Meet Isaac King

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Isaac King a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Isaac, great to have you with us today and excited to have you share your wisdom with our readers. Over the years, after speaking with countless do-ers, makers, builders, entrepreneurs, artists and more we’ve noticed that the ability to take risks is central to almost all stories of triumph and so we’re really interested in hearing about your journey with risk and how you developed your risk-taking ability.

Being a practitioner of experimental film and animation techniques necessitates risk. The field encapsulates a wide array of artists innovating and — as the name implies — experimenting. One could hardly call oneself an experimenter if one didn’t step out of their comfort zone and explore new possibilities. So that’s largely where my comfort with risk comes from, partially out of boredom with convention but largely out of a persisting hunger and curiosity for what is possible when one pushes boundaries and steps outside the box. I am driven to energize my artistic disciplines and encourage conversation and curiosity for my topics of interest, namely the study of the United States South.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I am a visual media artist and filmmaker born and raised in South Carolina. My practice centers around handmade cinema, recycled cinema, and amateur filmmaking. I prominently utilize celluloid film (super 8, 16mm, 35mm), taking full advantage of its materiality. My work and research have included and focused on matters of representation and socio-ecological metamorphosis, particularly in the U.S. South.

Through working on my ethnographic triptych film, Ghosts of the Old South, I have been singularly focused on examining culture through an abstract lens, hoping that the abstraction promotes a desire to learn and a will to reach across cultural differences.

Through my work and efforts outside of art-making, I seek to better serve my communities as an active collaborator for a more equitable future where all are known and cared for.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Some of the most impactful qualities that helped me to find success in my field were having good time management skills, effective communication, and robust mentorship. I don’t think I would be anywhere without the substantial network of mentors and collaborators who helped me along the way. We are only as good as those we surround ourselves with.

My advice to folks early in their journey is to find your people, those who you truly gel with and who not only encourage you but also push and challenge you to new heights. Finding that community is tantamount, and everything else will more or less fall into place in due time.

All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?

The primary challenge in my life presently is the prevailing feeling of post-graduation stagnancy. For every single “yes” one receives, one will also hear an overwhelming amount of “nos,” especially as an emerging artist. Facing constant rejection, it can be difficult to feel validated that one’s efforts are worth pursuing.

In the uncertain liminal periods of my life, I have found solace in the small mundane tasks of the day. Ultimately, as I cannot control external validation of my efforts, it is important to do small things for myself in the meantime. Sometimes that looks like working on personal projects or honing my craft, and other times it’s simple things like reorganizing my workspace. Again, having a good support network puts these things into perspective that one does not need to achieve monumental tasks every day.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://isaacking.me
• Instagram: @ikekingfilm
• Other: Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/ikeking

Image Credits

Agis Shaw, Blake Hunter, Evelyn Skyrm