Photographer shares images of self expression
Through her fine-art photography, Jessica Ingram sculpts a world of wonder and dimension,” Leigh Chambers, executive director of Bossier Arts Council, said.
Ingram recently mounted her second exhibit at BAC in September. The exhibit was entitled “Life Is But A Dream” and was presented in the Emerging Artist Gallery at Bossier Arts Council. This exhibit involved photography and photo manipulation “all symbolic of fighting to make your dreams come true,” Ingram said.
Like most children from an Air Force family, Ingram moved constantly in her young life, living in such places as Las Vegas, Nevada and Medford, Ore. She relocated from Medford to Shreveport in 2005 earning an associate’s degree in mass communication from Bossier Parish Community College. She is also studying journalism at Louisiana State University in Shreveport where she is a member of the staff for the college paper The Almagest. Appropriately, she is photo editor for the paper.
“I have been influenced by a number of artists along the way such as Salvador Dali, Rembrandt, Renoir and Monet in particular,” Ingram said.
“I feel it is human nature to strive for perfection, even when you know it is probably an unreachable goal,” Ingram said.
When it comes to critiques of her work, Ingram said she would prefer honesty but short of mean spiritedness.
“I appreciate when someone tells me straight. That is a path to artistic growth when you have the strength to listen to what someone has to say,” Ingram said.
“I like to tell a story in what I do, to give it some meaning. I truly believe everything has a meaning,” Ingram said.
Her philosophy of art is to convey a state of self expression creating a tangible point of view.
Ingram reflected on her most recent show at BAC.
“To me this is about breaking to become a real artist and to have made an original and personal artistic statement,” Ingram said.
“For me the biggest challenge about being a professional artist is the business side. I am confident in my abilities as an artist, but still unclear of how to bridge from the artistic to the commercial,” Ingram said.
Ingram has often been confronted with what she sees as artistic jealousy as she has gone through the process of becoming a more credible artist.
“Even when some criticism hurts, it makes me want to do even better,” Ingram said.
“I have always realized that there will be someone better than I am, more fully developed as an artist. But I also recognize that there will be another segment of the artistic market that I have progressed beyond. That is where I have seen professional jealousy raise its head, is when I might have moved farther than someone and I really sense resentment. I do not think that way. I welcome learning from someone who is mastering the techniques of the art more than me,” Ingram said.
“I am happy to have come as far as I have, but also constantly aware of the distance I still have to go. I think of it in terms of being a journey rather than a destination,” Ingram said.
Ingram puts her art out to the world in several ways. She certainly enjoys the process of mounting exhibits of her work as she has done twice at Bossier Arts Council and also cherishes the work she does at The Almagest. She also does freelance photography for clients for a number of varied projects.
“For me, the art of photography is an excellent forum for showing dark versus light, and symbolically, good versus evil,” Ingram said.
Chambers said Ingram enhances images with technology.
“Utilizing the technical programs available like a paintbrush, Ingram layers details and depth to her subject matter, making the ordinary something fantastical,” Chambers said.
– Karl Hasten
