Jennifer McClure

Let's start with a two part question! Can you tell us a bit about your path to fine art photography? And, beyond "photographer", how would you describe who you are?

I picked up a camera at an early age and loved everything about the process. We moved frequently, and photographs were proof that the friendships and places I cared about existed. I had no idea that I could take pictures as a career. I was a voracious reader and thought I might be an English Literature professor, until I realized I’d spend a lot of time writing papers no one else might read. I floundered after college. I moved to New York City thinking there was no better place to figure out what I wanted to be. I tried a number of different jobs, including interning at a magazine and a film production office. Mostly I waited tables and bartended. Eventually I felt a strong need to find something, anything, that I was passionate about, and that was photography. It was a language that I understood but didn’t yet know how to speak. I started taking classes at SVA and ICP when I could afford them, and it’s been a long, slow road.

After years of learning technique, I found my way to storytelling. I took some self portraits after an accident, and I was able to see myself and my situation differently. Photography led me on a path of discovery and I trusted the process enough to follow. Now I use photography to make sense of all the big questions in my life. I feel incredibly lucky that people relate to my work, but it illustrates the old idea that the more specific you are, the more general you will be. I worked in restaurants up until recently, when I got pregnant. Bartending supported my photo career. Since then, I’ve been taking care of my daughter and teaching a lot more. And making pictures as fast as I can while my daughter changes by the minute.

You Who Never Arrived (oh how I love this title!), is an exploration into your past relationships, and from what I understand, it helped you to see your patterns. I'm so intrigued by the ways in which the creation of art can show us the deepest parts of ourselves, and act as a sort of therapy. Is that how this project felt? Or were you already on the other side of it before you created the work?

I thought I knew what the project was about before I started. I photographed the breakups of my previous relationships, thinking I would find out what all the men I dated had in common and avoid that in the future. A Raymond Carver story called “Gazebo” was my inspiration. The couple in the story locks themselves in a motel room to hash out whether or not they’ll stay together. The impersonal hotel room setting seemed perfect for reenacting the end of relationships that I barely lived in. Along the way, the stand-ins and I sometimes began speaking to each other as the characters from my past. The conversations were revelations. I had no idea how selfish and closed off I was. After looking at the series as a group, I saw that I had put myself in the middle of many of the portraits. And that was the problem exactly! I lived in a fantasy world where I was the main character. Relationships are dialogues, not monologues. I was so mortified to discover this that I stopped making the work.

Tell us about the Women's Photo Alliance!

I started the Women’s Photo Alliance in 2015 as a way for female and female-identifying photographers to network. I really love going to portfolio reviews, mostly for the intense interactions with so many other people who are as passionate about photography as I am. But they are very expensive to attend on a regular basis. I also researched and was appalled by the gender disparity of artists represented in the gallery and museum world. I thought perhaps we could create our own opportunities for showing work. We were much more active in the beginning, meeting to go to galleries and shows and hosting a showcase of juried work. But life and the pandemic got in the way. Now we’re active mostly on Facebook and Instagram. I’m glad that we’ve created a safe space for women to ask questions and connect. I’m so, so proud of the beautiful work we’ve been able to share on Instagram.

What are three things that bring you comfort when you're feeling down?

My husband, helping other people, and Schitt’s Creek.

What is an act of kindness that was given to you that had a large impact on your life?

There are so many, and many of them were given before I could appreciate what they meant. One thing that stands out is an editing session I had with a well-known magazine editor. She had seen my work at a portfolio review and wasn’t really into it. But then she came into the restaurant where I worked and we talked. She invited me over to reedit the work. I was so afraid to take her up on the offer that I kept putting it off. But when I finally did, she made it into something so much better than I knew it could be. I felt something resembling confidence about my own work, which was new.

These are a few of my favorite things…

Book(s):When Things Fall Apart, Pema Chodron , What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, Raymond Carver, Just Kids, Patti Smith, All About Love, Bell Hooks, 60 Stories, Donald Barthelme, A Lover’s Discourse, Roland Barthes.

Album or Song(s): Falling, Harry Styles, Here Comes the Sun, Nina Simone, Anything by REM, Once in a Lifetime, Talking Heads, Someone Like You, Adele.

Place(s): NYC, Paris, Iceland, Portland and the Caribbean.

Movie(s): The Godfather, Rushmore, Nomadland, In the Mood for Love, Waiting for Guffman, Roma, Anchorman, Lost in Translation, The Notebook, Hale County This Morning This Evening, The Florida Project.

Janelle Lynch

Cig Harvey