Meanderings on interdisciplinary work, Goldsmiths, Magnum Photography, and creating alternative narratives of place with Artist and curator Rebecca Locke
If the mark of a life well lived is a perpetual sense of adventure, then Rebecca lives well. If the mark of a talented artist is a propelling force towards new projects, and interesting forums in which to present such work, then yet again, she fits the bill.
An enthusiasm towards life and its potential for renewal characterizes and informs both her life and her work.
British-born, having moved to New York in the days when Williamsburg wasn’t so … ”Williamsburg”, Locke played drums in a Puerto Rican country music band, chased taxis on roller skates through Times Square in the night’s middle, sang in Sufjan Steven’s Michigan Militia in its early days, and, of course, took part in the flamboyant New York night scene of the early 2000’s: Electroclash! When I met her at an exhibit she’d curated last year, what appeared to be a zany core of her warm but no-nonsense demeanor struck me as intriguing. She was back from London, she’d said, after several years away pursuing an MFA in Photography at Goldsmiths, was making her own work, and involved with, among other things, a collaborative workshop project with City to Sea (for which she is curator), Goldsmiths, University of London, and Magnum Photo’s Peter Marlow. We have since become friends.
Recently, on one of the first of those days last month in which the whimsy gusts hinted at summer, we sat under an umbrella at Bryant Park to talk life and art, and to consider some of Rebecca’s recent projects. Here are snippets from our conversation.