0:00:02.380,0:00:04.860 ["New York Close Up"] 0:00:13.120,0:00:14.580 --Thanks for coming, you guys. 0:00:14.580,0:00:16.400 --You've been in this whole journey with me 0:00:16.400,0:00:17.580 --and it means a lot. 0:00:17.580,0:00:18.680 --My whole life… 0:00:18.700,0:00:20.240 ["Jordan Casteel--Artist"] 0:00:21.860,0:00:22.800 [WOMAN][br]--Congratulations, though! 0:00:22.800,0:00:24.000 [CASTEEL][br]--Thank you. 0:00:24.160,0:00:27.740 I consider myself to be more of an introvert[br]than an extrovert. 0:00:27.749,0:00:29.050 I can flip on-- 0:00:29.050,0:00:30.789 like, adrenaline can kick in 0:00:30.789,0:00:35.320 and I'm able to perform[br]extroversion really well. 0:00:36.340,0:00:41.180 And so I often try to find[br]my kindred spirits in the world, 0:00:41.180,0:00:45.420 and usually it's somebody who's, kind of,[br]standing off to the side. 0:00:46.940,0:00:48.840 There's a certain amount of mindfulness 0:00:48.840,0:00:51.490 that it requires to slow down enough 0:00:51.490,0:00:56.700 to really feel what it is to be present[br]with someone in a moment. 0:00:58.400,0:01:02.700 ["Jordan Casteel Stays in the Moment"] 0:01:07.700,0:01:11.120 I've always had an inclination[br]towards seeing people who 0:01:11.120,0:01:13.980 might be easily unseen. 0:01:17.180,0:01:18.880 [LOUIE][br]I remember it like it was yesterday. 0:01:18.880,0:01:20.380 It was a real calm, vivrant night. 0:01:21.980,0:01:23.640 It feels like the way it's painted-- 0:01:23.640,0:01:25.420 it was a vibe...[br]like pink, summer... 0:01:26.440,0:01:28.900 125th Street, where we ran into Jordan. 0:01:29.500,0:01:31.200 I'm so proud to be here today, 0:01:32.020,0:01:34.500 to be a part of this[br]and be the face of it right now. 0:01:35.120,0:01:36.020 I love her. 0:01:40.360,0:01:42.160 [QUENTIN][br]I feel like a superstar. [LAUGHS] 0:01:47.320,0:01:49.440 Yo, I can't stop blushing! [LAUGHS] 0:01:49.920,0:01:51.200 I can't stop blushing. 0:01:52.560,0:01:54.420 [ZEN][br]I was walking the dogs, right? 0:01:55.640,0:01:59.340 And we met and I sat and posed for the photo. 0:01:59.360,0:02:00.860 [MAN][br]It was here in New York right? 0:02:00.860,0:02:02.020 [ZEN][br]Yeah, Harlem. 0:02:09.840,0:02:12.240 [125th Street, Harlem] 0:02:14.780,0:02:15.700 [LOUIE][br]How you doing? 0:02:15.700,0:02:17.160 Can I introduce you to Megastar Brand store? 0:02:17.160,0:02:18.160 We got it all. 0:02:18.200,0:02:18.940 You get hoodies. 0:02:18.980,0:02:19.940 We got long sleeve tees. 0:02:19.940,0:02:21.380 Black Power everything. 0:02:21.640,0:02:22.800 We got all kinds of... 0:02:25.200,0:02:26.340 How you doing miss? 0:02:26.340,0:02:27.800 Can I introduce you to Megastar Brand store? 0:02:27.800,0:02:29.040 [WOMAN][br]Maybe next time, baby. 0:02:29.040,0:02:30.610 [LOUIE][br]All right, take care. 0:02:32.860,0:02:34.920 [CASTEEL][br]I was walking around, shooting at night 0:02:34.920,0:02:39.070 and Louie and A-Thug[br]were packing up their stuff. 0:02:39.070,0:02:40.830 So while I was taking the pictures, 0:02:40.830,0:02:44.160 at some point, Louie asked,[br]"What's going on here?" 0:02:44.160,0:02:46.220 "Are you an artist?[br]A photographer?" 0:02:46.220,0:02:47.720 "What brings you to Harlem?" 0:02:47.720,0:02:49.920 And I was like, "Oh, I'm actually a painter," 0:02:49.920,0:02:52.100 "I'm doing this project,"[br]blah blah blah. 0:02:52.100,0:02:54.200 And they were like, "Oh, yeah!" 0:02:54.200,0:02:55.700 "We'd love to participate!" 0:02:56.180,0:02:58.640 They had phenomenal energy from the beginning. 0:02:58.640,0:03:00.780 --Y'all turned this into a photo shoot.[br]I ain't mad at it. 0:03:00.780,0:03:03.320 [LAUGHS][br]--Make use of it while you got the camera! 0:03:03.700,0:03:07.100 The actual moment of me photographing someone 0:03:07.100,0:03:09.160 is that speedy moment. 0:03:09.160,0:03:10.960 I'm in and out with them. 0:03:11.700,0:03:16.500 But I get to spend the most intimate time,[br]initially, 0:03:16.960,0:03:19.780 by myself in the studio, 0:03:19.780,0:03:24.300 re-engaging with what I felt from someone[br]in an instant. 