Christian Patterson

About Episode 87

In this episode of PhotoWork with Sasha Wolf, Sasha engages in an honest and deeply personal conversation with photographer Christian Patterson. They delve into the creation of “Redheaded Peckerwood” (MACK) and his latest book, “Gong Co.” (TBW Books & Éditions Images Vevey). Christian offers a thorough description of his intricate process and motivations for these long-term projects, providing nearly step-by-step insights. He also reflects on his years working with William Eggleston and the nuanced ways in which that experience did, and did not,  influence his artistic direction.

About Christian Patterson

Christian Patterson was born in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin and lives in New York, New York. His visually layered work has been described as novelistic, subjective documentary of the historical past, and often deals with themes of the archive, authorship, memory, place and time. Photographs are the heart of his multidisciplinary work, which includes drawings, paintings, objects, video and sound. Patterson is the author of four books, including Sound Affects (2008), Redheaded Peckerwood (2011, Recontres d’Arles Author Book Award), Bottom of the Lake (2015,Shortlist, Aperture-Paris Photo Book of the Year), and the forthcoming Gong Co. (2024). He is a Guggenheim Fellow (2013), winner of the Grand Prix Images Vevey (2015), a New York Public Library Picture Collection Artist Fellow (2022) and James Castle House Resident (2023). His work is in the collections of the National Gallery of Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), J. Paul Getty Museum, Milwaukee Art Museum, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and Ogden Museum of Southern Art, and his books are in many institutional artist book collections. He has lectured, mentored and taught widely. He is represented by Rose Gallery, Santa Monica, USA and Robert Morat Galerie, Berlin, Germany.

Which book that you have been involved with is a favorite or one you continue to revisit?

Honestly, I don’t look at photography books all that much. When I was younger, I looked outside myself much more, and photobooks were an important source of information and inspiration. Now that I’m older, I’ve found more of myself through my own work and have my own sense of direction. For the past several years, I’ve been looking at the work of James Castle, Ray Johnson, and Claes Oldenburg; I feel some kinship with those artists’ aesthetic and material qualities. 

Of my own books, I’m currently most interested in my latest one, Gong Co. It’s the most personal work I’ve made, even if in a somewhat allusive way, and I honestly believe it’s my best work yet. But I don’t tend to revisit my own work; when I do that, it’s always from the perspective of having moved on, with the feeling that I’m looking at some earlier, former version of myself. 

What advice do you have for emerging photographers / artists?

Take your time.

Is there an image by another photographer that has influenced you in your career?

As many know, I got my start working with William Eggleston. His photograph “Greenwood, Mississippi” (1973), informally known as “The Red Ceiling,” will always be captivating to me; it absolutely vibrates with a sinister, blood-red energy. 

I’ve also always loved the enigmatic qualities of some of Paul Outerbridge’s still lifes, including “Saltine Box” (1922) and “Abstraction in Angles” (1923), which have directly inspired some of my own still life compositions. 

Artist Links:

Website
Instagram

People & Resources:

William Eggleston, Terrence Malick, Karen Irvine, Dennis Wheatley, Joseph Gluckstein Links

Gong Co.

Bottom of the Lake

Redheaded Peckerwood