Names: Synchrodogs (Tania Shcheglova and Roman Noven)

Ages: 22 and 27

Hometown: Ivano-Frankivsk, St. Petersburg
Current town: Western Ukraine

Film and/or Digital: film
First camera: Zenit, Zenit
Current camera: Contax G1, Contax G2

How long have you been taking photographs?
5 years in general, 3 together.

How did you two start working together?
Started dating.

What was your personal photography like before you met and started working together?
Hmm . . . it was quite weird–Tania was taking pictures of some childish surrealistic performances, and Roman started with shooting his pretty university teachers.

Thoughts about first images ever taken together, describe them?
Sweet like all the beauty pics.

What do you see when you look at your work now?
That we are tired of seeing it.

What do you hope others will see, if anything? Their experience?
Hope they will be puzzled.

What do you look for in an image? What makes a great photograph for you?
The picture should be memorable and taken by you and nobody else before.

Favorite artists?
Viviane Sassen since today.

Favorite authors?
None, though the last good book we read was The Holy Bible.

Favorite places online?
DIS Magazine.

Young photographers who most inspire you now?
Bruno Zhu.

What do you admire about Zhu and Sassen’s work?
Bruno because he sees things closer than we are used to, and Viviane as she has shown Africa from the other angle, you feel amused seeing it, not sorry for anything, and not shocked by the level of life, just amused.

Where do you want to take your photography, or vice versa?
Peru and Iceland.

Artists’ Playlist:
JockTalk, Be the Champ
The Weekend, The Morning (Dolor Remix)
CANiCOOL, KANIKULY KOGDA HOCHU
Active Child, You Are All I See (Dose Remix)
lo seen, another day
Emika, Professional Loving (DJ Rashad & DJ BMT Remix)
Hype Williams, Ooovrrr
Holy Other, Touch (Tri Angle 2011)
SLEEP ∞ OVER, Casual Diamond
ASAP Rocky, Bass (Prod. By Clams Casino)
Clams Casino, I’m God
Hype Williams, break4love
Stoned Boys, Whirlpool
Gang Gang Dance. House Jam.
An edited version (what’s available on YouTube) here: Featured Artists: Synchrodogs

Last question. What’s been the biggest lesson about working in collaboration?
Speak up when you have a crappy idea to talk it over and make a good idea out of it.

Artists’ link: Synchrodogs.com

Artist’s links: Flickr, Blog

Artist’s link: Flickr

Name: Amber Ortolano

Age: 15

Hometown: Honolulu, Hawaii
Current town: Lowville, New York

Film and/or Digital: Digital

First camera: Small Pentax SLR
Current camera: Nikon D5000

How long have you been taking photographs?
I have been taking photographs for about three years, since I was 12 to be exact!

Thoughts about first images ever taken, describe them?
My first images weren’t super thought-out, of course. But one photography I remember taking most vividly was when I was sitting on the steps of my sidewalk (I was 12 at the time), and I had this tin cup, filled with those little leaf type things that fly when you throw them (I don’t know the name, hahah), and I kept throwing them out of the cup, and I kept doing that until I caught them flying. I actually don’t have that image anymore, but I always remember that.

What do you see when you look at your work now?
I immediately go into the photo, which is really like walking into my brain, and I have an overwhelming amount of feelings, ranging from happiness to sadness to everything in between. That may sound a bit odd, seeing as they’re my own photos, but I don’t know. It really isn’t that odd, I’m just feeling what I felt as I was creating them.

What do you hope others will see, if anything? Their experience?
I hope people see themselves. Each one of my photos is a small moment, and they will all add up to one life, and I really hope people see that; it’s not just about being beautiful or pleasing to the eye, I want people to feel a rush of feelings, as if their whole life is flashing before them.

What do you look for in an image? What makes a great photograph for you?
I look for a fleeting moment or feeling. Life is very fragile, and I feel like photography really shows that. A great photograph makes me feel something, whether it is inspiration or the feeling to cry, or any feeling, really. When an image makes me want to cry, you know it’s great.

