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(InthekNOwla) -- NEW ORLEANS | Our culture wouldn't exist without it's many talented artists. And InthekNOwla.com was privileged to chat with one of those artists, photographer Kevin O'Mara.
Now, Kevin O'Mara is not your typical photographer. Don't expect to find any family portraits, or bridal photos, or stills of roses or sunsets. Instead, Kevin's photos run the gamut from, "What a beautiful photo," to "Well, how interesting," to "Hmmm, that's strange!," to "Where in the hell did he get that idea from?" His photos easily draw you into an alternate universe through the eyes of Kevin O'Mara.
In his younger years, Kevin always felt the need to express himself creatively, but he never really found a medium that he was comfortable with. After high school, he thought about attending art school. Instead, he decided to go to business school, albeit with a deep yearning to express himself creatively. Later, he took up photography as a hobby and realized soon after that he could use it as an outlet to allow his imagination to run wild.
"You know, they say a picture is worth a thousand words," exclaims Kevin. "I used to carry around a camera to take snapshots and I thought to myself that I could use this to do something. I could use photography to tell a story. So I experimented with it and the first time I got what I wanted, it felt great, intoxicating even. The more I played around with photography the more I realized I had a knack for it"
Kevin's work ranges from one extreme to the next: simple and warm to twisted and bizarre. However, both convey great beauty and artistic insight. Just one look at his gallery and you'll soon agree that Kevin is a great visionary and more than just a photographer. His ability to capture vivid landscapes, as he sees them in his imagination, is uncanny. Sometimes, the things that inspire Kevin seem to be right out of an Alfred Hitchcock movie, such as his ominous capture of the Milne Boys Home on Franklin Ave. or the shot of the bloody, hairy clog in the bathtub. Yeah, we know it's kinda gross, but it's also very intriguing and profound.
We asked Kevin about the source of his inspiration. He explained, "I don’t really know where my inspiration comes from. Maybe my nightmares or visions, I’m not sure. Sometimes I see an object while walking around that just does it for me. I remember being in the grocery store and in the sushi section, they had these little octopuses for sale. I thought to myself, 'Wow, that's really crazy looking. I bet I could do something with that.' So I bought one. I got home, washed it up really good and made some other adjustments. Next, I had to find the right light and and setting. But, the really challenging part – aside from getting my friend to let me put an octopus in her ear – was getting her to give me just the right expression to convey what I saw in my mind. I needed more of a neutral expression, not one of panic or shock. I get people asking about this shot all the time. Some people think it's eating her mind and I've had some say that she still looks frightened. It's like people project their own emotions about the shot which was the reason for wanting her to have a blank expression."
Kevin is always looking for new stories to share. If he's not out documenting what he calls the "Built Environment," which is comprise d of old houses and architecture, he's keeping his eyes open for whatever might spark that creative insight. "When I do get the inspiration for something, it's like it gets stuck in my head. It bugs me if I don't create it or if I don't at least try. I keep thinking about it all the time." He describes his work as a part of his own private alternate reality that's still quite close to normal reality...except, sometimes rabbits have human teeth or pocket watches grow out of mushrooms in the park. "I'm trying to document what I see. But I want to show it to you as I see it," says Kevin.
Obviously obsessed with owls, old creepy houses, rabbits, and cats, Kevin's body of work consists of a myriad of extremely vivid story telling. With so many great pieces, it's hard to pick just one, so we'll just list a few of our favorites. First on our list is the "Clog." This photograph appears to be something straight out of The Ring. Although it's extremely creepy, you can't help but look at it over and over again. .
Kevin explains, "I was sitting in my bathroom one day and I thought, 'Man, it would be gross if you turned on your tap and hair and blood came out.' It was such a striking visual image that I thought, 'I need to create that.' I drove to Party City and bought a wig. I went back home and made my favorite fake blood recipe. So I cut strands of hair from the wig, shoved them up in the faucet and took the shot. When I am struck with this compulsion to create an image the act of photographing and sharing it gets it out of my head and hopefully into everyone else’s."
Our next favorite is not a single image, but a series of photographs named "Owlman." "Owlman" is a documentation of moments in the life of a sad soul that feels out of place in the world. He is mostly depicted with a bottle of some sort of alcoholic beverage that he uses to cope with his problems. Kevin asserted, "'Owlman' is not intended to be me or a representation of me. I do a lot of self-portraits, but 'Owlman' is something else. I found myself fascinated with the idea of this lonely, solitary figure who doesn't fit in and can't really relate. I chose the owl mask because although it's comical, it has a very wide-eyed, desperate, and confused look. It's easy to drop 'Owlman' into any situation and have him seem out of place because he never looks comfortable."
"The photos are meant to express some humor, of course. 'Owlman' comes off as a bit of a sad sack, and it's hard not to laugh at him. Still, I wanted to clearly, perhaps bluntly, show that in many situations, he's lost his way. He's this confused and solitary figure who is trying to cope as best he can. In case the alcohol in nearly every shot isn't obvious enough, he's not coping well."
Because he has an aversion to repeating himself, Kevin rarely does series such as this one. "It was interesting for me to try to use the same figure in multiple shots without feeling repetitious. Doubly difficult is the fact that I wanted Owlman looking straight into the camera, or as straight as he can, to reinforce the connection between him and the viewer. He's aware that he's being observed. He knows he's a tragic figure and a little pathetic. In short, he's someone rather out of place, maybe even out of time, and the photos serve as kind of a documentary. A little bit of pity, a little bit of humor."
Click here to see the entire Owlman series.
Last, but not least is the image Kevin simply calls "Rabid," and he regards this photograph in very high esteem. He considers "Rabid" to be one of his best and favorite works. Kevin stated, "I just had this idea in my head of a stuffed animal with teeth. A horrid mental image I know. While trying to gather materials for the shot, I ran into a bit of a problem. I needed human looking teeth, so I called this denture company and asked for samples, but they declined. They probably thought I was going to put them in my mouth and sue them. So eventually, I decided to place an ad on Craigslist that said 'Hey, I'm looking for dentures.' I got an email back about 2 hours later that said $25 and had a phone number."
"So I had the teeth. Next, I had to find an animal to put them in. I came across this rabbit that looked very gentle but there was something about the lines on it's forehead that made it look kinda menacing when picturing it with teeth. I spent about a day putting it together. I found the right model and a setting with the right light and background and took the shot." Even more interesting is that Kevin had been planning this shot for about two years before completing it. "All I kept hearing was a voice saying, 'Take the picture, take it!' It felt really good to finally get that one done."
Kevin's work is done through pure passion. He's a regular guy with a regular job and a not so regular imagination. He doesn't try to make a living off of his work. All he cares about is sharing his vision no matter how morbid or divine. You can see more of Kevin's work via his online gallery at KloPhoto or on Flickr.
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