Arts + Entertainment: Written for Patch 2012
West Chester Artist Releases Book of Beards
The Social Lounge fetes West Chester artist Justin James Muir as he debuts his first book, the proceeds of which go to charity.
Flipping through the newly released Book of Beards by West Chester artist Justin Muir, the first element to strike the beholder – aside from all the glorious face 'fros—has got to be Muir’s use of black and white tones. It’s a look that Muir has married perfectly to his subject matter in the self-published, not for profit coffee table book. The tones he has chosen have the nostalgic depth of an old timer’s eye, but don’t let that fool you: Justin Muir has just entered his third year of photography.
Coming to West Chester
A transplant from Rhode Island, Muir came to live in West Chester after meeting Veronica Lane, a bartender at , about three years ago. Muir had been touring with his band when a gig at The Note became the impetus for his relocation. After months of “working my charm”, Muir and Lane became a couple and Muir established a new life in Pennsylvania.
Upon arriving in West Chester, Muir began to notice how prominent the beard was in the male sector of West Chester style.
Beard Culture
He shares “When I moved to West Chester, PA, I noticed that the beard culture was a bit bolder than other places I had been; it was a little uncharacteristic of an otherwise neat and tidy town. All the while, I was sharpening my portrait photography skills, and decided to focus my lens on all of these beards. From the first portrait, I knew the black and white format would fit the mood of the men who sported these gnarly beards. I started photographing friends, which then grew into approaching strangers on the street. I was obsessed with beards, always on the lookout, wherever I went. So I built a tiny portable studio that was easy to travel with. Now, I could take portraits anywhere—houses, bars, my living room, backyards, and eventually I found myself at beard competitions. You can see my portable studio in some of the photos.”
Working among some of the area's most talented photographers at has arguably given someone so green an advantage in learning the technical aspects of photography. Muir, too, admits to this advantage, and shares that his portrait photography has been influenced by many greats before him. He got into portraiture because “I love people... I love what a simple portrait can do, and what I can do to effect the mood of someone just by changing the light, composition or color of a picture.”
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“When I started experimenting with light, I gravitated to portraiture and figure work, probably because I was looking at photographers like Bruno Dayan and Michael Muller.” The two artists are very different, but built the composite of Muir’s initial fascination with the limitlessness of portraiture. “I am in love with their work, so like all artists, I tried to copy them,” he adds candidly.
Getting the Photography Bug
Interested to understand how someone can progress to self-publishing a book in their third year of a field, I let Muir fill me in on his progression from beginner to book slanger.
“My mom bought me my first camera two Christmases ago. For the first year I just shot friends' family functions and learned how to use my DSLR. My mom said I was good, so I thought she had to be right,” he laughs. “My second year of photography, I entered into a 365 challenge with myself. Take a picture every day for 365 days.” [You can view the entire project on his Flickr account www.flickr.com/whatladder]
That year-long project “forced me daily to get better at photography. I learned so much that year and although I hated the project at times, it’s made me a better photographer. And as you can see from the project, I got some great shots, but also a lot of really horrible ones. I went to college for design and have been creating and directing art for years. So it was easy to apply my knowledge from those fields into photography. An advantage I don't think everyone has. Now in my third year of taking photos, I get to release my first book.”
Aside from the impressive mastery of digital black and white tones that Muir has mastered in a fraction of the time it takes most, another standout feature of the book is its not-for-profit model.
Book Benefits Charity
In 1997, Muir’s twin brother was diagnosed with leukemia. It was a devastating and surreal experience made stranger because of their connection as twins. Although it was a long fight, Steve Muir is now 100 percent healthy and cancer free. Justin Muir feels that a huge part of his brother’s success and the success of other survivors in overcoming the battle is due to the help of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
“My family has actively taken on the cause, and for the past 10 years my mother has volunteered and worked for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to further their efforts,” says Muri. After another close friend was also recently diagnosed with cancer (cover model Mike Cummings, of the band Backwoods Payback), Muir sought to do some philanthropy using his passion for beards as the vehicle.
Book of Beards celebrates its release Thursday night at The Social Lounge where event attendees will be able to purchase their own copy for $45 and meet the artist. The release party and photo exhibit is scheduled for 6:00-9:00 at 29 E. Gay Street. If you can’t make it, books as well as a preview of some of Muir’s beard photography are available on his website.
https://patch.com/pennsylvania/westchester/book-of-beard-release-party-and-exhibit-tonight