Favorite artists?
There are so so many; Paolo Roversi, Julia Hetta, Paulina Surys, Tara Niami, Mike Baily Gates, Lauren Poor, Sarah Moon, Chadwick Tyler, David Hamilton, Eleanor Hardwick, Erica Joy, Denis Grunstein, Deborah Turbeville, Egon Schiele, Jacqueline Riman, Natalie Kucken, Elijah Majeski, Laurence Philomene, Maja Malou, Robert Moses Joyce, Allison Scarpulla, Samuel Pritzker, Sibylle Bergemann, Wendy Bevan, William Eggleston, Ellen Rogers . . . the list goes on!

Favorite places online?
I use etsy to buy clothes for my shoots/films, and I use tumblr all the time to blog and look for inspiration!

Favorite photographs:
Robert Moses Joyce, Samuel Pritzker, Maja Malou, Natalie Kucken, Alison Scarpulla. Ahh . . . those are only some Flickr ones,  but there are far too many!

Young photographers who most inspire you now?
A lot of them are in my list of favorite artists. For example: Natalie Kucken, who is a lovely lovely friend of mine, and is so extremely talented, oh, goodness. Elijah Majeski, another friend, is so, so talented, I love the way he thinks and everything. There are so many—just refer to everyone in my list above, and you’ll instantly be inspired.

Artist’s playlist: 11 tracks from Perfume Genius, Glasser, Magic Kids, Gardens & Villa, Small Black, Still Corners, Twin Sister, Thieves Like Us, Washed Out, Craft Spells, Lana del Rey, all here.

Talk about Hallucinations, your first book?
I started thinking about making a book a year or two ago, and I finally started to make it in June of this year. It took ’til September, being that I had to take new photos, and I was very precise about them flowing with each other, etc, etc. But I’m very happy with the outcome: it’s exactly how I wanted it to look!

What did you learn from that first book? And do you have another in the works?
When I first published the book, I was worried no one would see it or want to buy it, but I got a lot of messages from people saying how they wish they could buy it, etc, etc. It actually kind of shocked me at first! I plan on making a new book sometime in the future, and it will be much different, but still me. I just want to show how much I have grown since making the book.

Beyond that, where do you want to take your photography, or vice versa?
I want do amazing things, and I feel like I’m on my way there. I have been focusing more on my film/cinematography recently, and I am currently planning a film for next year. I want to make brilliant photographs and films that make you feel every emotion possible. I’m bad at explaining myself, but I just really want to do incredible things with my life.

Artist’s links: Website, Flickr, Facebook, Vimeo, Etsy

Cecilia Majzoub on working with Wolf In A Spacesuit:
A month or so ago, I was approached by Algebra Huxley of the flawless Chicago band, Wolf In A Spacesuit (WIAS), whom I have been a fan of for a few years now. He asked me to create some work for their new album. Space-like and dreamy are just two of the words I can use to describe Wolf In A Spacesuit’s sound—they really take you away from whatever chaos is happening and allow you to let go. This is something that’s not particularly easy to find, yet WIAS does it beautifully. I feel the sound of WIAS is reflected in this artwork I’ve created, and vise versa.

As a fan of WIAS, it goes without saying that I was ecstatic about this offer, and these collages are what I made of it. I wanted to keep the pieces simple, yet visually interesting, as I try to do with every design or collage piece I create.

I’m honored to have worked such an awesome band not only because I love their music, but because working with musicians is something I want to do more than anything. I am extremely pleased with how it has turned out, and their remarkable album Safari is out now for digital download, so pick up a copy for yourself!

Band’s links: Bandcamp, Facebook, Tumblr, Myspace, Twitter
Artist’s links: Website, Flickr, Tumblr, Cargo Collective

Note: Cecilia Majzoub was our Featured Artist on October 23, and you can see, hear and read more about her here.

Credits (top to bottom): Eni Turkeshi, Esben Bøg Jensen, Amber Larks, city burns

Talk about the twelve images you chose for your gallery?
I didn’’t have more in mind than what’’s not boring, what’’s not contemporary, and what’’s not over-stylized. I’’m a little stuck in the past, I think, I’’m not too keen on art that is more conceptual than visual. Looking back on the pictures I chose, it appears they all have a definite source of light. Also, the compositions aren’’t too complicated. There seems to be one focal point amongst a homogeneous background in each of the pictures.

