Meet Emily Matyas

Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Matyas.

Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
I began drawing in earnest at about age 11. I also enjoyed writing short stories. In high school, and during my first years of college, I took several art classes, but never considered it as a career path. No one in my family was an artist, nor did I know anyone who was. In my experience, artists were people like Monet or Renoir – who had huge works of art in expansive halls of important museums – not a goal I even imagined was attainable. I decided to major in my other main interest – foreign languages – French at the time – and do something with that.

But I found a new interest. In my late teens and early 20’s I became interested in the camera. I finished a degree in journalism at the U of A and began working for Tucson Magazine and a few other trade magazines. I did both writing and photography. Eventually I had the opportunity to work in Mexico for a community development organization associated with Save the Children. They wanted photos of their projects and the smiling faces of kids. I did that, but as I spent time in the rural villages of Sonora, my photographs changed. There was something psychological and conceptual about them. That awareness turned my attention to art photography. I went back to school and received my MFA in Photography from ASU in 2002. I also rekindled my studies in foreign language and completed a degree in Spanish.

Now, besides having worked in Journalism, I’ve taught photography for seven years at the college level and conducted many photo workshops for young people through local arts organizations. My work has been shown locally, nationally and internationally, including eye lounge in Phoenix, Tempe Center for the Arts, and venues in New York, Spain and Portugal. Also, I have a book due out next spring which covers many years photographing in Mexico. My most recent project, which I’m still working on, concerns self-photography that explores family history in Romania and immigration to America. It’s all been an incredible effort – to do and to get the work out – which has included many rejections! But It’s a passion I never tire of; a process that’s never ending – and that’s good!

Please tell us about your art.
Finding common ground is an overall message that concerns most of my work. Be it in Mexico, Romania, at home in my own neighborhood or between family members, I gravitate to discovering similarities and trying to put myself in someone else’s place. I’m also very interested in nature, time and the observance of which as uniting forces between disparate peoples or generations of the same family.

I hope viewers of my images will be inspired to look closely at themselves in relation to other people or places, to find truth and at least some commonalities. I want to push the idea of belonging to “all one” human family, while acknowledging that our humanity is made up of many, many types of peoples, ideas, customs, religions, etcetera. If we can celebrate diversity, I feel that we can communicate and support each other better. A “one size fits all” ideology does not work, but fighting over it doesn’t either. My work’s goal is to examine our differences, yet unite us all through not only a common humanity but a shared planet that we need to protect as our home.

My photography began as a Journalistic career on black and white film, morphed into fine art, self-portraits and narrative scenes done digitally, and now encompasses all those genres – sometimes in one photo or project and sometimes separately. I’m continuing with my “I Am My Ancestors” project and sometimes I still do reportage work.

Choosing a creative or artistic path comes with many financial challenges. Any advice for those struggling to focus on their artwork due to financial concerns?
It seems to me that artists work twice as hard as most people! Most that I know have two jobs – their artwork and whatever they do to make ends meet – teaching, waiting tables, etc. Moreover, I’ve heard that it’s not a good idea to quit your day job – keeps you in the loop and interacting with people. Also keeps you from being too insular and can give you inspiration.

Other advice – balance! Try to meet each day with a schedule for yourself, be diligent in sticking to it, yet don’t chastise yourself if it doesn’t always work out. And remember to let yourself daydream – that can be the key to great ideas.

How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
Online, my can be seen several places. Some of my work from Mexico is on view at SDN, Social Documentary Network. (https://www.socialdocumentary.net/search.php)Images from “I Am My Ancestors” are on Lensculture, (https://www.lensculture.com/explore?category_id=3&modal=project-190751-i-am-my-ancestors-coming-to-a) Lensratch (http://lenscratch.com/2016/09/emily-matyas-the-states-project-arizona/) The Photo Place in Vermont will showcase one of my images for its new show “Self Portrait” and the physical catalog of the same name. (https://photoplacegallery.com/online-juried-shows/self-portrait-2/)

Daylight Books (https://daylightbooks.org/) will publish a monograph of my work in Mexico due out in May. There will be a book signing at AIPAD in New York, with another place’s TBD. Art Intersection (https://artintersection.com/blog/category/news/) and Tempe Center for the Arts still have posts of my work from past show on their websites. (https://www.tempecenterforthearts.com/gallery/past-exhibitions).

A show I’m in now is “Humans of Tempe” at the Tempe Historical Museum. It was more journalistic in form, with the idea to photograph the diversity of people living in Tempe. It runs through March of 2019. (https://www.tempe.gov/government/community-services/tempe-history-museum/exhibits/featured-exhibit)

You can support my work by buying a book when it comes out and spreading the word!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.emilymatyas.com
• Email: em@emilymatyas.com
• Instagram: fotograf85
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emily.matyas.9

Image Credit:
All are examples of my photo artwork.

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