Rachael Banks
Rachael Banks shares her experience of using photography as a means of cheating death. She explores the importance of creatives creating honest work, building a legacy, and connecting with the dead.
About the speaker
Rachael Banks is an Assistant Professor of Photography at Northern Kentucky University. Rachael is a Louisville, KY native and currently based in Covington, KY. She received an MFA in photography at Texas Woman’s University and a BA in photography from Bellarmine University.
Rachael's work focuses primarily on family dynamics, relationships, and nostalgia. She is especially interested in social subcultures and identity informed by place. Rachael is an avid supporter of self-publishing, accessible art, zines, and collecting. She is inspired by artists who work in collaboration with each other and their community.
Favorite quotes from this talk See all
While death is often something that is difficult to think about, we can cheat it through making art, because when we are not here, our art will be.
But what I can tell you is that, for me, in my experience, the best work I've made is honest work, and the best portraits I've made come from a place of love.
What I have learned about making good images is that I’ve made a shit ton of bad images. But if I didn’t make that bad work, I wouldn’t know what good work was.
We get caught up a lot with trends and following trends, and its not necessarily like trends are bad, but when I think about what'll happen when I'm not here, and what I'll leave behind, its my images, its my work. If I follow trends I don't know what that says about me when I'm not here anymore.
Photos from this talk See all