Who are some of your favorite established artists?
I really love Francis Bacon and, strangely enough, Michaelangelo. I strive to find a common ground between the two in my artwork.

And some of your favorite teen artists?
Favorite teen artists, …let’’s see . . .… Aj Burkle, a friend of mine, is up there. An artist who was in the T.A.G. show last year named Isabelle Wheeler is one of my favorites as well.

How did T.A.G. (NYC’s Teen Art Gallery) come to be?
The idea for T.A.G. first appeared while I was in London in 9th grade. At the time, I wanted to start a gallery for my own work because I was incredibly set on being an artist and couldn’t bear to wait another ten years before pursuing an artistic career. As time went on, I met several other teens who felt the same way—, each wanting to begin their career as an artist, but not sure how to take the first step. I had no idea myself, but somehow, in junior year, everything began to fall into place. By chance, a company called Open Center decided to sponsor our show. With a space secured, I then formed a group of other teens who wanted to help me organize the gallery. Thus, T.A.G. was born.

Credit: Sarah Kirkham

What’s been the biggest challenge of opening your gallery? Lessons learned, anything you would do differently in hindsight?
The biggest challenge was probably the submission process. High schools in New York City are surprisingly difficult to reach. I had to sneak in fliers through kids I knew who went to various different high schools. We had to make sure that as many people knew about it as possible, so putting some extreme effort into distributing those fliers was absolutely necessary, and, not to mention, time-consuming.

Would I do anything differently? Well, there was this one guy who threw me a fundraiser in exchange for me selling tickets for him. I sold the tickets, he threw the fundraiser, and then never gave me the profits from it (he owes T.A.G. about $700). So, in hindsight, I guess I would be a little less naïve and not rely on someone else for money owed.

Have you been surprised by the attention and press you’ve received?
Yes. I remember freaking out whenever someone (even one of my own peers) blogged about us. When time came to start sending out press releases, I thought we might get at most one or two short paragraphs in the events section for families, but nothing like an article. I especially didn’’t anticipate receiving a full-page spread in the New York Times, or a Critics Pick in New York Magazine.

I think a lot of the attention was due to our making sure that editors saw our press release. We contacted them again and again, by email, mail, and in person. On top of that, some of my friends had family members working for some of the publications that wrote about us and, of course, that helped as well.

Credits (top to bottom): Ashlee., sylvain-emmanuel, Gordon Chalmers

What are your feelings about the label “teen art”?
I think a lot of people came to see the show because they thought it was going to be cute. It was cute, and I’’m not at all condemning people who entered the gallery with that mind set, but still, all of us wanted to be taken more seriously than the word “cute.” I’’m actually incredibly grateful for receiving somewhat of a harsh review in London’’s Frieze Magazine. They said that the art was for the most part “boring” and “brash”, but the fact that they thought it important enough to comment on and compare to other art was more than we could ask for. We don’’t want to be excused because we’’re “cute” and “naïve” all of the time—we’’re putting our work out there for both praise and criticism just like any adult artist is.

Credits (top to bottom): minezoo, Arhur Shuraev, Maya Fiala Grau

As a painter, is it difficult balancing making your own artwork and curating a gallery?
Yes, a thousand times yes. Last year, I had to split my year in half: one-half for painting and one-half for curating. However, I think this was mostly due to the additional school work, applying to colleges, SAT’s, and viola. My dream job is to be the owner/curator of a gallery, but still paint during the evenings or during shows. I think this is completely plausible, because, to be honest, the six hours of homework every night is really what took up most of my time.

Where do you see T.A.G. two years or even five years from now?
In two years, I see T.A.G. continuing in New York under new supervision (a new member of T.A.G. from the “younger generation” who has expressed interest in taking over once I go to college). In two years, the T.A.G. branches in Florence, Germany, L.A. and Florida, should also be well under way, —possibly with their first shows open. I’’ll have just started a T.A.G. in London, too (that’’s where I plan on going for college).

