Meet Eric Hart Jr.

Today we’d like to introduce you to Eric Hart Jr.

Eric, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My love for photography came completely unexpected. Sitting at home one day, under the influence of boredom; came the idea to go out in my yard and take photos with my iPod. Capturing the beauty of the nature that surrounded me became my infatuation. Once the photography bug had bitten me, there was really no going back. Eventually, I fell unamused with my yard. I wanted to show my sense of creativity through the images that I was taking everywhere. I’d always loved studio photos taken of models; the costumes, the backdrops, the artistic touch that was present. It was only right that I gave it a shot. So, one day, I was determined to take unique studio styled photos regardless of the fact that I had little to any equipment. I grabbed four of my grandmother’s white bath towels and hot glued them together creating a backdrop to thumbtack to my wall. I got a chair from the kitchen and created a stack of DVD’s almost three or four feet high on the chair and sat a candle on top of the stack, using this as a tripod for my iPod. I repositioned the lamp on my nightstand to use as lighting. Lastly, I wanted something unique to give me that nice studio creativity. Searching for some type of inspiration in my room, I found a jar of blue finger paint. Without a bit of hesitation, I set my timer on my iPod, whipped my shirt off, and began smearing paint all over myself. Reviewing the photos when I was done is the moment I truly felt a burning desire to do more shoots. Photography had become my passion.

The following Christmas, I received a Canon camera that has become my best friend. Shortly after receiving my camera every weekend had become a photo shoot with friends. After continuous postings on social media, interest among peers arose. I started booking various shoots: Weddings, prom couples, senior pictures, parties, you name it. Even though I thoroughly enjoy photographic bookings, that is not where my story ends. My true love lies in creative photography. I wanted to use my love for photography to push myself creatively and through doing so I ended up creating the visual brand Love Hart directly after graduating high school.

Upon graduating high school, I was blessed to be announced as the 2018 recipient of the Weir scholarship which allowed me to attend the university of my dreams and further my craft. I currently am a photography student at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts which has allowed me to even further the brand. I am lucky enough to collaborate with fantastic creatives constantly in order to convey various conversations through Love Hart. Since it’s creation, Love Hart has birthed various photo series, visuals, interviews, an online zine, merchandise, and a compilation album.

Has it been a smooth road?
The main challenges for creating content for Love Hart just stems from the learning curve. It’s a process managing all that Love Hart is and sometimes that process gets difficult. I still feel like I have so much to learn as both a creative and a businessman. Also, one big obstacle is being a student. Just getting adjusted to a new city, a new atmosphere, all of your classes, and still wanting to continuously work on perfecting your craft. It can all become a lot at times however I love it. I love the chaos that comes with the phase of life I am in right now. Figuring it all out is like a puzzle, I think it makes life that much more interesting.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Love Hart story. Tell us more about it.
Love hart is a creative visual brand developed with the purpose to raise awareness and further conversations about various topics. From relationships, self-image, to the social climate, Love Hart infuses the art of photography, film, music, and writing to convey feelings of love about all these topics. Whether the love of your community, love of self, or love of another being, this thought-provoking brand acts as a journey towards understanding.

Simply put I call Love Hart a creative visual brand because I think overall Love Hart is a collective of projects under one brand. I am mainly a visual artist so all the images associated with the brand were either taken or curated by me. However, what I am most proud of with Love Hart is its flexibility as a brand. The more and more I get to mold it and see it shift into all it will be I see how important collaboration and overall innovation is. Just recently a collective of artist from NYU and myself released a visual compilation album titled Hart.fm under the Love Hart brand which was something I never imagined when first creating Love Hart. I think the adaptability and how multifaceted the brand is is what sets it apart and will keep it growing,

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Over the next 5-10 years, I just want Love Hart to grow immensely. I want to better myself as a creative individual and continuously push out content with Love Hart that is both intriguing creatively and marketable. More photo series, visuals, albums, merchandise, and whatever else may come. I truly believe Love Hart is a brand that could prosper in a lane that is it’s very own and I just can’t wait to see all that it will manifest to be.

Pricing:

• LOVE HART PRESENTS HART.FM – Available on all music services
• Hart.FM Tees – $20
• Pink Love Hart Tees – $12
• Soldier of Love Tees – $12

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.officiallovehart.com
• Email: officiallovhart@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/officiallovehart/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialLoveHart
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/erichartjr/

Image Credit:
Eric Hart Jr.

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