Contemporary Photographer Series - Mike Sinclair

© Mike Sinclair

Mike Sinclair is a Kansas City based photographer who studied at Southern Illinois University. His work has been featured in publications such as The New York Times Magazine, Metropolis and Dwell as well as shown at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City. He was recently interviewed by Lauren Roberts for our Contemporary Photographer Series (CPS).

There seems to be an overlap between your personal work and your commercial work in terms of subject matter and aesthetics. Do you approach the two in the same way?

In some ways they are the same and in many ways they are different. The main difference is that with my commercial work the client is picking what I'm pointing the camera at, and in my personal work I get to pick. Another difference is that in my commercial work I try to make photographs that can be understood rather quickly. For my personal work I hope that the viewer will spend more time investigating the image.

© Mike Sinclair

How do you think your architectural photographs will reflect American History in years to come?

That's a tough question, I'm not sure I'm qualified to answer. I do think that there is a trend in a lot of architectural photography to make it more true to life, less idealized. Perhaps that will make the photographs a more accurate record of our time.

© Mike Sinclair

During an interview with Paul Moakley you mentioned growing up in the heyday of LIFE and photojournalism. How has that affected the work you produce?

As a kid, I spent a lot of time looking at magazines like TIME and probably more often LIFE magazine. Often those picture stories were edited into a kind of formula, a formula that was trying to produce a very specific reaction from the reader. There would be sad stories, happy stories - and not much in between. In my personal work I'm less sure of the story, less sure of what it all means. I'm more about looking than about telling - if that makes sense.

© Mike Sinclair

© Mike Sinclair

Out of all of your projects, which body of work do you feel best represents you as an artist?

Over the years my interests have changed so I'd probably say the photographs I'm taking right now best represent me. I think the pictures I've taken at fairgrounds are some of my best photographs, and probably my most popular body of work. I've spent a lot of time at fairgrounds and I have a deep affection for those places. I'm sure in future years I will go back to that subject.

© Mike Sinclair