In five years,… I think by that point, there will be many more branches. T.A.G. may be a well-known international organization by then. Each branch will operate independently under their own supervision, but still remain under the same guidelines that makes T.A.G. a T.A.G. (artists must be ages 12-19, the director of each branch must be 19 years and younger). Each branch will watch over and communicate with other branches under one super-force of teen artists. In five years, I am hoping that T.A.G. will also team up with some other organizations in order to contribute to charities. I, unfortunately, won’’t be able to directly organize a show (I will be older than 19), but I hope to keep the organization under close watch and maintain the position as a head advisor for new directors.

Aside from that, I am hoping that somehow T.A.G. will shift some of the art world’’s focus to the younger artists. I know of a couple of other new organizations created by my peers that are geared to artistic youth empowerment. There has been much talk about the organizations becoming heavily affiliated with each other. If all of us, as promoters of young artists, work together, I truly believe that the younger artists of our generation could become a force to be reckoned with. All of this is more based on hopes and dreams, rather than fact, so I hope you won’’t take this answer too seriously.

Credit: Michal Pudelka

Curator’s links: T.A.G., Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter

Note: All guest curators select images from Saccades Project’s Flickr pool, and a permanent gallery of these twelve photographs, Gallery 7, will be online soon. Special thanks to Audrey Banks, of course, and all the artists who have so kindly allowed us to share their work.

Name: Daniel Ribar

Age: 23

Hometown: Livonia, Michigan
Current town: Livonia, Michigan/Northern Michigan

Film and/or Digital: I try and bounce back and forth to keep things fresh, but I prefer film.

First camera: An old Polaroid camera I received for my seventh or eighth birthday.
Current camera: Leica R4 35mm and a 7D.

How long have you been taking photographs?
I started shooting my friends skateboarding and messing around in the fifth grade, and I have a bunch or random Polaroids even from before that. But I started to get serious around tenth grade, about eight years ago.

Thoughts about first images ever taken, describe them?
I just processed a roll from seventh grade earlier this year (below). It was really goofy, but neat; a lot of skateboarding stuff, images taken a moment before they should have been, but there’s something kind of interesting about them in that sense.

What do you see when you look at your work now?
I see a lot of color: that’s something I rely on very heavily now in my work. I started off taking black-and-white photo classes in high school and enjoyed them, but when I started working with color, I started to see images everywhere. I am extremely interested in relationship between colors.

What do you hope others will see, if anything? Their experience?
I’m not really sure what I hope others will see. I guess things that inspire them to explore and enjoy life.

And what do you look for in an image? What makes a great photograph for you?
I really like seeing images that remind you of the world outside your city, state, country or whatever boundary you happen to have. I think it’s really easy to stay in your comfort zone and I love seeing images of places foreign to me. Images that make me want to travel.

Talk about your interest in relationships between colors, the outdoors and travel?
I find myself paying close attention to color when I am back home, downstate in Livonia or Detroit. I don’t have the type of freedom that exists up north and end up shooting a bit more selectively, paying more attention to line and color. Of course I am conscious of colors and their relationships while up north, but I feel that when I’m home, I tend to stick around the same locations and don’t end up exploring as much as I do in the summer. Because I’m not canoeing new rivers or hiking fresh trails, that element of surprise is eliminated. I find myself looking closer at everyday objects and working with cropping much more, as well as color. I feel like this sort of season and location change keeps me in balance.

Favorite artists?
There are so many great artists out there its hard to hone in on any few but I would say in the past year, Bruno Zhu, Josef Albers and my friend Michael Burdick.

Favorite places online?
I try not to spend too much time on the internet, but I check out the Boooooom site a lot, S M O KE B A T H, as well as the Weather Channel, there are a lot of neat videos on there.

Favorite photographs:
Mike J. Huber, he  keeps me posted on what my friends are doing in the Upper Peninsula; Ryan McGinley; Nadav Kander; Phil Elverum; Michael ten Pas; Bruno Zhu.

