Meet Timothy Hearsum | Artist/Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Timothy Hearsum and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Timothy, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
It started in high school. My girlfriend was on the yearbook staff and they needed a photographer. I’d had some experience with a camera, but primarily I wanted to have an extra class each day with my girlfriend. So, I volunteered.

I soon realized that image making is how I interpret the world around me. So while I didn’t start out with the goal of pursuing an artistic career, overtime it has become my way of experiencing the world. And, like most creative people I now feel that I have no choice. I cannot, not express myself visually.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
It has been said that I see the world from the perspective of a visual anthropologist. I’m not preoccupied with photographing iconically beautiful places. Traveling back roads or walking alleyways on foot, inspires much of my visual language.

My portfolio includes black and white infrared and Polaroid images, color panoramas (as in my book ROAD TRIPS) and digital photographs. My most recent work involves forming pairings with images to tell a richer story (as in my book AFFINITIES and the series below entitled SCAPES). I’ve also self-published fourteen zines of various bodies of work.

As the high school photographer, I certainly didn’t realize that would lead to a career that involved University teaching and museum curating as well as interaction with architects, designers, corporate art consultants and photo stock agencies. Sure there have been challenges, but having these many directions to fall back on made it possible to keep a focus on my own work, too.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
After living in Santa Barbara for 20 years, we moved to the high desert in 2015. While we love both places, we find this community with its slower pace and inspiration for pursuing art to be perfect for this time in our lives.

When we have visitors we make plenty of time to relax on our front porch with it’s 360 degree views of the surrounding mountains and deserts. Day trips to Joshua Tree National Park, the Noah Purifoy Outdoor Desert Art Museum and Giant Rock are always on the agenda. If we’re lucky, there will be a concert at Lou Harrison House in Joshua Tree or an event with the Joshua Tree Highlands Artist Residency program (we serve on the Board).

Finally, we go to Spaghetti Western Saloon in Morongo. Not only is it our favorite place for Italian food, the live music is great, the Saloon Salon is a perfect gallery space (we help to curate the bimonthly exhibits) and we’re always in the company of good friends.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Majoring in photographic studies for my post-secondary degrees set the course of my art practice as photographer, teacher and curator. My influences are historically important artists like Walker Evans, Nathan Lyons, Burk Uzzle and Lee Friedlander who understood that visual reasoning and reflection could result in a photographic discourse deeper than conventional words.

And that high school sweetheart? We married just after college graduation. Judy continues to inspire me and serve as my muse. Her enthusiasm, encouragement and now her post-production skills keep the business and the long journey alive.

Website: https://www.timothyhearsum.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/t.hearsum

Other: https://www.blurb.com/search/site_search?search=timothy+hearsum&filter=all&commit=Search https://www.gettyimages.com/photos/timothy-hearsum http://www.sfeditions.com/Hearsum/Trio_1.htm

Image Credits
Timothy Hearsum