Thursday, June 11, 2009

A Conversation with Lynn Saville

Artist Lynn Saville photographs greater New York at dawn & twilight focusing on forgotten or unloved places, celebrating the city and moments of transition. Random House just published a collection of these images titled "Night Shift".




© Lynn Saville


NP: Tell us a little about yourself.


LS: I live and work in New York City on the upper west side with my husband the poet Philip Fried. Originally from North Carolina, I fell in love with New York City when I was five years old!


© Lynn Saville



NP: How did you discover photography?

LS: My father & brother were avid amateur photographers. We would take photographs of the stars at night through the telescope in the back yard and develop the film in the tiny basement darkroom. I was hooked.



NP: Where do you find inspiration?


LS: I’m inspired by the city itself. The changing urban landscape....the bits of vegetation and the grand buildings and the simple looming forms at night are a constant fascination.


© Lynn Saville



NP: How do your projects come about?


LS: This project for my new book Night/Shift (Random House/Monacelli, May 2009) grew out of my shift from black and white to color film; from the shift of waning cool light of twilight as the artificial lights start to glow and take over the lighting of the city. There is a dialogue of color and light as these complementary cool and warm colors interact. And the shifting landscape of the city.It is less industrial and increasingly residential. There are almost rural qualities of some of the offbeat areas which I am attracted to. These areas seem forgotten, and unloved. I find a strange beauty in these public/private spaces.


© Lynn Saville



NP: What’s next?


LS: I’ve been surprised by figures of passers-by whose fleeting images glance the edges of my photographs. At first this annoyed me, but now I welcome these ghostlike images and want to work more on figures in my work.


NP: Thank you so much!


To see more of Lynn's work please visit www.lynnsaville.com. Her work will also be exhibited at Yancey Richardson Gallery starting July 9, 2008 and you can meet Lynn at an Artist Talk and Book Signing Wednesday, July 15 at 7:00 pm at Barnes & Noble, Tribeca, 97 Warren Street, NYC.

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