Recently I caught up with Somerville photographer Marc Occil. I was struck by his photographs of the "Occupy Boston" protests in Boston. He generously answered some questions that I sent his way
How has it been for you as an artist to live and or work in Somerville, Ma.?
I've lived in Somerville for quite some time. It was a kind of culture shock when I moved here in my adolescence. There was a lot to get used to. A lot underlying social negativity at that time to navigate. Because of that, I mostly only lived in Somerville and focused my work on the bordering neighborhoods in towns outside of Somerville. It wasn't until recently that I was made aware of the possible resources available to artists within Somerville.
I read references to you as a " ground photographer." How do you define that?
I came up with the title from the military term "boots on the ground". These are individuals who are positioned on the front lines to witness an event firsthand. "On The Ground Photography," (or O.T.G.P), is visual storytelling through my eyes events and places I've witnessed. It is something I can leave behind, If nothing else, then what I've seen.
You have a book of photographs that was published that dealt with the Occupy Boston Movement in Boston, back in 2011. What drew you to this event as a subject for your work?
Three years prior, I witnessed a life-altering event I didn't think I would see in my lifetime, and it altered my perspective. When the Arab Spring happened, there was so little information given at the time because it wasn't happening here. I really wasn't paying that close attention to the news at that time. I had on a lot of blinders. But what little was getting through, one of the things that was being talked about was the possibility of us going into a depression. Then I heard about "Occupy Wall Street." Thought it might make a good subject to capture. Then "Occupied Boston" happened. When it first started I was being dismissive of it. I thought it was trying to be a carbon copy of what was happening in Manhattan. But then I realized I was being close-minded. I decided to visit the encampment. Listen to the stories. Capture a few images. It turned into three and a half months and over 5,000 images. It was the humanity that drew me.
Does your work have a decidedly political edge to it? Are you political person by nature?
HA! $#@& No! And yet, I understand the intricate workings of that particular brand of Kung Fu. In 1992, when the LA police were acquitted of all charges of the beating of Rodney King-- against such damning and irrefutable evidence.-- I turned to a man much, MUCH smarter than me and asked, "How was this possible?" And the only answer he could give me was that it was political. As intelligent as he was there was no way he could figure out how to communicate the injustice that occurred other than regurgitating a sound bite. So I had to learn how this politics stuff worked on my own. I wanted to come to some form of acceptance of what just occurred... (And then a decade later the "West Wing" smoothed out all the bumps of that patchwork education. :)
I have always admired the work of Walker Evans, Dianne Arbus, etc... They often inspire my poetry. How about you—who are your inspirations and why?
Gordon Parks. A Renaissance man in a time where such an individual could be killed with ease for expressing himself in any way shape or form. He blazed the trail that left permanent shadows in the earth, and he did it without guidance.
Joseph Louw. For being at the worst place the worst possible time and still having the wherewithal to exercise his craft to capture one of the most horrific moments in time.
“It was just a matter of realizing the horror of the thing. Then I knew I must record it for the world to see.”
Berenice Abbott. Manhattan's first unofficial publicist. If there was ever an individual who could capture a city like a still life model. Raw. Naked. Demure. Slightly coquettish with a sprinkling of "Je ne sais quoi."
Why should we view your work?
Because for a still, inanimate, often lacking color, rectangular window, it's loud.. Like, volume turned up to 11, LOUD. It is often teeming with life even though it's just a sliver of it. It is dark situation, it blazes out at you with an emotional spectrum. It is something that happened in front of you but you didn't see it at the time because it went by with the speed of a snap of a finger. It's our lives in a box.
I've lived in Somerville for quite some time. It was a kind of culture shock when I moved here in my adolescence. There was a lot to get used to. A lot underlying social negativity at that time to navigate. Because of that, I mostly only lived in Somerville and focused my work on the bordering neighborhoods in towns outside of Somerville. It wasn't until recently that I was made aware of the possible resources available to artists within Somerville.
I read references to you as a " ground photographer." How do you define that?
I came up with the title from the military term "boots on the ground". These are individuals who are positioned on the front lines to witness an event firsthand. "On The Ground Photography," (or O.T.G.P), is visual storytelling through my eyes events and places I've witnessed. It is something I can leave behind, If nothing else, then what I've seen.
You have a book of photographs that was published that dealt with the Occupy Boston Movement in Boston, back in 2011. What drew you to this event as a subject for your work?
Three years prior, I witnessed a life-altering event I didn't think I would see in my lifetime, and it altered my perspective. When the Arab Spring happened, there was so little information given at the time because it wasn't happening here. I really wasn't paying that close attention to the news at that time. I had on a lot of blinders. But what little was getting through, one of the things that was being talked about was the possibility of us going into a depression. Then I heard about "Occupy Wall Street." Thought it might make a good subject to capture. Then "Occupied Boston" happened. When it first started I was being dismissive of it. I thought it was trying to be a carbon copy of what was happening in Manhattan. But then I realized I was being close-minded. I decided to visit the encampment. Listen to the stories. Capture a few images. It turned into three and a half months and over 5,000 images. It was the humanity that drew me.
Does your work have a decidedly political edge to it? Are you political person by nature?
HA! $#@& No! And yet, I understand the intricate workings of that particular brand of Kung Fu. In 1992, when the LA police were acquitted of all charges of the beating of Rodney King-- against such damning and irrefutable evidence.-- I turned to a man much, MUCH smarter than me and asked, "How was this possible?" And the only answer he could give me was that it was political. As intelligent as he was there was no way he could figure out how to communicate the injustice that occurred other than regurgitating a sound bite. So I had to learn how this politics stuff worked on my own. I wanted to come to some form of acceptance of what just occurred... (And then a decade later the "West Wing" smoothed out all the bumps of that patchwork education. :)
I have always admired the work of Walker Evans, Dianne Arbus, etc... They often inspire my poetry. How about you—who are your inspirations and why?
Gordon Parks. A Renaissance man in a time where such an individual could be killed with ease for expressing himself in any way shape or form. He blazed the trail that left permanent shadows in the earth, and he did it without guidance.
Joseph Louw. For being at the worst place the worst possible time and still having the wherewithal to exercise his craft to capture one of the most horrific moments in time.
“It was just a matter of realizing the horror of the thing. Then I knew I must record it for the world to see.”
Berenice Abbott. Manhattan's first unofficial publicist. If there was ever an individual who could capture a city like a still life model. Raw. Naked. Demure. Slightly coquettish with a sprinkling of "Je ne sais quoi."
Why should we view your work?
Because for a still, inanimate, often lacking color, rectangular window, it's loud.. Like, volume turned up to 11, LOUD. It is often teeming with life even though it's just a sliver of it. It is dark situation, it blazes out at you with an emotional spectrum. It is something that happened in front of you but you didn't see it at the time because it went by with the speed of a snap of a finger. It's our lives in a box.
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