We are thrilled to introduce Sarah Kaufman on this virtual trip/interview to Devil’s Pool — an unsanctioned swimming hole in Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park. The prjoect is currently fetaured on our annual outdoor exhibition, Vision(ary): Portraits of Cultures, Communities, or Environments.
Sarah Kaufman (b. Philadelphia, PA) holds a BA from Haverford College and an MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University. Solo exhibitions of her photography include Saint Joseph’s University, Haverford College, Bowdoin College, Notre Dame University, Soho Photo, and the Silver Eye Center. Kaufman’s projects have been reviewed and featured in ARTnews Magazine, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Visual Studies Journal, Huck Magazine, and more. She has participated in group exhibitions internationally and permanent collections include Haverford College, The Pennsylvania Convention Center, and Procreate Projects UK. Her first monograph, Devil’s Pool, was published by Daylight Books. Kaufman is an Associate Professor in Art at Ursinus College and she lives and maintains a studio in Philadelphia.
Kaufman’s Instagram: @sarahkaufmanphoto
Devil’s Pool
Curiosity about revealing the human body in unselfconscious moments has long driven my photography and research. My recent work, Devil’s Pool, explores the body out in nature and looks at how the landscape can allow us to exist freely in our physical selves, absorbed in the experience of place. Devil’s Pool, an unsanctioned swimming hole in Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park, magnetically draws people from all over, and this work explores the complex, layered story that unfolds here.
The film photography project, spanning seven years, investigates how people relate to their environment and affirms the human need and impulse to commune with the natural world. The work pictures a diversity of human form, celebrating the body interacting with nature and recognizes traditions that follow both the landscape and bathing throughout art. The photographs highlight the value of access to green spaces within an urban setting, and a sense of discovery and revelry through connecting to nature.
Through photographing at Devil’s Pool, I began to see the landscape, both tamed and wild, as a fundamental force that fosters our potential to be fully present within ourselves and our surroundings.
Imagine we’re going on a photo trip to Devil’s Pool together. What aspects of this unique landscape first captivated your interest, and how has it influenced, as you say, your approach to capturing the human body in nature?
I fell in love with the high rocks and sloping woods around Devil’s Pool, draped with human figures of all shapes and sizes, lounging freely, interacting with the landscape and with each other. It was this broad, idyllic view of the body in nature that drew me in. Knowing that this scene was unfolding within Philadelphia’s city limits made it that much more compelling to me.
What photo essentials do you always bring along? And what gets your creative process going when in nature?
I pack my Rolleiflex twin lens camera, and a flash/mount to soften the sometimes intense shadows in the dappled sunlight, extra film, and I wear sneakers/clothes that I don’t mind wading in. As I hike toward Devil’s Pool the sounds of radio beats and steady splashing make their way up the trails and fill me with a sense of urgency. No matter how many times I have arrived at Devil’s Pool, I am always struck with a sense of awe as the woods opens up into the confluence of creeks, cliffs, sky, and people.
Upon arriving at Devil’s Pool, what’s the first thing you typically do to immerse yourself in the environment and prepare for a day of shooting?
I usually sit down on a rock and just take it all in for a while and maybe have a snack. Slowing down to load film and set up my camera helps me ease into it and then I begin wandering around and talking with people as they hang out and I begin photographing, asking if it’s OK to make pictures as I go. I carry postcards of my work to share and offer an idea of what I am doing. I often exchange email addresses so that I can send people images of themselves. And of course, if someone lets me know that they do not want to be photographed, either through words or body language, I respect that.
If you’ve packed something to eat, what would it be?
Lots of water when it’s hot out! And granola bars.
We see through your photographs that Devil’s Pools attracts diverse groups of people. How do this mix and their interactions with the landscape inspire your photographic storytelling?
I see the experience of being in the woods in the city as an antidote to some of the daily stressors of urban life. I understand the nature, giant rocks, trees, waterfall, and deep green pool, as a force that brings people together, that has called people to the place and to each other, fostering a sense of awe and connection. I see this landscape as equalizing, in a way, bringing about the shared experience of nature pictured in my images.
How has this project shaped your understanding of solitude, community, and the connection between humans and our environment?
I have lived in cities my whole life, Philadelphia, Richmond, VA, and Brooklyn, and have always valued access to parks, community gardens, and other green spaces. But looking so intensely at how people relate to a single location was a new experience that became more and more intoxicating as time went on. My own connection to Devil’s Pool deepened; I am familiar with the shapes of rocks, the dips and turns of the outflowing creek, and the particular way that people tend to relate to each of these natural features. I notice the changes brought by storms, floods, seasons, years, and human touch. My investment in this place has heightened my understanding that people need nature in their lives. I completed the project in fall of 2020 — photographing at Devil’s Pool through the pandemic summer I saw this need made all the more visible and pressing, especially for city dwellers.
What photographers or other visual artists have influenced you as an artist? And as a human being?
I have always loved looking at painting, especially the work on painters who picture what appears to be everyday life, real bodies, messy moments of beauty and vulnerability. A few that come to mind are Philip Pearlstein, Laura Krifka, and Aaron Gilbert. I’ve also always loved Justine Kurland’s photographs from around 2005-2010, living on the road with her small son, exploring the American landscape.
Growing up in Philadelphia, in a neighborhood that suffered from a lot of violence at the time has also affected me. That experience has influenced how I see the Wissahickon Park as providing an alternative world, accessible to city people, directly adjacent to those realities of city life.
This project has evolved over 7 years. How has it changed? And what advice do you have for photographers working on long-term projects?
Spending so many years on this allowed me to pause at certain moments to take stock, reflect, and figure out where to go next with the work. I would stop photographing for a time and look at small prints, seeking out feedback on the images and the arc of the project. About mid-way through I realized that I wanted to make a book. The series had grown and I was beginning to identify different types of images that could weave together in sequence, telling a longer story about this place and its people. Some of the first images I made at Devil’s Pool were of tiny, languid figures, moving across the landscape, highlighting its drama and grandeur. Some of the last were close portraits, focused more on individuals, their experiences at Devil’s Pool, and my interactions in collaboration with them.
What final thoughts or messages do you hope viewers take away from your photography at Devil’s Pool?
The more intense or immediately eye-catching images of jumping and diving often reveal a raw, visceral interaction with the landscape that holds an edge of adrenalin and danger. I am equally interested in the quieter moments of contemplation that happen at Devil’s Pool and the sensory experiences of feeling and listening to the cool water and the rhythmic splashing of jumpers in the background. I also see communion with nature manifest in the images of play and social connection that to me, appear to be fostered by a shared experience of the place. In my photos, the water, rocks, and trees affect how people hold their bodies and interact with each other. I like to imagine the spiritual potential within each of these modes of connecting with the landscape and with each other.
