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Interview with Frank C. Grace
A few weeks I went to Salem, Massachusetts for the first time. I know, I’m flabbergasted too. I went with an amazing magical friend who loves Salem as much as much as I do. We visited the Salem Art Gallery also The Satanic Temple which was beautiful. Frank C. Grace’s incredibly vibrant, and oh-so-alive photography caught my attention immediately. This beautiful photography that speaks volumes about society, and the world we live in. Frank C. Grace is an artist, and so talented. Frank also recently visited The Conjuring House. Frank was kind enough to talk with me for Horrornews.net.
Hi Frank, your photography is stunning. I love that you found and created Beauty in the Dissonance. I was so happy to see it at The Salem Art Gallery at The Satanic Temple. Please tell us about the photography, and how this manifested for you?
Frank- Thanks so much Janel for taking the time to stop by the solo show Finding Beauty in the Dissonance! Photography has always kind of interested me. I think it started when I was just a kid in the 80’s and my dad bought a Canon AV-1 35mm film camera. I wanted to play around with it so badly but he wouldn’t let me touch it, and looking bad, I don’t blame him! My parents ended up buying me a 110-film camera and I used that on camping trips and other things we did as a family. But somewhere my interests in the electric guitar took over and the camera took a back seat and wouldn’t surface again in 25 years or so when I bought my first real film camera which was a Pentax. From there I learned all sorts of stuff from books, on-line information, etc. Then came digital and taking the time to learn the in and out of Photoshop, editing, plugins, etc.
Do you have any advice or words of wisdom for fellow artists out there?
Frank- I always tell them the obvious, if I can do it then anyone can. Try everything and don’t take other’s criticism too personally. That is harder than in sounds for most but while many say there are rules in art or photography, there really aren’t! Do what YOU like. Not everyone will like it, especially the “purist photographers” but that shouldn’t matter. Take photos for YOU in the beginning to find what interests you and eventually you’ll find a style. The other piece of advice I give is when someone says to me “Don’t you ever take a bad photo?!?!” I answer with “All the time! I just don’t post the shots I’m not proud of or just didn’t work for me. I make a lot of mistakes and a lot of tries don’t end up working at all but finding what doesn’t work is progress itself.” There are also tons of fantastic video tutorials on YouTube that are really helpful. Everything you wanted to learn about just about anything is up there.
Do you have a favorite photo from that set or a favorite moment of taking those incredible photos?
Frank- My favorite photo in the show at the Salem Art Gallery is “Blue Velvet” that was taken in the abandoned resort hotel that was called The Adler in Sharon Springs, New York. There was something about this room on the top floor that pulled at me as soon as I entered the room. That blue wallpaper that was peeling off the walls, the broken bed that seemed to be leaning in anguish, the phone off the hook on the bed that looked left there out of frustration, and the chair beside the window that also seemed steeped in sorrow as it watched over the scene. As soon as I saw this room, I was drawn in. It almost came across as a crime scene. It looked like a book or album cover. When looking over the scene, I thought to myself “Wow, this is one of the scenes that will be hard to convey the feeling in this room through a still shot. There is too much here to try and capture like the smell, the sound of the crunchy floor, the haze from the morning dew and sun mixing together, etc. You know the typical artist anxiety. I have finally determined that is what I think I subconsciously try to convey in a photo like that. I try to bring the person to the scene and feel what I felt while I was there.
Who are some of your inspirations professionally?
Frank- Most of my inspirations come from music. It is always running through my head. I always equate a scene to some music or lyrics. For me, music is life! I am not listening to it when I am on location using the camera per say, but it is always on and blasting on the computer when I edit photos. My biggest all-around favorite artists are Alex Grey, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, Jane’s Addiction, Tool, and most of all, Salvador Dali for visual imagery.
What are you working on next?
Frank- I have a few abandoned places coming up that I plan on shooting. One location is an old farmhouse that appears to be left abandoned as though the elderly owners just got up and left or passed away leaving everything as it was inside. But I am always looking for historic, reportedly haunted or abandoned locations. Just about everything interests me these days, not just places but events as well. I recently was invited on a ghost hunt at the farmhouse that inspired the horror film, The Conjuring. It was incredible and quite challenging to document the hunt. I have another ghost hunt event at the end of July at the Emery Estate with Spooky Southcoast. This location is cool because it is an abandoned decayed replica of George Washington’s Mount Vernon.
Photo by: Janel Spiegel
How can people contact you if they want to work with you?
Frank- People can find me just about everywhere.
Facebook: Trig Photography
Instagram: frank_c_grace
Flickr: https://flic.kr/ps/CP6sL
Smugmug: trigphotography.com
email: trigphotography@gmail.com
How did you feel having your photography at The Salem Art Gallery?
Frank- Being asked to have my very first solo show at The Salem Art Gallery is an incredible honor. I almost rejected the offer not because of the place or anything but because it honestly felt out of my league! But Erika and Melissa, who run the gallery, were so awesome and welcoming. They and everyone else there made me feel comfortable. The support has been amazing and it is hard to say how much this means to me. No doubt that some feel that the gallery is located in a unique and controversial location, the headquarters of The Satanic Temple. I find this to be a badge of honor more than anything else and had no role in my initial worry about having the show there. Once you understand what The Satanic Temple is about, you’ll know why. I am on board with the organization’s beliefs and am so proud to be associated with The Satanic Temple and the Salem Art Gallery. After all, I previously mentioned Dali. How could I not say YES to a show where they have Dali prints right over in the next gallery room! I still cannot believe I have pieces up where Dali prints are also hanging. That still hasn’t sunk in yet!
Photo by: Janel Spiegel in The Salem Art Gallery
What would you like to say to the people who have seen your photography? What would you want people to know from your perspective?
Frank- I hope that when someone sees the show, they are drawn in to take the time and look for elements in the scene that maybe I haven’t even noticed. I hope they can be brought into the abandoned and decayed scenes and also find the beauty in it. I feel the images all tell their own stories and with any luck, the stories may end up being personal to the viewer or maybe spark something in them and they develop a story from the scene all on their own.
Thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview for Horrornews.net.
Frank- Thanks so very much for the interview! I had a blast. Can’t thank you enough for this opportunity and thanks again for checking out the show and reaching out!
– Frank
Frank C. Grace Social Media
Facebook: Trig Photography
Instagram: frank_c_grace
Flickr: https://flic.kr/ps/CP6sL
Smugmug: trigphotography.com
email: trigphotography@gmail.com
The Conjuring House & The Salem Art Gallery
The Conjuring House Link
https://www.theconjuringhouse.com/
The Salem Art Gallery
https://www.salemartgallery.com/
