One of the great things about being in a position where I get to investigate photographic works from other visual artists is that sometimes you get in on a project in its early stages, as sort of a "sneak peek" at something blossoming into a significant body of work. During a survey like this, I find that photographers are often truth seekers, occasionally crossing into something very personal. This would be a case in point with a new body of work, The Other Stories, from photographer Cody Bratt. While reviewing the inception of this work at Review Santa Fe in late 2019, he presented me with the beginnings of a project that was in the process of consuming a huge part of his practice. Not only were his options with the work vast, but he was also taking it in a direction that enabled him to cross over into varied methods of image-making. I was fascinated with what he had embarked on, and now I feel like it's time to pull back the curtain a bit and introduce others into this beautiful and inventive collection of photographic art.

Bay Area resident, Cody Bratt, started his journey into photography with inspiration from his artist mother and his photoengraver father. With interest in his father's desktop publishing software, he initially focused on graphic design before moving into photography in college. Formal education with a degree in Rhetoric from UC Berkley formally trained him on theory, philosophy, and criticism. At the same time, a hands-on and self-taught approach supported the practice end of his work. Photography came into his life shortly before the digital era hit, so the darkroom's traditional use was no stranger. Admittedly, however, while missing printing in the darkroom these days, Bratt finds that he is too impatient to work with traditional film in this way. Introduction from his mother into experimenting with Polaroid became a perfect way to bridge this gap, however. According to Bratt, "It's still something that's a deep part of my creative practice today. I just love how painterly that medium is, and it really is the next best thing besides digital when it comes to satisfying my impatience."

The Other Stories' impetus stems from an archive of 2000 original negatives inherited from Bratt's great-grandfather. Before his passing in 1984, he had been working on a book of family photographs, with the "approved" half of 1000 negatives neatly stored and labeled containing the positive family narrative. The remaining other half of another 1000 negatives were casually discarded into piles of envelopes and old film boxes - the less than desirable narrative. "There's a certain darkness in the family that stems a history of abuse -- both substance and domestic -- and, incidentally, traces through my great-grandfather. Those narratives were always pushed aside for the more heroic, family myth narratives." This immense collection of original film negatives stands as the project's foundation, even though the original intent had been to merely digitize the archive.

A final line from his artist statement, Bratt writes, "My goal isn't to tell the specific stories themselves -- the stories are not mine to tell -- but to open a conversation about the good and bad in families and what our individual truths as descendants may or may not be."

For each unique piece in the collection, there is a starting point from pigment and toner prints and transfers made from the original negatives Bratt inherited. Occasionally, original offset proofs made by his great-grandfather (themselves made from an analog transfer of the negatives to engraving plates) also come into play. Some of the photographs are also run through a Polaroid Instant Lab or even an iPhone before digitizing them and working on new prints. The final pieces include some combination of glue, tape, encaustic wax, acrylic paint, charcoal, sewing, and more, so the result is a very unique, tactile, analog object. The Other Stories is a complex mashup of techniques and processes across generations. There are final pieces resulting from literally four generations of hands: the original capture by Bratt's great-grandfather, portrait sittings and words by his grandfather, book proofs made by his father, and final mixed media, narrative and editorial markings made by Bratt himself.

How wonderful it must be to have an archive of materials to work off in pursuit of something meaningful to you while also working in so many methods of art-making where the artist's hand is so evident in every print. True, the subject matter and intention can run a bit dark, but the freedom to express yourself in this way would be very freeing in its execution. I love the idea of using mixed media in a body of work, and The Other Stories is the perfect example of someone who gets to explore and create at the same time. Clearly, The Other Stories is far from a finished collection, but I am excited to see where it continues to travel on its road to completion. Spend some time with these images and then keep tabs on what Cody Bratt creates next. There is much to do, and this work will continue to inspire and inform, hopefully in the culmination of an exhibition and new monograph. Stay tuned, dear reader.

GALLERY

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Cody Bratt (b. 1982) is a San Francisco-born and based artist. His father, a photoengraver, and his mother, a multimedia artist, inspired his love of photography and book making, in particular. He holds a BA in Rhetoric with a formal concentration in Narrative and Image from the University of California, Berkeley (2005). Shying away from a literal approach, Cody’s photography employs primarily non-linear emotional or psychological approaches to exploring subjects and concepts. Unreliable memories, displacement, loss and coming of age feature centrally in Cody’s work.

He has exhibited internationally at Athens Photo Festival, Berlin Art Week, Month of Photography Los Angeles, Griffin Museum of Photography, Colorado Photographic Arts Center, ICP Museum, Brighton Photo Fringe, Filter Photo Festival amongst others. Cody is a 2016 LensCulture Emerging 50 Talent, 2018 PDN 30 nominee and 2019 Review Santa Fe attendee. His most recent series, THE OTHER STORIES, was honored with a 2020 CENTER Awards Director’s Choice Award and a 2020 Photolucida Critical Mass Top 50 distinction. Cody’s first monograph, LOVE WE LEAVE BEHIND, debuted by Fraction Editions in 2018. That series was awarded a 2018 Photolucida Critical Mass Top 50 distinction, named as a finalist for the 2016 Duke University CDS/Honickman First Book Prize and had images selected and published as winners in American Photography 34 (2018).

His work is public and private collections in several states across the US, as well as Europe. Cody’s work has been published worldwide in print and online venues including PDN, LENSCRATCH, LensCulture, Lomography Magazine, iGNANT, Gente Di Fotografia, Blur Magazine, Aint-Bad, and Float Magazine amongst others.

Connect with Cody Bratt on his Website and Instagram!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Michael Kirchoff is a photographic artist, independent curator and juror, and advocate for the photographic arts. He has been a juror for Photolucida’s Critical Mass, and has reviewed portfolios for the Los Angeles Center of Photography’s Exposure Reviews, PhotoNOLA, and CENTER’s Review Santa Fe. Michael has been a contributing writer for Lenscratch, Light Leaked, and Don’t Take Pictures magazine. In addition, he spent ten years (2006-2016) on the Board of the American Photographic Artists in Los Angeles (APA/LA), producing artist lectures, as well as business and inspirational events for the community. Currently, he is also Editor-in-Chief at Analog Forever Magazine, Founding Editor for the online photographer interview website, Catalyst: Interviews, and a Contributing Editor for the column, Traverse, at One Twelve Publishing. Previously, Michael spent over four years as Editor at BLUR Magazine.

 Connect with Michael Kirchoff on his Website and Instagram!

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