Today we’d like to introduce you to Chris Dant.
Chris, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I am an artist and educator. I teach Photography at the University of North Georgia. It was a long road to get here, but it began when I was in middle school. I made the first photograph that I remember purposefully composing and arranging, in order to try to say something. It was a photograph of my friend ollieing down a stair set on his skateboard. It isn’t an incredible photograph, but it is the first image I remember making, and I think that is important.
Once high school ended, I had no direction when looking into colleges and universities. I thought I wanted to major in business/marketing, but I really just liked the graphic design and photography elements that made up the advertisements and full-page spreads in skateboarding and snowboarding magazines. After coming to this realization, I transferred out of the school I was attending, and I moved to Denton, Texas to pursue a BFA in Photography at the University of North Texas. I learned so much at UNT, and was surrounded by an incredible group of classmates and professors. It was here that my eyes were opened to how much I didn’t know, and that I wanted to keep learning. So I applied to graduate school and was accepted into the MFA program at the University of Notre Dame. The Department of Art, Art History and Design at the University of Notre Dame played a pivotal role in my growth as an artist, and it was here where I really felt like it was made clear to me that I needed to pursue teaching.
So almost two years out of graduate school, and more job applications than I’d like to admit, I was offered the position of Assistant Professor of Photography at the University of North Georgia.
As someone who had no direction, no vision and no real idea of what I could pursue as a young teenager, I find my vocation to be one that allows me to walk side by side with college students whose paths resemble my younger self. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to guide and mentor these young artists in understanding in not just who they are as artists, but as contributors to their communities, and to see to the full extent what is possible through art making.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
Who I am as an artist starts with the photograph. First and foremost, I am an image-maker. In a world where we see thousands upon thousands of photographs everyday, and where most everyone has access to a camera through their phone, I think the importance of the photographic image gets overlooked. I’m so drawn to photography because of its ability to stir up past emotions, memories, and feelings without ever asking for permission to do so. The 2-dimensional image can be so physically, emotionally and spiritually effective if made well, and can do so much more than simply “tell a story”.
In my work, I explore the ideas of empathy, shared experience, family history and loss through the use of the photographic medium. How my images make look, i.e the subjects of my pictures may vary, but these themes are always on my mind when making photographs and are consistent throughout the projects I have made and will continue to make.
My most recent project, titled “Worthy Sons”, presents a group of teenagers I met through a youth organization I volunteered for in South Bend, Indiana in the Fall of 2013. All of these young men shared a passion for skateboarding. I learned, though, that this was not their only commonality; each of these boys lived in a home without their father present. Through intentional shifts in how I photograph, from public to private views and the apparent passage of time, it is my hope that the work will encourage a familiarity that prompts empathy and compassion within you, not just for these boys, but also for your neighbor, the one who calls the town you live in “home.”
Any advice for aspiring or new artists?
Oh, there are so many lessons I’ve learned and pieces of advice I wish I could give; I would say that is one of the main reasons why I teach photography, to help young artists find their visual voice because it took me a while to find mine.
The main piece of advice I would give to artists (including myself) is to be purposeful and make with intention because what you have to say matters. We as humans long to be heard and understood, and art-making is an incredible way to make the depths of one’s soul visible.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
You can see all of my work on my website, www.chrisdant.com, or on my Instagram, @cdant.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.chrisdant.com
- Email: christopher.dant@ung.edu
- Instagram: @cdant
Image Credit:
Personal Photo: Tommy Daddono
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