Photo Editor
Chasing the Rectangle
This body of work from photographer, Chris Nakis, focuses on the family, culture and identity of between Greece and Rochester, New York.
Above is a series of images showing how the exhibit is incorporated within the library. This space isn't a traditional gallery space as students are working and moving around the images everyday. Considering how students will interact with the installation was a major part of the planning process.
A closer look...
Below is a 'virtual' gallery for a better view of the images digitally.
Process
Nakis' photography is the merger of bowhunting and fine art photography. Since taking his first photography classes at RIT, Nakis has been continually chasing the rectangle by shooting full frame and never cropping his images.
He draws inspiration from the early work of Paula Bronstein, a former classmate, and from retired faculty Owen Butler and Mike Soluri. Nakis shoots solely in black and white film, and experiments with different techniques in the darkroom to make each image his own.
In 2017, Nakis directed and produced his personal documentary, The Blue Whitetail, in which he explores similarities between bowhunting and photographic philosophies, and how he visualizes and plans for his shots.
Bowhunting
Nakis began bowhunting in the 1990's, and realized that the techniques he used in shooting a bow translated over to when he was shooting with his camera.
The two practices have moments where the shutter is clicked or the bow is released, and in that moment you can't take back that decision. In hunting, it is called "the moment of truth", and in photography, "the decisive moment." Both moments occur when everything is positioned just how you want it, and when you're ready to freeze a subject in time.
Greece
Both of Nakis's parents are from Greece, and immigrated to the United States before starting their family. Although Nakis was not born in Greece, it remains a home away from home for him. Growing up in a Greek household, Nakis and his sibling learned to speak Greek, and he continues to speak the language with his own children.
While at RIT, Nakis spent a year studying abroad and photographing in Austria. During his time away, he visited his family's village in Flambouro, Greece, where he documented local culture and life. In 1986, Nakis spent a year living in Greece, where many of these images were made.
Family
Nakis's son, Achilles.
Nakis's daughter, Alexandra.
When Nakis first took up photography in high school, family members were some of his earliest subjects. Growing up around a big Greek family with grandparents, aunt, uncles and cousins in the area, Nakis always had something to document.
His family owned multiple restaurants in the Rochester area, which Nakis spent his early adulthood working in. Later, he opened up a repair garage called Nakis Auto Care with his father, Evangelos, and brother, George. Today, family traditions and memories continue to be passes down to Nakis's own children, Achilles and Alexandra.
Olga
After graduating from RIT in 1983, Nakis planned to move abroad to Greece for a year, but his mother fell sick with a brain tumor. For Nakis, there was no other option than to stay and take care of his mother, Olga Nakis. He documented this process until she died in September, 1985. These photos were developed after her passing, so she never saw any of his work.
Olga didn't have a lot, but she had her family for whom she worked tirelessly. During the oral history interview series, Nakis spoke fondly of his mother, and remembered Olga as being "the anchor of the family."
