Self Portrait
Andrew Kilgore is a photographer from Fayetteville, Ark. Over the course of his 53-year career, Kilgore has taken over 750,000 images, capturing the lives of those who are “unseen” in society and the underrepresented diversity of those who live in Arkansas. Kilgore will be awarded the 2023 Governor's Arts Award for Lifetime Achievement in March at a ceremony in Little Rock.
Walton Arts Center will showcase his career and the advocacy of his portraits in the Joy Pratt Markham Gallery January 6 to March 19. We sat down with him ahead of the 100 Photographs by Andrew Kilgore exhibition opening to ask some of our most pressing questions.
What can guests expect when they come to see 100 Photographs by Andrew Kilgore in the Joy Pratt Markham gallery?
Well, obviously 100 photographs. And, I hope the photographs will move viewers to a deep sense of connection with their fellow beings.
What messages do you hope audiences leave with after they see your work?
That even if they are in their most vulnerable and scared moments, they’re not alone. That we are all connected, that we’re all part of one loving, aware, being.
What is your favorite image from the 100 Photographs in the gallery?
I could never pick just one. I love them all.
What drew you to photography as an art form?
The fact that I couldn’t draw. I wanted to be an artist, and I thought I would never be able to be one until I discovered that a camera worked as well as a brush or pencil in creating art. Then I was all set and ready to roll.
Do you have any rituals or processes that guide your work?
Sunrise, 1970
I meditate between an hour and two hours every day, and that experience of silence and stillness is the source from which all my creativity comes. So, I would say that the meditation that I do is very important. I love to talk to people, and I always start any session by talking for a while with my subjects. People say, “Oh you do that to make better photographs,” and I always respond, “No, I photograph people so that I get to talk to them. I don’t talk to them so I can make better photographs of them.”
Pick three words to best describe your work.
Oh that’s hard. Real. Personal. Loving.
What is the best advice that you have been given?
When I was just starting out, I had a professional photographer look at my work, and he said there’s no real black tonalities in my images. I realized that I was not using the full range of tonalities that were available to me as a photographer, and that inspired me to become an infinitely better printer.
Which artists have inspired you throughout your life and why?
Photographer Gene Smith, because of the compassion and love that he poured into his photography of people. Richard Avedon, because of his incredible craftsmanship and Irving Penn, because of his wonderful way of approaching all kinds of people from all over the world and making photographs of people that just jumped off the page.
How have you used photography to advocate for others?
I’ve done a lot of exhibitions that were sponsored by or I partnered with advocacy organizations that worked with diverse populations of people. I have really loved doing work that starts with the best advocacy themes.
The free exhibition will be open 10 am - 2 pm on weekdays January 6 through March 19. The Joy Pratt Markham Gallery also opens one hour prior to performances and during intermission. There will be an audio component to the exhibition, curated by KUAF Public Radio.
The exhibition will feature 100 portraits of Arkansans selected by guest curator Kathy P. Thompson from Kilgore's archive of over 750,000 images. This project is supported in part by a grant from the Arkansas Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Our exhibition underwriters are Hershey and Denise Garner. Framing donated by Aaron Randall of Frame Fayetteville.
