Photographing Singapore: Momentum Artist Kurt Nagy

Author: Cierra Linander (OVAC Intern)

Kurt Nagy. Oklahoma City

Kurt Nagy, BNE was here, 11”x14” photograph

Before catching up with Momentum Tulsa artist Kurt Nagy, I pontificated the meaning of his work, BNE Was Here. As it turns out, BNE is a well-known street artist who advocates clean water and positive social change globally.

The image itself is inviting and intriguing to say the least. Set in some nondescript Asian neighborhood a white traffic arrow directs the focus toward the foreground and pushes the viewer out of the space. The eye is then drawn back into the scene via the narrow alleyway, creating a perpetual movement within the scene that allows the viewer to enter and re-enter the street continuously.

Cierra Linander: Where is “Here”?

Kurt Nagy: It the photo is of an alley in Singapore. The city offered much architecture and culture to capture.

CL: I see the famous “BNE Was Here” Sticker on various window units, what inspired you to promote BNE? Are you otherwise involved with the BNE Water Foundation?

Nagy: It was coincidental. The shot is visually stimulating and he thought the sticker’s phrase made for a great title.

CL: What photographic process was used to capture this image?

Nagy: Traditional black and white darkroom photography. The image is printed on fiber paper.

Oklahoma City native Kurt Nagy studied Photographic Arts at the University of Central Oklahoma, specializing in traditional darkroom and alternative processes.

Momentum Tulsa opens October 13, 8-midnight with a ticketed event full of music and performances.  Curated by Raechell Smith from H & R Block Art Space at the Kansas City Art Institute and emerging curator Laura Reese, the exhibition continues at Living Arts of Tulsa, 307 E Brady with free gallery hours through October 25, 2012.