BRYAN CIPOLLA

JONATHAN CHERRY: What did you want to be growing up?

BRYAN CIPOLLA: When I was younger, I was obsessed with outer space and aliens so I think I wanted to be an astronaut. That didn’t last very long, though. I never really knew exactly what I wanted to be — I just knew that I wanted to enjoy what I was doing.

JC: Who or what is inspiring you at the moment?

BC: I’ve always been inspired by photographers who tend to work in the photo book medium, especially those who start their own publishing companies to get their work, and the work of those they admire, out into the world. People like Mike Slack and The Ice Plant, Jason Fulford and J&L Books, and Ron Jude and A-Jump Books. Something about the presentation of photographs in these little, intimate, collectible packages I can’t resist. Whitney Hubbs, Todd Hido, Ed Panar, and Alex Prager are a few others whose work gets me excited.

Besides that, I’ve been reading a lot of comic books and really love anything by Matt Fraction, Deadly Class by Rick Remender and Wes Craig, and Saga by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples. Oh, and this hip hop crew out of Minneapolis, Doomtree, is an endless source of motivation and inspiration for me. People who do what they love and grind it out really get my respect.

JC: What are you up to right now?

BC: Lately, I’ve just been shooting freely and letting the photos naturally form into different series as I shoot. It’s nice to give myself a no-pressure environment to shoot in. After I finished my undergraduate work, the creative pressure I was putting on myself was stifling a lot of my productivity, so after loosening up, it’s been fun to go into it without any expectations.

Besides that, for the past few years I’ve been getting into book design work, mostly for two publishers called Boo-Hooray and Sinecure Books, which has kept me busy. Right now I’m coming into a bit of a transitional period where I’m not sure what I’m going to be doing. It’s a little nerve wracking but also very exciting with the potential for opportunity to work on different projects and photograph more.

JC: Have you had mentors along the way?

BC: Yeah. Particularly Ron Jude and Ahndraya Parlato come to mind. I was lucky enough to have them both as undergrad professors at Ithaca College. They really formed my early conception of photography, especially fine art photography and what it can be. Ahndraya exposed me to a lot of different artists and a lot of different ideas early on and Ron was important in introducing the photo book to me and the different narratives that you can create with photography.

JC: Where are you based right now and how is it shaping you?

BC: Right now I live in New Jersey but mostly work out of NYC. It’s a little tough. While New York is huge and there are so many exciting things happening at one time, it can be isolating. I’ve tried to produce work within the city but have found most recently that I’ve been working best when I go outside of New York where there’s more room to breathe.

JC: One piece of advice to photography graduates?

BC: Just keep working and more than anything don’t get caught up in what other people are doing. Obviously, absorb and learn from other people but don’t let other’s work affect your vision. Stay true to yourself. I’ve seen people get down on themselves for thinking they’re not up to snuff, but you’ll find most people are figuring it out as they go just as much as you are. Just keep doing your thing until you break through.

JC: If all else fails - what is your plan B?

BC: I’ve never really had a plan A, B, or C. Mostly, I’ve been pushing in the direction of work that I enjoy, and at the end of the day, I find myself in places I want to be. I’m not making a living with photography and I never really expected to, but that also wasn’t necessarily my goal. If I can make a living on it, that’s great, but for me, having creative pursuits in general, whether it’s design work or photography or working within a creatively minded organization, satisfies me.

JC: Is it important to you to be a part of a creative community?

BC: Yeah. Very. Having people to bounce ideas off of and feel that creative connection with is important. It definitely satisfies something for me. But I also think there’s something to be said for isolating yourself, which I think can help cut through any static or noise.