Artist Interview: Jefferson Pinder

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Jefferson Pinder: I've always had this fascination with the city, you know, with D.C., you know, because you find yourself there through it, and, it's, it's always kind of fascinating how when you drive down the streets, how the street lights change from yellow to this, this gray, this dark gray and all these trees kind of shade the street, kind of make it seem almost like, um, um, a different environment, you know, and I, I, I've always been fascinated with that, you know, just kind of like this going from, from one location to the other, you know, it's almost like the, the tale of two worlds.

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We grew up in, I guess, the suburbs of D.C. Both my parents worked in D.C. so it was kind of like an interesting, uh, separation, I think. My mom was a D.C. schoolteacher for over thirty years and I remember when she would take me into the school and how, um, just how, how intense, you know, her experience was, every day, coming in, into D.C, you know, the 70s and the 80s and what she had to deal with but, uh, my experience to it was a lot different.

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Mine was, was, you know, watching TV after school, you know, a latch key kid coming back home and, really getting into, I guess, the suburban life and, and, and that's what a lot of my work has to deal with is with this, is like, this duality of, um, of environment, you know, of, of putting yourself in one place and, and, and being attached to that environment but at the same time, kind of standing out from it.

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Benjamin Bloom: As an artist, what, what other visual artists have influenced and inspired you?

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Jefferson Pinder: As an artist, Stan Breckridge, you know, his film work, inspires me, and I don't, I don't know why that name popped out first but it did. Romare Bearden with his collage work certainly, I mean, Bearden, uh, Rauschenberg, David Driskell, are three really big, influences on my, I guess, more, more of my collage work and, and my still work but, I think about, you know, film making, Spike Lee, you know, walk in, to, "Do the Right Thing" and just, like, I'm not sure what to expect but knowing that it dealt with identity and then walking out thinking, "Oh, my God, that was, that was, that was a pill," you know, and that was just, you know, being blown away.

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Just not sure of, of, if I was the same person going in to that experience as I, as leaving it. So, a lot of my work has to deal with, you know, just connecting with these people and in, in some way, like, you know, in finding these moments, finding the, you know, the best moments in, in, in film and in video, and, and trying to portray it, you know, and not necessarily making it pretty but, but capturing the, the essence of, of a good moment.

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Of old films, like, family home movies is, is, has been big inspiration for me because, I remember those old 8 millimeter, reels and those are the reels that, like, some of my most precious thoughts are, you know, are, I guess, loaded on or, you know, I guess, or are captured on, and using that same medium to, to, to communicate something about, something that's contemporary is, is, is interesting because it, it, it gives it a, a, a nostalgia as well. So, so you're moving forward and, you know, and you're thinking about contemporary issues but you're using this, this archival medium and trying, to, to capture the essence of a particular moment.

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And sometime I, I, I just think there is nothing more poetic than seeing, like, um, a moving image and, and a palette of, of 8 millimeter, super 8 millimeter film and, and it says a lot about our youth and, and growing up in, in, in the suburbs, this idea of capturing time, you know, through film.
Benjamin Bloom: I was reading your website and it said, it, it had a statement there that said, "I, I mind the media," and, how would you, how would you explain that?

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Jefferson Pinder: Well a couple ways, you know? I keep it open because it is, um, about, um, mining it, you know, making sure that in some way that someone's watching it,

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and it could be about like, you know, getting into it, and getting down and dirty, and using it and harnessing it, um, to create or to find truth, um, even if it's in a video piece.

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You know, it's just like, well, um, what kind of, you know, does the image have to be beautiful, you know, does it have to be pretty? No! Does have to be palatable, can it be, like, as slow as paint dripping,

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or you know, drying on the wall. Yeah, maybe, and you gotta bear with it because that's life, I mean cause this is real time, real media, you know, and some of the stuff, you know, like with Car Wash,

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and with Invisible Man. It's about, you know, being in it inside of an experience, and I keep myself, like, minimal for that reason. Um, I keep myself- um, I create this small performance,

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so it becomes more than me, and so, um, you're forced to make these decisions of who I am, you know, and that as an African American man, I mean, you fill in the blank, "Who? What is that?"

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I don't know how many times people have looked at me and said, "You look so angry!" and I'm just like, "I'm just being me!" I mean, I am just, like, focusing on something, and I'm focusing on a thought,

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and I'm just trying to be empty, you know? So if they're filling me with this hatred, it's not something that was on my mind, like, you know, "I'm going to look like, you know, the toughest brother you've ever seen."

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No! I'm just gonna be still, and this is gonna be my passive resistance, you know? Let's see how you hang with me as far as like, you know, trying to push myself as far outta this as possible.

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Benjamin Bloom: Does this hip-hop music or hip-hop culture effect your work, generally? How would you say you are influenced or not influenced by hip-hop?

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Jefferson Pinder: I think that you can't, you can't not be influenced by hip-hop. You know, I can't say that that's all I listen to, that's all I'm interested in.

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But I can tell you that - it speaks to my generation like no other music. I mean, we define this, we define this music source. And in some ways it's getting commercialized, it's changing.

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But I think there's still some torch bearers, you know, who are really doing some interesting and innovative work and that's what I'm drawn to.

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I'm drawn to the artists that are creating work that speaks more toward an experience than individual, selfish desires, you know, it kind of speaks more toward identity, like my work,

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and that's what I'm drawn to. I'm not an expert, I wish I was. I'm an artist. But I feel that this is our heart beat, this is the tempo, of our generation. And just as a doctor has to feel something out,

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I feel like I had to put my finger on this pulse. I might not be intimate of all the actions that are going on, but I can feel the pulse.

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And I use that, that pulse, and I use it almost formally. But for my work, it's coming from a point of view that aesthetically it's working so well with who we are as a people.

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And you don't have to be a genius to figure that out, just turn on a TV set, go to a movie, listen to the music that's played, and you look at the billboards,

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and ask kids, 7th, 8th graders what they're listening to and what they like. You know, and I think they like it because I think it's connected to something that's a little bit more real.