Stephen Spiller

Artist Statement

I work and live in Long Island City, NY, USA. I am interested in making two dimensional, visual art that addresses cultural, political, and social themes. Self-educated, I often combine my photographs with material recontextualized from other arenas, using text and digital manipulation, employing humor, satire, and emotionally charged words, etc. to express my ideas. Central to my thinking is that most people don't explore, and resolve, issues surrounding their identity. For that reason, I think, they often fail to understand their behavior, and that failure carries long-term consequences. I am wary of argumentative and dogmatic expression, preferring to present ideas in a provocative manner challenging the viewer to recognize and consider the issues.

My ambition is to make artwork that displays insights about human behavior. I want to show, with images, that much, if not all we think, say, and do is driven by our unconscious. I believe it’s possible to do that for two reasons – first, because behavior is often driven by a complex, and common denominator, language of emotion that is rooted in our unconscious. And second, because such behavior can be understood by seeing and interpreting non-verbal cues as closely and carefully as verbal ones. Indeed, for example, I think a “Freudian slip” is revealing, but no more so than clothing, tattoos, idiosyncratic behavior, and more.

In general my technique is to photograph people, spontaneously, in public venues. Pressing the shutter, often without using the viewfinder, depends upon whether I have an emotional connection with the subject. My instincts and feelings are the litmus test whether to shoot or not. I have no preconceived ideas about what the final image will, or should, look like. Working that way, I believe, yields an honesty and truth, more successfully presented than when images are staged.

A sample of subjects that interest me include: prostitution, aging, gender, rape, misogyny, racial prejudice, religion, fashion, economic disparity, healthcare, denying women control over their lives, the lack of affordable, quality education, gun violence, etc.

I think of my work as being documentary as well as conceptual, offering both social and political commentary.