new overture.

 

RK: In your blog post “I Left My 70K Job To Make NFT’s (https://gabrieldeanroberts.com/bent-letters/2021/4/15/i-left-my-70k-job-to-make-nfts)” you talk about how you arrived at NFTs, but also how your previous efforts to sell your work in a more traditional manner generated very limited income. It’s interesting to note that despite the many accolades you seem to have accrued over your career, those were still not enough to make a living solely as an artist. Talent and skill are obviously not enough by themselves.

What do you think is needed in terms of opportunities before somebody can be a full time photographer/media artist, and what’s it like selling your work as NFTs in contrast with previous efforts?

GDR: You can make a splash if you are rich, or pretty, or both; if you have neither, you’ll have to be damn good, or just take pictures of people who are rich and pretty. It’s easy to take a good picture of a beautiful person and that’s really fun, but having shot supermodels and grizzled old men, I prefer the latter, because what’s there is not anything masked by beauty, it is more bludgeoningly compelling. If you want to make money in photography, get a job as a product photographer, and work in the basement of some company where they take the pictures of the shoes. To do it in art, you must be willing to be poor, alone and not fully taken care of. My mind is capable of accepting semi-homeless circumstances in order to move forward. I’m not saying that for the sake of self-glorification, but that’s been my reality on many occasions. For now though I’m doing ok selling NFT’s, because It’s the only thing I do.  My success or failure comes down to a couple of things I DO have control over: 1. My reputation among my peers 2. The quality of my work 3. My willingness to look at what is really going on and flex with the constant changes. Even with these things in place I may still fail. Life is unflinchingly unfair. So as long as I go into it understanding I’m moments from the grave or the soup kitchen, I’ll stay real. All that to say, NFT’s are the best possibility, because we have a concentrated audience, and as “flooded” as the market may seem, the people who want to see me certainly will. It’s really that eager beaver mentality and thirst to sell immediately that get in the way. Desire fucks up our success. 

 

RK: A lot of your NFT based work centers on flower photography, although I can see that you carried that over from earlier days. Your flower photos are obviously not made in the context of nature photography, instead I feel they are more informed by formal portraiture. And as is often the case with good portraiture, something is added, a subtext, a layer of meaning that goes beyond the surface qualities. Is that the case? What else goes on in your work beyond the purely aesthetic?

GDR: I have a direct intention to provide a psychedelic landscape for non psychedelic people to make them feel that shocking feeling of smallness in the face of eternity. Flowers are common, but when your eye is focused on what they are doing, they are little gods. I’m trying to make people feel disturbed at their own ignorance of the grandeur of things they barely notice, not from a place of superiority, but because I’ve been struck by the majesty of the infinite in these little friends whose only job is to make life more bearable for our eyes.

 

RK: Additionally, it should be noted that a significant portion of your work features dynamic elements. When did you start to play with the medium like that, to go beyond the static image?

GDR: I’m actually very cautious about how I use movement because most of the themes you see in NFT’s now will look really antiquated in a year. There are only so many slippery fake human faces you can rotate in a glass case before the trope’s been dry humped to death. Motion should be approached with caution. I know what works, and that is light and colour. It may be the tortoise in this race, but I think it will win out.  That’s not to say I don’t want to build things with layers and all kinds of stuff, just to say I’m very cautious. I’m not even sure I’ll be proud of the motion pieces I’ve made up to this point. I’m trying to do something I haven’t quite grasped. I’d rather be glacial in my art, because glaciers last longer than snowstorms.

 

RK: What other photography interests and plans and projects do you currently play with? Your portfolio includes portraiture, fine art, street photography …  Or will you focus mostly on flowers for now?

GDR: I’m presently working on a triptych which will involve 3 separate pieces intended to live together. 3x3ft pieces sold physically with their respective NFT’s that, if collected by a single buyer will be complete as a 9ft wide master work. I’ve dumped hundreds of dollars into flowers just for this piece and it will be my grand opening drop on Superworld when they open their NFT salon.

 

RK: We all can’t help but admire, and be influenced by, other photographers. Can you share who your role models are? Which photographers do you admire, both historically and current? What is it about their work that impresses you?

GDR: For the living, I’d say Bil Brown is incredible. I was lucky enough to buy his first NFT. His images drag across you like dry pumice and leave you feeling like you did something bad, or are uncovering something that wasn’t supposed to be unearthed. He even makes you feel this way when he’s shooting supermodels. It’s hard not to nod to Annie Leibovitz who’s taken many of the most iconic photos of people we know. It’s funny though, I watched her masterclass and it’s not even her hand that’s retouching to give her look, it’s her retoucher. I really love Ellen Von Unwerth’s use of eroticism from the female perspective while still being high fashion and commercial. 

Visually I like hellish and grim feelings imbued in my imagery, not necessarily in the content, but in the feeling, so I have to nod to French painter Gerome. Not only does he use exquisite color and sharp darkness, but he tells deep stories with a single image. This is another reason why movement is actually counterintuitive, it takes away the story and makes it a Nintendo game. Look at this image of Phryne revealed before the Areopagus

At first it seems like a story of public shaming of a woman, but in fact historically this woman’s virtue is being revealed by her disrobing, because the Greeks believed that it was impossible for the absolutely beautiful to be without virtue. So there’s a mile of depth in the story.  I love that, because it gives a sense that something dramatic is occurring that we should investigate. If we have that feeling, then people will tarry over our images trying to unravel the mystery, which in the end is self fulfilling, feeding back upon itself.

 

RK: Speaking of influences, you yourself clearly bring a positive, supportive element to your interactions within the NFT scene. This is something I have noticed with others in the scene as well. To me it feels that a significant number of photographers flock to the NFT scene because of the hype, but then stay because of the community, making it a very welcoming place. What are your thoughts on this?

GDR: I’m very thankful for the community. I think this is what happens when a group of people who are traditionally maligned even though they are literally filling the world with the only “content” worth looking at get together. There’s enough bad will and indignity in the world, I think this community eschews this because we have a sense that there is actually enough to go around. The world needs us, and we can help the world see that.

 

RK: I could ask many other questions, but I don’t want to keep you too long. Perhaps the final question should be one of your own choosing: Do you have anything else you would like to say or share?

GDR: To collectors, I hope you’ll really consider the role you play in the lives of artists. In a sense you are now a stockholder in the life of the artists you support. I encourage you to take that role seriously.

To artists, I hope you’ll know you are beautiful and needed, but also that’s not enough. From now till the day you die you should violently reject cutting corners in your own work. Don’t give any room for naysayers of which there are myriad, to slander you because they caught you taking the easy path. Beauty is rare, don’t treat your ability to bring it forth roughly, it is sacred.

 

RK: Many thanks for your time! I wish you all the best on your photographic journey.

Readers can find Gabriel’s work in the following places. I highly recommend you check it out:

 

Social Media Links:

Web: https://gabrieldeanroberts.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/gdrtweets

Showtime: https://tryshowtime.com/GabrielDeanRoberts

 

Purchase links:

https://foundation.app/gabrieldeanroberts

https://www.hicetnunc.xyz/tz/tz1bRDpFK83NMSWL6jqaYqdunWFkwx2FBqJA