Young photographers who most inspire you now?
Most of the people from the list above inspire me very much, but there’s something about someone new to photography that I love. Anytime I’m invited to a birthday party, I bring a disposable camera as a gift and ask to see the images when they process them. I love looking at images shot by someone who has no background with photography, someone who has fresh eyes and no history or influence.

So where do you want to take your photography, or vice versa?
I just want to keep shooting and make more books for myself. I have a few I made last year, but I would love to make a book for each season and have a disc inside of the music I had been listening to at the time, so when I’m older I’ll have shelves full of books documenting my life with music to listen to while looking through them.

Artist’s Playlist: 12 tracks by Bob Dylan, Graham Nash, Built to Spill, Frontier Ruckus, The Microphones, Mount Eerie, The Beatles, Broken Social Scene, Bibio, My Morning Jacket, Smith Westerns, Little Wings, here: Featured Artist: Daniel Ribar

Talk about the Upper Peninsula, the role Michigan plays in your photography?
A great deal of my work is shot in the northern parts of my home state, Michigan. I have a good friend who lives in the tip of the Upper Peninsula in an old mining town with rivers, lakes and cliff jumps all around him. I also have a cabin of my own about an hour south of the Mackinac bridge in Gaylord, Michigan, where I spend summers and autumns with friends. We have around 100 acres of woods, trails, and a small private lake, so there is a sense of isolation and freedom that really sets my mind at ease.

Friends and I will make trips up that are comprised of dirt bikes, fireworks, guitars, fishing, rifles, swimming, campfires, relaxing and anything else we feel like doing. I have been making these trips my whole life, and at first I started to shoot photos just to document these trips, a lot of very straightforward Polaroid shots of fish that had been caught, or group shots when we first arrived and then before we would leave, just so I would be able to remember who was there at the time. But as the years went on, I started to really use this piece of land as kind of my own large-scale studio. Here, I have the opportunity and freedom to shoot whatever I want to, whether it is a shot as simple as my grandfather’s old axe, sticking into a poplar tree, or something as bold as a friend launching a dirt bike over a mound with another friend firing a rifle in the frame.

The fact that this freedom exists on the property really excites and inspires me and allows me to focus on this love of nature I have along with the love for my friends. I’m trying to capture as many memories as I can, and if others are interested in the images I have captured, I’m honored.

Artist’s links: Website, Flickr, Tumblr, Vimeo

Artist’s links: Flickr, Blog

Name: Pierre Wayser

Hometown: Paris, France

Film and/or Digital: Pointless.
First camera: A 1952 Kodak Retina IIa.
Current camera: Any image recorders.

How long have you been taking photographs?
Since I was 12.

Thoughts about first images ever taken, describe them?
It was a goat or a bench, maybe a triumphal arch!

What do you see when you look at your work now?
Photography is just a different quality in blindness.

What do you hope others will see, if anything? Their experience?
See above.

What do you look for in an image? What makes a great photograph for you?
Great images have smelly armpits.

Favorite artists?
No favorites, but so many are interesting: Otis Redding, Anton Chekhov, Caravaggio, etc.

Favorite places online?
None.

What’s changed, if anything, in your attitude toward photography and your own work over the years?
Since I need reading lenses, I now prefer a camera with a fast autofocus.

Talk about your book Moon Can Do?
After sleeping for more than thirty years, I was suddenly awakened by the brutal death of a certain number of my relatives. So I decided to rewrite a past that was chaotic and confused, dream-readable and well-ordered. To do this, I started from photos I had taken in the early ‘70s. Hidden in a shoe box were the never-printed negatives of my youth. Finally, after several changes or mutations, and leaving out a text (Hypnagogies), I ended up making only a book of photographs, Moon Can Do, in black-and-white with a few contemporary connections.

Artist’s Playlist: 13 tracks by Fairport Convention, Otis Redding, The Undisputed Truth, Durutti Column, Small Faces, Soft Machine, The Pretty Things, The Strawbs, Terry Riley, The Velvet Underground and Brian Eno, here: Featured Artist: Pierre Wayser.

Artist’s links: Website, Blog, Meta-Holott

Artist’s links: Website, Flickr, Film, HUH. Magazine.