0:03:34.500,0:03:39.560 I sit in here literally for hours alone, in[br]my own head-- 0:03:39.570,0:03:46.270 to have the space to really delve into[br]my most intimate thoughts and feelings, 0:03:46.270,0:03:49.040 and to process the world around me, 0:03:49.040,0:03:51.320 which is what I do when I'm painting. 0:03:52.360,0:03:54.360 I spend a lot of time just looking 0:03:54.370,0:03:57.130 and deciding colors in advance, 0:03:57.130,0:03:59.090 and then mixing them meticulously 0:03:59.090,0:04:00.980 so that when I get to this point 0:04:00.980,0:04:04.960 I'm able to exert a certain amount of confidence. 0:04:05.720,0:04:10.400 My way of trying to reconnect with[br]the immediacy that happens 0:04:10.400,0:04:13.690 if you're sitting in front of somebody,[br]you know? 0:04:13.690,0:04:15.140 That you're working from life. 0:04:17.350,0:04:22.720 The camera, it's really become a liaison[br]between me and the sitter. 0:04:22.720,0:04:27.680 It gives me time to[br]slow down before I go fast. 0:04:27.680,0:04:30.260 In that moment with A-Thug and Louie, 0:04:30.260,0:04:33.540 I don't know if I noticed that "melanin" shirt[br]sitting on the table. 0:04:33.540,0:04:36.190 I'm quite sure I didn't[br]as I'm taking the pictures. 0:04:36.190,0:04:37.420 But it's only in retrospect, 0:04:37.420,0:04:40.860 as I took time to really study the environment[br]that they had created, 0:04:40.860,0:04:42.080 that I was like, "Whoa!" 0:04:42.080,0:04:46.040 "There are really prominent things [br]happening here." 0:04:48.780,0:04:51.660 His shirt saying,[br]"T.H.U.G., the hate you gave us," 0:04:51.660,0:04:55.560 I also didn't notice until I started making[br]the painting. 0:04:56.080,0:04:58.700 I think that's a very powerful statement, 0:04:58.700,0:05:01.490 to wear it on your chest like a shield 0:05:01.490,0:05:04.500 that communities of color often have to create 0:05:04.500,0:05:07.020 in order to protect and honor ourselves. 0:05:09.520,0:05:11.620 [LOUIE][br]I get the best feeling when I come outside 0:05:11.620,0:05:13.800 and somebody's wearing one of my t-shirts, 0:05:13.800,0:05:14.800 one of my hats. 0:05:15.080,0:05:17.260 Right here is a little bear I done drew out, 0:05:17.260,0:05:20.360 animated it with the little graphic design. 0:05:20.980,0:05:22.600 So, I've got to produce. 0:05:22.610,0:05:25.520 Like, making art into[br]wearable clothing right now. 0:05:25.520,0:05:27.000 Young Style Designs. 0:05:27.000,0:05:28.820 It's wearable art right here, though. 0:05:31.680,0:05:33.740 Jordan, her work is on showcase. 0:05:33.960,0:05:36.940 You've got to go inside of an establishment. 0:05:36.940,0:05:38.660 I'm more of a street hustler, 0:05:38.660,0:05:41.560 I get it out right on the[br]cement concrete block. 0:05:42.400,0:05:46.740 She left a little event in my life,[br]like a nice little milestone. 0:05:46.740,0:05:50.220 Just dropped down and did something nice. 0:05:52.860,0:05:55.500 [CASTEEL][br]I have somehow found a way 0:05:55.500,0:06:01.540 to weasel myself into a one-percent opportunity[br]within the art market 0:06:01.550,0:06:03.060 that has proven, on so many levels, 0:06:03.060,0:06:06.200 that room for me[br]is few and far between, 0:06:06.200,0:06:09.040 as a young African-American woman 0:06:09.040,0:06:14.520 in a space that is primarily run by older[br]White men. 0:06:16.090,0:06:20.320 The history of this country is complicated. 0:06:20.320,0:06:25.130 The history of how art has moved through institutions, 0:06:25.130,0:06:27.200 and been valued, is complicated. 0:06:27.600,0:06:30.000 With access comes responsibility. 0:06:30.640,0:06:32.860 With visibility comes responsibility. 0:06:34.780,0:06:37.920 [ZEN][br]There are very few spaces where 0:06:37.930,0:06:40.520 Black men are being represented 0:06:40.520,0:06:43.700 outside of criminality and entertainment. 0:06:44.760,0:06:49.440 People probably pass the subjects in this[br]work everyday, 0:06:50.380,0:06:52.960 without acknowledging anything about them. 0:06:54.140,0:06:56.920 There is a value in just being.