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Portf

olio

(Don’t try to classify DavidJulian. In a business envi-ronment where most pros

find success by specializing in aparticular photographic niche,Julian won’t fit neatly into a clearlylabeled box. Part illustrator, partsculptor and part philosopher, he’sa self-described mad scientist. Histhree-dimensional assemblage andphoto illustrations transport youvia ghost train to a dusty shelf in apre-modern laboratory lined withartifacts and arcana, where youmight expect to find him toilingover the dissection of some long-extinct winged mammal.

Then, just when you think youmight have a category for Julian’swork, he shows you his travel photography. Bright, graphic andquite literal, it seems totally incon-gruous with the psyche behind hisfantastic abstract oddities. Andwhile you’re still struggling to reconcile the two personalities,there’s another departure to ablack-and-white world of softened solitude, warm and yet lonely, somewhere along the border ofawake and asleep.

Drawing from multiple disciplines and deep imagination, David Julian’s reality is in the eye of the beholder By Wesley Pitts �� Photography By David Julian

Though David Julian is best knownfor his imaginative photo illustrations, some of his mostrecent work is in a decidedly moreliteral, photojournalistic direction,while retaining the tactile, texturedqualities of his composite images.In the aftermath of HurricaneKatrina, Julian traveled to Louisianato witness the devastation andreturned with a series of imagesthat evoke the disarray and emptiness left in the wake of theflood. LEFT: The remains of a photocollage on the wall of a boy’s roomin Chalmette, La. ABOVE: Interior ofan elementary school classroom inthe Lower Ninth Ward.

a different

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If it sounds like we’re waxing poetic, it’s because we are. With all ofthe digital magic of modern photographic technology, great images stillcome down to the photographer. No amount of technical skill orPhotoshop proficiency can substitute for the insight of the visual poet.

So what makes a mad scientist-photographer-writer-illustrator-philosopher tick?

DPP: Your professional biography begins as a research technician atHarvard’s Biological Labs, which sounds very left brain for a creative.Is it fair to say you have a split personality?

David Julian: Oh, yeah, I can’t even find the cracks anymore.DPP: How did you transition from scientist to artist? Julian: I was never really a scientist, per se. I love science, but the

duality of my personality also pushed me toward art. I first developeda passion for photography when I was sent to the tropics to collectinsects, and I started doing macro work. My job as a designer in NewYork pushed me further toward photography, but I was terrible in thetraditional darkroom. My photographic heroes, photographers like

Man Ray and Jerry Uelsmann, were/are masters in the darkroom, butit wasn’t until Photoshop reached a certain level of maturity in themid-’90s that I was able to really pursue the photographic work that Iwanted to do. Digital imaging allowed me to take the creative leap thatI couldn’t begin to express in the traditional darkroom. I also wantedto find a medium that produced visible results fast enough to keep myideas flowing.

DPP: Photography is one of the most technically dependent artforms. Do you approach the medium methodically, or are you open to chance?

Julian: Both. I plan all of my conceptual pieces on paper first. I do alot of sketching and writing. I’m also very right brain in how I approachmy equipment, in that I overcome the technical hurdles by mastering theoperation of my gear, so that it becomes second nature and I don’t haveto think about it. So I handle my equipment like a scientist, but the cre-ative process is entirely intuitive. I approach my personal photographyfrom a meditative state of awareness whenever possible. It’s easier thanit sounds, and I teach it privately and in some of my workshops.

Photography may seem overly technical today because of the incred-ible technology behind the images. Cameras tend to get more compli-

The concepts behindJulian’s photo illustrationsrange from simple,romantic ideas abouteveryday miracles tomore sophisticated andmysterious compositionsthat aren’t easilyresolved. ABOVE: Thetriptych Fertility is “avisual metaphor forstages of fertility andconception,” says Julian.RIGHT: Transformationblends “romance, mysteryand symbolic science”and invites the viewer toimagine a narrative aboutthe subject.

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cated and sophisticated. I’m glad I explored the basics of photography and cameraoperation before the digital age because I learned simply how to make an accurateimage. With that foundation, I’m less overwhelmed with all of the new equipmentand possibilities.

DPP: Your range of work includes fine-art, editorial and commissioned com-mercial images. How do you decide which David Julian to present to a potentialcorporate client?

Julian: My clients choose the look. They’ve seen the work from my Website orin print and they know who they’re getting. Commercial and editorial art buyersare almost always looking at my illustrations, but if they wander into the fine-artarea of my Website, they often change directions. It’s both a blessing and curse tobe divided this way because it does make me hard to market at times. I try to keepmy commercial work away from the fine-art community to present a clearer mes-sage of intent. Right now, the diversity works well, but in years to come, I may aimtoward a more overall cohesive look.

DPP: Your commercial and editorial photo illustration is perhaps some of yourwildest work. Do you struggle with the confines of a commissioned piece, or doyou like the challenge of working within a set of predetermined boundaries?

Julian: The only predetermined boundary I like is a deadline. What I reallyprefer is a collaborative client who’s not only willing, but wants a dialogue of

ABOVE: Julian’s commissioned workranges from personal to political, but keeps his edge and style.Manipulations by the KGB inAfghanistan was commissioned by The Washington Post. OPPOSITE PAGE:In his Dreams series of images, Julianexplores strange landscapes throughtoned black-and-white images, as inThe Temple of Borobudur. In the foreground, the stone stupas atop theworld’s largest Buddhist Temple drawthe attention, but further examinationdiscovers a double-exposed Buddha“to symbolize the peaceful tranquility Ifelt in this place.” Bible SchoolHymnal, Arabi, Louisiana, 2005, fromthe Katrina series, is an untouchedscenario found on the mud-encrustedcarpet inside a destroyed church. The letters blew in from the adjoiningrooms of a children’s classroom.

