Christian Patterson

August 30, 2007

I love the simplicity and the evocative work of Christian Patterson. Christian Patterson is an American photographer located in New York City. Few years ago he worked with the legendary fine art photographer William Eggleston and in a way you can see the influence of Eggleston in his work. Christian plays a significant role with the Eggleston Trust, including developing William Eggleston's ace website. I found an interview with Patterson at the excellent but discontinued blog Coincidences.

I've learned more about photography from looking at things, following my instinct, and just doing what I love. My work is very organic, in the sense that I have no formal art education or training. I've learned by doing, by looking, by experimenting, and by having an open mind. So my work comes from a very personal place.

I think the most important thing I've learned is that it's about your own experiences, who you are, and therefore your attitude, style, and vision, and just doing what feels right. - Christian Patterson

During the time he lived in Memphis, Patterson began working on his first project, Sound Affects, which explores Memphis as a musical place. Christian Patterson works by instinct, examining the streets for the evocative colors that reveal the unique quality of a place. Patterson's photographs in Sound Affects are the residues of the city of Memphis, steeped in its musical history.

In 2004, Patterson was included in the PDN30 list as one of the new notable emerging photographers. He is currently represented by Yancey Richardson Gallery in New York and Robert Koch Gallery in San Francisco. Patterson writes in the popular photography blog called Speak, See, Remember.

I am not completely opposed to shooting a group of photographs as a pre-meditated project. But I have yet to identify a project that I am passionate about, that I feel a strong personal connection with, and that says something about me. I need that personal connection. A theme or a project idea does not necessarily make for great work…I prefer to shoot the work first, as it hits me, and as it moves me, and establish the connections later. - Christian Patterson