Featured Photographer: Victoria Kosel - “A Cut Above”
Home, 2021, Toyo-View 45AX Field Camera + Kodak Portra 400 film, Hand-woven
What would you do if you discovered an image worth documenting, made a photograph, then followed that up with a subsequent print, only to feel like you’ve not yet finalized your vision of what that photography needs to be? Yes, exactly–you think outside the box, come up with something that fits the narrative you’ve been searching for, and use that concept in your final creation. It sounds like a lot, but some people take these ideas and make them simple to see and understand. One of those people is photographic artist Victoria Kosel. She quite literally destroys her photographs, only to create them anew, in a tangible form where the artist’s hand is the most evident. Her sliced and diced prints are reborn into fragmented scenes that force the brain to fill in the gaps and formulate Kosel’s final images in a personal and individual way. These are masterful and sculptural manifestations of the world around us, created in a unique and singular approach.
Born and raised in Cambridge, Minnesota, Kosel now works as a commercial photographer after graduating from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls with a BFA in Photography and a secondary emphasis in Art History, Painting, And Ceramics. In addition, she spends a great deal of time working on her fine art photography projects while applying to galleries and seeking exhibition opportunities. Her early love for drawing blossomed over time into a passion for all forms of art, though the idea of taking this on as a profession was not thought of until college. After spending a short time in the darkroom, the experience found there prompted her to change her college major from Pharmacy to Photography. Thinking back, Kosel states, “Like many people, being in the darkroom and developing film for the first time changed everything for me - I couldn’t get enough of the magic of the process.” During this time, she also saw and felt an indescribable connection to the New Topographics artists, such as Stephen Shore, Lewis Baltz, and Frank Gohlke.
In a prescient realization, an early love for making handmade holiday cards, with the cutting, gluing, stitching, and rearranging of colored papers, foretold her eventual decision to use these methods in the making of her most current works. Her experimentation with cutting her images came later during her college years, after feeling like she was being too precious with her work prints. Not wanting to feel held back, she began cutting shapes out of her images, slicing them into strips, and doing whatever else she could to “destroy” them in an organized way–a significant breakthrough. Then, through further experimentation, she tried weaving the images together, and that process eventually stuck. Letting spontaneity take control and working organically towards her final photographs is now a crucial part of her process.
“My typical process consists of shooting and developing film, then digitally scanning and printing my images. When manipulating my images, I always cut by hand with an X-Acto knife and ruler. I love the physical, repetitive process - it’s very meditative and gives me time to reflect on my work and notice small details that I didn’t notice before.”
When asked what new directions the work might go, Kosel responds, “I’m beginning to experiment with different ways I can cut and arrange my images. I’ve been cutting and adhering them to pieces to wood and starting to play with a more three-dimensional sculptural approach, so I’m excited to see where that takes me.”
Angle v.1, 2019, Toyo-View 45AX Field Camera + Ilford HP5 Plus 400 film, Hand-woven
Angle v.2, 2019, Toyo-View 45AX Field Camera + Ilford HP5 Plus 400 film, Hand-woven
Finally, in full disclosure, we must let it be known that not only is Victoria Kosel a superb image-maker, but she also happens to be Analog Forever’s very own Social Media and Community Manager. That’s right, since December of 2021, she has been responsible for sharing the works of others, informing everyone of our (and others) events and calls for entry, and communicating with the masses with grace and style. It only makes sense that we would want to surround ourselves with talent like this, and we are thoroughly indebted to her for her efforts. Beyond the scope of this article, we urge you to explore her work further and reach out to complete the circle of community she has so eloquently helped build.
GALLERY
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Victoria Kosel is a Twin Cities based photographer. She grew up in Cambridge, Minnesota and received her Bachelor of Fine Arts at the University of Wisconsin - River Falls with a primary emphasis in Photography and a secondary emphasis in Art History, Ceramics, and Graphic Design. Heavily influenced by the New Topographics exhibition, Kosel is interested in challenging the ideas of traditional landscape photography. She is especially inspired by the photograph as a physical object that can be manipulated, dismantling the idea that photographs must be two-dimensional images.
Kosel has displayed her work in national and local exhibitions including the Midwest Society for Photographic Education Student/Members Exhibition at MIAD (2019), The Artist Intervenes Lenscratch Exhibition (2021), and the Homecoming 2021 Exhibition at JKC Gallery. She received Best in Show at both the ECRAC IMAGE Art Show (2020) and Wisconsin ArtsWest 41 Exhibition (2021), and her work was featured in the Homecoming 2021 Publication. Connect with her on her 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 LACP Exposure Reviews, Photo NOLA, Review Santa Fe, Photolucida, Atlanta Celebrates Photography, and the New England Portfolio Reviews. 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.
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