Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kourtney Iman. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Kourtney, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s talk about social media – do you manage your own or do you have someone or a company that handles it for you? Why did you make the choice you did?
Social media can be your best friend and worst enemy, somedays I love it and some days I can’t stand to look at so many lives and updates at once. It’s funny because I am a social media manager outside of being creative and being on the back end of things puts many things into perspective. On one end as someone managing different social media platforms, it is best that you are always in the “know” or forever present online. As someone who is a user, at times I do feel like I want to completely log off all screens and log into reality.
Kourtney, 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?
My name is Kourtney Iman. I am a multi-hyphenate creative with a focus on Fine Arts Photography. Photography found me at the ripe age of 14 years old, my father had been a photographer back in the day and I wanted to follow in his footsteps. Utimatley what drew me in even more was fashion photography and the lack of seeing Black bodies editorial spaces. Especially being from the small town of Decatur,AL fashion photography had honestly been a lane that had been untouched, especially by a Black female photographer. I began my photography journey working with a Canon rebel T3 gifted to me by my mother one Christmas, and for years I continued to work with it simply because I felt the equipment never matter, only the eye behind the equipment. As work began to pick up I could finally afford the medium format film camera that I work with today. What sets me apart from others in my field is that I’m not afraid to start over and completely change my style. It’s in my nature to be drawn to completely off the wall things, avant-gard ideas and I try to incorporate those experience and elements in my work. The moment I am most proud of has to be the moment my family first saw my work on exhibition. It was something that was tangible, something they could feel and see with their own eyes, not behind a computer screen. What I’d like my followers, potential clients and friends to know is that I will continue to highlight the black experience, and champion the black female gaze. I want to be a voice in my community and my goal is to accomplish that by my works.
We’d love to hear your thoughts on NFTs. (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice
My view on NFTs is a bit indifferent. I had one created for me for an exhibition in the earlier part of 2021 and never saw a return on it. Maybe I might have been a bit neglectful when it came time to check on my return lol but since being out and about in the world I’d rather my work be experienced in real time and in real life. I would hate for an artist to experience their work being stolen due to not fully understanding their way around the NFT / virtual space, so please proceed with caution.
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
One of the main resources I wish I knew about earlier in my creative journey would be how to negotiate contracts and usage. If I could give any advice to any upcoming artists please understand the importance of usage, deliverables, and ownership of your work. Get everything you are putting into your craft — you deserve it all!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kourtneyiman.com
- Instagram: @_kourtneyiman
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kourtney-king/
- Twitter: kourtinthakut
Image Credits
Photo 1: Model: Varsha IG: @varshnarsh Photo 2: Boys Kiss Boys Photo 3: Model: Jamillah IG: @jamillahmcwhorter Photo 4: Model: Madi IG: @_sailorv