ELENA STANTON AND JOE HORTON DISCUSS REIMAGINING THE PERCEPTIONS OF THE MIDWESTS VISUAL IDENTITY

Joe: All right, here we go, take 397 of Elena and Joe's TELL interview [haha]. All right. You ready? [Reads question] How does your imagery aim to expand or complicate the way people typically imagine the Midwest visually?

Joe: There's a couple of ways we could look at this. One is from the way the region sees itself, and the other one is from how people from outside the region see us. Internally, like, we see ourselves through a pretty distorted lens. One of my biggest beefs about the way Midwestern media portrays the Midwest is that it focuses on things that are kind of like mini New York or mini LA. It's like, "Hey, we have really good restaurants too." Just trying to pose as an international, global city, like, you know, if you're referencing, say, Minneapolis, or Detroit or Milwaukee or whatever. They're dope cities, but what makes them interesting isn't always what makes New York interesting. We have our own flavor here that isn't really showcased. And that can be really exhausting sometimes, because the Midwest is filled with millions and millions of people that are living deep, complicated lives, filled with textures, and sounds, and smells, and aesthetics that are meaningful to them. This rich, sensory blanket of experiences that we kind of flatten down to like, "What's the new and hip restaurant that's coming out?" Or, you know, things like that. If you look at the different journalism outlets around here, you wouldn't really see the Midwest that I know and love.

Joe [to Elena]: You spent your whole life here, do you feel like you see the place you know and love represented in like, the newspaper and shit like that?

Elena: No. I mean, I like the cliches of the Midwest. I think a lot of them really do reflect our culture here. When people think of us they think of cabins in the woods and farmland and mid-sized cities with a type of humble, down-to-earth feel to them. All that is a part of who we are, but I want to see them shown in a more artful light. 

Joe: Yeah it's usually pretty generic, the way people show the Midwest. The classic oversaturated sunset or like an obligatory skyline shot. The way the cities are portrayed is disappointing. We both live in Minneapolis. You grew up here. I grew up in Milwaukee. Do you feel like Midwestern cities are portrayed accurately in the media? Or not just accurately, but in a way that gets at what they’re all about. Their ambiance and their character. You know when you actually visit someplace, you can feel the texture of the place on your skin. I feel like that’s lacking in the lifeless stock images we usually see. 

Elena: Yeah, again it’s that straight up, basic portrayal. It doesn’t really dive into the soul of the place at all. I want to capture some of that energy for Minneapolis and other cities and towns and even the natural landscape of the Midwest. So people who might not visit can get a sense for our point of view. What we see everyday.

Joe: Yeah, a lot of it is like the local news version of a city.

Elena: It just looks at it in a way that strips everything interesting out of it. It’s just like, yeah, these are the trends and the hottest places to go, but it doesn’t really go deeper than that. And I feel like we want to focus on the deeper… essence or… just the deeper reality of a place instead of just surface stuff. 

Joe: Yeah, the media really has lost its curiosity. Like if you see coverage of the Minnesota State Fair, the way the people there - especially people from rural Minnesota - are portrayed is so sterile that people from outside the region see it and go, “These people don’t have culture.” But that’s a shame because, of course, they have culture. It’s just a different culture with a different set of aesthetics and values that are interesting if you dig in a bit and see them with fresh eyes. In order to really portray people honestly through photography or video or whatever, you have to actually be curious about what makes them unique and you really have to lean into that. You have to be genuinely curious. 

Elena: Yeah. When you have that curiosity, you naturally show more of a place and of the people. Little things that the media leaves out that actually has a lot to do with how we experience ourselves and our home. 

Joe: [Reads question] Your visual language blurs the line between documentary and editorial. How do you strike that balance between rawness and beauty?

Joe [to Elena]: I think your work reflects that balance between rawness and beauty in a way that very few photographers can achieve. Your approach isn’t really the ‘put your subject in perfect lighting, perfect makeup, perfect backdrop, etc’ but, it’s more like close observation. Like you have a real reverence for the things on the other end of your lens… Does that description ring true to you?

Elena: Sure, yea. I mean, thank you. Noticing things is a really important part of my work. When I was first playing with photography, I’d walk around with my camera and shoot anything I saw. I trained myself to see beauty in the unseen and everyday, even if it was something very mundane. That there is beauty in the most common of subjects. That’s one of the biggest gifts I’ve gotten from my practice. The ability and the patience to see the beauty that’s literally in everything, waiting for you to notice it.

Joe: I can see that in your work because it’s like, you have such a great eye for meaningful details. When I started photography, it was very much a studio pursuit so it was more about shaping the image than noticing it. But you really taught me how to see things while we were just walking around. Now, I’m both slower and faster as a photographer. Like I take my time to sink into a place and really show up all the way, but then once you’re sunk in you have to be pretty quick sometimes to capture a moment that might only last for a second. But it’s that sinking in that really shows up in the photos. Like you know the place so the way you see it and capture it just ends up in the images. 

Elena: Yeah, you’re so good at that. You just capture the spirit of places in a way that really helps people feel that ambiance. That’s why we make a good team. Together, we kind of see the whole thing. The big picture and the little moments. 

Joe: [Reads question] What draws you to a subject when you’re shooting? Is it instinctual? Cerebral? Both?

Elena:"It’s hard to explain, and honestly, I’d rather not. In a way, it’s instinctual. Talking about why something draws me in never quite captures the feeling. That’s why we take pictures—to share what we’re drawn to, how we see the world. There’s a certain magic, a life force, that loses its essence when you overexplain it. I’m just drawn to things, and I follow that pull."

Joe: Yeah, I definitely have motifs I’m attracted to that I notice after the fact. But ultimately, yea, I just follow my interest. Whatever I fall in love with, I’ll chase after it. Like when we were in Edinburgh recently, I fell hard for the stone buildings and dark alleys. But to your previous point, a straight up photo of that won’t really convey that love. But when I just let myself fall in love with the place and just shoot, then it feels right. 

Joe: This next question is making me realize we didn’t really introduce ourselves. So by way of introduction, I’m Joe Horton, and I’m a photographer and filmmaker. And this is…

Elena: Elena Stanton, photographer.

Joe: And we’re partners. Romantically and artistically.

Joe: So… [Reads question] What was it like for you starting to work together? Had you previously worked with a partner like this before?

Elena: No, I haven’t. I was nervous at first because I told myself I would never date a photographer. I thought it would be too close to home. But once we got deeper into it, I was like, "Oh, this is actually amazing and helpful to be with someone who understands what I do."

Joe: Ditto that. I’ve never worked with a partner before, either. But it’s surprisingly easy. We just fit together really well. When we’re out shooting, I think our connection to each other kind of helps us develop a connection with the place. We can really sink into the moment together. 

Elena: Exactly. That’s the beauty of photography—it’s about surrendering to the scene.

Joe: And sharing that experience with your partner, like we do, makes it even more special. Photography has taken us places we wouldn’t go alone, like the North Shore of Lake Superior in winter.

Elena: That’s true. And it’s the same with TELL. We want to show people the beauty in places they might not think to look, just like how we want to show the Midwest—its beauty and quirks, even when others might overlook it.

Joe: Absolutely. That’s the spirit of TELL.