Jordan Casteel Stays in the Moment | Art21 "New York Close Up"

["New York Close Up"]

--Thanks for coming, you guys.

--You've been in this whole journey with me

--and it means a lot.

--My whole life…

["Jordan Casteel--Artist"]

[WOMAN]
--Congratulations, though!

[CASTEEL]
--Thank you.

I consider myself to be more of an introvert
than an extrovert.

I can flip on--

like, adrenaline can kick in

and I'm able to perform
extroversion really well.

And so I often try to find
my kindred spirits in the world,

and usually it's somebody who's, kind of,
standing off to the side.

There's a certain amount of mindfulness

that it requires to slow down enough

to really feel what it is to be present
with someone in a moment.

["Jordan Casteel Stays in the Moment"]

I've always had an inclination
towards seeing people who

might be easily unseen.

[LOUIE]
I remember it like it was yesterday.

It was a real calm, vivrant night.

It feels like the way it's painted--

it was a vibe...
like pink, summer...

125th Street, where we ran into Jordan.

I'm so proud to be here today,

to be a part of this
and be the face of it right now.

I love her.

[QUENTIN]
I feel like a superstar. [LAUGHS]

Yo, I can't stop blushing! [LAUGHS]

I can't stop blushing.

[ZEN]
I was walking the dogs, right?

And we met and I sat and posed for the photo.

[MAN]
It was here in New York right?

[ZEN]
Yeah, Harlem.

[125th Street, Harlem]

[LOUIE]
How you doing?

Can I introduce you to Megastar Brand store?

We got it all.

You get hoodies.

We got long sleeve tees.

Black Power everything.

We got all kinds of...

How you doing miss?

Can I introduce you to Megastar Brand store?

[WOMAN]
Maybe next time, baby.

[LOUIE]
All right, take care.

[CASTEEL]
I was walking around, shooting at night

and Louie and A-Thug
were packing up their stuff.

So while I was taking the pictures,

at some point, Louie asked,
"What's going on here?"

"Are you an artist?
A photographer?"

"What brings you to Harlem?"

And I was like, "Oh, I'm actually a painter,"

"I'm doing this project,"
blah blah blah.

And they were like, "Oh, yeah!"

"We'd love to participate!"

They had phenomenal energy from the beginning.

--Y'all turned this into a photo shoot.
I ain't mad at it.

[LAUGHS]
--Make use of it while you got the camera!

The actual moment of me photographing someone

is that speedy moment.

I'm in and out with them.

But I get to spend the most intimate time,
initially,

by myself in the studio,

re-engaging with what I felt from someone
in an instant.

I sit in here literally for hours alone, in
my own head--

to have the space to really delve into
my most intimate thoughts and feelings,

and to process the world around me,

which is what I do when I'm painting.

I spend a lot of time just looking

and deciding colors in advance,

and then mixing them meticulously

so that when I get to this point

I'm able to exert a certain amount of confidence.

My way of trying to reconnect with
the immediacy that happens

if you're sitting in front of somebody,
you know?

That you're working from life.

The camera, it's really become a liaison
between me and the sitter.

It gives me time to
slow down before I go fast.

In that moment with A-Thug and Louie,

I don't know if I noticed that "melanin" shirt
sitting on the table.

I'm quite sure I didn't
as I'm taking the pictures.

But it's only in retrospect,

as I took time to really study the environment
that they had created,

that I was like, "Whoa!"

"There are really prominent things
happening here."

His shirt saying,
"T.H.U.G., the hate you gave us,"

I also didn't notice until I started making
the painting.

I think that's a very powerful statement,

to wear it on your chest like a shield

that communities of color often have to create

in order to protect and honor ourselves.

[LOUIE]
I get the best feeling when I come outside

and somebody's wearing one of my t-shirts,

one of my hats.

Right here is a little bear I done drew out,

animated it with the little graphic design.

So, I've got to produce.

Like, making art into
wearable clothing right now.

Young Style Designs.

It's wearable art right here, though.

Jordan, her work is on showcase.

You've got to go inside of an establishment.

I'm more of a street hustler,

I get it out right on the
cement concrete block.

She left a little event in my life,
like a nice little milestone.

Just dropped down and did something nice.

[CASTEEL]
I have somehow found a way

to weasel myself into a one-percent opportunity
within the art market

that has proven, on so many levels,

that room for me
is few and far between,

as a young African-American woman

in a space that is primarily run by older
White men.

The history of this country is complicated.

The history of how art has moved through institutions,

and been valued, is complicated.

With access comes responsibility.

With visibility comes responsibility.

[ZEN]
There are very few spaces where

Black men are being represented

outside of criminality and entertainment.

People probably pass the subjects in this
work everyday,

without acknowledging anything about them.

There is a value in just being.