I met Erika in 1998 through a mutual friend, the actor/ writer/ director Matt Ross. I was visiting Matt in New York and mentioned to him that I was interested in photographing women. Until then I had only made personal photographs of my male friends. Mattsuggested I meet his friend Erika whom he first knew as an undergrad at the University of Washington. They had both moved to New York City to pursue acting careers. Erika was enthusiastic about making some pictures with me and suggested we meet the following day.
Upon meeting her, I was immediately drawn to Erika. Matt left us alone and Erika and I began making pictures. We commenced in a way that would be our collaborative method for the next 15 years. The photographs collected in this box are an amalgam of what we each brought to the photo session on that day. The near yearly changing locations, the changing light, various articles of clothing Erika had collected earlier the previous months; and most critically, our shifting and maturing stages of life which contributed heavily to the variety you see in the final images. The second-to-last time I saw Erika she was eight months pregnant. In our final photos she was bonding with her six-month old.
We had both been through many personal changes during the timespan of these pictures, but the initial creative connection Erika and I shared remained strong and consistent throughout. I felt my experiment in photographing women was immediately successful. Erika and I seemed to have the same sensibility in making dynamic and personal images. It helped that Erika was used to being seen, being on stage and was a photographer herself. Her Williamsburg flat had a curious aura about it. The light was dim and soft, coming in as reflections from other buildings. Erika’s clothing, furniture and décor were all teeming with character – choice vintage. All I knew about Erika at the time was that she was making a living as a producer and actor in avant-garde theater and that her presence enchanted me and my camera.
I discovered a lot about myself through photographing Erika. My previous photographs were primarily about reconnecting with my father. My images depicted anonymous men wandering dark city streets on an undefined mission. After making enough of these images I had a suspicion that something was missing in my artistic and personal development and that perhaps I should stop pursuing the symbolic male and let him go. Being a longtime believer in Carl Jung’s theory of the inner masculine and feminine aspects of each of us - our respective animus and anima - photographing Erika helped me connect with my inner feminine. My images began to reflect my changing curiosity and focus and brought about different qualities into my photographs.
I became interested in subtle variations in light. I sought more visual complexity and texture in my images. Each photo session exhibited a distinct mood. At first, I was intimidated at the idea of photographing the female form. After photographing Erika, I started a series of female nudes and semi-nudes, opening myself up to a variety of imagery with various women inviting me into their homes to make pictures. Being receptive to input from those whom I was photographing was a major change in my picture-making. I realized I had a tendency to foist my idea onto my subject. Photographing Erika helped me recognize the value of others’ suggestions and to creativity and space itself. In Buddhist philosophy the feminine is often likened to space. Photographing Erika allowed me to better appreciate more of what happens in space in its entirety. Photographing Erika has also given me insight into how a person changes over time and place; body and perspective. Erika quickly became not only my muse and inspiration, she became my friend and colleague and helped me be a more well-rounded and understanding person.
In this presentation of the photographs from the Erika sessions it seems natural to include her words, as the process of making the images always included stimulating conversation about art, place, light and shadow and what was happening in our respective lives. The text came from a series of interviews I made with Erika in 2019. He words are partly captions to the photographs and partly her thoughts and reminiscences of the places she’s lived, her relationships and her thoughts on art and life. I hope the viewer enjoys the photographs in a wider context by appreciating not just the way Erika looks, but also by reading her insightful ideas about her creative process. I also hope you take from the text a sense of Erika’s resilience and insistence on living life creatively and positively.
In these photographs the viewer is partly seeing Erika as a person and partly seeing her many masks and personas. Each one is a manifestation of her multifaceted nature. Throughout the years Erika directed me as much as I directed her. We would each be interested equally in ideas, mannerisms, light and shadow. And throughout our collaborative partnership we agreed to create imagery that is open–ended and interpretive, so that each viewer can inject imaginary stories and ideas in between what we brought. I encourage you to do so.
This box of photographs is designed so that is does not simply sit on a shelf with other books. It is designed to be left out in the open. It beckons to be perused like a box of snapshots, complete with a jolt of curiosity and imagination. The prints are loose so that they may be framed and put on a wall or shelf if desired. I imagine collectors of this box to frame one or two prints and place them in a couple places in the house, as if Erika is a distant relative – or perhaps a mysteriousstranger who persists in asking questions any time her face is invoked. The prints should be touched, their edges roughed-up over time. Ideally, the photographs are to be held closely.
Jason Langer, 2019