JONATHAN CHERRY: What did you want to be growing up?

JOHN FRANCIS PETERS: For a long time I wanted to be a special effects makeup artist. I’d watch a lot of B horror films, which I think is what sparked the interest. I had this little tin box filled with makeup supplies I had collected from places like CVS around Halloween time. I’d apply fake wounds or turn friends and myself into monsters and then we’d go be weirdos in the woods.

JC: Who or what is inspiring you at the moment?

JFP: Over the past year I’ve mainly been studying the work of fine artists and the philosophies behind their process. Some more notable folks such as Richard Tuttle and Agnes Martin, whose theories have fueled my interest in intuitive art making. I’ve also recently started going through the MOMA artist archive, which consists of over 10,000 people haha. It will probably take me a year to get through it all but so far I’ve made really incredible discoveries.

JC: What are you up to right now?

JFP: I’m finalizing a project that I’ve spent three winters making called California Winter. It’s a project about San Diego during this time of year when travelers and other transient folks pass through town on their journeys around America. It’s been quite an experience building this body of work and I’m looking forward to making it into a book this year.

JC: Have you had mentors along the way?

JFP: I’ve had some amazing mentors including creative director Phil Bicker. I was lucky enough to assist Phil for over two years while I was on staff at The FADER Magazine. That experience seriously challenged me on many levels and pushed my understanding of photography into another dimension. Some of the projects I took on with him were - spending about a year or so researching and discovering new photographers around the world and assisting in his intensive editing process for the magazine. We would spend days going over hundreds of images, which were printed out and lined the floors of the long office hallway.

I think one of the most important ideas I had absorbed during that time and I carry with me until now - is the understanding of how to feel photographs and not just see them. This idea he presented to me via work by German photographer Michael Schmidt. We spent some time talking about the emotional response to his work, which is rendered quite subtly in gesture and tone. That discussion kind of cleared a noise from my perception and I suddenly became aware of this very subtle response within myself that was created by the photography I most gravitated toward.

JC: Where are you based right now and how is it shaping you?

JFP: Over the past three years I’ve based myself out of Southern California. Working in this region has dramatically shifted my work for a few reasons – I finally left the New York area where I’ve spent my entire life and the light/environment/culture combination in California is really one of a kind. Just the light here in all its dynamics but specifically in its creation of shadows, has profoundly shifted how I visualize subjects.

It’s also the first time in my life that I’ve been able to completely focus attention on my work in a way I would only have done by living in Los Angeles. If you’re open to it I feel the creative energy in LA leads you to really experimental processes. It partly has to do with the dynamics of being isolated in this massive and kind of unanchored city. The inspirations reveal themselves here through more of an amorphous rhythm that in turn opens you up to a range of creative possibilities.

JC: One piece of advice to photography graduates?

JFP: Well if you haven’t already, I think it’s quite important to take a big step back from your work and honestly ask yourself - What am I doing this all for? Is it for something deeper and less predictable than the norm? I’ve seen some fantastic work come out of photo schools but also work that’s been more or less groomed in preparation for the commercial world. This is not necessarily a bad thing but I feel a main element of true originality - which is pivotal right now not just for individual artists but for the health of the medium - is having depth and multi-dimensional meaning to your work. I think to achieve that you must learn to balance more common goals with a commitment to real experimentation.

JC: If all else fails - what is your plan B?

JFP: This is plan B.

JC: Is it important to you to be a part of a creative community?

JFP: Having a community of creative and honest people around you is incredibly important. The support that you and that community share will have a huge impact on your work’s development and vise-versa. It’s not always a comfortable relationship but it’s a critical part of the work’s development.

Creative communities are also vital right now as our broader social landscape is continuously sped up and bombarded by superficial information - distracting and distorting perception. These communities are places where critical thinkers can share ideas that will hopefully spread out and affect a greater population over time.

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