Exploring 'Crisis of Experience' & 'IF': An Interview with Artist J.K. Lavin
J.K. Lavin’s work is a time capsule of identity and self-discovery, flipping the lens on herself and capturing through the tactile mediums of Polaroids and photobooth strips, long before selfies or Instagram filters came to define the digital age. Her series Crisis of Experience (1979-1987) turned daily SX70 Polaroid snapshots into a personal journal of emotional highs and lows, while IF (1977) used photobooth strips to critique the beauty standards pushed by advertising. Decades later, her work feels more relevant than ever in a world obsessed with digital perfection.
Lavin, based in Venice, California, and represented by Alta Vista Arts gallery, has been included in exhibitions and art fairs around the world, from Boston to Paris and Spain. Her work resonates now more than ever, as it confronts the way we document, manipulate, and present our identities in an age of hyperconnectivity.
We sat down with Lavin for an exclusive interview to dive into her process and reflections on today’s digital landscape.
Crisis of Experience
What inspired you to start taking daily Polaroid self-portraits in Crisis of Experience, and how did it help you cope with your life back then?
J.K.: Before the internet existed, we would learn what other artists were doing in conversation with each other, or you saw an exhibition or a publication, or someone you knew told you about an exhibition or a publication that they had seen. Vaguely I recall hearing about an artist who was taking a photograph daily, and it might not have been a self-portrait. I have been curious about who that might have been and continue to be interested in artists working with “daily practice”. I chose the Polaroid SX70 because it was comparable to the way we use our cellphones now to photograph or record things. I created a few rules for making the photograph. In the beginning I thought I would take the photo at the same time every day, not realizing how impractical that would be with my erratic schedule of work and classes. Being a fan of John Cage, I chose to use randomness and chance as I thought it might create something more intuitive. That one ritualistic moment of holding the camera, turning it towards myself, being both photographer and subject, was just about myself being present with the camera. I was recording my existence, inserting myself into the making of the photograph with my breathing and any movement I might make in the longer exposures. After a few months, I took the Polaroids to my therapist and as I laid them out together, I realized that hardly any were in focus. That was how I felt, and it became a visual journal of my emotional life.
How do the issues explored in IF, through your photobooth portraits, connect with the impact of social media on young women now?
J.K: When I created the series IF, all of the images in the photographs that I am holding and comparing myself to are taken from fashion magazine ads at that time. The larger-than-life size perfect eyes, the hands with beautiful impeccable nails are both seductive and intimidating, sending the message that we, the viewer could be perfect if we used that particular product.
The only thing that has changed since that time is the medium. Now, we spend many hours a day consumed by our screens where social media provides a significantly large marketplace of images for us to view and analyse. Young women compare themselves to each other, to celebrities, to actresses on TV, or models. Confronted with meticulously crafted and curated images on social media, women often struggle with body image and feeling inadequate.
IF
In a world full of digital photos, what do you hope viewers experience or feel when they see the original Polaroids from Crisis of Experience?
J.K.: Each SX70 Polaroid is a unique object rather than living on a screen. The original Polaroids are personal artifacts and evidence of my existence. I would like the experience to be as if you are reading a page of someone’s diary, sharing an emotion from that private and very personal moment. I hope that they might relate one of the self-portraits to a feeling or experience of their own, or wonder what happened on that day, or where was the photo taken or what time of day or night.
What advice would you give to young artists who are exploring self-portraiture and themes of identity in their work?
J.K.: Give yourself permission to explore and create however you want and whatever you are drawn to. Experiment with any medium or process that interests you. Take chances. Be honest and authentic. Don’t feel pressure to share your work unless you’re comfortable with that. It’s a complex and rewarding journey and it takes courage to be in front of the camera and expose who we are, our perfectly imperfect selves. Regardless of the impetus for beginning this project years ago, and that one moment when I thought it was too personal to be of interest to anyone, nearly throwing it all away, it has been a source of inspiration and revelation. For me, this is a life-long journey and I am still trying to learn and understandmyself and who I am as an artist.
Words / Amelia Davidson