Matt Curran

My mission as a photographer and artist, is to capture the moments of beauty in life, while also depicting the devastation and destruction that takes place in society today. My goal is to showcase people in their natural state, whether that be viewed as a positive or negative depiction. Although, I find capturing people in the moment to be the best way to portray the reality that we as humans live in. I enjoy the raw, candid photographs which capture the soul of the subject through their eyes. The emotion that can be extracted from these candid moments are what push me to further my work in portraiture. 

While working with nature photography, the approach I take is similar, capturing the beauty of the world through the natural elements of the world, as well as the destruction and environmental damage that humans have brought to this natural space that we reside in. Bringing awareness of our own flaws that have destroyed natural habitats is a portion of the work that I wish to deliver to the public. My goal with nature photography is to capture natural elements that many people do not have the opportunity to see in person, this includes bringing an educational portion to galleries for the public to learn through visual and written communication.

My work in sculpture has allowed me to stay connected with the tactile portion of my practice. Viewing three-dimensional objects from endless view points has strengthened my ability to view my photographic subjects in the round rather that as a flat image. This has since transformed into the beginning of my work with creating photographic sculptures. Blending these two practices have shown me that there are many commonalities between them. I like to think of it as using physical photographs to reconstruct the photographed subject into a three-dimensional photographic sculpture.

As a long-term goal, I wish to pursue a career in teaching design and photography to young adults. Ideally, I would like complete my masters and instruct at a university level. I believe it to be of extreme importance for the younger generations to be taught by instructors who have a passion for sharing and gaining knowledge in order to prepare them for the real world. I believe that properly educated individuals will have the best chance at shaping our future for the better and that our existence depends on well educated individuals who strive for greatness. 

Showing the diversity of the world is a huge part of my practice. Bringing people from different backgrounds together while capturing the commonality between them, while also highlighting the differences that creates their individuality is what I love about photography. I have a voice, you have a voice, and capturing that voice through the visual interpretation that photography can provide is what creates a visual aesthetic that can be understood by a multitude of peoples and cultures. I strive to continue to grow my practice indefinitely, as I believe there is no end to the growth and knowledge one can gain. Experience is a powerful tool in the development of oneself and the pursuit to better society as a whole, and I will take every learning experience I can possibly gain to better our future on this earth.