Lolo Montana Cargo by Patrick Warner

More about Patrick Warner

ON THE
TECHNICAL
SIDE

How did you choose your means of expression?

I’ve always like cinema and film, so photography seemed like a natural extension of that. One of my favorite filmmakers, Stanley Kubrick started off his career as a photographer when he was a kid. I found his street photography work and decided to take the plunge into photography.

Is this medium secondary to or closely linked to your subject?

Closely linked, you can’t have the picture without the medium.

What material do you use and why?

I used a Mamiya 7 rangefinder camera, a tripod, and Kodak Portra 400 film.

How does a work session take shape?

Generally, I just set some time aside and go take pictures or it’s just spontaneous. I’ll either be something locally or I’ll pick a location in Montana and drive there.

Can you explain to me how your work has evolved since starting out?

I feel like I have an understanding of how to take a mundane scene in a picture and make it more interesting because of light. If anything has changed, it’s my understanding about how natural light works with a taking a picture.

ON A
PERSONAL
NOTE

Do your origins and culture play a role in the works that you produce?

My home state of Montana where I was born, definitely has been influential on the work. I guess my work is a reflection on my perspective on the state as I grow older.

Which events have influenced you most?

Working as an EMT on the Fort Belknap Indian reservation exposed me to a different part of the state in the east. It felt like I was on the moon compared to where I live.

What are your sources of inspiration?

A lot of things. Music, film, photography, just good art in general. But definitely a good photo book or stumbling on really good photographing is always inspiring.

Are there any anecdotes that enable the genesis of your work to be understood?

I don’t know, all those moments of frustration on the road lead me from one place to another which lead to an interesting photograph. In a big state like Montana, there’s always something there to photograph that hasn’t been photographed before.

Are current events taken into account in your production or do you distance yourself from them?

Current events in the states are pretty political at the moment and I don’t really see that in any of my work. I generally just follow my gut and go from there.

ON A MORE
PHILOSOPHICAL
NOTE

Are your works more of a dialogue, a trace or a denunciation?

Maybe a dialogue in some about how people tend to view the western United States, but I like to see it as a trace or a feeling I get when I go out for a drive in Montana to take pictures. It’s not necessarily a happy or sad feeling.

How do you view human beings, and consequently your work?

Personally, I think people are complicated. Portraits can capture an aspect of a subject, but not really their nature. I haven’t taken portraits in the last few years and I intend to get back into it, but right now, they’re apart of the larger landscape.

How would you compare your last work with the next?

The next might be more painful to make, but hopefully more satisfying that the last.

Is art poetry or social intervention?

Maybe it’s all poetic justice.

IN
CONCLUSION

How do you view your own work?

Always a work in progress

What are your current and future projects?

I’m thinking about something with the change in the environment and the political landscape here in Montana.

Do you have anything else to add? I’ll let you have the last word…

I always appreciate anyone who looks at my work. The fact that anyone spends time looking at my stuff is mind-boggling to me. So thank you.