musicoroots' photostream

In expressing the embodiment of my visual artistry, I am an image storyteller: photographer, 1st; painter, 2nd; spoken word artist, 3rd, although, these interchange. To me, capturing images that create visual memories and a representation of life cultivate a community expression that even if it references one person, its still a collective. There are broader pictures, even in the details.

With Musico Roots (Photography), my primary focus has been spoken word poets, urban fashion shows, the nightlife, drag kings and queens, live performances and musicians. Being a performing artist, I believe it helps me understand what to anticipate when capturing images with photography. Also, understanding how to read body language becomes imperative in trying to capture movement in any candid situation or performance. My images are about finding people in intense and raw moments of emotions that reflect as close to honest representations of reactions instead of staged imagery. My job is to find people in a moment of purity and reflect depth over surface…no masks.

With painting, I try to reflect the same emotions I find in photography, using a graphic and impressionistic infused style with acrylic on either canvas or paper. I generally will references a lot of my photography for paintings. I like strong contrasts, showing movement with the paint, and deep colors while also utilizing the white of canvas.

With spoken word, I’ve never been one to write sugar-coated poetry and am more about performing intensity instead of romanticism. There are contrasting spectrums people are so afraid to divulge into and I feel I have a responsibility to speak when others don’t want to talk. I try to grasp this concept in any artistic expression I divulge into.