I recently emailed a series of questions to my friend Monica Jane Frisell, a photographer based in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, about her life out there, her work, her relation to music, and her sense of space during a pandemic. Monica & I go way back, over 15 years, and I’m grateful — as always — inspired by her presence, here in Partitions Vol. 2. Enjoy.
Eliot Cardinaux: As a photographer & videographer, there’s an entirely new ethics surrounding what you do. You do a lot of portrait work. How does social distancing affect you, & what can you say about adapting to some of the changes going on around us & in your life? Have you considered “distance portraits?”
Monica Jane Frisell: This is a strange question for me. I moved to New Mexico to get away a bit and one month after arriving here, we entered into the pandemic. I am still unsure how much of my shooting has changed just because of the pandemic — or because I moved to a small town in New Mexico — and was seeking to push away from only portraiture. I needed to start to dive into my own stuff, my own head… figure out some of my shit. I became sober last year and learning to live with that and make work with that has been changing a lot. It is making me look inward for subjects — not just outward.
EC: I know you’ve done a lot of street photography & landscape work of late, & that the streets where you live seem empty, as empty as the landscape. Can you tell us a little bit about that feeling of absence & how it relates to what you’re feeling when you shoot?
MJF: I like it! I think having this space is a blessing — especially in a time when we are supposed to be alone and isolated for our own health and more importantly the health of other people.
Again — while shooting here, I am constantly asking myself how different would this work look if we hadn’t entered the pandemic? I think a lot of my own feelings of isolation and aloneness are coming through — because I have never felt so “on my own” so to speak — even tho I have 100s of people checking in on me every day. I have become acutely aware of the incredible support system I have built for myself over the years. But in some ways I feel more connected to other people, and then in other ways, I am completely alone. I think I am beginning to feel the emptiness as space to move — space to grow — space to make. It’s endless out here. There is so much space to do anything. It’s overwhelming at times but also exciting. I am curious what it is going to feel like to socialize again with people that don’t know me — with people that I have never met before. Thats going to be interesting…
EC: You’ve done a little bit of video work lately, too, & long distance collaboration. Can you share a little bit about what that means for you? Where you’re at in your relationships with those you collaborate with & how this affects it?
MJF: Doing animations has been a fun way to collaborate with musicians. I have done work for and with my father basically since I started taking photographs. But when I make these 1 minute animations — they seem to bring us together in a different way. It seems to be more of a collaboration — instead of me following his music so to speak. I am working on a short video for Tim Berne at the moment — and it has been interesting how different it feels making work for him. My dad and I speak the same language — even if he is using music — I understand it completely, it’s in my blood. And with Tim’s music, I am worried I am misinterpreting things. I am excited to see how it progresses. Making short videos for music is amazing — because music is so important to me. I have it on CONSTANTLY. When I am walking and shooting around town — editing in my room — waking up — its around me constantly. And all kinds of music… Drake, Radiohead, Miles Davis, My father’s music, Tim’s Snakeoil, Miwi La Lupa, Tinariwen, Bob Dylan, Lizzo, Prince… Everything.… It keeps me moving, so finding a way to start to make work with the thing that gives me so much life is very exciting. I think the pandemic has made the collaborations seem so much more important. To reach out to others and try and make things work. We are blessed with communication opportunities — might as well try and make some art with it.
EC: Can you talk a little bit about leaving The City, & moving out west? Was this an impulsive move? Was it premeditative on your part? You don’t have to answer this.
MJF: I think I had been looking to try and move out West for a long time. Leaving the city was never my intention entirely… I will always call Brooklyn my home — its where my family is. But I need to be able to make work in other places and travel and being in NM — it feels more central in this country in some strange way. I think I will be doing a lot of living in both places as I move forward… become a true snowbird if possible.
EC: What do the words “Truth or Consequences” mean for you in your life, & how can that relate to a broader sense of community amidst all the changes we’ve been going through?
MJF: The community here is amazing. So many artists and creative humans live in this place. The air just feels different here. Since I have been here more in a time when most people have shut in — it’s been a time for me to get to know the landscape of this area — almost more than the community. But I look forward to being involved in more things in the future — when it is safe to do so.
Truth of Consequences? How much more real can we really get? Tell the truth or live with the consequences — I am still learning this. My white lies or me not speaking my OWN truth has already gotten me in trouble for years. Maybe coming here will make me focus more on speaking my truth all the time… Not sugar coating it to make it more palatable for others or myself.
The Bodily Press 