A Chat with Tim Burkhart
One of our beloved contributor alums, Tim Burkhart (No. 1 Tourism), has a photo of his up in a show in San Francisco! I took this chance to shoot him a few questions about how he, as a Chicagoan, views west coast art.
COMPOSITE: Tell me about the show you are a part of! What is the theme of the show?
Tim Burkhart: I have a photo that will be up in the APASF’s Curator’s Voice exhibition at Carte Blanche Gallery in San Francisco. The theme of the show is (Un)Familiar and deals with the photographers view of places and events that can be both new and mundane and how they play into the artists portrayal of the theme.
CO: How does your photo fit in with the show?
TB: The image being shown recalls a moment that ocurred in my daily life, that made me feel somewhat out of place. The moment had a sense of unfamiliarity to me, despite being something that I thought was a normal everyday occurence.
CO: How did you get involved with that show and Carte Blanche, in San Francisco?
TB: I had first come across Carte Blanche when visiting San Francisco earlier this year. I was immediately thrilled with the space and what they were doing (being an only photographic gallery and bookstore), something that I hadn’t seen before. They were showing works from a few photographers that I had encountered online and are giving newer names a space to show their work. I believe they are going about everything in an amazing way; with the work being shown and the way they present themselves. They are making it far more accessible and affordable for outsiders to purchase works in the gallery. When I heard they were doing an open submission for an upcoming show, I had no choice but to try and submit.
CO: What do you like best about the San Francisco art scene?
TB: I visited San Francisco for the first time earlier this year, and only got to check out a few spots within the Mission District (where I first encountered Carte Blanche) and It seems like they have a great scene going on. The biggest thing that I noticed in San Francisco is the huge cultural diversity within the city, even more so than Chicago. When you have such a wide variety of people coming together it can only lead to a progressive scene and being near the coast only helps with people traveling in from overseas bringing even more to the city and helping build the scene up.
CO: In fact, you are visiting Seattle right now–How would you compare Chicago to the West Coast?
TB: Seattle has been a great experience. The locations and scenery add so much to the city and are a nice change coming from the flatness of Chicago. My photographic style relies heavily on location so when I am visiting a new city I just want to experience as much as possible and be thrown into new situations. I can’t speak too much for the art scene here as I wasn’t able to visit any small galleries. I was able to visit the Seattle Art Museum, which was a really nice experience. They have a great selection of contemporary works that really got my brain going. Unfortunately, I was heading to Portland the day there was an art walk in Seattle, which was kind of a bummer to miss out on. I cannot wait to go back though, Seattle seems to be really close to Chicago in how the city is layed out and the way the neighborhoods cater to specific tastes. I can only imagine the art scene has a lot going on. I would definitly like to visit for an extended period of time or even live here for a bit.
Site : http://timothyburkhart.com
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sincebyphoto_timburkhart/
(Un)Familiar at Carte Blanche
June 22, 2012 to July 18, 2012
Opening reception June 22, 2012 6.30-9pm: RSVP to apasf.com
973 Valencia Street
San Francisco, California 94110
Post by Kara
