VISUAL — RAYMOND BLANTON

I purchased this painting on the streets of Bruges, Belgium to commemorate my doctorate.

A painting of Big Sur, California by Debbie Smith - given to us by Louise "LuLu" Smith.

Canon 5D.

My Blood Simple Mondo poster.

I share my father's affinity for the world of James Bond.

My Back to the Future Mondo poster.

I am a fan of satirist Terry Southern and Dr. Strangelove.

GoPro.

One of my favorite movies, O' Brother, Where Art Thou?

I'm a fan of Tarantino as both a writer and director.

My Warriors Mondo print by Tyler Stout.

I also share my father's affinity for westerns (John Wayne).

My Tyler Stout Big Lebowski prints.

My childhood C3PO.

In the expansive realms of culture, I have long been fascinated with the visual - from films to photography to graphic art and painting. My interest in the visual began primarily through my father's love of movies/film.

Over the years, I have (I think) developed an eclectic (not to be confused with elitist or pejoratively hipster) interest in both classical and contemporary films. Throughout college, my knowledge of movies could be called casual. However, in seminary, I met several professors who were very well versed in various genres and styles of film. More out of sheer curiosity than academic demand, I began studying and watching films incessantly in my down time. I participated in an independent study with Dr. William Edgar and wrote a thesis on the theology of contemporary cinema through the perspective of Quentin Tarantino's oeuvre.

At the same time, several students and I established the Westminster Film Society and began meeting weekly to discuss films. Moreover, I began programming screenings and discussions of various films on campus and organized a year-in-review film festival for the seminary to watch/discuss cultural issues past and present. It was also in seminary that I bought my first "serious" camera and began experimenting with photography. To this day, I find much perspective through the camera lens and have enjoyed making short films and journaling and documenting through photography.

After seminary, I lived/worked in University City, Philadelphia at Drexel University and was fortunate to partake in the production/making of various student short films for friends in the Temple University film program. After my time in Philly, we moved to Austin, Texas where I befriended a graphic artist/photographer and learned a great deal about the craft through photographing various music shows and events. Soon, I transitioned to a more "serious" camera (Canon 5D) and have enjoyed learning about the ins/outs of shadows and light in relation to aperture and shutter speeds, etc.

All in all, my interest in and experiences with the visual have propelled both my personal and professional life.