Pamela Reed and Cats Interview
Reed + Rader don’t really require an introduction. Their artwork speaks for itself, literally, with moving creatures and fantasy futurism at every new turn. Flowers growing where heads should be, and spacey beauty that could only be described as ethereal. Their embracing of the future is what we need at this turn of decades, and I’m very excited to see what they create next. I sat down and talked to Pamela Reed (the “Reed” of Reed + Rader) and her dapper kitties about the past, the future, and Christmas.
TT: helllooo
PR: hellllooooo
TT: i think you’re great.
PR: oh you. im eating m&ms, in xmas colors, now those are great.
TT: it snowed here for the first time today. and that’s doubly great.
PR: jealous. love snow. our first winter in nyc, it got record falls but hasn’t been that cool since.
TT: where are you from originally?
PR: i am from the state of pennsylvania.
TT: oh go penguins!
PR: we lived in pittsburgh for a few years, matthew and i. its nice there.
TT: i’ve never been.
PR: i dont think you are missing much, but its still lovely.
TT: i’d love to interview you. i think you’re fascinating and would like to ask you questions..
PR: don’t be afraid. we are a free market.
TT: oh good! im in need of lots of groceries..
PR: m&ms we have. ginger ale too cat food
TT: do you have lots of cats?
PR: we have four little loves. meow meow meow meow
TT: hey there! i used to have a cat.
PR: oh no what happened?
TT: not too sure. well, it died obviously. but i can’t remember how. he just one day went to the vet, and didn’t come back..
PR: that is very sad. our boy, brother, is sick right now. hes locked in the bedroom for the next few weeks its very sad he wants to get out with his sisters and his sisters want to get in with him.
TT: is it like quarantine?
PR: basically he has ringworm.
TT: oh that’s awful.
PR: it is, he’s very insecure right now. poor brother.
TT: well i hope he gets better.
PR: us too and then i have xanadu on my lap now. and fifi is next to me snoring. its a full house.
TT: such a cool collection of names! i took an astronomy course, and want to name my children after the moons of Jupiter: Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto.
PR: they have middle names too, but i wont go into that. those are lovely. I like Io. I like saying it a few times.. Io, Io, Io, Io…
PR: maybe! i think our next project is space related in some aspects, but that’s usually everything anyways.
TT: i like your galaxies thing, with all billion. that’s how many there are. and i don’t know, is it a photo?
PR: FiFi’s nickname is Sumo, like the wrestler.. She’s a big kitty girl. which one?
TT: This one.
PR: its a picture of a picture of a picture.
TT: really?
PR: yesr, we shoot things multiple times a lot.
TT: same with this one?
PR: we try to do things “for real” if possible.
TT: that was my computer background for awhile.
PR: yesr its a picture of a picture. no pixel filter, lol.
TT: but you took the original picture? or just stole it.
PR: yes we took it.
TT: wow. it’s pretty unbelievable. do you ever want to get into film?
PR: we’ve done a few films. its definitely the eventual step of photography.. the still image we believe is close to being over as we know it.
TT: so i’m noticing! i’m gonna pawn off my camera and buy one that shoots film..
PR: do you mean video or film as in actual film?
TT: oh, i suppose video.
PR: okay.
TT: like digital.
PR: gotchu.
TT: a step forwards.. i think
PR: true.
TT: you shoot digital right? sounds silly even to ask.
PR: it depends, mostly, but we only started shooting digital in.. may? your picture you attached above, thats all film we still shoot large format x film film is magical but the next step is the moving image..
TT: those are soo cool! how do you do it?
PR: we do a shoot, and then shoot it off digital screens or surfaces to create the effect.
TT: ok that sounds a little confusing..
PR: hehe.
TT: but i guess it’s probably sort of a secret, too. nobody else is doing that. so you went to art school, right?
PR: yesr
TT: and did that do anything for you? or could you have done without?
PR: we dont regret it (only the bills). we think it was worthy, plus we wouldn’t have met.
TT: and you had similar ideas? or how did you end up creating together?
PR: yes, we flow nicely. we are going to play a game now.. i will talk to you later. goodbye friend.
TT: ok! bye.
TT: hello!
PR: hello
TT: how are the cats today?
