Artists in conversation: ezra
CT: Thank you for joining us today. You are officially on the record.
E: Sweet
CT: I am starting this series talking to different artists and, you know, visual creatives talking about their process. About their work. You’re my second interview so this might be a little chaotic, but thats okay ‘cause some of us thrive in chaos. Are you one of those types of people that thrive in chaos or you like order?
E: Yeah, I think half of the work in the gallery and my work in general is chaotic subject matter.
CT: Beautiful
E: Also, I think there’s order in the compositions I usually shoot as well. So its like a contrast of chaos and order and the work.
CT: I’ve prepared some questions for ya. My first interview was more question-answer, but I would love to have more of a conversation. So definitely lean into it. Don’t feel you to have be very rigid or anything like that.
E: Alright.
CT: Tell us who you are, for those of us who don’t know you.
E: I’ll say first, I’m just a person. I’m an artist. My name is Bearden Ezra Douglas. I do photography, videography, music, directing, producing, cinematography. Just an all around creative. I like to share my view and perspective to the world. I choose to do videomaking and photography now, but all around, artistic creation is what it is. So, I just describe myself as an artist.
CT: Nice, you know I’ve been following your –– we’ve known each other for quite a few years -
E: It’s been a minute.
CT: I feel like -
E: Since 2021?
CT: Yes! I’m glad you mention photo and video kinda in this cluster together, because I feel your photography is inspired by cinema….Do you view your photography or still images through the lens of video and motion? Do you imagine a frame? How does that work for you?
E: Do I imagine my motion picture stills, or my motion picture, as a still frame, is that the question?
CT: Kinda, yeah, I think thats a better way to say it. I see your films and I imagine that you probably think of each one as a frame or imagine each scene in that way, ‘cause I do the same thing. My visual lens comes from filmmaking and creating a beautiful moving picture rather than just a single frame. What’s your approach to like -
E: My approach is definitely the still photo. It comes to mind first. So like I still frame composition and adding that energy to it, like movement, or a static shot. But usually, incorporating movement lets me express fully what I’m fully what I’m feeling through that frame. So I imagine the still frame first. Even my still frames I tell people to look away as to not to look in the camera to kinda get that feeling that they’re being watched from the screen and they're not looking directly at it. I think those interesting portraits to take just cause they look like movie stills.
CT: And yours do, very much so.
E: Thank you. I try to accomplish that even if they are looking in the camera as well through composition, colors, setting choices, and whatnot.
CT: I feel that looking at the camera doesn’t always have to break you out of the scene but it can sometimes bring you more inside of it. Like when you’re meeting eye to eye with the subject. I know in photography, it’s common that the subject is obviously looking at the camera. But in filmmaking, so many people like to shy away from that. The [director] tell you “don’t look at the camera! don’t look at the camera! don’t look at the camera!” But i feel like they’re certain times when cinema can have the subject looking. Like, Barry Jenkins does that a lot. You know? Are you familiar with his work?
E: Yeah. I think there’s a time for fourth wall breaking for sure. I see it as a continuity thing, viewing the film as a story first. So the viewer is not necessarily part of that story physically. So I try to - when I’m shooting the film - I want the viewer to be immersed as a viewer and not one of the characters out of nowhere. But I do agree with, at certains times, to have your actor or actress stare into the lens.
CT: These 3 photos you sent me, one of them is of a car. It seems like its at a car meet. You got this beautiful white Charger at a car meet. You have this black and white image of this girl. And then you have this beautiful - and this one is my favorite - of the park with this lake, with this person sitting there. Very serene. I love the colors here . Was this film or digital? It looks digital.
E: Uh huh.
CT: It’s film?
E: It’s film.
CT: Okay. The color was throwing me off. It looks like it was digital trying to be film. But, interesting. It is my favorite. I love how serene and how you’ve composed the shot. Why these photos?
Photo by Ezra
E: I feel they perfectly described the overall theme of the gallery. So just a mix between that peace and chaos. The factor in the mystery of the girl in the snow. “What is this gallery gonna be about?”
CT: This girl is in the snow?
E: Yeah, or maybe I forgot which photo I used. It was a car in the daytime, then Victor at the lake, and what was the third one?
CT: It’s this girl. She’s in the grass - some tall grass, which doesn’t look very wintery to me.
E: Is it a low shot?
CT: Yeah, it could be.
E: By flowers?
CT: Yes.
BD: Yeah, I remember that shot. That shot is so peaceful to me.
CT: You mention chaos. Is that a theme of the show? Matter of fact, you told us about yourself. Tell us about the show. Where did this come from? How long have you been curating it. What was the process of curating these photos?
E: Yeah. I called it “Badside Gallery” as a funny joke with my friend. I was like, “Nah, that’s my bad side.” And I showed him a picture of himself and I was like “That’s kinda funny.” ‘cause I didn’t feel like anybody had a “bad side”. But, then I started thinking about some of my work and some of that shit is chaotic on the “bad side” of town as people would say. So, I drew that parallel as a good mix of chaotic seeing cars on the bad side of town. You’re familiar the photography, with portraits I was doing which have aspects of crime in them. Especially, firearms. People won’t let you photography so nicely or so heavenly; it’s supposed to be dangerous. Just kinda like playing with that idea. I think I’ve been doing that since I started too. Just trying to produce the most viable work however. From previous situations it’s been fun. So I guess the curation process has been going on four years.
CT: Four years. That’s wild.
E: Yeah this is work from 2020. Well I would say say three years. It’s work from 2021 up until, like, last month.
CT: Okay. Badside…Well I hope you show some of the good side too!
E: You see some of the differences in the way that I shoot and the cameras I use, colors, choices, and stuff. All that.
CT: Chaos. It’s so interesting this photo of serenity is in a show titled “Badside”. What are you hoping people get from this experience?
E: Well, just to see Maryland and Baltimore and that elegant sense in respecting the nature, and the city, and the people, and the culture. Things that they might not understand but still respect.
CT: Last couple of questions, who is on your moldboard?
E: A moodboard?
CT: Yes, who are you following that inspires you? Put us on to some people we might not know about.
E: Hmmm, Okay. I’ll do a photographer, musicians, and film director. Photographer I’ll say Eli Agurs. He’s super dope. He helped me on my last project. He does amazing sports work. It’s fucking awesome. It’s dark and moody sports work. On the track, different countries and everything. Just awesome. Definitely magazine worthy work. And Austin. Like crazy, colorful portraits. Great contrast and people’s emotions. I like his work as well. I’ll go into musicians. My cousin Lui. He’s crazy like, fucking hardware sounding beats. It’s mysterious and cyber and I get a lot of inspiration from that. Another musician I’m messing with right now - underground - is [Lady Agelos]. Ya’ll just gonna have to wait on her stuff for that shit. Definitely on that futuristic vibe. That’s what I’m going for.
CT: Tell us, how can we support your work.
E: You can support my work by just being there. Being there for my work and my team and support by buying products. Like I got photobooks coming out. I got these prints are gonna be for sale. Support the business like that. Services are always offered - commercials, music videos, short films, shit like that. Photo shoots. If you see the style, and like the style - I’m open to work.