Donna Cosentino shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Good morning Donna, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: What makes you lose track of time—and find yourself again?
Making my art. Whether behind the camera in the desert or the woods, or spending time in the darkroom, it is easy to be overtaken by the sheer delight and complete attention given over to creating.
The results are not alway perfect (or even good) but the act of creating in and of itself is utterly fullfilling, and when things go right, I dance.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am a photographer and curator. As owner and Director of The Photographer’s Eye Gallery in Escondido, I facilitate photography exhibitions by local artists and by those from across the country and indeed internationally. We began seven years ago when I retired from thirty years of teaching photography. I gathered friends and former students and with grit and hard work we transformed attorney’s offices into a gallery unique in Southern California. Our Collective of photographers are the bones of our non-profit and exhibit their work three time a year. Our mission is to introduce the language of photography in all its forms to the community and so we not only show fine art and conceptual work but also documentary photography on our walls.
As a photographer and educator it is important to me that we introduce young people to photography through teaching darkroom techniques and by having a student exhibition each year. We exhibit work by high school and college photography students and I instruct young people in the darkroom for free.
I continue to make my own photographic art when I am not tackling installations and I am very interested in making work using historical processes such as Platinum Palladium and Cyanotype. I am a film camera user and spend my free time connecting with Nature.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What relationship most shaped how you see yourself?
I think my dad shaped who I would become early on. My dad was a handsome warrior…a WWll Silver Star, Purple Heart Army vet… and he taught me to ‘stand on my own two feet’ and “be a soldier”. Those things help me through rough times. But most of all, he taught me to see with attention. “look at that!” he would say, and “see that?”. We would chase rainbows and watch trains, and at night climb up on our roof and look at the stars. I know I have idealized him over the years and there were many flaws but this way of being strong and strong seeing I treasure.
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
You are enough
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
I truly believe Photography can change lives. I have seen this in my teaching and in the wider world. Its power lies in story-telling, whether expressed in personal/conceptual work, or in documenting the world around us. It can describe pain and degradation, jubilation and triumph. It is a form of art that lives in the heart and mind and communicates the source of all that we are as humans. It can be relegated to the trivial or exploitative, but it can also elevate. I prefer to believe in its potential to enrich and enlighten. My gallery is built on that belief.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
I am absolutely doing what I was born to do and my enthusiasm has never wavered. The path I have traveled was almost always about art and teaching. When I discovered photography my future was set. Photography came naturally to me and I had many mentors who advanced my understanding and technique. It has led to every job I have had from my first class in 1971 through to now. The chaos especially of sports photography from my days at a daily newspaper informed every part of how I now see. Quickness, being prepared, knowing your equipment and PAYING ATTENTION. My joy is found in teaching and in standing quietly with my camera in front of a scene that takes my full attention. I have been fortunate to be able to pass on my knowledge and expertise but I have to say I continue to learn and hope to never stop. Today, through my gallery, I am excited to discover photographers new to me and I am now working with the antique photographic process of Photogravure. All this pushes me to become better and more engaged than ever.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thephotographerseyecollective.com/
- Instagram: thephotographerseyecollective
- Facebook: the Photographers Eye Collective
