And Still We Gather With Infinite Momentum 4, 2009 by Justin James King

Justin James King's work immediately distinguished itself among entries during this round of competition. Conceptual, witty, and critically reflective of photography itself, his series And Still We Gather With Infinite Momentum depicts sightseers gaping and pointing at a null black void. At such tourist sites, it seems redundant to actually depict the vistas, because, as Justin says, all we really see are "preconceived notions and pre-experienced views." Read Justin's bio and statement on his Hot Shot profile, and more on our contender post; herewith, a Q&A with Hot Shot Justin James King.

From:
I was born and raised in Saratoga Springs, New York. I lived in Florida from about age eleven to fourteen, but we moved back to Saratoga just before I started junior high school. I didn't know it at the time, but growing up in an historic town would come to have a big effect on themes in my work.

Formal and/or informal education and training:
I went to art school in Boston at The Museum School, but my real education came from reading Beuys and Duchamp. They taught me to see meaning in everything. School gave me the formal language to talk about my decision-making, but it was reading other artists that taught me how to think critically about my choices and consider all the possibilities.
I shoot primarily with a 4x5 camera. Using a large-format camera was something that I learned on my own; it is an expensive way of working but the results are worth it.

How you pay the bills:
Ah yes, paying the bills. When I first moved to New York, I worked in retail and as an intern for two of my favorite artists/photographers, Mike and Doug Starn. Getting a chance to work for them was a gift. Retail is where I am right now (a manager). It's flexible, it pays pretty good and the people I work with are great...it works for now.

Best advice you ever received as a photographer (and/or as a human):
(in that order?!)
Put your head down and work—trust your ideas.
The other bit of advice is from a bumper sticker I saw a long time ago. It goes: When all else fails, go fishing!

Top 3 Favorite Artists:
I look at tons of work and the list of people whose work I like is long...but three artists that I always come back to are William Henry Jackson, Richard Long, and Frederic Edwin Church.

Photograph (or other work of art) that you can't get out of your head,
ever:
Images that are starting to form and that I have yet to shoot, those are the images that I can't get out of my head.

Reading now:
Rebecca Solnit, Storming the Gates of Paradise: Landscapes for Politics
Charles Saatchi, My Name is Charles Saatchi and I Am an Artoholic
George Stewart, Names on the Land

Top websites/blogs:
Here are a few blogs that I look at pretty regularly:
Fecal Face
American Suburb X
Mossless
Welcome to the Broadcast

What project or idea are you working on now?
I'm working on more images for the And Still We Gather With Infinite Momentum series. I went out to Wyoming last year with a few specific shots in mind and was unable to get them because of a giant snow storm in June; the roads were closed and everything was shut down. I'm going back to Wyoming this spring. The trip will include shooting locations in other states and a few other projects will begin to take shape during those travels.