We recently connected with Bailey Rigby and have shared our conversation below.
Bailey, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
The arts always interested me growing up. I practiced more as a hobby and didn’t have a passion for one specific medium – It wasn’t until my junior year of high school I found photography.
By the time my sophomore year was ending I had already taken every single art class my high school offered (a whopping total of two courses). I was desperately looking for another outlet of expression. I remember one day a representative from a local tech college came to advertise for their trade programs. I decided to apply to their photography curriculum – I had never picked up a camera in my life but it was the only opportunity I had to academically participate in the arts.
The photography program at Tulsa Technology Center was two years. The first year was very humbling. I had no inclination to composition, good lighting or what made a photograph good vs. bad. I was learning an abundance of technical terms but struggled figuring out a formula for the perfect photograph. The constant failure was extremely frustrating and completely outside of my goal to be the top student in every single class I took.
Naturally I did everything I could to become an expert photographer – I spent a lot of time watching YouTube videos and doing experimental photoshoots at home. The program was based around commercial + lifestyle photography, so I trained myself to follow the rules and was producing a lot of technically perfect images for my portfolio.
Although I enjoyed the academic validation, I began worrying commercial photography was not the best path for me. I loved shooting, editing and composing photographs, but offering my skills as a service led to a lot of anxiety and creative dissatisfaction.
Towards the end of my senior year a friend recommended me to the Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute, a highly-competitive residency for young artists. It was outside of my comfort zone but I felt it might help fulfill my childhood dreams of becoming an artist. I auditioned and, to my surprise, was accepted. The residency was very different from what I was used to – staring at single photographs for hours on end, thinking of how our work related to art history, writing statements, etc. And while it was an extremely challenging adjustment, I fell in love with becoming a photographic artist.
After my residency I decided to pursue my Bachelor’s of Fine Arts at Utah State University. The pedagogy inspired a more thoughtful, research-based practice. While I didn’t learn anything groundbreaking about the rule of thirds or how to correctly expose with strobe lights in the studio, I learned how to make impactful, meaningful work through writing, experience and photographing the world as I see it.
Bailey, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am a fine art photographer based in Salt Lake City, Utah. I am currently inspired by literary fiction, horror movies and long walks.
I focus my work on autobiographical research projects, particularly discussing experiences on religion and family history. My ‘making’ process is similar to most other academic, photographic artists, however I strive to be deeply, personally connected to the things I’m working on.
I am most proud of my most recent project and BFA thesis ‘The Study of Last Things,’ a series of photographs and installations exploring my deconstruction in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I spent about a year researching, writing and shooting, which ended up consuming every corner of my life. Making this work helped me navigate my experience, not just in stepping away from a religion, but in becoming more open-minded and accepting of other perspectives. Hanging the show was one of the scariest things I have ever done, but the outcome was well worth it.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
Everything we consume is based in storytelling – as artists we get to aid in how the world perceives a specific narrative. I love being able to shape series of photographs into a story with my own personal set of iconographies and allegories. We each live in different realities of the same world, and it is only through the photograph that we get a glimpse of one outside our own.
I believe photographers are also the same as poets, where as a poet sequences words with one another to contextualize their internal concepts, a photographer does the exact same with visual imagery. It is incredibly fascinating that photographers will capture things which resonate with personal or historical references and in their display will be able to make a narrative out of something we may have never known to exist.
Most importantly, I have found that artmaking provides the unique opportunity to connect with others, both those in your life and those you may have never spoken to otherwise. After presenting my thesis show ‘The Study of Last Things,’ I was able to take this honest, open conversation and intertwine it with older and newer friendships. I would have never been able to create this dialogue or form these relationships if I were not an artist.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
I can’t even list the amount of times I was told not to pursue photography in higher education. In fact, my senior year photography teacher discouraged me from furthering my education in the arts because, to him, commercial work was the only way to succeed as a photographer. I was told by several adults in my life I was “too smart” to waste my brains on an art degree.
Granted, pursuing the arts in academia is a big risk – opportunities will seldom present themselves if you are not fully entrenched in your work. I knew creative fulfillment was going to be the biggest priority for me, and I took a leap of faith in figuring it out – a little out of spite for those adults, but mostly for doing what I knew would be best for my happiness.
This year I received my Bachelor’s of Fine Arts with an emphasis in photography, and eventually plan on receiving a Master’s of Fine Arts. I just also started working full time at a gallery in Salt Lake where I’ve the most incredible experience working with local artists. It was not the smoothest or happiest of journeys at times, but I am so incredibly grateful for the peers, mentors and friends who supported me along the way.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.baileyrigby.com
- Instagram: @baileyrigbyphoto
Image Credits
All photo credits go to Bailey Rigby.