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Since striking out on her own, Koster has followed her heart by working on various personal projects. In a way, she did become an anthropologist after all, seeing as human beings are her subject matter. She recently spent time in East Africa photographing stories on health and social issues. Her documentary, AIDS Is Knocking, takes a look at all of the disease's victims, including orphans and widows. Her on-going multi-media series, "This is Beautiful," focuses on the body consciousness of women. The project, which includes audio and video, is presented at universities, high schools, and middle schools. The photographs show woman of all shapes and sizes as they are: naturally, and in the nude. Was it always your intention to work on socially conscious stories? Yes. A 'concerned photographer' class was a turning point for me. I realized it was a way to teach people about the rest of the world through photos, and to help. However, I do remember my mother asking me, 'Why do you always root for the underdog?' As a kid I used to run soup kitchens, visit retirement homes with my church, and smile at homeless people when we lived in New York City. I answered her, 'Because I can.' She just looked at me funny.
My favorite teacher ever, Harold Shapiro. My first photo class was at Creative Arts Workshop, a small city art school. Also, Brother Dennis, a Benedictine monk. I was fired from a waitressing job and had been volunteering at a children's soup kitchen run by Brother Dennis. He knew I was taking a photo class and asked me to photograph an event. He sat me down one day and told me to never stop photography; it was what I was meant to do. Kofi Annan. I had to photograph him for a Yale University event a long time ago. While photographing him he asked me if I loved my job. I put my camera down, and nodded. He looked me straight in my eyes and said, 'You have a gift, you love your work. You are very lucky and don't ever stop what you are doing.' He was a bit more eloquent and very intense. What was the reason behind shooting This is Beautiful (www.thisisbeautiful.org)?A few things. The work I had seen by people like K'the Kollwitz, Barbara Kruger, and Anita Roderick; noticing the realistic mannequins while in Brazil and then wondering what was so wrong with the real women in my own culture. Why didn't I see myself in my culture? Also, I had struggled with an easting disorder in high school and have always been aware of the basic bombardment with the generic and yet totally unrealistic images we see of women in this country. Who is she anyway? How does photography help their concerns about self-image?I think it is the actual shoot and also the aftereffects that help the women realize they are not alone in their body or beauty issues. For most women it is very empowering and bonding. At first their eye level never drops below the chin, but after awhile they are all checking each others scars, boobs, knees, everything. Just laughing, dancing, giggling, sometimes crying. How did the women react to the photos afterwards? At first they were shocked, they were not used to seeing so many photos at once. Most people are not used to a big pile of contact sheets, especially images of themselves naked. I think some women thought everyone else looked beautiful but they had a hard time with images of themselves. Other women just thought they were the shit no matter what.
After one presentation at a middle school I asked how many students knew someone with an eating disorder - 80 percent of the girls and boys raised their hands. The teacher gasped. A few kids came up to me after and wanted some advice on their class projects about beauty. We decided to analyze how women's beauty has been depicted in art over the last 100 years. Were you ever uncomfortable while shooting? Not really. Since I photograph people all the time I was very comfortable, kind of invisible. I never tell people what to do during a shoot, I just shoot around them, shoot what they do. They forgot about me after awhile. Can you tell us about your experience in Africa? I will never forget one boda-boda (bicycle taxi) driver, Khamisi. He was 14 and 'took the day off from school' to earn money for school fees. He was fasting for Ramadan; it was about 95 degrees Fahrenheit and he was lugging me mid-day, full sun, up hill, while fasting (no food or water all day). Never did he complain or stop smiling. Khamisi was just grateful to work and earn money for school, and practice English. Teaching Kenyan kids was amazing I taught digital photography and journalism to the kids and founded the first African site for an organization called Bridges. I have taught photography in America for years, and the different ways that people view and appreciate education is startling. It brought tears to my eyes every single class. Their work definitely had an effect on me and my perspective of honest storytelling. My students were a mix of Swahili, Giriama and Luo, 3 tribes in the tiny village. They varied from Christian to Muslim to different native religions that were sort of animistic. They all played together, understood when one was fasting for Ramadan and the other had Sunday school and the third had to go to the witch doctor. They had such tolerance and knowledge about each other. How did the experience change you?Wow. In what way didn't it change me? I was living in a tiny Muslim village on the coast north of Mombasa. Islam had a big impact on me, hearing the call to prayer five times a day. It was so grounding to wake up every day reminded of something other than myself. I was there again during Ramadan, which was also a beautiful experience.
They overlap. Many art directors tell me they love my personal work and that is why they contacted me. Nothing changes whether I am in Kenya or at Microsoft. I love photographing people. Everyone matters. Are your commercial jobs ever heavily produced with hair and make-up, lights, and all that? Sometimes. There are times when things are totally produced but I try and quiet all of that, really connect with my subject and make it feel natural. It's just my style. I have recently been working on an ad campaign about shoes for seniors. Funny, the whole campaign is now going in the direction of a documentary style using real people and regular old places. The art director couldn't get a few of my images out of his mind and changed the whole feel of the campaign. What do you look for in your own work?Truth and connection. Of course I look for a good exposure, composition, nice light, and all that, but connection is so important. Even with Steve Ballmer, I might just ask how the convention is going for him. I don't dig 'drive by shootings' where people just land somewhere, then photograph something because it is cool, 'just work,' exotic, or heart wrenching. And they don't even go for a Coke together afterwards, learn peoples names, or how to say thank you in their language. Like the scene in Erin Brockovich when the lawyer, Albert Finney, and Julia Roberts were interviewing the poisoned clients, and were later offered coffee. Finney looked at his watch and said, 'We really should be going," and Roberts glared at him and said, 'Have a damn cup of coffee, Ed.' That's what I mean.
What is your dream job? Ahh, a dream job. . .More documentary style work. I would like to work on more projects like those in Kenya last year. Combining documentary media-making with stills, video, collecting audio and stories, combining them all together to teach people things, to tell stories. I love the New York Times multi-media pieces; we are glued to them at my studio. I will always love editorial work. Commercially I would like to shoot something like the Dove campaign, real people, real stories. There is some cool advertising going on and I wouldn't mind doing more of that. When are you satisfied?I am satisfied when people really react to my work - whether they cry, laugh, applaud, rant and rave, tell me I am terrible, and also when they act. I am satisfied when people learn something new, when they have a new perspective as a result of my work. I was satisfied when I saw Caxton, an orphan in Kenya, play with my Hassleblad, see his friends though the lens and giggle. I was satisfied to find out he has been sponsored and will go on to the secondary school. I am satisfied that you know he exists. I was very satisfied to return from Romania and show my grandfather images of his village, before he passed away. I was satisfied when my brother sent me flowers with a card that said, 'We are so proud of you,' when I got back from Kenya. I was satisfied to hear my father cried when he saw my work in Newsweek. I am very satisfied when the sun comes out in Seattle, and when I land at JFK. I am satisfied that I can vote, even when my candidate doesn't win. I am also pretty satisfied all my bills are paid. - Contributed by Juliette Wolf Robin >> See more work from Amanda Koster >> See other member spotlights on the member spotlight index >> Find out more on how to become an altpick.com member |
