Happy New Year, friends!

I’m trying something new today: a twist on my long-running Five Photographers feature. I like curating photography and love learning about new artists. But I don’t know what I don’t know. So, this year, I’m expanding my program by inviting artists, photographers, writers, and curators to show us the images that inspire them.

By diversifying the curatorial perspectives here on FlakPhoto, I’ll see new work, and you will, too. Please let me know if you want to curate a post like this. Email is always the best way to reach me.

Our inaugural FlakPhoto Curator is Jess T. Dugan, an artist, writer, and photographer based in St. Louis, Missouri. You can read about Jess in our Show & Tell conversation from last year. There is a lot to look at and think about here. I hope you like these works.

As always, please tell me if you know someone I should feature here. I'm always looking and love seeing new images. If you're new to FlakPhoto, please subscribe! And if you like what you see, give these folks a follow. They'll appreciate the audience, and you'll have some new inspiration in your IG feed. With that, I’ll hand things off to Jess. Enjoy! — AA

When I was twenty-one, just out of college, I worked in the collections management department at the Harvard Art Museum. I spent eight hours a day photographing works on paper, primarily prints, and had unrestricted access to the collection. Sometimes, on a break, I'd pull a box of photographs and look through them slowly and closely. I fell in love with looking at art, especially original objects.

As my art career grew and I became friends with artists I admired, I began acquiring their work, often through trades but occasionally through purchases. Over the years, I've built a collection of work I love with meaningful personal connections. My collection is indicative of my subjective preferences, centering around portraiture and relationships, queerness and masculinity, life, and time.

The works I choose to live with move me deeply on a visceral level. When you look at something daily, for many years, it becomes intertwined with your life. Some works have traveled with me for twenty years, from apartment to apartment, city to city, from my early 20s to my almost 40s. They are like old friends, grounding me at home no matter where I find myself.

For today's feature, I selected five works by artists I love and admire, all of which I currently live with. I have acquired them all within the last few years, though some were made as early as 2004, like my Elinor Carucci photographs. The photographs by Rafael Soldi, Elinor Carucci, and Clifford Prince King are in my bedroom; I look at them first thing each morning and last thing every night. My newest acquisitions, Anne Vetter and Peter Cochrane, are on display in my dining room, where I often host friends and curators.

My daily life is enriched by living with work that moves and inspires me. I love that my daughter is growing up surrounded by original works of art, asking me questions about each piece from time to time. I am grateful to be part of a dynamic, creative community where people I know and love make objects that express their most personal experiences, thoughts, and desires. The work I gravitate towards is intimate and urgent, highly specific to its maker. Living with art reminds me of our shared human connection, the vibrancy and preciousness of life, and the immense power of love.

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About the curator

Jess T. Dugan (b. 1986, Biloxi, MS) is an artist and writer who explores the complexities of personhood, relationships, desire, love, and family. While their practice is centered around photography, it includes writing, video, sound, drawing, and installation. Their work is informed by their own life experiences, including their identity as a queer and nonbinary person. It reflects a deep belief in the importance of representation and the transformative power of storytelling.

Their work is exhibited internationally and is in the permanent collections of over 60 museums. Their monographs include Look at me like you love me (MACK, 2022), To Survive on This Shore: Photographs and Interviews with Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Older Adults (Kehrer Verlag, 2018), and Every Breath We Drew (Daylight Books, 2015). They are the recipient of a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant and an ICP Infinity Award and were selected by the Obama White House as LGBT Artist Champion of Change.

They live and work in St. Louis, Missouri. Follow them on Instagram @jesstdugan.

One more thing…

On February 15, Jess will teach “Professional Practices for Visual Artists: Building & Sustaining a Career,” a live Zoom workshop presented by the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Massachusetts.

Use code WINTER25EARLY to save 15% until January 12. Students and teachers can also enjoy a 20% discount with code STUDENT/TEACHER20OFF, which has no expiration date.

Finally, in July, Jess will teach “The Intimate Portrait” at Anderson Ranch Art Center. I’ve heard great things about this place and know Jess is an excellent teacher. If you like their work, this workshop might be up your alley. Spaces are limited.

Thanks again for working with me on this, Jess. I appreciate you!

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