| Leah Oates: When did you know you would be a photographer? Will Steacy: There was a single experience in my life which had the most profound effect on me and from that night on, I vowed to devote my life to this thing inside me. In 2003 I was almost murdered in a robbery. I was working in a sneaker store, and two guys came in before closing and put a gun to my head, tied me up, dragged me down to the basement and robbed the place. As I lay on that floor with a gun to my head, I thought that was it; I thought I was going to die. But as I lay there, I closed my eyes. Suddenly this thing swept through me. I can’t describe it with words really, because there are none that describe its magnitude… |
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Will Steacy, interviewed by Leah Oates
Leah Oates: When did you know you would be a photographer?
Will Steacy: There was a single experience in my life which had the most profound effect on me and from that night on, I vowed to devote my life to this thing inside me. In 2003 I was almost murdered in a robbery. I was working in a sneaker store, and two guys came in before closing and put a gun to my head, tied me up, dragged me down to the basement and robbed the place. As I lay on that floor with a gun to my head, I thought that was it; I thought I was going to die. But as I lay there, I closed my eyes. Suddenly this thing swept through me. I can’t describe it with words really, because there are none that describe its magnitude, but this thing told me that it was not my time to die; I had not done yet what I was put on this earth to do; I had not even begun it, and then this wave swept away as quickly as it came. When I opened my eyes the guys were gone, and obviously I was still alive. That thing that I had not yet begun was my art. That night changed my life. In my eyes that night was one of the greatest nights of my life. Since then I have devoted everything I have to my art, this gift, this thing that is the reason I am alive. Shit, I was supposed to die that night. I should be dead. Coming that close to death will change a man. Life has had a new meaning since then, and I wake up every day happy to be alive, happy to chase this dream, to follow this thing.
LO: Please explain the themes in your artwork and your working process.
WS: Lately I have been fascinated by this thing called America. There is just so much happening right now in our country, and I am interested in the events that have led up to our current situation, and the things that are happening right now which will determine the direction America goes for next 50 years. America for some reason, has turned itself into a prime-time game show, and I just can’t stop watching. Shit, they just may call my name next, “Will Steacy, come on down. You are the next contestant on the Great American Experiment.”
I write and think a lot. My desk and shelves are filled with little black books full of ideas, notes, stories, and experiences. These raw and fractured ideas or observations are always the starting point of my work. I am constantly looking and writing, looking and writing, and then referring back to my notes. These are the basis for most of my photographs, the ideas or gestures I want to explore visually with my camera. I have books filled with endless shot lists. I think writing and photography are two incredibly similar mediums, and to be honest, there are times when I am happy with a photograph existing only as words in my notebooks. There are times when these words mean more to me than a photograph, and I am happy and content to leave them as words. Perhaps deep down I am a writer who enjoys using the camera as a pen.
LO: Your images deal with working-class people and environments in the United States, and have a melancholy side to them. How did you come to this theme in your artistic practice?
WS: I suppose you could say that my work has a strong documentary approach to it. But I don’t really like these labels and categories, and I feel that at this point in the evolution of photography and the art world, you are seeing artists work in many different mediums with their hands dirty in many ideas and methods outside of their particular field. I think that my work and ideas are born and grow from the seed of social outrage, the things that don’t sit right with me, and the things that ultimately I can’t stop thinking about so they make their way into my work. But I don’t consider myself a documentary photographer, and I think that I look at social matters with a conceptual approach, addressing particular issues and concerns.
The working-class people, as you refer to them, the workingman is the victim lab rat of this great experiment called America. America is founded upon a man at the top of the pyramid shitting in a bucket and then handing it down to the man below him, then that guy shits in the bucket and hands it down to the man below him. As each man takes his turn shitting in the bucket and handing it down, it eventually reaches the man at the bottom and that is the workingman. The workingman is given a bucket of shit filled so high that there is no room for him to shit, and no one below him to hand the bucket down to, so he is stuck with it. He has no other option or choice, and he is forced to eat and deal with everyone else’s shit, everyone else’s mistakes, failures, miscalculations, and selfishness. And, well, that ain’t cool with me. This bucket of shit or perhaps a nice way of referring to it is the trickle down society we have built our politics and economy on, doesn’t work for everyone, and problems can’t just be pushed downward, swept under the carpet and forgotten about. It takes Americans the absolute worst to realize that there is problem, and usually at that point the pile of forgotten problems under the carpet have become so big that the carpet looks like the tiny white snow cap on top of a mountain. And by then it is too late.
LO: Are your series based on the locations or the people that you meet? How do you select a location or person to photograph?
WS: I don’t think my series are necessary based on a single location, except of course my work in New Orleans after the flood. Most of my projects are shot in many locations, various cities, various towns, and ultimately I think they become one collective place. In my recent project Down These Mean Streets, where I am walking at night from the airport to central business district in American cities at night, I think each city blends into the next and becomes one place. The focus of this work is the American inner city and while a palm tree in L.A. or a casino in Atlantic City may allude to a specific geographic location, in the end the project speaks to larger issues that have impacted our cities as a whole. While making the work, it was remarkable how similar each city is. And perhaps that is because all of our cities have been plagued by similar problems, the loss of a local economy as jobs have fled to a global market, white flight, infrastructure in disrepair as streets and buildings are crumbling, the localization of the poor into one condensed area, aka the projects, and ultimately all of the social problems that result from these factors—no jobs and no work leads to depression, and lack of self-worth leads to drug and alcohol abuse as the drug game becomes a dominant force and a viable source for income, but of course with a heavy risk as gangs, violence, and murder dictate the rules of the street. And that’s just the surface of it all. In all of my projects I am interested in the history of a place, what has happened, what has caused the outcome of what is in front of my camera. I don’t necessarily see a huge difference between my connection to a street corner or a specific individual; they both have a unique personality, character, history, and a certain vibe. I am very big on vibes, and I rely greatly on those vibes; I trust my instincts as my own experiences provide a foundation to work from.