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possibilities at the outset, which we refine until we have a clear direction for theproject. I want them to go through a part of the creative process with me when-ever possible. One such client is an art director for filmmaker George Lucas, whoreally understands the collaborative process and loves my diverse abilities.

DPP: Do you have a preference for one body of your work over another? Julian: Well, that’s my problem. I’ve never been able to decide which part of

my work to take away to ease my burden. Some nights I think, Which projectscould I live without, so I could focus on just one or two things? I’ve exposedmyself to a variety of pursuits and now I can’t give up any of them. They all meansomething to me. They all help me know myself and show what I care about tothe world. I want to use my life to be present and creative. It’s all part of my per-sonal process of evolution.

DPP: How do you approach your personal work compared to commissionedimages? Can you take us through the mental process?

Julian: I look at my personal work as a safe haven. I do some creative exer-cises to help me identify my thoughts and reactions, and prepare my intuition forphotography or for my conceptual composite works. It’s similar in effect to whatathletes do before a game. They stretch, focus and sharpen their reactions.

DPP: Your Dreams series of toned black-and-white photography could beviewed as directly opposed to your photo illustration. Where the latter is typicallybold, colorful and active, there’s a quiet, almost isolated feeling in the Dreamsseries. Was this an intentional departure or a natural evolution?

Julian: It’s definitely an intentional departure. The Dreams series is an ongoing

“I wanted to find a way of creatinga powerful visual about the fate offorests,” says Julian about this diptych, The Log Soldiers. He hadphotographed the log pile imagewith a Fuji GX617 panoramic camera while traveling in Maine in 1993. Ten years later, on theOlympic peninsula in Washington,Julian saw the fleet of loggingtrucks and returned with hisNoblex camera to finish the image he had long wanted tomake. He chose the Noblex for its dramatic distortion.

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body of work—a place wherein I canbe totally intuitive with my eye andrespond to what’s in front of me ratherthan preconceive. It’s a very medita-tive way of working, and creating thework evokes for me what you’re see-ing into it. Some of the visual languageis from images in my own dreams,which I’ve then subsequently foundsymbolized in the real world and triedto capture in photographs. I tendtoward the dark side of beauty, and asmuch as my early teachers tried tosquelch it, I can’t be who I’m not.

DPP: As a creative who hasexplored a variety of media, you’reobviously comfortable with a big tool-box. On what digital tools do you relymost heavily?

Julian: A fast Macintosh withPhotoshop CS2, a calibrated monitor,my beloved Wacom Intuos3 tablet andtwo terabytes of fast RAID storage arethe basis of my digital darkroom. I’mnow shooting with a Canon EOS 5D, aPentax 67 and an old folding camera. Iuse Imacon 343 and Nikon 9000 scan-ners for importing film images and anEpson 7800 Stylus Pro wide-formatprinter for printmaking.

DPP: In addition to your own work,you’re also an instructor of creativephotography workshops. Has teachinginfluenced your photography?

Julian: Yes, in that I watch stu-dents who work and think differentlythan I do, and I can often learn abouthow others solve problems fromobserving them. I tend to attract stu-dents who want more than “how-to”workflows and “tips and tricks” learn-ing, though I instruct on thoseprocesses as well. I approach myteaching more as a facilitator andcoach to identify and empower what’salready within each student’s uniquepersonality. I teach them a lot of pho-tography and digital technique aswell, but with a foundation of pureinspired motivation and intuitiveexperimentation. I have studentsranging from creative high-school

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grads to seasoned working pros—allof whom report that they benefitgreatly from methods that take themfurther in their craft as artists,thinkers and craftsmen.

DPP: What do you think yourportfolio will emphasize five yearsfrom now?

Julian: Fine-art photography anda lot more “straight,” lightly manipu-lated work. I’ll also be marketing dif-ferently. I’m at the point where I wantto be more selective with the commer-cial work I take on. I want to selectcommercial clients based on how wellthey fit into what I’m already doing,and the creative challenge of the proj-ect will be the carrot for me.

My Katrina project was a kick-startin a new direction for me as well. I didit to use my photographic eye toexpress my sentiments and the vic-tims’ loss of connection. I want toinspire people to use their photogra-phy to make personal creative state-ments, address issues and take risks. Iwant my future work to have more ofa social and spiritual benefit wheneverpossible. I see our role as photogra-phers and artists not to make attrac-tive pictures with which to decorateour lives, but to make a personal con-tribution using art as the medium. I’minspired by many traditional photog-raphers and brilliant photojournalistslike James Nachtwey, SebastiãoSalgado and Mary Ellen Mark, byenvironmentally conscious artists likeSubhankar Banerjee, Richard Misrachand Chris Jordan and by expressivethinkers such as Keith Carter andRobert and Shana ParkeHarrison.

There’s no reason why digitalartists can’t create important, mean-ingful work using such wondrousnew tools. It’s only our hearts andminds that think, feel, create andexpress. We must select the right toolsfor our expressions. DPP

To see more of David Julian’s photogra-phy, visit www.davidjulian.com.