PR: fifi is on the microwave, asleep. xanadu is trolling her. essy is asleep next to the heater. brother is meowing and trying to escape his room
TT: do they know christmas is coming?
PR: yes! essy is a peeker she opens presents trying to find hers.
TT: would it be too much to ask what you’ve got her?
PR: they got bowls which is not exciting to them but then i got them this crazy toy that shines lights like a rave and rotates so they can chase and rave. and then i got them catnip toys and food and their grandpa got them some toys, too.
TT: holy they must have been extra good this year.
PR: im a spoiler!
PR: they my bbs.
TT: hahaha so do you mind if i ask you some questions like i meant to last time?
PR: of course not!
TT: i just found out andy warhol lived in pittsburgh. and then yesterday i also found out that liza minelli was judy garland’s daughter. do you like andy?
PR: quality. have you gone to the warhol museum in pittsburgh/ its great.
TT: i’ve never been to pittsburgh. or new york.
PR: oh no!
TT: i wish i could afford a trip, but i would have nowhere to stay and wouldn’t know what to do.
PR: pittsburgh is beautiful. so is nyc, but that is expected.
TT: so when you were growing up, did you know you wanted to be an artist?
PR: no i come from a very non artist family very blue collar small town noone i knew was a artist.. that wasn’t really a possibility or thought of.. but i wanted to get away from home asap… so i moved to the other side of pennsylvania as soon as i graduated and went to art school… i wanted to do web design.. that was my major.
TT: but then what.
PR: it wasnt what i wanted, wasnt really learning anything.. i was a web obsessed teen.. it was my life and friends so then i met matthew.. who wasnt in photography either.. but then i met him… and we became friends.. and then meowzas… and then he then switched to photo and i was jealous of what he was doing.. it was the unknown (had no idea anything about photo) so then i switched
TT: so you’d never owned a camera prior to switching?
PR: just point and shoots both matthew and i had no real knowledge of it before switching to the photo program.
TT: that’s crazy! maybe i should try something so risqué. what do you use then to make films?
PR: what do we use to make films today?
TT: yeah
PR: 5d II. does stills and hd video, its nice.
TT: i’m trying to sell my camera so i can buy one that does video. but it’s major depreciated.
PR: you should def get video.. its everything.. its the future.. stop doing stills.
TT: yeah, i should just start doing something. all i take is photos when i go out, and it’s just a bunch of drunk people. it’s fun, though. so what are you guys planning to tackle next? any secret projects? well if they were secret i imagine you couldn’t tell me…
PR: hehe true.
PR: we’re really trying to push technology in the new year… the augmented world.. its very exciting.
TT: that’s super exciting. i think there will be so much stuff we’ve never seen in this next decade.
PR: theres so much stuff already out there.. its just not main stream….. also most people dont know what to do with it yet…
TT: truth.
PR: exciting times
TT: so in keeping with the whole not knowing anything about photography decision, is that why you chose to branch into fashion? or would you call it fashion?
PR: we use fashion more so for costumes.. rather than just “fashion”… everything is very specific to us.. known in advance… we are big on creating characters, thats how we use fashion… it just felt right to do that from the start.
PR: everything comes from being inspired.
TT: but some people claim that using other art or something for inspiration only makes you copy their artwork or something like that. do you feel that way?
PR: no, everything has been done before, the sooner you get over that, the better. but personally speaking, we dont look at much photography ourselves… we’re more inspired by technology, futurists, games…
TT: architecture?
PR: sure, anything that you see that inspires you.
TT: so do you like to watch 2001: A Space Odyssey. or is that too cliché?
PR: no, its an amazing film.
TT: especially the creepy voice. that’s probably my favourite part. so you don’t mind if i snag a couple of your “pieces” for our chat? that is, if you don’t mind i publish this. i’m trying something new, too. facebook chat publishing.
PR: sure you’re publishing our chat?
TT: if you don’t mind. i usually keep most of my chats.
PR: ok.
TT: it will be called Pamela Reed Interview. and people will like it i think. or Pamela Reed and Cats Interview. does matt ever do interviews?
PR: yes of course
TT: maybe he’ll be my next target. haha! well thank you very much, unless you have anything else to add.
PR: hugs
TT: thanks! i honestly think you guys are doing something quite interesting. and hope brother and the rest have a merry christmas!
PR: You too dear. g Tweet