In order to keep our finger so firmly on the pulse of ‘yoof kultcha’, Platform reads a lot of blogs. It was while looking at all the cute cats and party photos that we came across a guy called Jack Greer.
Jack, it turns out, is our kind of guy, he’s a 23 year old photographer and occasional skateboarder from New York, which ain’t no thang in itself, as there’s a million of those guys. The thing that sets Jack apart from the flickr’ing masses is that he uses disposable cameras, and if you know Platform, you’ll know we love disposable cameras. He also doesn’t even put his photos on the internet, he makes photo zines in really small numbers (sometimes as little as four) for his friends. The subject matter he covers is also pretty much what we’re into - hanging out, screwing around and having fun.
We got in contact with Jack to talk to him and hassled him to shoot a few rolls for us. He was a friendly guy and sent us some shots and answered our questions like a real trooper.
Hello Jack, tell us a little about yourself..
I grew up in Los Angeles, off Venice BLVD, in the heart of west LA near Culver City. I was never shy, I actually was quite loud and popular growing up. I’m an only child and therefore I always was geared towards finding a group or crew to associate with…I became a sort of gatherer…I didn’t get my anxiety and shyness until I was out of high school, somewhat backwards in comparison to most artists.
Can you say what your photos are about?
My pictures are about my friends… They aren’t meant to be promoting them, critical of them, or sad. I am lucky enough to be around people who do things that I find exciting enough to photograph. I’m trying to display adolescence as a period of pride, carelessness, energy and confusion…little big men and women. If there was a word for it, I bet there is, but I am not aware of it, I find myself concerned with nostalgia for events that haven’t grown old yet. I’m nostalgic for the moments I experience currently. Maybe it’s an unhealthy hyperawareness, but that also allows me to recognize when I want to take a picture.
What kind of things do you and your friends do that make the photos so interesting?
My friends and I spend a lot of time outdoors, rummaging about, climbing around, causing problems. I find activity to be the most important thing in my life…I just can’t stand still, it’s actually quite depressing.