Spafford 305, the office of Czech piano professor Dr. Faflak may seem eclectic to most, but to Lora Toncheva it radiates an Eastern European familiarity that feels like home. Lora is a Bulgarian piano student studying music at Northern State University. Lora notes that many characteristics of the room feel like home: the old fashioned piano books that line the walls and the sheet music found scattered across the room, old fashioned furniture and cabinets, and posters and calendars that showcase Europe. She finds the potted and hanging plants reminiscent of time spent at her grandmothers' home in Bulgaria.
For this series I focused on capturing an individual in a space that was entirely their own, a space that speaks to who they are. Photographing a pianist in their practice space was vulnerable and raw, much like watching a painter while they work in their studio. I asked Lora to play and practice as it I was not there, and documented her in the environment she feels so comfortable in and spends so much time working in. In capturing her interacting with the space, I was able to capture what makes the space what it is. I focused on capturing the aforementioned Eastern European "homey" characteristics that make the space what it is, a homage to Eastern Europe and its musical roots.
Comments
Post a Comment