Who I was, Where I've been

Photographs by Keith DeNatale
Interview via emails, February 2017

What was going on in your life when you made this images?

These photos were taken in the summer of 2010 right before me senior year of college. I took them with a cheap FunSaver camera and got the photos developed at a Walgreens. I was moving around a lot seeing friends in Davis before school started and visiting home in Pacifica to see my family. A lot of these were taken hopping from place to place.

You’ve said to me, “[I’ve] never felt very comfortable as a photographer.” What compelled you to take pictures at this moment?

I've always loved, maybe TOO MUCH, looking back at moments from my past. I love to remissness. I've made art my whole life mostly drawing comics and cartoons and in college I focused a lot on making video pieces. I guess I never thought of myself as a photographer in the sense that i see my friends who are photographers make art? I think FunSavers and other instant cameras interest me in their grainy sometimes blurry quality. I love messy things!

What are the mediums you traditionally make art in?

Currently I'm focusing most of my time making comics and drawing but I spent most of my time in college making videos. Most of the work I've been able to show involves some kind of video installation.

What draws you to art making?

I love the ability to take whatever I obsess with in my day to day and make something new out of it. Looking back at the characters I made when I was a kid I realized I pretty much copied them from different cartoons and video games. I'm really into taking clips, parts and pieces of all the media i take in and creating a weird Frankenstein product.

What is important to you about documenting your life?

I love having something to show who I was and where I have been.