Valentina Jacks remembers always looking forward to art class as a kid. A native of Colorado, USA, she attended a local public school where she enrolled in various mediums from pottery, drawing and later film photography in high school. But likely it was her biannual summer trip that had the most influence on her work as an architectural photographer today. “My mom would take us to Rome every other summer to visit my grandparents, and the ancient architecture and cathedral paintings always inspired me from the contrast of modernity and nature in Colorado where I grew up. These mixed cultures inspired my own desire to reflect on and capture the fascinatingly diverse world around me.”
At 15 years old, Valentina began to explore photography through dark room photography classes in high school. “My Italian grandpa used to have a dark room, and he was always showing me old memories and moments that he had captured,” she recalls. “Seeing his passion and loving visual storytelling also inspired me to take this class and learn about the older process of developing photos by hand. My grandpa was also the first to buy me a digital camera around that time. Since then, I’ve loved documenting pretty much everything through the lens of a camera.”
Valentina went on to study art direction in advertising at the University of Colorado Boulder, but she says the love of experimenting with various mediums still remains. “Although art classes and university taught me a lot, nothing compares to being in the real world and doing things firsthand,” she explains. “I moved to Amsterdam after university to take advantage of dual citizenship and live in an artistic city full of imaginative people. Being around a creative community while also experimenting with digital photography and design pushed me to learn more about my own interests and styles. I learn mostly through doing and exploration while simultaneously being inspired by creative idols such as film director Wes Anderson, art director Jessica Walsh, photographer Richard Mosse and many others.”
Demonstrating a sense of self-awareness and environment in relation to subject, Valentina’s portfolio includes structures with character and a feeling of the old world. “From gold onion domes in Moscow, to art deco details in Prague, to crumbling old wooden cabins in Colorado, I find a variety of structures fascinating.” She believes that buildings reflect the culture in which they’re built and can create a subconscious experience in a person’s everyday life. Valentina is also inspired by exploring and expressing feelings and moments along the way. Traveling lends itself to capturing moments that are unfamiliar to her, keeping her creative mind open and observant. “From colorful tiled houses in Portugal to the perfectly geometrically placed columns of the Vatican, each place brings its own history and feeling. When I moved to Amsterdam, I also began traveling to other nearby countries such as Belgium, France, Italy, Portugal and Russia, which deepened my love of architecture and the vast variety of beautiful styles,” she says.
Valentina’s composition expertly includes symmetry and a generous amount of sky. “As a designer, I like things to be vibrant and minimal; therefore, big and colorful skies help create this feeling. It also helps the viewer to focus on the main object while also creating space for imagination.” She adds: “I am a sucker for symmetry, so I always try to seek out finding a visual balance in an image as well.”
The Hotel Opera photograph is the perfect example and is one of Valentina’s most memorable. “I came across the hotel in Prague on a weekend trip while wandering around the city center. It was just off a main street and the pink building caught my attention out of the corner of my eye. It was a cold but sunny day, and I had to stop on the tram tracks to try to get the right angle,” she recalls. “I probably took about 50 photos before my friend started complaining to me to hurry up and get off the tracks. All of the others are similar moments where something just catches my eye and I have to stop mid-moment to capture it.”
Valentina’s artistic journey along with the art she creates has had a huge impact on her life. She says art has taught her to reflect on her own outlook on life and how to see the world as other do. “[Art] pushes us to see and think differently and is a constant visual teacher without language borders. For me, it’s a universal connection and way of experiencing everything from the small details to the colorful moments in life. I hope that art can continue to push us all to keep exploring and seeing the world a little more vibrantly, even through the sometimes darker days.”
To see more of Valentina’s work, visit www.valentinajacks.com.
