An interview with Lauren Tepfer

Lauren Tepfer is a 21 year old photographer currently studying for a BFA at the Parsons School of Design in New York City. Having grown up in a town of less than 7,000 people in southern New Jersey, she’s particularly adept at capturing the essence of a teenager living in suburbia, a quiet magic in the ennui. As she puts it: “I connect most to genuine and intimate settings and I feel that small towns are where most of that energy blossoms from. Aside from giving me good feelings, I hope that my suburban narratives can provide comfort for those growing up feeling lonely or unaccounted for.”

Her new self-titled book is the sixth and final publication in a collaboration between Setanta Publishing and Open Doors Gallery which aims to champion the work of emerging art photographers. To celebrate its release (which you can find here) we put some questions to Lauren, asking her about her approach, the book-making process, photography school for self-taught photographers, and what she hopes the future holds…

Hi Lauren. Thanks for agreeing to answer some questions with us. First up, could you tell us a little bit about this collection of images you’ve brought together for this publication?

Hi! Thank you so much for having me, I’m really excited. The collection of images featured in this publication are a part of a curated archive and a culmination of my works from about 2016–now. The images span over the length of quite some time, a lot of that time being my coming of age. It feels good and makes me happy to look back at all of these images, especially ones taken when I was in high school.

How did the collaboration with Setanta Books and Open Doors Gallery come about?

I’ve wanted to put my work together in a book format for a long time and when Setanta Books and Open Doors reached out to me, I was so excited to have the opportunity to make it happen! We worked together, me in New Jersey, them in London, over Zoom to curate these works and create the book. It was really exciting and a fun process!

You talk about creating your own magic in a small town where nothing happens, and that’s apparent in your work – otherwise mundane scenes are transformed with neon lights, silhouettes and moonlit skies into images that exude mystery and drama. What are you hoping to communicate with your work?

A lot of my work is born out of necessity. I try to make the things that would make 13 year old me feel safe and seen. When I was growing up, the majority of the media I was consuming felt super tailored to someone I was not. I looked at a lot of images of teenagers in big cities, surrounded by an abundance of opportunities. It felt so opposite from where I was. I began to shoot what I was going through, where I was, and what was important to me. I hope my work communicates feelings of abundance, longing, and comfort in solace.

And from a practical perspective, how do you find your shots, and what’s your process once in location and thereafter?

I am drawn most to color and light, and of course small town settings. Since moving home to New Jersey because of COVID, I often will walk around my neighborhood and location scout, writing down the cross streets of what catches my eye.

You talk about finding a connection with the intimate and genuine settings of small towns like your own. Since studying in New York – one of the largest and busiest cities in the world – do you find yourself even more drawn to suburbia, and to its relative solitude? And likewise, do you search out these same feelings in NYC?

A lot of these feelings, like intimacy and abundance, were discovered for me in suburban settings. So I definitely feel most comfortable and excited in those spaces because they are so familiar. I remember when I first moved to New York, I was like, how will I continue to be a photographer? It was dramatic, but valid. Ultimately, I think I am myself wherever I go, meaning
I will always be drawn to color, light, feelings of abundance and intimacy, even in a big city like New York.

I understand you’ve been taking photographs since you were 13. What led to such an early start, and how was your passion nurtured?

I’ve always been super interested in art. I was super creative growing up, having done theatre, choir, painting, anything I could get my hands on. Photography to me felt like the most truthful and reflective medium for what I was trying to both say and make. I’ve always been a super visual person, so it felt right. It also was a matter of accessibility, I think. My parents
divorced when I was in elementary school and I got my own phone around that time (which was great because it had a camera!).
Being a child in the early 2000’s granted me a lot of access to growing technology, which helped me explore photography more.

Having practiced photography in a self-taught way for so long, what are the biggest things you’re getting out of being at photography school?

I was super nervous to go to school and study photography. I had never had any formal training in what I was doing and was afraid that learning the rules would make me bored. Or, I would turn something I loved into something grueling and painful. My experience has been the opposite. Learning the rules and having the resources to make and explore has been so exciting and beneficial in so many ways.

And what most inspires you, other art and artists or otherwise?

I’m inspired by so much! I love movies, music, writing, and reading – they all play a large part in my own process. Lately, I’ve been really inspired by Uta Barth’s photography and I’ve been reading The Trauma of Everyday Life by Mark Epstein.

Can you tell us about a favorite image from the book?

Yes! One of my favorite images from the book is of a house below a sky of fireworks [STARRY NIGHT, below]. I shot that image on the Fourth of July a few years ago. My mom and I were leaving my Aunt’s house in Pennsylvania. As we turned the corner, I saw a family shooting off fireworks in their front yard. I begged my Mom to stop the car, even though she was scared out of her mind, so I could take a picture. I love this image because of its color and spontaneity.

How was the book-making process itself? Did you have distinct ideas of the images, their sequencing and the design going in? Was it a process you enjoyed?

It was great! Setanta and Open Doors were so much fun to work with. I think I knew for the most part what I wanted to include in the book, but having others be a part of the process was great, having multiple eyes looking at one thing. It was definitely an enjoyable experience – one I would like to do again sometime!

It has a distinctive cover design. Can you tell us about that?

The cover is uniform to the other publications Setanta and Open Doors have made so far in this series. I like it and think it really works. It’s simple but clean! I chose the purple color because I felt it most represented me.

And finally, Setanta and Open Doors describe this collaborative series of publications as being “borne out of the chaos of 2020 and the hard times being endured by artists all around the world”. How has your last year and a bit been? What did you take from it, and what do you hope the future holds?

It’s been difficult! I moved home in March of 2020 to be with my family and I have been here since. Lots and lots of uncertainty but as time goes on I’ve gotten used to going with the flow and embracing spontaneity. I think my work has definitely adapted to the circumstances – especially having done an entire school year online. I hope the future holds a lot of great art, more compassion and empathy, and collective healing for everyone.