Untitled (Patrick Driveway)

Summer Edition Hey, Hot Shot! Winner 2006

Brandon Herman

Currently residing in New York, NY

website: brandonhermanland.com

Work Statement
By far, the most powerful characteristic of photography for me is its unbreakable bond with reality. “Painting can feign reality without seeing it,� explains Roland Barthes, but “in Photography I can never deny that the thing has been there.� I take photographs to make my fantasies come true. A painter can conjure images from his imagination and place them straight upon his canvas, but in order for a photographer to depict his fantasies, as Barthes points out, he must have them in front of his lens. I used to draw and paint my imaginings, and found no satisfaction in a process that only seemed to confirm the impossibility of their actual realization.


Swimming, climbing trees, playing outside, making out, running, being naked, having sex, jumping, being with friends, bonfires, eating yummy food until I’m so full I’m going to explode, getting drunk, getting out of control, acting like an animal, ejaculating, peeing, lack of inhibitions, no consequences, no rules, being young, being silly, having fun. These are the things I love; the elements of my fantasy world. And when I take pictures they become my reality and the photographs become important mementos, proof that for a few hours at a time I got together with my friends and made my fantasies come true.

Bio

I was born and raised in a small suburb of San Francisco. I studied photography at the Rhode Island School of Design. It is my firm belief that true happiness lies in the realization that reality and the imagination can coexist, and in the pursuit of a seamless blend of the two.