I dislike being called an artist… Or even worse, a photographer. When I’m asked why I shutter at the label I generally say, “I dunno.” But I suppose here’s why- I’m not. Not anymore so than you are anyway. I mean, we all are, right? Isn’t that what makes a human a human? We might make money doing other things or really like math or being rational, but to be an artist, I’ve always figured is synonymous with being a person. Everyone expresses something, whether they like it or see it or not.
I don’t take pretty pictures. The world is a pretty picture, all of it, and sometimes I’m lucky enough to capture a blip of it for visual records. So, I guess you can say a photograph to me is not exactly “art,” but a snippet of visual gratitude, because it’s the world that’s endlessly fascinating. It’s humanity, our cultures and creatures- that’s where the magic is. That’s why I set out to make The Porch Project– a four year visual documentation project that describes an aspect of our beloved New Orleans culture (Porch culture); an aspect so true to me it deserved to be recognized in visual book form.
You can check it out here!
And I hope that it comes across through my book and documentary projects; my extreme gratitude for existence on this planet, because that’s the motivation behind my every action in the first place, artist or not.
www.DanielleShubert.com
instagram @DanielleShubert
THE PLAYFUL – IN DIKKO, NIGERIA, A YOUNG WOMAN SHOWS OFF HER PLAYFUL SIDE IN A LOCAL VEGETABLE MARKET
FRERET- A SNIPPET FROM ‘THE PORCH PROJECT: PORCH PORTRAITS OF NEW ORLEANS’
HOLLYGROVE- A SNIPPET FROM THE COFFEE TABLE BOOK ‘THE PORCH PROJECT; PORCH PORTRAITS OF NEW ORLEANS’
