Conversations with Frederick Taylor

Today we’d like to introduce you to Frederick Taylor.

Hi Frederick, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My story starts in Chicago on the south side where I was born. My father was a jazz musician and my mother a public health nurse. We moved east when I was young in order to find more opportunities and safety.

My family then moved to Atlanta to be a part of the growth of the city. My mother’s side of the family comes from Memphis and my father is from Georgia. My southern roots play very heavily in my work because I have a strong belief in inequality. My grandmother emigrated from Memphis to Chicago during WW2. Her purpose was to find greater opportunities for her future generations.

That is the same approach I have to my filmmaking. I make films for future generations. I have little concern for the present at times with my work. I ask myself, “What would someone in the year 2065 think of my work?”

My nature is progress and my skill set is cinematography, writing, editing, and directing.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My road has not been smooth. I am African-American and male. I am not a performative person of color but I am a thinker. I have a very articulate sense about myself and have a White-American accent, so it has a tendency to throw people off about their expectations of me.

Many people think black males are not intelligent enough to work in highly skilled positions in filmmaking. We make better singers, dancers, and rappers rather than production leaders. I’m not someone who tells a lot of jokes, so some people do not know what to expect from me.

My struggles happen when people do not have faith in what I can bring to the table. My struggles start when I speak my mind. My struggles start when I take a position of power.

If I am contrite, I am rewarded. If I speak out, I am generally dismissed.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
When I was in third grade, my teacher Mrs. Pollack had my class do a visualization project.

We had to draw our families and then talk about it. We all drew our families and then we individually and privately talked to Mrs. Pollack. This all seems normal except for the fact that she was audio recording the private talk. This was all right by me because I love anything electronic when I was a little boy.

When it was my turn she looked at my picture of my family and came to a startling revelation. She asked me, ”Frederick, why did you not color in the faces of your family?” I then quickly moved my eyes from the spinning audio recorder to the picture, and she was correct. I did not color in my family’s skin tone. I had drawn my family’s picture on white paper. She then looked at me and as our eyes meet she said, “Would you like to color in your family’s faces in brown?” I looked back at my picture and said, “No, it does not matter.”

I as an artist strive to prove race does not matter. We are all equal being in many different environments of circumstance. The core values that bind us as humans are the framework of the truth we seek to ease our souls.

I am a soul artist. My desire as an artist is to find the doors of humanity and open them.

I want to be able to look at the surface of complex issues and inequities and know it does not matter. The answer lies deeper. With the lens of a camera, I focus deeper and explore the soul.

How do you define success?
All my life I have been American yet there are constant reminders that my status is still up for debate. You see, I am of African descent. My given surname is European. My surname is from the family who owned my ancestors. Don’t get me wrong America wants me to stay, I just can not figure out at what price. What role do I play in the great western society? I am not a singer, dancer, Hip-hop artist, or sports star. I am a visual film artist. I look at light and shadow and try to find meaning in the human spirit.

I look in the mirror every morning and I see an African who is lost and trying to find his way home. It was not until my art summoned me to Mukuru Kwa Jenga Nairobi, Kenya did I find my way to redemption. I had been shooting in a village for approximately a week when one of the youth elders of the village whispered in my ear and said, “You are more African than you are American, never forget that.”

My world was no longer upside down after those words. I was finally right-side up. I was redeemed, saved if you will. I later discover through DNA testing that I was part Nigerian, Ghanan, and Cameroon. I am from the Bantu tribe. That is a success to me. I made it and I made it home. I know who really I am.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: tomorrowpictures.com
• Instagram: @Fr3deR1cK
• Facebook: Facebook.com/Fr3deR1cK
• Twitter: Twitter.com/Fr3deR1cK
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/tomorrowpicturestv
• Yelp: Fr3deR1cK.com
• Other: jailnobaildoc.com

Image Credits
Photos of Frederick on the couch were taken by Mona Schwab
The rest of the photos were shot by Julieta Vergini