ALEX KITTOE
Memento sat down with Alex ahead of his first drop to explore his career as a photographer. Also, his thoughts on Memento’s mission to create elevated, offline alternatives to social media.
Can you describe what motivates you as a photographer and artist today? And if those motivations may have changed over time?
One of the main motivations for me as an artist today is the idea that I have not yet created my best work. My motivation used to just be to get to a place where I’m consistently proud of the work I’m creating and once I reached a level of consistency, I stay motivated by trying to get better and better. Another main motivator for me lately has just been trying to stay outside of my comfort zone and try new things. I have been shooting some more unfamiliar subjects this year like portrait work, creating collages with my own photography, utilizing mixed media in collaboration with other artists, and introducing more digital photography this past year. I feel like if I push myself to continuously grow and learn new things that I will always stay motivated.
“I have not yet created my best work. My motivation used to just be to get to a place where I’m consistently proud of the work I’m creating. [Now it's also] about trying to stay outside of my comfort zone. ”
Do you have what you'd call a 'photographic style' or genre?
I try not to box myself in too much by labeling my style or genre, but if I had to pick, I would lean towards categorizing myself as a landscape photographer. I shoot concerts, portraits, lifestyle, real-estate, you name it, but at the end of the day landscape has been, and will likely always be, my bread and butter. Shooting landscapes is by far what I enjoy the most. It’s so peaceful to just go wander around somewhere new with a camera, focusing on nothing but your surroundings, and taking new photos. In a way, it’s almost therapeutic and is where I draw most of my inspiration from.
“It’s so peaceful to just go wander around somewhere new with a camera, focusing on nothing but your surroundings, and taking new photos. In a way, it’s almost therapeutic.”
Can you share you process for creating your photographic collages and how your unique take on photography came about? What's the backstory behind Too Far Gone in Particular?
I typically start my collages with a random idea and a base photo. I will take a photograph that I enjoy and put it into photoshop. From there, I kind of just start cutting it up and using other photos from my archive to piece it back together almost like a puzzle. Trying to find the right foreground, mountains, sky, clouds, etc. from other photos that will fit the overall aesthetic that I am going for. I also use a variety of textures on top to help them feel more surreal than a regular photograph and blend together a bit more fluid. I actually started making these by accident one day after a conversation with a friend. We were trying to make a collaborative piece that involved my photo as a base layer with some texture overlays. I got a little carried away and ended up with something entirely new. I had so much fun during the process of creating it that I was almost addicted to making collages for a while. After that, I was trying to create one per day for a month or so.
Too Far Gone was the first collage piece that I ever made and consists of 6 of my own film photos. Creating that piece of art changed my trajectory this year and introduced a new creative outlet in my life that I think I really needed. When I started working with Memento, I knew that I wanted Too Far Gone to be the first design to go on a shirt and would be my first drop. It feels full circle to see this collage come to life in a physical and wearable way.
Why do you think fashion can be a powerful medium for photography and how has Memento influenced that opinion?
I think fashion can be a powerful medium for anything really. Fashion is such an important part of self-expression. There is a serious lack in crossover of photography and fashion though, and it’s something I haven’t really seen done very well in the past. I thoroughly believe in Memento’s overall vision and the idea of presenting people with a new way to consume photography. Not everyone has the time to be constantly going to galleries to discover new artists, and almost everyone spends way too much time on their phones doom scrolling and consuming content. This feels like a new, happy medium that is accessible to everyone but not on screens. Memento is a fresh take on essentially a wearable print without skimping on any quality when bringing it to life.
“Not everyone has the time to be constantly going to galleries to discover new artists, and almost everyone spends way too much time on their phones doom scrolling and consuming content.”
When getting your work out into the world, how do you think about the balance between offline and online mediums? Whether it be prints, books, Memento, etc. What do you think this balance should and will look like 50 years from now?
The reality is that we are living in a world where just about everything is digital, so there is a natural imbalance where I end up showing most of my work on social media, my website, etc. People tend to mostly consume art on their phones, so it’s a lot easier to grow your personal brand digitally. That being said, I am a huge fan of physical prints and am always trying to get my work in people’s hands whenever I can whether it be prints, books, magazines, and now shirts. I think it’s important to find a balance when consuming art on your phone and computer vs looking at something printed out. It usually changes my perspective when I see something in a larger format and can really take it all in. I have no idea what the balance will look like in 50 years, but my hope is that there is still a wide appreciation for physical art and things don’t move to an even more digital heavy format.