Blackmon: State of Reality

Springfield photographer and artist Julie Blackmon recently had her worked splashed across the pages of Time magazine. But national, even international, recognition is nothing new to the mother of three known for unique portraits of family life scenes that blend chaos and harmony, often with a tinge of dark humor or mystery.

Blackmon’s not new to Time. She’s been commissioned by the publication before to produce a cover. Her work also has been spotted in The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair and, among other notable places, in actress Reese Witherspoon’s office. Witherspoon, a fan, conducted an interview with the photographer for the book, “Julie Blackmon: Homegrown,” released in September by Radius Books.

In the Aug. 3 issue of Time, three photos from Blackmon’s Domestic Vacations series serve as illustrations in a five-page story, “In praise of the ordinary child,” that examines what it means to raise exceptional children.

Married to W.D. Blackmon, head of Missouri State University’s English department, the photographer said she got her big break and entered into a career of gallery sales, magazine features and museum exhibitions after earning first place in the 2006 Santa Fe Center for Photography Project Competition for her body of work called “Domestic Vacations.” That led to interest from a handful of galleries she now works with around the country: Fahey/Klein Gallery in Los Angeles, Catherine Edelman Gallery in Chicago and Robert Mann Gallery in New York.

Each gallery sells from a predetermined, limited number of prints, typically garnering between $3,500 and $15,000 apiece, the photographer said. Beyond Witherspoon, well known buyers of her works include Robert Downey Jr., Elton John and Don Johnson and his wife, Kelley Phleger.

“One day, I came home from work, and they had come over to talk to Julie,” W.D. Blackmon said of Johnson and Phleger. “Then, his wife left his keys, and I was out bagging up the garbage on a Wednesday night and Don Johnson comes strolling up to get his keys.”

According to Julie Blackmon’s bio on EdelmanGallery.com, she has permanent collections in 18 galleries from the Portland Art Museum to the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston and one at Walt Disney Corp. Last year, she held an opening and book signing at Seattle’s Gail Gibson Gallery, and  “Homegrown,” was exhibited at The Photographers’ Gallery in London. Closer to home, Blackmon’s work was featured in a September-January exhibit at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Ark.

Earlier this month, magazines in Russia and Italy paid around $2,000 apiece to publish images from her family focused works. Typically, Blackmon said European publications pay better. The Time magazine check was nearly $1,400, she said. Commissioned covers for Time and The New York Times Magazine netted her $3,000 to $4,000 after expenses.

While requests come regularly from publications, she usually doesn’t participate unless usage fees are involved. The bulk of her income comes from the sale of prints by galleries, which sell around 35 prints apiece in varying sizes, and they generally split sales with her.

Tinge of fantasy
Blackmon’s trademark is in capturing a realistic moment – with a bit of fantasy.

“She creates scenes,” said Sarah Buhr, the curator at Springfield Art Museum, where her work has been on display since 2009. “She is creating narratives, so these are staged moments, but they feel so real because they are pulled from her own life. And yet, she is so adept at capturing these mysterious moments when something is just about to happen or has just happened.”

For a piece called “Thin Mints,” Blackmon remade the Beatles’ Abbey Road album cover and positioned Girl Scouts walking across the street. “That one sold out in two months,” Blackmon said.

Children watching a backyard film in “Night Movie” and a baby near a pool with adults lounging in “The Power of Now” also sold out quickly. The buyers typically are unknown.

“There are private collectors, and often the artist doesn’t know who is buying her works,” W.D. Blackmon said, adding Witherspoon became known as a fan while doing interviews for the movie “Wild” in her office with Blackmon’s “The Power of Now” print in the background.

By coincidence, he said they learned Elton John had “Queen” hanging in his child’s bedroom.

“I don’t work it from my end in any way,” she said of sales and promotion. “The galleries put the work out there, luckily. I’d be terrible at (public relations).”

Homegrown and universal
The stay-at-home mom has a studio in her center city Springfield home, but she works alone – save the subjects – producing these days around five photo sets per year.

“I’ve spent the last eight weeks on two, and one may not work,” she said, noting she’s slowed down in recent years. “It’s like, ‘Do I really want to release this? Is it as strong as I want it to be?’”

Blackmon has eight siblings, and she said the people – mainly children – who populate her photos are typically relatives. The scenes are often pure Springfield. “Olive & Market” is shot at the downtown intersection, and “Homegrown Food” positions a teenager smoking on the side of the Rountree neighborhood grocery store at Pickwick Avenue and Cherry Street.

“I’m always looking for settings, and I think I might be doing my next shoot over behind Bruno’s,” she said of the Italian restaurant and bar on South Avenue. “It’s got a really cool backdrop. The only problem is there is a huge chain-link fence.

“Every shoot is an adventure. I’m problem-solving and trying to keep everybody alive.”

While Blackmon’s work shows in New York and Paris, she’s popular at home, too. When Blackmon opened her exhibit at the Springfield Art Museum in 2013, Buhr said about 600 people showed up. The artist described the hometown opening as a favorite career moment.

Buhr said the museum became aware of Blackmon’s work in the mid-2000s, after she won PhotoSpiva, a national photography competition in Joplin. The Springfield Art Museum has seven Blackmon photographs in its permanent collection, and “Candy,” from 2008, currently on display.

Blackmon said she’s always thinking of her next backdrop.

“My work is going more in the direction of street scenes and getting out in public and out away from being at home,” Blackmon said. “But I won’t know – I won’t know until I get there. I go image to image.”