Peter Sutherland interview
Extended interview from the HUCK#021 feature on a new environmentally-conscious photography book, Smoke Bath.
More like this...
We live in an increasingly urban world. Capitalist society depends on infinite industrial growth and as a result cities keep expanding. But with this urbanisation comes a great dissociation from nature and natural urges. And it’s something photographer Peter Sutherland knows all too well.
He may have grown up in rural Colorado but he now spends half his time working as an artist in New York City and, eager to do something different to the rest of the fine art world, he collaborated with a number of photographers on a photobook project, Smoke Bath, that is “a collection of photographs and artwork loosely based on the theme of camping, nature and exploring.”
As part of Peter’s belief in the power of art and its potential to do something positive, he's donating all proceeds from the book to The Fresh Air Fund – a not-for-profit agency that provides free summer experiences in the country for disadvantaged NYC children.
HUCK: How did you come up with the idea for Smoke Bath?
Peter Sutherland: I’d done a bunch of art shows over the years and I just wanted to do something that brought people together and helped people. I wanted to do something different like curate a show and then I just decided to put it together for a good cause [...]. I liked the idea of doing something out of galleries and museums and stuff, which could benefit someone else.
How did you find out about the Fresh Air Fund?
[My friend] referred me to it. I looked at the website and there were these pictures of kids wearing tie-dye and jumping in a lake. I was like ‘this is so cool’. I like it when kids get to that point where they’re like losing their minds they’re so excited. They’re just wowing out. That’s what those pictures looked like. They’re like jumping in this pool and that was it, I was like ‘this is the one’.
What was it about camping that appealed to you? Why do you feel its important to young people?
I feel like there’s a whole school of photographers who are getting inspired by nature right now. From big artists like Ryan McGinley down to kids I know who are coming out of art school. They are into the idea of desolation and exploring and people are kind of attracted to the idea of the apocalypse. Natural disasters are on people’s minds and that shows up in a lot of work. Part of my idea was to put all that work in one place. There’s more out there, there’s a lot of people I could add to it.
Do you think it's kind of emblematic of a movement at the moment?
I hope so. That would be cool! It’s something I’m definitely aware of. You see a lot of people with a lot of like-minded ideas. It’s not just nature, people are kind of offering access to their own lives in photography and art more, I feel. Everyone’s kind of documenting these different cool things that they do. I mean that’s been around for a long time but I feel like it’s just kind of reaching some new level right now. I think that people definitely like to get away. It’s kind of anti-computer [...] people want to get away and do something different.
Do you struggle with the urban environment in New York?
No, I like it but I grew up in the western United States so the nature thing is really familiar to me. I’ve kind of been making my own work based on road trips in the desert and mountains for maybe the last five years. I did a photobook called Buck Shots four or five years ago and it’s all photos of deer. So it’s definitely been on my mind. Maybe it’s a hippie thing, there’s war going on so people get sad and want things to be natural again.
And camping is like removing yourself from society, you don’t have to follow any rules...
Yeah, escaping. There are so many cool things about it. Some people just like the gear you know? Just having to face the elements.
Do you think that’s why skaters relate to it because it’s an outsider activity?
Yeah, there was a video, maybe five years ago, called Tent City. It’s all these guys on tour, I think they’re in Australia, and they’re camping the whole time. And the guy who made the Smoke Bath t-shirt is always on skate tours where they’re camping out and getting away. So yeah, I think there’s something there, for those guys too. I think they like the idea of endless touring.
Did you go camping a lot when you were young?
Yeah, I did. My parents were into it. I’m from Colorado and it’s the kind of place where it’s beautiful no matter where you go. I think now that I’m here in New York I get an idea of what it would be like to be stuck here. The Fresh Air Fund is a simple cause, it’s not like curing cancer, but if you can be turned onto something new when you're young, especially like discovering the outdoors, it can be amazing. It can change your life for the better. For the kids who can’t afford to get away and are in the city all the time, it's pretty bleak. They’re just seeing grey concrete walls all the time. I don’t think it’s an inspiring situation and even a little thing like getting away for a week could just like, have a major effect.
So I guess it’s about youth more than anything else?
Yeah. When you’re young, the experiences you have can have such impact. I don’t know. I’m excited about it. I think a lot of the people who sent in work were just like ‘oh cool I get it, I like the idea’. It was a collaborative process and the publishers helped a lot.
Was it a conscious decision to have a lo-fi aesthetic?
I guess, but that comes really naturally to me. When I started taking photos everyone wanted everything to look so slick. I never really got it. I was like ‘why does everyone want this stuff to look like advertising or something?’ The way I shoot is always with natural light, small cameras [...] I like working within limitations. I’m not great at Photoshop, and I’m not that great at drawing or anything, but I like having those areas, you know, within that.
So that DIY spirit is important to you?
It is but for me, it’s been the only way to do things. There’s not like this model for me of waiting for someone to offer me something. You should just try to do it in anyway you can. I like that you can just be resourceful and come up with something good. You don’t need tons of lights, bells and whistles. You can make an amazing image and an amazing piece of art with relatively few materials. I’ve always liked that. I just like the idea of generating a body of work and I just started making little 'zines when I started shooting. I like the feel of them. I didn’t even think of it as DIY at first. It was just a way of getting stuff out there. There’s so much self-promotion you have to do to get your name out as an artist before other people start promoting you.
Who was inspirational to you when you were growing up?
When I was growing up I didn’t have any exposure to art except commercial art like video games and skateboards. The curb [was my inspiration], you know! I’m trying to think… action figures. I wasn’t actually aware of other artists growing up.
And who do you like now?
I like a lot of art. I like everyone who’s in the Smoke Bath show. Mike Kelly. I like a lot of people that just do different types of stuff that’s not really like the fine art thing. I like it when everything merges together. I like Mark Gonzales.
Smoke Bath, published by Seems Books, is out now.
Subscribe to HUCK for six issues
Only £20 (UK) / £43 (EU) / £58 (Rest of the World).
Peter Sutherland interview (text) by Shelley Jones is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Add Your Comment...
Please note: Your comment may be held in moderation for approval by an administrator to prevent spamming. This usually doesn't take long, please be patient.