Personal| Universal- Jill Katz

Personal| Universal is a collective of six women photographers brought together by a passion for travel, exploration and a concern for social change -

 Each woman in this project is being spotlighted weekly.... All 6 women were asked the same 5 questions - In the simplicity of the questions comes some insight into their  Personal universal 

Show opens March 27th TOMORROW

Show hangs thru May 16

Jill Katz

Jill Katz is a photographer living and working in Philadelphia. She is a graduate of New York University where she received her MA in Art Education and is currently the Director of Marketing and Communications at the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) at the University of Pennsylvania.  The subject of much of her work is based on international travels to Asia, Central Europe, and Cuba

When Broken Glass Floats, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Archival pigment print

7 1/2 x 9 1/2 inches

2005

Favorite Color:  

Purple. Depending on its hue it can be both regal and spiritual. A deep purple can be quietly commanding and the fleetingness of a lavender sky strangely beautiful. It has significant depth in its derivations from a strong warm and strong cool color and has both these warm and cool inherent properties.

Three Artists You are Inspired By:

William Eggleston and Stephen Shore. Through their documentary style color snapshots of the American landscape they turn the aesthetics of ordinary rural and urban landscapes into personal poetry. Their work calls attention to the formal concerns of color and composition while isolating moments when the banality of the everyday is aligned to make the perfect moment that makes you feel something extraordinary. I am also inspired by the photos of photojournalist Steve McCurry who has the ability to convey a person’s true essence and to capture human emotion.

Define Your Personal Universal:  Has your Personal Universe point of view changed from the start of this project?

I have always been curious how place affects a person’s ability to adapt, grow, belong and feel content. It is something constant that pushes me out of my comfort zone and allows me to think about place outside of what is familiar. This has stayed true throughout the development of this project. The timing of this show came together organically. Through knowing this group of photographers over the years we have shared common experiences about our travels and how through our work we hope to impact viewers in some way.  This project reinforces the importance of the awareness of the places we live as they continue to change, modernize, become vulnerable, evolve, and are threatened, and to think responsibly about our role in it.

Where do you want to travel to next? 

Israel and Turkey. It has been over twenty years since my first visit to Israel. I know it will feel like a very different place now from what I remember. Because Turkey is so near I would like to visit there as well.