Catherine LoMedico On The Craft Of Making Things Our Eyes Love

As featured: Catherine.

The older I get, the more I realise categorising a person by a singular career is a silly thing to do. None more so than the talented Catherine A. LoMedico.

In her own words, Catherine is a visual artist. Someone who rotates between photography, graphic design, fashion and all things that our eyeballs want to look at. I first came across Catherine’s work by flicking through a copy of Carhartt WIP’s magazine. Her work on the pages had that special kind of hold on me, with a quick flick to the masthead to see who was behind it. Living, working and building a successful career in the fiercely competitive New York, and without any formal training, is something we admire greatly as DIY nerds ourselves but then getting to talk to them and realise they are incredibly lovely people too? Well that’s what happened with Catherine. Fall in love with her too, below.

Describe what you do in your own words? 

Catherine LoMedico: I feel like I'm more of an image maker than a photographer. I say that probably for two reasons. I don't feel like I'm skilled enough to say that I'm just a photographer, as I'm still very much learning a lot, and my process started from a very novice space. To use my personal work as an example I usually reach out to do most of the casting on my own and I’ve only just started using a stylist. The post photoshoot part is the most unique part of what I do. Experimenting with different types of paper, printing and collaging. It’s all very mood based. The printing part is my favourite because I love physically touching my work and I feel like it’s what separates it from the modern age of technology. It’s sort of like making your own clothes you know you’ll never be wearing what someone else is wearing.

Yeah I like that. Our creative director, Campbell who started Monster Children, who obviously designs all the magazine and everything you would see of ours is always printing stuff out, drawing all over it and scanning it back in. I never really clocked what he was doing at the start but when I paid attention I started to notice all those smaller details in his designs. All those imperfections are what makes it stand out.

Yeah I feel like we are coming out of this time in design and photography where everything has to look so perfect. Everything is almost too polished that you want to have the glue stick marks right? There’s something really nice about using technology but still playing into the art side of it that predates the internet. I do try to lean into that a lot. 

How did you come into photography and design? 

I was working in fashion for about ten years, first in design and then more on the production side. I think when you work in the creative space, and most creatives know this, but what you are passionate about becomes your job, a lot of the creativity is drained from you. 

Yeap. I get you girl. 

(Laughs) We’ve all been there. I started taking photos and making collages purely as a creative outlet. I didn’t have any intention of it becoming any bigger than that or making it my career so I think that’s why it has grown the way it has. But if i’m honest, I really came into this from a pretty heavy period of depression and needing a way to express myself. I’ve never been very good at expressing things verbally. Writing in a journal terrifies me so the visual thing was what I did. I think my first few projects were working with independent fashion designers and indie musicians who are very DIY by nature so it paired nicely. Then it just slowly became something that was feasible as a carrier. Living in New York helped because you definitely start to meet people, and I’ve met a lot through photography. 

Do you think that New York influences your work?

I think the New York that influences my work and the New York I wish I lived through is 60s and 70s New York. Before the internet again. I like to pretend I’m living in those times again. 

I relate to that. What are some of the ‘soft’ skills within your job that have served you that aren’t the hard technical photography and design skills? 

Well I’m not formally trained, very much self taught so I wasn’t ever doing it to mimic someone else or be known in the realm which I think has allowed me to take on projects and just be grateful for them. This is probably a very self indulgent thing to say but I don’t think I’ve had to deal with separating my ego from my work because that never developed. I had a 9-5 for so long so the freedom to work for myself made me work even harder. I think a lot of younger artists always ask for advice and I really do think that having a steady job, and I wasn;t ever making crazy salaries, but just having the pressure off my art and my work was really, really helpful for me. I also worked in a big company where I could see all the parts come together. So now when I’m on a job as a photographer I can see why deadlines are important, and why adhering to a brief is important instead of just taking your own artistic direction. I feel like I learned a lot of skills through working jobs that I wasn’t necessarily passionate about but they taught me to work hard. 

I think a lot of people need to hear that. 

No but it’s so true. The artist's life is romanticised in such a way and it’s actually not cute most of the time. Having a paycheck while you’re building your art on the side gives you a different kind of freedom. I think it also helps that once you are in the industry you can start to separate the commercial from the personal. I think some people struggle if they’re only doing commercial work they start to feel removed from it all. But if you can separate the two, you can really start to enjoy learning the commercial, like how to adapt to a visual narrative that maybe isn’t your style. 

I actually found you through your work with Carhartt WIP so commercials can’t be all bad. Are you at the point now where you can be a bit more selective with the brands you work with? 

I’m certainly getting closer to that point. The more I have worked in this space the more I realise there are still incredible artists and creatives in roles in big commercial companies. I think we have a tendency to lump commercial work but there’s space to find your people within those companies too. Carhartt is an example of that. I think for me real art is not always beautiful. It’s supposed to make you pause, question and provide a commentary on the current times. There are so many facets to art. 

Absolutely. What are some places that you draw inspiration from that people might be surprised by?

I don’t think anyone would be surprised but definitely 90s and 2000s album covers, music videos, anything in music from that time. I'm listening to myself being ‘Okay, everything old.’

I’m the same, don't worry. I see you’ve worked on album covers too, tell me about that? 

Yeah I’ve worked on a few recently. I just did my first full album art project. The singles, the actual album  art and vinyl art inserts. I absolutely loved it because you get to build this whole world that tells a much bigger story. I’m just so grateful to music and artists because music has pulled me out of some really dark places or makes me remember a time. I think there is something really beautiful about tying something audible to a memory. Music is one of my biggest inspirations in a way so I love working within it. 

Okay last question, what are you working on right now? 

I actually finally have some time to do some personal work. Going to put together some friends who are made up artists, models, musicians, stylists and just let it flow. I’d love to start working on more videos so just kind of teaching myself that. That’s more a long term project but it's summer now so try not to work so much and get outside.