About Nathan Duncan
Nathan Duncan grew up in a family where painting and music were just a part of life. He created his own drawings, paintings, and sculptures from as far back as he can remember until the cusp of adulthood; then simply abandoned it for nearly two decades. Duncan says, “I cannot even fathom why this happened; it just suddenly died. Life was quickly changing and survival was my only focus. I then came to a point where I noticed something missing. That was time that I remembered who I was for so long, so many years previously.” Duncan decided to return to art through photography rather than other mediums because it allowed him to explore people and the world around him. His work communicates messages that revolve primarily around aesthetics, light and color, far more than any specific emotion. It generalizes a hint of emotion, but it is only enough to let its observer draw his or her own conclusions. He simply provides the door. Duncan’s inspiration comes from his dreams, Golden Age cinema, and music.
My body of work intends to communicate visions that revolve primarily around aesthetics, light and color. There is sometimes a hint of emotion, but only enough to let an observer draw his or her own conclusions. My inspiration often comes from dreams, Golden Age cinema, electronic music, and industrial manufacturing. My perception of these visions is conveyed through built forms, light and color that my mind recognizes. I form a storyline in my mind, and then bring that to my work with film and digital darkrooms. My creative flow and the feelings that I carry when I create a project is always crescendo in nature. A project grows in my mind's eye until the moment I birth it on set when everything is released at once. I never formally studied photography, but I am a student of photography. I have learned the rules based on principles that create great compositions and deliberately break those rules; I let my passion dictate how I compose individual pieces that create a project.
About the art
Nathan Duncan grew up in a family where painting and music were just a part of life. He created his own drawings, paintings, and sculptures from as far back as he can remember until the cusp of adulthood; then simply abandoned it for nearly two decades. Duncan says, “I cannot even fathom why this happened; it just suddenly died. Life was quickly changing and survival was my only focus. I then came to a point where I noticed something missing. That was time that I remembered who I was for so long, so many years previously.” Duncan decided to return to art through photography rather than other mediums because it allowed him to explore people and the world around him. His work communicates messages that revolve primarily around aesthetics, light and color, far more than any specific emotion. It generalizes a hint of emotion, but it is only enough to let its observer draw his or her own conclusions. He simply provides the door. Duncan’s inspiration comes from his dreams, Golden Age cinema, and music.
My body of work intends to communicate visions that revolve primarily around aesthetics, light and color. There is sometimes a hint of emotion, but only enough to let an observer draw his or her own conclusions. My inspiration often comes from dreams, Golden Age cinema, electronic music, and industrial manufacturing. My perception of these visions is conveyed through built forms, light and color that my mind recognizes. I form a storyline in my mind, and then bring that to my work with film and digital darkrooms. My creative flow and the feelings that I carry when I create a project is always crescendo in nature. A project grows in my mind's eye until the moment I birth it on set when everything is released at once. I never formally studied photography, but I am a student of photography. I have learned the rules based on principles that create great compositions and deliberately break those rules; I let my passion dictate how I compose individual pieces that create a project.