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B+WCOMMENT
susanburnstine.comKeith Taylor’s most recent series, The Badlands, transcends typical
landscape images by capturing the complex spirit of this magnificent and
dense land. He talks to Susan Burnstine about a place that never tires him.
AMERICAN
CONNECTION
D
uring a time that
admirable printing
is often measured
by the accuracy
and efficiency of
digital output, it’s
endlessly inspiring to experience
one of Keith Taylor’s masterful
prints first hand.
Whether printing for himself
or for a countless list of renowned
photographers, he is considered
one of the finest printmakers in
silver, platinum, gum dichromate
or polymergravure. But what is
most remarkable about Taylor is
that he’s also a respected fine art
photographer in his own right.
Originally born in Bromley in
England, Taylor first fell in love
with photography at the early age
of seven when he and his brother
were both given Kodak
Instamatic cameras as gifts.Initially he aspired to become a
cinematographer, but in a twist
of fate he ended up working as
a printer in a London studio.
Following a stint as an assistant
photographer, he realised there
were a great number of talented
photographers vying for the same
jobs, so he began to concentrate
on printmaking instead.
Taylor immersed himself in the
art of printmaking and by the mid
1980s he opened a professional
lab, which catered mostly to
advertising, editorial and fashion
photography. In time, the focus of
the lab slowly shifted to printing
portfolios and exhibitions. Taylor
credits three mentors for his
success: Roy Snell, Ron Bagley
and Bill Rowlinson. He says, ‘I’ve
always maintained that Roy
taught me how to print from the
heart, Ron taught me the businessside of printing and Bill’s advice
was to never compromise and
stay true to yourself.’
In 1996, Taylor left the UK and
moved to Minneapolis with his
wife (photographer Beth Dow)
and in addition to establishing
himself as one of America’s most
respected printmakers he has
earned a number of grants,
awards and exhibitions for his
fine art photography. Taylor’s
seminal series, Dark Matter,
received endless accolades and
was published as part of the
Minnesota Center for Book Arts/
Jerome Foundation Mentorship
Program series in 2011.
His most recent series, The
Badlands, transcends typical
landscape images by capturing
the complex spirit of this
magnificent and dense land. As
this body of work remainsongoing, he explains that he never
thought of it as having an end. ‘It’s
one of those unique places that
keeps pulling me back whenever
I get the chance – and whatever
the time of year, day or season it’s
constantly changing,’ he says.
‘I never tire of going there.’
Taylor was inspired to create
images in this area of South
Dakota based on the name of
Badlands alone. ‘It has that air
of doom and gloom about it,
darkness and oppression, so I
immediately felt drawn towards
it,’ he says. ‘I had seen
photographs before I made that
first trip but nothing could
prepare me for the immense scale
of the area. I find it incredible
how the flat prairie can morph
into the desolate Badlands and
then change just as quickly into
what is Custer State Park.’‘It’s one of those unique places that keeps pulling me back whenever I get the chance – and
whatever the time of year, day or season it’s constantly changing,’ he says. ‘I never tire of going there.’
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