Justine reyes biography
Reno Rebirth profile: Justine Reyes
WHY WE’RE PROFILING HER
I was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Reno. I returned to L.A. upon graduating from high school to sign with Wilhelmina West Modeling Agency and later William Morris Agency. I was fortunate enough to appear in numerous national commercials and print campaigns and had the No. 1 selling poster in America during the mid-’80s, which led to several features on national programs such as the Bob Hope and PM Magazine. During the ’90s, I traveled extensively throughout the United States performing with my band. I also performed on the Celebrity Tour for our troops on bases in Korea as well as American Day in Japan.
HOW DID YOU GET THIS GREAT JOB?
I have been in the entertainment business my entire life. When I had children, I stopped working in front of the camera and on stage to be a mom. A couple of years after having my children, I began teaching at a large performing arts school where I later became director of operations. I left in 2007 to pursue opening my own training center. I wanted to create a program that was more affordable and accessible to all. In 2009, Take 2 Performers Studio was born.
WHAT DO YOU DO EVERY DAY?
On most days, I monitor classrooms, meet with new students and parents and answer questions about the industry regarding resumes, headshots, work permits, auditions, etc. I am also a licensed talent agent, so I am submitting clients on a daily basis for commercials, print, pilots and feature films.
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO WORK IN RENO?
After 13 years in L.A., I was ready to return to Reno. My family is here and I was ready for a slightly slower pace.
WHAT WOULD YOU TELL A KID WHO WANTS TO DO THIS?
For kids wanting to open a performing arts school or talent agency, I would say learn the business first. I believe Take 2 Performers Studio and Tru Talent Agency are successful because each and every person working there has worked in the industry for years either in front of by Monica Khemsurov On occasion the editors of Sight Unseen spot a story about creativity told from a viewpoint that’s not unlike our own. This one was originally posted at The Morning News, and you can view the full article and image slideshow here. Interview by Rosencrans Baldwin Taking inspiration from Dutch vanitas paintings, photographer Justine Reyes’s latest series “Vanitas” creates still lifes from contemporary objects, getting the composition, textures, and colors so precisely “right,” it’s a wonder we’re not seeing some 17th-century Flemish take on contemporary life. Justine Reyes lives and works in New York. In 2000 she received BFA from Syracuse University and in 2004 she received her MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute. Reyes has shown her work both nationally and internationally. She participated in Proyecto Circo at the 8th Havana Biennial in Havana, Cuba, and took part in Contemporary Istanbul in Istanbul, Turkey. In 2008 Reyes was an artist in residence at both St. Mary’s College of Maryland and at the Center for Photography at Woodstock, where her series “Vanitas” began; it is currently showing there through Feb. 28, 2010. How did Vanitas begin? How long has vanitas painting held an allure for you? At least to me, Vanitas still lifes look like memorials—final arrangements, the skulls, the detritus. Are these p Photographer Justine Reyes investigates issues of identity, history, and the transitory nature of time in contemporary society. Reyes uses photography and installation to examine concepts relating to family, home, and humankind’s incessant attachment to the ephemeral and transitory. Vanitas, was inspired by seventeenth century Dutch vanitas paintings, which often contained religious and allegorical symbolism. Vanitas paintings illustrate the impermanent nature of life and the vanity of human activity. Reyes’ photographs incorporate personal artifacts within the traditional construct of still-life portraits. Pairing objects that belonged to her grandmother with her own possessions speak to the concepts of memory, familial legacy, and the relentless passing of time. By incorporating everyday items with the medium of photography itself, Reyes’ images manifest a deeper level of nostalgia and irony within the historical framework of vanitas paintings. In 2000, Reyes received BFA from Syracuse University, and a MFA from San Francisco Art Institute in 2004. Reyes has exhibited her work nationally and internationally, including Proyecto Circo at the 8th Havana Biennial, Cuba, in 2003; Contemporary Istanbul, Turkey; the Queens International 4 at the Queens Museum of Art in 2009; and the Humble Arts Foundation’s 31 Women in the Photography in 2010. She was artist-in-residence at the Center for Photography at Woodstock, New York, in 2008, and a resident artist from 2009–10 at the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. Reyes lives and works in New York. ©2014 by the San Francisco Airport Commission. All rights reserved.Justine Reyes, Photographer
02.23.10
Sighted
I was first introduced to vanitas as a genre and concept in grad school at the San Francisco Art Institute. I took a course called “The Sacred and Profane” with Linda Connor. She did a brilliant lecture on vanitas that inspired me and has always stayed with me but it wasn’t until I applied to the A-I-R program at the Center for Photography at Woodstock that I developed the idea for this project. I began shooting these images when I started my residency at C.P.W. and had a tremendous amount of support from the staff and a month away to focus on nothing but my work.Photographer Interview: Justine Reyes
From her Vanitas series, I saw the luminescent image of a half-eaten banana composed with a coin purse, clearly recalling the 15th century still lifes made popular by Dutch master painters.
Reyes' lighting skills go beyond the technical because she uses them to convey a deep, emotional feeling that is unique in each series whether she's photographing decaying fruit or family members.
Follow Justine Reyes on Twitter.
D&B: Where are you from?
JR: I was born in San Bernadino, California but moved to New York City when I was two.
D&B: What kind of photography do you shoot and how did you get started - any "formal" training?
JR: I do mostly fine art, conceptually based photography. I have many years of “formal training” from an arts high school (Laguardia) to my MFA (San Francisco Art Institute) but I’m not a tech person.
It is easy to get lost in the pleasure of photo geek-dom but I just learn as I go. I’m making very technical work, especially the still lifes but I don’t want that to override the emotional content of the work.
D&B: What cameras or techniques do you use?
JR: I have been using the studio a lot over the years and mostly shoot with a Wista 4x5 camera and a Mamiya 7. Lighting is extremely important to my work. I often use strobes and sometimes an on-camera flash. I’m still shooting film and printing mostly in the darkroom.
D&B: Who are your mentors (in photography)?
JR: I have been extraordinarily lucky to study under some amazing photographers; Doug Dubois, Linda Connor, Henry Wessel, J. John Priola and Tim Harvey just to name a few. I have also been very blessed to get to know some very talented photographers here in New York.
Amy Stein has Justine Reyes: Vanitas
Justine Reyes: Vanitas