TCF Ep. 240 - Zun Lee

The Candid Frame: Conversations on Photography

Ibarionex R. Perello

Arts, Visual Arts

4.8 • 768 Ratings

🗓️ 14 July 2014

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Zun Lee a self-taught photographer who picked up a camera in 2009. He has been an artist and storyteller since he was little but then life got in the way. Making pictures is his way of reclaiming his artistic side. He is the quintessential nomad. He was born and raised in Germany, has lived in various parts of the USA and is currently based in Toronto, Canada. That sense of wanderlust, of being uprooted, has never left him. He doesn't anchor his concept of “home” to a familiar physical space – home is a state of mind I enter wherever he's inspired to create the work he wants, or when he's surrounded by people he cares about. As a clinician, he is trained to work with people at their most vulnerable who grant him permission to invade their privacy. As a result, he has always had an intense interest in the dynamics of trust and control when it comes to that interaction. At best, it can reveal a unique connection, a kind of truth that would otherwise not be foregrounded. When a human being connects with another and - even if for a split second - relinquishes a certain level of control, it is fascinating that complete strangers can share an alternate truth about themselves that was hidden not only to others, but perhaps even to themselves. It is in these moments that individual emotion transcends the personal realm and gains universally understood context. As a photographer, these are the moments he is after. Stories of connection that reveal themselves in a single glance or over a period of years. Resources: http://www.zunlee.com/ http://www.eugenerichards.com/ http://ibarionex.net/thecandidframe info@thecandidframe.com

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is E.Barihanx and welcome to the Candid Frame.
0:03.0	You can now download the latest episode of the Candid Frame directly to your smartphone or
0:17.5	tablet using the Candid Frame app.
0:20.7	Available for Apple iOS, Android, and Windows 8, you can automatically receive and listen to the
0:27.3	latest episode, minutes after it's released.
0:30.9	Mark and download your favorites or send your comments and suggestions directly to me via
0:36.6	the app.
0:39.7	Download it today using your favorite app store or click on the links in the show notes found at the Candid Frame website.
0:49.3	When a photographer is asked why they make pictures, The response is often about how the camera provides
0:56.4	the user the opportunity to express his or herself. Follow up that question with one that
1:03.2	asks, what exactly are they trying to say? And many can be left scratching their chin,
1:09.1	stumbling over words in an attempt to provide a proper response.
1:14.4	It's an important question to ask ourselves because the answer informs what we photograph and why and how we do it.
1:22.7	Some people may be more than happy to produce images that just look good.
1:27.3	While others of us want to take that powerful creative tool to... People may be more than happy to produce images that just look good.
1:33.2	While others of us want to take that powerful creative tool to express something personal in the hopes that the viewer will recognize and appreciate something about themselves in the work.
1:40.4	For a photographer, June Lee, that question resulted in him exploring his own personal history and feelings of his parentage through the images of African American fathers.
1:52.0	The revelation that the man who had raised him was not actually his father and that his biological father was black led him to have to face issues of identity, fatherhood, and family secrets.
2:05.4	The result is a project that is as much about the photographer as it is the men and their families that are captured so beautifully in June's photographs.
2:16.7	We began the conversation by asking him how he was led to create this impressive body of work.
2:26.3	You know, just first off, right off the bat, I didn't even intend for this project, Father Fager, to be a personal project or a long-form project to begin with.
2:40.0	It was more of an exploration that started about three years ago.
	...

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