We recently connected with Kristen Grundy and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Kristen, thanks for joining us today. Has your work ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized?
There have always been misunderstandings and mischaracterizations about my work. The thing a lot of people do not realize is that I create all of the aspects within my photos. I conceive the idea/character, cast the model and find their wardrobe, put together sets and props, and shoot on a set location or completely composite the set with photos I have taken. I do not just pull images off the web and composite them together for digital art. There is a lot more going into creating the photographs than most people realize. During my time going to school for photography in 2009-13, we would meet with a lot of advertising/editorial industry professionals. When they reviewed my work, they loved how technically sound it was but were puzzled as to what to do with it and who’s going to buy it. They were totally lost on the deeper meaning why these characters look the way they do, why they are in the setting they are. But they thought I was talented. What I took from that experience is that I will not back down. I am going to keep making my art the way I do, the way I need to express things, and not try to make what others thought would be appropriate or thought would sell. It seems my work wasn’t suited for the mainstream back then, but its funny because nowadays I do see my style utilized in marketing ads.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers?
My name is Kristen Grundy, and I bring into creation dreams and nightmares, as well as the horrific slices of life, with photography and filmmaking. Since a very young age, I’ve been drawn to creative imagery, mainly from album covers. When I started photographing as a teen with a film camera in the mid 90’s, it was the punk music scene that I was part of that I documented, as well as capturing street photography. Later when I switched to digital, I began much deeper story telling and creating images, rather than capturing what was already there. Today, I consider myself more of an artist and image creator, than a photographer. I create characters and settings through photography, but what sets me apart from most photographers are the underlying themes that stem from my own traumatic past. My images portray the essence of survival through the struggles that exist in the depths of our complex psyches, and personal stories. They are dark, fantastical, surreal, and/or just plain weird, but nonetheless are truly authentic.
Currently I run DAWN 11:11 Art Collective, with my partner Dave Glass Riddick, in Austin, TX. We provide antiqued wood plaques with high gloss resin finishes and prints of our artwork, as well as screen printed apparel. In addition, Dave and I are part of FALLOUT SF, San Francisco’s punk community art space in conjunction with DESTROYALLGALLERIES.com, which showcases our work amongst anti heroes we admire from our youth and other underground artists.
My photography is also available for licensing use, and I offer select commission work if it aligns with my vision.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
I’ve adapted to being resilient for most of my life. From touring in bands in a van living on peanuts, to picking up and moving across the country multiple times. Perhaps the most profound example is when, after many years of trying and failing, I finally managed to escape from being trapped in an abusive relationship for 15 years. While living in San Francisco, circumstances gave me an opportunity to get an Emergency Protection Order, which he violated right away and went to jail for a month. While there, the judge granted the max restraining order, in which he repeatedly violated also. Unfortunately the police were absolutely useless during all of this, and doing nothing to help me. Therefore, I had no other choice but to carry on with my life and not let the fact there was a stalker around affect how I chose to live. Friends and family all feared for me during this time, however also during this time my mother was losing her battle with cancer. I got out of SF for a while and was in Florida with her before she passed away. Going back home to SF was an extreme mental struggle, but I made it through by keeping that PMA (positive mental attitude)!
Have you ever had to pivot?
I have pivoted quite a few times in my life. The first was when I was 19 and split from Florida to Philadelphia. I was always a film photographer, but by that time film was becoming too costly, and digital was becoming more and more advanced. I then switched to digital and had to relearn photography in that realm. While in Philly, I had also pivoted to music instead of photography, as the bands I was in were taking all my time and touring a lot, and I had lost interest in it. I ended up moving to San Francisco in 2008, and going back to school for photography, thus pivoting me from music to photography again. It was there I developed my style of image creation, and started incorporating themes of all of my life’s tragedies within my work. In 2018, radical life circumstances and an illegal eviction from my rent-controlled apartment in SF played a role in the next pivot of moving back to Philly. This time with my love Dave, and his son in tow, with a memorable cross country trip. The pandemic left us stuck in Philly longer than was desired, but in 2021 we relocated to Austin, TX.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kristengrundy.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristen_grundy_photo/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kristengrundyphoto
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCds8oPbhZjF22ORpYiK5hTQ
- Other: https://dawn1111.bigcartel.com/ https://www.instagram.com/dawn1111collective/ https://www.facebook.com/dawn1111artcollective