Practical Magic: Margaret Murphy
Margaret Murphy, Untitled (banana peel), 2020, digital inkjet print
Practical Magic is an online interview series with early and mid-career creatives. Through a selection of prompts we spotlight each person’s practice and (hopefully) prove art world creatives are the real influencers of today.
interview with: MARGARET MURPHY
photographer
Margaret Murphy is literally one of the first artists we ever worked with as a curatorial project. Our inaugural exhibition Paradise Express opened June 2017 and included a selection of 8x10 prints from Margaret’s Happy 2 Be Here series; every photo was shot on her iPhone. As we’ve each grown over the last 3 years, watching the other evolve in an ever-changing creative climate, it feels very appropriate to check in with her during this unprecedented time. A bit about Margaret:
Margaret Murphy is a Los Angeles-based photographer. Originally from Washington, DC she earned her BFA in Photography from SUNY Purchase and is currently pursuing her MFA in Photography at the University of Hartford Limited Residency program. As of late, her pictures have predominantly been still lives, portraits and self-portraiture taken in interiors such as her own home focusing on loneliness and desire.
We will start y’all off with her current favorite meme —
cuts deep quick
PP: What is a typical day in the life for you as a creative? How do you structure your day/week to manage your practice?
MM: Because most of my creative practice takes place in my home, I can essentially work whenever inspiration strikes. Often I will be struck with an idea for a photograph and as I play and manipulate with the scene, it will lead to new ideas that then become new pictures. It could be described as a sort of "lily pad" process. I almost always photograph with music on to help distract my inner dialogue. I don't find it helpful to think too much while making work. Instead I try letting my subconscious take the lead, identifying a feeling or emotion that I am experiencing and how best to convey it. When I actually describe it, it's a kind of chaotic yet fluid process.
PP: What to you was the most successful moment that you’ve had as a creative, and why was it successful or meaningful to you?
MM: My greatest success to date was being accepted to the Hartford MFA program. Earning my MFA was something that I knew I wanted if I was to seriously further my artistic career. For so long I doubted whether or not I was a "good enough" artist. But just knowing that there were people in the photo world who I respected that saw something in my art and my capabilities as a member of their community (even when I sometimes could not) felt like reaching the peak of a mountain I never thought I would scale.
Untitled (milk hair), 2020, digital inkjet print
PP: Current binge-worthy tv/film recommendation?
MM: Fleabag, Barry, and Killing Eve!
PP: What are you listening to in your studio or when you work?
MM: Such a wide variety of music! Lately I've been really into TikTok playlists because there are a lot of songs that I've never heard before but are catchy and thus go viral on the video platform.
(Margaret is also a die-hard Hayley Williams fan and we know she would def recommend her new solo album.)
PP: Did you receive a formal education for the work you do currently? Either way, do you think it has supported/informed the outcome of your career and your future goals?
MM: I am so grateful for my formal education in photography. I had extremely talented and insightful professors who helped shape the way I think about my work. I thrive in an academic environment, especially when the focus is something that I am passionate about. It was integral to my development as a photographer to be exposed to the medium in all its forms, as well as the history of photography. I would argue it’s vital for any photographer currently working today. The community of artists in academic institutions was fundamental to me as well and I have fostered lifelong relationships with so many of my classmates.
“Everyone I know [in LA] is always willing to help and support each other. Perhaps the sunshine just keeps us all in good spirits.”
Margaret in Los Feliz, LA
PP: What's your favorite article of clothing to wear and why?
MM: I love my white Superga sneakers. They truly go with everything [see above] and I never get tired of them. I've been buying new ones every year for the past like four years.
PP: Who or what are major influences for you right now and why?
MM: Marianne Muller is a huge influence for the work I've made most recently. Her photographs made in the 1990's in her home, of herself and intimate interior surroundings, feel so contemporary and relatable. I have both of her books, A Part of My Life and The Proper Ornaments ,and I've spent a lot of time looking at and thinking about the work recently.
Untitled (cockroach), 2020, digital inkjet print
You can check out more from Margaret Murphy on the web and on Instagram at:
Practical Magic interviews post every Tuesday and Thursday - check back weekly to see who we’re chatting with next.